Volume 3

Chapter 43 : Power Play and Violence

With the Emperor missing and numerous Tier 5 transcendents as well as forces withdrawing one after another, Tianxin City was no longer the symbol of the Empire’s splendor.

In the outer city, one could still see many traces of destruction left by the battle on the Day of Cataclysmic Fire.

This majestic city that once proclaimed the supreme power of Flame-Feasting to the whole world had now become a decaying empty shell.

But today, this city suddenly bustled with activity again. As for the reason…

Inside the carriage, Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli propped his cheek, gazing at the street with sparse pedestrians, and suddenly laughed.

“Even though she has absolutely no possibility of survival, still no one dares to gamble, still following her rules that are like a collar put on a caged beast.”

“Emperor…”

The man leaned back lazily into the maid’s bosom: “No, it’s the Divine Species. Truly fearsome.”

“As long as that blazing sun still burns in the Empire for even a single day, no one dares to really reach out for that position.”

Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli leaned lazily against those two firm softnesses.

Although his tone was emotional, his expression remained leisurely and at ease.

As a pure merchant, he had no desire for that throne. Only out of consideration for the subsequent situation did he come here to attend an absurd meeting.

“Master, we have arrived.”

Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli gave a light grunt, walked off the carriage with the maid’s support, and arrived before the steps leading up to the palace located at the highest point of Tianxin City.

He looked up at the long steps leading to supreme authority, then looked at that silent yet blazing blood-colored sun, then revealed a humble expression of respectful submission.

Even though the throne was vacant, he still climbed the steps slowly step by step like a subject seeking an audience with the Emperor.

When Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli arrived in that magnificent palace he hadn’t visited for a long time, the other nine Grand Dukes had already arrived early.

“Oh, everyone is so early.”

Without any Grand Duke dignity, he greeted the other dukes standing at the apex of the Empire: “Is there a need to be so anxious?”

“Namo, even if the Emperor’s seat is vacant, before Her Majesty’s seat, such loose unruliness is not tolerated.”

The speaker was Grand Duke Deep Blue, one of the three Grand Dukes of the Eastern Port.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone carrying a bit of questioning and reprimand: “Her Majesty’s return is only a matter of time!”

“Don’t speak as if I am despising Her Majesty’s majesty… haven’t I always been like this?”

Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli looked innocent and spread his hands: “Of course I respect Her Majesty, but towards you guys, never.”

As the most remarkable merchant in the West Kingdom, Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli had countless thoughts of marching into the Eastern Port.

The Empire’s largest port area had made him covet for a long time, and that only route leading to the other side of the continent made Namo Lapis Lazuli so preoccupied that he couldn’t sleep at night.

The two sides had accumulated grudges for a long time.

If there was a chance to meet, they would definitely ridicule and curse each other, or even directly probe and teach each other a lesson.

But in this palace, their verbal sparring stopped after just one or two rounds.

All the Grand Dukes, whether they frequently came to this palace or had hardly been here since taking over the position of Grand Duke, stood in silence at the positions where they should stand.

As if that tyrannical monarch who looked down upon the world was not entangled by the Source Flame and missing, but was still sitting upright on the throne.

And when they all returned to their positions, they still didn’t speak.

This strange silence continued just like this, until—

Until the crisp sound of a cane gently tapping the ground rang outside the palace.

All Grand Dukes cast their gazes towards the place where sunlight shone in at the entrance of the main hall, at that blond young man with magical charm and impeccable bearing and appearance.

After not seeing him for a period of time, his temperament and body shape had changed slightly. The distinctive green immaturity of a teenager was almost gone.

The young Hydra was walking towards his prime youth, revealing his sharpness and unrivaled presence.

Walking calmly out of the light, he seemed like a great savior falling from the sky.

“Long time no see, Grand Dukes.”

Anselm stopped at the entrance of the main hall, smiling and saying to the ten Grand Dukes: “I didn’t expect I would have another chance to see all of you, truly rare.”

He just said this sentence with a gentle face, neither bowing slightly to salute like before, nor saying any simple polite remarks.

Before all the Grand Dukes had time to speak, Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli bowed and saluted, saying with utmost respect: “It is my honor to meet you.”

“Your Excellency Hydra.”

Hydra, Hydra.

No longer Anselm, no longer the young Hydra, just Hydra.

After the other Grand Dukes reacted, they also bowed to Anselm one after another, addressing this young man who wasn’t even eighteen yet as “Your Excellency”.

Although among them, a few seemed to have other thoughts, the superficial respect was eventually done properly.

Anselm did not respond, just walked all the way towards that throne deep in the center of the main hall under the gaze of the Grand Dukes.

