Volume 3, Chapter 79 – Rage

‘Huh? This feeling? An earthquake?’

As the eerie vibration traveled through, Xue Tian’ao’s brow furrowed involuntarily as an ominous premonition surfaced within his heart.

‘That direction is…?’

‘Huh?? This, this feeling?!’

…

However, before Xue Tian’ao could figure out exactly what was happening in the south, the scene before him and a strange aura suddenly pulled his attention back. The Chosen Son’s pupils shrank violently, and he abruptly revealed an expression of disbelief.

‘Wha… what?! This… what happened?!’

‘What the f*ck!’

Looking at the scene before him, Xue Tian’ao felt as if Pik*chu had grabbed his head and unleashed a billion volts, causing him to crash mentally and stand frozen in place.

In truth, it wasn’t just Xue Tian’ao. On the VIP seats, the representatives of various powers including those from the Ashurmos Church, as well as the millions of citizens behind them watching the Coronation Ceremony, all showed expressions of shock at this moment. Even the members of the Blackrose Family, in order to blend in, put on expressions of “bewilderment” with their eyes wide and mouths slightly agape.

“Wow~” (Monotone).

Under everyone’s dumbfounded gaze, the founding emperor Avalind, who was granting the crown to Xue Tian’ao, suddenly shuddered! An indescribable expression of pain appeared on the phantom’s face as the white and blue energy composing the phantom began to gradually dissipate.

The phantom became increasingly ethereal.

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With the sudden abnormality, the High Priestess maintaining the magic circle was abruptly struck by a backlash of power, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from her mouth unexpectedly as her white-glowing staff fell from the sacrificial altar. The six high priests assisting her also instantly bled from their seven orifices under the influence of the backlash, falling to the ground and letting out groans of agony before their souls soon returned to heaven due to their lack of strength.

“Crack…”

Losing the priests’ power, the pure white magic circle suspended high in the air shattered after several cracks appeared, turning into magical energy particles that vanished into the sky. The phantom of the founding emperor inevitably broke into pieces.

Seeing the sudden scene before him, Xue Tian’ao felt a sense of dread and anxiously reached out a “helping hand” toward the phantom. He had finally waited for this day; why did things fall apart at such a critical moment?!

But what could he do now? Realizing his helplessness, Xue Tian’ao let out a piercing cry of grief from the depths of his heart.

“No, no, no!!”

Thus, accompanied by Xue Tian’ao’s wails, the phantom of the founding emperor of the Snownight Empire stumbled and crashed to the ground.

“Boom~”

With a crisp, loud sound, the giant phantom disintegrated into blue and white specks of light. The crown Xue Tian’ao had dreamed of day and night fell from the sky under his sorrowful gaze and slammed heavily onto the ground. Then, as a cold wind blew, the crown shaped from soul power could not escape the fate of shattering, turning into golden dust and vanishing with the wind under Xue Tian’ao’s grieving eyes.

“My… my, my crown…”

‘My… my epic quest…’

‘How… how could this happen…’

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The goal he had worked toward for years and the success that was within reach were gone just like that? The cooked duck had flown away?! At the thought of this, Xue Tian’ao’s face flushed red, and his heart was filled with the urge to cough up blood.

Moreover, judging from the collapse of the founding emperor’s phantom and the High Priestess’s condition, it seemed the coronation ceremony could not be restarted anytime soon. Furthermore, if the source of the vibration earlier was the Imperial Tomb, then…

‘Did my mission fail?’

Realizing this, Xue Tian’ao’s mind instantly fell into a daze as his body went limp, and he knelt on the sacrificial altar in front of everyone.

On the other side, after seeing this unbelievable scene, the citizens of the Snownight Empire began to exchange looks, seeing various complex emotions such as shock, bewilderment, and suspicion in each other’s eyes. Within the Snownight Empire, most people did not believe in the Ashurmos Church; they worshipped ancestral spirits. In their eyes, ancestral spirits were great powers that protected their safety and ensured the empire’s longevity. Therefore, the High Priestess responsible for communicating with the ancestral spirits held an extremely high status in the empire.

