Vol 3. Chapter 89: Assault
The Abyss Demon invasion, the army’s collapse, and the string of disgraceful actions on his part had nearly shattered Xue Tianao’s glorious image in the eyes of the people.
Originally, in order to decisively defeat the invading Demon King-class Abyss Demon and once again let the people witness his mighty figure, Xue Tianao had deliberately come to the ‘Divine Armament Hall.’ He intended to take off his heavy yet utterly useless imperial robes and change into his exclusive ‘Divine Might Armor,’ then achieve a flawless victory with the imposing presence of a god descending into the mortal world and win back the people’s support.
The Divine Might Armor was a supreme treasure he had exchanged for from the System Shop at the cost of countless points. It possessed extraordinarily powerful defensive capabilities, and dozens of enhancement spells had been added to its interior. Once he put on this armor, Xue Tianao’s combat power would undoubtedly skyrocket.
Back when he had ‘defeated’ Flame Prison, this armor could be said to have contributed enormously.
And by now, the ‘Divine Might Armor’ should have finished recharging...
However, just as Xue Tianao hurried to the top floor of the ‘Divine Armament Hall,’ preparing to put on the armor, an uninvited guest had unexpectedly appeared inside the top-floor hall. Meanwhile, all of his loyal subordinates had died miserable deaths, their corpses strewn haphazardly across the floor...
Xue Tianao had already been in an irritable and volatile state due to a whole series of events—the failure of his conquests, the loss of his balls, the collapse of his ancestral spirit, the Abyss Demon invasion, and more. At this moment, the rage in his heart was completely ignited. The tremendous magic power within his body erupted along with his fury, transforming into pale-golden wind pressure that ferociously crashed toward the mysterious black-robed man ahead.
However,
This pressure, belonging to a Peak Seventh-Tier powerhouse and powerful enough to make countless people submit, had absolutely no effect on the mysterious man before him. From beginning to end, the other party stood calmly in place without moving an inch. This sight made Xue Tianao pause slightly, a solemn look emerging in his blue eyes.
This man...
Was very strong...
Xue Tianao immediately reached that conclusion. Someone capable of resisting his magical pressure had to be at least Peak Seventh-Tier, perhaps even an Eighth-Tier existence...
Furthermore,
Strictly speaking, Xue Tianao’s eruption of magic power had not been entirely ineffective.
The aura still stirred up waves of powerful wind pressure. Under its force, the black hood concealing the mysterious man’s appearance was suddenly blown back, revealing the face he had kept hidden.
And when he saw the man’s face,
Xue Tianao immediately froze, his blue eyes filled with unmistakable disbelief.
“You... You’re?”
At this moment,
Standing before Xue Tianao was a black-haired man wearing an elegant smile, handsome enough to make one’s breath catch.
Beautiful shoulder-length black hair, a smooth and fair face whose sharply defined features exuded an aloof coldness, slender brows raised slightly with a rebellious air, and deep black eyes resembling black agate, shimmering with an enchanting luster and an indescribably strange allure. His thick eyebrows, high nose, and exquisitely shaped lips all displayed the man’s nobility and elegance.
And within that elegance was a wickedly seductive sensuality.
Xue Tianao had to admit that when it came purely to handsomeness, this man was hardly inferior to himself. If Xue Tianao absolutely had to name his own advantage, it would only be that he looked slightly more masculine. For some reason, this man always gave him a strangely feminine impression...
More importantly,
This face...
He remembered it.
Short black hair, black eyes, coupled with the golden rose emblem on his collar—the man’s identity was practically obvious...
“You’re... the head of the Black Rose Family?”
Upon realizing this, Xue Tianao’s pupils abruptly contracted, an intense solemnity appearing in his blue eyes.
Aside from the Miss Blood Butterfly who constantly occupied his thoughts, Xue Tianao had barely dealt with anyone from the Black Rose Family. However, he had heard quite a few rumors concerning this renowned Duke of the Black Rose Family. Some of those rumors were true and others false, and most were difficult to verify.
But there was one thing everyone on the continent acknowledged.
This Duke of the Black Rose Family was extremely powerful, far beyond an ordinary Eighth-Tier Magic God...
Such a terrifyingly powerful existence had suddenly appeared inside the ‘Divine Armament Hall,’ and judging from the situation at the scene, he had clearly come with hostile intentions. Xue Tianao couldn’t help feeling a shiver run through him. At the same time, intense confusion arose within his heart...
