Chapter 008: The Real Show Begins

Seeing those high nobles gather on the platform, the Crown Prince’s gaze turned even darker. Though he understood why those old foxes had gone there, if his own nobles failed to see this…
That would be troublesome.
With that thought, he glanced at his own nobles. Fortunately, though their expressions were no longer as calm as before, none of them were in panic.
Things had reached this point—there was no turning back. Although his side had lost both battles, and that damned Du Fan’s miracles were terrifying, where could he retreat now?
Not only him, but even those nobles and the imperial guards must realize—today’s situation…
It’s either you die or I live!
Success makes you a king; failure makes you a bandit!
There’s no room for compromise here at all…
Thinking this, the Crown Prince clapped his hands and signaled to the guards behind him, saying calmly, “Bring it here!”
Soon, someone handed him a long sword forged from precision steel. With a slight shake of his wrist, he raised the sword, its tip pointing toward the platform.
The earlier battles between strong opponents had been mere appetizers in this coup—now came the real fighting!!!
Holding the sword, the Crown Prince looked at the imperial guards surrounding the training ground and the secret assassins hidden in the rear forces. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride!
Even if you have court magicians and strong warriors like Du Fan…
I have hundreds of thousands of imperial guards! The capital is in my hands! The empire is in my hands!
I have a sword, less than one-tenth of the power provided by the mage guild, and the support of countless noble families!
It’s too early to say who will win!
My dear brother, as for warfare—having spent years in the army, what haven’t I experienced? In this regard, you’re no match for me!
Even if you have the inner court and court magicians, I have armies at my command!
Brother, today I’ll make you understand that ruling an empire depends not on a single strong warrior, but on these millions of soldiers!
Seeing the Crown Prince with his sword, the imperial guards around the training ground immediately drew their weapons and pointed them skyward.

Sounds of battle echoed everywhere. Under such pressure, the group gathered around Prince Fischer’s platform consisted only of a few hundred court magicians and inner court members, giving them a somewhat precarious appearance. The nobles loyal to Prince Fischer quickly gathered around the platform. Despite the presence of court magicians and inner court guards, everyone’s expression remained grim.

“Duke Beringer,” the crown prince glanced at the only member of the imperial elite standing by his side and said calmly, “I will surely remember your help today. I promise you that on the day I ascend the throne, I will also make you a prince, and let your Beringer family take control of the Green family’s territory!”

After the crown prince spoke, Duke Beringer nodded and smiled faintly, saying, “Thank you, Your Majesty! Then I wish you great success in battle!”

With this change in address, “Your Highness” had become “Your Majesty.” How could the crown prince fail to understand Duke Beringer’s meaning? He nodded slightly, then turned around and shouted loudly, “All warriors! There is no way back from this situation! Advance, and you live! Retreat, and you die! Those who kill Prince Fischer will be rewarded with ten thousand gold coins and made counts! Those who kill the magicians will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and made marquises! Follow my orders!”

As the crown prince announced these rewards, the imperial guards grew even more fierce. At his command, thousands of them shouted in unison, “Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!”

The sounds of battle were deafening, as if the entire imperial palace might be lifted off its foundation. The crown prince now appeared heroic, far from the defeated state he had been in the previous two battles. He took a deep breath, and a golden combat aura surged into the sky! This wasn’t because his combat aura had reached the sacred level, but because the armor he wore was a royal heirloom with magic arrays that greatly enhanced his combat aura.

With this surge, golden flames began to burn continuously. Coupled with the crown prince’s already handsome appearance, his black armor and burning combat aura, along with the various colored auras emitted by the warriors behind him, made him look like a reincarnated god of war.

Seeing this, the imperial guards around them became even more enraged, ready to slaughter every member of Prince Fischer’s group on the platform at the crown prince’s command.

