The Black Streak That Split the Sky

In two days, Lister arrived directly at the Royal City of Bode.

With the Rise of the Lucian Empire, Royal City of Bode has been renamed Imperial City of Bode.

Ninety percent of the players are currently gathered in the Imperial City; the war has not yet officially begun.

The Lost Lands Grand Canyon hasn't become a true "meat grinder" yet; right now, everyone is mostly focused on leveling up.

This also gives new players who only enter the game in Act III some time to level up.

Otherwise, new players wouldn't even have the right to enter the real battle.

When the war truly intensifies, players will only appear at the Lost Lands and the Parik Province respawn points.

As they entered the inner city, the cost of entering, which was originally one gold coin, became insignificant to most players due to the continuous devaluation of gold coins.

Players coming and going in the inner city especially loved to gather in the trading area, and the lively scene unfolded before his eyes.

Lister glanced at it briefly and then continued toward the Imperial City.

"You... you are Lord Count Merrick?"

The guards at the gate were trembling slightly, afraid they had mistaken someone for someone else.

After seeing Lister nod, they quickly led him straight into the inner palace.

Compared to the extensive renovations and reconstructions undertaken by the Merick Family, the Lucian Palace was merely renamed the Royal Palace, with no change to its interior furnishings.

The old, side hall/reception room was where Hughes was greeted as he entered.

His face looked much older than before, but his energy and spirit were becoming more and more abundant, and he exuded a great sense of authority and imposing presence.

He looked at Lister with a serious expression and a hint of confusion.

Hughes had been searching for him for nearly two months, to the point that Hughes had come to believe the rumors that Lister had gone to the Great Chu. But today, Lister suddenly appeared in front of him again.

"Do you have anything to explain?"

"The Kingdom's Treasury... or perhaps its connection to the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty."

Now that he's emperor, Hughes speaks with far more arrogance than before.

He looked at Lister with suspicion, as if he wanted him to explain himself.

Unfortunately, Lister's expression remained as calm as ever, and he simply spoke in a low voice.

"Where is Count Yodi? Please have him come here."

Hughes's face flashed with impatience upon hearing this; he had never had a good impression of Lister.

Even when he was king, Lister had already subtly slipped out of his control and seemed indifferent to his orders.

The attitude of other nobles and officials towards this new emperor is now far greater than before.

Only Lister, as always, showed no respect whatsoever in his eyes.

This made him, who had previously doubted himself and thought that Lister might have been wronged, suddenly have all those thoughts vanish after seeing his attitude today.

Even if he was wronged, Hughes was prepared to teach him a lesson.

He patiently gave instructions to the guards beside him.

"Go find Count Yodi and bring him here."

Soon, Count Yodi, fully equipped with protective gear, arrived inside the house.

He looked like he had just come from a military camp, still smelling of sweat.

"Your Majesty, who is this gentleman?"

Count Yodi first looked at Hughes's luggage, then turned to look at Lister, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

That's right! Although they slandered Lister, they didn't even know what he looked like.

Lister couldn't help but laugh as he glanced at Yodi's information.

[Level: LV53]

[Class: Heavy Warrior]

[Overall Rating: B]

He's quite capable; no wonder he stood out from the lower-ranking officers. But he's still no match for him.

Seeing that Yodi looked confused, Hughes explained it to him with a speechless expression.

"This is the Count Merrick you mentioned to me before."

After saying that, he looked at Lister and spoke again.

"The person has arrived. Do you have anything to explain or confront him about? Hurry up."

Only then did Count Yodi appear to suddenly realize something, and his expression towards Lister instantly turned disdainful.

"Hmph! So you're Count Merrick?"

"The one who stole the treasure trove and defected to the enemy, the Great Chu?"

"What? Did you hear something and rush back from Great Chu?"

Hughes wanted Lister to explain himself, but Yodi, impatient and impulsive, immediately defined Lister's appearance that day.

After he said it that way, things seemed surprisingly reasonable.

