592
Chapter 592
Zeke realized what the markings carved on the wall were.
'The Three Eyes.'
It was three eyes symbolizing the Three Eyes clan.
Zeke had an idea of where he had arrived.
'This must be the kingdom of the Three Eyes clan located within the Eternal Mountain Range.'
He recalled Tantra, the secret kingdom that the Three Eyes siblings Titus and Ulina had mentioned visiting before.
The kingdom of Tantra, created by the survivors of Shambhala, was said to exist beyond the Eternal Mountain Range of the Eastern Continent.
Zeke had emerged through a dimensional gap into the hidden kingdom of Tantra in the Eastern Continent rather than the Central Continent.
"I wonder why the dimensional gate opened here instead of the Central Continent."
His best guess was that since the Three Eyes clan had performed rituals to summon higher dimensional beings at ancient ruins, it may have created a connection to dimensional rifts.
'If this really is the kingdom of Tantra, this works out well. I should meet the descendants of the Three Eyes clan while I'm here.'
He turned away from the wall marked with the Three Eyes symbol to find an exit from the ruins.
But then it happened.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The thick stone door on the opposite side of the altar opened with a thunderous noise.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
Then hundreds of soldiers wearing antiquated armor entered in formation from outside, carrying spears.
BOOM!
The soldiers who rushed in surrounded Zeke while holding spears and shields.
Seeing the soldiers who entered the ruins, Zeke confirmed his theory.
'This must be Tantra. Only a closed-off secret kingdom would wear such outdated armor.'
Zeke clicked his tongue as he confirmed this was the kingdom of Tantra by looking at the brass-colored armor the soldiers wore.
Just then, an ornately decorated figure appeared through the soldiers.
He wore a golden armor that barely contained his protruding belly, a mask marked with the Three Eyes symbol on his face, and his head was adorned with all sorts of colorful feathers.
The already flamboyantly dressed man held a jewel-encrusted staff.
'That must be their leader.'
Zeke recalled what the siblings Titus and Ulina had told him about the kingdom of Tantra.
A rigid society that operated solely on the bloodline rank system.
Those with high bloodline rank were entitled to everything.
Zeke figured the masked man must be one of those privileged by the bloodline system.
Then the masked man pointed at Zeke and shouted.
"Capture that blasphemous intruder at once!"
Given the order, the soldiers lowered their spears to aim at Zeke.
WHOOSH!
Red energy rose from the spearheads they held.
These spears were Shambhala relics that only those of Three Eyes bloodline could use.
The special red energy imbued in the spearheads shot toward Zeke.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
In an instant, Zeke was enveloped in red energy.
And then shadows erupted from beneath Zeke's feet.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The shadows wrapped around Zeke and deflected the red energy.
The red energy that scattered in all directions collided with the ruins' walls, causing thunderous vibrations.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
As the ruins shook, the pot-bellied masked man shouted.
"The blasphemous intruder tries to destroy the traces of our great history! Capture him immediately!"
Following orders, the soldiers charged at shadow-wrapped Zeke with their shields and spears.
"HAAAAAH!"
The soldiers thrust their spears at Zeke while letting out battle cries.
But even ancient artifacts were insufficient to penetrate Zeke's Shadow Armor.
CRUNCH!
The Shadow Armor grabbed the soldiers' spears and devoured them whole.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
The soldiers fell backward in terror as they watched the black shadows eat their spears.
"EEEEK!"
Seeing the formation fall apart instantly, Zeke withdrew his Shadow Armor and walked slowly toward the masked man while looking down at the wary soldiers.
The masked man shouted at his soldiers.
"Wh-what are you doing?! Capture that blasphemous one immediately!"
Despite hearing the man's words, the soldiers didn't dare rush at Zeke.
That's when Zeke snapped his fingers.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Caligula, now a Guardian, burst forth behind him.
The soldiers backed away in fear at the sight of Caligula, its three eyes flashing as it formed hand seals with its four arms.
Seeing this, Zeke read the memories of several Tantra soldiers through the shadows.
Then he understood why they reacted this way.
'So these are Tantra's royal guards. Being of high bloodline rank, they stay only in the palace and unlike frontline warriors, they barely have any combat experience.'
Tantra was a place where the bloodline system ruled everything.
According to it, those of low bloodline rank are drafted as soldiers and stationed on the kingdom's outskirts.
Being located within the Eternal Mountain Range means countless magical beasts exist in the outer regions.
The lowest-ranking soldiers had more combat experience since they had to fight these beasts without proper equipment.
In contrast, the high-blood elites rarely experienced real combat, mostly just strutting around in ancient artifacts and armor or being used for ceremonial purposes.
That's why when they encounter even slightly strong opponents, they quickly cower and become terrified like this.
Seeing the terrified guards, the masked man shouted with a trembling voice.
"You fools! What are you doing?!"
The masked man gritted his teeth, pointed his jeweled staff at Zeke, and shouted.
"You heretic! I'll show you the power of the great bloodline!"
WOOOONG!
The jewel attached to the staff began to emit a strange light.
Zeke noticed that the man was trying to use the staff to perform the magic of the Three-Eyed clan.
TSTSTSTS!
Soon the power of the Three-Eyes resonated with the staff's jewel, and mandalas were engraved on the floor, ceiling, and walls.
Red tree branches stretched out from those mandalas.
KUGUGUGUGU!
The red branches moved as if they were alive, trying to wrap around Zeke's body.
Seeing this, Zeke spoke quietly.
"Caligula."
At his call, Caligula's eyes flashed and transmitted his will toward the approaching red branches.
KUDDDDDDK!
