Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1226: Chapter 1226:- Fleeing and Holding Back

The destruction caused by the Void Collapse Talisman was far more terrifying than anything the Imperial Royal Palace had experienced in thousands of years.

Everything caught within the effective radius of the spatial collapse was completely annihilated. Buildings, roads, gardens, defensive structures, and even the people unfortunate enough to be within the affected area were instantly reduced to nothing or simply vaporised.

There were no collapsed buildings or scattered remains left behind. The destructive spatial energy had completely erased everything in its path, leaving behind an enormous empty area where a significant portion of the Imperial Royal Palace had once stood.

Almost one-third of the entire Imperial Royal Palace had completely vanished. Even the strongest cultivators present were momentarily stunned by the scale of the destruction. The Imperial Royal Palace had stood for countless generations, protected by some of the most powerful defensive formations in the Celestial Dragon Empire.

Yet a single explosion had destroyed nearly a third of it in an instant. However, before anyone could fully recover from the shock, Aditya knew that his opportunity had arrived.

He immediately tightened his grip on the rope connecting him to Rin and Elara. With Alen still on his back and Elena being carried by Rin, Aditya activated his teleportation ability without the slightest hesitation.

FLASH!!!

All five of them instantly disappeared from their position near the eastern entrance of the Imperial Royal Palace. When they reappeared, they were approximately seven hundred meters above the ground. At this height, they had already crossed beyond the Imperial Royal Palace’s defensive dome.

More importantly, the spatial disturbances caused by the Void Collapse Talisman had temporarily disrupted the anti-teleportation functions of both the palace’s defensive formation and the larger formation protecting the Capital. This allowed Aditya to teleport beyond the restrictions that would normally have prevented him from escaping.

The moment he appeared high above the Capital, however, several powerful auras immediately locked onto his position.

The National Treasures had noticed him. Aditya also knew that the National Treasures had noticed him.

Aditya was not particularly surprised. He had already expected that his escape would attract the attention of the Seventh Order cultivators stationed throughout the Capital. After all, the explosion had caused far too much destruction for anyone to simply ignore the person responsible.

But Aditya had no intention of staying to fight them. And he could not fight all of them alone. Right now, his priority was to return to the small town from which he and Rin had originally entered the Capital. The teleportation array there was outside the Capital’s defensive formations, meaning they could use it to escape once they reached the town.

Without wasting another second, Aditya continued teleporting in that direction.

FLASH!!! FLASH!!! FLASH!!!

Within just a few seconds, he had already covered more than five kilometres. His teleportation had become considerably more powerful after reaching Beginner Sixth Order, allowing him to travel much greater distances while carrying multiple people.

And this was not even the maximum distance he could cover. If Aditya activated one of his special abilities that greatly enhanced his vision, he would be able to see much farther into the distance and teleport toward locations beyond his ordinary visual range. However, he did not feel the need to use that ability just yet.

His current teleportation speed was already more than sufficient. Even if Seventh Order cultivators attempted to pursue him, Aditya was confident that very few would be capable of keeping up with his continuous teleportation.

His agility had improved tremendously after his breakthrough, and the ability to instantly move between distant locations gave him a significant advantage over cultivators who relied on ordinary flight.

Furthermore, everyone accompanying him was attempting to suppress their mana fluctuations as much as possible. The only exceptions were Alen, who remained completely unresponsive because of the Gu controlling him, and Elara, who had not yet fully recovered from her injuries and was unable to suppress her mana as effectively as the others.

Nevertheless, Aditya continued moving without slowing down. Several Sixth Order cultivators had already begun pursuing him the moment he appeared above the Capital, but the distance between them only continued to increase with every teleportation.

Meanwhile, back inside the Imperial Royal Palace, Sora, Ritsu, and Levin had also witnessed the terrifying explosion.

The moment the Void Collapse Talisman detonated, the three National Treasures had immediately reacted. Combining their mana, they created an enormous defensive barrier around their residence and the surrounding area, hoping to protect as many people as possible from the destructive spatial energy.

Fortunately, their residence was not directly beneath the centre of the explosion. With three Seventh Order cultivators working together, their defensive barrier managed to withstand the destructive forces that reached their location.

