NOVEL NEXT Chapter197-The Unparalleled Conqueror
Woom—!
A surge of majestic golden mana suddenly gathered above the Imperial Palace and shot straight into the heavens!
Boundless elemental energy roared as it converged, and an arcane aura spread through every corner of the sky.
For a moment, even the air seemed to freeze; the imperial double-headed eagle flags fluttering along the streets of Eryndor City slowed their motion, as if weighed down by invisible gravity.
People across the city felt their vision narrow, and even the flow of time seemed to slow.
Confused, the citizens of the Empire looked upward—only to see the golden radiance spreading into a mirror-like canopy that blanketed the sky.
Within that mirror shone a hazy yet towering figure.
Behind him stood a vast and magnificent imperial palace; before him stretched endless steps ascending toward the heavens.
He was clad in a black royal robe trimmed with golden embroidery, a crown of gold and jade upon his head. His frame was broad, his presence awe-inspiring.
Before him rested an Emperor's Scepter. He stood at the summit of the staircase, eyes closed, gazing silently down upon all living beings.
It was the difference born of life's highest tier and the authority of divine law itself—an overwhelming nobility and majesty that emanated from him like the presence of a god.
The pressure reached directly into the depths of the soul, making all who saw it tremble and revere involuntarily.
It was as though a sovereign enthroned above the heavens was surveying the dominion of his divine kingdom!
Isabella stared at the sky, the blue depths of her eyes surging like a storm.
"Your Highness… could this be—the phenomenon described in ancient tomes, the vision born when a divine aspect first takes form?"
Cheryl's voice trembled with disbelief.
Around her, everyone's gaze was fixed upon that golden canopy; no one could look away.
Isabella did not answer.
Her entire mind was focused upon the contours of that face—
So similar… almost identical to Aurek's!
Though the light was hazy, that unmistakable silhouette and those defined features could not be mistaken.
William's eyes seemed ready to pierce through the golden brilliance.
Heimerdinger pressed his lips tight, while Gaia, Harland, Cole, and Chuck—every imperial minister—stared in shock, hearts pounding as they witnessed this divine miracle.
Snow, Kafka, Yule—throughout all of Eryndor City, whether nobles, knights, ministers, or commoners, every soul was a witness to this revelation.
On the star-gazing terrace, the hem of Josephine's gown fluttered in the wind stirred by the mana currents.
"How… how can this be!?"
Even Natasha, usually calm and composed, had lost her serenity. Her eyes quivered violently as she strained to sense the terrifying source of this power.
At that moment—
The divine figure upon the celestial canopy suddenly opened its eyes!
No thunder roared, yet the sky itself trembled. An unseen pressure swept through the world like a tidal wave.
In an instant, centered upon the palace, an irresistible aura burst forth and rolled over the city like the tide.
Throughout magnificent Eryndor City, millions of citizens—whatever they were doing—fell to their knees!
None dared raise their eyes toward the sacred being above.
William, Heimerdinger, and all the high ministers knelt.
Cheryl and her companions prostrated themselves to the ground.
Snow, Kafka, Yule—all of them knelt as well.
Even Isabella and Natasha, among the mightiest of them all, could only resist for a brief moment longer.
They tried to see through the brilliance to the eyes beneath the crown—but the next heartbeat shattered their will entirely.
One by one, they too bowed to the ground.
In that instant, they were no longer exalted powerhouses or chosen geniuses—only tiny beings kneeling upon the steps leading to the throne.
Only by submitting could they breathe.
Deep within Valoria Palace, Aurek had succeeded in condensing his first Divine Aspect—the Conqueror.
It embodied conquest and the establishment of order, the authority of a king whose words became law.
Where the Emperor's Scepter pointed, conquest and judgment would descend—this was the innate divine power of the Conqueror Aspect itself.
Of course, this newly-born aspect still required immense energy and comprehension to solidify and grow stronger.
