Bab 90: Elizabeth and the emperor (7)
"Stay calm, Loujin. The emperor has yet to say anything," Shaolong coolly said.
"What are your orders, Your Imperial Majesty?" Cardinal Hui asked with a slight bow. "We shall obey your every command."
"Stop my daughters from interfering," Emperor Lianghu ordered, starting his walk towards Elizabeth. Every step was heavy and weighed down on Elizabeth's chest.
But instead of accepting her death, she laughed, "Good! I wanted to do things this way too!"
Have two sides apologize, shake hands, and let bygones be bygones? There was no way she could accept that! A few words could not reverse time or revive the dead. It was as good as nothing! She said the things she did because she wanted to vent, not because she wanted the emperor to apologize. Although she did feel bad for Xiuying and Ming, there was no helping it. The emperor deserved every bit of resentment headed his way. One could even say this was the biggest reason why she came… She wanted to settle things with the empire, once and for all! Today, either she or the emperor would die. There was no other option!
Ming was horrified that the worst situation had become reality. No matter who won, she and Xiuying would suffer. If Elizabeth won, they would lose a father. If their father won, then the Alzar Kingdom would be thoroughly destroyed. There were no alternatives! Holding her spear tightly, she nodded at her sister. Xiuying understood immediately. Together, the sisters dashed to stop their father and Elizabeth from fighting. However, Cardinal Hui appeared before them, his gaze was deep and unreadable. His stance was clear enough though. He would stop the princesses from getting close! Chang and Tai saw the situation too and rushed to help as well, but Loujin stood in their way. There was no way they could get around the man. The two Royal Guards also wanted to do something, but Shaolong thoroughly kept them occupied. With the stage set now, Emperor Lianghu had no obstacles between him and Elizabeth!
There was no need for any more words. Emperor Lianghu swung his sabre and accelerated towards Elizabeth. He was fully intent on killing her! Shirley was the first to intercept as she swung her halberd in a wide arc right at the emperor. Though it was crude and lacked technique, she imbued it with incredible speed and strength. It was enough to create an audible sound when it sliced through the air. If her opponent was a novice, then they would be taken aback. That was how she could overwhelm the guards in the Yunyun Stronghold. Unfortunately, that feat was nothing too special in her opponent's mind. In the emperor's prime, he was an excellent swordsman who achieved Perception Realm. Even if his instincts and abilities faded with age and office, his experience remained! Emperor Lianghu lifted his sabre and angled it, elegantly redirecting Shirley's blow away. The process was as effortless as breathing.
Benedict dove in at that moment, thrusting his sword into the emperor's side. As a practitioner of the Hawken Swordsmanship Style, he had an excellent grasp over timing and tempo. Of course, his mastery paled in comparison to his brother or father, but he could display the foundational techniques. He attacked at precisely the time that the emperor deflected Shirley's halberd with the intent to kill! Emperor Lianghu snorted with derision. It was still far from catching him off-guard. He spun on the spot, taking some of his momentum, to quickly turn his sabre around. Once again, the attack was negated. Benedict frowned but kept his composure and swiftly retreated.
The emperor then sensed potential danger headed his way though he could not see it directly. Although the most commonly used sense of Perception Realm experts was eyesight, there were four other bodily senses. The main reason why everyone focused on eyesight was because it was their most familiar sense. To a warrior, sight was key! However, akin to reading five books simultaneously, it was insanely difficult to focus on every sense as they reached their limits. It was a ridiculous amount of sensory information! Consequently, nearly all Perception Realm experts focused on sight and neglected the others. But that did not mean they could not shift their focus!
Using his sharpened hearing, he could clearly hear two projectiles closing on him. Without looking behind, the emperor slashed out! The first was an arrow shot by Elizabeth and was cut down. The second, though, was a spell from Freon. A spell was notoriously problematic to defend against. On top of having countless forms, the strength, speed, range, precision, and more were all freely adjustable. That made it practically impossible to predict ahead of time. The emperor felt uneasy when his blade sliced through Freon's fireball. The fireball instantly exploded, pouring a violent inferno in his direction. A second later, Emperor Lianghu dashed away, a bit worse for wear now. His robe was lightly scorched, and his hair was slightly unkempt, but he was fine overall.
As expected, that level of power was insufficient to cause any great harm. Freon was a mere Gaseous Fog Core Level Arcanist and at the earliest levels at that. The spells he could draw from was limited to his abilities. Of course, that did not mean everything. A tool was a tool, how it was used depended on the person. In this world, anything and everything was possible. Arcania was the strongest embodiment of that! Rather than his Core, it stemmed from his inexperience and lack of appropriate spells. He did not practice his spells, nor did he develop any. After all, he was acting as an errand boy back in Port Silic. There was no need to worry about fighting, hence, his subpar performance.
Elizabeth's inability was self-explanatory, so after that first clash, Emperor Lianghu grasped the strengths and weaknesses of the four very well. He was also regaining his former battle prowess. If it were not for the fact that his strength declined and he was fighting a four-versus-one, there was no way his opponents would survive. His swordsmanship was no laughing matter! Still, the stalemate was destined to fall. Emperor Lianghu had no worries. Their lives were his! He was in complete control!
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone