Chapter 299: Chapter 208: Earth-shattering Change
By the time the worm vehicle resurfaced at the Imperial Research Institute, it was already late at night, and the institute was unusually immersed in darkness. From a distance, a red glow was reflected in half of the sky! Roars of dragons came in waves, occasionally accompanied by the thunderous rumble of magic!
Wait, a red glow?
Long Yi seemed to have sniffed a long-lost scent from the air.
"You must return to the Darkness City immediately and destroy all passages to the White Dragon Empire!" Long Yi immediately turned and commanded the Dark Priestess who had brought them back. Although the Dark Priestess did not understand what had happened, she also instinctively felt that something was wrong. After saluting Long Yi, she turned back to the worm vehicle. The giant worm vehicle shrank back down, its body surface spraying solvent, and the channel immediately collapsed.
"Let’s go!"
To the direction of the red glow with the Second Prince and the Guard Team, halfway there, a man hurriedly ran towards them!
"Second Prince!"
It was Dean Ma Deburg!
"Dean Ma Deburg, what happened!" The Second Prince anxiously asked.
"Your Highness, please follow me! Stop asking so many questions!" Ma Deburg pulled the Second Prince running in the opposite direction of the red glow. They went deep into a warehouse and into a secret tunnel. As they walked through the tunnel for half an hour, the Second Prince’s heart was weighed down. He realized that this tunnel led to their emergency shelter!
Finally, in a narrow room, Long Yi saw some people.
Among them were Ais, Ai Lin’s second brother, and the ghost-fearing Lei Zhen.
Ais and Lei Zhen were all seriously injured, and their Mount Dragons lay resting on the side, looking utterly exhausted.
"Your Highness!" A wounded girl approached the Second Prince.
"Feng Ling, you also got injured? What on earth happened!" The Second Prince asked anxiously.
The girl looked at the prince, hesitating to speak.
Dean Ma Deburg sighed, and then said.
"The day after you left, your father, Emperor Kandela of the White Dragon Empire, suddenly contracted a severe illness. Despite our efforts, he passed away!"
"What?!" Hearing this, the Second Prince felt darkness clouding his vision and nearly fell. Feng Ling quickly caught him, but the movement aggravated her injury. As both of them were about to fall, Long Yi swiftly caught and steadied them.
"Calm down first, at least let him finish talking," Long Yi said, his voice steady.
The Second Prince’s heart raced, he couldn’t calm down!
"Little Zi!" Long Yi called, and Little Zi appeared immediately. After calming the Second Prince’s spirit with a spell, he managed to calm down somewhat physically, though his body still trembled tremendously.
"Dean Ma, continue," Long Yi ordered, firmly grasping the Second Prince’s arm and looking as Ma Deburg continued his tale.
He said, "After the Emperor’s passing, the Third Prince immediately began an investigation. On the very same day, he found a bottle of slow-acting poison and incriminating correspondence with the Black Dragon Empire in your quarters, Second Prince. Immediately afterwards, the Third Prince declared himself Emperor and labeled you as a suspect who fled out of fear of being caught. An Empire-wide manhunt for you was ordered. But even fools understood that you, already designated by the Emperor as his successor, would not commit such a foolhardy act! So those loyal soldiers and Dragon Knights naturally refused to accept the blatant slander and defended against the accusations. As a result, a Dragon Knight was executed on the spot, and the remaining people, though they escaped, were pursued and attacked ... As of now, air battles between Dragon Knights are still going on over Imperial City, and there are also some troops fighting on the ground ... the Imperial City, is in chaos ... "
Ma Deburg made it sound so simple, but in the royal family, nothing was ever simple!
"Third brother! That third brother of mine!!!!!!"
The Second Prince’s eyes turned bloodshot, his breath becoming rapid again!
*Slap!*
A slap landed on the Second Prince’s face, spinning him halfway. He stared in shock at Long Yi.
"Calm down, or I’ll knock you out."
Long Yi said.
"That was my father.... my most respected father!" The Second Prince raged at Long Yi.
"I know, and then what?" Long Yi raised his fist.
"I knew the third brother... that bastard had been plotting something! I thought he wanted to deal with me... I thought he wanted to deal with you... But I never expected him to target my father!"
"Ah—" Long Yi sighed, then spoke softly, "I understand how you feel, but I can’t comprehend your pain, nor do I have the time to. So now, lift your head up, and bite down hard."
The Second Prince was stunned, but instinctively closed his mouth.
Bang!
Just a punch, and the Crown Prince was already knocked unconscious.
"Alright, who can tell me about the current situation in the Imperial City? What’s the status of the three legions and the five Dragon Knight Orders? What about the Dragon Knight Academy?"
Long Yi helped the Prince lay down on a bed in the corner, then turned to ask everyone present.
Lei Zhen stood up: "Allow me, the current situation in the Imperial City is tolerable, the Imperial City Defense Army hasn’t shown any clear leanings. The three major legions and the five Dragon Knight Orders haven’t made explicit statements, even though the third prince has repeatedly sent people to the homes of military leaders. According to my father, ’no idiot is imbecilic enough to declare their loyalties at this point.’ However, the Dragon Knight Camp stationed outside of the city has had visible disturbances, and there are now two distinct factions. A major battle had just ended before I arrived, causing damage to both sides."
