Masked Knight

There was an argument in the palace square. Prince Barond and the Empress were arguing fiercely while Nicole and Garoline tried to add a few words every once in a while.

These two sides were fighting for the throne.

The Empress said that the Emperor was dying and they should immediately establish the Crown Prince’s position. She then said that her unborn child should inherit the throne.

On the other hand, Prince Barond insisted that the Emperor was still alive and that the Empress did not have the right to decide on the Crown Prince’s position. Nicole then said that it was logical for the prince to inherit the throne. Garoline immediately refuted her words. He said that unless the Emperor himself made a declaration, the prince was undeserving of the Crown Prince title.

Prince Barond was extremely determined. He drew his sword and fiercely thrust it into the ground. He then shouted, "The Empire is the greatest kingdom founded by my ancestor, Abbas the Great! How could you women usurp it! Now that His Majesty is unconscious, are you going to manipulate Abbas the Great’s descendants?"

The Empress turned pale. Corsica VI suddenly said, "Usurp?"

He suddenly took a step forward and coldly looked at Prince Barond. He raised his voice and coldly said, "Your Royal Highness. Did you just say ’usurp’? Let me tell you the meaning of that word!"

The leader of the God’s religion in the Radiant Empire had a dignified gaze. He slowly said, "According to the laws of the Radiant Empire, the Emperor of the Radiant Empire must be a faithful believer! The Emperor must believe in the Almighty. Even Abbas the Great was a faithful believer!"

His voice echoed over the square as he coldly looked at Prince Barond. Prince Barond felt a chill and could not help but step back. It seemed like he could not endure the gaze of the Pope.

Corsica VI coldly continued. "Prince Barond. You just said ’usurp’. Let me ask you. What is usurpation? Is the Emperor’s and the Empress’ son inheriting the throne considered usurpation? Are you saying that the throne should not be inherited by their child but instead by his brother - you?"

Corsica VI’s voice was oppressive. Prince Barond had a strange expression. He looked at Garoline who was beside him and remembered that he needed to be tough. He immediately and proudly said, "The baby is not born yet, but His Majesty may not last. Are you saying we should give this throne to a baby that is not even born yet?"

A lot of the nobles nodded their heads slightly upon hearing these words. It would not be justified for an unborn baby to inherit the throne of a huge Empire. Although it was the Emperor’s son, if the Emperor died they would have to leave the throne empty for some time. Even if they had the succession ceremony after the child was born, how could the baby manage a huge Empire?

Corsica VI nodded his head and smiled. "Very well, Prince Barond. You have finally spoken the truth. Do you believe that you are the one that should inherit the throne?"

Before Prince Barond could reply, Corsica VI’s expression changed. He became fiercer and louder as he said, "In that case, let me ask you in the name of God. Prince Barond! Are you faithful to God? Are you wholeheartedly filled with faith and respect for the Almighty?"

Prince Barond’s face looked unnatural. However, he spoke loudly in front of all the powerful nobles and ministers and said, "Of course! I am!"

The Pope then laughed coldly.

He then slowly said, "Prince Barond. You are committing blasphemy! Your heart and your actions are all a blasphemy to God! Even when you said the word ‘faith’, it is a blasphemy to God!"

Corsica VI then coldly said, "Prince Barond. Let me ask you. A vampire appeared at your residence that day. How would you explain that? On that day, a dragon’s presence, something that could only appear at the heathen lands in the North, had also appeared in the Empire, in your residence. How would you explain that? You said you are a faithful believer, but on the other hand, are you conspiring with the evil vampires? Or are you conspiring with the heathens in the North?

Prince Barond’s face turned red as he loudly shouted, "How could I conspire with vampires? That day, the vampires attacked my home and destroyed my castle! How could you say that I am conspiring with vampires?"

Corsica VI coldly said, "Very well! You deny it! You are saying that the despicable vampires had attacked your castle, and it was destroyed by them in that battle. So, you are not really conspiring with the vampires?"

Prince Barond immediately said, "Correct!"

Corsica VI then looked at him mockingly and coldly said, "However, the vampires were not the only ones that appeared at your home. There was also the presence of a dragon! You said that the vampires had attacked your castle. Could it be that the dragon helped you defend your castle? So, what is your relationship with the dragons and the heathens in the North?"

Prince Barond was stunned. He opened his mouth and shouted. "Your Excellency! You keep saying that I have committed blasphemy, but do you have any evidence? I have no relationship with these two groups!"

Corsica Vi then coldly said, "Are you saying you have no relationship with them despite them fighting in front of your residence and destroying it?"

The Pope then raised his voice and shouted, "So why did these two groups choose to fight in front of your home amongst all the other noble mansions? Who among them is your ally? Who is your enemy?"

