Death... and me

"I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Roan nodded in response and stopped sending Dark Element into Valeu's body.

"I'm acting alone inside the Profound Abyss. However, there is indeed a contingency plan in case I fail. The elder who brought us this time around is also fighting for our cause. The plan was for Calina to die in the Profound Abyss so that no one would have anything to say. However, if she survives, that elder is supposed to finish the job and put the blame on the Shadow Reapers."

Rean and Roan narrowed their eyes after hearing that. They still remembered that they had been targeted by the Shadow Reapers in the past. But in the end, Elder Tiria got rid of the guy before they even noticed anything. If Mia hadn't commented about it, they wouldn't even know.

Calina didn't seem surprised to hear it this time.

"I guess that's to be expected since Elder Calan is part of your Samikil Clan."

Valeu nodded.

"I don't know how many of the nine clans are on the new emperor's side, but our Samikil Clan is definitely one of them."

Roan then asked something else.

"This 'new emperor' that you talked about, who is he? Could it be that you also don't know this?"

Valeu laughed once again, ignoring his pain.

"As if that was possible. Considering how far things have gone already, the old emperor would need to be even more idiotic than we thought to not have noticed, let alone when even I know about it. The new emperor and true leader of our Sasamil Empire is Lamares Sasamil."

Rean and Roan didn't know anything about this guy. In fact, that was the first time they heard that name. They couldn't be blamed. After all, it was really rare for a small country like Jialin to receive news from the capital. Of course, that was because their communication system up to this point still relied mostly on the bird messages. However, Calina promptly recognized it.

"What?! The Emperor's son, the First Prince?! Absurd!"

Valeu shook his head in response.

"It's not impossible. He was one of the first few people to notice the problem. Now, he is the light that is guiding us out of the darkness. Under his Majesty Lamares, Sasamil will flourish once more."

Rean thought that it was weird, though.

"You keep saying old and new emperor. You even called Lamares His Majesty instead of His Highness. Could it be that he already ascended to the throne?"

Calina immediately shook her head.

"Of course not. The emperor is still alive and well. How could Lamares take the throne with him there? This is just Valeu talking bullshit."

Valeu laughed once more.

"Bullshit? Hahaha! It seems like you also don't know about the condition of the old emperor. He's very old. No one knows for how long he can still live. There is nothing wrong in saying that Lamares is already the new emperor."

Calina shook her head in response.

"So what? The emperor has several other children. Although Lamares is the first one, he has never received the title of Crown Prince. I might be blind to everything else, but I'm sure that his brothers and sisters are also aiming for the throne. After all, their clashes in the court are apparent for everyone to see. Especially the fifth prince, Salael."

Valeu immediately replied.

"Hmph! Just a bunch of fireflies trying to outshine the sun. Salael is just a slightly bigger fly, that's all."

Although Valeu said that, Roan noticed a small change in his expression when Salael's name appeared. It was evident that Valeu didn't really think that Salael wasn't a big problem.

"Who is this Fifth Prince?"

Calina then explained.

"His Highness, the fifth son of the emperor, Salael Sasamil. Just like Lamares, I don't know much about him. However, I do know that he is also contending for the throne, just like the other princes. I heard my father commenting before that he was the only prince with real chances of taking the throne from Prince Lamares."

Roan nodded.

"From the looks of it, cultivation isn't the only thing necessary to become an emperor. Otherwise, you two wouldn't keep talking about the court sessions all the time."

Calina nodded.

"That's true. From what I learned about our Sasamil Empire's history, it wasn't always the strongest prince who got the throne. The throne was always given to the one with the best balance between governing abilities and cultivation talent. There were even two instances in the past where our Sasamil Empire was governed by empresses instead of emperors. The third Princess, Alanora Sasamil, is also contending for the throne from what I know."

