"Who are you?"
Four guards surrounded Aoki, scrutinizing him with grave expressions.
Aoki glanced at the four.
They wore full armor, their aura heavy and dangerous; they were definitely not ordinary soldiers.
"The Imperial Guard?"
Aoki didn't waste words with them, extending eight whips from behind him.
*Crack!*
With a flick of the whips, the four men were sent flying, crashing into the wall, unconscious upon landing.
While these soldiers were quite strong, they were still far inferior to him.
Aoki walked straight forward, wielding his whips.
*Boom!*
The door shattered.
A huge room came into view.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to be composed of stacked cylinders, and the surrounding walls were all made of irregularly shaped blocks.
In the center of the palace was a high platform, upon which stood two trapezoidal stone pillars, one tall and one short, one thick and one thin.
Aoki's figure flashed, appearing on the platform, looking down.
On the side of the shorter trapezoidal pillar was a circular device; he remembered this as the trigger mechanism for the Supreme Throne.
Aoki tried pressing it.
There was no response.
"As expected, the bloodline isn't right; it can't activate the Supreme Throne."
Aoki pondered silently.
So, where exactly is the Supreme Throne hidden?
The Supreme Throne is over two hundred meters tall; hiding it wouldn't be easy.
Could it be like a demon possessing it, automatically flying out after activation?
No!
Finally, the minister and the alchemist from the Southern Kingdom made some modifications to the Supreme Throne; its true form must exist!
Could it be beneath this palace?
Tap tap tap.
A series of footsteps sounded, and Aoki stopped thinking and looked up.
A group of people entered the palace.
Leading them was a tall, middle-aged man with short blond hair and huge gauntlets on his arms.
The Imperial General, Bud!
Before Esdeath's debut, he was known as the strongest.
No, even now, he and Esdeath are considered the two strongest in the Empire.
Of course, in reality, his strength is still inferior to Esdeath's.
The Empire's civil officials are headed by ministers, while the military officials are headed by generals.
Honest and Bud were the Emperor's right-hand men, deeply trusted by him.
However, Bud was different from Honest.
Many upright officials were spared persecution by ministers because of his protection.
Bud was extremely stubborn, completely loyal to the Empire and the Emperor.
He knew of the corruption of ministers, but always followed ancestral teachings, believing that military generals should not interfere in politics, and never intervened, only using his authority to protect officials of conscience.
However, Bud eventually reached his breaking point and decided to personally eliminate the root of the disturbance to national stability after annihilating the rebels, including Honest.
Unfortunately, he didn't live to see that moment.
Severely wounded, Bud was killed by Mine through a method that exhausted his mental strength.
Aoki's gaze lingered briefly on Bud before continuing to look behind him.
Bud hadn't come alone; he had brought a large group of soldiers.
Like the four guards before him, these soldiers were all clad in full armor, exuding a heavy and dangerous aura.
The Palace Guard, Bud's direct force, was the only elite unit comparable to Esdeath's army.
"You dared to cause trouble in the palace and even wound my soldiers? Are you prepared to bear the consequences?"
Bud's expression was serious as he clenched his fist, unleashing two bolts of lightning.
Aoki glanced at the gauntlet on Bud's arm.
Admiral, a Teigu that could manipulate lightning, could be used not only for ranged attacks but also to form lightning armor with a strong paralyzing effect, making it a nemesis of close combat.
This was one of the Teigu he desired.
However, Bud was no pushover, especially with so many Palace Guards with him.
This battle won't be easy.
The key is, he wasn't there to kill.
"General Bud, we'll meet again!"
Aoki smiled, his figure flashing as he appeared outside the palace.
"Don't run!"
Bud's expression hardened, and he slammed his fists down.
Boom!
Two bolts of lightning struck, but Aoki's figure had already vanished.
"Shangri-La?"
Bud frowned. "No, I didn't see any markings. It shouldn't be Shangri-La."
As the Empire's Grand General, he was very familiar with the abilities of all Imperial Arms.
But if it wasn't Shangri-La, then what ability did he use?
In an inconspicuous corner of the palace,
Aoki's figure suddenly appeared, his body rapidly expanding, transforming in the blink of an eye into a bodyguard clad in full armor.
He had no intention of leaving. He
hadn't gained anything; how could he return empty-handed?
Even if he couldn't find the Supreme Throne, he could try to find the young emperor.
To use the Supreme Throne, both were indispensable.
Aoki strolled through the palace. Although occasionally someone cast a questioning glance at him, no one stepped forward to stop him.
However...
The palace was too vast.
For a moment, he had no idea where to find the young emperor, wandering aimlessly like a headless fly.
"Halt! Who gave you permission to be here!"
Suddenly, a sharp shout rang out behind him.
Aoki frowned, stopped, and turned around.
Four figures appeared in his field of vision.
Two men and two women.
The two men were shirtless, and one of the women, a dark-skinned woman with silver hair, wore only an undergarment.
All four exuded a strange aura.
They didn't seem human.
"The Four Demons of Rakshasa? Could Minister Ernest be nearby?"
Aoki's face showed surprise.
The blue-haired man pointed at Aoki: "Why are the Imperial Guards here? Don't you know this place is off-limits?"
"I wandered in by mistake!"
Aoki said.
"Alright then, since you wandered in by mistake, then..."
Before the blue-haired man could finish speaking, he suddenly appeared in front of Aoki.
"Then die!"
The blue-haired man's face twisted into a ferocious smile as he punched Aoki in the head.
*Thump!
* A muffled sound.
The dark-skinned, silver-haired girl crossed her arms: "Hey! Thorn, he's a member of the Royal Guard, one of those stubborn old men from Bud. Killing him will cause you a lot of trouble,
won't it?" The burly, bearded man looked at the blue-haired man's back, a hint of doubt on his face: "Something seems off!"
"Ah!"
The blue-haired man's face flushed red. He used all his strength to finally break free from the other's fist, quickly retreating back to the three of them, frowning.
"You're definitely not a member of the Royal Guard. Who are you?"
"I was originally planning to find the young emperor, but I didn't expect to run into you guys. Well, it's good to have some snacks before the main course."
Aoki's full-body armor gradually disappeared, revealing him as a pale-faced young man with plum-red eyes, observing the four of them with interest.
The Rakshasa Four Demons, one in a million top fighters from the Imperial Fist Temple, the minister's private soldiers, can be said to be the pinnacle of strength for non-Teigu users in this world.
They had consumed Dangerous Beasts for a long time, causing their bodies to mutate and allowing them to freely control their bodies.
This seems to be a way to obtain the bloodline of a dangerous species.
Not only can it be used as an upgrade material, but it also seems to be usable as research material.
It's a very precious monster!
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(End of Chapter)