However, when the explosion finally ended, and the three National Treasures saw what had happened to the Imperial Royal Palace, even Sora and Ritsu were left speechless.

The amused smiles that had remained on their faces throughout the earlier disturbances had completely disappeared.

Both brothers now wore extremely serious expressions as they stared at the enormous section of the Imperial Royal Palace that had simply vanished.

”I never imagined His Highness would go this far.” Sora muttered. Ritsu did not immediately respond. Although both brothers had suspected that Aditya was responsible for the earlier explosions, neither had expected him to use something capable of causing destruction on this scale.

Even Levin, who had been warned not to involve himself, could hardly believe what he was seeing. Just then, all three sensed a familiar yet extremely powerful mana fluctuation appearing high above the Imperial Royal Palace.

They immediately looked toward the sky. Although Aditya disappeared almost as quickly as he appeared, Sora and Ritsu had already recognised him.

Without exchanging a word, both brothers immediately flew upward toward the location where Aditya had briefly appeared.

Levin hesitated for a second before following them. He had already decided that whatever happened next, he would follow the two brothers’ lead. They had far more experience than he did, and after everything he had witnessed, he was no longer interested in making any decisions on his own.

However, Sora and Ritsu were not the only National Treasures who had noticed Aditya. Several other Seventh Order cultivators had also detected his presence and were preparing to pursue him. These were among the strongest cultivators in the Celestial Dragon Empire, and the destruction of the Imperial Royal Palace had naturally enraged them.

But just as they were about to give chase, two figures suddenly appeared in their path.

Sora and Ritsu positioned themselves directly between the pursuing National Treasures and the direction in which Aditya had disappeared. Standing beside them was Levin, who had decided to follow the two brothers regardless of what happened next.

The four National Treasures who had been preparing to pursue Aditya immediately stopped. Their names were Cedric, Roland, Victor, and Marcus. All four were Seventh Order cultivators who had served the Celestial Dragon Empire for thousands of years, although none possessed the same seniority as Sora and Ritsu.

”What is the meaning of this?” Cedric, a Middle Seventh Order cultivator, coldly demanded.

Neither Sora nor Ritsu moved aside. Their expressions remained calm despite the obvious hostility coming from the four National Treasures.

”Are you two seriously trying to protect a traitor?” Cedric asked again as his expression grew increasingly hostile.

When neither brother responded, Cedric finally lost his patience. He summoned his sword and pointed its sharp tip directly at Ritsu.

He no longer cared that Sora and Ritsu were among the oldest and most respected National Treasures in the Celestial Dragon Empire. Both brothers had held their positions long before Cedric and the others had even been born. Under ordinary circumstances, he would never have dared to behave so disrespectfully toward them.

However, the situation was anything but ordinary. Nearly one-third of the Imperial Royal Palace had just been destroyed, countless people had lost their lives, and the person responsible was escaping right before their eyes.

”Move aside! Or are you planning to betray the Empire alongside that criminal?” Cedric demanded.

Sora and Ritsu exchanged a brief glance before releasing their Seventh Order auras. Although neither brother drew a weapon, their actions made it clear that they had no intention of backing down.

Roland, Victor, and Marcus immediately became alert. None of them had expected the two brothers to go this far, especially when the person they were protecting was responsible for such enormous destruction.

”I will clarify two things right now.” Ritsu finally spoke, his voice calm but carrying unmistakable authority. ”First of all, the person you are calling a traitor is not a traitor. He is the rightful Crown Prince of the Celestial Dragon Empire and the son of the Emperor who still holds legitimate authority over this Empire.”

Ritsu raised his head slightly, his expression filled with pride. ”And secondly, if you knew the truth behind this civil war, you would not be pointing your sword at me right now.”

”What truth?” Cedric immediately demanded.

”The only truth I can see is that you are deliberately allowing an enemy of the Empire to escape after he destroyed nearly a third of the Imperial Royal Palace!”

Ritsu did not become angry at his accusation. Instead, he slowly shook his head before looking at the other three National Treasures.

