The Path Of A True King.-Chapter 13: I Won’t

Chapter 53

Elijah found himself in a tense situation.

He couldn’t allow them to call for reinforcements, but leaving without being noticed was nearly impossible.

Only eight minutes had passed since the other gang members left to investigate, and he knew time was slipping away fast.

Taking a deep breath, Elijah activated:

[The Monarch.]

A powerful calm settled over him as his mind sharpened.

He quickly assessed the situation.

The guard with him was at the Intermediate Knight stage, making it impossible to eliminate him quietly.

That left only one option.

Raising his foot, he stomped down hard.

Bang!

The two guards outside the door flinched at the sudden noise.

As they turned to investigate, an overwhelming pressure exploded from Elijah.

King’s Aura.

A suffocating force spread across the entire area.

The children were unaffected, but anyone within fifteen meters felt its crushing weight.

The three gang members, all at the same cultivation stage as Elijah, dropped to their knees, unable to resist.

Elijah found this imbalance almost unfair—no one at his level could withstand his pressure.

But he didn’t have time for hesitation.

"Run," he ordered the children.

Without a moment’s delay, they bolted for the back door.

As they escaped, they passed a gang member sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to move under Elijah’s aura.

The kids dashed into the forest behind the orphanage.

Elijah, still under the effects of Phantom Veil, stepped past the fallen gang member. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Though invisible, his voice rang out, deepened with focused Ki.

"Do not follow them, or meet your death."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the pressure vanished. Elijah staggered slightly, his face pale.

He had burned through almost all of his Ki in just a few minutes.

Keeping King’s Aura active while using The Monarch had drained him fast.

[Deactivating The Monarch.]

He wished he could stay in that state of clarity longer, but while any skill was active, he couldn’t regenerate his Ki.

The Monarch itself didn’t consume too much energy—he could maintain it for over thirty minutes—but stacking it with other skills was dangerous.

Unlike skills, which required energy to activate, Phantom Veil was an ability—like a superpower, something innate.

It didn’t consume Ki, which was the only reason he was still standing.

Under the cover of Phantom Veil, Elijah slipped into the forest, trailing behind the fleeing children.

He could only hope his threat had been enough.

Behind him, the gang members slowly recovered.

The man at the back stared into the forest, his face still frozen in shock.

The other two finally caught their breath and turned to him.

"Do we go after them?" one asked.

The second shook his head. "You felt it. What chance do we have against someone who can drop us to our knees without even trying?"

The third spoke in a grave tone. "Only death awaits us if we follow. We wait for the others and inform the boss."

The first man hesitated, then exhaled sharply before pulling out his phone. "Boss, we have a problem."

At the park, a van was parked, engine idling.

Tony sat in the driver’s seat, waiting.

The moment the back doors opened, Lucas helped the children inside, his expression shifting to one of deep respect as he saw Elijah approaching.

The streets were empty—it was far too late for anyone to be wandering about.

Elijah, pale and exhausted, climbed into the passenger seat beside Tony.

His hands trembled slightly as he pulled out his phone and dialed Kai.

The call connected instantly.

"You guys okay?" Elijah asked.

Kai’s breath was heavy on the other end. "Yeah, don’t worry about us. We’ll meet you at the pool club."

"Okay. Stay safe."

As soon as the call ended, Elijah leaned back, completely drained. Within seconds, he was asleep.

The Next Day

Elijah woke up in the office, his body still aching from last night’s events.

The dim light filtering through the blinds made his head pound even more.

He blinked away the exhaustion, groaning as he sat up on the worn-out couch.

His muscles protested every movement, but he ignored the pain.

Across the room, Kai stood near the window, phone pressed to his ear, his voice low but sharp.

"Yeah? They’re gathering? For what reason?" he asked, his posture tense.

The voice on the other end crackled through the receiver. "I don’t know yet. But this hasn’t happened before."

Kai ran a hand through his hair, eyes narrowing.

"Alright.

Call Tristan, Lucas, and Kevin.

Split into teams and guard from three sides.

I want every alley and blind spot covered.

We watch first, move second.

If they step out of line, we shut them down immediately."

"Yes, sir. It’ll be done." The call ended with a sharp click.

Kai turned toward Elijah, his expression unreadable. "You need to call your mom. She was worried when you didn’t check in last night."

Elijah let out a weak chuckle, rubbing his temple. "And you need rest. You look like hell."

Kai waved him off, already flipping through the scattered papers on the desk.

"Not yet. Something’s weird. The unranked gangs surrounding us are acting strangely. I need to keep track of every move they make before this turns into a problem."

Elijah winced as he adjusted his position, his head still throbbing. "Did the kids make it back safely?"

Kai barely looked up as he muttered, "Yeah. No injuries. They stuck to the plan."

His focus shifted back to the documents in front of him.

"The bars, gambling houses, and fighting rings aren’t enough.

We need to expand.

Street racing is the next step.

The right bets could bring in a fortune.

And that tobacco shipment—it’s here.

I’ll distribute it to three of our bars and Aunt Sylvia’s place."

Elijah leaned his head back against the couch, listening as Kai calculated their next moves.

Money, expansion, dominance.

That was Kai’s role—always thinking ahead.

But Elijah had another concern. "Jack and Tristan—are they okay?"

Kai finally stopped, his gaze lifting from the papers. "They’re fine."

A beat of silence stretched between them.

Kai exhaled slowly, but there was an edge to his voice when he spoke again.

"We need to expand soon. We should take over the gangless territories before someone else does."

Elijah’s expression hardened, mirroring Kai’s seriousness. "I know. We already had one unranked gang try to attack us.

Let’s deal with them first.

Just point me to their businesses—we’ll seize them before going for their leader."

Kai smirked, but his amusement was brief.

His eyes darkened as he leaned forward, his tone quiet but firm. "Don’t let him live."

Elijah’s red eyes gleamed coldly as he stood up, stretching his sore limbs.

His exhaustion was gone now.

"I won’t."