As the distance between him and the throne became closer and closer, the gazes of the Grand Dukes also gradually began to change—curiosity, solemnity, contemplation… Some hid the speculation in their gazes, while others did not conceal their emotions.

When Anselm arrived before the last steps leading up to the throne, all Grand Dukes fixed their gazes on Anselm’s legs—just one more step up, and he would tread on the stairs that only the Emperor could tread on.

Tap.

The cane gently tapped the ground, and his footsteps also stopped right before the steps.

Hydra turned around, hands pressing on the cane, still with a gentle smile on his face, but from this young body, an aura incredibly familiar to the Grand Dukes emanated.

Pitch-black and dangerous aura.

“Grand Dukes, you should all be gathered here because of Grand Duke Attendant Flame’s declaration.”

He spoke unhurriedly, in the tone of a dominator: “Then your views on the Grand Duke Attendant Flame should be unanimously approved, right?”

No polite remarks before the opening, no superfluous clichés.

This Hydra, who seized the right to speak right from the start, smiled and said:

“The current Empire needs an administrator.”

“…”

No one dared to pick up this sentence.

Even when Anselm swept his gentle gaze over the Grand Dukes, most of them almost subconsciously looked away.

Of course, the Empire needed an administrator, but this had nothing to do with whether the Empire was good or what the Empire was like now.

Because the Grand Dukes gathered here, except for extremely rare exceptions like Lapis Lazuli, what they wanted was not to bring the Empire back on track, but… to hold authority in their hands.

However, when the opportunity came, none of these ambitious guys took even half a step towards it.

After a brief silence, Anselm shook his head and sighed:

“What is wrong, Grand Dukes, why do you… not answer my question?”

He stared at these ten Grand Dukes, the gentleness on his face gradually dissipating.

This was not a troubled question, but a cold command.

——You should answer my question now.

“Yes.”

This time, it was still Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli who answered first: “I acknowledge Grand Duke Attendant Flame’s declaration. I think the current Empire indeed needs to be controlled.”

While recovering from the unfamiliar majesty of the young man in front of him, a strange feeling rose in Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli’s heart.

What Anselm asked was not “what are your views on that declaration”, but “whether you approve of that declaration”.

Naturally, everyone approved one hundred percent in their hearts, so isn’t Your Excellency Hydra doing something superfluous by adopting such a posture of forcing us to admit it?

What does he want to tell us about this?

Does he also want to stick a hand in?

While Grand Duke Lapis Lazuli pondered this, the other Grand Dukes also admitted their thoughts one after another.

Everyone in this entire main hall was an outstanding talent considering the Empire’s situation.

If Her Majesty the Emperor knew in the sea, she would definitely be quite gratified.

Anselm watched the Grand Dukes speaking noble words like “The Empire cannot continue like this anymore” either deeply and calmly or impassionedly.

While the corners of his mouth raised slightly, he was also lamenting one thing.

Lamenting… the outstanding greatness of that founding Emperor of the Empire.

From the very beginning, the existence of the Empire was not just purely a tool for the Emperor to anchor humanity.

Fundamentally, it was indeed to protect the humans on this continent and provide them with a stable life.

Not only that, the structure of the Empire not only successfully provided a sufficiently stable anchor point for the Emperor amidst the endless torture that the Divine Species had to endure, but also perfectly incorporated all other transcendents into it.

Transcendents were put on strange secular shackles, and the Emperor eternally reigning above made it impossible for these shackles to be unlocked.

Maybe by accident, maybe calculated long ago, in this twisted Empire, individual social attributes and values actually surpassed the power held by individuals themselves due to the absolute suppression of the Emperor.

Thus, an alternative yet normal order was reached between transcendents and mortals.

Thousands of years of evolution passed.

Even though the Grand Dukes were all Tier 5 transcendents standing at the peak, all strong ones who could split mountains and crack the earth with a gesture, no one frantically chased power after the Emperor died. Instead, they chased that authority eternally reigning above them.

To some extent, the existence of the Empire had absolute importance.

Because of its existence, the impossible-to-solve problem between transcendents and mortals was temporarily solved.

——It replaced one kind of inequality with a cruel and cold inequality, another kind of inequality so exaggerated that the two could almost not be called the same species. It could even be absurdly called a kind of progress.

“Your Excellency Hydra, I have a question.”

A voice interrupted Anselm’s thinking.

The speaker happened to be Grand Duke Deep Blue of the Eastern Port.

He stared at this Hydra who was long no longer the gentle young man of the past, and slowly said:

“We all know that you have a talent in governing territory that no politician in the Empire can match.”

“Let me clarify beforehand.” The man smiled slightly, “I don’t have thoughts of regarding you as rebellious, just purely want to ask… You who care about the Empire, have you ever considered personally taking over the Empire’s affairs?”

