Inside the courtyard, the five assassins dressed in black were sent flying by the overwhelming shock wave the moment the Emperor Colt came crashing down!
They slammed into the corners or walls like broken sacks, blood spilling from their mouths and noses. Their bones felt ready to shatter, and their eyes brimmed with sheer terror and disbelief!
They hadn't even seen what had attacked them before that devastating force completely crushed their ability to fight!
The leader of the assassins was somewhat stronger. He barely managed to steady himself amid the impact and avoid being hurled away.
But when he looked up and saw the golden figure through the dust, radiating the might of heaven like a deity descending upon the world, all the color drained from his face!
"Wh-what is that?!" His voice warped with utter terror, rasping like sandpaper scraping together.
He had never seen a being like this. The light and pressure radiating from that armor made his very soul tremble! This was power no human Soul Master could possibly possess!
"Thud!" "Thud!"
The assassins behind him struggled to get back up.
But the pressure unconsciously radiating from the Emperor Armor alone weighed on them like a mountain, forcing them to their knees again. Their bodies shook like leaves in the wind, and they couldn't even lift their heads!
The voice beneath Emperor Hero's helmet resonated through the metal, growing vast, majestic, and cold, stripped of all human feeling, like a divine proclamation:
"Tell me, who do you serve?"
He took a step forward.
"Crack!" The fractured ground beneath his foot sank another inch!
The terrifying pressure surged!
The leader felt every bone in his body groan, as if the unseen force would crush him to pieces the next moment!
The Soul Power within him was like a frozen river, impossible to stir!
The Soul King strength he had once prided himself on was as insignificant as dust before this golden deity!
"Gah—!" The leader let out a pained cry. His knees finally gave way, and with a bone-cracking sound that made one's teeth ache, he collapsed onto the rubble-strewn ground!
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
As an assassin, he didn't know who this person was, but he would never reveal the identity of his master.
Ye Yang's voice didn't waver. "How loyal of you."
The instant the words fell, Emperor Hero's figure blurred!
No Soul Ring flashed, no Soul Power erupted—only a pure streak of golden light that tore through space!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Four faint, almost imperceptible sounds of something slicing through the air rang out at nearly the same time.
The four Soul King assassins who had been struggling to rise or trying to activate their Soul Skills froze in place.
Their heads slid from their necks without warning. The cuts were smooth as mirrors, and not a single drop of blood had time to spray out!
The four headless bodies remained in their previous poses for a moment, then crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Emperor Hero reappeared before the only assassin leader left, as if he had never moved.
[Ding! Instantly killed the Four Soul Kings, presence +1, majesty +1!]
"Ugh... ugh..." The assassin leader's pupils widened to their limits in absolute terror, and meaningless wheezing sounds came from his throat.
He had watched four comrades, each nearly his equal in strength, be erased in an instant like ants, without the slightest chance to fight back!
Emperor Hero slowly raised his right hand, covered in golden armor, and spread his fingers toward the leader's terror-twisted head.
"Since your mouth won't talk..." The cold voice came through the helmet. "Then let your soul answer for you."
Hummm—!
A terrifying mental force beyond words, vast as a sea of stars and domineering as an emperor in person, erupted from Emperor Hero's palm!
"No—!!!"
The assassin leader let out a shriek so agonized it hardly sounded human.
Ye Yang's icy consciousness invaded the other man's mind directly. It didn't take long for him to learn the whole story.
"Heh..."
"So it was you, Xue Xing, you old dog hiding in the gutter and barking helplessly..."
He slowly lowered his hand.
The assassin leader's body slumped to the ground, as if every bone had been pulled from it. His eyes went completely blank, and not a breath remained in his mouth or nose.
Golden light flowed around Emperor Hero, his majesty as oppressive as a prison.
"Useless... You really can only resort to such underhanded tricks."
[Ding! Exposed the real culprit, insight +1, majesty +1!]
The Emperor Colt sensed its master's will and silently floated to his side.
"Oh, right. Since the old geezer Xue Xing prepared such a gift for me, I should repay him properly."
Ye Yang waved his hand, and several round objects were taken into the system space.
Ye Yang cast one last glance at the courtyard of death, steeped in blood and conspiracy. Then his figure became a brilliant golden streak, shooting into the sky and vanishing into the boundless night.
Now that he knew who the culprit was, he'd have plenty of time to play with him. He hoped Xue Xing could hold out a little longer and not bore him.
Early the next morning.
"Ah—!!!"
A scream so shrill it nearly split the eardrums, like a cold steel needle stabbing into Xue Xing's ears, yanked him from his muddled dreams and back to reality!
"Damn it! Which worthless maid dares disturb my sleep?!"
Prince Xue Xing abruptly sat up in his silk bedding. A hangover-like headache and the fury of being disturbed sent him into a rage, and he bellowed.
He had tossed and turned all night, only managing to fall asleep shortly before dawn. Now his anger was already boiling over.
But when he opened his bloodshot eyes, blazing with fury, and focused on the space before his bed—
Every curse, every ounce of rage, seemed to be seized by an invisible hand around his throat, stuck there hard.
He went rigid, as if struck by the most terrifying immobilizing Soul Skill. His pupils contracted to pinpricks in sheer horror!
Lined up neatly along the edge of his ornate rosewood bed were several... human heads!
They were the heads of the five Soul King assassins he had sent out to frame someone!
Their faces were twisted, frozen in the ultimate terror and pain of death. Their eyes were wide open, hollowly "staring" at the bed.
The ragged stumps of their necks were covered in dried, dark-red blood, like ugly scabs. A thick, nauseating, rusty stench of blood hung in the air.
Prince Xue Xing's mind went blank. A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp.
"Ah!!!"
A scream of terror burst from Xue Xing's mouth!!!
Before you continue