Chapter 358 - 256: The Beginning of the Kingdom’s Turmoil! A Bold Kiss from Edith

Chapter 358: Chapter 256: The Beginning of the Kingdom’s Turmoil! A Bold Kiss from Edith

"Is that the final boss of the Demon Cave?"

"The Demon King of the Abyss of Lust!?"

"He must be close to the Demigod realm, right?"

"Knight Arimos should be able to defeat him, right?"

"He should... right?"

When the crowd saw Lan Kai seated calmly in the Demon Cave, their expressions turned as grim as ink.

This existence, nearly a Demigod, exuded an aura so powerful that even its unintentional release was enough to inflict the ’Fear’ effect on any unit below Level 80, paralyzing them with terror.

"A bunch of ignorant ants."

Lan Kai glanced at the crowd below with disdain, then his gaze shifted to Knight Arimos directly in front of him.

As a Demigod Level Star Knight, Arimos was naturally more powerful than him.

But...

A sinister smile touched Lan Kai’s lips as blue lightning crackled around him.

Before anyone could react, he transformed into a sharp bolt of lightning and shot toward Arimos, launching an attack.

Arimos, longsword in hand, met the attack calmly and decisively. But their speed was so immense that the crowd could only see a blur of shadows and hear a continuous, muffled thunder, unable to make out their specific movements at all.

"It’s about to end."

Just then, Lucia whispered in Su Xuan’s ear.

Su Xuan frowned slightly. He had barely seen anything. The fight had started less than ten seconds ago, and it was already ending?

He was about to ask Lucia for more details when, in the next second, a massive figure plummeted from the sky like a meteorite, crashing heavily into an open area of the square.

It was Lan Kai’s corpse. His body was immense, over twenty meters tall, yet even a Demon as powerful as him had only lasted less than ten seconds against the Star Knight Arimos.

"What just happened? He defeated the Demon King just like that?!"

"That was way too fast! Only a few seconds!?"

"Is this the mighty power of a Demigod? It’s terrifying!"

"With a Guardian as powerful as Knight Arimos, what does our Star Kingdom have to fear from the Demons of the Abyss?"

"All hail the great Stars!"

"..."

When the crowd saw the Demon King Lan Kai slain by the Star Knight Arimos in a matter of seconds, their faces lit up with ecstatic joy.

The Players present were even more dumbfounded, amazed that the battle had ended so quickly. The final boss of the Demon Cave event was killed in just ten seconds!

But all of this filled Su Xuan with doubt. He felt that things had progressed too smoothly, that something wasn’t quite right.

It wasn’t that he underestimated the power of a Demigod Level expert, but rather that he was perplexed by Lan Kai’s actions. As the Demon King who led the invasion of the Magic Continent from the Abyss of Lust, wasn’t Lan Kai’s behavior too reckless, even foolish?

Even if they were just the vanguard of the Abyss, they wouldn’t throw their lives away so easily, would they?

After all, without having ascended to the Demigod level, Lan Kai stood no chance against Arimos—a fact he should have known full well.

At that moment, after slaying Lan Kai, the Star Knight Arimos slowly descended from the sky, landing beside Lan Kai’s corpse.

He raised his sword high, then swung it down in a single stroke.

A vast surge of the Power of the Stars erupted, completely annihilating Lan Kai’s massive body and turning it into a shimmering dust of starlight.

This dust then coalesced in Arimos’s palm, forming a glowing sphere.

Immediately after, with a light leap, he instantly appeared a thousand meters away beside Vivian, handing her the sphere of light formed from Lan Kai’s condensed Magic Power.

Vivian took the sphere, raised it high above her head, and announced to the crowd in a clear voice, "The Demon has been vanquished!"

As her words fell, the entire area erupted in a deafening roar of cheers.

This not only marked another successful defense against the Abyss’s invasion for the people of the Star Kingdom, but it also signified that they had slain a Demon King Level Demon! This undoubtedly pushed the morale of the Star Kingdom to its highest point in centuries.

While the crowd was still reveling in the joy of victory, Princess Vivian’s voice rang out again. "On this momentous occasion, I have one more announcement to make to the world!"

As she finished speaking, the sphere of light in her hand slowly rose, hovering in the air and emitting a faint glow.

At that moment, all eyes were fixed on Princess Vivian.

Dazzling runes began to blossom across Princess Vivian’s body, as brilliant as the stars themselves, complementing her exquisite beauty.

She clasped her hands together and raised them to the sky, as if receiving some mysterious blessing from the Stars.

The sight of this scene caused Prince Tyres to erupt in anger.

"Vivian!"

