The Evolution Of A Goblin To The Peak

Chapter 1302: Great Shen Empire: Start of the Night

Xi Xing was stopped by the guards outside the door.

“Why?! I am the Royal Court Mage! Tell His Majesty that I have something important to discuss!”

Xi Xing narrowed his eyes as he looked at the guards. His mana rose, pressuring the guards in front of him.

“We know, but His Majesty specifically told us that no one should enter the throne room,” one of the guards said with great difficulty.

Xi Xing stared deeply at the guards before sighing. The pressure he was exuding disappeared as various thoughts ran through his mind, wondering what His Majesty was doing.

“I’ll wait here,” he said.

“Thank you for your understanding, Mage Xi Xing.” The guards thanked him with a slight bow.

Xi Xing nodded and said nothing more.

He simply stood outside.

Waiting.

He didn’t probe the throne room, as he knew it would be useless. With his strength, his perception wouldn’t be able to breach the numerous active runes within.

After a while, the door opened, and a tall man with sharp features, wearing full-plate silver armor, walked out of the room.

Xi Xing widened his eyes when he recognized the man.

This man was Duke Li Tian of the northern region of the empire.

One of the strongest experts in the empire.

Even Xi Xing knew that he wouldn’t stand a chance against Duke Li Tian in a head-on battle.

Xi Xing watched as Duke Li Tian disappeared down the corridor before turning toward the door.

His Majesty had already granted him an audience.

‘I need to know His Majesty’s thoughts.’

He stepped inside and gazed at the man sitting on the throne, exuding a fearsome aura.

It was Emperor Shen of the Great Shen Empire.

Emperor Shen gazed at Xi Xing without saying anything. He simply stared at him as Xi Xing bowed before him.

“Your Majesty, the First Princess is dead. Three of my men discovered her body in her room, and I wondered if they had already passed this information on to you,” Xi Xing said.

Emperor Shen frowned, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body, causing the entire room to shake.

Xi Xing gulped, clearly recognizing that His Majesty was enraged.

Ohm!!

The pressure suddenly calmed down, and Emperor Shen’s voice echoed through the room.

“I couldn’t prevent it… I had planned to wed my daughter to the Crown Prince of the Lion Empire, but it seems that they’ve already learned of my plan,” Emperor Shen said calmly, as if the terrifying pressure from before had never been his.

Xi Xing raised his head with a questioning gaze.

Emperor Shen explained, “The reason Duke Li Tian was here is because he was asking for assistance. The northern region is at war with the Swallowing Earth Sect, Beast Taming Sect, and Sword Flame Sect. More than ten cities have already fallen into the hands of those three sects.”

Xi Xing widened his eyes. He hadn’t expected the situation in the northern region to be so dire.

“Moreover, Duke Nangong refused my summons and announced his separation from the Great Shen Empire. I wanted to dispatch my army, but a very potent disease spread throughout the eastern region, crippling half of its forces. As for the western region, they are still guarding the Destruction God Mountain.”

Emperor Shen paused briefly.

“Mage Xi Xing… They are here in the capital. If they could assassinate my daughter, then they could assassinate others as well. I think there’s a traitor here in the palace. However, I can’t make a move right now.”

“W-Why?” Xi Xing asked after a brief hesitation.

“Because I’m waiting… I’ve already sent a message for help, and I believe they’ve received it. Some people will arrive here soon to help me cleanse the royal capital,” Emperor Shen said with murderous intent. “For now, I’ve tasked my trusted people with investigating who the traitors are.”

Soon, there would be a huge purge within the capital.

None of the traitors would be able to escape.

But for now, he had to endure it.

“Our reinforcements will arrive tonight.”

…

Border of the Great Shen Empire.

Eastern Region.

A man and a woman were walking across the vast plains, wearing clothes that covered most of their bodies.

“Is this the place…?” the woman asked as she slowly removed the cloth covering her beautiful face.

“No, but we’re close,” the man answered.

They were Alexander and Yaniesvyl.

The two had traveled from a very faraway place, and now they had arrived at the border of the Great Shen Empire.

