Zither Emperor

Chapter 34 – Hero or Villain? (III)

Zi waved his right hand, prompting the Amethyst Sword to appear once more. He pointed it at the vast, distant sky. With a chilling, forceful voice, he spoke one word. “Amethyst——”

Perkins completely lost all of his spirit. “Amethyst; it really is an Amethyst.” His eyes no longer held killing intent or fighting spirit. He subconsciously retreated a few steps, glancing to the side of the battlefield at Dis.

An esoteric, garbled sound could be heard from Zi’s mouth. It seemed to be a kind of unusual language. Of everyone present, only the two Gold Behemoths could understand it. Facing Zi and his Amethyst Sword, even if their heights surpassed twenty meters, even if their Behemoth defense was still durable, the Gold Behemoths gradually retreated, repeatedly nodding. When they retreated back to where those other seriously wounded Behemoths laid collapsed on the ground, they turned back to face Zi’s direction and slowly bowed. Their large eyes unexpectedly revealed a gaze filled with fear and reverence.

Brilliant rays of light flashed. The two pointed ten ring-laden fingers in front of them, and, with a flicker of silvery light, the eighty-something seriously wounded Behemoths on the ground were all placed within the space rings. The two Gold Behemoths glanced at each other before roaring lowly at the same time. Not caring about the few surviving beastmen of the other three races, they used their quickest speed to run in the direction of the Northern Wasteland. They forged through the tall and erect mountains that pierced through the clouds, running as if on level ground. Within a few moments, they had already disappeared from sight.

Zi’s eyes followed the two Gold Behemoths’ departure, the corners of his mouth displaying a faint trace of a smile. Lowering his head to look at Ye Yin Zhu nestled close to his chest, he slowly set him down on the city wall. His figure flashed, transforming into a violet light, and vanished without needing to enter Ye Yin Zhu’s body.

✶

It was over. This great battle had finally ended. Ultimately, everything had happened extremely fast. Almost no one was able to clearly see what had happened atop the city walls. Dis’ hellish shock wave, upon ramming into the Earth Wall, had created a great cloud of dust.

The vast majority of the Dragon Cavalry had been shaken, confused. The few clear-headed knights were too busy trying to avoid the falling debris of rocks and mud. They merely saw a flickering violet light atop the city walls. At the same time, Okafur and his Gigantic Dragon had been sent flying back by Gold Behemoth Dis. In the wake of the emergence of that unusual voice, the Gold Behemoths and their kin had already disappeared altogether. All that remained in front of Konya City was a chaotic plain of desolation while the city walls laid in ruins.

Okafur and his Gigantic Dragon fell from the sky, confused. When they crawled back up, everything had already ended. Okafur used his dragonspear to support his body. Surrounded by the strong, bloody stench in front of Konya City, he muttered to himself, “Dead, all dead. The Falcon Dragons are all dead. How can I explain this to my grandfather?!”

The Falcon Dragons’ place in the entire Milan Empire’s Dragon Cavalry Legion was absolutely crucial. Not mentioning anything else, for just being used for reconnaissance and ambush missions, they had an efficiency which the rest of the armed forces were incapable of matching. Even though a Falcon Dragon was merely a rank 5 magical beast, its value was greater than a Maginot Iron Dragon and Earthbound Swift Dragon combined.

“Second Brother.” Oliveira ran up to Okafur, both brothers now somewhat despondent.

Okafur’s gaze hardened abruptly. “Third Brother, what is going on? Why, why did our tamed dragons suddenly go mad?”

Oliveira forced a smile and said, “I also don’t know. Maybe our mages have something to do with it. Yin Zhu united all of the mages to cast Divine Music Magic, and afterward, the tamed dragons went crazy.”

Okafur snarled, “When I’m not here, you are the commander-in-chief. How can you allow a mage to act so recklessly? Do you not realize that this killed a thousand tamed dragons, among which were five hundred Falcon Dragons? Even on the entire Longinus Continent, I’m afraid you can’t even gather as many Falcon Dragons together.”

Oliveira hung his head. At this moment, he still hadn’t woken from this incomparably stupefying battle. From beginning to end, their five hundred strong Dragon Cavalry hadn’t done anything. This life-threatening battle was completely between the mages and the enemy.

“Second Brother, calm down. Although our losses are disastrous, the beastmen’s losses also aren’t small. Furthermore, I am not in charge here. Prince Fisichella and Princess Xiang Luan are both atop the city walls with their Milan Ruby Cross Shield Emblems. I had no other choice but to carry out their orders.”

“Ah! The Princess and Prince! Shit! I forgot. Quick, we need to get to the top of the city walls.” Okafur didn’t have time to feel any heartache for those tamed dragons. He was currently on duty, his mission and priority being to rescue those two esteemed royal family members. Previously, when he had seen Dis launch an attack at his younger brother and the Dragon Cavalry Knights, his brain had clouded over with rage, and he’d rushed downward. Now, he was thinking of the unfavorable aftermath concerning the Princess and Prince’s safety.

The two youngest brothers of the Violet Clan didn’t dare to neglect this. Using their fastest speed, they arrived at the chaotic, destroyed Konya City.

