Luca couldn’t help but admit that Alfred’s words made him realize something. He truly didn’t understand the kind of allure that the throne held over people, enough to drive them to such madness.
But frankly, he didn’t want to understand. Their ideologies were too different, and there was no point in continuing the discussion.
It seemed Alfred sensed the shift in mood.
He sighed deeply. “I don’t have much time left. Once I’ve finished passing on the necessary details, then you can act, if you wish.”
Luca summoned the Solar Divine Spear, its golden light casting a brilliant glow in his hand. “Do you think I came here just for that?”
As he took a step forward, a golden Divine Flame surrounded him.
The palace guards, who had been watching him warily from the start, immediately moved to block his path, their faces filled with anxiety.
“I’ve already made arrangements,” Alfred continued, his voice calm as he gazed at the approaching youth. “After I die, Fratis will take my place as queen. Even if you kill me now, it won’t change anything.” Alfred paused, watching Luca carefully. “And you should understand—no matter how powerful you are, you can’t kill me.”
As he spoke, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Alfred’s body, the pressure of a Transcendent-level expert bearing down on Luca.
Though far from the full strength of a normal Transcendent, the pressure was enough that Luca couldn’t fight back.
“How do you know unless you try?” Luca’s expression remained unchanged. A black magic rune appeared in his palm.
It was the Deadshot Magic Rune that Winston had given him—his most powerful attack. In addition to that, he still had the Distorted Magic Eye, which could inflict damage on Transcendent-level beings. Together, these two tools would be enough to kill Alfred in his current state.
But in the end, Luca didn’t strike.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but someone had arrived at the palace entrance.
Marcel and several nobles from the All-Beings Empire appeared, surprised by the tense atmosphere. They exchanged confused glances before Marcel spoke up. “What… is going on here?”
“Is he planning a rebellion?” The large man, Krick, dared to guess aloud.
“A rebellion?” The other nobles from All-Beings Empire immediately looked interested.
If they could help Luca usurp the Clinton family’s throne, they wouldn’t have to seek out other allies!
Winston said nothing. He glanced at the magic rune in Luca’s hand and surveyed the surroundings, contemplating how best to help his younger colleague escape from the royal palace.
Helping the royal family or helping his junior wasn’t a choice for him—it was clear. His loyalty lay with the Clinton Empire, not the Clinton royal family.
Luca thought for a moment, then sighed deeply.
He put away the Solar Divine Spear and turned to smile. “There’s no need to be anxious. We’re just sparring.”
Alfred gave him a brief glance, then surprisingly nodded seriously. “That’s right, just sparring.”
Everyone present twitched their lips. The two of them were obviously trying to fool them. However, since the king had apparently no intention of pursuing the matter, they didn’t dare to say anything further.
Still, the nobles of the All-Beings Empire couldn’t help but feel some regret. What a shame…
Luca took one last look at Alfred, said nothing more, and turned to leave the palace. Since he couldn’t kill the king, there was no need for him to stay any longer. He had other matters to attend to.
For example, raiding the Phillips family’s estate.
After Lyon and Finn had died, the Phillips family was undoubtedly in disarray. Such a big prize couldn’t be left on the table; it would be a waste after all the effort he’d put in.
“Your Majesty, should we stop him?” a palace guard quietly asked.
Watching Luca walk away, Alfred shook his head and gave no orders to stop him.
His dislike for Luca wasn’t particularly strong, even though the boy didn’t share his views and had nearly sabotaged his plans. But Luca’s loyalty to Fratis was unquestionable. Having such a person assist her could only be a good thing, not a bad one.
Alfred didn’t pay any attention to the nobles of the All-Beings Empire. He turned to the palace guard and ordered, “Go and notify the nobles and the dukes in the city. Call for an imperial council.”
At these words, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
An imperial council required the attendance of all eight dukes and the royal family.
Seeing Alfred’s poor physical condition, they could already guess the content of this upcoming meeting.
Once Luca left the palace, he made his way straight to the outskirts of Dawn City. Cracked roads, abandoned buildings, and sorrowful crowds passed by him one after another.
A woman wearing a hood and silver snake-shaped earrings caught up with his pace.
“How is the Phillips family doing now?” Luca asked.
“Their leadership is in disarray. It’s total chaos,” Tia responded respectfully, then, with a note of concern, added, “But many of the dukes and nobles are preparing to move against the Phillips family. It might be difficult for us to extract any benefit from them.”
“This group of nobles… they’re nothing but a pack of hyenas,” Luca sneered. “Have the followers assemble. We’re going to do something big.”