Aurek continued channeling mana through his body, gradually withdrawing his vast aura until it grew calm and restrained.
Outside, in and beyond Eryndor City, the colossal figure in the heavens slowly faded.
The sky returned to its pure blue, and the suffocating pressure enveloping the city receded like the ebbing tide.
Those who had been kneeling finally exhaled in relief—drenched in sweat, each of them deeply aware of their own insignificance.
"That… was world-law resonance triggered during divine aspect condensation?"
Isabella rose slowly, her heart pounding wildly.
She was almost certain now—the source of that phenomenon was none other than Aurek, inside Valoria Palace.
But that conclusion shattered her very understanding of reality.
Just a month ago, Aurek had only been standing at the threshold of Peak Master Rank—and now he had condensed a Grandmaster Rank Divine Aspect?
If this vision was not false, then…
That Emperor was no longer merely "gifted beyond measure." He was the miracle itself.
Natasha brushed the dust from her skirt and stood upright, her exquisite face shifting through emotions—shock, doubt, and a strange, unshakable awe.
Her figure flickered, vanishing into a streak of light.
Throughout Eryndor City, tens of thousands of imperial citizens remained frozen in wonder and disbelief, unable to recover from what they had just witnessed.
...
Trinity Province, Anubichi Canyon.
The Pood Empire's five hundred thousand–strong Blackarmored Bear Legion launched a massive assault against more than a dozen key military strongholds along the borders of Trinity Province and the Dahlby city-state.
The Blackarmored Bear Legion was one of the three main armies of the Pood Empire, long stationed within the impregnable Anubichi Canyon.
Its soldiers were hand-picked from every imperial regiment—each at least of Apprentice Rank, the unfit ruthlessly culled.
The reason was simple: only those with extraordinary power and physique could command the War Bears—ferocious beasts from the northern ice fields of the Pood Empire.
Covered in naturally-grown black bone armor, their raw strength could tear through city walls. After generations of imperial domestication, these creatures had become living fortresses of war, beasts so fierce that only the strongest of soldiers could control them.
Six thousand years ago, during the Battle of the Canyon's Blood, the Crossbridge Empire's greatest army—the Obsidian Legion—had clashed head-on with this very force. Both sides were nearly annihilated.
By the end of that war, less than one-tenth of the million-strong Obsidian Legion survived, and the Blackarmored Bear Legion was almost entirely wiped out. The Pood Empire spent millennia recovering from the loss.
But that battle also marked the downfall of the once-glorious Obsidian Legion, the Empire's blade.
The fertile southwestern territories later fell into the hands of the Santino family.
Now, facing this formidable legion, Santino urgently mobilized three hundred thousand of his main army and millions of local defenders, forming a defensive line across Jincen City and Sha'er Eye Fortress, where a brutal siege was underway.
Though the Santino Legion was well equipped, their soldiers' combat will and individual prowess could not compare to the battle-hardened veterans of the Pood Empire.
They were forced to rely on sheer numbers and ancient Anti-Magic Ballistae left behind by the fallen Obsidian Legion to hold their ground.
Above, the skies were even deadlier.
Dozens of Peak Master Rank combatants fought, their magic tearing rifts through the clouds.
A figure wreathed in blood-red light, bearing two crimson Divine Aspects, swept across Rift-Tooth Canyon straight toward the heart of the battlefield.
The Void Blade Divine Aspect activated—
A domain filled with blades and spatial fissures instantly spread across the sky.
A colossal blade hundreds of meters long, carrying the aura of annihilation, descended in a storm of cutting light!
Even the overflowing energy from this domain alone made the nearby Peak Masters' faces turn pale.
At that moment of crisis, from the direction of Skypeak Tower, a woman in a plain white robe appeared silently.
Three radiant, pure Divine Aspects rose behind her, and their sacred brilliance swept over the battlefield—driving away the darkness and despair like sunlight piercing through the storm.