The red branches that were trying to wrap around Zeke began moving on their own, ignoring the masked man's commands.
WOODDDDDDK!
Suddenly the red branches grew thicker, and thorns sprouted from various places.
The masked man was startled at this sight.
"H-how is this possible...?"
The red thornbush moved like a snake and instead rushed toward the masked man.
The masked man backed away in surprise.
"D-don't come! Stay away!"
The thornbush, under Caligula's command, wrapped around the masked man's feet and dragged him toward where Zeke was.
"AAAAHHHH!"
He screamed as if he were about to die.
At Zeke's gesture, Caligula floated in the air and approached the masked man.
Then he removed the mask the man was wearing.
On his forehead was a trace of the blood eye, proving he was from the Three-Eyed clan.
He was forced to kneel before Zeke by Caligula's hand.
Despite being captured, the man looked at Zeke with his jaw trembling in frustration.
"I-I am Saruhan of the royal blood of the Tantra Kingdom! If you harm me, you'll face the wrath of the entire kingdom!"
Zeke could clearly see how arrogant and ignorant of the world the privileged class of the blood-rank system that controlled the isolated Tantra Kingdom was.
He clicked his tongue inwardly before speaking to the man.
"You said you're Saruhan. Are you truly of the Three-Eyed clan and a descendant of Shambhala?"
Saruhan showed a startled expression at Zeke's words.
"H-how did you know that…?"
That's when it happened.
A clear blood eye appeared on Zeke's forehead.
TSTSTSTS….
All the soldiers, including Saruhan, couldn't help but be terrified at the clear blood eye that had never been seen in any of the sacred bloods.
The soldiers immediately knelt and bowed their heads toward Zeke, who was emitting blood eye.
"G-god!"
"Please forgive our sins!"
"We beg you!"
When the blood eye combined with the power of absolute reign, it created an overwhelming pressure that surpassed Blood King Caligula.
Only then did Saruhan realize that Zeke was no ordinary human.
"C-could it be... the Blood King…?"
Zeke looked down at Saruhan while flashing blood light.
"How dare you look directly at me with your insignificant blood?.’"
The Three-Eyed clan of Tantra were descendants of those of low rank from Shambhala, and in reality, they weren't even allowed to be in the same space as him.
Saruhan's face turned pale and he broke into a cold sweat at Zeke's words.
Overwhelmed by the ruler's presence, he bowed his head to Zeke while his body trembled.
"Th-this lowly servant Saruhan gr-greets the great Blood King!"
Zeke looked down at the Tantra Three-Eyed clan soldiers who had knelt before him, including Saruhan.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
"Saruhan, are you the king of the Tantra Kingdom?"
To Zeke's question, Saruhan shook his head and said.
"N-no, I am the captain of Tantra's royal guard."
It was hard to understand how someone with such a protruding belly could become the captain of the royal guard, but that was also evidence that the Tantra Kingdom's system was corrupt.
Zeke approached Saruhan while emanating his red blood eye and said.
"Take me to your king right now."
The Three-Eyed clan could not refuse the voice of the absolute one that pierced their ears.
A new ruler had revealed himself to the Tantra Kingdom.
* * *
THUD!
The doors to the Tantra palace's great hall opened, and an overweight court official rushed inside.
The great hall, which should have been where the king and officials discussed state affairs, was instead filled with feasting and revelry.
Overweight nobles of sacred and true blood lay about, being served delicacies and wine by beautiful court ladies. Dancers performed seductively, while musicians sang nearby.
In the center was a young man in the most lavish attire.
This extravagantly dressed man was Notales, the king of Tantra who possessed the most noble blood.
He was holding his recently acquired concubine while smoking mind-numbing tobacco.
The official who had rushed in ran to where the king was and spoke while panting.
"Y-your Majesty."
When the official tried to speak beside him, King Notales waved his hand as if annoyed.
"How dare you exhale your worthless breath near me?."
The official covered his mouth at the king's words.
He bowed his head and continued speaking while keeping his breathing as quiet as possible.
"The captain of the royal guard, Saruhan, hasn't come out since entering the pyramid."
At those words, King Notales snorted dismissively.
"You dare disrupt my pleasure with such trivial matters? Get out of here. I can't enjoy the dance because of you!"
At the king's words, the nobles lying around threw their food and wine cups at the official while mocking him.
"Get out of here!"
"You've ruined the mood! Take responsibility!"
The king laughed heartily watching the nobles' mockery.
But then.
BANG!
The great hall's doors burst open as someone entered.
"What is this?!"
Surprisingly, Saruhan and the royal guard entered the great hall in formation.
Seeing this, King Notales snickered and said to the official.
"See that? He's returned. As punishment for ruining our mood, you go stand in the middle and imitate an elephant on one foot..."
KWAKWABANG!
Before King Notales could finish speaking, something flew in and overturned the table laden with food.
The drug-addled nobles laughed hysterically at this irreverent scene.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"What a mess, what a mess! Complete chaos!"
King Notales also burst out laughing at this sight.
But then his expression hardened when he saw what had overturned the table.
"This...!"
It was because what had flown onto the table was a severed head.
The head belonged to King Notales' personal executioner, a cruel man who would torture and execute anyone regardless of age or gender when ordered.
Realizing this, King Notales rose from his seat in anger.
"Who dares to do such a thing?!"
Suddenly Saruhan and the soldiers parted to the sides, and a person walked out from between them.
THUD!
It was Zeke, entering the great hall with a clearly shining blood eye flickering on his forehead.
The overwhelming pressure emanating from him froze not only King Notales but all the nobles.
Zeke looked around at them and slowly opened his mouth.
"Kneel."