"General Marcia!" Lance shouted in surprise.
It was Marcia, who had been looking for Rocky for several days and nights but still couldn't find him.
At that moment, Marcia looked lonely and depressed, like a woman abandoned by her man. Her
delicate face looked sunken, and she seemed to have lost some weight. The previous noble and
beautiful posture she exuded was gone, making her look listless and exhausted.
As soon as the people in the hall saw her, they couldn't help but stand up and quickly surrounded her,
asking all kinds of questions.
However, the emperor immediately silenced them. "Be quiet. Let General Marcia sit down first." Of
course, he too was anxious and wanted to hear the news, but Marcia looked like she was ready to fall
over at any moment.
At the emperor's words, everyone returned to their seats, but their eyes were still fixed on Marcia.
Soon, Marcia walked towards the front of the hall and knelt on one knee towards the emperor. She
bowed her head and cupped her hands, her face contorted in grief. "Your Majesty, I failed to protect
Prince Crimson. Please punish me!"
"General Marcia, what are you doing? Let's talk about this later. No matter what happened, I don't think
it's your fault, so don't blame yourself. Why don't you tell us the whole story first? At least, let us know
what happened first!" The emperor hurriedly waved his hand.
Hearing this, Marcia stood up and looked around the crowd. Then she told them the whole story.
Everyone was shocked after hearing her story. The whole story was beyond their expectation, and
never in their wildest dream could they imagine that Rocky would suddenly become a demon and
forget everyone. Moreover, he controlled the powerful Divine Spiritual Source and killed countless
spiritual race beings, which made the spiritual race suffer heavy casualties. That was why the members
of the spiritual race were hunting Rocky down now.
"So, Basil really killed many members of the spiritual race?" Lena was also stunned by the whole story.
If she had known this earlier, she should have stopped Rocky from finding the Dragon Master Clan's
holy treasure.
"General Marcia, you just said that Basil wore the holy treasure of the Dragon Master Clan?" the
emperor asked with great concern. Marcia nodded at once.
"In fact, there is a secret about the holy treasure of the Dragon Master Clan.
I didn't expect that Basil would wear it, so I didn't tell him about it. It's all my fault. If I had known it
earlier, I would have told him." Everyone could see on the emperor's face that he felt extremely
regretful.
But the emperor's words also incited their curiosity. What was the holy treasure's secret?
"When the holy treasure of the Dragon Master Clan was sent to our empire, it stayed under the Witch's
custody. However, it was actually held by the first emperor of our empire. With the help of the holy
treasure's power, the first emperor dominated over the battlefield. His very presence could make his
enemies tremble in fear. That was why our empire could become the number one power in the Wild
Spirit Land. However, after the first emperor successfully expanded our territory, he gradually became a
bloodthirsty tyrant who killed innocent people on the battlefield. He went crazy with power until he
finally committed suicide." The people could only gape in shock after hearing the emperor's story.
They had no clue that their empire had this secret history, and hearing it straight from the current
emperor was even more unbelievable.
"But at that time, no one noticed that the first emperor had changed drastically, and nobody attributed
his strength to the Dragon Master Clan's holy treasure either. Therefore, the holy treasure was passed
down to the second emperor of our empire. The second emperor held the holy treasure, and it made
him the most powerful in the world, thus, making our empire the strongest country in the Wild Spirit
Land. But later on, the second emperor inexplicably died of a sudden illness. The third and fourth
emperors had also made a lot of achievements, but like the second emperor, they all died in peculiar
ways. It was not until the fifth emperor, the strongest emperor of our empire, received the holy treasure
that these peculiar events stopped. Instead of using it, he ordered his men to seal it up. Moreover, the
Witch was tasked responsible for keeping it, and no descendants were allowed to hold it again. Despite
these safety precautions, the fifth emperor never explained the reason behind these rules. However, he
warned his descendants about the holy treasure right before he died. He said that although the holy
treasure was very powerful, it was also a very evil thing, as it could bewitch people and make them
completely lose their mind. He also warned the future emperors, not to wear the holy treasure unless it
is absolutely necessary," the emperor continued solemnly.
"I can't believe that there is such a thing. But why is there no relevant record in The Witch's Book?"
Lena asked agitatedly.
"It was because this matter is of utmost importance, so the empire took great care to keep it a secret. If
the clans of the spiritual race discover that the holy treasure is actually a very evil existence, it will
undoubtedly affect our empire badly. Even the Dragon Master Clan had no idea that this secret
existed," the emperor explained further.
"Your Majesty, do you mean that the reason why Basil suddenly became another person might be
because of the holy treasure's negative effect?" Marcia asked immediately.
"I'm not sure, but it's possible. However, it might also have something to do with the Divine Spiritual
Source. I firmly believe that there must be a reason that Basil acted that way. Otherwise, he would
never do such an inhuman thing as to put the Wild Spirit Land in danger," answered the emperor
affirmatively. With all these secrets suddenly exposed, the others didn't know what to think. Was it
really a side effect of something else, or had Basil truly lost his mind?
"It seems that the most important thing right now is to find Prince Crimson and ask him the reason,"
Bryant suggested seriously. His brows were scrunched in thought, as he tried to process all the things
he had just learned.
"I've been looking for him for days, but Basil seems to have disappeared into thin air. I don't know
where he has gone!" Marcia shook her head in dismay. Obviously, the loss of Rocky had deeply
affected her.
"Basil will surely come back. He won't leave Nigel and me behind," Isis said firmly. But even though her
tone was resolute, her beautiful eyes were already brimming with unshed tears.
"I believe it will be extremely challenging to find him, but it is only natural because all the spiritual race
clans in the Wild Spirit Land are hunting him down as we speak. I'm afraid he won't show himself
easily. Moreover, if he returns here safely, it may not be a good thing for our empire. He may not even
come back on purpose, all for the sake of our empire," Lance analyzed rationally.
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in dismay, because Lance was right. The reason why
Rocky disappeared suddenly was that he didn't want the Holy Dragon Empire to be involved.
"But even if he doesn't come back, our empire is now under siege from all directions. Before long, I'm
afraid the other clans of the spiritual race will take this opportunity to make trouble for us." Bryant
worriedly expressed his fears.
"We will send more people to find him first," the emperor ordered at once. But before he could finish his
instructions, his eyes suddenly widened as if in shock. In the blink of an eye, the emperor had
collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath and clutching his chest in pain. His face had grown ashen,
while his body was tight with tension, grasping his chest and the empty air around him for support.
The entire hall exploded into chaos. Shouts for help echoed, as everyone crowded around the fallen
emperor.
"Your Majesty!"
"Call for an imperial physician!"
It was a total mess.
Just as the emperor had collapsed, the Holy Dragon Empire fell into a huge crisis.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda