Chapter 90—The Imperial Capital.
Chapter 90—The Imperial Capital.
The golden clouds hanging over the central continent of Floor 9 parted under the heavy, rhythmic hum of divine power.
Beyond the shattered perimeter outposts of the Imperial Vanguard lay the heart of the Celestial Empire of Dawn—Jade-Dragon City.
The metropolis was colossal, housing tens of millions of ascendants, cultivators, and high-tier player guilds under towering pagodas made of white imperial jade, golden roofs, and suspended stone roadways that spanned vast cloud abysses.
At the absolute center of the city stood the Sun Throne Palace, a five-hundred-meter mountain of polished obsidian and gold, protected by nine concentric layers of divine barrier runes.
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[ZONE ENTERED: Imperial Capital—Jade-Dragon City]
FACTION STATUS: Hostile / Invader Level 5
ACTIVE BARRIERS: 9x Grand Sun-Dragon Arrays (Level 175 Tier-EX Defense)
ALERT LEVEL: MAXIMUM
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Kaelen walked through the main avenue of the outer district, his long dark coat dragging lightly across the pristine marble pavers. Lyra walked gracefully at his right side, her slender hand entwined tightly with his, while Ignis, Tsubaki, and Ren followed in a protective delta formation behind them.
Despite the city being placed under total military lockdown, thousands of ascendant citizens and high-level player mercenaries lined the balconies and suspended bridges above, watching the five figures with a mixture of terror and awe.
"Is that him?" a Level 162 Guild Leader whispered from a high balcony, his voice trembling as he gripped his staff. "The Sovereign who erased Grand Marshal Lu Chen’s entire vanguard with a single blade stroke?" "Look at his eyes..." another veteran player stammered, pulling back into the shadows.
"That triple-ringed golden light... He carries the completed Key of the Holy Grail![PASSIVE EFFECT ACTIVE: Sovereign’s Majesty]
EFFECT: Enemies within 500 meters suffer a 25% reduction in combat focus & casting accuracy!
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"The city’s defense network is running on a localized divine core," Ren reported calmly, her fingers dancing across floating holographic screens projected from her gauntlet. "The nine arrays surrounding the central palace are drawing power directly from the floor’s main leyline. A brute force physical assault would take ordinary armies several weeks to breach.""Good thing we don’t do ordinary," Ignis grinned, rotating his broad shoulders while the black-and-gold dragon flames flickered around his heavy claymore. "Just say the word, my lord, and I’ll turn their precious jade gates into ash.""No need to waste energy on gates, Ignis," Kaelen purred softly, his low velvet voice breaking through the heavy silence of the street. "A gate only exists to keep out those who respect the wall."Kaelen stopped fifty paces away from the first Grand Sun-Dragon Barrier—a towering curtain of swirling golden fire that rose thousands of feet into the sky.
Standing behind the firewall were thirty thousand heavily armored Imperial Janissaries, led by the Empire’s Supreme Chancellor, Prime Minister Feng Xian (Level 178 Tier-OVERLORD).
Feng Xian wore intricate silk robes woven with glowing gold thread and held a glowing jade feather fan that radiated massive spatial energy. His eyes narrow as he stares through the fire curtain at Kaelen.
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[HOSTILE ENTITY SPOTTED!]
TARGET: Prime Minister Feng Xian—Supreme Chancellor of the Sun Throne (Level 178 Tier-OVERLORD)
HP: 95,000,000 / 95,000,000
𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
FORCE: 30,000 Imperial Janissaries (Level 168 Elite)
BARRIER INTEGRITY: 100% (Grand Sun-Dragon Array)
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"Sovereign Kaelen!" Feng Xian’s voice echoed across the square, carrying a sharp, cultured authority backed by centuries of absolute imperial rule.
"You stand before the Nine Gates of the Sun Throne! You may have destroyed our outer fleet, but this barrier was forged by Emperor Zhao Tian himself using the ancient starlight of Floor 9! No physical blade or lower-tier spatial magic can pierce its alignment!"
