Chapter 1440: New King |
Everyone pushed open that heavy door.
Once the doors swung open, what appeared behind them was not a magnificent palace scene, but a pitch-black void.
Within the abyss-like sight, there was only a single narrow white staircase, spiraling upward toward the sky.
The depths below were unfathomable, and the heights above were unclear as to where they led.
But having endured countless hardships to reach this place, the group naturally had no intention of retreating.
The three factions maintained a certain distance from one another, then stepped onto the white staircase and swiftly moved upward.
"Rumble!"
The Sacred Spirit Hall trembled once more, as if some terrifying ancient creature was awakening, the staircase beneath their feet shaking.
Yet everyone ignored it, pressing forward resolutely.
Zhang Yi and the others looked up. At the far end of the white platform stood two bronze doors carved with ferocious beasts.
A figure in red entered their sight.
Zhang Yi remembered this silhouette. On the day of the prince’s grand wedding, he had caught a distant glimpse from above.
That tall, towering figure, clad in a magnificent red bridal gown, now held a strangely shaped weapon, blocking everyone’s path.
Behind her were hundreds of warriors clad in dark silver armor!
One glance at these men was enough to know they were the absolute elite of the Nash Kingdom, for their eyes held nothing but ice-cold killing intent—nothing else.
The princess consort coldly scanned the arrivals, a troubling thought already forming in her mind.
She had never imagined that these hairless rats, whom they treated as livestock, could actually break through to the highest level of the Sacred Spirit Hall!
This also meant that the defenders below—the kingdom’s five great generals—had all been defeated!
She raised the blade in her hand, pointing it at Zhang Yi and the others, and spoke in a frigid tone: "No matter what you bastards are, I will never allow you to take a single step forward today!"
Behind her, the three hundred elite warriors simultaneously slammed their weapons into the ground, producing a deafening clang that shook the air, an intimidating display.
An overwhelming torrent of killing intent erupted into the sky in an instant!
If anyone wanted to cross this point today, they would have to step over their corpses first!
"Sorry, but we don’t have time to waste here!"
Zhang Yi said coldly.
He stepped forward, and with a sudden swing of the Sword in the Tree, he unleashed a massive crescent-shaped blade ray that burst from the tip, surging with Void Force that devoured everything ahead like a colossal sky-devouring beast!
In an instant, the vast white platform was completely engulfed by the power of the void!
As the dark power slowly receded like a tide, the white platform fell silent.
Princess Consort Anrit, along with the three hundred Nash Kingdom elites, had vanished—not even a speck of dust remained.
"The intent was good, just too weak."
Zhang Yi said calmly.
Lancelot looked up at the massive bronze doors.
They were completely different from the other doors in the Sacred Spirit Hall—dark and green, carved with grotesque monsters they had never heard of, even bearing mottled green rust.
For some reason, it gave off a feeling similar to the Gate of Eternity.
It was filled with deathly energy, chilling to the bone at first glance, as if countless lost souls were trapped within the bronze doors.
"Break the doors!"
Lancelot said.
The four Epsilon-class Awakened looked at each other, and without any hesitation, they unleashed their full power, blasting it against the bronze door!
Their four forces converged at a single point, and the terrifying might caused the entire palace to shudder violently once more.
"Rumble!"
As they ramped up their output, the bronze door, unable to withstand such overwhelming force, began to crack inch by inch.
Inside the bronze doors, within a massive red energy crystal, a pair of amber vertical pupils snapped open, rolling around for a moment before erupting with overwhelming killing intent!
"Boom!!"
A surge of red energy burst from his body, shattering the red crystal around him in an instant!
The red energy raged like a storm, shooting straight into the sky!
The barrier-stone ceiling, battered by the relentless assault of the red storm, began to crack, and finally, with a sharp "crack!" it shattered completely!
The entire palace shook even more violently. Even the white staircase behind Zhang Yi and the others began shedding rubble, pieces falling with a rustling sound.
"Crash!"
As if unable to withstand such immense energy, the walls of the Sacred Spirit Hall, which had stood for millennia, began peeling off in large swaths like an old, damp house.
"Crack!"
The clear sound of breaking reached everyone’s ears. They felt that overwhelming killing intent, along with the terrifying pressure that turned their faces pale!
Zhang Yi and the others finally opened the bronze door, gripping their weapons cautiously as they stepped inside.
All that remained before them was a massive altar and scattered fragments of broken red energy crystals.
"The aura of the Rite Spirit..."
Zhang Yi looked at the fragments, still sensing the residual energy.
And from his estimation, this piece of Rite Spirit was many times larger than the one he had absorbed before!
Just then, a beam of light shot down from above, landing on their heads.
Looking up, they saw that a large hole had been opened in the Sacred Spirit Hall’s ceiling at some point.
And sitting on the edge of the shattered dome was a Three-Eyed Tribe member with a cold gaze.
His body was only about five meters tall, relatively small among the Three-Eyed Tribe.
His well-proportioned frame had not an ounce of excess fat—like a champion bodybuilder, yet the muscles were not exaggerated.
Without years of training, it was unimaginable that any creature could possess such a physique.
He sat atop the high dome, one arm casually draped over a bent knee, staring coldly at the people below.
"He’s the new king of the Nash Kingdom!"
Zhang Yi’s eyes locked onto him, speaking in a low voice to the others around him.
Everyone tensed as if facing a great enemy. They could feel an unimaginably terrifying power emanating from this man!
Though he made no move, the energy stored within his body was like a human-shaped arsenal of explosives, ready to detonate at any moment!
Prince Anrit did not continue looking at Zhang Yi and the others. Instead, he turned his gaze downward toward the Nash Kingdom.
Below, the Nash Kingdom lay in ruins. The city built along the abyssal spiral had been destroyed by nearly a third. Flames ignited by the humans still burned fiercely. Smoke and cries of anguish rose from all directions, audible even from this great distance.
Watching his own kingdom reduced to such a state, Prince Anrit’s face showed no expression whatsoever. His eyes didn’t even hold the slightest ripple of emotion.
After absorbing the power of that Rite Spirit, he only felt that his life level had been completely elevated.
Now, powerful as a god, he was an existence that had transcended everything else.
The life and death of ordinary people—even the death of his own princess consort and his generals—could hardly dim his own delight.
"So this is the life level our ancestors once reached?"
His shoulders suddenly began to tremble violently, the corners of his mouth nearly tearing back to his ears as he revealed a bizarre, unsettling smile.
"It’s... so magnificent!"