Chapter 169 Farewell to Esdeath
A dark shadow streaked across the night sky, hovering above the Imperial Palace.
Aoki looked down, not in a hurry to act.
Before coming to the capital, he had considered how to find the Supreme Throne.
Searching personally was one way, which was what he did last time.
But this method was too inefficient.
There was a simpler way: find someone who knew and "inquire."
The most likely person to know the location of the Supreme Throne was undoubtedly Minister Honest.
Even the young emperor might not know.
As the Demon King, he also possessed a very powerful ability—to see through the thoughts of nearby demons and even control their consciousness.
Turning Honest into a demon, as long as Honest's memories weren't destroyed, would provide him with the best inside man.
Therefore, he had actually already prepared to take action against Honest.
Since he was going to act anyway, he wanted to maximize his gains.
This was also why he proactively sought cooperation with Night Raid, and offered such generous terms.
After all, it was equivalent to getting Night Raid for free.
Aoki's gaze swept across the entire Imperial Palace.
Where might the Supreme Throne be?
The Supreme Throne is a colossal structure exceeding two hundred meters in height, definitely not located in any visible building.
Underground?
Given the size of the palace, digging a basement to house the Supreme Throne would be simple.
However, if the Supreme Throne is underground, why place the summoning point in the highest palace?
That doesn't make sense!
The palace is built against a mountain.
Rather than a basement, it's more likely that the mountain was hollowed out, with a storage room built in the middle.
As for whether this guess is correct, we'll have to verify it with Ernest.
Aoki glanced at the palace, and his figure vanished into thin air.
The next moment, a guard appeared in a corner of the palace unnoticed by anyone.
Aoki determined his direction and headed towards the central core area.
The ministers and the young emperor should be there.
But he hadn't gone far when he was stopped.
A man in exquisite armor, with a long, thin face, eyed Aoki warily.
"What are you doing here?"
"The guards are much tighter now," Aoki mumbled. "My lord asked me to run some errands."
The long-faced man's hand subtly touched the hilt of his sword: "Let me see your identity token!"
"Yes, please wait a moment, I've put it inside!"
Aoki reached for the armor, but his figure suddenly vanished, reappearing behind the long-faced man.
Thump!
He punched him, and the long-faced man, without any chance to resist, rolled his eyes and instantly lost consciousness.
Aoki carried the long-faced man back to a shadowy corner, rummaged around, and found a palm-sized wooden plaque.
"Is this your identity token? It's a bit rudimentary!"
After commenting, Aoki threw the long-faced man into the grass, transformed into his appearance, and continued towards the center of the palace.
About ten minutes later.
A muffled horn blast sounded, and the atmosphere in the palace instantly tensed.
"Quick reaction, huh!"
Aoki watched the ranks of soldiers march past, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He was certain the long-faced man was still unconscious.
The alarm had been raised just because one person had gone missing, and in less than twenty minutes.
The Imperial Guard was indeed a truly elite force.
The palace was quickly placed under martial law.
However, the palace housed tens of thousands of people with various professions, many serving ministers, the emperor, and other high-ranking officials and nobles; a complete shutdown was impossible.
It was also impossible to check each person individually to see if Aoki was in disguise.
Forcible enforcement might even cause greater chaos.
The Royal Guard could only strengthen their defenses.
This had some impact on Aoki, but it couldn't completely stop his actions.
Aoki changed his identity and appearance constantly as he went, and with the cover of night, he remained undetected.
However, he knew his time was running out.
As night deepened, fewer people would need to go out, and if he continued to wander around, no matter who he disguised himself as, he would inevitably arouse suspicion.
Aoki quickly circled the central area of the palace and found several suspicious locations.
His judgment was based on a simple principle: the strength of the guard.
The stronger the guard, the more important it was, and the more likely it was to be Ernest's residence.
Following this logic, Aoki went directly to the area with the strongest guard.
Currently, the highest-ranking person in the palace was not the young emperor, but the ministers.
Aoki didn't approach rashly; he first quietly circled the area and observed it.
He discovered that
the guards here were incredibly tight, with both visible and hidden sentries intertwined, monitoring everything above and below; even a fly couldn't get close.
What concerned him most was that the guards included not only the Royal Guard but also a large number of other powerful individuals with different styles.
He could clearly sense the aura of the Imperial Fist Temple from several of them.
"Is this really Ernest's residence? I hit the jackpot on my first try?"
Aoki was pondering what to do next when a sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from behind him.
"I've been exposed?"
He was somewhat puzzled but did not let his guard down, and immediately teleported away.
Crack!
A row of blue ice spikes pierced the ground.
Aoki's gaze paused for a moment before continuing to look forward.
A beautiful woman with long, ice-blue hair and snow-white skin walked out, exuding a domineering, powerful, and cold aura that made it clear at a glance that she was not someone to be trifled with.
"So it's Esdeath. No wonder she was able to approach me so silently!
I didn't expect her to have returned to the capital ahead of time. Have the northern barbarians been dealt with?"
Esdeath scanned Aoki from head to toe, her eyes revealing the excitement of a hunter who had found excellent prey.
Creak.
At this moment, the door of the other palace suddenly opened.
A middle-aged man with gray hair and a large belly walked in, tearing into a piece of meat.
"Heh heh heh, got you!"
"Looks like he's Ernest."
Aoki looked at the two and asked, "So, this is a trap for me?"
"That's right."
Esdeath put one hand on her hip, revealing her beautiful figure, and smiled. "We expected you to target the minister. We've been waiting for you ever since you appeared."
Aoki found it somewhat amusing.
The flawed process had led to the correct conclusion.
He had indeed come to kill the minister, but his reasons were certainly different from what they suspected.
However,
he liked the plan!
Ernest had no idea what appearing before him meant.
But that wasn't surprising.
Esdeath was too powerful; with her protection, he certainly felt safe.
"You're the one who broke into my camp from the northern border, aren't you?" Esdeath suddenly asked.
Aoki's eyes flickered, but he didn't speak.
His appearance and scent had all changed; logically, Esdeath shouldn't have recognized him.
"You don't need to deny it,"
Esdeath said. "I can sense your unique scent, one that ordinary prey doesn't possess!"
(End of Chapter)