Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 173 - 93: Gazing at the Moon

Chapter 173: Chapter 93: Gazing at the Moon

Duan Mingyuan had to meet the Prime Monarch for a reason.

Besides resolving the doubts that he had while studying in the academy, more importantly, he needed to know what the Prime Monarch actually looked like.

Although he was unable to see the Prime Monarch in person in the inner hall, fortunately, there was still a portrait of the Prime Monarch hanging on the wall. Leaving behind this portrait was something that happened after the war ended and the Imperial Court was established. The technology of the Extraterrestrials had already filtered into the Imperial Court, so there was no need to use hand drawing; otherwise, when he saw Qing Hua later, the latter would probably ask with suspicion who he really was.

In the portrait, the Prime Monarch had shed his youthful greenness and stepped into his prime.

With sword-like eyebrows and bright star-like eyes, one could tell he was no ordinary man.

"What are you doing?"

The Prime Monarch couldn’t help but ask. In the past fifteen minutes, all of Duan Mingyuan’s actions had exceeded his understanding.

This man had put on his clothes, fastened his sword belt, and then stood in front of the portrait, looking at it carefully.

Like a pervert.

"I am summoning a god."

"Summoning a god?"

The Prime Monarch naturally took this for some kind of Mysterious Technique. Wearing his clothes, taking his sword—perhaps one could use some trick to employ his Sword Control Technique.

"Don’t waste your effort. Even if you could exert my abilities at their peak, you’re not their match."

"I don’t need you at your peak."

Duan Mingyuan’s gaze never left the portrait as he casually picked up a wooden box from the table. With a shift in his thoughts, the shape of the wooden box also changed, and what fell into his hand was a brand-new human skin mask. "What I’m summoning is the old poison at his peak."

"Old poison?"

"The old poison was a master of Disguise Technique."

Duan Mingyuan received the old poison’s memories, which included his superb and matchless Disguise Technique.

"You..."

Watching Duan Mingyuan slowly put on the human skin mask and become identical to the person in the painting, the Prime Monarch was lost for words.

"The sword that you didn’t manage to draw out at that time, I’ll draw it for you."

Even his tone of speaking was identical to the Prime Monarch’s.

...

Behind the grand hall, corpses lay everywhere.

The company’s pursuers had found this place. Yi Wuyang was extremely anxious in his heart, which also meant that the battle on the other side had come to a close.

The time they had was much more rushed than he had anticipated. If the Third Prince’s troops were completely wiped out, the company would immediately begin searching within the Imperial Court, and then escaping would be as hard as ascending to heaven.

In the midst of his thoughts, the Fox Demon had once again repelled a squad of company guards. If it weren’t for the Fox Demon lending them a hand, they would probably have been captured long ago.

But this was not a long-term solution.

If the high-level guards of the company were to come here...

Yi Wuyang’s thoughts abruptly stopped as the figure clad in black armor entered the grand hall, his oppressive gaze sweeping over each one of them.

This was Cai Hui’s Imperial Guard, whom they called Tian Yun.

"It’s you again."

Jiuyue confronted Tian Yun, a familiar scene that had occurred once before at the Cloud Sea Academy. However, compared to their last encounter, she now had several burdens with her. The repercussions produced by the collision of luck and misfortune would leave the Elder Princess and the others with nowhere to bury themselves.

"Dare to fight outside!"

Jiuyue challenged.

It would be best to go outside and fight beside his superiors, with all the company folk coming to watch.

After all, those who enjoyed spectacles would find that a fighting disaster fox was a rare sight in the world and definitely worth watching.

Tian Yun didn’t listen to Jiuyue’s suggestion. The propulsion device on his feet spewed out a pale blue flame, his figure shooting towards the Elder Princess’s location like a meteor.

"Ahh—!"

The Elder Princess was startled and took a step back.

She closed her eyes and felt only a gust of wind brush past her, followed by the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.

The hall was eerily silent, even the scolding of Teacher Jiuyue was nowhere to be heard.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw half a body that had tumbled into the corner due to inertia, and, following Yi Wuyang’s horrified gaze, she too suddenly widened her eyes.

She had only seen this figure in the portraits of the inner chamber, but at this moment, the person from the painting had stepped out of the frame.

The flying sword, having sliced through the body of Tian Yun, re-entered its sheath.

The person from the painting walked toward the exit of the hall without a sideways glance, not lingering on the sight of Tian Yun for more than a second, as if what the flying sword has cut through was merely a minor character of no importance.

She opened her mouth to call out to the figure, but the words got stuck in her throat; she could only watch helplessly as the silhouette disappeared into the night outside the hall.

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Black Steel stood at the top of the stone steps in front of the palace gates, his hand pressing down on the head of the Third Prince, who was thereby forced to kneel on the ground, unable to move.

The high and mighty Qing Hua finally came down from the tower and approached his side.

"Ying Tian, although I admire your courage, your actions have brought extremely negative consequences to this planet," she said.

"If you want to kill me, just kill me," replied the Third Prince, seemingly more relaxed now.

Atop this great hall, the Imperial Guards would sever his head; that was the result of his actions, and knowing the direction of his fate, he could face it calmly.

"If I kill you just like that, I would actually be fulfilling your wish, turning you into a hero and setting a bad example for others who might contemplate rebellion. Once the flame of rebellion is ignited, the longstanding stability will crumble," Qing Hua said.

Qing Hua swept her eyes over the corpses in front of the hall, "We always advocate for resolving disputes between Star Zones through peaceful diplomacy, but if fear must be used to suppress, there is still an important step missing."

"What step?" asked the Third Prince calmly.

"The step of stripping a ’hero’ of everything. Those who die for their ideals become heroes, so what needs to be extinguished is not just the hero but also the ideals he died for... You must have intended this coup to buy time for the Elder Princess and that maid named Cai Die, arranging for someone to escort them out of the city. But they are still within the city walls and cannot leave the Royal City," Qing Hua continued.

At this point, the Third Prince’s expression finally changed.

"We will find them and, in front of you, bring them back to the company’s flagship. Only then will heaven grant you death," she said.

No matter how much one wails or weeps, fate will not change.

Not even in the face of death.

A glint of cruelty flashed in Qing Hua’s eyes.

The company intended not only to execute the Third Prince but also to kill the hope he had brought to this planet, "Soon, you will see them," she said coldly.

The next moment, Qing Hua suddenly felt a chill.

Black Steel had already moved to intercept the incoming object, using the three-meter-long Black Sword as a shield in front of her, but it was not enough to stop the object that pierced the air. Upon contact, the Black Sword split open with a hole, and it also pierced through Black Steel’s body.

The towering armor collapsed with a crash, pushing Qing Hua aside just in time to avoid being crushed.

In the blink of an eye, Qing Hua finally saw the object flying toward her.

A flying sword.

Before she could even give an order, two hidden Long Branch guards spontaneously appeared, steadying her nearly fallen form.

That showed the intense sense of danger the newcomer brought to the Long Branch.

Black Steel knelt on the ground, his left hand clutching his chest.

The flying cold light whirled around him and returned to the scabbard of the shadow below.

Qing Hua followed the path of the cold light with her gaze.

Under the bright moonlight, she saw a face that should not have appeared there.