Chapter 172: The Awakened Emperor (2)
The culprit was confirmed far more easily than he had anticipated.
As Heukyeong monitored the third princess, Luciela, he reported witnessing her issuing orders to assassins.
When asked for confirmation, Heukyeong presented a piece of parchment.
It resembled a contract, complete with an advance payment and the recipients name.
Although it did not specify who made and received the request, it was sufficient evidence to support Heukyeongs claims.
Was it a long-standing tradition in the empire to attempt assassination on those who came to help?
He had thought they were merely rude, but now it seemed they had lost all sense of decency.
Once the client was identified, Ray acted without restraint.
He stood before the historic gates of Beaseloni Castle, the capital of the Lesian Empire.
Up close, the wooden grains of the gate appeared to breathe, and the ironwork adorned with patterns looked majestic.
The gate was so magnificent that he found himself wanting to destroy it.
And soon, that desire turned into action.
Ray blew up the gates of the Lesian Empire.
Kwaaang-!
With a deafening roar, parts of the castle wall and the gate crumbled.
Only the soldiers guarding the gate, spared by Rays protection, could stare blankly at the scene.
It was obvious that knights would rush to investigate such a commotion.
As expected, several orders of imperial knights positioned themselves around the destroyed gate.
The knights hastened to the soldiers.
What happened?
Even the usually reserved knights inquired, but the soldiers struggled to respond.
The gate
The magic The gate exploded
Muttering incoherently as if in shock, they could only point to someone.
The knights gaze followed where the soldiers pointed.
There stood the Saint from the Holy Kingdom.
Ray looked at them and began to recite another spell, aiming at the castle wall.
Explosion.
With the spoken word, mana reacted, causing another explosion.
Kwaaang-! Kwang-!
Magic circles appeared on the castle wall for a moment, resisting the onslaught, but only briefly.
The once-solid castle wall crumbled, or rather, it vanished.
The powerful explosion, in harmony with the mana of the magic circle, reduced the stone blocks of the castle wall to dust, scattering them about.
Ray, amidst the destruction, addressed the knights.
Bring the third princess to me if you dont want the castle to fall.
His overwhelming mana instantly intimidated the knights.
Chills ran down their spines, and cold sweat trickled down their backs.
There were hundreds of them, and all could wield mana.
Yet, he was pressuring these hundreds of knights all by himself.
The captain of the knights inquired hesitantly.
W-Whats the matter? The princess should be dining right now.
Ray scoffed at his words.
This was no time for jokes.
After blowing up the gate and the walls, they claimed the princess was dining.
Right. The noble princess should finish her meal. Explosion.
Kwaaang-!
Contrary to his words, another part of the castle wall burst open.
Ray nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
He was a generous man, willing to wait for a meal to be finished.
Of course, his intention was to demolish the castle completely by the time the meal ended.
If she continued to eat, he was ready to commend her for it.
What if Lesian used this as a pretext to declare war on the Holy Kingdom? He was prepared for that. After all, he had single-handedly annihilated Proxia; what challenge could the Lesian Empire present?
Furthermore, he stood right in front of the imperial palace.
Even if a team of Swordmasters arrived, he was confident in his abilities.
The knight captain, unable to grasp the relentless magic barrage, spoke hurriedly.
We will bring her!
In his more than twenty years serving the empire, he had never witnessed such a scenario.
Who would dare to use magic against the imperial palace, the heart of the Lesian Empire?
Only the madman before them appeared capable.
He was intensely curious about how The Saint could wield mana, but he was even more curious about the amount of mana needed to obliterate the gates and walls.
Just how powerful a mage is he?
As the knight captain prepared to search for the third princess, the first and second princes appeared first.
They emerged, their brows furrowed.
Whats all this commotion?
How dare someone cause such madness in front of the imperial palace
The second princes words trailed off, his eyes widening at the scene before him.
Since when had the imperial palace started opening its gates so freely?
The gates, once a symbol of the empires long history, lay in ruins, and the walls, once protected by dual magic circles, had disappeared.
Not even a 6th circle mage could have achieved this.
Looking around, they spotted The Saint standing among the knights.
The first and second princes felt a sense of foreboding.
Something big has happened.
Its insane to destroy the gates He must be out of his mind.
