Chapter 1372: Alarmed
Zu An and the others’ expressions changed. Could it be that the Fiend Ancestor really would return to life? That would definitely be the absolute worst situation for them.
Suddenly, a strange event happened. The two guards closest to the Golden Crow Crown Prince moved, attacking his vitals at the same time.
The other guards hadn’t expected the colleagues they were so familiar with to suddenly attack the crown prince. By the time they reacted, it was already too late.
The two guards were extremely quick, and their cultivation was on the higher end among the eighteen guards. They were already at the hero soul stage of the master rank. As such, even though the other guards all shouted in anger and chased after them, they couldn"t catch up.
Meanwhile, the Golden Crow Crown Prince had his eyes closed, as he was undergoing the most crucial part of the trial. Even if he did notice the activity happening behind him, he wouldn’t be able to break free from the trial for quite some time. That meant the two guards’ choice of timing was particularly vicious and ingenious.
“Could it be that they were also sent by the Second Empress?” Yun Jianyue asked through ki transmission.
“I don’t think so,” Zu An said, shaking his head. If the Second Empress had already sent someone, why would she invest so much into recruiting him?
“The Golden Crow Crown Prince is probably finished. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to make a move,” Yu Yanluo said, sighing in relief. She didn’t want Zu An to take any risks.
“That may not be the case. The Golden Crow Crown Prince is too calm right now,” Yan Xuehen said with a frown. The crown prince had been much less composed when he was in the Snake race.
Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, the crown prince who had previously been immersed in the trial swiftly opened his eyes. Then, a raging flame protected his entire body. It was the Golden Crow royal family’s innate skill: Golden Crow Sacred Fire!
The two hero soul master rank a.s.sa.s.sins were somewhat surprised. However, they didn’t withdraw. Instead, they each clasped a pendant and barriers of light surrounded their bodies. Thus, they were just barely able to fend off the Golden Crow Sacred Fire. They had clearly antic.i.p.ated such a situation ahead of time and prepared a fire-resistant magical artifact as a defense.
Of course, the Golden Crow Sacred Fire definitely wasn’t ordinary fire. Their magical artifacts definitely wouldn’t last for long. However, a few seconds would already be enough for them to kill the powerless Golden Crow Crown Prince.
However, just then, a blazing wave of heat spread outward. A sun rose above theGolden Crow Crown Prince’s head, and a golden war chariot rushed out from it.
The two a.s.sa.s.sins’ bodies were clearly affected by the sun’s radiance. Their fire-resistant pendants instantly shattered into several pieces, and smoke began to appear from their bodies.
The golden carriage rushed directly at the closest master rank a.s.sa.s.sin. It locked onto the a.s.sa.s.sin, who couldn"t avoid it at all as it swiftly rammed into him. His entire body shook violently, blood gushing out of his mouth wildly. He then crashed into the ground like a broken sack.
The other a.s.sa.s.sin was horrified when he saw that. He bit down on the tip of his tongue and released a spray of blood essence, seemingly activating some life-saving skill. He barely managed to struggle free from the sun’s restrictions, then ran for his life. He knew he wouldn’t get another chance to kill the crown prince. The only thought left in his mind was to run away.
Suddenly, two giant wings that were several dozen meters long emerged from the Golden Crow Crown Prince’s back. They were like giant blades, instantly hacking the fleeing a.s.sa.s.sin’s legs in half. The a.s.sa.s.sin fell from the air and rolled across the ground in pain.
The golden wings weren’t as simple as they looked. They contained sinister sword ki that entered through the wounds they created, which then ran amok in the a.s.sa.s.sin’s body. As such, even a master rank cultivator like him ended up screaming miserably.
Zu An was shocked when he saw that. He hadn’t expected this loser he had previously defeated to be so strong, seriously injuring two master rank cultivators so quickly. Even though they were only at the hero soul stage, they were still master rank cultivators!
He remembered that Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had previously warned him that the only reason why he had been able to defeat Golden Crow Crown Prince was that his techniques perfectly countered his opponent’s. It just so happened that Zu An didn’t have to fear the crown prince’s most powerful moves. However, against other opponents, Zu An wouldn’t necessarily be stronger.
Otherwise, the Golden Crow Crown Prince wouldn’t be publicly recognized as the absolute best of the fiend race’s younger generation’s five elites.
…
Just then, the a.s.sa.s.sin who had been rammed by the golden war chariot struggled into a seated position by leaning on a pillar. However, the other guards quickly rushed over and aimed their weapons at his neck. They also sealed all of his acupoints so he couldn"t move at all.
The a.s.sa.s.sin knew he couldn’t escape, so he didn’t vainly try to resist. Instead, he stared at the Golden Crow Crown Prince and asked, “Did you not enter the trial just now?”
“Of course not,” the Golden Crow Crown Prince said proudly. “If I had done that, how would I have made you two take the bait?”
“You knew we were going to do something from the start?” the a.s.sa.s.sin replied, looking regretful. If the a.s.sa.s.sins had known things would turn out that way, they would have waited a bit longer and made their move when the crown prince completely entered the trial.