Barond became angry and shouted, "Your Excellency! You claim that I am colluding with the heathens, but do you have any evidence? Did I commit blasphemy just because you said so? Is the Church trying to interfere with the Royal Family’s power struggle? Could it be that you are ambitious and want to seize power for yourself?"

Corsica VI’s eyes turned cold as he said, "We are servants of God and are not interested in the power struggle of the Empire. However, we will still bring to trial those who are blasphemous!"

Garoline then coldly said, "Your Excellency. In fact, you do not have any evidence. You cannot accuse the Prince of our Empire based on your words alone."

These words were very high-sounding. It had inadvertently brought into focus that there was a boundary between the Empire and the Church. It implied that the Pope had no right to accuse Prince Barond of the crime. After all, Prince Barond was the Emperor’s brother. Only the Emperor had the right to judge him. That was unless the Pope now placed the Church’s powers above the Emperor’s.

How could Corsica VI be fooled? If he continued his inquiry this way, it would imply that the Church had more authority than the Emperor. That meant he would also offend all the nobles...

Corsica VI lightly said, "I am not putting the Prince on trial here. However, there are too many doubts in this matter. The Church will properly investigate this matter... However, until this matter is cleared, the Church will refrain from placing our confidence in the Prince."

This statement immediately made it very clear that the Church did not support Prince Barond inheriting the throne. The crowd looked at Prince Barond with a puzzled expression. Ever since the Empire was founded, none of the Emperors had offended the God’s religion before their ascension.

Prince Barond was extremely angry, but he laughed. He pulled out his sword from the ground and said, "Is the Church trying to step in while the Thorn Flower Family is in process of passing down the throne? Are you plotting to grab supreme powers in the Empire? Your Excellency! If the Church really want to plot against the Thorn Flower Family, you better ask for permission from the descendant of Abbas the Great!"

He held the sword firmly in his hands and shouted, "At this moment, the Emperor’s condition is still uncertain! The Empress had gathered everyone here to choose a Crown Prince! Nobody can claim the throne without His Majesty’s order! Your Excellency! Even if you are the leader of God’s religion, you do not have a say in this matter!"

He pointed the longsword at the Empress and shouted, "Put down the Sceptre. Otherwise, not only will we refuse to talk about the Crown Prince! We will be talking about your usurpation of the throne!"

Suddenly, there was a strong breeze as a slender figure appeared in front of Prince Barond. His white hair fluttered in the wind. Master Autumn coldly said, "Prince, Your Highness. Please put down your sword! It is treason to point your sword at Her Highness the Empress!"

Although Prince Barond was agitated, he was now confronting the strongest warrior in the Empire. He felt afraid. Although he did not put down his sword, he took two steps back.

He slowly retreated and shouted, "The Lightning God’s Whip is watching outside the Imperial Palace! Without His Majesty’s order, I will not recognize anybody as the Crown Prince! If you fancy the throne, you must know that the Lightning God’s Whip that is loyal to the Thorn Flower Family had pledged to protect the legitimacy of the Thorn Flower Family! Even if you are an Empress, I will still send you to the guillotine!"

"How bold!" Master Autumn suddenly lifted one hand. Prince Barond then grunted as the longsword in his hand flew away. He fell backward and landed in the arms of several officers behind him.

Master Autumn stood unafraid and coldly said, "I am the Chief Warrior of the Imperial Palace! My duty is to defend the palace! Prince Barond. You have surrounded the Imperial Palace with soldiers. Do you intend to harm the Empress?"

Prince Barond struggled to stand and was about to speak. However, Garoline gave him a meaningful glance. Prince Barond then understood and stepped back.

He saw Master Autumn standing in front with a murderous aura. His heart felt cold. If he was dead, everything would be over. If his opponent made Master Autumn kill him, at most, Master Autumn would be punished. The Chief Warrior of the Imperial Palace in exchange for the throne would be a good bargain.

Prince Barond felt even more afraid and moved behind his subordinates. Master Autumn then smiled coldly and stretched out his hand. Whoop! Prince Barond’s sword that had fallen to the ground automatically flew towards Master Autumn’s hand.

With the sword in hand, Master Autumn shouted as he pointed the sword at Prince Barond, "Prince. Please remove the soldiers outside the Imperial Palace! Otherwise, I will have to arrest you as a traitor!"

Nicole was also surprised. The plan for that day did not require Master Autumn to raise his hands. However, she noticed that Master Autumn was covered with a murderous aura and knew that he was not pretending.

Could it be... Does he want to take this opportunity to kill Prince Barond?

No! Nicole immediately thought of the possibility and shouted. No matter what, Prince Barond has not openly rebelled. He is still the Prince of the Empire! Even if killing him would solve the problem, Master Autumn would be charged for killing a Royal Family member!