"Your Majesty, this kind of person is a coward who fears death; you mustn't listen to him!"

"If he really had no problems, why would he have left during the previous war in our Lucian Empire, and then returned at this time?"

"You must have it from the entire empire..."

Lister and Hughes listened quietly to what Count Yodi had to say.

Hughes had initially believed it to some extent, but seeing Lister standing to the side, completely unconcerned and offering no explanation, he began to feel puzzled.

He gently raised his hand, interrupting Yodi was still making accusations.

"Lister, do you think you have some kind of backing? Do you think I'll believe you because of the Duke Will?"

"Let me tell you, if you don't provide a good explanation today, you can forget about being a count."

Upon hearing this, Yodi's face immediately lit up with joy.

But before he could be excited for long, his smile vanished.

No one expected that Lister would dare to make a move inside the palace!

Lister had already placed one hand on the hilt of his sword, and a sharp, unstoppable, and powerful aura instantly swept over him.

Yodi felt as if he were locked onto by Death, and a sense of fear of facing death rose from within him.

Hughes, standing behind him, was also trembling.

Even though he had already conquered an empire and become the new emperor.

But in the present moment, a long-forgotten sense of fear welled up in my heart again.

Faced with Lister's overwhelming aura, he couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance; even taking a step back felt like lifting a thousand pounds.

The Class Holder outside the palace also noticed the unusual occurrence in the side hall where Emperor Hughes was.

They rushed into the hall, but unfortunately, they could only take a couple of steps before they were completely unable to move. The oppressive aura was even stronger for lower-level Class Holder.

Only Yodi is of a higher level and his strength is passable.

Now, I can still grit my teeth, draw my sword, and step forward.

Although he knew he was no match for Lister, he had no choice but to go all out after slandering his opponent.

"Whoosh!"

The sound of a blade being drawn reached his ears, Yodi couldn't even catch Lister's movement as he drew his sword.

All I saw was a black flash, and then I lost consciousness.

Players in the inner city outside the palace stopped what they were doing and all looked towards the palace.

A black beam of light shot out from the palace at incredible speed, heading straight for the sky.

All the clouds were instantly split in two after the black light swept across them.

A few rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds that had been covering the sky, which was originally overcast.

After a while, the black light that pierced the sky disappeared at the edge of the sky, but the violent sound of it tearing through the air was a beat late, and only now did it resound through the sky.

"Boom!"

Turning back again, one could see several round forts atop the Lucian Palace sliding down in unison.

After a cloud of dust rose, the cut where the blade had grazed the palace was perfectly smooth and even.

The game's public chat was flooded with countless messages.

"Holy crap, is there some kind of internal strife in Lucian's palace?"

"Is this a new coup plot? Which prince did it?"

"Holy crap! That's insane! Does anyone know what class skill that is dealing this damage from?"

"Is there even a need to guess? This is definitely an attack from a martial arts-focused sword-wielding class. Why does it look so familiar? It's so similar to my Merrick Saber Draw Slash."

You know what, it's true!

"Could it be Count Merrick inside? Is he that powerful? He even managed to cut down the new emperor?"

"Holy crap! Are late-game pros who use knives this good? That's so cool!"

Are there any experts who have maxed out their Merrick Saber Technique? Could you share your experience?

"Where's the data team? Where's the strategy team? Give us a response!!"

Inside a side hall of the palace, Lister had already sheathed his sword.

They only killed Yodi, but spared Hughes' life.

It wasn't because of Quint's advice the other day, but because it was unnecessary.

He also completed the main quest, and the five points of free attribute bonus were quite generous.

His expectations were met with a battle between two evenly matched nations in Lost Land.

Moreover, given his actions today, Hughes, with his intelligence, naturally knows what to do next.

If we replace the heir with a naive and inexperienced person, it will only be a waste of time.

At this moment, Lister saw that Hughes was still in a daze and couldn't help but remind him.

"Hughes, do you think it's necessary for me to do all this?"