A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 143: Chapter 123 A Night of Chaos_1

“You———!!”

The Great Crown Prince and the Second Prince were stunned when they saw the Third Prince, who was now emanating a foul smell and exuding poisonous insects and mosquitoes. The Second Prince’s face was ashen, his expression ferocious.

“You foolish idiot, do not think that pledging allegiance to the God of Plague gives you the freedom to do as you please!”

As he spoke, the Second Prince lifted his scepter. Soon, a gale was howling; a tornado, spinning violently, rose from the ground, attempting to whisk everything in its vicinity away—however, at that moment, an unexpected change occurred.

The War Hammer at the Great Crown Prince’s waist unexpectedly emitted golden flames, splashing outwards like a shower of light and instantly entering the spiraling vortex. The next moment, under the fierceness of the gale, the tiny sparks transformed into billowing flames, engulfing the entire hall!

The whole palace instantaneously became a scorching, gigantic furnace. In the blink of an eye, the merciless flames reduced the mosquitoes, the fetid poisonous gas, and the ugly insects to ashes. Even the unfortunate guests were not spared. They were either painfully howling as they were burned to char, or silently turned into ashes.

When the flames dissipated, only the three princes barely remained alive within the hall.

The Great Crown Prince lay on the ground, his body charred. His skin resembled wood that had been burned to charcoal. The Second Prince fared somewhat better, holding his magic wand, he looked around with alarm. Though he had utilized his magic power to protect himself from being burned to nothingness at the final moments, his tattered clothes revealed that he was not entirely unscathed.

As for the last prince, the Third Prince, he was currently seated on the ground, his eyes dull, laughing foolishly like an idiot. However, at this moment, his fatty body was being seared by the golden flames. He looked like a giant pig that had been thrown into a fire pit, the merciless flames tearing at his skin, his muscles, charred his internal organs. Torn chunks of meat fell from his body as pustules emerged, bursting open on his skin; putrid yellow pus seeped out in an attempt to extinguish the flames but only caused them to burn hotter.

“How, how is this possible…”

Staring at the golden flames around him, the Second Prince turned pale. He knew what these flames were, but… why?!

“Thud… thud… thud…”

The sound of footsteps echoed. The Second Prince lifted his head to see a group of Golden Armored Guards carrying spears, marching towards him. These were the Royal Palace’s Imperial Guards. They had not shown up for some time, even though the Second Prince had hoped to win them over. He did not expect to meet them under such circumstances.

However, soon, the Second Prince saw a figure among the Imperial Guards that he could not believe.

“You, you…!!”

“You all have truly disappointed me.”

Under the protection of the Imperial Guards, Kevin slowly emerged from the other side of the corridor. He stared at the ravaged banquet hall and his three sons with a solemn and cold expression. Kevin, both serious and remote, had cast away his previous adventurer’s attire, wearing his Emperor’s clothes; he looked quite imposing.

“You, how are you still alive?”

Seeing Kevin, the Second Prince’s face changed dramatically. He hastily retreated backwards, as if realizing something.

“Yes, that’s right, you are an imposter!!”

As he spoke, the Second Prince raised his hand, pointing it at Kevin.

“How brazen! Who gave you the audacity to impersonate the Emperor? Guards! Arrest this man! Now!!”

“You’re still as foolish as ever.”

Looking at the Second Prince’s reaction, Kevin shook his head. Then he reached out— the next moment, the “Hammer of Fire God” at the Great Crown Prince’s waist abruptly flew out and landed in Kevin’s hand. Simultaneously, a golden radiance exploded from the hammer, encasing Kevin. At that moment, a magnificent shadow manifested behind him, it was the figure of the founding Emperor of the Empire!

“How can this be…!”

Upon witnessing this, the Second Prince’s face turned ashen. Only those with royal blood could use the Imperial Holy Artifacts. As princes, they could also use these artifacts, but in actuality, this was only because the Emperor had granted them permission.

In other words, as princes, they only had “usage rights” not “ownership rights” before their official coronation as Emperor. Being their imperial father, if he wanted to reclaim the ownership, it would only take a thought to do so.

So, this was it!

At this moment, the Second Prince finally understood.

It was clear that their father had taken the gift of the Water God and directed this deceitful drama, playing them all along!

“My child.”

Looking at the Second Prince, whose expression fluctuated between gloom and astonishment, Kevin began to speak in a calm voice.

