A Wizard's Secret

Currently, the palace had descended into a chaotic battle. The place collapsed with a loud rumble. The scope of the fighting had widened immensely. Even outside the palace, one could see almighty beasts engaged in a furious battle.

Nonetheless, the current situation was not favorable for Doomsday and the rest. The five of them initially had the advantage of numbers but the three old folks of the royal family had unleashed an unknown technique, summoning an apparition of the Sacred Lion Beast's head. Their powers swelled up and they soon suppressed Doomsday's group.

"It looks like I don't have to lift a finger!"

A smirk flitted over Farron's lips as he stared at the Sacred Lion Beast's head in the sky. He could sense a stifling power and felt extremely stunned.

These were just the three elders of the royal family, who were similarly ultimate contenders. Farron was confident in taking on one or even two of them but when they joined forces, especially within Holy Dragon City, they became too terrifying. Farron knew that even if he joined Doomsday, making up six ultimate contenders, it would be useless. They could not possibly contend against these three elders of the royal family at all.

This was the royal family's trump card which had been passed down over a thousand years. How could it be that simple to overpower the Sacred Lion Beast's head?

"What frightening power. This power is far too formidable!"

"The power of the Sacred Lion Beast… This is the power of the Sacred Lion Beast. We were too careless, way too careless. We forgot that the Holy Dragon royal family had studied the Sacred Lion Beast's head for over a millennium. How could they not have learned something?"

"Doomsday, what do we do now? We're already trapped here and even the Shadow King has nowhere to run to."

In terms of fighting capability, Doomsday was undoubtedly the mightiest one among the rebel army leaders. However, in terms of escaping, the Shadow King was unreservedly the number one.

Now, even Doomsday could not flee. This was enough to show that the Sacred Lion Beast's head had such a great effect on them. With its influence, if they did not think of some other plan, they would die here.

At the thought of death, whether it was the Shadow King or the other ultimate contenders, they felt a shudder deep in their hearts. They had become ultimate contenders with a long life expectancy. Why would they wish to die here?

"The Sacred Lion Beast's head is controlled by the Holy Dragon royal family. Still, it's nothing unexpected…"

Doomsday's mouth slowly twitched into a smirk as if he was not panicking and everything was still within his expectations.

"Doomsday, do you have a plan?"

The Shadow King asked hurriedly. Even though they were now somewhat unhappy with Doomsday, at this point, they still needed him, at least until they survived this crisis.

"A plan - of course, I don't have one…"

Doomsday's words caused everyone to widen their eyes. Many of them were starting to get angry. The Phantom King said darkly, "Doomsday, you're the one who organized our mission this time. If we can't escape, neither can you!"

Thereafter, the other four even surrounded Doomsday, preventing him to use some trick to escape without bringing them along.

"Hehe, they're still fighting among themselves in the face of death!"

The king felt smug when he saw this, even excited. The five great rebel army leaders controlled more than eighty percent of the rebel armies. Once they died in this palace, it would be easy to quell the chaos of the Holy Dragon Empire. This was what the king had long dreamed of.

Still, Doomsday did not seem flustered as he watched the apparition of the Sacred Lion Beast's head slowly pressing down on them. The tremendous pressure had halted their movements, making them sluggish.

At this moment, Doomsday's expression suddenly hardened as he growled, "Although I can't deal with this, someone else can!"

With that, Doomsday cast his gaze beyond the door. Currently, everyone noticed the three rays of light speeding directly toward the three ultimate contenders of the royal family. Moreover, these light rays did not seem affected by the Sacred Lion Beast's head at all.

"Die!"

"Bang bang bang."

There were loud crashes as the three ultimate contenders of the royal family were sent flying by some powerful energy before falling heavily to the ground. The Sacred Lion Beast's head in the sky also swiftly dispersed, reduced to mere specks of light.

"This…"

Everyone was stunned silent, not expecting the tide to turn so quickly. The three figures who had arrived so suddenly were three middle-aged men who looked exactly alike.