He roared, attempting to stop her.

But in the next second, Arimos decisively moved to block Tyres’s path.

"You! You’re actually starting the blessing of the Stars early! Vivian, you’re insane!"

Prince Laps also jumped out then, his face contorted with fury as he questioned Vivian.

Second Princess Catherine also wore a worried expression. She never imagined Vivian would try to draw upon the Power of the Stars a day early. She urged anxiously, "Vivian, the time for the blessing of the Power of the Stars is strictly set! If you change it on your own and forcibly draw upon the power, you will only bring about endless disaster!"

"Disaster?"

Vivian smiled calmly. She then turned her gaze to the crowd below, her voice firm and clear. "Everyone! Today is not only a day to witness the fall of a Demon King, but it is also the Star Kingdom’s grand ceremony, held once every hundred years. On this day, the Power of the Stars will descend from the heavens, and It will herald the birth of a new King!"

As she spoke, the sphere of light formed from Lan Kai’s body suddenly shattered. A terrifying surge of Magic Power erupted, shooting straight into the clouds!

Immediately after, the once-clear sky was shrouded in darkness in a matter of moments, as if time itself had been forcibly reversed, turning day into night in an instant.

Countless stars gradually appeared in the suddenly changed night sky, as if answering some mysterious call, and began to twinkle with dazzling light.

"What... What in the world is going on?"

"Didn’t the sun just rise? How did it suddenly turn to night?"

"The Star Ceremony? I thought the ceremony was supposed to be tomorrow. Why did it suddenly start today?"

"..."

The Players looked at each other, completely bewildered, but then Edith’s voice sounded in Su Xuan’s ear.

"Get ready. We need to go take care of another problem first."

Hearing this, Su Xuan was confused. He had a ton of strange questions he wanted to ask Edith!

But judging by the situation, he had no opportunity to ask.

Just then, a beam of pitch-black light descended from the sky, pouring directly into Princess Vivian.

Her aura surged in that instant, and a monstrous tide of Magic Power engulfed her like a tsunami.

"Stop her!"

At Prince Tyres’s command, several black-clad assassins lunged toward Princess Vivian.

But the moment those assassins rushed toward Princess Vivian, Arimos slew them all with a single, light swing of his longsword.

Seeing this, Prince Tyres’s face became as dark as water. He glared at Arimos and asked in a low voice, "Arimos! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t participate in the competition for the throne? Why are you protecting her?!"

Arimos replied expressionlessly, "I changed my mind."

This response made Prince Tyres’s face turn ashen. He drew a pitch-black scepter from his waist and threatened coldly, "In that case, don’t blame me for disregarding our old ties. How long can your broken body hold on?"

As he finished speaking, Prince Tyres’s aura surged, and while it didn’t reach the Demigod level, it came very close.

Amidst this chaotic scene, the delegations from various nations watched with great interest, like spectators at a play.

"I never thought I’d get to witness the Star Kingdom’s internal strife firsthand. How interesting," Vanessa said with a giggle, eating fruit in her lotus carriage.

Just then, Lucia’s voice reached her ears, breaking her leisurely mood.

"Come and help!"

"Ah! The Pope!"

Vanessa hurriedly put down the fruit platter and quickly replied, "Coming!"

Meanwhile, Su Xuan had led the Adventurers from his Guild to a hidden corner to rendezvous with Edith.

"What are we doing now?"

Su Xuan asked Edith.

In response to his confusion, Edith explained calmly, "We’re going to kill Lan Kai."

"Hasn’t he already been killed by that Star Knight?" Su Xuan pressed.

"That was all an act. He isn’t truly dead. Right now, he should be lying in wait in the King of the Star Kingdom’s bedchambers, waiting for the moment the Power of the Stars converges. He intends to use this power to break through to the Demigod realm," Edith replied with a light chuckle. "And he’s not the only one with that idea."

"I see."

Hearing this, Su Xuan’s understanding of the current situation became a little clearer.

"So, we’ll deal with Lan Kai first, and then we’ll handle Princess Vivian. If a Demon gets the Power of the Stars, they’ll be much harder to deal with than if Princess Vivian gets it~"

"However~"

Edith continued, her gaze flickering past Lucia before landing on Su Xuan. "But to deal with Princess Vivian, we’ll need to rely on you."

"Me?"

"That’s right~"

Edith moved close to Su Xuan, gently taking his chin between her fingertips, and then kissed him directly.

"?"

This scene made the women behind Su Xuan reveal expressions of utter disbelief.

And as Su Xuan felt Edith’s passionate kiss, a notification popped up in his vision:

[You have received a contract from the Mother of Demons...]