Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter24-Killing the Old Emperor, Obtaining Phoenix Blood
At the very top of the city, after slaughtering yet another wave of living corpses, John finally arrived at what had once been the power center of the entire empire—
The Royal Court!
Only when he stood before the Royal Court did he finally see that this city had not originally been shaped like a cone.
The old capital must have once stood on a flat plane. Later, however, some bizarre force had used the Royal Court as its center and lifted the entire city upward.
And the grand hall before him was the very heart of this city.
John raised his head and looked up.
The hall was built in the style of a classic castle. At its top stood a towering spire, piercing into the crimson dome above like a long iron nail.
Vast waves of scarlet heat surged and spread outward.
It seemed that the blood-red sky covering this entire world had come from this Royal Court Hall.
John withdrew his gaze and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, he found the floor covered in a sticky, bloodlike substance. Stepping on it gave off a slick, greasy sensation.
On both sides, dim and decayed light seeped through the stained-glass windows.
Fragments of ruined carpets lay scattered everywhere. The patterns carved into the pillars had peeled away and faded with age.
The entire hall was dilapidated beyond recognition, with none of its former splendor remaining.
And yet, deep within the hall, there was still one place that shone with a golden radiance.
John’s gaze fell upon the golden throne at the far end.
Upon the throne, a massive figure sat upright.
The figure was clad in golden battle armor, its surface stained with traces of blood.
Beneath the helmet, his face was hideously savage. Like a beast, he was gnawing on a living corpse that had just been brought before him.
John’s pupils narrowed slightly.
He immediately cast Detect.
[Old Emperor]
[Rank]: S-rank Boss
[Skills]: Imperial Deathblade, King’s Host, Glory of the Old Age, Undying Imperial Authority, Final Coronation
[Description]: The last emperor of the Old Empire. In life, he commanded ten thousand armies. In death, he still refuses to remove his armor. With the body of the dead, he rules over the entire Royal Court. That pulse, which should have stopped beating a thousand years ago, still drives the remains of the empire forward.
...
"So it’s the former emperor!"
John was slightly shocked.
He had never expected that the ruler who once held authority over the entire empire would have fallen into such a state. freēwēbnovel.com
At that moment, the Old Emperor finished devouring the living corpse and casually tossed the remaining carcass aside.
His attention fell upon John.
The aura of the living on John’s body caused the Old Emperor’s eyes to turn blood-red in an instant.
"Delicious!"
The Old Emperor let out a beastlike roar. Whatever reason remained in him vanished completely.
He suddenly pulled the longsword beside the throne from its sheath. His body turned into a blur as he thrust toward John.
John had already been prepared. He instantly raised his undead longsword and clashed head-on with the attack.
Clang!
The two blades crossed, and both sides were forced half a step back.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The Old Emperor did not know fatigue. With another furious roar, he raised his sword and charged again.
In an instant, the hall rang with the sharp, continuous clash of metal.
The two figures exchanged blow after blow, locked in an extremely fierce battle.
Although the Old Emperor had a massive body, his movement speed was not much slower than John’s.
As a result, John had no chance to use Nuclear Blast. Often, before he could finish charging it, the Old Emperor would already be upon him.
During the battle, he also tried using Heat Vision, but before the ray could touch the Old Emperor, the emperor’s figure would flash and vanish from the spot.
Even when John tried to track the Old Emperor’s movements, the turning speed of the ray was too slow, making it extremely difficult to land a hit.
In the end, the two of them simply abandoned their swords and began exchanging punches directly.
Boom, boom, boom!
[-10,780!]
[-10,820!]
[-10,760!]
John constantly shifted and maneuvered, his fists raining down upon the Old Emperor like a storm.
Even though the Old Emperor possessed high Physical Defense and a large HP pool, under John’s relentless attacks, his HP still began to drop rapidly.
"Die!"
[-11,000!]
When John’s final punch landed on the Old Emperor’s helmet, the emperor’s HP finally bottomed out.
The helmet shattered into pieces, and the Old Emperor fell backward onto the ground.
However, this time, John did not feel any joy. Instead, he immediately retreated with vigilance.
Based on his understanding of all the monsters in this old capital, there was no way the Old Emperor only had one life.
Sure enough, in the next moment, the emperor’s corpse began to tremble.
The blood on the floor ignited into roaring flames, swiftly clinging to the surface of the Old Emperor’s body. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
The blood churned violently, wrapping around his massive frame and lifting him little by little into the air.
Many of the wounds John had beaten out of shape began to recover.
Seeing this, John’s fingertips suddenly released a crimson ray.
However, when it struck the Old Emperor, it was abruptly refracted and deflected by some unknown force field.
John’s eyes flickered slightly.
"Interesting."
At that moment, a teeth-grating series of cracking sounds came from the Old Emperor’s body.
His arms slowly lifted outward, forming the posture of a cross.
Then—
Buzz!
A dazzling radiance suddenly burst forth.
Behind the Old Emperor, two enormous wings actually extended outward.
The wings were scarlet as fire.
They were unmistakably phoenix wings.
Upon seeing this, John smacked his own forehead, cursing inwardly.
"Damn it. How did I not think of that just now?"
In this world, the race most proficient in blood magic and resurrection was none other than the phoenixes.
Something this obvious should have been immediately apparent to John based on his memories from his previous life.
It seemed that after this reincarnation, both his memories and soul had been restricted by his current body, and were gradually fusing with it.
But now was not the time to think about that.
John stared at the Old Emperor, whose phoenix wings had now unfurled, with an eager expression.
Since he already knew that the key to the resurrection was Phoenix Blood, the matter had become much simpler.
Based on what he knew from his previous life, phoenixes could only be killed by Deathfire or a Deathblade.
However, he had neither of those things right now.
That meant there was only one simple and brutal method left.
While the Old Emperor was still in the process of reviving and had not yet regained the power to shift his body—
John’s figure flashed.
He shot forward like a cannonball and slammed heavily into the Old Emperor, smashing him back down to the ground.
"Get—"
Boom!
Before the Old Emperor could finish his roar, John punched him in the head.
Then, while the Old Emperor still had not reacted, John swiftly drew the longsword from his back.
Shing!
A cold flash of light streaked past.
The Old Emperor’s massive head rolled across the ground.
But that was not the end.
Seeing that the head was faintly showing signs of reattaching itself, John decisively stabbed the head in place with his sword. Then, violent fire elements erupted from his palms.
Hiss!
He pressed both hands down.
Terrifying fire elements surged rapidly into the Old Emperor’s body.
Under the pull of the fire elements, the blood inside the Old Emperor’s body began to flow continuously out from his severed neck.
The blood gathered in midair, eventually condensing into a vivid crimson, surging solid mass.
When every last drop of blood inside the Old Emperor’s body had been completely extracted, both his head and body finally went still.
John let out a long breath.
At last, he had killed him!
