Four Split Personalities

Rebo Bresen was by no means a fool, in fact, this insightful Crown Prince was smarter than many. He possessed ambition and aspirations. Although somewhat naive to a degree, he was still capable of making harsh, ruthless decisions when necessary, such as resolving to kill his own younger brother.

And the people he brought were carefully selected...

Five personal Death Soldiers, five dark mercenaries, three professional assassins, and two Purple Thorn Shadow Guards, among whom eleven were high-level professionals. Of these, the three assassins and one of the Shadow Guards even held epic professional titles, so they should have been more than capable of handling any tricky situations.

By the way, the professional system in this world includes the ranks of Epic, Almost Legendary, and Legendary after the Advanced Stage. Taking the Mage profession as an example, these correspond to Magician, Great Mage, and Sage, respectively, and it is the same for other professions with different titles.

All in all, even though Shu’s abilities were merely at the Middle Rank, and only hoisted there by expensive, side-effect-free alchemy drugs making him a half-baked Middle Rank, even if he hid epic-level abilities, he absolutely couldn’t escape from this group through the door.

Even if he did get out, there was still a Royal Imperial Guard squad of nearly a hundred outside "Female Bee" led by another Epic Strong Person, forming an impenetrable net, infallibly secure.

However...

The dark mercenaries and assassins who had originally surrounded Shu turned traitor in the instant Rebo furiously swung his sword, ruthlessly opening several fatal holes in their own ’employer’ without hesitation, not even allowing the Crown Prince to suffer too much pain before he died.

And all this had a reason, after all, such developments as ’Oh, suddenly I find our financial backer so ugly, let me just stab him to death’ could not even be seen in Korean dramas, let alone in a serious, rigorous, meaningful, and profound literary work.

Therefore, their ’Turning traitor during battle’ was not actually spontaneous but was premeditated.

As for the other seven people, that is, the Death Soldiers and the two Purple Thorn Shadow Guards secretly cultivated by the Crown Prince, they did not betray. However, these people simply couldn’t stop their comrades in time. By the time they recovered, their young master had already run out of options.

The direct consequence was that now there was only one direct heir left in the Violet Family, their target Shu Bresen, so it was evident who the culprit was.

Thus, in such a situation, the two Shadow Guards, who had sworn loyalty to Rebo early on, hesitated. These men, devoted to the Violet Royal Family, knew full well that even if they killed the second prince now, even if they managed to succeed through the restraint of those traitors, it would only make the situation more complicated and more detrimental to the Royal Family.

But Rebo’s five Death Soldiers didn’t hesitate for a moment, swinging their weapons at the young man who was leisurely sitting in the chair.

After all, ’Death Soldiers’ were so called because they were prepared to be utterly loyal whatever the loss, so neither their own lives nor the future of the Violet Family or even the entire Empire were within their considerations.

Their master had been killed; they had to avenge him, even in death!

Maintaining this mindset, the five immediately went all out, using their strongest, fastest, and most effective methods to launch an attack on Shu.

Advanced thunder magic—Thundering Dragon

Advanced shadow curse—Turbid Blood Burial

The two Spellcasters who had long been ready immediately cast the spells they had planned to use to kill the second prince.

At the same time, Thief’s Blood Shadow flashed, Berserker’s Bloodlust Rupture Slash, and Martial Monk’s Broken Heart Palm also came thundering towards Shu’s face, vowing to put him to death.

But...

Those who had previously attacked Rebo didn’t make a move to intercept or resist. Instead, they tacitly shifted to both sides, exposing their supposed protectee to the fierce attacks of their opponents.

And as for Shu himself, after Rebo fell, he hadn’t looked at anyone, merely sipping his tea with a barely noticeable smile, completely ignoring the attacks intended to kill him.

It wasn’t that his lack of power prevented him from reacting, it was simply...unnecessary.

In the next instant—

A robust figure suddenly appeared in front of Shu, casually pointing a finger.

A purple-golden tempest burst out of nowhere, transforming into five fierce sword lights which, in the blink of an eye, dispersed the Dragon and Curse near at hand, blocking the three attackers, tearing their weapons—and the hands holding those weapons—to shreds.

"Hello."

This man possessed an imposing square face and was dressed in simple short clothes. Though big and muscular with a nimble build, his hair and beard were white, and he appeared to be at least seventy years old. His eyes, filled with vicissitudes of life, held not a bit of confusion or murkiness. On the contrary, whether in spirit, energy, or presence, this old man far exceeded those vibrant young men, seeming as if he could live at least another fifty or sixty years.

For a moment, whether it was Rebo’s five Death Soldiers or the two Purple Thorn Shadow Guards, all were shocked beyond measure, and this person’s desolate strength had nothing to do with it. What horrified them was the identity of this old man!