”Then tell me something. Have any of you personally seen His Former Majesty Emperor Alen or Her Former Majesty Empress Elena recently?” The unexpected question caused the four National Treasures to exchange confused glances. Roland frowned slightly, while Victor appeared to be thinking about the last time he had seen the former Emperor and Empress.

Before anyone could answer, Ritsu continued. ”I have seen them. Both of them looked like lifeless dolls, completely devoid of their former personalities. They showed no independent reactions, and their expressions were completely blank. Those are clear signs of someone being subjected to powerful mind control.”

Of course, Ritsu was lying about having personally seen Alen and Elena. He had not laid eyes on either of them since returning to the Capital. However, after his recent conversation with Boris, he had learned enough about Ren’s actions to understand what had likely happened.

More importantly, Ritsu knew that simply accusing Ren of controlling the former Emperor and Empress would not be enough to convince these four National Treasures. They had served the Empire for thousands of years, and some had personally supported Ren after he became Emperor.

Fortunately, there was one particular piece of evidence that none of them could easily dismiss.

”Now, think about this carefully. If Ren truly became Emperor through a legitimate transfer of authority, why has the Imperial Crown never recognised him as its master? And why has the Imperial Throne refused to acknowledge his authority?”

The expressions of Cedric, Roland, Victor, and Marcus changed almost simultaneously. This was something they had all been aware of, but very few people within the Imperial Court had dared to openly discuss it.

The Imperial Crown and Imperial Throne were not ordinary ceremonial objects. They were ancient Imperial Artifacts that recognised the legitimate sovereign of the Celestial Dragon Empire. Their recognition could not simply be obtained through military strength, political influence, or by physically possessing them.

For Ren to legitimately inherit the throne from Alen, the transfer of Imperial Authority needed to have been made willingly and in accordance with the Empire’s succession laws. However, if Alen had been under mind control when he supposedly transferred that authority, then the transfer itself would be invalid.

And that would explain why the Imperial Crown and Imperial Throne had never recognised Ren.

”Are you suggesting that His Former Majesty never willingly abdicated?” Victor finally asked.

”That is exactly what I am saying. If Alen was being controlled when Ren took the throne, then according to the Imperial Laws, Alen remains the rightful Emperor of the Celestial Dragon Empire.”

”But you have no evidence that Ren was responsible for the mind control.” Marcus pointed out. Unlike Cedric, he appeared more interested in understanding the situation than immediately confronting the brothers.

”Then explain why Ren has refused to allow anyone to meet His Former Majesty and Her Former Majesty since the civil war began. Why would he need to imprison the very people who raised him as their own son? And why has he never been able to obtain the Imperial Crown’s recognition?” Hearing this, Marcus fell silent. He had no response regarding this.

Because all of them here had doubts on Ren is the reason why all of them chose to stay out of this civil war.

”Do you understand what this means? The entire foundation of this civil war could be based on a lie. We have been told that the exiled Crown Prince returned to challenge the legitimate Emperor and seize the throne. But what if the truth is completely different?”

”What if Ren was the one who controlled Alen and Elena, manipulated them into exiling their own son, and then used that same mind control to steal the Imperial Throne?”

Roland’s expression gradually became serious. He had served the Celestial Dragon Empire long enough to understand the consequences if such accusations were proven true.

”Then His Highness Aditya is not a rebel attempting to overthrow the rightful Emperor. He is a son fighting to free his parents and restore the legitimate Imperial Authority that Ren unlawfully seized.”

Ritsu then turned his attention back toward Cedric, who was still pointing his sword at him.

”And Ren is not the rightful Emperor. He is a usurper who has been pretending to hold an authority that the Imperial Crown itself refuses to recognize.”

The surrounding atmosphere became exceptionally quiet. Even Cedric, who had been the most aggressive among the four, could not immediately find a response.

”If these accusations are proven true, then the entire narrative of this war must be reversed. The people you have been calling rebels are fighting to restore the legitimate Imperial Family, while Ren and those who knowingly continue supporting his unlawful claim are the ones rebelling against the rightful Emperor.”

Ritsu’s gaze slowly swept across Cedric, Roland, Victor, and Marcus. ”That is why I suggest you think very carefully before deciding who the real traitor is.”

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