However, neither of them had known too much about what the previous Fiend Emperors’ trial was really like. They had been worried that such a trial would end quickly. After all, the flow of time in a secret dungeon was different from the real world. Oftentimes, one would spend a long time in a sea of consciousness, but in reality, only an instant would pa.s.s. They had thought they couldn"t afford to take that risk. If they had waited until Golden Crow Crown Prince pa.s.sed the trial, it would all be too late.
“No,” the Golden Crow Crown Prince said. “I suspected that there were definitely spies planted around me, though. I just did not know who. Furthermore, just now would have been the best opportunity, so that was why I threw out the bait. Sure enough, you two made your move.”
He looked at the a.s.sa.s.sin coldly, asking, “Why did you betray me? Did this crown prince treat you unfairly somehow?”
“You did not. The crown prince has treated us extremely well, but we already had our own masters. We did not have the freedom to act,” the a.s.sa.s.sin replied. He sighed, his tone full of deep helplessness. After all, he was still a master rank cultivator; furthermore, he was not an ordinary deathsworn a.s.sa.s.sin. He could have been set with amazing prospects, but unfortunately, he had gotten caught up in the struggle for imperial power. He couldn"t decide his own fate at all.
Even master rank cultivators had their own families and people they cared about. That also meant they had weaknesses that could be exploited, making them easy to control by others.
“Another master?”The Golden Crow Crown Prince sneered. He looked down on the two of them from above, asking, “Who sent you two? If you tell me honestly, I might even let you two live.”
The a.s.sa.s.sin revealed a pained smile and said, “Since we chose to become a.s.sa.s.sins, then we have already prepared ourselves for death. If we speak, we will only end up wishing we were dead instead.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a strand of black blood began to trickle down from the corner of his mouth. Something similar also happened to the other a.s.sa.s.sin. The two took their last breaths soon after. The other guards were horrified and they quickly examined the a.s.sa.s.sins’ mouths.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince erupted into a rage. “Do you not know how to do your jobs at all?! How could you let them have the chance to end their own lives?”
Many a.s.sa.s.sins kept poison between their teeth. If they failed, they would break open the poison and end their own lives to avoid confessions under torture.
The guards quickly explained, “Replying to the crown prince. That is not the case; they already took poison beforehand. Only now did the poison act.”
Zu An and the others were shocked. To make two master rank cultivators take poison before carrying out a suicide mission… The mastermind behind the scenes really had invested quite a bit!
The Golden Crow Crown Prince’s face darkened as he said, “As expected, they really did plan things carefully.” He stared at the two corpses and continued, “Even if you do not speak, I can make my guesses. Those fire-resistant pendants were made specially to deal with me, so it had to be someone with a thorough understanding of the Golden Crow Sacred Fire. In the end, only that good little brother of mine would have the ability and motive to accomplish this, right?”
Zu An almost began to feel admiration. The Second Imperial Prince really had gone through a lot of trouble. The people that the Golden Crow Crown Prince would bring with him to such a place were definitely his greatest trusted aides. They had been placed at his side who knew how many years ago, and had to slowly climb to their positions. The most important part, however, was that even if their a.s.sa.s.sination failed, there would be no proof left over. The second prince could just say he knew nothing about it later.
The Golden Crow Crown Prince suddenly laughed, remarking, “That good little brother of mine really is formidable. What a pity that in the end, it was all futile.”
The other guards all kneeled down and called out, “The crown prince is blessed by the mandate of heaven! Long live the emperor! Long live, long live, long long live!”
The Golden Crow Crown Prince enjoyed their cheers greatly. When they finished, he then said hypocritically, “Lower your voices; even though I will become the Fiend Emperor soon, I have not officially risen to the throne yet. Father emperor might feel too sensitive if he overhears this.”
“This birdman isn’t as stupid as I thought,” Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.
Yu Yanluo also said with a sigh, “He was the publicly acknowledged number one among the fiend races’ younger generation to begin with. Only recently was he defeated by Ah Zu.”
Just then, some more things happened on the other side. The Golden Crow Crown Prince ordered the others to carefully store the two corpses. Furthermore, he had them form groups of three so they could monitor and keep each other in check, in order to prevent the previous events from happening again. Even though they were all the most loyal people he had carefully selected and the chance of another rebellion happening was extremely low, he still had to take precautionary measures.
Then, the Golden Crow Crown Prince officially began the ritual. The Fiend Ancestor statue flickered with radiance. It had been entirely black at first, but the black began to be shot through with gold. Then, the Fiend Ancestor statue’s eyes suddenly opened. Two beams of golden light fired out, enveloping the Golden Crow Crown Prince within them.
The other guards staggered backward in alarm from the terrifying pressure that erupted at that moment. Their entire bodies trembled.
“This Fiend Ancestor’s strength might have far surpa.s.sed the current Fiend Emperor,” Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue remarked. Even they found it a bit hard to resist the terrifying pressure from far away. They subconsciously took a few steps back.
Crack!
Suddenly, while Wu Liang was stepping backward, he accidentally knocked over a candlestick on the wall.
“Who’s there?!” Because an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt had just happened, all of the guards were on high alert. They immediately rushed over when they heard the noise.
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