by Feng Yue
On the throne, amid the resplendent flares, Mary, who was properly seated, opened her eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.
The voice echoed between the heavens and the earth, proclaiming the royal decree from the empress to the world.
“In the name of Mary I, the empress of the sacred kingdom of Anglo blessed by God, the guardian of the Church, and the mortal ruler with full rights, I hereby confer the title of the Prince of Avalon upon Marquis Ye Qingxuan of the Dragon Bloodline!”
So, the Chapter of the Golden Victory was played once again. Golden flares descended from the sky, falling on Ye Qingxuan’s head, and turned into a fiery halo.
Arthur’s hand was flicked off.
The power, which resembled burning everything and giving it all, even managed to temporarily resist the power of the catastrophe.
Meanwhile, in the flares, a phantom of Mary appeared faintly, reached out, and held Ye Qingxuan’s hand tightly. She took off the ring representing royal power on her index finger, and put it on his finger. “Ye Qingxuan, I bestow the signet ring of the royal family upon you.
“From now on, you are the deputy ruler of Anglo, the Keeper of the Seal of the Privy Council, and have full command over all affairs of Avalon. Act on behalf of the queen and defend the nation’s territories.
“— Thou shalt be with Avalon! “
Ye Qingxuan gazed at her decisive expression and bowed his head. “As my queen commands.”
Mary’s figure dissipated without a sound, and in the majestic melody symbolizing the emperor’s coronation, the halo on Ye Qingxuan’s head silently turned into a vague crown.
A crown that should have belonged to Arthur originally…
“In your dreams!!!” Arthur growled darkly and coldly, and the sun of darkness rumbled. The heavens and the earth shook as he reached out and tore the golden Firebird gathering around Ye Qingxuan apart, but he failed to stop the young man in time.
At the moment, Ye Qingxuan’s hand rested on the black iron staff.
So, the ground shook, and a frenzied turmoil rose from the deepest part of the earth’s crust, causing the whole city to tremble.
Just like what he once said to Arthur…
“It’s time to pry Anglo away.” Following Ye Qingxuan’s words, his Symphony of Predestination unfolded fully, and the gravitational force of the music theory was exerted on the iron staff, causing the terrifying aura of the iron staff to erupt suddenly.
The nine-layered sea of aether was opened up by the power.
The barrier between the Physical World and the realm of aether was completely punched through.
Meanwhile, along with the horrifying power, the music theory of the Heaven Ladder also penetrated the layers of defense and pierced into the deepest part of Avalon.
Facing Arthur’s wildly furious expression, Ye Qingxuan laughed. “— In the name of the ruler of Anglo, I hereby activate the homeland defense front. May God bless me, and I shall defend the kingdom!”
At the moment, the signet ring on his index finger radiated a fiery glow. Advancing along the music theory of the Heaven Ladder, the unique music theory passed through the crack produced when the Lance of the Dragon Slayer pierced into the ground and cast itself into the depths of the earth.
The first note was played.
So, the entire Anglo boomed in response.
After the death of Elizabeth, the vast system that the past generations of the royal family of Anglo had devoted all resources of the nation to setting up was reawakened. In the leylines, silent aether gushed in a frenzy.
The silver brilliance weaved in and out through the depths of the earth, operating rapidly along the leylines. In only an instant, it had connected the entire Anglo along the vast network.
It caused a fiery glow to light up under the deep sea.
Midlands, York, Sussex… The huge alchemy systems buried deep under every county town in Anglo awakened one after another. They drew on the reserves that they had been saving up for centuries, casting a mighty amount of real energy into the leylines and transporting them to where the capital of the nation was.
The power that was gushing like a torrent operated in the earth’s crust beneath the sea, but the tremendous amount of heat and brilliance radiating from it shone through layers of darkness, projecting rivers of fiery light on the surface of the sea.
In a flash, the rivers of light came from all directions, converged together, and gathered towards the palace.
“Mere wishful thinking!” It only took Arthur an instant to thoroughly understand what Ye Qingxuan’s was thinking.
In the sky, the sun of darkness operated in rage. The horrifying Firebird descended from the sky and penetrated the earth’s crust. In just an instant, it destroyed all the equipment buried deep under the palace.
Diverter valves, instruments of harmonious melody, aether furnaces… All the equipment used to control the homeland defense front were destroyed, and the frenzied torrent could hardly be controlled anymore.
In just a flash, the terrifying heat leaking out of it boiled the entire ocean, turning the sea and the sky into a huge steamer.
But Ye Qingxuan didn’t panic in the slightest bit, and simply looked at Arthur, his eyes full of pity, as if he was looking at an idiot. “Surely you don’t think that… such an important system doesn’t even have a set of backups?”
Booming peals of bells rang out.
Right in the center of Avalon, above the dilapidated tower bridge, the old giant bell rumbled and shook, exuding majestic and mighty chimes.
