Theodore swept his right hand forward in a single, decisive motion.BOOM!The energy blast struck the three men mercilessly. The blades of the heirloom steel swords held by the two elders snapped into three pieces, whilst Darius’s dagger was hurled far away.“UHUKK!”The three Level 6 warriors coughed up fresh blood simultaneously in mid-air. Their bodies were hurled backwards across the banquet table, then crashed into the stone pillars of the hall with a deafening thud!Darius and the two court elders slumped to the marble floor. Their ribs were broken, their breathing ragged, and not a single one of them was able to get back to their feet.The impact of the energy blast reverberated throughout every corner of the hall.The banquet tables shook violently, causing silver plates and wine bottles to clatter to the floor. Dozens of nobles and ministers who lacked any martial arts skills were immediately knocked from their seats. They pressed their hands to their chests, gasping for bre

Ford slumped to the cold marble floor. His lips trembled silently as he gazed at the three Level 6 warriors lying lifeless near the pillar in the hall. “It can’t be… The Emperor is powerless…” Ford whispered hoarsely. He finally realised: there would be no justice for his son. There would be no execution for Theodore. The throne, which he had always relied upon as an instrument of power, now lay at the mercy of the Cordova clan’s swords. Realising his inevitable downfall, all the strength seemed to drain from the Prime Minister’s body. Both his hands slumped to the floor, and the frail body of the empire’s second-in-command went limp and lifeless. His vacant gaze fixed on the cracked marble. “It’s all over… it’s all over…” he murmured softly. The Ford clan’s bloodline had been severed, and his position at court had crumbled to dust. In the centre of the room, Lily Spencer curled up on the cold floor like a sparrow with a broken wing. The sound of the hoofbeats of tens of thousa

Upon the towering golden throne, the Emperor sat motionless, his face the colour of cremated ashes. His hands, resting on the armrests of the throne, trembled ever so slightly—a faint tremor that the supreme ruler could not conceal after being forced to swallow back all his decrees and his arrogance in the face of the threat posed by the thirty thousand horsemen of the Cordova clan’s iron cavalry.On the cracked marble floor, Prime Minister Ford slumped like a heap of tattered cloth. His vacant eyes stared at the pools of blood from the bodyguards who had been slain in the blink of an eye. Theodore Cordova did not waste a single second savouring that pitiful sight.With a calm and composed movement, the young man turned away. The dukes bowed their heads. The ministers shifted back, holding their breath as they pressed themselves against the banquet table so as not to brush against the young man’s shadow.“Business here is concluded,” Theodore said flatly to his captain of the guar

Lily was still standing with her chin raised and a haughty smile playing on her lips. “Just admit it, Theodore. You’re doing all this to get my attention, aren’t you?” she said, sarcastically.In her mind, distorted by delusions of narcissism, she was convinced that the young man before her would be spellbound, overcome with emotion, or at the very least feel immensely proud that the confession she had been begging for over the past three years was now being offered to her freely.That fantasy felt so real in her mind. She imagined Theodore would smile—the smile she had always rejected—perhaps shed tears of joy, then take her hand and hold her close. Hadn’t it been that man who’d always been chasing after her? Hadn’t it been Theodore who’d always tried to catch her attention by any means possible? Sending flowers every morning, waiting at the gates of the Spencer residence for hours on end, swallowing all the insults and rejections with that pitiful smile.And now she, Lily Spence

Lily opened her mouth to protest, but Theodore had already pressed her body against the wall, trapping her with his own body. His Level 7 Grandmaster aura compressed the air around them until Lily felt as though she were drowning. “Now,” Theodore whispered right into Lily’s ear, his voice low and menacing, “let me remind you who you really are.” Theodore’s free hand casually traced Lily’s waist, moving down to her supple, smooth thighs, then back down to her waist, pressing and kneading her pale skin with his long, warm, firm fingers. He pulled Lily closer, pressing his body against her back, letting her feel the strength of his hard, hot muscles beneath the thin silk fabric, and the thickness of his prominent features pressing directly against her back, making her pale skin feel hot and sensitive. The movement felt incredibly close, intimate, as if Theodore were ensuring that every inch of Lily’s body belonged to him—even if Lily refused to admit it. His hands moved swiftly. T