Keeping Matvei Under Close Control! Pulling the Firewood from Beneath the Cauldron! (Please Subscribe and Vote with Monthly Tickets)

The commander of the guards had already been frightened out of his wits. Holding back the excruciating pain, he struggled to his feet and repeatedly kowtowed toward Matvei, his voice thick with tears and unprecedented terror. "Thank you for sparing my life, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty! I know I was wrong! I will never dare do it again!"

From that day onward, the commander and all the guards under him made a complete about-face in their attitude toward Matvei. They became unfailingly respectful, even fearful, terrified of showing the slightest neglect.

Matvei knew perfectly well that their respect did not stem from any recognition of him personally, but from their fear of the powerful master behind him, who fiercely protected his own.

But what did that matter?

Fear, too, could sometimes be a kind of power.

A power called "the fox borrowing the tiger's might."

Watching those who had once looked down on him now tremble before him and bow and scrape, Matvei felt an unprecedented tangle of emotions-exhilaration, dependence, and a trace of secret ambition-quietly take root and spread in his long-suppressed heart.

So this was how wonderful it felt to possess power, even borrowed power.

The emperor's procession finally reached the Holy Capital. Banners fluttered outside the city gates, and the ceremonial escort stood in imposing ranks. The grandeur of the reception afforded him every possible honor.

Yet Matvei knew full well that this lavish welcoming ceremony, the eagerly waiting civil and military officials, and the dense crowds of onlookers were certainly not there to welcome him, a New Emperor in name only.

They wanted to behold the legendary Witch Ancestor in person and see whether he truly was, as the rumors claimed, a being who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods.

Li Chen