Tia was taken aback. “I don’t know what you have planned, my lord.”
A glimmer flashed in Luca’s eyes as he replied, “Naturally, we’re going to take what’s rightfully ours.”
Fratis was about to inherit the throne, and there were bound to be many nobles and royals who would be dissatisfied, especially since her mind was still that of a teenager. If Luca could seize the floating island, it would give him enough leverage to help stabilize the situation afterward—working together with her as they both built their power.
Tia seemed to understand Luca’s thoughts and hesitated before speaking. “But my lord, even if we do get the Phillips family’s floating island, we have no foundation in Dawn City. It will be difficult to establish ourselves.”
The nobles of Dawn City weren’t pushovers. If Luca took away what was theirs, they wouldn’t let him get away with it easily.
“Foundation?” Luca said indifferently. “We’ll have one soon enough. The Dawn God Sect is finished, and Clinton needs a new national religion.”
“I think we’re perfectly qualified for that position.”
“We? A national religion?” Tia’s eyes widened in shock. She had never expected Luca to think like this.
She was stunned. “But… my lord, we are The Nightmare Cult…”
“And what of it? A cult?” Luca glanced at her with a faint smile. “The Nightmare Cult is a cult, but what does that have to do with our Dream God Sect? Do you even know them?”
Tia’s lips moved, but for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
All she could do was silently admire Luca’s audacity. To come up with an idea like this—and actually have the guts to act on it.
Even more importantly, in this chaotic situation, it might just work.
The two of them made their way through the ruins and crowds.
As Tia sent out the signal for the assembly of the Dream God Sect, people began emerging from the shadows, quietly and respectfully following behind them.
As they drew closer to the Phillips family’s island, more and more people joined the group.
By the time Luca had reached the outskirts of Dawn City, there were already over ten thousand followers trailing behind him.
This naturally attracted the attention of many. People were puzzled, unsure why Luca had gathered so many people at this time.
“What is this guy up to?” Several of the dukes, who had received summons to attend the imperial council, were also surprised.
But Evelyn seemed to have figured something out. Watching Luca’s retreating figure, she muttered to herself with a strange expression, “This kid… he’s not planning to raid the Phillips family, is he?”
When a duke falls, the forces and wealth under his control are naturally divided among the royal family and other dukes, until a new duke takes over. Evelyn had gone through this process herself. But her grip was firm, and with more wealth than most, the other dukes didn’t dare to challenge her.
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The Phillips family, however, was not so fortunate. Now that Duke Lyon was dead, and his heir Finn had been killed by Luca, the entire Phillips family had become a huge prize, ready to be claimed.
Logically, such a prize should have been divided between the royal family and a few of the other dukes. However, this time, it seemed that someone had come who wasn’t willing to play by the rules…
“He’s quite an interesting little fellow,” Evelyn said with a smile at the corner of her lips, deciding not to interfere any further.
At this moment, Luca, along with over ten thousand followers from The Nightmare Cult, had arrived at the floating island controlled by the Phillips family.
Actually, it wasn’t really a “floating island” anymore, since it had already landed…
The eight islands of Dawn City were all large, each bigger than Southwind City. They were fully equipped with all kinds of buildings and facilities. But, much like Dawn City itself, the structures here were also in disarray. Groups of guards were busy rescuing the injured.
The streets were filled with mournful cries. While the powerful were doing everything they could to save people, many were still trapped inside buildings or had fallen from high places, meeting unfortunate deaths. Although the death toll wasn’t enormous, relative to the size of Dawn City, it was still a tragedy in the truest sense.
As Luca approached the Phillips family’s estate, he noticed several luxurious flying ships suspended above.
The insignia on them clearly indicated they belonged to the dukes of Dawn City.
When Luca reached the estate gates, he saw they were tightly shut, with many soldiers stationed outside. Despite their shouting, the gates didn’t open. It seemed that some of them were already preparing to force their way inside.
Luca looked around but didn’t spot any of the dukes. As he had expected, they were probably all at the royal palace for the imperial meeting…
Well, now seemed like the perfect time to make his move.
The arrival of Luca’s large group naturally drew the attention of the guards and nobles nearby.
When they saw his face, everyone instinctively shuddered.
What was this harbinger of doom doing here?
The leader of the guards broke into a cold sweat, wondering if he should approach Luca and greet him.
Before he could make a decision, Luca calmly spoke. “This island is mine now,” he said. “Are you planning to leave on your own, or should I have my people throw you out?”