Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1223: Chapter 1223:- Three National Treasures

Aditya turned his attention back to his parents. Both of them still looked the same as the day he left them. Their appearance had not changed, not even a single bit. Aditya missed them a lot.

Back then, Aditya did not know that Ren was controlling his Parents using Gu Worm. He had been under the misunderstanding that his parents abandoned him because he did not have good cultivation talent and could not even awaken his Dragon Bloodline.

For many years, Aditya had nothing but hatred and indifference towards his parents and towards the Celestial Dragon Empire.

When that misunderstanding cleared up, the distance between him and his parents had only widened. Not because he stopped loving them or they stopped loving him. Because of what his cousin brother Ren did.

With Elara’s help, he gently guided Alen and Elena upstairs until the four of them eventually reached the living room.

The moment Elara entered, her gaze naturally fell upon the corpses of her former companions scattered throughout the room. Some had been decapitated, while blood covered large portions of the floor and furniture. Yet despite seeing the people she had worked alongside lying dead before her, Elara felt almost nothing.

From the moment she had been assigned to guard the room holding Alen and Elena, Elara had faithfully carried out her duty. She rarely involved herself with the other guards beyond what was necessary.

Although she had never bothered interfering with what they did during their time inside the mansion, she was not completely ignorant either. She knew enough about the disgusting things some of them had done to understand exactly what kind of people they were. Because of that, seeing their corpses did not bring even the slightest feeling of pity or sympathy from her.

Just then, Rin entered the mansion.

Aditya had instructed her beforehand to wait for a certain amount of time before following him inside. The moment she entered the living room, her attention immediately shifted toward Alen and Elena.

Rin hurried toward them. “Uncle Alen? Aunt Elena?” But neither responded. Rin tried again, even using her abilities to see if she could somehow reach their minds, but there was no reaction. Their expressions remained completely blank.

Aditya quickly explained everything he had learned from Elara about the Gu controlling them. By the time he finished, Rin’s expression had become extremely serious.

“I thought that once we reached them, I might be able to break whatever mind-control spell or technique was affecting them.” Rin looked at Alen and Elena with a complicated expression. “But this is far more complicated than an ordinary mind-control technique.”

Aditya nodded heavily.

If Alen could somehow be freed from the Gu right now, their situation would change completely. They might not even need to escape from the Imperial Royal Palace anymore.

The Imperial Crown of the Celestial Dragon Empire was not merely a ceremonial object worn by whoever sat on the throne. It was an ancient Imperial Artifact that recognised the legitimate sovereign of the Empire. A new Emperor could inherit its recognition only after the previous recognised Emperor willingly transferred his authority, or through another legitimate method of succession established by Imperial Law.

That was precisely where Ren’s greatest problem lay.

If Alen had been under the control of a Gu when he supposedly transferred his authority, then his decision had never truly been made of his own free will. In the eyes of Imperial Law and the Imperial Crown itself, such a transfer was invalid. This was also why, despite publicly becoming Emperor, Ren had never managed to gain the Imperial Crown’s recognition.

Legally and magically, Alen’s authority had never been transferred.

Alen was still the recognised Emperor.

The Imperial Crown’s recognition carried enormous practical authority as well. The Crown was connected to many of the ancient formations and Imperial Artifacts protecting the Imperial Royal Palace and the Capital.

Certain defensive formations, restricted areas, and emergency functions could only be fully controlled by the sovereign recognised by the Crown. Even many of the Empire’s oldest institutions treated its recognition as the highest proof of legitimate succession.

Furthermore, as long as Alen remained its recognised master, physical possession of the Crown meant very little. Regardless of where Ren had hidden it or who was currently holding it, Alen could summon the Imperial Crown back to himself through the connection between them.

If Alen awakened, summoned the Imperial Crown, and publicly revealed that Ren had controlled him through a Gu, the political situation would immediately turn upside down. It would provide undeniable proof that Ren had never legitimately inherited the throne.

That did not mean every soldier and noble in the Empire would magically become loyal to Alen the instant he wore the Crown. Those who had knowingly sided with Ren or the Mysterious Organisation could still resist. However, they would no longer be able to claim that they were defending the legitimate Emperor against Aditya’s rebellion.

