“Arrogant boy, do not think this palace is unaware of what transpired in your camp last night! Do you think I don’t know? Your third elder sister, Serena Cordova, has been slashed by the poisoned daggers of the palace’s secret warriors! There is no antidote under the heavens for Heart-Rotting Poison! That girl must surely have rotted to death in her tent before dawn broke!” The Emperor’s declaration triggered a collective gasp throughout the ranks of the noble council. Gerald Ford, who had been shivering in his wheelchair, suddenly raised his head, his eyes wild with a glimmer of renewed hope. “That’s right! Your sister Serena is dead! The Commander of the Iron Cavalry is dead!” Gerald screamed hysterically, his shrill voice filling the room. Emperor Aldous smiled smugly, relishing how the panic had once again shifted to the enemy’s side. “Without Serena, the thirty thousand Iron Cavalry soldiers outside the capital’s gates are nothing but a swarm of headless, blind worms

Inside the imperial throne hall, the air seemed to freeze at the whirring sound of hundreds of weapons clashing against one another. Hundreds of the Emperor’s personal guards, the masters of the imperial treasury, and ranks of expert archers had closed ranks. Spearheads, swords, and arrows imbued with spiritual energy were all aimed directly at a single point: Theodore Cordova. Theodore stood tall amidst this deadly encirclement. Beneath his feet, pools of blood and the shards of Maxime’s body had been frozen into crimson crystals by the might of the Northern Sky-Splitter. The young man did not flinch in the slightest. His Rank-7 black-gold aura continued to rise calmly, defying the oppressive energy formation shrouding the palace, which hummed thickly. Emperor Aldous, standing on the steps of the throne, grinned savagely. The lust for killing had completely consumed what little fear he had left. “Die here, you arrogant brat!” roared Emperor Aldous, his hand raised to give

Serena raised her hand slightly, giving a subtle signal to the twelve elite guards behind her. In unison, the border knights slammed the pommels of their meteorite spears onto the marble floor of the hall. THUUUM! A high-pressure shockwave swept in all directions, shattering the remnants of the soul-suppressing seal formation that had been activated on the hall’s ceiling. Dozens of inner treasury warriors and hundreds of palace guard knights were forced backward until their backs slammed against the pillar-lined walls. Their trembling weapons were now slowly lowered; their gazes were filled with sheer terror as they glanced out of the high windows, where the ice-wolf banners of the Cordova clan were fluttering, encircling the entire courtyard of the imperial palace. Theodore wasted no more time gazing at those cowed soldiers. His sharp, piercing gaze shifted, locking onto the figures who had been the most vocal in spewing their venomous slander. “Before we take stock of the

GULP. Emperor Aldous swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his temples and soaking the collar of his dragon robe. In a corner of the Hall of Honor, Claude Salvador and Empress Victoria watched the scene with bated breath. Theodore’s statement was no mere empty threat; with thirty thousand Iron Cavalry controlling the palace gates and Rank-7 cultivation power at his disposal, the young man truly possessed the ability to overthrow the dynasty in a matter of days if he so wished! “I-I understand… I understand!” Emperor Aldous stammered hastily, casting aside every last shred of his pride to save his own life in the face of these two border wolves. His wrinkled hand trembled as he pointed to the scrolls of decrees upon the throne table. “I hereby officially revoke all decrees regarding the restoration of the Ford family! The three decrees from last night are null and void! All the compensation territories, the border privileges, and the Cordova clan’s military insignia… they all rem