"The Candora Trio-Lords… Do you have the Candora Magic Mirror? It can eliminate all binding forces because it contains a strand of a sacred beast's will. I've never thought that the Candora Empire would get involved…"

The three elders of the royal family who were grievously injured had lost their strength to retaliate. The Candora Trio-Lords had been planning this for a long time. They would first use Doomsday and the rest to lure out all the elders of the royal family. When everyone else was pinned down, they would unleash a lightning strike.

It could be considered that they had succeeded. No one had thought that there would appear three ultimate contenders who could bypass the suppression of the Sacred Lion Beast's head. This defeat was practically a fatal one and the royal family was faced with tremendous danger.

"It looks like Candora had decided to get involved with my Holy Dragon Empire?"

The king still forced himself to remain composed at this time. The rebel armies were not the Holy Dragon Empire's biggest threat because with the royal family's strength, they would sort out the chaos within the empire sooner or later.

Nonetheless, things were less certain with the Candora Empire next to the Holy Dragon Empire. The current king of Candora was a man with aggressive ambitions, itching to annex the Holy Dragon Empire.

Even so, the previous Holy Dragon Empire was too robust, even stronger than the Candora Empire. Therefore, it could even suppress the Candora Empire, hindering its ability to launch an invasion. Candora even had a constant worry bout the Holy Dragon Empire invading them.

However, it was different now. After the internal chaos of the Holy Dragon Empire emerged, their strength had rapidly declined. The Candora Empire had schemed extensively, just waiting to take care of the Holy Dragon royal family for good. Thereafter, everything would be settled.

Of course, the most important thing was the Sacred Lion Beast's head. Although the Candora Empire had a treasure like the Candora Magic Mirror, how could it compare to the Sacred Lion Beast's head which increased the royal family's strength?

Furthermore, some people in the Candora Empire wished to use the Sacred Lion Beast's head to discover the secret of the sacred beasts so that they were one step closer to becoming mighty sacred beasts!

"Hehe, our Candora Empire had already discussed this with Doomsday and the other overlords. Your Holy Dragon royal family has controlled this empire for far too long. It's time for you to die. As long as you hand over the Sacred Lion Beast's head, perhaps a small part of your royal family's bloodline might still survive."

The Candora Trio-Lords looked exactly alike but were all ultimate contenders. They were the Candora Empire's strongest military force. They had even brought the Candora Magic Mirror with them. It was said that this was the treasure that could suppress a nation. It showed how well prepared the Candora Empire was this time, determined to win at all costs.

"Hehe, Candora Trio-Lords, what we've agreed on was that each of us would seize the Sacred Lion Beast's head by any means."

The Shadow King suddenly stepped forward with a cold smile. Furthermore, other than Doomsday, the four of them had subtly banded together. This made the Candora Trio-Lords frowned slightly, their eyes flashing with almost imperceptible killing intent.

Nonetheless, the Candora Trio-Lords could still evaluate the situation properly, so they nodded and said calmly, "That's to be expected. First, we need to make the Holy Dragon royal family reveal the location of the Sacred Lion Beast's head."

"You want the Sacred Lion Beast's head? You must be dreaming, haha. You'll never obtain the Sacred Lion Beast's head. As long as we have the Sacred Lion Beast's head, our royal family will never fall!"

The king's eyes were faintly bloodshot and his heart burst with rage. Those were the three elders of the royal family, their strongest force, but now, they were all gravely injured and faced with danger.

No, there was still one royal family elder, who was the strongest of them all! Unless it was a crucial moment of life and death, he would not appear.

"The elder who guards the treasure vault, if you don't show up, our royal family is surely done for!"

The king's heart was burning anxiously but he could not speak up. He knew that the elder must be observing them through some means. In terms of these elders, especially the one who guarded the treasure vault, even the three elders who had collapsed on the floor did not know how ancient that elder was. In short, before they had even become ultimate contenders, that old man who guarded the treasure vault was already there.

Of course, no one had seen that elder in action. Naturally, they did not know what his capability was. Nevertheless, that elder was truly the royal family's last hope.