Feng Xian raised his jade fan, causing the golden fire curtain to flare with blinding intensity as thousands of Janissaries raised their halberds.
"Hand over the Key of the Holy Grail, kneel before the Empire, and Emperor Zhao Tian may grant you a position as an Imperial Duke!" Feng Xian declared coldly. "Refuse, and your soul will burn inside this array for ten thousand years!"
Lyra looked at Kaelen, a soft, confident smile touching her lips. "He speaks with great confidence for someone standing in front of you."
"Confidence is the armor of those who have never faced true erasure," Kaelen replied smoothly, gently releasing her hand as he took three calm steps forward.
He reached down to his waist, his dark-gloved fingers curling loosely around the hilt of the Void Blade.
The completed Key of the Holy Grail inside Kaelen’s chest pulsed in total synchronization with his core.
A blinding wave of golden-and-black spatial aura erupted from his body, turning the sky above Jade-Dragon City into a swirling vortex of pitch-black void fire!
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[SOVEREIGN DOMAIN UNLEASHED!]
FIELD EFFECT: [Void Eclipse—Absolute Domain]
EFFECT: All enemy defensive arrays & barriers negated within 1,000 meters!
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SKRRRRRRRAASH!
Before Feng Xian could even wave his jade fan, the towering nine-layer Grand Sun-Dragon Barrier—the pride of Floor 9’s defense—began to crack like brittle glass! The golden fire turned black, collapsing into Kaelen’s void vortex!
"W-What?!" Feng Xian gasped, his face draining of all color as his jade fan shattered into dust under the sudden weight of Kaelen’s domain. "The Emperor’s Array... collapsed?!"
"You built your walls out of starlight," Kaelen purred softly, his dark violet eyes burning with absolute, god-like condescension as he drew the Void Blade by four inches.
"Sovereign Secret Art: Void Spatial Erasure!"
SHING!
Kaelen didn’t perform a complex martial sequence. He simply delivered a single, vertical downswipe into the open air.
A five-hundred-meter fissure of pitch-black spatial deletion tore across the marble square!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
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[CRITICAL HIT!]
TARGET: Prime Minister Feng Xian & Imperial Janissaries
DAMAGE DEALT: 62,000,000 (Pure Spatial Eradication)
DEFENSE NEGATED: 100%!
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[FORCE ELIMINATED!]
CASUALTIES: Prime Minister Feng Xian & 30,000 Janissaries (Eradicated!)
Path to sun throne hall: unrestricted!
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The five-hundred-meter spatial fissure consumed Prime Minister Feng Xian and thirty thousand elite Janissaries in a fraction of a second! Their armor, weapons, and divine wards vanished into raw void particles without leaving a single drop of blood behind.
The colossal black-and-gold doors of the Sun Throne Palace behind them blew off their hinges, crashing onto the inner courtyard with a deafening thunderclap!
Silence descended upon Jade-Dragon City. Tens of thousands of watching players and ascendants stood frozen in horror, unable to comprehend the sheer scale of power they had just witnessed.
In less than five minutes, the entire defense system and political leadership of Floor 9 below the Emperor had been completely wiped from existence!
Kaelen smoothly snapped the Void Blade back into its scabbard.
CLICK.
The black spatial fissure in the pavement slowly healed, leaving behind a smooth, polished line of obsidian stone stretching straight toward the palace throne room.
"Tsubaki, secure the palace perimeter," Kaelen commanded, his calm velvet voice echoing through the silent courtyards. "Ignis, Ren, hold the outer gates. No one enters or leaves without my permission."
"Understood, Sovereign." the three shouted in absolute unison, scattering to their positions like shadow phantoms.
Kaelen turned to Lyra, offering his hand once more. "Shall we go meet the Emperor, my light?"
Lyra placed her hand smoothly in his, her bright blue eyes glowing with quiet, unshakeable devotion. "Lead the way, Kaelen."
Together, they walked down the obsidian line, stepping into the grand hall of the Sun Throne Palace, where Emperor Zhao Tian waited upon his throne of ancient starlight.