Chapter 572 - 571: The king’s last order

Chapter 572: Chapter 571: The king’s last order

Keith landed inside his room and sat on the edge of his bed.

Outside, the entire Molak Family estate had lit up as news of the incident spread.

After all, two disciples of the Molak Family had been killed inside the Molak Family itself.

An investigation was already underway.

Either an outside assassin had infiltrated the family...

Or there was an insider responsible.

The possibility of an outside assassin was a stretch.

After all, who was the Molak Family?

They possessed hundreds of High-Level Rank 0 experts, dozens of Peak Rank 0 powerhouses, and even an Ancestor who stood far above them all.

How could an assassin possibly enter without being discovered?

But if it was an insider...

That wasn’t any better.

While the family remained puzzled, Keith silently looked down at his scaled arms.

Their dark obsidian color stood out clearly in the dimly lit room as his heart pounded violently.

Strangely enough...

His guilt had almost disappeared.

Thinking about it...

They were perverts.

Maybe today they only watched from afar.

But what if, one day, they were left alone with those girls?

Keith couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t do something unforgivable.

So...

Getting rid of them had been the right choice.

Just then, his arms twitched as he watched the scales slowly retract.

Keith instinctively rubbed his arms.

His skin had already returned to being smooth, as though the scales had never existed.

However, Keith’s greatest gain wasn’t killing those two men.

It was the fact that his unbearable thirst had been drastically reduced.

He couldn’t help but wonder what that meant.

Did he...

Have to kill?

Keith closed his eyes tightly as he gritted his teeth.

What was he even thinking?

Why had his train of thought become so twisted?

By the time Keith opened his eyes again, they had already returned to normal.

He panted heavily while taking deep breaths.

It wasn’t easy.

Not at all.

"I have to stay hidden for a while," Keith muttered.

---

Meanwhile...

Inside Leon’s room, he sat before a table as he quietly flipped through the books spread around him.

With everything he now knew, his plans were constantly changing and evolving.

The good news was that, no matter what happened, he still had the greatest chance of becoming the final winner.

First of all, his brothers and the northwest forces were already under the control of the mysterious hooded organization.

That meant his sister, Princess Rasel, would inevitably stand against them.

However, she wasn’t fighting to claim the throne.

The rules of the Royal Family still existed.

Every prince and princess had to serve only the Royal Family.

Rasel had already broken that rule.

Because of that, she could no longer inherit the throne or become queen.

Unless...

She intended to completely uproot the kingdom and rewrite its laws, becoming an emperor powerful enough to suppress an entire era.

But accomplishing something like that was no different from ascending to the heavens.

Everyone would oppose her.

Which meant...

The only legitimate candidate remaining was him.

Leon.

The Second Prince.

He was now the rightful heir.

However, even that wouldn’t be easy.

Even if everything unfolded according to his plans, very few people supported him.

Most believed he was weak and incapable of leading the kingdom.

If he suddenly stepped forward now...

He would become nothing more than a fish placed on a chopping board.

He would be killed almost immediately.

Therefore, the best course of action was to continue using his system.

Enter conflicts.

Be attacked.

Survive.

Grow stronger.

If he could reach the Peak of Rank 0...

Who would dare oppose him then?

But despite how reasonable that plan sounded, there remained one terrifying variable capable of overturning everything.

The leader of that mysterious organization.

His strength was completely unknown.

Yet, judging by everything Leon had witnessed, that person seemed to have subdued even the Royal Family’s Ancestor without much difficulty.

This wasn’t a simple game.

There were only a handful of players.

Yet every single one of them was a terrifying existence.

Leon took a deep breath before closing the book in his hands.

His eyes became sharp.

The Ynvashi Kingdom had become the center of attention.

Its throne was now equivalent to the throne of the entire Mortal Realm.

Whoever claimed it...

Would gain control over the Mortal Realm itself.

Leon knew that most of the contenders sought the throne solely for power.

Even Princess Rasel’s actions were driven by a desire to stop her brothers’ greed.

As for Leon...

He believed he was one of the few people who desired the throne not only for power...

But also to genuinely improve the lives of the common people.

"This world is interesting," Leon muttered.

It wasn’t an easy world to survive in.

He had even been forced to pretend to be a fool and sacrifice countless opportunities before everyone truly believed he was incompetent.

That alone showed just how cruel this world was.

If someone were to enter this world believing they could conquer everything with nothing but a system...

Leon feared they wouldn’t even understand how they died.

The waters here...

Were far too deep.

---

At the Ynvashi Kingdom...

The Royal Chamber

A man who looked no different from a living skeleton lay upon a luxurious bed.

Every breath he took was slow and labored as unbearable pain coursed through his body.

This was the king who had supposedly fallen gravely ill.

At this moment, his most trusted advisors stood before him while all the ministers gathered around, waiting for what might be his final command.

"I..."

The king began speaking.

His frail, emaciated body trembled violently.

Every word...

Every sentence...

Was a battle.

"Give..."

"The throne..."

"To..."

"My second..."

"Son."

Boom!

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone present felt as though a tsunami had crashed into them.

What?

Everyone knew that when the king summoned them all, it meant he had an important announcement to make.

They had expected it to be related to the succession of the throne.

But among all the princes, the First Prince had always performed the best.

A few years ago, the king himself had publicly declared him the heir to the throne.

So why now?

Why had he changed his mind and chosen the Second Prince instead?

Was that even possible?

Everyone exchanged glances with one another.

Perhaps if the king were still healthy and firmly in control of the kingdom, he could have made such a decision.

But now...

Even if everyone in this room supported the Second Prince, Leon...

It would still be nearly impossible for him to claim the throne.

The involvement of outside forces had changed everything.

The struggle for the throne was no longer decided solely by the ministers or the noble families.

Powerful external factions had also entered the game.

Even so...

It was the king’s final command.

They had no choice but to honor it.

"As you command, Your Majesty," everyone replied as they bowed respectfully.

The king coughed several times before falling completely silent.

The royal physician hurried forward to check his pulse.

Silence filled the chamber.

"Everyone..." the physician began.

"The king... is dead."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone lowered their heads.

Deep down, they had already expected this outcome.

Yet now that it had truly happened...

It marked the beginning of a new era.

The king’s final decree would undoubtedly plunge the kingdom into a bloody struggle for the throne.

Their hearts pounded heavily.

Behind their lowered gazes...

Countless schemes and plans had already begun taking shape.