Origin Player.

Chapter 654 Great

Under the moonlit night.

Jiang He and Viglid headed to Golden Castle.

The finance minister gathered the gold coins, and Jiang He manufactured a second large dose of medicine, preparing to "treat" the emperor's injuries.

Inside the palace, time rewinds to the emperor before the decisive battle, presenting an extremely majestic aura. With the return of his fighting power, even though he is still old, he has regained a strong confidence. As a hero at the peak, riding the dragon of calamity, this dual-power dragon knight mode gives him immense control over the empire.

In a sense, the earthly emperor and the head of the gods are equal in status in the sky and on the earth.

"You mean, you're my brother whom I've never met?"

The emperor's expression was complex; he was somewhat shocked by Jiang He's shamelessness. Given the principle of succession by brother, and considering the purity of bloodlines, Prince Augustus's place in the line of succession would be ahead of most of his direct descendants.

“Yes,” Jiang He said.

Wiglitz said earnestly, "Only bloodlines are eternal."

The emperor couldn't help but rub his temples. From the perspective of supporting the Conquest Church and the Seven Gods Cult in their conflict, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he wouldn't refuse the royal heir chosen by the Conquest Church.

However, the emperor's feelings were somewhat complicated about whether he wanted to see Prince Augustus truly inherit the empire. Theoretically, it was fine, but this guy was most likely not a real member of the royal family.

Vigrid said, "The royal family once believed in conquering the church. If Prince Augustus wins the sacred treaty after the tournament, I hope he will marry my second daughter and restore the former glory."

"Therefore, the Conquest Church will wage a full-scale war against the Seven Gods Church."

"I guarantee that a god will surely fall."

The emperor's eyes narrowed, and he said, "It is an honor for my brother to marry the eldest daughter of the Medici family."

“In that case, the matter is settled. Lord Vigrid, please rest for now. The Prince and I have something to discuss.”

"Yes."

Vigrid's departure from the Golden Castle clearly indicates that the Emperor has become interested in the alchemical potion that can heal him.

After the duke left, the emperor said, "The ocean titan, the Hydra, fell on the island of the Sea Serpent. Some people told me that there was a celestial phenomenon at the time when a sky-level being was born."

"Under these circumstances, facing an unknown Sky-class combat power separated only by a sea, the Northern Duke's faction chose to shrink its power to Lemon Fortress, while plundering the Northern Territory. Also, can you give me a reason for the Church of Death?"

The atmosphere in the bedroom froze for a moment.

Jiang He frankly stated, "In the past, the ultimate foundation of the Lion Family of the North, the lineage of the King, was restored on that day."

"In order to seize control of the ultimate foundation, I personally killed Eleanor and, based on the weakness of the newly formed Hydra, sent the foundation to kill it. The Sun King was an Imperial Duke, and he should have joined the Church of the Sun after he escaped."

"The Sun Sage will probably be replaced soon."

Such a massive upheaval erupted on an island that the empire had no time to pay attention to. Compared to this, Prince Augustus's murder of his wife seemed insignificant. The bloodline of the Holy Empire's nobility was already rife with filth and betrayal.

"In other words, you possess Sky-level combat power."

The emperor narrowed his eyes: "I have a general idea of ​​Vigrid's strength, but you should also know what it means to me for one side to have two Sky-level experts."

This means they are qualified to challenge the monarchy's status.

Jiang He calmly said, "I will choose to marry a princess from the royal family."

The emperor gently tapped the armrest and said, "In that case, my resentment is nothing. You who killed Eleanor probably don't have the morality to be loyal to Vigrid."

Jiang He remained noncommittal. His cooperation with Vigrid was merely a result of an exchange of interests. In terms of reducing the number of gods, his interests were more aligned with the emperor's. The fewer gods there were, the easier it would be to unify the faith.

"Then, my brother."

"Go and choose your sacred dragon."

The emperor said solemnly, "I will attend the sacred tournament."

A figure emerged from the shadows. He appeared to be middle-aged, yet possessed an aura that rivaled that of an emperor. It was he who had delivered the pardon to the Eternal Death Prison.

—The sword that cuts through steel, the steel swordsman.