To say the least, the luck of those Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts students were excellent. Those mages whom Ye Yin Zhu had borrowed spiritual force from were originally all behind him. After Perkins had attacked Ye Yin Zhu, the destroyed city walls were in the vicinity of Ye Yin Zhu’s body or in front of him,and thus, the destruction hadn’t spread to those unconscious mages. Although the dust had covered them with filth, they were just merely unconscious.

Very quickly, Oliveira found Xiang Luan among those unconscious mages. “The Princess is here.”

Okafur whispered, “The Prince? Where is his Highness the Prince?”

Oliveira grimaced and said, “Immediately dispatch people to try and find him. I hope he’s within the city.”

Okafur immediately passed down the order. At the same time, his gaze fell upon the extremely visible mage atop the city walls. The Divine Celestial Protection flickered with a milky white light, its defenses protecting the already comatose Ye Yin Zhu. His complexion appeared somewhat pale, but he looked peaceful, the pain that had been visible on his creased forehead having vanished completely.

“Is he the one that killed our tamed dragons?” Okafur’s breathing was unsteady as he ruthlessly glared at Ye Yin Zhu.

Oliveira nodded.

Okafur clenched his fists tightly, a dark blue radiance of dou qi fluctuating unstably around his body. An ominous glint flickered in his eyes as he recalled the Falcon Dragons perishing, of how his own Gigantic Dragon mount had narrowly avoiding self-detonation because of the << Soaring Dragon’s Cry >>. He was brimming with hatred toward this mage who had created such terrifying draconic explosions.

“Second Brother, don’t.” Oliveira was very familiar with the fiery temper of his Second Brother. Both him and his eldest brother, Austin, were always impulsive people. If their bad tempers arose, then they would completely disregarded any possible consequences for their actions.

Okafur argued angrily, “Don’t? Oliveira, don’t you know that not only are the Falcon Dragons the pride of the Empire, they are also the pride of our Violet Clan? Many of those five hundred Falcon Dragon Cavalry were our clan members. How much of grandfather’s meticulous care in cultivating them was wasted? Those Falcon Dragons… every one of them is worth ten thousand gold with the inclusion of the Dragon Cavalry Knight and its equipments. A single Falcon Dragon would be a priceless treasure in any country, yet this bastard actually killed off the Falcon Dragons! Get out of my way; I’m going to kill him. Right now, everyone here are our people; when they return, they will report to the upper management that he was actually killed by the beastmen. They will also not investigate this matter. I’m going to avenge our deceased comrades.”

“It’s best if you don’t move. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that your younger sister will be able to stay alive.” An icy, cruel voice faintly rung out into the still air, immediately attracting Okafur’s attention. To approach two Indigo Rank War Masters without them noticing, that was already enough to prove the adversary’s strength.

Okafur stared at Sura, only to see that Rolande was held close to his chest. The Angel’s Sigh in Sura’s right hand was pressed against the main artery in Rolande’s neck. A cold light flashed through his eyes. That icy, murderous gaze made him appear like a true killer, one who could strike at any time.

Oliveira hastily spoke up. “Sura, don’t be impulsive. My elder brother is merely agitated; we wouldn’t do anything to Ye Yin Zhu.”

Sura smiled, his smile brimming with ice and disdain. He indifferently said, “The Milan Empire’s magnificent Gold Star Dragon Cavalry Commander turns out to merely be a despicable, vile character that raises his hand against his own people.

“What were you doing when we were facing the beastmen plundering legion? Your original mission was to guard Konya City, but you violated the order, mobilised your troops, and then left without explicit approval. According to Imperial Martial Law, what crimes would you be guilty of?

“When the beastmen army of tens of thousands strong came to Konya City, where were you? Sure, Ye Yin Zhu killed a thousand tamed dragons, but he also warded off close to a hundred Behemoths, including two Gold Behemoths and countless beastmen. Moreover, he annihilated the enemy. In my opinion, not to mention a thousand tamed dragons, if you were in his place and had ten thousand Dragon Cavalry, it wouldn’t be possible for you to accomplish the same.”

“You…” Okafur’s face was flushed red with anger at Sura, but as it happened, there was nothing he could say to refute it.

Sura snorted coldly. “Me what? Okafur, you should realize something first. In this battle, not only is Ye Yin Zhu not an enemy of the Empire, instead, he’s a hero, a genuine hero. Oliveira, let me ask you this: What is behind Konya City?”

Oliveira automatically responded. “Puglia Plains.”

Sura continued coldly. “If these tens of thousands strong beastmen legion led by Behemoths entered Puglia Plains, what would happen to the Milan Empire?”

Oliveira was suddenly at a loss for words, his eyes filled with terror. He had read and re-read martial laws until he was familiar with it, so Milan Empire’s internal topography was extremely familiar to him. He naturally knew what this meant. His entire body was drenched with cold sweat immediately while he was completely speechless.

Sura elaborated further. “It’s true that the tamed dragons and Dragon Cavalry are precious, but when weighed against Puglia Plains… well, you should clearly understand which of the two is more important. Besides, these thousand tamed dragons were exchanged for close to a hundred seriously injured Behemoths and the destruction of at least four beastmen legions. If you can’t balance out the variables, then go back and ask Generalissimo Maldini whether Ye Yin Zhu is a hero or a villain when all’s said and done.”