Volume 6, Chapter 37 – Above the Dome, Luxurious Indulgence

Clavino’s night sky was shrouded in a faint layer of gunpowder smoke.

The ruins in the direction of the Presidential Residence still flickered with weak firelight, alarm sounds from the distant city districts intermittent, like the city’s yet-unsteady breathing.

But all this clamor was isolated outside the top floor of “Sky’s Summit,” this building—the tallest structure in Clavino, also housing the most luxurious private suites in the entire capital, and serving as the temporary residence of the Shenluo Empire’s “new heir,” Ryan Vaden.

Inside,

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling’s center, its light refracting across a table laden with delicacies.

The air filled with a mixed scent of alcohol, perfume, and food, languid music drifting from the room’s corner.

Three beauties dressed in revealing dance skirts swayed their hips to the gentle melody, skirts flying to reveal fair skin and exquisite jewelry. Their movements were seductive, their gazes alluring, occasionally casting flirtatious glances toward the man at the room’s center, trying to attract his attention.

Surrounded like stars around the moon in the middle was none other than Ryan Vaden.

The very person introduced earlier by Xi Xuan, claiming to be the “Shenluo Empire’s heir.”

He reclined on a sofa draped with snow-white fox fur, his ash-gray short hair somewhat disheveled against his forehead, his usually composed eyes now full of drunkenness, gleaming with turbid light. He wore a loose silk robe with its collar wide open, revealing his not-particularly-muscular chest. His left hand wrapped around a blonde beauty’s slender waist, his right hand holding a glass of amber-colored liquor, occasionally taking a sip before lowering his head to nuzzle the beauty’s neck, eliciting charming laughter from her.

“Lord Ryan, have another drink~” the blonde beauty said coquettishly, picking up the wine bottle from the table to refill Ryan’s glass.

“Good, good~” Ryan responded vaguely, allowing the beauty to pour him wine while his gaze wandered over the other two dancing beauties, the corners of his mouth curling into a frivolous smile.

“You dance so well. I’ll definitely give you extra tips later, hahaha!”

“Really? Lord Ryan, you’re so kind~”

The dancing beauties immediately stopped moving and crowded around him, competing to snuggle close to Ryan. The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly ambiguous.

It even began emanating a lascivious air.

Ryan laughed triumphantly, patting his chest, alcohol-laden breath accompanying his words:

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“Naturally! Who do you think I am? I’m the new emperor selected by the Shenluo Empire’s AI system! A thousand years ago, the Shenluo Empire ruled half of Yao Xing—how majestic was that? Now, all those weapons buried underground are mine!”

He suddenly sat up straight, a trace of fanaticism flashing in his eyes, seemingly forgetting his drunken dizziness. He extended a finger, gesturing in the air, his voice suddenly rising:

“You know what? The Shenluo Empire’s underground heavy weapons arsenal is full of super weapons capable of destroying heaven and earth! And the imperial armaments that belonged exclusively to the emperor back then were forged from stellar ore and The Lord’s relics—their power is limitless!”

A beauty in a purple dance skirt asked curiously:

“Lord Ryan, are those weapons really that powerful? Can they defeat those evil gods?”

“Defeat them?” Ryan scoffed, as if hearing something ridiculous. He tightened his embrace of the beauty in his arms, his tone incredibly arrogant.

“More than defeat them? With just one command from me, full power!! I could easily annihilate them!”

“Then… why didn’t Shenluo do that a thousand years ago?”

“That’s because the emperor a thousand years ago was foolish, choosing to directly confront Gaia Lobir head-on. He got beaten like a little brother and didn’t have time to use those weapons! He brought about his own empire’s destruction!!”

Ryan grew more excited as he spoke, grabbing a crystal glass from the table and smashing it on the floor. With a “bang,” the crystal shattered into countless pieces, wine splashing everywhere.

The beauties were startled by this sudden action, their smiles freezing, looking at him somewhat at a loss.

Ryan paid no attention, continuing to boast:

“But I’m not that incompetent old emperor from a thousand years ago! I won’t repeat his mistakes. I’ll easily eliminate those three monsters and all the Corrupted Beasts!”

As he spoke, he reached out to wantonly caress the skin and snowy softness of the beauties beside him, his eyes full of greed and arrogance.

Looking completely drunk.

“Lord Ryan, you’re amazing~”

The beauties recovered and immediately began flattering him again, trying to please Ryan.

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They knew that although this man before them seemed somewhat unreliable now, he still bore the title of the Shenluo Empire’s new emperor. Plus, with the Covenant government’s requirements, they had to serve him well.