“The tracks led us here. I think she’s in this country,” Alexander said.

“Mn.”

Yaniesvyl looked ahead and saw a village several kilometers away.

“Let’s go and check it out.”

The two of them burst forth and flew at high speed toward the small village they had spotted.

In just a second, they arrived above the village.

However, contrary to their expectations, the small village was filled with the thick stench of decay, and corpses lay scattered throughout the streets.

“This is…” Yaniesvyl was surprised.

Alexander frowned as he scanned the entire village.

There was no one else alive.

Everyone was dead.

The two descended to the ground. Yaniesvyl immediately approached one of the corpses and placed her hand on its head.

After a while, her expression turned serious.

“What did you discover?” Alexander asked.

“A plague…” Yaniesvyl paused briefly before further explaining, “This isn’t an ordinary plague at all. I sensed immense mana within it that was trying to invade my body and infect me.”

“Airborne?” Alexander raised his eyebrows.

If he didn’t focus, he wouldn’t have been able to sense it.

He actively lowered his body’s natural protective field and allowed the bacteria to enter his body.

The moment the bacteria entered his body, it was crushed into nothingness by the immense mana within him.

In that split second, he gained a little understanding of this plague.

Yaniesvyl simply looked at Alexander. She knew that he had already gained an idea of what they were dealing with.

“This is quite bad,” Alexander muttered, his frown growing deeper. “This plague contains a specific type of mana that can destroy an expert’s body. Its potency is extremely high, as it can affect anyone below the Shackled Realm.”

“The natural protective field of an S-rank wouldn’t be enough to prevent this type of plague from infecting their bodies,” Yaniesvyl added.

Alexander nodded at her words. He turned toward the desolate village they were standing in.

Since no one here had reached the Shackled Realm, the plague infected everyone and killed them within just a few hours.

“Is it possible that this isn’t the only village that was infected by the plague?” Yaniesvyl asked.

“Yeah…” Alexander nodded. “This isn’t natural. This is someone’s ability.”

“Then they must be targeting the population of this land. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened,” Yaniesvyl said.

“Yeah,” Alexander nodded.

An ability that could only harm those below the Shackled Realm must have been conjured by someone at the First Shackle or perhaps the Second Shackle Realm.

No, judging from its range, the strength of the caster must be even higher than that.

Perhaps, someone at the SSS-rank.

“Let’s go. We have to see if there are other villages affected by the plague.”

With that, Alexander and Yaniesvyl continued their journey. They came across several more villages before finally stopping at a huge town with a population of over one hundred thousand people.

“Everything is the same… Everyone is dead,” Yaniesvyl said calmly, her eyes burning with rage.

All the villages they had come across were filled with corpses.

Be they monsters, humans, or demis, all of them were dead.

“There’s no survivor at all.”

Yaniesvyl felt heavy-hearted seeing all the people who had died from the plague.

Perhaps this town had a Shackled Realm expert, but that expert must have evacuated after realizing how potent the plague was and seeing that it could kill everyone here.

“Too many people have died…” Alexander muttered.

He closed his eyes, and his energy rose sharply. Then, he opened his palm, and a strange symbol made of flames formed above it.

“Calculating the mana…”

“Calculating the trajectory…”

After a while, Alexander opened his eyes and glanced toward the west.

“How is it?” Yaniesvyl asked from the side.

“My calculations point to the west. I factored in the changes in wind direction over the past few days and arrived at the conclusion that the first outbreak of the plague appeared in the west,” Alexander replied.

“What should we do?” Yaniesvyl asked carefully.

Finding the truth behind the plague wasn’t their goal in coming to this place. They had simply come across it while following the tracks of an expert.

She knew they didn’t have to waste their time here if they wanted to find that expert.

“We should go and find the source of the plague. I have a strong hunch that the conjurer of the plague is connected to the one we’re pursuing.”

“I understand.”

“Be careful. Perhaps a great battle awaits us.”

Alexander and Yaniesvyl flew at high speed. Their figures shone in the sky as they tore through the air, passing by villages, towns, and even cities.