NOVEL NEXT Chapter112-Enormous Post-War Gains
"Your Majesty! Are you unharmed?!"
Winston and the others rushed forward, their voices hoarse with concern.
Aurek still firmly gripped the Emperor's Scepter, silently gazing at Eryndor City both inside and out. His tall, imposing figure cast a long shadow in the last rays of the setting sun and the lingering flashes of lightning, as if he were becoming one with the empire itself.
"To wear the crown, one must bear its weight," he spoke calmly, but his words carried a penetrating coldness, clearly reaching the ears of every court official.
"On the road to the highest throne, the path will be paved with thorns and hidden blades. This will not stop—it will only grow worse."
His tone was calm, yet full of icy authority, making the words cut through the hearts of his officials.
As soon as Gold Armor and Violet Thunder were deployed out of Eryndor City, the assassins, like sharks smelling blood, had swarmed in!
Their impatience was evident.
But… there would be more!
Winston and Heimerdinger clenched their fists tightly.
The empire's borders were vast, surrounded by powerful enemies, with countless greedy and vengeful eyes watching from the shadows. Who would allow this towering figure to continue supporting the ancient skies of the empire?
Perhaps, this was just a trivial beginning!
Those deeply rooted forces had strength beyond measure. With a single thought, they could shake the empire's foundations. That was the true terror—the forces that no one could reckon with!
Yet, the last bones of the empire, like themselves, often felt powerless in the face of such overwhelming threats.
This feeling of helplessness and burden filled their hearts.
Aurek sensed the complex emotions of his ministers but said nothing. His face remained as cold as a frozen lake, unmoved by the bloody assassination.
What concerned him more was the cleaning up progress led by Gold Armor and Violet Thunder, and whether the empire's borders were secure.
As for the Killer Guild, Shadow Sanctuary... since they had chosen to direct their daggers toward him, they must be ready to bear the empire's wrath and pay the price!
The evening sky, blood-red in hue, bathed the spires and archways of Valoria Palace in a dark golden light. Angie, silently directing the guards, oversaw the removal of bodies and the cleaning of bloodstains on the marble tiles.
Winston and Heimerdinger had already left, leading a team of Royal Guards to inspect the damage throughout Eryndor City.
To Aurek, the sudden assassination was but a trivial episode on the long road of kingship. It was like a stone thrown into a mirrored lake, its ripples destined to dissipate into the vast water.
At this moment, he stood alone on the palace terrace, his gaze cutting through the fading evening glow, looking out over his vast, silent dominion.
The wind ruffled his dark golden hair, but he remained still, like an ancient statue standing at the edge of the world.
[Kill of a high-tier foe, Emperor Points +320,000, Shop Refresh Cards x2!]
A notification template appeared at the edge of his vision.
Aurek raised an eyebrow.
The Emperor Points from this kill were surprisingly high, which took him by surprise.
[The higher the enemy's rank, the more energy is extracted from the attribute rebirth pool, and the shared energy will greatly increase.]
The system gave a simple explanation.
Though he had killed many enemies before, most had been low-tier, and true powerhouses were rare. Naturally, the corresponding Emperor Points were limited.
But this time was different.
Bloodblade was a true master rank powerhouse.
Although he had only recently been promoted, five Hero Rank Elemental Assassins had struggled for a long time without inflicting any meaningful damage on him.
This spoke volumes about his depth and power.
The other five assassins were Hero Rank Lv9 experts, all elite individuals in their tier, only a step away from the master rank.
Such an influx of energy was enough to support Aurek's continued growth at the quasi-master rank and propel him toward an unimaginable realm for mortals.
This completely dispelled the last remnants of gloom caused by the assassination attempt.
Moreover, the substantial earnings collected from the four provinces were quietly fueling the empire's war machine and mysterious foundation, gathering power in the shadows, ready to shake the world.
Additionally, the performance of the Mountain Shieldbearers in battle had greatly exceeded his expectations. Their furious attacks, capable of reducing walls to dust, failed to leave even the slightest mark on the palace's ancient radiant stone walls.
The five hundred layers of enhanced "Holy Light Shield" were able to withstand a crazed master rank's berserk slashes, only losing less than a hundred layers in the process.
This was far beyond any known magical defense system on earth. Its strength was so great that even dragons would marvel at it.
Given time, as their numbers grew and they were deployed in large-scale battles, they would become an unbreachable wall of sighs, a true fortress.
Overthunder's thunderous giant bow was equally terrifying, as if it had stolen the power of the Thunder God itself.
With a single arrow, he had accurately ended the life of a master rank, violently snuffing out the flame of his life.
The remaining power of that destructive lightning arrow still echoed through Eryndor City's sky, causing the magic in the air to stir, sending shivers down the spine of every resident.
One could imagine that as Overthunder's level increased, the destructive power he could unleash in the future would be beyond the comprehension of ordinary language.
And then there was Destructive Gaze, Final Judgment...
What kind of awe-inspiring power did they hold?
Aurek's usually calm heart rare fluttered with a ripple of anticipation.
The energy surge from slaying a master rank had swept through every corner of his body, giving him another solid boost in strength.
Looking back, the assassination had taken on a very different meaning—it felt like an unexpected gift.
"Killer Guild..."
Aurek muttered to himself, a cold, sharp smile curling at the corner of his mouth, like a blade in the winter night.
At Centennial Blossom Garden's inn, in the top-floor suite.
The woman with the gray-white hood sat like a statue in a velvet high-back chair.
She slowly removed her hood, revealing a beautiful yet cold face. Her features were so elegant that even elven artisan masters would be in awe.
What truly set her apart was the deep, inherent nobility in her bones, an aloofness so profound that it seemed to keep people at an arm's length, refusing all but the most distant contact.
Every emotion was perfectly imprisoned within her deep, unfathomable eyes. To her, any external display of emotion seemed like a breach of etiquette.
She raised her long finger and gently traced a fine scar on her left cheek—a result of the earlier terrifying confrontation, caused by a blade's edge.
As her fingertip passed over the scar, a barely noticeable glimmer of light flashed, and the wound immediately healed, leaving no trace.
Recalling that brief but soul-stirring moment on the terrace, she had no choice but to completely overturn all her previous assessments.
She had to reassess this emperor, nearly ignored by all the continent's great forces, with fresh eyes.
Despite facing a suicidal assault from five Hero Rank assassins, along with the lethal threat of a master rank, he had remained utterly unshaken!
Like a mountain that had existed since the beginning of time, his unspoken authority suppressed all the chaos, murderous intent, and turmoil around him.
This ancient empire, which had been carefully manipulated and slowly bled for nearly ten thousand years, now seemed to have finally found a ruler who could truly understand its weight and wield it with power.
The immense force he demonstrated had far surpassed any intelligence reports, reaching a level that made one uneasy.
Anyone who underestimated him would find their fate far worse than a fall into the abyss!