Chapter Forty-Five: Ruthless as a Tiger

"Who goes there?!"

"There's an assassin!!!"

"Guards! To arms, we have an enemy!!!"

"Stop him!!!"

The cries of the many guards immediately made Lando the center of attention, the most dazzling figure in the hall.

With a whirl of his twin swords, one of wind, one of fire, he conjured a towering wall of flames. Every guard who tried to stand in his way was effortlessly cut down. With a single blow, he cleaved open the warehouse doors and arrived at the entrance to the secret chamber detected by his scan—another stroke, and the way was cleared.

An elemental shield generator unfurled a protective barrier around him, warding off the traps triggered by his forceful entry. Ignoring the guards behind him—some glaring hungrily, others pale with fear—Lando strode nonchalantly into the secret chamber.

The underground chamber was not large, but it was indeed the royal treasury. Though he harvested several souls there, he sensed none of the remnants of Destiny he sought.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash erupted at the entrance to the chamber.

Lando recognized the mechanism—a falling stone, similar to the legendary Dragon Severing Stone. He was hardly surprised.

The entire chamber was built five meters underground. One could scarcely imagine the resources and manpower it must have taken to construct, given this world's level of technology. Now that the stone had dropped, any ordinary person would be hopelessly trapped here—yes, an ordinary person.

Lando sat down carelessly atop a towering stack of gold bars. He felt nothing special—except a dull ache from the hard metal beneath him.

He activated his surveillance feed. The screens showed both the king and the prince. He had already calculated the placement of his elemental bombs when he set them, ensuring neither would be harmed.

At this moment, the prince, guarded by soldiers, was making his way to the king. The king's bedroom was already damaged; he now sat commandingly in a side hall, his composure largely intact.

Soon, the prince reached the king. The prince seemed agitated and impatient.

"Father, what is the situation now?"

"That thief is already trapped in the treasure vault. The guards are still searching—so far, no other assassins have been found."

"Father, I can't wait any longer. Let me proceed with the soul fusion."

The king did not immediately refuse this time. The prince, seeing this, was delighted and pressed on: "Father, don't hesitate. Delay only breeds disaster."

At last, the king gazed deeply into the prince's eyes and said, "Very well."

The prince was overjoyed, failing to notice that the king's eyes no longer held their usual warmth and indulgence, but only a chilling indifference.

Seeing the two begin their preparations, Lando smiled to himself. "It's done!"

He began calculating the next sequence, setting up elemental bombs—not timed this time, but remotely triggered.

Once finished, he turned his attention back to the king and prince.

What surprised him was that they headed straight for the ancestral shrine in the rear mountain behind the palace.

The king dismissed the surrounding guards and entered the shrine with the prince.

As he watched the doors close behind them, Lando's expression darkened. Things were not unfolding as he had predicted.

He immediately detonated the elemental bombs, causing the entire underground chamber to collapse. Thanks to his careful calculations and the elemental shield generator, he emerged unscathed.

Ignoring the horrified and despairing guards, Lando hurried to the rear mountain. When he kicked open the shrine's doors, the hall within was already empty.

His face grim, Lando scoured the grand hall. In the center stood a great stone tablet, inscribed with the glorious deeds of the King of the Earth. Before the tablet were displayed a set of armor and a sword—apparently relics of the Earth King. Regrettably, there were no souls left to extract. The walls were lined with plaques commemorating each king of the Earth Kingdom.

Lando made his way behind the stone tablet—the only place in the hall where residual elemental energy could be detected. Upon closer inspection, he discovered a transport array, albeit a rather primitive one.

This type of array lacked the capacity to absorb or store elemental energy. Each use required immediate charging, and it could not transport the user very far. Furthermore, the destination had to be locked in advance.

Suppressing his frustration, Lando began deciphering the coordinates. If Little White were here, it would be done in an instant. As it was, it took him over ten minutes.

When the array finally lit up, he stepped in without hesitation and vanished.

The teleportation ended without incident or ambush. He found himself in a large hall, the main door open before him, a long corridor stretching out. He deactivated the shield generator's overload mode, returning it to normal.

This must be one of the necromancers' abandoned laboratories. By his calculations, Lando realized he was now within the great cliff behind the royal capital.

No longer pressed for time, he began to stroll through the laboratory. Though built within a cliff, the place was bright—the light emanated from the very walls. The style here was utterly unlike the Silver Tower, which had been futuristic, hard-edged, and metallic; this place evoked the laboratories of medieval alchemists.

As Lando walked, a heart-wrenching roar suddenly echoed through the halls: "Why?! Father… why would you do this?!"

Lando paused, then moved swiftly and cautiously toward the sound.

"My son, our Greide family has lain dormant for too long. It is time for a new King to rise. And you do not possess the qualities of a ruler. Only I can lead the Greide family to greatness again."

"No, Father! You promised me—I would be the future king, like our ancestors! Why?! Why?!"

"Did I not warn you? Soul fusion is dangerous; fusing with a soul of Destiny is even more perilous. I need someone of close blood to neutralize the conflict. Only then will Destiny be truly compatible with me."

"No… no… I don't want this! Father… Father… ah!!!"

Lando had reached the laboratory with the altar. Through the ajar door, he witnessed the entire scene—an astonishing spectacle that left him dumbfounded.

The prince had melted into a repulsive pool of viscous liquid, leaving only a translucent, faintly blue-glowing sphere hovering above the altar—the very remnant of Destiny Lando sought.

The king closed his eyes, a single tear trailing down his cheek. He murmured, "My son, all this is for the glory of the Greide family."

With that, he reached toward the pale blue soul.

With a whoosh, Lando's foot collided squarely with the king's head. Though the king possessed the strength of a knight, he was as helpless as an infant before Lando—especially caught off guard. The king slumped to the floor without a sound.

Lando had acted out of caution—who knew what suicidal traps the king might still control in this laboratory? Better safe than sorry.

He turned his gaze to the pale blue soul drifting over the altar. Rather than touching it, he extracted it directly through his system.

The soul vanished into thin air. At once, he sensed it had been collected. This time, he did not allow the remnant of Destiny to merge with the "Child of Destiny" he carried; he had other plans to test.

Lando did not linger to explore the laboratory. Grabbing the unconscious king, he departed at once.