“Come, drink more~”

“Good, good, good, I can drink as much as you want! I can hold a thousand cups without getting drunk!”

Ryan enjoyed the beauties’ adulation, the smile on his face growing increasingly smug.

He picked up a piece of roasted meat from the table and carelessly bit into it. Meat juice dripped down the corner of his mouth onto his expensive robe, but he paid no attention, only continuing to laugh unrestrained:

“Hahahaha! Once I defeat the Trinity of Malevolence and unify Yao Xing, I’ll establish a new empire even more glorious than the Shenluo of a thousand years ago! Then I’ll…”

However,

Before Ryan could finish speaking, with a loud “crack,” the suite’s door was kicked open from outside.

The sound was like a thunderclap, instantly shattering the room’s ambiguous clamor.

The beauties instinctively stopped talking and all looked toward the doorway, their faces showing terrified expressions. Ryan also frowned, somewhat displeased as he lifted his head, wanting to see who was bold enough to disturb his pleasure.

At this moment,

A man stood at the doorway. His build was extremely robust, a full head taller than Ryan, his broad shoulders nearly bursting through his black tight-fitting clothes, muscle lines vaguely visible beneath the fabric, full of explosive power. He had blue-white long hair casually draped over his shoulders with a few strands of black mixed in, his chin covered with thick white beard hiding most of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle’s—cold and carrying intense oppressive force.

As soon as the man entered the room, an invisible aura spread out. The room’s temperature seemed to drop several degrees instantly. The beauties felt this oppression, trembling all over, instinctively retreating, no longer daring to approach Ryan.

Ryan’s drunkenness also sobered considerably. He looked at the man before him, his expression instantly clearing.

Fear quietly overflowed from within.

In an instant,

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Ryan’s previous arrogant demeanor vanished into smoke.

“Ba-Bazor?!! Wha-what are you doing here?”

The man named Bazor didn’t acknowledge Ryan’s exclamation. His gaze swept over the room’s chaotic scene—shattered crystal glasses, scattered food, scantily-clad beauties. His brow furrowed even tighter, the coldness in his eyes growing heavier. He walked step by step toward Ryan, each step like treading on everyone’s hearts, making the room’s atmosphere even more oppressive.

“Wha-what’s wrong?”

Ryan was frightened by the man’s momentum and shrank backward, trying to have the beauties beside him protect him, but those beauties had already fled to the corners in terror—how would they dare approach?

But Bazor didn’t speak directly. Instead, he swept his sharp gaze over the seven or eight dancers present,

His voice heavy:

“Get out!!!”

“Yes, yes, yes!!”

As if pardoned, the dancers hastily nodded, grabbed their clothing, and fled toward the door in disarray, afraid that waiting even one second longer would bring disaster.

Soon, only Ryan and the robust man remained in the room, along with the table full of chaos.

With no one else in the way, Bazor walked before Ryan, looking down at him from above, his voice low and hoarse, like two stones grinding:

“Ryan Vaden, don’t forget your identity!”

Directly reaching out to grab Ryan’s collar, Bazor said sternly:

“Your current identity is the ‘Shenluo Heir.’ An heir should act like an heir! If word of this behavior gets out, who will believe you?!”

“Th-there’s no one else here…”

“Beware—walls have ears, you fool. Really, I always have to clean up after you.”

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As the words left his mouth, Bazor glanced coldly behind him.

And the next instant,

Several women’s shrill screams came from outside the door crack, directly startling Ryan into trembling all over.

Clearly,

The dancers who had just accompanied him had met with misfortune.

Before Ryan could react, Bazor’s body emanated an incredibly terrifying curse power pressure, directly crushing Ryan until he couldn’t breathe, his face written with utter terror.

“Play your role well, and you can still enjoy wealth and glory. Otherwise, I don’t mind replacing you, this waste, for Lord Polarvitan.”

After giving Ryan this warning, Bazor left the room with clear displeasure, leaving Ryan alone inside.

After Bazor departed, the previously anxious Ryan tremblingly walked out of the room and looked toward the blood-reeking corridor.

Seeing the dancers’ corpses torn apart by Corrupted Beasts and being devoured, Ryan swallowed hard and sat down on the ground in terror.

“Those… monsters.”

The man muttered uneasily.

However,

After muttering that sentence, the corners of Ryan’s mouth inexplicably curled up slightly, and he extended his tongue to lick his lips.

A phrase of unclear meaning drifted eerily from his mouth.

—”Thank you… for the meal.”—