Why had this man appeared here?
Could it be because of Blood Butterfly?
He found out that his older sister is Demon King-class? Now that I know about it, he wants to kill me before I can spread the news? Damn, that actually seems pretty possible...
After realizing this,
Xue Tianao couldn’t help clenching his fists, but he still tried to negotiate with the other party. After all, they were both human. They ought to be capable of understanding each other, and with a powerful enemy currently before them, internal conflict was inadvisable. Besides, as long as he demonstrated enough sincerity regarding Blood Butterfly, he should be able to appease the other party...
He was the Child of Destiny, the person prophesied to save the world, as well as someone blessed with the Goddess’s power. The other party was also human and such an intelligent man at that. Surely he wouldn’t gamble with the future of his own family—or even the future of the entire human race...
Thinking this,
Xue Tianao took a deep breath, calmed himself, and put on an amiable smile. Deep within his pupils, a trace of golden light slowly began to emerge.
“Your Grace, I think there may be some misunderstanding between us? Regarding your older sister... Hm?!!”
?!!
Wait?!
“You!!”
However,
Before he could even finish speaking, an incomparably icy pressure suddenly came roaring straight at him! The terrifying impact of the aura instantly shattered the magical field Xue Tianao had just released with overwhelming superiority, directly forcing him backward several steps...
The violent aura ravaged the hall, shattering every nearby window. Even the exquisitely designed artistic ceiling violently broke apart beneath the crushing pressure.
As waves of energy spread outward, the soldiers hurriedly mobilizing nearby couldn’t help casting stunned gazes toward the Divine Armament Hall.
After all,
They had no idea why such tremendous power had suddenly erupted from within the imperial palace. Remembering that His Majesty was inside, the uneasy soldiers attempted to rush over and provide support. Unfortunately, Xiao’s erupting aura was simply too powerful. Anyone lacking sufficient strength was utterly incapable of approaching the Divine Armament Hall...
--
Clearly,
Xue Tianao’s verbal persuasion tactic, which had never failed him when dealing with humans, had been destroyed before he could even put it into action...
The terrifying magical pressure made Xue Tianao feel suffocated. Meanwhile, the killing intent contained within that pressure sent a chill down his spine, and an intense sense of unease gradually surfaced in his heart.
“You... What exactly are you trying to do? What you’re doing will only...”
Faced with Xue Tianao’s question, Xiao merely tilted his head,
As though considering how he should answer this Child of Destiny.
However,
In the very next instant,
Without the slightest regard for fighting fair, Xiao suddenly snapped his fingers.
Under Xue Tianao’s completely unprepared gaze, gray-white light surged around Xiao. In an instant, a pitch-black weapon adorned with several deep-blue sapphires, resembling both a spear and a staff, materialized directly within the gray-white radiance.
The moment the weapon appeared,
A dazzling gray-white light erupted from the gemstones.
The next moment,
Before Xue Tianao could even figure out what was happening, a gray-white beam suddenly shot toward him, rapidly expanding within his vision! Seeing this, cold sweat broke out across Xue Tianao’s forehead as he hurriedly mobilized the blue magic power within his body in an attempt to defend himself. Unfortunately, the other party’s attack had come far too suddenly. Xue Tianao simply had no time to organize any effective defense...
The magic formation he had only just begun activating was shattered by the gray beam the instant its outline appeared.
The protective magic surrounding Xue Tianao suffered the same fate.
His protective magic, along with the passive defensive spell contained within his earring, was shattered in an instant by the gray light with unstoppable force. Having lost all his defenses, Xue Tianao was, unsurprisingly, struck squarely in the chest by the laser.
And then...
“BOOM!!”
Accompanied by an earth-shaking explosion and the violent eruption of terrifying gray-white magic power, the gray laser blasted a hole the size of a soccer ball straight through Xue Tianao’s chest. Blood violently sprayed from his mouth, and the excruciating pain tore a heart-rending scream from his throat.
With his agonized scream serving as accompaniment, Xue Tianao was sent flying backward by the tremendous impact and violently smashed into the black-steel doors behind him. Even the incredibly sturdy black-steel doors were forcibly smashed inward by his body, leaving behind an enormous crater-like dent.