In Jianlan Underground Palace of the Royal Academy of Music of Anglo, an ancient pair of eyes slowly opened in the darkness behind the old bronze door
“Has the time finally come?” Dominic murmured softly, rose to his feet slowly, and walked to the deepest part of the audience hall. He extended a hand, tore his chest cavity open, and pulled out a key covered in copper rust from his shriveled heart. The key stained with viscous blood was inserted into the keyhole. As Dominic turned it with all his might, the whole audience hall produced a loud rumble.
In the sound of countless gears turning, steel shattered.
Stein Chamber No. Zero, activated!
With a boom, the vast machinery that had slumbered in it for centuries was started!
In the loud noise, Dominic sat down on the ground, withered, and sighed softly. “I can only wish you good luck, Maxwell, you old bastard.
“I can only do… so much for you.”
At the moment, the launching of the Homeland Defense Front was complete.
Under the surface of the sea, fiery torrents swept through, along the array left from what was once the path of godly ascension. They gathered, and gushed into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, causing the almost-shattered city in the mirror to radiate vibrancy once more.
The melody of Genesis reverberated between the sea and the sky.
In Ye Qingxuan’s hand, the iron staff tapped. Loud bangs burst forth, completely breaking the boundaries between reality and illusion, causing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth to descend upon the land, and turned the inexhaustible power into glory, strengthening himself.
In the next moment, the iron staff lifted and struck towards Arthur.
The iron staff collided with the stone sword, producing a high-pitched sound that shook the heavens and the earth. The sun of darkness trembled as a result, innumerable cracks spreading in it, and it was about to disintegrate.
…
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what is saith!”
In the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Shi Dong gazed fanatically at the iron staff in Ye Qingxuan’s hand, and recited the Holy Bible, “And he who is victorious and who obeys justice to the end, God will give him authority and power over the nations.
“And he shall rule them with a staff of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, as he has received authority from God.”
He exclaimed, “In accordance with the words of God, this is
the staff of fate!”
612 May the God Bless the Kingdom and My King Bless Me
Boom!
The Staff of Fate clashed with the Stone Sword.
From the very beginning, the fight had not been about strength or combat
skills but some higher-level power. What were in conflict were the different
natures of their power.
Having converged the matrix of the whole path to godly ascension, the stone
sword was no long the mere key to the path to godly ascension, but the path
itself. It was because of this change that Maxwell had been able to wound
Arthur so badly and seal him for several hundred years when he betrayed
Arthur.
Arthur didn’t make the same mistake again. All the music theories were out of
Maxwell’s control and were deployed by Arthur himself.
In the term of its nature, the stone sword had turned to something more
profound and powerful. It didn’t only represent Arthur’s Chapter of Golden
Victory, but also could utilize the power of Leviathan. To some extent, it might
be said that it was the carrier of Leviathan’s power.
A coarse voicing was heard from the stone sword, singing a sad song. It was
as if the dead Leviathan had come back in the form of a ghost, hovering in the
sky and feeding the sword with its power, which made Arthur stronger and
more violent, yet more non-human.
Compared with the stone sword, the staff of fate looked like an iron rod. It was
so shabby!
It didn’t bring Ye Qingxuan any ability or power, and it didn’t have the frightful
lethality of the lance of the dragon slayer. Forged with the broken pieces of
the spear of destiny, it integrated all the music theories passed down in the
Religious Court of Inquisitors for centuries and became almost the
reincarnation of the miracles of the holy temple. The holy emblems on it was
proof to that. Since it was created, it was listed in the profound music theory
system of the holy caldron and accepted by the caldron as a symbol like the
Gate of Heaven.
Since the holy caldron created the new system in the originator hundreds of
years ago, the human race had been building on this system to become
stronger. The three kings and the saints were the defenders of this system, of
which the “Holy Bible” was an indispensable part.
Apart from sheepherding the souls of all living creatures, the legend created
by the Holy Bible was enhanced and upgraded. With it as the main theme,
countless “elements” were created, benefiting almost every single musician.
Except the black musicians, all musicians, after becoming a master, would
choose a chapter and an element most suitable for him and integrate them
into their symphony of predestination to upgrade to the scepter level.
Once they succeeded in that, they would become part of the system, through
which they could reach the aether world and even directly use the power from
the originator.
Besides that, there were holy tools created to carry the elements, such as the
gate of the heaven, the holy horn, and the staff of fate, which was forged with
the broken pieces of fate and integrated the core music theories of the
Religious Court of Inquisitors and accepted by the Holy Caldron.
That’s why Shi Dong was so happy when it was created.
Thanks to it, the Religious Court of Inquisitors was no long a subordinate of
the Church, nor the church could dissolve it as they wish. As long as the staff
of fate was in Ye Qingxuan’s hands, the Religious Court of Inquisitors would
be a holy organization and Ye Qingxuan’s title – the hand of god – would be
beyond reproach.