“How could Hydra interfere in the Empire’s political affairs?”

Anselm laughed loudly: “You are joking, Grand Duke Deep Blue. The existence capable of handling Empire affairs and temporarily acting for Her Majesty is and can only be the Imperial Family with Flame-Feasting blood, isn’t it?”

The Empire was the Emperor’s tool, the possession of the Flame-Feasting clan.

This was a fact everyone acquiesced to.

Grand Duke Deep Blue continued very humbly: “So, the candidate for Regent can only be produced between Grand Duke Attendant Flame and… Your Highness Sulun, right?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Anselm rubbed his cane, his tone leisurely: “If Grand Duke Deep Blue can find a Flame-Feasting blood descendant comparable to these two, naturally they also have the qualification to run for election.”

Why did many princes and princesses run out after Diana issued the declaration, but in the end, only Diana and Sulun were paid attention to?

Because they were already the only two presentable people among all the remaining Flame-Feasting blood descendants.

One at least had the position of Grand Duke, and the other was the only princess “sticking to” the Imperial Capital after the Emperor went missing.

Although the Grand Dukes knew each other’s true thoughts well, if they used other Flame-Feasting blood descendants as pawns and puppets, then their thoughts and goals would be equivalent to being put on the bright side; and if they supported these two people who more or less had qualifications, that could barely be counted as “maintaining the balance of the Empire”.

Who exactly was this legitimacy shown to?

Did the Grand Dukes care about the views of civilians?

To manipulate the Empire, did they need to use legitimacy to maintain their rule?

Would anyone take the opportunity to attack because of this legitimacy?

No, they wouldn’t.

All of this, in the final analysis… was just out of weakness.

If, if the Emperor really returned one day, or the Grand Princess, who was also missing and whose life and death were unknown, successfully ascended to Tier 6 and broke through the Maze Realm gate to come, the Grand Dukes maintaining legitimacy and righteousness would also have a chance to protect themselves.

In this aspect, these Grand Dukes were far less decisive than Gray Tower and Ironblade of the North Lands.

And Anselm also knew very well that they feared neither the Emperor, nor Ivora, nor the Flame-Feasting family, but only that… divine power capable of burning everything and dominating everything.

In this way, conversely speaking—

“So that’s how it is… Your Excellency Hydra, can I trouble you to answer one last question of mine?”

“Speak.”

Grand Duke Deep Blue stared into Anselm’s sea-blue eyes, smiling and asking:

“I am not doubting your integrity, but will you really not interfere in the Empire’s political affairs?”

“…”

The main hall fell into a subtle silence.

This seemingly gentle and polite inquiry was actually a provocation.

——Issuing a self-righteous query again about something Hydra had already said, and with such an almost high and mighty power. If it were in the past, even if Grand Duke Deep Blue was immediately crushed into minced meat by Hydra in the palace, the Emperor would not say anything.

But now there was no Emperor, nor… the previous generation Hydra who was equally undefiable.

What the Grand Dukes revered was that divine power almost impossible to be interrupted and infinitely inherited, not the family, nor the individual.

Then… towards Hydra who also lost the divine power, would they still hold reverence?

Yes, he was indeed very strong, strong enough to briefly contend with the Emperor.

But all Grand Dukes had reviewed that Day of Cataclysmic Fire countless times.

Similarly, almost all Grand Dukes could conclude that Anselm must have used some unknown means in that great battle to briefly limit Ephithand’s power.

Otherwise, the intensity of that battle… would have been at least hundreds of times higher.

Not to mention Tianxin City floating into the sky, it would have been burned to ashes in an instant.

The young Hydra was very strong, but not unsolvably strong.

They didn’t need to revere him like they revered the Emperor.

Even, did they really need to revere him?

As long as Hydra could be removed, then the Empire would truly fall into their hands.

So, this meeting was not just about the Regent matter.

How could the Grand Dukes controlling vast territories forget that there was also a magical beast from the abyss entrenched at the top of the Empire looking down on everything?

If not for the image Anselm created before being too perfect and impeccable, making the Grand Dukes waver between winning over Anselm and eliminating Anselm, this probing would not have been delayed until now.

Then… facing ten Tier 5 transcendents, facing the Grand Dukes who must have brought other Tier 5 transcendent subordinates, facing this group of existences standing at the peak in both power and secular world, what was Anselm’s choice?

For Anselm Hydra, who once asked the previous generation Contract Heads “can we kill all Tier 5 transcendents in the Empire”, the answer couldn’t be simpler.

He smiled and raised a hand, calling another name of his friend.

“Deus Ex Machina.”

So in the next moment, into this Imperial Palace symbolizing the Flame-Feasting authority, a giant sword that slashed through the cataclysmic fire and the earth cleaved down.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep