Chapter 1662 - Disbelief
Davis, Evelynn, Isabella, and Nadia returned back to the Purple Guest Palace.
However, the news of Emperor of Death being alive and having killed Soul Emperor Zealwonder through mysterious means shook the entire righteous world, creating tumultuous waves of fear reverberating in the hearts of billions of people. But the moment they heard that the Emperor of Death also declared himself to be someone of the righteous path, stating that he needed some form of peace and order to exist, their leaping hearts calmed down, although there was still some doubt in their minds.
How could someone who practiced Death Laws belong to the righteous path?
They naturally became curious and read about his history, which contained many fallacies and rumors of evil deeds which turned people into having mixed opinions about him. Nevertheless, knowing that the Emperor of Death was a youth and person of the Alstreim Family, which was very much established and reinforced, they at least came to understand that he belonged to the righteous path, which put their frightened hearts at ease.
With the presence of the Emperor of Death, the relatively unknown Hex Demoness, whose origin was unknown as she remained shrouded in mystery for a year, also became clear.
The All-Seeing Towers didn't spare any effort to spread all this info in little bits and pieces, and many people became interested in the Emperor of Death, Earth Dragon Queen, and the Hex Demoness that they bought the information using many Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Fragments, raking in a massive amount of wealth for their treasury.
But as for the Dragon Families...
*Bang!~*
A pitiful High-Level Emperor Grade wooden dining table was smashed to bits by an enraged fist that fell on it. In front of the shattered wooden pieces stood a golden-robed man, trembling with his eyes shaking.
"This can't be...!"
There were two other golden-robed people surrounding it, their expressions appearing as if they were deeply disturbed.
"How can he be still alive...!?"
The person who broke the table waved his hands and frantically looked at the other two people as if he was expecting a well-thought-out answer from them. The other two looked at each other for answers before they seemingly shook their heads.
"This isn't possible. We certainly saw him die that day, and even the Heaven Gazing Sect powerhouses present that day said that they could not sense his soul. His entire family was grieving, and those expressions of grief caught on imagery stones couldn't be faked! You're telling me that they have acted like that for so long that they even managed to fool themselves into thinking that he died!?"
Listening to this person vent his frustrations, the two others were silent, not knowing what to say.
"Ragnar, calm down."
"Calm down...?"
Ragnar's golden eyes shook as he slammed his hands again, only to find no wooden table to shatter below as he almost slipped but straightened his back and waved his hand again.
"How can you tell me to calm down, Miron!?"
"It is said that the Hex Demoness broke the sealing formation created for that wicked wolf with a single hex attack. Impossible...! Breaking it at least requires a prowess that crosses two levels to battle from the peak level. We can't possibly hope to kill her or that wolf that has two bodies, much less that brat who... can attack silently from anywhere, going with a prestigious and fearmongering title now...!"
Miron and the other person shook while hearing Ragnar's speech.
The situation seemed quite hopeless that they could see each other's eyes tremble.
"What should we do?" The last person appeared solemn, "Offer our heads in a luxurious platter to them?"
"Ridiculous!" Ragnar waved his hand again, "We're going to battle them to the death!"
The other two were taken aback, looking quite obscure yet motivated.
These three were the three remaining Grand Elders of the Zlatan Family. With their Patriarch dead, they took over the internal and external affairs of the family, although it had always been like this, and they would only have to gain permission from the Patriarch to move forward, but now, all authority was with them.
Originally, the two of them were at odds with Ragnar Zlatan, the one who shattered the table as he belonged to the group of the late Patriarch while they weren't the same. However, they were all brothers from the same father, allowing them to see past their difference at this moment of crisis and come together to see the light in their bleak and dark road.
But suddenly, the other Grand Elder shook his head with a bit heaviness.
"No, we can't die yet! We have just stabilized the family and were going in a good direction after the death of our Patriarch. We can't just abandon all our hard work and wage an unwinnable war with that Emperor of Death! It's impossible to even put a scratch on him."
"Then what do you think we should do!? Tell me, Hazen!!!"
Hazen's expression twisted with a bit of ugliness that he couldn't help but lower his head.
"There's no other choice but to sacrifice Bylai Zlatan for the greater good."
"You...!?" Ragnar Zlatan trembled as she bellowed, "How can we sacrifice our gem!? Are you crazy!?"
Ragnar Zlatan raised his head while he looked insulted.
"Our Dragon Queen's fiance, the Young Master, is already dead! That Emperor of Death took out every one of Low-Level and Mid-Level Overlords in a blink of an eye, and you want to battle with someone like him!? You're the crazy one!"
"Hazen! You coward!"
"Call me whatever you want, but if we give up our heads and it would ensure the safety of the Zlatan Family, I'm more than willing to offer up my head. However, if we three die, there are only the new Low-Level Overlords present to defend the family, and they are not strong enough to defend our Zlatan Family. We will undoubtedly fall to outside powers or shatter internally as we are assimilated into those advantageous bastards' Ike and Orcha Families...!"
Hazen Zlatan furiously trembled as he made his point, gesturing with his hands before his aura erupted into one of fury. The next second, Ragnar Zlatan equally shuddered like Hazen Zlatan and bellowed towards the ceiling.
"Fuck! He knows this and forcing our hands...!"
*Crack!~* *Clang!~*
Numerous glass-like decorations shattered from the sheer force of his voice. If it were a normal time, the others would be asking him for reparations as these Golden Dragons Soaring The Heaven's glass decorations were quite expensive, but at the moment, no one bothered about it.
"Ahem."
Miron Zlatan interrupted their helpless emotions and spoke.
"It's time that we stepped into our Anc- father's closed-door cultivation room."
The other two both looked at him before Hazen Zlatan asked.
"You think father is dead?"
"I hope he's not, but not seeing him come out even after so many things have happened, I have my suspicions."
Miron Zlatan heaved a breath, looking at the others one more time before he nodded.
"Let's go."
Hazen Zlatan and Ragnar Zlatan nodded and headed towards their Ancestor's room, whose life and death was still unknown. And indeed, their father was their Ancestor, while the Patriarch and the four Grand Elders were all blood brothers.
Due to the inability of the dragon family members to have many children, there was a wide gap between their ages. Of the blood brothers, three of them were born from the same mother, namely the Patriarch, Tyger Zlatan, and two other Grand Elders, one who died to Emperor of Death's hand and the other was Ragnar Zlatan.
Miron Zlatan and Hazen Zlatan were half-siblings where they both had different mothers but still worked together and were closer than most siblings. Still, the Ancestor, their father, had many women but had only managed to make a few women give birth. As for his other women who were childless, they could only lament their unlucky fate.
The three of them finally arrived before the Ancestor's closed-door cultivation room before Hazen Zlatan stepped forward.
"I'll take the brunt of the punishment if I caused the father to die from shock."
Taking a deep breath, Hazen Zlatan pushed the heavy door open as it creaked with a loud sound before the three of them entered.
The three of their expressions simultaneously changed as they saw their father's shriveled body, making them lower their heads as their body began to tremble.
"Dead..."
There was no doubt anymore. Their father, the Ancestor, was undoubtedly dead!
"Don't go killing me just like that..."
However, a flash of golden light suddenly appeared from behind the Ancestor's shriveled body as it floated in mid-air.
"Father....!"