Chapter 584 - 580 – THE EMPEROR’S SLAP AND THE SOUTHERN TERRITORY DECREE

The air inside the Main Banquet Hall of Tianhua Palace felt frozen and rigid. The invisible pressure from the Death Authority that had briefly leaked from a crack in Sylvia’s soul made the atmosphere in the hall extremely heavy. The Second Prince, Hua Tianming, stood stiffly in the middle of the red-carpeted aisle. As a Rank 5 mage, he had originally intended to use his royal status and the support of the Main Noble Council to pressure Sylvia. However, before he could take another step, his instincts suddenly screamed hysterically, causing his saliva to catch in his throat.

Before the tension could erupt into open conflict, the sound of a magical golden trumpet from the main gate resonated loudly, shattering the choking silence.

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Tianhua Kingdom and His Highness the First Crown Prince enter the hall!" the royal herald proclaimed with a voice amplified by resonance magic.

At that very moment, the Second Prince fell completely silent. His mouth locked shut and he dared not utter another word. All the arrogance he had been flaunting evaporated in an instant the moment he heard the announcement of his father’s and eldest brother’s arrival.

The double marble doors swung wide open. The Emperor, a sturdy middle-aged man in a golden dragon robe that radiated an extremely dense mana glow, stepped into the hall. At his side walked the First Prince, Hua Tianyu, a young man with a calm and warm face who wore a silver mage robe embroidered with mithril thread.

The Emperor ascended the main stage and seated himself upon his golden marble throne.

"Respect to His Majesty the Emperor! Long life and glory to the Tianhua Kingdom!"

Sereeech!

At that instant, hundreds of nobles, ministers, military generals, elite mages, and even Elder Lin of the Main Noble Council simultaneously knelt on one knee or bowed extremely low upon the marble floor. The Second Prince hurriedly dropped down as well, lowering his head deeply. The First Princess, Hua Zhaoyue, offered an elegant bow of respect in accordance with royal family tradition.

However, in the middle of that sea of humans bowing in full obedience, Sylvia remained standing upright in her place.

The silver-black Night Silk dress she wore fluttered gently, absorbing the reflected light of the mana crystal lamps. Sylvia crossed her arms in front of her chest, gazing straight toward the throne with a relaxed and indifferent expression. Near her feet, Sol and Noir the Golden Dragon and Black Dragon disguised as two cats were even busy sitting and licking their paws without the slightest concern for the presence of the human ruler in the room.

For a Rank 7 Demigod and the Queen of Death who commanded tens of millions of undead troops in Nocture, bowing her head to a human emperor was something that would never exist in her dictionary.

Seeing that Sylvia neither knelt nor bowed, several elderly nobles stole discreet glances with widened eyes. Yet the Emperor himself did not reprimand or make an issue of Sylvia’s attitude at all.

The reason was very simple: the Emperor was a Rank 8 mage, the highest peak of magical power among all current members of the royal family. He was not a pampered ruler who sat upon the throne merely because of bloodline. Since the apocalypse erupted and the earth expanded hundreds of times over, the Emperor had led troops across danger zones, fought colossal mutant monsters, and escaped various deadly events, ranging from minor incidents to life-threatening crises that had nearly claimed his life.

Those decades of risking his life on the battlefield had forged his combat instincts to an extremely sharp level.

Although Sylvia tightly sealed her true power and concealed her Demigod aura so that she appeared like an ordinary mage on the surface, the veteran Emperor’s instincts still blazed fiercely. When the Emperor’s eyes collided with Sylvia’s red-and-gold irises, the ruler’s chest shuddered violently. His instincts screamed with absolute clarity that the magical power Sylvia displayed right now was merely the "outer skin."

The Rank 8 mage Emperor could sense an extremely terrifying and deadly danger residing within that black-haired girl. He knew that if he tried to force royal etiquette upon this girl, the entire banquet hall could turn into a mass grave within seconds.

Because the Emperor chose to remain calm and offered not the slightest reprimand, several shrewd old officials and faction elders in the hall immediately grasped the situation. They caught the danger signal from their emperor’s composure, then hurriedly bowed their heads even deeper, striking Sylvia’s name from the list of people who could be troubled.

Unfortunately, in this world there were always people who lacked self-awareness.

The Second Prince, Hua Tianming, who was only a Rank 5 mage, was completely unable to sense the level of danger that his father had detected. Intoxicated by jealousy toward Zhaoyue and driven by the Main Noble Council faction behind him, Hua Tianming raised his head with a face flushed with anger. He interpreted the emperor’s silence as a form of shock at Sylvia’s insolence.

Stepping forward into the middle of the red carpet, he pointed straight at Sylvia. "This wild woman from the border truly does not know her place! In the presence of His Majesty the Emperor and the entire royal council, she refuses to bow! This is an absolute insult to the throne! This servant begs that the Golden Guards immediately arrest and punish her on charges of treason!"

The Second Prince’s voice echoed through the silent hall.

Sylvia did not need to move in the slightest. She did not even bother to glance at the prince, merely standing gracefully while stroking the ring on her finger.

Before the guards could respond, a shadow flashed past at a speed invisible to the eyes of a Rank 5 mage.

PLAAAAAK!