Nicole started to sweat and was about to speak. She then heard Master Autumn say, "Miss Nicole. After I kill Prince Barond, all the fault would be pushed to me! After Prince Barond is dead, the only heir remaining would be in the Empress’ stomach! Even if others criticized, they would not be able to do anything! After killing Prince Barond, I will take my own life! All the crimes would be mine! My life in exchange for the Empress’ safety! I have already decided. Please do not say anything more!"

Nicole’s expression changed. She knew that Master Autumn used a secret technique to communicate with her. She subconsciously tried to speak out loud but then she found that she was immobilized. She could neither move nor speak.

Nicole was astonished. She did not know how Master Autumn accomplished this. Her eyes turned to look at the Empress and saw that the Empress also had an expression of fear. Nicole then knew that Master Autumn had also immobilized the Empress.

Master Autumn slowly walked towards Prince Barond and spoke softly, "Prince Barond. Please give up. You have disrespected the Empress and illegally mobilized the soldiers outside the Imperial Palace. You have already committed the crime of plotting a rebellion!"

Prince Barond then shouted an order and two soldiers, in armor, rushed forward. They drew their swords at the same time to attack Master Autumn, each from one side.

The surrounding nobles and ministers were speechless. They did not expect these people to suddenly start fighting. Almost all of them immediately started to retreat in fear. A few military generals continued to stand there. Their hands were on their swords as they vigilantly watched the situation at the scene. Two of them had, intentionally or otherwise, moved to Nicole’s side to shield her with their bodies and protect the eldest daughter of the Tulip Family.

Nobody actually saw clearly what Master Autumn did. They could only hear a silent hum as the two warriors sent out by Prince Barond flew away.

Master Autumn then coldly said, "Prince Barond. Those two men have already reached the rank of Grade 4 swordsmen. I believe they are not ordinary officers! Do you have some kind of plot for taking such masters into the Imperial Palace?"

Prince Barond turned pale. At that moment, two other men immediately took out their wands and started to chant some spells.

Master Autumn raised his eyebrows and sneered. "Magicians. It looks like you have some very strong subordinates."

Two magic fireballs had been thrown at Master Autumn. The magicians also knew that the two simple magic fireballs could only slow down Master Autumn at most. They immediately pulled Prince Barond out of there and headed for the square. On the other hand, Garoline had already started hiding for some time. He had a plan and hid behind some Elders from the Church.

Master Autumn deflected the two fireballs with his longsword and then rushed forward. He had instantly reappeared at the square outside and in front of Prince Barond’s group!

Master Autumn coldly said with a murderous expression, "Prince Barond. Please do not resist! Nobody can stop me when I have a sword in my hand!"

Master Autumn waved the light-sword lightly. At the same time, the two magicians created a defensive curtain of light. Ting! The curtain of light disintegrated the moment the sword touched it. The expressions of these two magicians changed as they spat out blood.

Master Autumn’s sword did not stop there but continued towards Prince Barond’s head. Prince Barond cried out and a burst of fighting energy immediately appeared. He grabbed a long sword from his subordinate and, gritting his teeth, blocked the attack.

Ting! Prince Barond’s longsword immediately broke. He crashed heavily on the floor and spat out some blood.

Master Autumn took a deep breath and attacked Prince Barond again. Prince Barond rolled away in desperation. The sword grazed his face as it stabbed into the ground. The two warriors that were flung away earlier had already gotten up and picked up their swords from the ground. At the same time, they started using fighting energy and rushed at Master Autumn again.

Master Autumn sneered and warded off his opponents using only his hands! There were only a couple of clashing sounds as the two warriors continually retreated. Finally, their fighting energy was exhausted by Master Autumn, and they fell to the ground feeling dejected.

Suddenly, a strong breeze came from behind. The two magicians had created a wall of raging flames. These flames rolled quickly towards Master Autumn. A cold glint flashed in Master Autumn’s eyes as he swiped his palm firmly at the fire wall. A huge blade of light immediately flashed out towards the wall of fire.

The blade of light and the fire wall collided. After that, there was a loud explosion as they both disintegrated. Sparks flew everywhere, causing the audience to flee in fear. Numerous soldiers had gathered. However, these were Imperial Guards. Without any command from the Empress, they only stood around her, protecting her with their shields.

Prince Barond exclaimed loudly, "Empress! How dare you give the order to kill me during His Majesty’s absence! Even if you are an Empress, you will get the death penalty for killing a member of the Royal Family!"

Master Autumn then laughed coldly. "Prince Barond. You do not need to shout. The Empress did not order me to kill you! I am just a warrior attempting to arrest you. I may end up killing you when you resisted. The Empress is not guilty! I, alone, will take the blame!"

A brilliant light flashed as Prince Barond felt a chill in his bones. His whole body stiffened and was unable to move. Feeling a sense of despair, he closed his eyes and prepared to die.