Without even understanding why, the three Ministers stepped forward. The peak celestials directly kneeled, trembling and accepting their wrongs. They couldn’t describe the feeling very accurately… But it was fear that overwhelmed their hearts, it was reverence and guilt… If one were to say fear was an aspect, they would be partially right, but it would more so be fear in concert with a disbelief that they had been so brazen before their King.
However, Minister Akhekhu did no such thing.
One could say that the combination of the two ministers knowing that Dyon was their rightful king, in combination with their relatively young age and the fact Dyon’s Heaven’s Blessing was the equivalent of a dao formation expert, they hardly stood a chance.
They knew that they were in the wrong from the beginning, and the prestige of the Angel Clan King was etched deeply into their hearts, so they were relatively easy to handle.
The problem was that Minister Akhekhu’s Heaven’s Blessing was also that of a dao formation expert. In addition, he had true reasons to hate the King, while his two followers were simply doing so for small benefits. In addition, his cultivation itself could resist Dyon’s currently growing Presence. A powerful enough dao formation expert could even resist and Emperor level Presence if forced to do so. However, the benefit was that they would have to divert some of their strength to do so.
That said, Dyon hadn’t even earned a King level Presence just yet. Currently, he was still within normal noble ranks, although he was steadily improving. He could currently be considered a Peak Marquis in Presence.
The truth was that Dyon had long since fostered Presence. His very own father had taught him without understanding that it was one of the most difficult things for even talented martial warriors to learn. The reason why people like General Mace could make Madeleine and Ri feel fear was because he had cultivated Presence.
In the mortal realm, in order to become an outstanding official, it was necessary to have a noble level Presence. So, even when Dyon had not a lick of cultivation, he already had a Viscount level Presence. By the world tournament, it had already broken into the Earl level. After he faced life and death, it had broken into the Marquis level. One can see how difficult it was to cultivate Presence. After all, Dyon faced a dao formation expert at the meridian formation level, and only increased by one stage.
“You’ve changed, my King.” Minister Akhekhu bowed slightly, trying to avoid his pull to look at his daughter. He had wanted this for her for so long that he couldn’t understand how he should act now.
Although it may seem like it, this slight bow by Akhekhu wasn’t actually disrespectful. As a Minister of the highest order, this was just about the amount of respect he was due to show the King. This may seem like small gesture, it was at least something to move them in the right direction. Now, Dyon’s reaction was all that remained.
Dyon glanced silently at this minister of his. Interestingly, he was neither cold nor angry. The wave of rage they had felt just earlier seemed to dissipate into smoke.
They were used to their King restraining himself, after all, this wasn’t the first time these three were purposely late to a meeting. However, this didn’t seem like simply holding back. It seemed more like their King had decided that now wasn’t the time. He eyes came off of them, almost as though to say “I’ll deal with you later.”
“Bring in the traitors.”
The eyes of the three ministers widened. Traitors? They thought that this was supposed to be a normal war meeting, they knew nothing of these traitors. How could they, as high class ministers near the peak of this society, know nothing of such a big move by the King?
A cold sweat permeated on the back of not only them, but a few other ministers within the court. The sharp contrast between their attitudes and that of the rest meant only one thing: This was done purposely by their King.
When Dyon asked for a detail report that day and put in place all of those laws, he hadn’t said a single word about traitors. What he had said very clearly was: “When they try to escape curfew tonight, let them.” It was only afterwards that he gave commands to catch a few of them and only through those that he had judged were trustworthy.
If he had given this task to possible traitors, wouldn’t they make sure to catch only those that knew nothing? If that was the case, wouldn’t Dyon be in an even deeper well? He would have no cards, little trust of many of his ministers and people, all while facing an army of millions.
This seemingly simple move sense shivers down the backs of his ministers. Even those who knew of the traitors were trembling when they noticed the pale faces of some of those around them. All of this meant one simple thing: Their King had decided to no longer trust them.
The fact that the three before him now had the palest faces of all told everyone all they needed to know. The blood only continued to drain from their faces as 8 criminals in strong reinforced chains were dragged in, in dirty and ragged clothing, completely bloodied and beaten.
The message was clear.
This is your future if you continue to defy me.