Ais also stood up, "I just came from the Academy. The situation there is pretty chaotic, clearly divided into factions in support of the third prince and those in support of the second prince. Furthermore, there seem to be more people supporting the third prince. There is a rumor circulating in the academy that the second prince has defected, so more and more people are standing by the third Prince. Even among the seventh-year students held back, there are many involved. I rushed over here after fighting my way through to consult with grandfather. However, the Imperial City is riddled with the third prince’s spies, so I couldn’t get close to the Iron Blood General’s Mansion. I was only able to escape safely after two fights."
Seeing two leaders emerge, the crowd began to share their observations and information, most of which was not encouraging.
Long Yi nods, the third prince seemed to be totally prepared.
"It appears that the situation in the Imperial City is not too concerning," Long Yi comments.
"How can you say that? The third prince has seized the Imperial City, isn’t that a significant issue?" Lei Zhen finds Long Yi’s comment absurd.
"The rationale is quite simple: one needs military power to hold political power. Without the support of the army, his reign as Emperor would not be stable."
A frail voice spoke up, the second prince had regained consciousness.
"Seems like my punch was not strong enough," Long Yi said, clenching his fist and walking towards the Prince again.
"Wait, wait, wait! I’ve recovered. Don’t hit me! Hear me out!" the second Prince retreated into the bed, fearfully speculating whether Long Yi was going to punch him again. The previous punch had made his teeth wobble, another one would certainly knock some out.
"Speak."
Long Yi did not lower his fist.
"Now, it’s only a rumor whether his Majesty, my father, is alive or dead. Before I see it for myself, I should not believe any of it. That bastard third brother occupied the Imperial Palace and was issuing orders. If I simply die of frustration here, wouldn’t that just be playing into his hands? Therefore, I’ve decided to lift my spirits, retake the Imperial Palace, and seek the truth. What do you think?"
The Crown Prince spewed this out without taking a breath. Long Yi immediately loosed his fist.
"Good, continue."
Long Yi took a step back, retreating from the frontlines.
The Crown Prince gratefully glanced at Long Yi before continuing: "Currently, the third prince has seized the Imperial Palace and started issuing orders. However, he is extremely worried about my presence. If I were him, I would lay a trap in the Imperial City, ready to kill me the moment I show up, without giving me any chance to explain myself. In such a case, with our eldest brother swearing off the throne, and my death, he would be the next legitimate successor to the throne. The army would have no choice but to support him, for a stable empire is of utmost importance. But, he overlooked one place."
"The Dragon Knight Academy."
"The Dragon Knight Academy is where Dragon Knights are trained. It represents the future of the Empire. It is home to the strictest laws of the Empire. My father added as many as thirty laws related to the Dragon Knight Academy to the imperial code! And preserving the independence of the Dragon Knight Academy is the supreme droit. If he wants to legitimately become emperor, these laws must never be violated. Otherwise, according to the laws of the empire, he would be stripped of his succession rights."
"Hence, we should not stay in the Imperial City any longer. We should immediately return to the Dragon Knight Academy."
"Moreover, appearing at the Dragon Knight Academy, taking responsibility, and telling my schoolmates I am innocent, will win more people to my side. Inside the academy, students are prohibited from injuring each other in any sort of dispute. This is the academy’s highest rule, protected by the Dragon God, and it can limit losses to the future of the Empire as much as possible."
"Finally, the most important point."
"I hope to use them to pass a message to their families. That I, Kirei-Kandela, am the true Emperor! I am the future of the Empire!"
The room fell silent. Everyone was impressed by Crown Prince Kirei’s wisdom.
Facing such an unexpected crisis, most people would be flustered and helpless. But this Crown Prince had devised so many strategies in such a short period! His reputation as a genius wasn’t just hearsay!
Ais quietly spoke to Lei Zhen, "Now I understand why His Majesty would trustingly assign the Prince to Long Yi. Without Long Yi, we might still be wallowing in frustration."
"Bullshit. If it were up to me, I could have also knocked some sense into that idiot Kirei with one punch," Lei Zhen retorts, "And what do you mean by ’the Emperor assigned the Prince to Long Yi?’ Is he marrying off his daughter or something?"
"So what’s your plan if the Prince didn’t wake up?" Ais questioned.
"Of course I would..." Lei Zhen was lost for words. Indeed, if he had any solution during the situation earlier, he would’ve spoken up long ago. Why would he still need the Crown Prince?
"That’s why I say, the Emperor entrusting Prince to Long Yi. Even though the statement was said by the Crown Prince, Long YI influence was clear. Didn’t you notice it? Actually, the Prince was being guided by Long Yi the whole time!"
Upon hearing this, Lei Zhen was stunned. But then he realized that it was indeed the case!
This Long Yi is indeed someone to watch out for! (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to recommend and vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is our greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