"You won't say? No matter. We've prepared many things, enough to make you spill the beans obediently. Moreover, we have the Phantom King, hehe…"

At the mention of the Phantom King, the king's heart leapt in fright. The Phantom King's eerie abilities had made a deep impression on the king. If he was controlled by the Phantom King, he would have no way to guard his so-called secret.

"What? Still not speaking? Then, we'll take action ourselves!"

The Candora Trio-Lords snickered coldly as they strode toward the king.

"Swoosh."

Suddenly, someone appeared before the Candora Trio-Lords, blocking their way.

"Farron? I remember you're merely the Minister of the Phantom Intelligence Department? Back then, maybe the king had done a favor for you. However, it's been so many years. You must've repaid him. Today, the Holy Dragon royal family is finished. With just you alone, what plan do you have? Can you stop the eight of us?"

Naturally, the Candora Trio-Lords knew of Farron. Even if Farron was powerful, how could he stop eight ultimate contenders?

Farron eyed the Candora Trio-Lords but slightly shook his head, his expression unchanging as he said evenly, "Without His Majesty the King, I won't be here today. Your Majesty, I've said before that you've done me three huge favors. I've repaid two of them. Today, I'll pay off the third one, how's that? After this, whether you live or die, I'll leave…"

The king's expression was complex. He had never thought that Farron would still stand out at this time. This was practically suicide. Back then when he had helped Farron, it was merely a simple effort on his part.

"Alright, Farron, after this time, you can leave whenever you wish. You'll no longer owe me."

The king drew in a deep breath as he said gruffly.

Farron smiled and his eyes twinkled with an aggressive glint. He said to the Candora Trio-Lords, "Come on then, Candora Trio-Lords. Let me see how wonderful your Magic Mirror really is?"

"Is that so? You're not qualified to experience the Magic Mirror!"

The Candora Trio-Lords' bodied flashed with a murderous aura, following which they lunged toward Farron.

"It's our turn now."

Doomsday glanced at the Shadow King and the rest. When he noticed their wary looks, he did not say anything else. His body floated and he flew toward the king.

"Quick, let us attack too. Grab the king. I have a way of making him reveal the location of the Sacred Lion Beast's head."

The Phantom King said loudly. Instantly, the four of them moved at once, competing against Doomsday as they dashed toward the king at their highest speed.

"King Father!"

Suddenly, in the empty square, the Princess Royal appeared, her expression froze in astonishment.

Currently, the king had been seized by the Phantom King. The four of them were ahead of Doomsday by one step, and they seemed very fearful of Doomsday.

"Hehe, Doomsday, you must've gone over to the Candora Empire's side. However, that doesn't matter. You won't have a chance to get the Sacred Lion Beast's head."

The Shadow King spoke with an icy laugh.

Doomsday did not say anything and instead, directed his gaze toward the Princess Royal.

"Lisa…"

When the king saw Lisa, his face flashed with a complicated expression. Only at this moment did he seem like a true "King Father".

"Lisa, run away, as far as you can. Forget about revenge. Empires rise and fall. Our royal family will also have to face this day. Run away…"

The king shook his head powerlessly. Now, he only hoped that the members of the royal family could survive, even if it was just one of them.

The Princess Royal breathed in deeply. At this point, she seemed to be talking to a shadowy figure behind her as her voice steeled by a cold edge.

"I'm currently nothing more than a member of the royal family. Leon, if you can't handle this, leave. I won't go, I'll die in the palace…"

The Princess Royal's eyes revealed her willingness to die. As she saw the eight ultimate contenders, she suddenly felt her hopes turning to dust as she thought of how ridiculous her previous ambitions had been. In the present collapse of the royal family, all it took was one instant for everything to vanish.

The previous struggle now appeared so pale and powerless. Moreover, she knew that the eight ultimate contenders were beyond the range of what anyone could handle. Maybe Merlin could protect her and prevent her death but she did not wish to run away.

"Lisa, have you considered that this is an opportunity? I've said before, I'll help you fulfill your dreams, making you the most powerful woman in this world!"

Suddenly, the shadow behind the Princess Royal spoke in a low, detached voice. In the silent night sky, it sounded incomparably clear…