Chapter 005: No Family Ties in the Imperial Family

The eldest prince sneered. He raised his head and stared at Austin III—his father—without the slightest trace of respect in his eyes, instead filled with coldness…
After staring at Austin III for a moment, the eldest prince finally placed his left hand on his chest, bowed slightly in a proper knightly salute, then said coldly, “Father… His Majesty Austin III… Since you’re ready to abdicate, perhaps you might consider giving that position to me? Just now, not one of your worthless ministers dared to answer. You must be very disappointed, right? But don’t worry… I’ll ensure you’re no longer disappointed!”
With that, the eldest prince drew his long sword from his waist with a clang, pointing it straight at the throne and at Austin III sitting on it—
“Your Majesty, Father…” The eldest prince’s voice was icy cold. “May I ask… how sharp is the sword in my hand?”
No sooner had he spoken than a loud roar came from outside the hall, as if thousands of people were shouting in unison: “Sharp!!!”
At that sound, the entire hall seemed to tremble. Some nobles were shocked into sitting on the ground, while many others were completely terrified!
Then, orderly footsteps came from all directions around the hall. With a rustling sound, all the curtains hanging over the hall were pulled down. Immediately afterward, thousands of imperial guards emerged from every side, filling the entire hall and surrounding the throne and the person in front of it!
These imperial guards wore shiny silver armor, their long swords drawn, all pointing in the direction of Austin III!
The nobles in the hall paled in shock!
The eldest prince’s actions were nothing short of treason!!!
Yet his smile remained unchanged. He continued to stare at his father and said calmly, “Father, let me ask you again—how mighty are my warriors?”
The imperial guards shouted in unison, “Mighty!!!”
The eldest prince tapped the blade of his sword lightly with his finger, producing a sound like a dragon’s roar. Then, with a sharp gaze fixed on Austin III on the throne, he shouted loudly, “With such a sharp sword! Such a mighty army! Are you worthy of ruling this great empire!!!”
The entire hall was stunned!!!

The nobles were speechless. Although there had always been overt and covert struggles for power among the royal family, the Crown Prince and Prince Fischer had been evenly matched. Yet now, the situation was overwhelmingly one-sided—just as the Crown Prince took action, he settled everything in an instant.

Only Austin III remained calm, as if he had anticipated such a reaction from his son. He studied his son carefully before sighing softly and saying, “My son… you truly haven’t disappointed me. But I must ask you… do you really think you can ascend to the throne with just a few thousand imperial guards? My son, since you were young, I’ve taught you that while using strength to impress others is good, it is true power that truly rules!”

The Crown Prince seemed unprepared for his father’s reaction, but he was no ordinary person either. Now that things had come to this, even if he didn’t want to, he had to proceed. With that thought, he sheathed his sword, though his gaze remained sharp as a blade fixed on his father. After a moment, he sneered and said, “Father! The answer you failed to get earlier—the choice you hesitated over for over twenty years—let me, your son, make it now! Only in this way can I fulfill my filial duty!”

With that, the Crown Prince turned and glanced at the nobles around him before calmly asking, “My lords, I would like to ask you—among us in this hall, who is qualified to sit on that throne?”

As he spoke, he pointed casually in the direction of the throne. At his signal, the imperial guards around them turned their swords toward the nobles.

The nobles paled in terror! Usually, they went out surrounded by guards, some even employing magicians—practically never worrying about their own safety. But now, in the palace hall, these nobles had brought none with them. What could they do? Likely, with a single order from the Crown Prince, they would all become victims of his sword! Even if a few of them knew how to use combat energy or magic, facing such an overwhelming situation, they could only sigh…

Besides, who became emperor in the Austin line would make much of a difference?

Just as the nobles had not yet made a choice, the dozen or so military generals who had followed the Crown Prince inside already raised their left hands and slapped their armor on the chest in unison, shouting loudly, “Crown Prince! Crown Prince!! Crown Prince!!!”
At these three cries, the nobles seemed to receive some kind of call to action. Those who had already sided with the Crown Prince began to shout loudly, and even a few of those who had supported Prince Fischer started to call out as well. The only ones who remained motionless were some of the empire’s elite families, who disdained to engage in such dishonorable behavior. They also knew well that if the Crown Prince wanted to become emperor, he would not dare to harm them, unless he wanted to isolate himself from everyone!
The shouting grew louder and louder, until finally, the imperial guards around also began to shout loudly, their voices like a tide that seemed about to overwhelm the entire hall!
After a long while, the Crown Prince finally raised his hand high, signaling for them to stop. Then he looked at Austin III on the throne and said with a loud laugh, “Father, see? With so many people already giving you the answer, isn’t this hesitation unnecessary?”
With that, the Crown Prince swiftly drew his long sword from his waist again and pointed it at Austin III, declaring loudly, “Then, please step down, Father!”
The long swords in the hands of the imperial guards also pointed at Austin III as they shouted in unison, “Please step down, Your Majesty! Please step down!!!”
After these two cries, all noise ceased. Everyone stared at Austin III on the platform, waiting for his response… Because the situation was almost settled at this point, and Austin III’s answer would be the final word that decided everything!
Under such circumstances, whether they were nobles or imperial guards, everyone gazed at Austin III, not daring to speak a word, fearing that even the slightest noise might disrupt the atmosphere!
Outside the hall, the dense thunderclouds finally roared, followed by a burst of noise, as torrential rain poured down from the sky.
Yet even then, everything remained quiet… Too quiet…

Under such tense circumstances, the entire grand hall seemed to be in an extremely strange state; no one dared to move, not even Prime Minister Kimberly, who was second to none, the absolute leader of the military, the head of the Lionheart family, the current Minister of War, Duke Wade, or the Minister of Finance, Duke Belinger. Even these figures who once held absolute power in the empire did not dare to speak a word…
Even Du Fan, known for his boldness, could only watch in this situation without doing anything unnecessary!
Finally, after a very long time…
Austin III finally sighed. His eyes, which had seemed to have lost all brightness, slowly opened, and he seemed to regain countless times his energy. This emperor, like a lion, now appeared to be back in his prime. He sat on his throne, gazing at his son, and suddenly smiled gently, saying, “My son… it seems you truly possess the strength to take over this great empire. It seems you have truly grown into someone who can be an emperor… But why? Why are you still so… useless?”
As he uttered these last two words, a hint of sorrow flashed in the old emperor’s eyes. It seemed he wasn’t angry at his eldest son’s rebellion at all; instead, he felt he wasn’t ruthless enough!
Hearing Austin III’s words, the eldest prince’s expression changed slightly, but he still said coldly, “Father… what do you mean by this?”
Austin III replied calmly, “Don’t you understand what I mean? I’m simply telling you… you’re useless! Perhaps it should be said that my upbringing of you from childhood was a failure!”
With that, Austin III slowly stood up, looked up at the reliefs on the ceiling of the grand hall, and sighed melancholyly. His aged voice was filled with sorrow!

“Since you were a child, I’ve told you! There is no family affection in the imperial family! Not even between father and son! Not even between siblings! Before imperial power, nothing matters! To become emperor, you must do anything… even kill your own father! In this regard… I have to admit you failed! You dared to attack Fischer—for that, I should praise you! But when facing me, you still hesitated! Because you didn’t really want to kill me! You just wanted me to step back! Deep down, you didn’t want to be an emperor who killed his own father to seize the throne! Am I right? My son!”