Chapter 396: Dying With The Dignity Of An Emperor
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“That’s a Star-Obliterating Cannon!” Yuan Gen rushed out of the ash and dust. His entire body was shaking as he stared at his surroundings that looked as though Doomsday had arrived.
He was really afraid because he had almost just died. If his warship hadn’t been in a central position, if he hadn’t had a decent cultivation base, and if he hadn’t had some certain helpful items, he would have been turned to dust by the blast of the Star-Obliterating Cannon.
Li Qingyun came flying over from a distance. Her clothes were still complete, yet her face was full of black and white patches.
Li Qingyun, who was conscious of her appearance, wasn’t in the mood to fix it. He hands were shaking and the graceful, elegant air she exuded most of the time had completely vanished.
Although Zheng Feng had also emerged, he was missing one arm. However, he didn’t sigh over this. Instead, he was actually laughing.
There was no doubt about it. Zheng Feng was laughing.
Zheng Feng’s smile was really dazzling. It was a free, natural smile.
“I thought I would never get to see you all again. I never imagined that we would all be reunited here!”
Yuan Geng also roared with carefree laughter, delighted that they had escaped the clutches of death.
“What about Brother Feng?”
A pained look appeared on his face. “He’s dead. I saw him die. He was beside me when he was turned into dust!”
Zheng Feng and Li Qingyun’s faces fell. There were some grudges and complaints among their generation, so sometimes they wished the other party would be killed straight away.
However, discovering that their comrade was already dead made them distraught.
“I really can’t believe that we were enjoying the bustle a minute ago, yet we just stepped through the gates of hell!” As he spoke, Yuan Geng seemed a little gloomy. “That’s the Star-Obliterating Cannon!”
Yuan Geng gritted his teeth as he said those words. However, what showed on his face after the last word was fear.
Star-Obliterating Cannons had always been forbidden existences in their eyes. Most of what they knew about them was based on myths and legends.
However, something fabled had endangered their lives that day.
“The Blue Rain Empire is finished!” Li Qingyun said with certainty after regaining her composure.
Yuan Geng and Zheng Feng didn’t say anything. Although the two of them didn’t have many relations with Lan Tianjue, as a family of Blue Rain Empire nobles, how could they not worry when the empire that had always been like a massive mountain behind them crumbled before their eyes?
However, they still didn’t call into question Li Qingyun’s judgment.
The Blue Rain Empire was finished, not just because the 10 great fleets had been destroyed, but also because Luo Yunyang’s blast had already destroyed all the empire’s hopes.
“We can’t say that His Majesty’s power play was wrong!” When Li Qingyun spoke about Lan Tianjue, her voice no longer carried the respect she’d had for him in the past.
“However, in the face of absolute power, all power plays are ultimately nothing more than a laughing stock.”
Yuang Geng and Zheng Feng both nodded simultaneously. They had experienced this battle, so they agreed with Li Qingyun.
As the few of them were talking, the blood-axe warship cruised on forward. The Dunke Star was no longer there, so Luo Yunyang and the others entered the node right away.
Elder Qieke watched Luo Yunyang respectfully. As his chief bodyguard, he had thought of all sorts of ways to help Luo Yunyang resolve this situation, which felt like a dilemma.
However, he had never imagined that Luo Yunyang would actually mobilize the Star-Obliterating Cannon.
The top brass of the Bloody Massacre Path had allowed Luo Yunyang to mobilize it and turn the star, as well as 10 fleets, into bits and pieces right away.
This method of resolving conflict was simple yet cruel. Nevertheless, it proved that Luo Yunyang possessed the greatest power. At a crucial time like this, he had let his strength do the talking.
“The Blue Rain Empire has already become a thing of the past!” Elder Qieke said. “Not just because their 10 fleets have been obliterated, but also because the entire empire no longer has any willpower or fighting spirit. We won’t encounter any obstacles when we go there!”
Some Yun Family martialists who had followed Luo Yunyang over hadn’t gotten over the shock yet.
They stared at Luo Yunyang with eyes that glowed with admiration and respect!
As Yunxi lay quietly in the nourishment cabin, which was filled with nutrient fluids, her heart was pounding. The man she loved was so valiant!
Just as Elder Qieke had said, the obliterated Dunke Star and all the other stars where Blue Rain Empire soldiers were garrisoned didn’t try to oppose them.
They marched straight in towards the Imperial Capital unchallenged!
“Yunyang, besides the people of the Blue Rain Empire, there were also emissaries from many other empires on the Dunke Star!” Yunxi said worriedly as she watched the expanse of space through the screen.