Wielding the Steel Sword, one of the top three most lethal sacred weapons, and possessing the authority to slay, he is a pinnacle hero and the honorary guild master of the Adventurers' Guild. Because he serves the emperor, he rarely appears at the Imperial Capital headquarters.

Meanwhile, as one of the top three on the bounty list of the Heavenly Father Church's Inquisition, this Sword Saint is the legendary, unpredictable free assassin in the capital, responsible for purging certain nobles.

When the emperor was seriously ill and the Dragon of Calamity had no new qualified successor, the Steel Sword Saint was the royal family's greatest reliance in checking and balancing the Dragon Master and the Pope.

“Prince Augustus,” the Steel Sword Saint greeted simply, then said, “I know you are very close to the eldest daughter of the Medici family, and she loves you.”

"Talking about feelings in this game?" Jiang He scoffed. "Don't you think you're being too arrogant?"

……

At dawn, the sacred martial arts competition commenced.

Given the chaos that occurred in the previous two martial arts competitions, everyone in the capital is now eagerly anticipating another momentous change.

Unlike before, the emperor himself attended the martial arts competition, positioned at the very top behind the gilded fence. Rumors of the deaths of some emperors and palace assassinations were dispelled, and countless people in the capital cheered wildly, offering their loyalty and reverence to the emperor who had once brought glory to the empire.

Not far from the seat of the third prince, the shadow saint Belladonna's eyes were dark. The second princess had died, and she had returned to the Church of the Seven Gods. Perhaps in a few years, she would become the most honored lady of the empire. But whenever she thought of a certain figure, fear would resurface. She seriously suspected that the princess's sudden death was related to Rhine Augustus.

"First match: Prince Augustus VS Adventurers' Fallen Kingdom!"

The wolf roared, filled with hatred.

Having conquered the church faction and driven the queen to her death, as the "queen's fierce dog," he desperately hoped that Jiang He could make it to the end so that he could personally send her off to her funeral.

Prince Augustus?

"What's going on with the prince?"

"This morning, Golden Castle announced that Augustus is His Majesty's younger brother, of the purest bloodline, and second in the line of succession, second only to the third prince of the direct line."

"I heard he was originally just a down-on-his-luck baron, how did he end up like this!"

Where is this guy?

A commotion erupted in the stands. The Third Prince and a group of bishops had grim expressions. Beside Vigrid, Mirai Kamishiro's face was veiled in black. Ever since she learned of her father's conversation with the Emperor, she had begun to identify herself as Prince Augustus's wife, and as for her identity as a chaste nun, she could only "reluctantly" abandon it.

As the Demon Wolf declared the start of the duel, the fallen kingdom began searching for the enemy. Since the Alchemy Matrix had not issued a warning, it meant that the enemy had already entered the combat range.

"Neither front nor back, neither left nor right."

A shadow fell, and the nation's demise suddenly loomed large.

High in the sky, a giant red dragon, hundreds of meters long, was spreading its wings. Its body was enormous, like a suspended mountain. Its entire body was covered with blood-red scales that reflected a dazzling crimson light in the sunlight. Its wings were huge and wide. When the ferocious dragon head was lowered, a torrent of dragon breath was released, and a blood-red beam of light shot straight to the ground. The high temperature caused ripples to appear in the vacuum.

The emperor couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Blood Queen Igraia is one of the three strongest dragons in the Royal Sanctuary. Even if the previous King's Sword were alive, it would be quite difficult for them to defeat these three top-tier dragons together.

The appearance of the dragons nearly drove the arena into a frenzy. Royal dragon knights could naturally ride dragons into battle, but most royal members were extremely vulnerable in the relatively confined space of the golden arena.

Boom!

The dragon's breath was released.

Player Wangguo's eyes hardened, and he raised his hand to create a summoning gate. Three thousand steel-boned corpse riders appeared. After learning the priest magic of the world of gods, his overall strength had been significantly improved.

call!
Three Immortal-grade Steel Bone Shields materialized.

The steel-colored bones intertwine to form a shield, spanning the top of the head. The three steel shields overlap, resembling an impregnable fortress.

boom!
Dragon's breath hit the shield.

The splashing crimson flames illuminated the Imperial Arena, resembling countless sparks piercing through a giant sword.

After a prolonged tug-of-war, the first steel shield shattered, but the dragon's breath also dimmed, and the blood-red pillar of light quickly became thin. Just when everyone in the capital thought the attack had been stopped and the country was doomed, a sudden change occurred.

Click!

The two steel shields collapsed almost simultaneously.

The aftershocks of the dragon's breath struck the ground, and amidst the raging torrent, Jiang He landed. As she stepped onto the ground, countless patterns burst forth from the golden sand. A dragon roar, even more ferocious than the Blood Queen's, rose up. The nine-headed, eighteen-horned dragon seemed to have come from hell, unleashing its ultimate power, causing the entire arena to shake.

“The power of force!” Vigrid murmured. There was no doubt that Prince Augustus held the power of force.

The deposed king looked grave and beckoned again. Four Grand Dukes' guards appeared, and the Saint-level guards joined forces to defend. Because of the skill "Soul Chain Resonance," the four undead were as one, and the damage was evenly distributed.

"I don't believe you can be that strong!"

He roared with rage within his heart, convinced that he had reached the pinnacle of the Holy Realm and would soon be able to reach the peak of heroism, eventually achieving legendary status.

Boom!

With a flash of light, all four Saint-level undead were shattered.

A precise uppercut shattered several immortal-level magical defenses, landing squarely on the chest of the fallen kingdom. With their faces almost touching, Jiang He opened his mouth. The breath from the young dragon should have been relatively weak, but the chaotic energy infused into it caused the light to annihilate the enemy's body.

Like a chaotic giant slash sweeping out, the golden battlefield instantly shattered into a thousand-meter-deep abyss.

"Killed them?"

"No, the alchemy matrix has not disappeared."

"Living even after the country has fallen!"

The next moment, among the steel-boned corpse riders at the edge of the golden battlefield, the fallen kingdom transferred its life casket within the body of its subordinate undead. Although it had escaped death, the feeling of impending annihilation still left a lingering fear in its heart.

"Where I wave my hand, tombstones stand in rows."

"When I stopped, the bones came back to life."

Surrounded by tens of thousands of undead, the fallen kingdom desperately unleashed more than a dozen immortal-level spells, causing Vigrid, the wolf, and others to take notice. The necromancer was a one-man army of knights.

In an instant, countless tombstones surrounded Jiang He. The warriors who had died in the Imperial Arena manifested in the form of soul reflections, densely packed like golden grains of sand beneath his feet, filling the arena. Then, the skill "Soul Burial of Lamentation" was activated, ultimately creating the sub-legendary forbidden spell, "Song of Burial," whose ethereal and profound melody enveloped everything.

The omnipresent soul attacks came from all directions.

Jiang He stood still, her expression remaining unchanged.

The second spiritual talent bestowed upon him by the King of Gold, the Eternal Soul, shone brightly. The unparalleled resilience forged by the deaths of billions of lives allowed him to calmly ignore the forbidden spell attack.

"Impossible..." Despair gradually crept into the eyes of the vanquished nation.

Directly withstanding a sub-legendary forbidden spell was a level of power that exceeded his understanding of beings at the Saint Realm level.

The next moment, a thorny spear was formed in Jiang He's hand, and the Spear of Victory Oath burst forth. A beam of spear light shattered the tsunami of souls and destroyed the body of a fallen nation under the dominion of fate.

The casket of life was immediately moved, but the gunfire relentlessly pursued it, and one by one, the undead exploded, until the destined death caught up with the fallen nation, and annihilation descended completely.

[Hint: Number of war victories +1 (5/9)]
The alchemical matrix used to determine victory or defeat has disappeared.

"Prince Augustus wins!" the wolf shouted.

Countless people in the capital rose from the stands to cheer for this overwhelming victory. The emperor chuckled twice. The Holy Empire loved the victors, and it was extremely steadfast and consistent in this regard, at least until the victors were defeated.

……

Behind the gilded fence.

Jiang He entered her VIP private room.

The glass created by the Alchemy Guild is one-way; you can see out from the inside, but it looks like a wall from the outside.

Along the way, many noble boxes resounded with joyous songs. Power, betrayal, war, death, and pleasure have always been the main themes of the imperial nobility. When the martial arts competition reached its climax, it was common to see suffering nightingales, maids, or wandering poets.

"Prince Augustus, do you need any assistance?"

The goddess of beauty and the sage came over for a chat, with many shy young girls standing behind him. They were all nuns and priests, and the girls didn't care much about the power struggles between the important figures' factions, but Prince Augustus's handsomeness and power were obvious to all.

"Do you think you have a kind face?" Jiang He ignored the other person and walked straight past.

The goddess of beauty quickly said, "My god is very interested in you. Your charm is unparalleled, yet it remains unseen. My god's judgment is never wrong, as long as..."

Jiang He entered the private room and closed the door behind her.

He painstakingly acquired the mythical charm of anger and reversal, but it wasn't up to the goddess of beauty to help him remove it.

Inside the private room, Mirai Kamishiro had been waiting for a long time.

The girl with brown hair possessed a beauty that the clergy from before could hardly match, and her white dress resembled a wedding gown.

Mirai Kamishiro lifted her skirt with her slender hand, sat down at the tea table, and said with a bright smile:
"Senior, please make yourself at home."

Jiang He did not refuse, but asked, "If the Medici family were to face destruction, what do you plan to do? Your father is about to officially start a war with the Seven Gods Cult."

Kamishiro Mirai said somewhat seriously, "Of course I will live and die with my family. In the past, I only received exploitation, but my family is different, and my seniors are different too. Besides, I will also shoulder my sister's obligations."

Jiang He nodded.

Then he stood up and started pedaling.

Outside the VIP box, Jiang He skillfully carried out her work while keeping her eyes downcast on the golden battlefield.

Because the number of participants was reduced, the competition progressed quickly. The second to advance was the Elf Queen. Despite her attempts to conceal it, some powerful figures, including the Emperor and Vigrid, could still tell that she was about to advance to the Sky level.

In the afternoon, the other two defeated their opponents and advanced. Both were saints of the Seven Gods Cult, one belonging to the God of Whispers and the other a Divine Knight.

Jiang He entrusted Vigrid to draw lots on his behalf. However, the schedule was actually predetermined, and he and the Elf Queen, who were the most likely to win, would most likely meet in the finals.

"Senior, it seems your opponent is the Secret Word Saint."

Mirai Kamishiro was focused on the draw results on the golden battlefield. She was sticky all over, but since the competition was not over yet, she could only barely muster her energy.

When the horns of the Imperial Arena sounded once more.

Jiang He left without lingering.

Kamishiro Mirai turned her head, feeling a little empty inside. A strange unease rose within her, unrelated to the sacred martial arts competition, but rather because her senior's consistently indifferent attitude was no longer concealed today.

……

Horns blared throughout the Imperial Arena.

"The first match of this round, Prince Augustus versus the Whispering Saints," the Demon Wolf announced.

Jiang He walked into the golden battlefield, where the Red Queen was lying next to the warrior sculpture at the top of the stands. In fact, even the Dragon of Calamity had clearly shown interest when the dragons were being selected.

However, due to the excessive purity of the Dragon God's bloodline, the Calamity Dragon ultimately chose to refuse, and the one with the higher bloodline concentration undoubtedly became the dominant force in the Dragon Knight state.

"Your ability to rise from baron to prince is truly astonishing."

The Whisper Saint's face was mocking. He knew that the other party was a banner launched by the Church of Conquest, but he wondered if Duke Vigrid had realized that no matter which force Augustus had left behind, whether it was Marquis Eleanor, Duke Felix of the North, or the Church of the Father, none of them had a good ending.

From a fateful perspective, Augustus likely possessed a bizarre and powerful destiny, the backlash that would trigger for the Marquis and others could be enough to bring about their own demise.

boom!
Jiang He snapped his fingers.

The Saint of Secrets couldn't help but focus his gaze on the other person, but his eyes were drawn to a pair of pitch-black eyes. In the unparalleled depth and darkness, a chaotic light emerged. The next moment, a streak of gray light flashed across the sky and shattered his eyes.

Pain and shame rose within me.

"A despicable and shameless person!"

call!
The battle begins.

The Whisper Saint's body was enveloped in a sea of ​​tree branches, spreading out to the sky and stretching endlessly. His strength was unquestionable among the saints, and his vast energy reserves were enough to support a barrage of continuous magical attacks.

Unfortunately, Jiang He had no interest in wasting her time with him.

When a flash of silver light appeared, the entire Imperial Arena fell silent. The Emperor suddenly stood up from his seat, his eyes filled with disbelief. Vigrid looked astonished; there was actually a legendary spear in the world that surpassed even the sacred weapons.

An indescribable killing intent descended upon the arena.

Countless people in the capital felt suffocated, some even fainting and collapsing to the ground. Some great knights and adventurers turned pale, and the wailing of all spirits in their ears was extremely piercing, as if it were dragging them down to hell.

In the midst of deathly silence, a burst of silver light flashed.

The Saint of Secrets frantically searched for the enemy's figure. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw arcs of gold and silver light shattering the tree branches. Until the cracks in the vacuum spread to his side, he stiffly turned his head and saw that the enemy was already behind him.

"Rest in peace."

Jiang He sheathed the silver dragon spear and casually said, "You have nothing to regret about this battle."

As soon as the words fell, half of the Whisper Saint's body was torn apart, not only flesh and blood, but also his soul, which was damaged even more severely. Before he could even whimper, the overwhelming damage engulfed everything, and tree branch fragments fell like snow.

Jiang He turned and left the stage. With the Underworld King's Minister, a top-tier combat tool, he was fully qualified to take out the Dragon Spear.

[Hint: Number of war victories +1 (6/9)]
At this moment, everyone's eyes, from the emperor down to the wine-serving servants at the noble banquet, were focused on Jiang He.

The Imperial Arena fell silent for half a minute. There were no cheers. Faced with the unknown and incomprehensible power, and the almost dreamlike killing intent, the fervor had to cool down, and fear took its place.

It wasn't until Jiang He entered the passageway that some of the Knights of Great Achievements remembered to breathe. The top four in the Holy Tournament, a one-hit kill—this was an absolute advantage that seemed to transcend generations.

"I abstain."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Holy Knight suddenly spoke.

He chose to forfeit the upcoming duel, thus eliminating the possibility of defeating the Elf Queen and facing Prince Augustus in the finals.

The deathly silence vanished, replaced by a cacophony of noise.

The people of the capital in the stands were discussing among themselves. Although surrender was shameful and had always been despised by the empire, given Prince Augustus's power, avoiding war might be considered a wise choice, since he really didn't leave any survivors.

"Do you know what you're saying?" the Divine Knight Sage said angrily.

“I refuse to use my own head to forge his fame; this is my greatest act of defiance. Reason and courage are on my side,” said the Holy Knight. “If the Prince can kill the Whisper Saint in this way, the same will happen to me.”

The emperor spoke, "Granted."

He disliked the Sky-level and the gods, but he genuinely hoped to maintain a sufficient number of Imperial Holy Domains.

Jiang He turned around in the passageway.

On the other side, the hero Xin and the dwarf chieftain blocked the elven queen Freya, the former looking anxious.

"Don't go, please don't go."

"Freya, you are not as strong as him!"

Upon hearing this, Freya's usually cold face showed a hint of confusion. She turned around and said, "Shin, you are the hero, which is why I am willing to acknowledge you as the captain. But that doesn't mean you can interfere with my decision. I am absolutely certain now that Prince Augustus is the Great Demon of Hell. This killing intent is unmistakable."

“But…” the hero said with difficulty, “I know you are confident that you can advance to the Sky level, but what if you encounter an accident during the advancement and we lose you? How can we save the world? You must live.”

The dwarf chieftain said solemnly, "That's right, Freya. Whether you are defeated or admit defeat, you must live."

The Bishop of Fate said, "This is our only request of you."

The heroes were in complete agreement: Freya considered eliminating the Great Demon her sole wish, and was willing to pay the ultimate price if necessary; therefore, this must be restricted.

Freya stood there, stunned, recalling the deep friendship they had shared along the way. After a moment's hesitation, she replied:

"Since you all know that I never lie, I swear to you that no matter what happens, my first goal will be to survive."

The brave Xin smiled and said, "That's wonderful."

(End of this chapter)