The reinforcement by the holy caldron on the staff of fate was directly from the
Holy Bible – follow the will of god, crush all rebellions, like an iron staff
smashing earth ware under the instruction of god.
The distinct feature of this staff, was the unique “stability”. It clashed against
the stone sword without any protection or preparation when it was just born,
yet its music theories were so stable that they were not scratched or wavered.
It was almost indestructible. It seemed to be able to survive alone when
everything else in the world was destroyed.
There was nothing more suitable than this staff for Ye Qingxuan, as he was
very good at utilizing powers not his own to achieve his own goal. With this
staff, he could allocate power hundreds of times mightier than his own on this
staff without worrying the staff might broke.
This staff was a perfect lever! Even if he inflicted all the power of the national
defense line upon it, the staff showed no sign of stress at all.
Being simply was being powerful.
With Ye Qingxuan’s skill of borrowing powers from other sources, the staff
would need no other ability at all. The only thing it needed to do, was to be a
“lever”, with Ye Qingxuan as its pivot point, to pry up Anglo and Leviathan.
Boom!
The sound of the dark sun collapsing was even louder.
Arthur was angrier. Under his skin, the turbulent firebirds multiplied and
revealed signs of inhumanity. Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly with a
mocking sneer.
The power of catastrophe surged in the stone sword and Arthur pressed
forward. Stating at Ye Qingxuan with blood-shot eyes, he shouted, “how dare
you stare at me?”
Ye Qingxuan didn’t flinch. “I’m wondering who you really are.”
“I am Arthur, king of kings! The eternal godly king of the earth!” Arthur roared,
the path of godly ascension was continuously sucking the power of Leviathan,
which made him stronger and more horrible. Ye Qingxuan was pushed back
by his surging strength.
Ye Qingxuan shook his head with a sneer. “I guess now you are very angry,
right?”
With the path of godly ascension in operation, Arthur’s appearance changed.
The madly multiplying dragon blood modified the weak body, on which scales
grew out of the skin and bones pierced out of his back and turned into a pair
of huge dark wings.
“This is the eternal godly king of the human world?” Ye Qingxuan sneered,
“you should really look at yourself in the mirror before you say that. Your love
for the lady of the lake was only greed and lust. The love of Leviathan for you,
I’m afraid, was not without her own purpose. The dragon blood brings you
power, but it also turns you into a monster like this. Right?”
Looking at the ugly face, Ye Qingxuan heaved a sigh. “You’ve only found this
out when it was too late. It only turned you into a monster as she was instead
of the king you want to be! That’s why you are so angry, so mad…”
“Shut up!” Arthur roared, angrier than ever before.
Yet in the booming noise, a coarse laugh was heard. The laugh was mix of
mockery and helplessness.
“Give it up now, your majesty. Don’t you understand now?” On the edge of the
stone sword, Maxwell’s face emerged with an expression of mixed feelings.
“The world has never been yours since the very beginning.”
“You bastard!” Arthur’s face twisted. “I created you! How dare you offend your
king!” The firebirds tore Maxwell
into pieces.
Yet the figure emerged again, even clearer. But the figure was cracked and
torn and might collapse at any moment.
“I’m pretty sure the courage to offend you was all mine.” Maxwell said in a low
voice, “thank you, your majesty. I was only a piece of iron, but you gave me a
soul. It was a great honor for me. I may be not so good as a weapon, but I’m
proud of having this free will of mine. It was so great that I could live in this
world as a human.”
“How you dare!” Roared Arthur. The stone sword moaned, and blade breaking
into pieces. Maxwell’s phantom shivered and began to collapse, yet his eyes
were even more determined.
Arthur gritted his teeth and softened a little. He snarled, “if you like it, after
this, I’ll allow you to live in the world as a man forever. As long as I was alive,
you can share my throne.”
Yet Maxwell was not tempted at all. He stretched out his hands, and
numerous music theories extended out from the stone sword and pierced into
Arthur’s body and become integrated with of him.
“Forget it, your majesty. After so many years of miserable life, I’m really tired
of it.” Hugging his creator, he murmured, “the new time should be handed to
the new generation. Please get off this stage with me.”
Boom!
A huge crack appeared on the stone sword and the path to godly ascension
moaned. Cracks covered the who path and the balance among the for layers
were lost. The path might collapse at any minute.
Trembling in pain, Arthur roared and screamed.
“Maxwell!” Ye Qingxuan shouted, “what are you doing?”
“I need to finish what I didn’t finish before.” Maxwell raised his head and
looked around at the shivering world sentimentally. “I should have done this
before, but I didn’t dare to. This world is so beautiful. Ye, I don’t want to go.
But it suffered so much pain, and it was all because of my cowardice.”
“Stop! Maxwell.” Ye Qingxuan shouted, pressing the staff of fate madly
forward to interrupt Maxwell. But he could not touch Maxwell at all.
“Don’t you want to retire? I have kept the house in Asgard. Don’t you want to
