Inside a luxurious villa, a handsome man in his late twenties can be seen leisurely sipping a cup of tea.
He put the tea near his nose and inhaled its fragrant aroma.
The moment the tea"s smell penetrated his nasal cavities, he flashed a contented smile.
He then exhaled a warm breath, his countenance painted with a bright look.
His nonchalant appearance was a stark contrast to what was happening outside the capital city"s walls.
The old man who was standing respectfully behind him was also nervous. But it wasn"t clear if he was scared about the tense atmosphere outside or about the man sitting in front of him with a carefree expression.
"Minister of the Left, what would happen if we swam on this muddied water together with my two foolish brothers, wouldn"t it be fun?"
The old man heard the man"s faint laughter.
Although it sounded rather calm when the man spoke, the old man suddenly felt a chill inside his heart.
"Third prince, what evil plans are you concocting now? It might not be long before this old man dies from a heart attack." The old man sighed in his heart with a downcast look.
Outside Sword City, the two opposing armies were still glaring at each other.
They were tightly clutching the handle of their weapons in preparation to attack.
The crown prince stared at the avaricious visage of his second brother with a complicated gaze, while the latter merely smiled mockingly at him.
"Your highness, the great elder of the Blue Ocean Pavilion, the sect master of the t.i.tan Sect, the holy lord of Blue Jade Holy Land, and the hall master of the Rising Sun Supreme Hall are already here to provide you support. We await your orders."
An average-looking man with a calm disposition reported with a respectful look.
He was a disciple from the Rising Sun Supreme Hall with great talents. And he was tasked by their hall master to act as the second prince"s tactician.
The second prince beamed after hearing the report.
"Finally! With this amount of soldiers and support, I could claim the throne forcefully! No one can stop me from my ascension towards the throne!"
Second Prince t.i.tus" eyes flashed with cold lights.
"Charge!" t.i.tus" eyes distorted as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The soldiers from the outside forces issued a deafening war cry as they pulled out their weapons. They then charged fiercely while looking at the empire"s soldiers like a pack of hungry wolves.
The crown prince"s heavy expression became even more evident, but he had to remain calm as the crown prince.
He saw the uncertain expressions of the empire"s soldiers. They were, after all, facing multiple factions who were only slightly weaker than their empire.
"Soldiers of the Celestial Sword Empire! Do not falter against these outsiders! Remember, the blood of the ancient swordmasters runs deeply in our blood! How could these dregs be compared to us?!
For the glory of the empire! Blood and honor! Charge!"
The crown prince who was wearing his combat armor looked valiant. He actually charged along with the soldiers!
The ministers" and the generals" jaws dropped on the ground. They were stunned senseless at the crown prince"s boldness.
Nonetheless, his actions made them admire him more.
A general hurriedly urged his horse to follow behind the crown prince.
"Protect his highness! Don"t let those dogs harm a single hair on his body!" The general shouted fiercely while urging his horse to swiftly follow behind the crown prince.
The elite soldiers hurriedly surrounded the crown prince in a tight formation. Their eyes contained ferociousness as they eyed the approaching army ahead of them.
Meanwhile, on the second prince"s camp, t.i.tus" eyes widened in surprise after seeing his foolish brother personally leading his soldiers" charge.
He then smirked coldly, his long blonde hair fluttered along with the wind.
"You haven"t changed brother. You are still the same foolish and emotional person."
He then glanced at the average-looking man who was standing beside him.
"Call the masters, tell them to prepare. In a few moments, Duke Shutra Ignius will be here..."
At the mention of the name, the average-looking man"s eyes immediately turned serious. He bowed his head respectfully before he went to relay the second prince"s command.
"Those four old fogies should be enough to deal with that malignant duke." t.i.tus clenched his fists tightly.
"Nothing must go wrong on this war, or all of my preparations will be for naught."
In a birds-eye view, the two armies were almost on the verge of clas.h.i.+ng against each other.
And in less than ten seconds, both armies collided!
The land quake intensely as the two armies collided. Blood splashed on the ground painting it crimson red.
