Chapter 500: The Shadow of Death
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 500: The Shadow of Death
He was a withered old man.
His brown skin was as wrinkled as old tree bark, and he was so thin that the contours of his bones were clearly visible. There was nothing remarkable about his appearance; he wore a tattered robe that had been washed into a dull gray by years of exposure to the elements.
He carried nothing of value—only a ragged, heavily patched bag. Even for an ascetic, he seemed destitute. He looked like someone even the poor would look down upon, more akin to a dejected beggar from the Lower District.
Yet, as he sat there in silence, the aura he radiated bore down like a mountain, making it difficult to breathe.
No one in the world would dare underestimate him based on his appearance, for he was the Indra King.
A Crown Bearer—the Indra King!
Muen finally understood the cause of the sudden, jarring palpitation he had felt moments ago. He had sensed the approach of death, but because the gap in realm and strength between him and this man was too vast, the premonition had only flickered for an instant before vanishing, leaving him unable to trace its source.
It was like an ant on the ground fearing the shadow of an eagle for a fleeting second, yet never knowing the true nature of the source of that fear.
"The Indra King?"
Celicia’s expression shifted. As an Imperial Princess, she was naturally familiar with the title. As a veteran Crown Bearer, the Indra King represented one of the few top-tier powerhouses in the world.
But why was he here?
A Crown Bearer entering Belland—the heart of the Imperial Capital—was a major event that should have triggered every alarm. He should have been a priority target for the Empire’s central intelligence. Yet, she, a princess of the Empire, had been completely unaware. What on earth was the Imperial intelligence agency doing?
Or was it not a matter of ignorance, but intentional concealment? Had the Empire’s intelligence network also been infiltrated by those people?
"I didn't expect a dignified Crown Bearer to still be acting as a lapdog for those people."
Suppressing the fear in his heart, Muen pulled his lips into a mirthless smirk. Memories of being hunted in the past flooded his mind, still leaving him with a lingering sense of dread.
But this time, he didn't have a powerhouse of the same Crown level by his side to protect him.
Crack.
The ice shattered.
The power of the Divine Blessing from Celicia was like thin, early-winter snow to the Indra King; it posed no threat at all. With a gentle shrug of his shoulders, he annihilated it completely.
The Indra King remained expressionless. "What is a 'lapdog'? It is merely a matter of each taking what they need."
As he spoke, the Indra King raised a single hand.
"Since you are here, it is just as well. Allow me to reclaim the dignity I once lost because of you."
In that instant, there was no hesitation.
Muen’s entire body tensed, his muscles bulging with explosive power like a hunting leopard. The booming roar of thunder coiled around his arms, sounding exceptionally brief under the effects of time acceleration. However, the blinding flash of his blades instantly eclipsed the starlight, filling the entire dark room.
From the moment he laid eyes on the Indra King, Muen had been gathering his strength. Now, it finally erupted!
"Forty! Stacks!"
An unprecedented surge of Stacked Force poured out without reservation. The tough fabric of Muen’s custom formal suit was instantly shredded. The blade light carved out by his hands was like a lunar arc falling from the heavens!
Under that light, everything else paled in comparison.
Celicia’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise as she looked at Muen. She hadn't expected that in just a few short months, her once-useless playboy of a fiancé would be capable of unleashing such a powerful technique.
Yet, facing this formidable strike, the Indra King didn't even blink. His scarred palm slowly pushed forward toward Muen.
Compared to the blinding blade light that seemed capable of rending space itself, that withered palm—devoid of any detectable mana or even fighting spirit—looked so unremarkable and weak. It seemed as though it would be torn apart in the next heartbeat without fail.
However, it was not the palm that tore. The moment the hand made contact with the blade light, it gave a gentle squeeze.
Crunch.
Like an unremarkable cracker or some other fragile object, the light was compressed and ravaged between those five fingers until it vanished into nothingness.
The blade light collapsed instantly.
The hand continued its forward path.
The room was spacious; a hand reached out by a man should not have been able to reach Muen, who was nearly ten meters away.
But in Muen’s eyes, that hand was still bearing down on him like a collapsing mountain. It was already inches away, giving him no room to breathe. He couldn't help but recall the same pathetic state he was in during their previous encounter.
But this was a head-on confrontation. There was nowhere to run.
In his desperation, Muen could only grit his teeth and cross his twin daggers before his chest to meet that lethal palm.
THUD.
A muffled sound rang out, like a rawhide drum being violently shattered by a terrifying external force.
Muen’s vision went black. He felt an irresistible, unshakeable mountain of force surge through his daggers. His hands were nearly broken instantly by the sheer weight of it; a faint mist of blood seeped from his pores as his body was sent reeling backward.
Fortunately, this massive force only crushed him for a split second before Muen felt the pressure suddenly lighten. At the same time, a familiar, faint fragrance drifted into his nostrils.
A soft, small hand supported his back. Muen could feel a delicate body pressed against him—a sensation that would have been exquisite under other circumstances, but he had no time to enjoy it as she helped him shoulder the burden.
As Celicia let out a soft grunt from the recoil, her other hand pointed forward with chilling resolve.
"Condense."
"Freeze."
Mana surged. A spell cast without a chant took effect instantly. A massive amount of moisture was pulled from the air with absolute finality, freezing into sub-zero ice in an instant.
With the support of magic, the power of the Ice-Snow Goddess's Divine Blessing increased exponentially. Exquisite ice crystals instantly covered the entire room, proliferating rapidly like a cage of jagged thorns, swallowing the Indra King in a heartbeat.
"A believer of the Blizzard Goddess?"
Trapped within the icy cage, the Indra King let out a soft huff. "No... there is no Power of Faith. Looking at this, it must be a Divine Blessing. You are the Empire’s Third Princess?"
"Now that you know, why haven't you withdrawn?"
Celicia’s eyes were dark and cold. "I don't care what benefits those people promised you, but you are attacking the Empire’s princess and the son of a Duke within Belland. Are you prepared to face the Empire’s wrath?"
"It matters not."
Celicia had expected the Indra King to back down, but to her surprise, he remained as indifferent as ever, his eyelids barely lifting.
"It matters not. Regardless of who you are, this place is completely isolated from the outside world. If I kill you, and him, who would ever know? Since you two snuck in here, I assume you were also hiding your tracks and avoiding prying eyes."
"Furthermore, what of the Empire’s wrath? The Empire is indeed terrifying, but in the end, it does not belong to a single person."
"Therefore, your identities... make no difference to me."
"It truly matters not."
The repeated, flat statements were like whispers drifting on the wind. But what drifted along with them was not a plea for peace, but... a desperate, murderous intent!
The Indra King raised his hand once more, the ancient scars on his withered palm still visible.
The shadow they had just barely escaped loomed over them once again before they could even catch their breath!