Free Web NovelChapter 418: Chapter 38: Talk of a Political Marriage
The Master of Blazing Flames’s Domain manifested in reality, tearing an entire expanse of space and leaving behind cracks that resembled shattered glass.
Such a spectacle was a rare sight indeed. Everyone present knew the battle between Duke Qinghui and the Celestial God’s Shadow would decide the final outcome. The moment the phenomenon vanished, they all ceased their attacks, their attention fixed on the space where the Domain had receded.
Who had won?
Was it him? No—it was *him*!
As the smoke and firelight dissipated, the King of Flame Demons was revealed. His hunched form was clad in Rune Heavy Armor, now in tatters. Flames struggled to even rise from the surface of the dim, lightless Armor, and his lower body had been severed at the waist. Though the Rune Heavy Armor was merely a vessel for the Flame Demon, the faint glow of his flames made it obvious what a devastating blow the Master of Blazing Flames had suffered.
Westheid wasn’t in great shape either. Using the Soul Burning Technique by channeling Wan Qi was several times more effective than using it himself, but Wan Qi had also shouldered most of the cost. Even so, the physical toll caused shattered Strong Fragments to appear on his body. As for the Runes of Music, they were nothing more than consumables in a battle of this intensity.
Even so, Westheid was in much better shape than he had been after defeating the Master of Decay. This was certainly because he had borrowed Wan Qi’s power—’but that’s not important! To outsiders, it looks like I brought the Master of Blazing Flames to his knees all by myself!’
Duke Qinghui planted a foot on the Flame Demon’s chest plate. Looking down at his foe, he said coolly,
"What a shame. In the end, I was just a cut above."
"COUGH, COUGH... If I hadn’t been injured by that bitch earlier, you think you could’ve won? You?!"
The Master of Blazing Flames first tried to make excuses for his defeat, wanting to claim Westheid’s victory was dishonorable and that he had only barely won thanks to the help of Anise and the Master of Extinction.
But he never got to voice any more of his accusations—not because he thought it pointless, but because Westheid, worried the Demon might tarnish his glorious image, decided to strike first and ran his blade straight through the Flame Demon’s core.
’Hah! Still talking tough?! I absolutely cannot let you live!’
Thanks to his experience with the Master of Decay, absorbing the Master of Blazing Flames’s Subdivine Power was now a familiar process. Westheid drew the Divinity into his Evil Magic Vein and, through a contractual nexus planted by Wan Qi, channeled it drop by drop into the Master of Extinction’s Imaginary Space to be refined by Wan Qi.
Having silenced his foe, Westheid watched the Master of Blazing Flames’s body disintegrate. With a long sigh, he picked up the only thing that remained—the Flame-shaped Greatsword—and raised it high as a symbol of his spoils of war.
He didn’t need to say a word. The moment Westheid struck this pose, he was met with a deafening roar of cheers, as loud as a landslide or a tsunami.
Mixed in were some boasts so over-the-top that even Westheid found them cringeworthy.
"All hail!"
"All hail Duke Qinghui!!"
"A Demon is nothing more than a stray dog to His Majesty!"
"..."
With the true master of this Demon Realm annihilated, the next logical step was to take control of all the Cities in the Lake that the Master of Blazing Flames had occupied. The Flame Demons had turned to ash along with their Monarch’s demise. Most of the Royal Court’s people, now freed from the Demon’s corrupting influence, would regain their senses. Only a tiny minority of extremists, driven completely mad, would continue their futile resistance.
But such resistance was laughable, not even worth acknowledging. They were merely clowns who could be annihilated with a flick of a finger.
Amithren stepped forward eagerly and said, "We can notify the Tuner teams now. We’ll have the Grand Law Officer and the others amend the Thousand Laws Ceremony and mend the Grand Ensemble."
Westheid shook his head. "No rush. Let’s secure the territory first. This battle went fairly smoothly, and I still have strength to spare. There’s no need to have the Tuners rush the repairs. We need to avoid any new problems that might arise from delays... That Flame Demon wasn’t at full strength. It was fighting other Demons before, and there are still more Demons out there, watching us like hungry tigers."
"Right! That’s another problem. We’ll have to race against time."
After a brief period of rest and reorganization, the expeditionary force immediately resumed its march. The troops with ample supplies and stamina quickly formed a vanguard legion and began to seize territory.
Westheid followed along leisurely with the rear guard. A few days later, the vanguard finally halted its advance, not because they had finished taking over the Master of Blazing Flames’s domain, but because they had met with an obstacle.
Yolanda put on an air of feigned gravity and said solemnly,
"Brother, your worries have unfortunately been realized."
"The followers of another Demon have driven straight in, getting ahead of us and occupying several Cities in the Lake."
"How shameless!"
Before Westheid could even speak, Amithren and the other Royal Court Elves flew into a rage, cursing furiously,
"While we were fighting and shedding our blood, that Demon dared to pull a stunt like this!"
They acted as if the fruits of their bitter struggle had been snatched away, handed to the enemy on a silver platter. They’d completely forgotten who it was that had tied down and wounded the Master of Blazing Flames in the first place.
’Wait, do they really not know? Then again, even if they knew, it’s not like they’d feel they were getting off easy.’
’A Demon fighting another Demon is just a dog-eat-dog affair!’
’They’re all enemies, after all. Every last Demon should be driven out. What other way is there?’
When the Royal Court’s main army formally arrived at the border, they saw a magnificent White Jade Palace built against a towering mountain range and a deep canyon.
The City in the Lake, nestled amidst lush forests and white jade, was flying an unfamiliar flag. It was supposed to be another nexus for the Land of Rhythm, its status far beyond that of an ordinary City in the Lake.