Roan didn't need to think much to understand that this Alanora didn't have much of a chance of ascending to the throne. Still, he was quite surprised that such a medieval world would also allow women to take power. Well, his surprise ended there, though. In the end, he simply didn't care whether it was a man or a woman on the throne.

Rean then asked something that was bothering him.

"You guys kept talking about the princes and all. However, you still haven't told us what the emperor's take on this situation is. Is he not doing anything?"

Valeu shook his head.

"I don't know the specifics. All I know is that the idiotic emperor isn't taking anyone's side. No one knows what's inside his head. It would be better if he died already so that his majesty Lamares could ascend the throne."

Roan pondered a bit before uttering.

"He said that the emperor's condition is not good. Probably, the emperor doesn't know or care about which side is right or wrong. Or perhaps, it is precisely the opposite. He is using this situation to see which prince or princess is worthy of inheriting the throne. As for what they will do after that, that's gonna be up to the next throne's owner."

Rean nodded after hearing Roan. He also thought about the same possibilities.

Rean's group then continued to ask more and more questions to Valeu. Eventually, they ran out of what to say. At that moment, Roan then looked at Calina.

"So, what do you want to do, bring this guy out with you? I'll be straightforward with you. If even the actual emperor already knows about it, exposing this guy's secret won't change anything. His clan will just say that he acted alone. Without any proof, nothing will happen. No, it's already a question whether having proof will be of any help or not."

Calina dropped her head in response to those words.

"I don't know... I don't know what to do..."

It couldn't be helped. Calina only had twelve years of life experience, after all. Although most things were hidden from her, It was already excellent that she knew that much about the general situation. It's just that her parents didn't want to involve her... or so Roan thought.

Malaka then looked at Roan and pleaded.

"Roan, we need to help her!"

Roan snorted in response.

"Hah! Help? How? Sure! Let's go to the capital and kill everyone involved in it. But no, wait! We can't! Because we are too fucking weak! Didn't you see outside? The Imperial Family sent a SAINT REALM expert just to oversee a small event at the corner of the Empire called the Profound Abyss. Do you have any idea how strong the real experts hidden in the capital are? Those so-called princes contending for the throne have the entire Empire's resources for cultivation, so they're probably even stronger."

Roan continued.

"That's not all. So far, we only heard a single side of the story. Tell me, what if the first prince was right? That the Chrole Empire was really aiming to conquer the Sasamil Empire? What will you do in that case, join the Chrole Empire to help Calina? Ridiculous! Put your head to work before making such an idiotic request."

Malaka immediately dropped her head, not knowing what to say.

Roan didn't measure his words at all. In fact, he wanted Calina to hear every single one of them. It was better to destroy her illusions now before others made it for her in a worse situation. At least, they would not do anything to her in this place.

Calina's expression got even worse. That's right! Who said that the first prince was wrong? If what Valeu told them about the Chrole Empire trying to conquer the Sasamil was true, then Rean's group would need to side with Sasamil and the First Prince. Otherwise, it would be their Empire's Imperial Family being wiped out. Them trying to kill the Chrole Empire's descendants was just another way to protect their Sasamil Empire.

"I... I think I'll go back now. I'll try to talk with Elder Polian outside so that he can bring me back safely."

Polian Sasamil was the Saint Realm expert responsible for the Profound Abyss this time around.

"Can you trust him?"

Calina shook her head.

"I don't know. Still, Elder Calan is an expert in the Soul Transformation Realm. Unless I get Elder Polian's help, I probably won't be able to go back safely. I can only try."

Roan nodded, not trying to intervene. This was an issue of the Imperial Family. The repercussions had nothing to do with them. It was already good enough that she was saved today.

Roan then looked at Valeu and didn't see any use for the guy anymore. Instead, he only saw danger in leaving this one alive. Even if Malaka asked, Roan would still kill the man.

"You did well, goodbye."

*Switch!*

With a slash of his White Star, Roan sent Valeu's head flying as well. However...

*Pin!*

[Hidden quest opened, the Empire's Succession starts now.]