The legal positions would reverse. Alen would be the rightful Emperor defending his throne, while Ren and anyone continuing to fight on his behalf would become rebels opposing the sovereign recognised by the Imperial Crown.

Unfortunately, Aditya had never expected things to go that smoothly. He had come here prepared to rescue his parents while they were still under mind control, and finding out that a physical Gu was responsible only confirmed that they needed to leave first and solve the problem afterwards.

Aditya turned toward Rin. “How are things outside?”

“Very chaotic!”

“But the explosions achieved exactly what we wanted. Most of the attention has shifted away from this area. We need to get out of here right now.” Aditya nodded. He was thinking the same thing.

They had accomplished the most important part of the mission. His parents were finally in his hands, and now he had several ways of creating even more chaos throughout the Imperial Royal Palace. All that remained was getting everyone beyond the barrier alive.

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Scene Change____

“It seems we have an intruder.” Sora, the elder of the two brothers and a direct disciple of Former Emperor Boris, said with a faint look of amusement.

The explosions throughout the Imperial Royal Palace naturally had caught the attention of all three National Treasures currently stationed within the palace. By coincidence, all three were gathered in the same residence when the disturbance began. Sora and Ritsu sat opposite each other playing chess, while the third National Treasure silently watched their game from nearby.

Among the three, Sora and Ritsu held the greatest seniority. Both were Seventh Order cultivators and direct disciples of Boris, who had personally raised them from childhood. In many ways, their relationship with the former Emperor went far beyond that of ordinary master and disciples. Although they shared no blood relation with Boris, he considered the two brothers his sons, while they regarded him as their father.

The third National Treasure, Levin, was considerably younger in comparison. He was a Beginner Seventh Order cultivator who had received the title of National Treasure around seventeen hundred years ago.

Although that already made him an ancient and immensely respected figure by ordinary standards, compared to Sora and Ritsu, his seniority was significantly lower.

Levin finally looked away from the chessboard. “Should we go and take a look?”

“There will be no need for that.” Ritsu calmly shook his head without even lifting his gaze from the board. His entire attention seemed to remain focused on deciding his next move.

Levin frowned slightly. “Someone has clearly infiltrated the Imperial Royal Palace.”

“We have ears. We heard the explosions too.” Sora casually replied while moving one of his chess pieces. That only made Levin’s frown deepen. Normally, the appearance of an intruder inside the Imperial Royal Palace would be more than enough reason for a National Treasure to personally investigate. Yet neither brother appeared remotely concerned.

After the rather brutal reunion Sora and Ritsu had recently experienced with their master, both brothers had silently made the same decision. They wanted absolutely nothing to do with this civil war.

For nearly twenty years, they had supported Ren because they genuinely believed they were fulfilling Boris’s final instructions before he entered the Dragon Mountain Range. Their master had ordered them to support the next Emperor, protect the Imperial Family, and preserve the authority of the Imperial Crown.

As his disciples and adopted sons, they had taken those words extremely seriously. Then they discovered the truth.

Ren had been responsible for Aditya’s exile, while Alen had been placed under mind control. Even worse, Ren had deliberately sent Sora and Ritsu toward the Frost Mountains on a false mission involving magical beasts and precious elixirs, ensuring that both National Treasures would be far away when the attack on Axel City began.

By the time they reunited with Boris and learned everything beside the lake south of Axel City, whatever loyalty they had once held toward Ren had completely disappeared.

Unfortunately, their Soul Binding Contracts prevented them from simply switching sides and joining Aditya. The conditions were clear. If they believed the sitting Emperor had abandoned the interests of the Celestial Dragon Empire, they were required to remain neutral in internal conflicts while continuing to protect the Empire from external threats.

And after Boris had beaten the hell out of both of them before hearing their explanation, Sora and Ritsu had become particularly enthusiastic about respecting that neutrality. More importantly, both brothers had a fairly good idea of what the intruder inside the Imperial Royal Palace was actually after.

Sora glanced toward Ritsu. Ritsu briefly raised his eyes from the chessboard. Neither brother said anything. They didn’t need to. If their suspicion was correct, then whoever had caused those explosions had not entered the Imperial Royal Palace to attack the Celestial Dragon Empire.

He had come for those two people.

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