Under Victor Kent's deep and commanding gaze, the Amazons fulfilled the oath they had sworn. One by one, the legendary warriors bowed their heads and knelt on one knee, acknowledging him as their new king.
"The Amazons never lie or break their promises!"
Hippolyta and the others lived by those words. Even though many of them were unwilling, none of them chose to break their vow. With expressions of shock and bitterness, they clenched their teeth and lowered their heads before their new ruler.
For thousands of years, Paradise Island had been a land inhabited only by women. Now, a man sat upon its throne—and that man was the king of the Amazons.
"I know that even if I've accomplished more than Hercules ever did," Victor said with a faint smile from the throne, "many of you are still unwilling to truly submit to me."
He leaned back slightly, studying the kneeling warriors in front of him. His voice remained calm, but there was a thoughtful look in his eyes as he continued.
"You who almost became slaves have always longed for freedom."
When he paused, hope flickered in the Amazons' eyes. Some of them thought Victor might be preparing to set a limit to his rule, perhaps declaring that if one among them could defeat him in combat, he would relinquish the throne and leave Paradise Island.
But the next moment, Victor revealed a wicked grin.
"But it doesn't matter," he said lightly. "I have no need to win your hearts. As long as your bodies obey my orders, that's enough."
The Amazons nearly fainted from rage.
Several of them glared at him furiously, convinced he had deliberately chosen those words to provoke them.
Victor merely continued speaking calmly from the throne.
"Now I issue my first order as king. Starting today, you must begin practicing dance. All of you Amazons are tall, strong, and beautifully built, with long legs. It would be a shame not to put that to use."
"Dance?"
The reaction was immediate.
Every Amazon present protested loudly, shocked by the absurdity of the command. Some of them even wondered whether they had misheard him.
The Amazons were born warriors. They were stronger than the fiercest beasts on earth. Children as young as seven or eight could wrestle lions and tigers, and once grown, they could tear steel apart with their bare hands. They were known for their ferocity and pride, and even telling a lie would bring ridicule among them.
Yet now Victor was ordering them to put aside their bows, arrows, and swords—and start practicing dance.
"I protest!" one warrior shouted angrily. "The powerful bodies granted to us by the gods were not meant to entertain others like palace dancers!"
Diana herself was stunned.
"Dance… dancing?"
She stared at Victor in disbelief. His first royal decree was something she never could have imagined.
Not only Diana, but Hippolyta and the famed general Antiope were equally stunned. A man had fought them all, defeated them, slain gods, and conquered Paradise Island. Yet the first command he gave as king was simply to watch the Amazons dance.
"You Amazons don't seem to keep your promises as well as you claim," Victor said suddenly, letting out a soft sigh.
"Who said that?" someone snapped back immediately.
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't it true? I didn't establish something like the tyrant Caligula's so-called First Night law, nor did I command you to march into war like Ares and conquer the world for me at the risk of your lives. My first royal order was merely for you to learn how to dance, yet you refuse to obey."
The Amazons fell silent.
Their pride had been questioned, and that made many of them uncomfortable. At the same time, they hesitated. It did feel as if they were treating their newly acknowledged king somewhat unfairly.
On the one hand, they had publicly declared him their ruler. On the other hand, they were rejecting his very first command.
If Victor had begun slaughtering them, enslaving them, or forcing them into humiliating acts, they would absolutely resist him and overthrow his rule without hesitation. In that case, rebellion would be justified.
But if the order was merely… dancing?
"Our King," Hippolyta said slowly with a stiff expression, "you conquered the Amazons created by the gods… just to make us dance?"
The situation felt so absurd that she could not help suspecting some hidden scheme behind it.
Victor shrugged lightly.
"Why not?" he replied. "I defeated the Amazons, fought the God of War, killed him, and became king. Am I not allowed to enjoy it?"
No one answered immediately.
The logic sounded reasonable on the surface, yet something about it felt completely wrong. It was like launching a massive army to conquer Rome, only to demand raisins as tribute afterward.
For the Amazons, learning elegant dance like palace entertainers was humiliating and uncomfortable. It clashed completely with their identity as warriors.
But it wasn't severe enough to justify rebellion.
In the end, they had no choice but to obey.
The fierce horses were led away, and bows and swords were set aside. Instead, the Amazons were given white gauze skirts, silk stockings, and delicate dance shoes that felt terribly awkward on their feet.
Reluctantly, they began to practice.
Everything needed for dance training had already been prepared. Victor had ordered the supplies during the journey back to Paradise Island.
"Not bad," Victor commented.
The music ended once again, and he nodded while clapping his hands slowly.
"Give it a few years," he added casually, "and maybe it'll be barely watchable."
Inside the palace hall, Amazon warriors moved stiffly and awkwardly. Their powerful bodies were clearly not made for graceful movement. The originally gentle, elegant, slightly melancholic ballet Swan Lake had somehow turned into something that looked more like a tense battlefield drill.
The same scene was happening in the large square outside.
Victor watched the performance with amusement.
"I feel like the swan you're playing could bite a lion to death without much trouble," he said dryly.
The Amazons' faces immediately flushed red with embarrassment and anger. Many of them glared at him with deep resentment.
"Except for you, Diana," Victor added after a moment. "You're barely acceptable."
He pointed toward her while speaking frankly.
Diana learned quickly. Unlike most Amazons, who seemed almost naturally incompatible with dance, she practiced seriously and followed Victor's orders carefully. Her movements were already beginning to resemble the elegant posture of a proud swan.
Victor studied her thoughtfully and sighed.
"Whether we like it or not, Zeus had excellent taste when it came to bloodlines. He's produced quite a few beautiful and talented descendants."
Being praised publicly only made Diana feel more uncomfortable.
Under the gaze of everyone around her, she forced a bitter smile. She found no joy in the compliment at all.
In fact, she almost wished Victor would reveal some cruel ambition or sinister scheme that the Amazons could never accept. If that happened, she would finally have a legitimate reason to oppose him and escape this humiliating situation.
Victor understood perfectly well that forcing the Amazons to dance—especially something like ballet—was almost worse for them than death.
That was precisely why he had chosen it.
The Amazons were currently filled with resentment. If looks alone could kill, the new king would have been torn apart and nailed to the throne countless times by now.
Yet the situation left them no room to rebel.
Compared to true tyranny—massacres, cruelty, or treating them like slaves—this command was trivial. They had no moral grounds to resist, and so they had no choice but to obey.
For the next month, the Amazons' dancing ability barely improved.
Their performance remained painfully awkward.
Watching this, Victor sometimes wondered whether the gods led by Zeus had poured every ounce of talent into making the Amazons perfect warriors while completely ignoring every other ability.
Even so, compared to their miserable progress in dance, Victor's own template fusion progress had been advancing at an astonishing speed.
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