“The empires that dispatched men to the Dunke Star should be worried,” Luo Yunyang replied calmly. “They should be worrying about how they will explain themselves to me.”
Elder Qieke nodded. “Allowing their personnel to go over was in itself a provocation. Now that they have seen that the Bloody Massacre Path is supporting you in such a way, though…”
As the three of them were talking, they reached the Imperial Capital of the Blue Rain Empire.
Lan Tianjue was standing at his favorite spot on the viewing terrace in the Imperial Capital, yet he couldn’t feel the pleasure of gazing out into the starry sky and overlooking everything beneath him.
His entire body had become sluggish the instant the cannon had blasted out. Experts like Lan Tianjue did not experience such incidents.
His consciousness was still stuck at the moment when that cannon had been fired.
Everything had been turned to ashes. Although he could rebuild the fleets that had been destroyed, what about his people’s willpower, which had dispersed completely? The entire empire was on the verge of collapsing. Even the imperial family, let alone the various big clans, had already started talking about the Emperor in the past tense.
What could he do? Leave the Blue Rain Empire and become a heaven-wandering vagrant?
For an ordinary Nebula-Grade powerhouse, finding somewhere to hide or moving to another area in the universe was always a decent choice.
However, he had been the ruler of an empire. If he made such a choice, then he might have to deal with parties trying to hunt him down and kill him.
The Bloody Massacre Path would be among those parties.
Suddenly, Lan Tianjue’s communication device rang, stunning him momentarily.
His communication device hadn’t rung in a long time. After all, people would usually contact an emperor through his servants.
When he accepted the call, a wizened old face appeared on his communication device. Lan Tianjue’s heart dropped when he saw this cold, overcast face.
“Greetings, Ancestral Emperor!” Lan Tianjue greeted the man respectfully.
“The Blue Rain Empire cannot be extinguished just like this, Tianjue.” The wizened old man’s voice reverberated in Lan Tianjue’s ear through the communication device.
Lan Tianjue’s heart tightened when he realized what the Ancestral Emperor implied. The Blue Rain Empire could not be extinguished, but the Emperor could be replaced.
Even if Lan Tianjue was unwilling to make this decision, he had no other choice.
“I will abide by your instructions, Ancestral Emperor!”
Although they were speaking through a screen, Lan Tianjue felt his heart quiver.
“The first Blood Disciple has some issues with you. I have spoken with the various elders of the clan. The only way to placate his anger is by offering your head.”
“We must do everything we can to save the Lan Family!”
As a monarch, Lan Tianjue had always controlled the lives of countless beings. However, his own life was now actually being used as a trading tool. This made him feel sorrow from the bottom of his heart.
He knew that if the old man was speaking to him, a decision he couldn’t question had already been made. Although his heart felt dead, there was a decisive look in Lan Tianjue’s eyes.
He couldn’t oppose this decision, yet he definitely wasn’t going to die in such a stupid, cowardly way. He was an emperor, not an ant.
“I have no qualms about sacrificing my life for the Lan Family. However, I hope that I can die a death befitting an emperor.”
The wizened old man’s expression became more solemn when he heard this. As the Lan Family’s strongest powerhouse, what he wanted to do was control everything. He did not want any unexpected accidents to occur.
However, Lan Tianjue was no weakling either. Although he was only a preliminary Nebula-Grade powerhouse, killing him wouldn’t be that easy.
“What do you want to do?” the old man asked.
“I don’t care if I die, but I am not willing to be put into a box and given to someone else as an offering!” Lan Tianjue took a deep breath as he spoke.
He wasn’t lying. He really didn’t want his head to be placed inside a box one day and sent over as an offering.
The old man nodded but didn’t say anything. He just waited for Lan Tianjue to continue. Lan Tianjue enunciated each and every syllable. “Aren’t you going to deliver my head to the First Blood Disciple? I could let him cut off my head during a match. Let me finish, Ancestral Emperor!”
Lan Tianjue put his arm up to stop the old man from speaking. “I can suppress my own boundaries. You can use sealing techniques at will to make my cultivation the same as Luo Yunyang’s. You could also get someone to monitor me to prevent any accidents. Even if I win, I will let him cut off my head.”
Lan Tianjue had a resolute look on his face as he finished speaking. “I can grant your request,” the old man said calmly. “But can you guarantee that the Bloody Massacre Path will approve it?”
“The sum of my entire assets is 1,650 star dollars!” Lan Tianjue’s voice was very calm yet self-confident. “I have stored them at the cosmos bank. The only way to access them is by using my password. Tell Luo Yunyang that if he accepts my request and lets me die an honorable death, I will give him the password!”