Among these spirits, the royal ancestor, the founding emperor Avalind, was a presence beyond compare. Yet now, this founding emperor had mysteriously disintegrated into blue light while performing the new emperor’s coronation ceremony, and the High Priestess was heavily injured. The citizens could not sense the movement at the Imperial Tomb, nor could they understand why the phantom collapsed. In the eyes of the public, this was undoubtedly an ominous omen.

And the culprit behind all this…

Thinking of this, the eyes of the Sky Dome citizens, many officials, and even the knights focused on the kneeling blond man.

“The founding emperor’s phantom exploded. Could it… could it be because of His Majesty?”

“It’s possible. The ancestral spirit might be angry and unwilling to let Xue Tian’ao inherit the empire. Look, even the crown formed from ancestral power fell to the ground and shattered…”

“And the High Priestess spat out blood…”

“Could it be that because Xue Tian’ao insisted on holding the coronation ceremony early, it displeased the ancestral spirit?”

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“It’s… it’s possible…”

The crowd began to murmur and whisper to each other. Noticing the situation behind her, Miss Mengxi looked playfully at the blond man on the sacrificial altar. Seeing Xue Tian’ao so despondent, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and let out a silver bell-like laugh of schadenfreude. Seeing this disgusting thing suffer naturally brought her immense joy.

‘But why did the phantom suddenly shatter?’

At this thought, Mengxi’s brow rose slightly as she cast a thoughtful glance at the Blackrose Family nearby. When the image of the founding emperor collapsed, almost everyone, including herself, had shown a look of bewilderment. While most of the Blackrose Family members appeared shocked, some knights couldn’t help but let out suppressed snickers. Catching this, Mengxi quickly reached a conclusion.

‘These guys definitely know something.’

Or rather, they were the ones who did it.

‘Wait, how is… one missing?’

As Mengxi observed the Blackrose Family, a flash of doubt crossed the silver-haired girl’s eyes. At this moment, she discovered that the black-robed person who had previously caught her attention while sitting in the main seat had vanished without a trace.

‘Gone…?’

Mengxi narrowed her eyes meaningfully.

…

On the other side, as the murmurs of the crowd reached his ears, Xue Tian’ao finally accepted the reality that his epic quest had completely failed and temporarily pulled his consciousness back from the quagmire of shock. Feeling the strange gazes of the public, he clenched his fists with immense frustration.

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‘Bastard! Damn it! F*ck!!’

Xue Tian’ao couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Not only had the mission failed, losing him the chance to quickly become an eighth tier being, but the public support he had painstakingly cultivated was wavering because of this scene. Wait? Speaking of which, did he accidentally kneel on the ground?

Noticing his current loss of composure, Xue Tian’ao’s eyes shrank, and a powerful sense of humiliation rushed into his heart.

‘Damn it!’

Full of rage, Xue Tian’ao slowly stood up and looked toward the distant Imperial Tomb with venomous eyes. When he first felt the vibration, he had associated it with the Imperial Tomb. And now that the founding emperor’s phantom had exploded right in front of him, Xue Tian’ao was certain of his suspicions.

‘That useless Nuoka! A seventh tier powerhouse combined with the properties of the Mist Rain Barrier, yet he couldn’t even hold the place? Not even a sound! Someone attacked the Imperial Tomb so silently?!’

If he had known, he should have let Lockephy guard it!

‘Who the hell is it?! Who dares to attack the Imperial Tomb at a time like this?!’

Rage continuously welled up in his heart as his azure eyes filled with coldness, and a pale gold magic power brimming with killing intent began to gather around him. However, just as Xue Tian’ao planned to head to the Imperial Tomb himself to investigate, a Royal Knight rushed into Dragondance Plaza in a wretched state and charged up to the altar under Xue Tian’ao’s dissatisfied gaze.

Facing the panting soldier, Xue Tian’ao scolded displeasuredly, “What are you doing? Countless guests are watching! Where are your manners…”

But before he could finish, the anxious knight hurriedly looked up, his face filled with unease as he interrupted Xue Tian’ao. “Your Majesty! It’s… it’s not good! Out… out… outside the city! Abyssal Demons have appeared!! A whole swarm of Abyssal Demons!!”

“You… what did you say?!”