“Your betrayal was not surprising to me, but I still want to know, why? What gave you the audacity to murder your father and usurp the throne?”

“Hehehe, hehehe…”

However, facing Kevin’s inquiries, the Second Prince only chuckled softly.

“Everything I’ve done is for this Empire, Father.”

“…………”

Hearing the Second Prince’s words, Kevin just stood there, staring at him silently. The Second Prince now seemed to be letting go, raising his hands and staring at the Emperor.

“Father, you understand. The power of Chaos is so great that we can’t possibly defeat them. I saw the future. In the future, this world will be destroyed, and our country, our people, will be obliterated!”

At this point, the Second Prince raised his voice abruptly.

“So, what is the point of our existence? No one will know of the Empire anymore, our culture, our religion, everything, will be completely destroyed! Is this our ultimate fate? Can we only succumb to such a fate?”

The Second Prince clenched his teeth and fists.

“I can’t accept it, I can’t accept that everything ends like this, so I made a choice.”

“So your so-called choice is to become the lackey of the Evil God?”

“Exactly, so what?”

The Second Prince laughed tragically.

“Although the Master of Thousand Changes is the Chaos Evil God, it is not as brutal as the Brutal God, nor as dirty and ugly as the Plague God, nor as filthy as the God of Lust. It merely yearns for wisdom and hope. So, why can’t we follow its will and yield to it?”

Here, the Second Prince pointed to the charred bodies of the nobles in the banquet hall.

“Father! Look, look at these people! They extolled Sigma with their mouths, but in the end? In the end they still live luxuriously, laughing and joking at the wine table, plotting behind the scenes. Did Sigma enlighten this country? What’s the use of believing in Sigma? They are all followers of Sigma, but they live lives as depraved as those of the Evil God Cultists! Since this country has already decayed beyond cure, and even Sigma cannot correct it, why not simply remove this unclean skin, follow the guidance of the Master of Thousand Changes, and become its loyal servants! In this way, at least this country, the people of this country, can continue to survive, and as long as the Master of Thousand Changes exists, our Empire will never be destroyed!!”

At this point, the Second Prince even clenched his fists as if he were insane.

“Don’t you understand? Father? Everything I did was for the continuation of the Empire! Sigma cannot rescue the Empire from the shadow of destruction, and we are destined to find our own way!!”

Hearing the words of the Second Prince, Kevin remained silent for a moment, and then silently sighed.

“Foolish child.”

Kevin shook his head, staring at his son.

“The moment you put your fate in someone else’s hands, you are no longer allowed to choose.”

“We were born with no choices, Father.”

The Second Prince smiled bitterly in helplessness.

“Whether for the country or the people, everyone’s fate has already been decided. We just deceive ourselves into thinking we can control our own destinies, but all that is simply an illusion. Like chess pieces on a chessboard, no matter how they choose to move, in the end, they can only abide by the rules of the board.”

At this point, the Second Prince threw away the Scepter of Wind God in his hand and pulled out a gem from his bosom.

“No matter what you plan to do, Father, I have made my decision, to dedicate this city to the Master of Thousand Changes, and allow the Empire to endure forever!!”

With the roar of the Second Prince, the gem in his hand erupted with a deep blue glow. Quickly, a huge eye symbol appeared out of thin air. Simultaneously, the oppressive sense of powerful magic erupted instantly, sweeping across the entire field. Even the elite Imperial Guards could not resist the pressure radiating from the eye, inevitably retreating. Only Kevin was still standing there, holding the War Hammer, looking at the Second Prince holding up the gem.

However, at this moment… suddenly, an unexpected incident occurred.

The eye symbol, which originally floated above the head of the Second Prince symbolizing the Master of Thousand Changes, suddenly began to flicker, just like a malfunctioning neon sign. But then, the next moment, it abruptly vanished without a trace. Simultaneously, the surging magic power also vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

“What, what’s going on?”

The Second Prince looked in surprise at the gem in his hand. He had already planned to summon a portal using the power of the Dimension Stone and then sacrifice the entire Royal City. But just now, the Second Prince suddenly noticed that the magic power disappeared!

It’s like driving a car and suddenly realizing the fuel tank is empty!

Why did this happen?

“See, I told you, my child.”

Staring at the Second Prince, Kevin grasped the War Hammer.

“When you hand your fate to someone else, you don’t get to choose the outcome.”