Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 656: Artefact

The commoners, rich merchants, and people of higher status who were not exactly nobles within the Capital City were not the only ones who were having a time of their own, as the weight of the recent events pressed heavily upon every single layer of society without exception, leaving no individual untouched by the aftermath.

The nobles themselves were stunned, no, stunned was an understatement; they were left in a state of unadulterated shock that ran far deeper than mere surprise or disbelief. Especially the Dukes, the three Dukes, Duchess Syvrein Stormveil, Duke Mauvrek Ravencroft, and Duke Rhydion Silvershade, had all personally witnessed the war between the Wargrave Ducal family and the Imperial family unfold before their very eyes, a clash that would be etched into their memories for years to come.

Yes, the three Dukes had chosen not to interfere, but that did not mean they would not remain behind to observe how everything unfolded. They had stayed to witness the kind of monster Azaron truly was; they had stayed to observe the power that the Emperor himself was renowned for, a power that had long defined authority within the Empire.

Although they already knew that Azaron was an insanely powerful individual, the battle data they possessed was outdated, originating from decades ago. They required new data, new insight into his current strength; after all, just because someone had reached the Radiant Crownstar Life Rank did not mean they could not continue to grow stronger.

Yes, progression in terms of Life Rank was no longer possible, but when it came to pure battle prowess, that was an entirely different matter altogether, and every Crownstar Life Ranker understood this truth... well, aside from those who had only recently ascended and had yet to fully grasp its implications.

And what they had witnessed left them deeply unsettled, a lingering unease that refused to dissipate. The sheer ease with which Azaron had handled the Emperor, almost without needing to utilize his nebula affinity offensively, relying primarily on it for defensive purposes, left them utterly stunned. They had even watched the man withstand attacks directly, enduring them with a level of composure that bordered on indifference.

They could not help but watch in awe, in reverence, and in quiet, restrained fear, a stark reminder that just because Azaron Wargrave had assumed the title of Duke did not mean he had ceased his training or allowed himself to stagnate. It did not mean he spent his days confined within an office, merely stamping documents and approving matters without concern for his own growth.

The battle... or rather, the one-sided beatdown, served as a harsh reminder that although they had reached the peak of the Crownstar Life Rank, they had not reached the peak of their personal strength and capability. That single confrontation forced the Dukes to remember that the world, and reality itself, ultimately revolved around who possessed the greatest power, not who held the highest noble title within the established hierarchy.

After witnessing such a display, the three of them... no, almost all nobles would inevitably retreat into seclusion, driven by the need to further refine their strength.

And as nobles, these individuals possessed far more efficient and rapid sources of information than the commoners within the Capital City. They could verify intelligence within mere minutes and have a complete report placed before them in less than half an hour. Thus, at this very moment, every noble, be they Baron or Viscount, already knew what had transpired within the Capital City.

They had sensed the battle; they had felt the madness as it unfolded. However, unlike the Dukes, who had rushed toward the Emperor and the Imperial Palace, the lower nobles, from Marquis downward, had taken a different approach. They had essentially done what Yveric had done: deploying their forces, activating various defensive formations, mechanisms, and protective measures as they waited for the battle to potentially reach their own territories.

Since the Emperor had not called for them, they saw no reason to rush toward him. If an Imperial decree had been issued, they would not have hesitated to act, but in its absence, their decision not to intervene was entirely within their rights.

However, that was not the true crux of the matter. As stated earlier, nobles could acquire and verify information across the Empire in less than an hour, depending on how much they were willing to pay and how urgently they required it. Now, the information they had received left them speechless and shaken to their very core.

The revelation that the Emperor possessed a Mind Manipulation ability left them in profound shock. While such abilities were not unheard of, they were universally feared, and individuals who possessed them were often avoided due to the implications and consequences of such power.

But that was not all. Upon discovering that the Emperor had attempted to manipulate the Tenth Sun following his spar with Ryan Silvershade, the entire noble system seemed to teeter on the brink of collapse.

Yes, the Emperor had not publicly admitted to this, even when questioned by the Duke of the Wargrave family, but still...

With this confirmation, with this information, whether acknowledged by the Emperor or not, a purge began.

No noble family dared to hesitate. Every single one immediately opened their vaults and retrieved whatever artifacts they possessed that could counter Mind Manipulation in any form. Nobles began scanning the minds and memories of every maid, every butler, every Knight, so long as they were human, they were examined. Whether they were sons or daughters of nobility, even the nobles themselves underwent scrutiny; the matter was that serious.

And needless to say, individuals who had been mentally manipulated were discovered across nearly every noble house, further solidifying the information regarding the Emperor’s Mind Manipulation.

This drove the nobles into desperate action, as they began executing those who had been mentally manipulated on the spot without hesitation. Who was there to stop them? Who would charge them with murder? The answer was simple, no one. There was no centralized authority or policing force capable of holding them accountable.

However, after the initial executions, a more restrained approach gradually emerged. They began attempting to remove the manipulation from the minds of those affected, as nobles could not easily bring themselves to kill their own children who had fallen under such influence.

Before the merchants could even fully comprehend the situation, the demand for mind-related artifacts surged dramatically. No matter how weak or insignificant an artifact’s effect might have been, nobles and individuals of the higher echelons, those with access to extensive information networks, immediately began spending thousands of Platinum coins to acquire them. And, as expected, with demand rising sharply and supply remaining limited, prices skyrocketed to extreme levels, driven by the basic principles of economics.

But did anyone complain? Certainly not. This was not the time to hoard wealth, this was the time to spend it. Wealth had always been accumulated for emergencies, and now that such emergencies had arisen, there was no reason to hesitate. Besides, regardless of how much merchants inflated their prices, the truth remained that these individuals were extraordinarily wealthy, and the cost of a single artifact, no matter how exaggerated, was not enough to render them bankrupt.