Emperor's Reckoning

Sitting on the glamorous throne of them all, adorned with the finest metal to cover his body. The old man's eyes were glaring despite all the paperwork had been settled. The servants were ready at the back and call of his bidding but he could hear rushing footsteps going to the throne room. Slamming the door open, it was a woman who heaved up and down.

"Hmm, I thought that brat has been captured, it's only you, Titania."

Titania, the mother of Russel, the third and youngest child of Noark, was in a rage after the loss of both her son and husband. She would have never thought that things had escalated to this point. That determining day was supposed to be hers but instead, that young man ruined her future and everything she owned in one well swoop.

"G-Grandfather, we have some problems."

"What is it?"

"Our auction houses are being destroyed as we speak."

"Houses? Hmm... no matter, find out who we angered and entice them with our resources."

Titania was slightly surprised by his calm demeanor. She had prepared her heart for him to flip out but that didn't happen. (Something must have happened before) she had not paid much attention to the mundane affair for so long. Being born in such a rich family, she couldn't care less.

Titania shook her head, "No grandfather, the sum is not a small number. The numbers were declining in a sharp steep."

"Hmm? Are they trying to offend me on purpose? Is it one of my enemies?"

"I don't know, but we do have a clue. There are three people that are destroying our auction house, and the weird part is, they seemed to have not shown interest in the artifacts. that the building hoarded."

"Only three people? What madness! Are the cultivators that I paid not guarding the building?"

"That's the worst part, they did. However, they were no match at all. The report said that the assailant as if not even trying to fight them. They just targeted the building and they just caught along with it."

"Hmm! It seems like they notoriously targeting my reputation on the matter."

"There is another bad news grandfather."

He furrowed his eyebrows and the clear discontent on his face was visible with the naked eye. Any other person would have lost it if they saw him like this. His connection was powerful enough to summon thousands of experts at the back and call. Luckily it was her granddaughter.

"One of the Summoning Ruby Stones of the manager," she took a deep breath before continuing, "turned dark."

The old man accidentally let out an excessive force before unintentionally breaking the armrest of his throne. The loud crack sent a jolt to Titania's thumping heart.  The veins beside his eyes were slightly bulging alongside those in his forehead. 

"The manager is in charge of the main branch, many valuable things were stored there! Are you telling me that we got robbed?! Those main branches were guarded with one Ascending God Realm cultivator! What the fuck are they doing?!"

Titania shook her head albeit nervously, "The building in the main branch was also destroyed according to the report that I just received. Not a single artifact was stolen but not a single artifact, survived."

"What?!" the old man's crippling mouth was trembling as his eyelids refused to drop down even once. His jaw was clenched, not in his entire life that he had been faced with such a slap to the face of his reputation. 

"Who are they?"

"Sadly we have not received any information about that. Not even in a single slip-up of conversation that they revealed their names. However, they all acted individually rather than together."

"What?! You mean it only took one person to take down my main branch?!"

The unprecedented truth brought more thrust toward his high prestige reputation. Those experts couldn't even stop a single person. Not to mention, the building was made of the highest material one could get in the elite marketplace.

"That's not all, even the ground of the main branch was in an alerting state, in one place, one could even see the bubbling magma looking for the surface."

"What?!"

"The reports also said that there are indications that the three were Lyon's backing."

"Impossible! We already have info of his background, he is a nobody from a lesser world."

"That's not all, I have, another bad news," said Titania as she shook her head before bracing herself up, "He... put a bounty for your head."

His jaw was slacked open as no word could escape his choked throat. Never in his mind that he was to be put in a bounty. His teeth gradually gritted before he reached out his arm, "Give me the number! How much did he put on me?!"

Titania looked away and glanced at the clean floor instead, refusing to answer his question. Instead, she pulled up the rolled-up paper and gave it to him to read.

His eyes squinted against Titania before rudely taking away the paper and opened it with a slight force. His eyes couldn't blink as he read the content. His entire body trembled in rage before he puked out blood due to the bubbling rush. The content incited the wounded soul but the anger in his face was unsubdued.

"LY—"

Before he could shout his name a soldier came rushing with a report. 

"S-Sir! Another Summoning Ruby Stone had turned dark!"

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the old man in disbelief as he knew what that meant. Another main branch had fallen.

"Also, it has been spotted! A young man riding a huge flying bird! He is not alone! He stood with an abundance of experts behind his back! Their destination is speculated to be here!"

The old man's and Titania's eyes opened wide in disbelief.

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On top of the head of the bird, he stood at the frontmost. His black hair fluttered as his arms were crossed. With Cecile and the others behind his back, he let out his iconic smirk toward the horizon.