What was the Lesian Empire, after all?
It was the mightiest nation on the continent and a pivotal trading power.
There was scarcely a country that didnt interact with Lesian.
To interfere with the empires castle was to invite grave consequences.
The first prince stepped forward, weaving through the knights to confront Ray.
Saint, what exactly is happening here?
Upon being questioned, Ray answered.
Last night, assassins paid a personal visit to my guest room. Is assassination the empires way of welcoming distinguished guests?
The first prince cocked his head slightly.
Assassins? An assassination attempt? They had no knowledge of such events.
With a steely gaze, the first prince regarded Ray.
Is that so?
If it werent, I wouldnt be inclined to demolish the empire.
He had already resolved to destroy the empire?
The first prince bowed deeply to Ray.
I sincerely apologize. This is not merely a formality. I assure you, our royal family will do everything in our power to find the perpetrator. Could you please reconsider your actions?
Hearing this, the second prince, who had been silently listening, bowed as well.
We apologize for causing such trouble. We will accept the consequences for our negligence that endangered the Saint.
Ray shook his head in response to their apologies.
He had not acted to elicit apologies from them.
Moreover, someone had already caught the culprit.
With the contract, the assassins capture, and Heukyeongs testimony, they had enough evidence to confirm the guilt.
Regardless of the current situation, attempting to assassinate a saint was a serious crime.
This was particularly true since the attempt had embarrassingly failed, revealing the client in the process.
Now, only ruin awaited them.
Ray pointed his finger in a certain direction.
Jared and Lukes gazes naturally followed.
The culprit I was seeking is the third princess, so bring her before me. Otherwise, I really might do something.
As Ray spoke, he produced a piece of parchment.
Both Jared and Luke swallowed hard at the sight of it.
The handwriting was unmistakably that of the third princess.
The contract, clearly stating the advance payment, was not a pleasant sight.
Why would the third princess attempt to assassinate a saint?
But now, it was too late to ponder the reasons; the trouble had already unfolded.
Ray had no intention of forgiving such a foolhardy act.
Had someone else come to help the empire, her assassination attempt might have been successful.
Only his formidable power had prevented the assassination, but what if it had been different?
What if he had been like the previous saints, not strong in combat?
He would have met the fate Luciela desired.
Therefore, he felt compelled to commend the third princess for her remarkable deed.
Jared and Luke, having no counterargument to Rays words, issued their commands with a sense of unease.
Bring Luciela here. Quickly.
The second prince underscored his order.
Tell them if theyre even slightly late, I wont let it pass. I dont know the circumstances, but she must bear the sin of trying to harm a guest.
Yes, understood!
We shall comply!
Several knights hurried toward the castle.
Fortunately, the knights executed their orders well, and before long, they almost dragged Luciela out.
Let go! How dare you do this to me!
The third princess struggled fiercely.
Ray watched her with a smirk, thinking she might come to her senses after a bit of suffering.
Three knights carefully held Luciela and bowed their heads to the princes.
We have brought her.
Luke gestured to the knights, who then released her.
The expressions on the two princes faces as they looked at Luciela were far from pleasant.
Did you really try to harm a saint?
You should have known your place. To repay kindness with enmity. It seems you have lost your mind.
Faced with the princes words, Luciela frowned.
Brothers, what do you mean I tried to harm a saint? I swear I know nothing about this.
Ray narrowed his eyes at her vehement denial.
Was she really going to deny it like this?
He sighed.
Take this back, its yours.
Saying so, he handed her the parchment.
Lucielas expression stiffened for a moment at the sight of it.
No one missed that brief change in her expression.
I didnt do it. Someone must have used my handwriting!
Who?
That is
Sigh Just when you think youve seen it all, who do you take me for?
Ray began to extract mana from his entire body.
His powerful mana, which even pushed back Swordmasters, surged around him.
The first and second princes activated their mana to counter him.
But it was futile.
The more they tried to counter, the more mana surged toward them.
Is this what the Emperor warned us about
He fought a Necromancer Was that true?
As they struggled just to defend themselves, Ray slowly approached them.
His cold gaze swept the surroundings.
The Lesian princess attempted to assassinate a saint from the Holy Kingdom. Did the Lesian Empire intend not to help, but to wage war?
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