The sounds of blades ferociously clas.h.i.+ng against each other can be heard.
The crown prince who joined the charge put on a savage look as he slashed his sword towards an approaching enemy soldier.
Although he was not as talented as t.i.tus, he was still someone who was at the peak of the Saint-Cla.s.s level. Aside from that, he underwent the daily swordsmans.h.i.+p training after becoming the crown prince.
The long sword in his hands was also one of the empire"s Saint weapons, Lion"s Fury.
A savage lion head was engraved on its hilt. Its mouth was wide open, and its long and sharp teeth can be seen with a ferocious glint.
The crown prince activated his elemental essence to protect his body while brandis.h.i.+ng his sword on the enemies.
His valiance ignited the empire"s soldiers" fighting spirit.
Suddenly, the crown prince felt an ominous feeling. He saw a shadow swiftly coming towards him.
The shadow seemed unstoppable as he slowly killed the elite soldiers protecting the crown prince.
"Protect his highness with your lives! Don"t let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d come near him!" The general who had followed the crown prince earlier was already beside him.
He sternly peered towards the direction of the shadow who was charging recklessly at them.
He was obviously aiming for the crown prince!
He saw that the elite soldiers were being killed like defenseless ants. As a general, how could he allow such a man to wantonly kill their empire"s soldiers?! Absolutely not!
"Surround his highness, don"t let anyone touch a single strand of his hair!" The general ordered sternly as he charged towards the incoming shadow.
He must kill that man before he kills more of their soldiers!
The crown prince was also shaken at the sudden appearance of the man.
"An Immortal-Cla.s.s level fighter?!" He felt a slight breeze in his b.a.l.l.s after sensing the man"s aura.
The man who was after his life was actually someone at the Immortal realm!
Inside the Cave of Endless Grievance, hundreds of soldiers wearing silver and gold armor retreated outside the cave. Their expressions were painted with anxiousness as they ran at their top speed.
They were finally able to get the Holy Nouris.h.i.+ng Crystal! All that was left was for them to deliver it to the emperor.
The soldiers" hearts beat wildly in excitement at the thought of their emperor"s recovery.
Once their peerlessly strong emperor recovers his health and strength, all those top sects and powers would definitely cower in fear under his might!
Thinking about that, they hurriedly urged their legs and feet while escaping from the Heavenly Winged Guardians who were still chasing behind them.
They had consumed a lot of their origin essence, but their speed was still shocking.
"Don"t stop running, the mouth of the cave is close by! Just persevere for a moment! And when the time that we are home, we will celebrate our victorious return!" General Lexus shouted from behind them as he slew multiple Heavenly Winged Guardians at every slash of his sword.
The two deputies were already riddled with wounds, but their expression did not contain any hints of pain as they continued to fight fiercely against the humanoid beasts.
Seira was still bathed in pale yellow flames as she conjured multiple b.a.l.l.s of fire before hurling it towards the beasts. She was breathing heavily, an obvious sign of exhaustion.
Ciprus who had recovered a bit of his elemental essence swung his mace wildly while disregarding the beasts who were attacking him. He did not even frown after being scratched by their stone weapons.
Cale looked to be absent-minded since his focus was completely on the prompts that appeared in front of him.
- Ding!
- Mission Success!
- Loading rewards, please wait!
- You received x5 Superior Elemental Essence Bundle.
Asteria"s cold and emotionless voice resounded inside his head as the prompts appeared in front of him.
Cale took out the five Elemental Essence Bundle from his storage s.p.a.ce. He did not even bother admiring its beauty before he instantly stuffed all of it in his mouth.
He then swallowed the soft ball-like objects without even chewing it.
A contented smile can be seen on his lips after swallowing it.
"This truly tastes the best!" He smacked his lips with his tongue while casually slas.h.i.+ng an incoming Heavenly Winged Guardian.
He felt his elemental essence thickening inside his body. The energy from the Elemental Essence Bundle that he had consumed slowly increased his strength.
His weary eyes suddenly regained their liveliness.