“Your Majesty!” Dax was now standing to the left of the Crown Prince. “News has just arrived—all the gates of the imperial city have been closed. Outside the city, my deputy Redcliffe is in charge personally, and the defense of the capital is now in the hands of the Second Prince! Even if the Green family brings in the northern army from outside to attack, it will take at least a day and night to break through the defenses. By then, the outcome will be decided! With Redcliffe here, not only will we be safe on this mission, but nothing about this will leak out at all. Not even the people of the empire will know what happened tonight!”
The Crown Prince nodded and said, “Very good! Dax, you’ve done well! After today’s events, you won’t have to remain just a minor commander anymore. I’ll have those old military figures make way for you!”
Dax’s face lit up with joy. “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
A moment later, a hint of brutality flashed in Dax’s eyes as he said in a low voice, “But Your Majesty, although these nobles and our own people won’t leak anything, don’t forget—there are still over forty daughters of the old emperor, along with court servants and nobles… Those people pose quite a problem too!”
“Kill them!!!” the Crown Prince declared without hesitation.
Dax was momentarily stunned before realizing that the Crown Prince’s biological mother had already been executed by Austin III years ago. Although the old emperor had many children, only the incompetent Second Prince and the Crown Prince were brothers. As for those princesses…
Inside the palace, the Crown Prince no longer had anyone he cared about. Even if those princesses were related to him by blood, now that he had raised a sword against his own father, what did those princesses matter…
It was a shame about Princess Nina, though…
Thinking of this, Dax couldn’t help but lick his dry lips slightly.
At that moment, the imperial guards were approaching the platform step by step, but without the Crown Prince’s order, no one rushed forward first.
Watching this, a cold glint appeared in the Crown Prince’s eyes. Then he raised his sword slightly and shouted, “Archers, form up! Prepare! Fire!”
Immediately, thousands of archers armed with crossbows rushed out from the rear of the imperial guards. They knelt on one knee, aiming their crossbows at the platform. At the Crown Prince’s command, they pulled the triggers one after another!

With this round of simultaneous firing, a dense rain of arrows, as numerous as raindrops, rushed toward the platform from all directions. There was nowhere for those who tried to escape to hide. Seeing this, Du Fan couldn’t help but glare in the direction of the crown prince and muttered, “So it was you who tried to kill me back then!” The design of these crossbows was exactly the same as those Du Fan had encountered during the ambush in the small town—so he recognized them at a glance. However, Du Fan wasn’t able to react right away; otherwise, given his personality, he would have gone to confront the crown prince immediately! As the arrow rain approached, the nobles on Prince Fischer’s side paled in fear, but Prince Fischer, clearly prepared, sneered and ordered, “Form up!” Immediately, the people from the inner court stepped forward, drawing the weapons at their waists, while the court magicians raised their hands and waved them sharply. As they recited strange magical incantations, a semicircular shield of light enveloped the area around the platform, covering everyone on Prince Fischer’s side. Some members of the inner court raised large shields to protect the nobles, while two court magicians suddenly appeared beside Austin III. With a wave of their hands, they added an extra layer of protection around him. Abraham, on the other hand, sneered coldly, floated into the air, and waved his hands, summoning dozens of fire dragons that rushed in all directions. Although the arrows were made of steel, the intense heat melted most of them into molten iron. There were still many arrows left, and although this attack eliminated a small portion, most continued to fly toward them. But Abraham didn’t even flinch. He tapped his hands in the air, creating several tornadoes that swept away most of the arrows. Some of them were flung out of the wind and struck the dense ranks of the imperial guards, causing cries of pain. Even so, many arrows still landed on the shield. The shield flickered, causing the arrows to bounce off weakly. But human strength was limited—this protective magic array relied on the magicians’ mana. With each arrow deflected, a portion of their mana was consumed. After a few such attempts, several magicians with insufficient power collapsed to the ground.

Du Fan glanced over and saw that these magicians had turned into mummies on the ground; clearly, their magical energy had been absorbed by this protective magic array.