The sound of an extremely hard and crisp slap split the silence of the banquet hall.

The Second Prince’s body was hurled three meters to the side, slamming into a white jade banquet table until it shattered into pieces. Two of his teeth were knocked out and fresh blood sprayed from his mouth. The Second Prince collapsed onto the marble floor, clutching his heavily swollen cheek with eyes wide in disbelief.

The one who had slapped him was not Sylvia, but the Emperor himself.

"Shut that useless mouth of yours, Tianming!" the Emperor growled in a heavy voice filled with fury and Rank 8 mana pressure that weighed down upon him. His eyes glared at his own son with a flash of deep disappointment. "Miss Sylvia is a Guest of Honor of the Palace who was personally invited by the First Princess! Your manners and maturity truly disgrace the name of the royal family in front of the guests!"

The Second Prince trembled violently on the floor. The pain in his face was nothing compared to the fear that stabbed his chest upon seeing the killing look from his father. "F-Father... this servant... this servant begs forgiveness..." he stammered in a faint voice before hurriedly pressing his face to the floor, daring not to speak again.

Several palace servants immediately dragged the injured Second Prince out of the hall to be treated, while the elders of the Main Noble Council turned away, pretending not to know the prince who had just been slapped.

The Emperor turned his body, adjusted the sleeve of his golden robe, then looked at Sylvia with an expression that suddenly became extremely friendly and full of respect.

"Please forgive this discomfort, Miss Sylvia," the Emperor said in a very polite tone. "My rude son does not understand how to welcome a hero and great expert such as yourself. Please enjoy this banquet without needing to concern yourself with rigid palace etiquette."

"Your Majesty is too kind," Sylvia replied with a graceful thin smile. "The performance just now was quite entertaining for opening my appetite."

The Emperor laughed softly to lighten the atmosphere, then raised his golden goblet into the air. "Let the official evening banquet begin!"

Melodious music once again resonated throughout the hall. Servants arrived carrying various trays of exotic dishes, including preparations of high-level mutated monster meat rich in natural energy. The tension evaporated, and the banquet proceeded once more without further interruption.

At the honor dining table located directly below the throne stage, Sylvia sat side by side with Zhaoyue. Not long afterward, the First Prince, Hua Tianyu, stepped over to their table.

As a Rank 6 mage, Hua Tianyu possessed an aura far more stable and mature than that of his half-brother. He smiled warmly at Zhaoyue, then bowed politely to Sylvia.

"Thank you very much for accompanying and protecting my younger sister, Miss Sylvia," Hua Tianyu said sincerely. "Zhaoyue rarely opens her heart to others, so seeing her able to smile freely with you is a happiness for us."

"She is an enjoyable friend," Sylvia answered briefly while putting a piece of spicy monster meat into her mouth.

Between enjoying the dishes, Sylvia observed the interactions among the royal family. The Emperor and the First Prince appeared to truly cherish Zhaoyue with sincerity. This made perfect sense, because Zhaoyue was the only royal princess in the Tianhua Kingdom, as well as the full-blooded younger sister of the First Prince by the same mother.

This situation was very different when compared to the Second Prince (Hua Tianming) or the Third Prince, who had been born from different concubines and were supported by the Main Noble Council. Those two half-princes were always busy building political factions and trying to topple the First Prince’s position in order to contend for the throne. Therefore, the Emperor and the First Prince always strove to protect Zhaoyue from the dirty intrigues of the palace.

"Actually, Sylvia..." Zhaoyue whispered softly beside her, holding her marble teacup, "Father and First Brother have long prepared a special territory for me to occupy and manage myself as my power base."

Sylvia turned, looking at Zhaoyue with one eyebrow raised. "Then why only now? Why wasn’t it given earlier?"

"Because they felt I was not yet ready," Zhaoyue answered honestly. "That territory is extremely rich, yet its location is dangerous. In the past, I did not have a protective faction strong enough to defend that territory from the covetous eyes of the Main Noble Council or from attacks by external monster threats. If Father had given it to me earlier without a tough protector at my side, the territory would instead have become a boomerang that endangered me."

Just as Zhaoyue finished whispering, the Emperor rose from his throne on the stage. The ringing sound from his golden goblet caused everyone in the hall to immediately halt their conversations and turn toward the main stage.

"Distinguished guests!" the Emperor’s heavy voice echoed with magical assistance. "Tonight, in the presence of all ministers, elders, and heroes of the kingdom, I intend to announce an important decree concerning the future of our only daughter, Hua Zhaoyue!"

The elders of the Main Noble Council in the corner of the room narrowed their eyes, listening with full wariness.

"I officially bestow the rights of ownership and absolute sovereignty over the Southern Star Territory upon the First Princess, Hua Zhaoyue!" the Emperor declared firmly. "That territory is now fully her personal domain, free from interference by any party!"

A noisy murmur rose from the invited guests. Zhaoyue smiled faintly, then whispered again to explain the details of the territory to Sylvia.

"The Southern Star Territory is located approximately 10,000 kilometers to the south of this Holy Capital," Zhaoyue whispered. "A distance of 10,000 km is not particularly far by the scale of Tianhua’s vast lands. That territory possesses extremely fertile soil, abundant water sources, and rich mana crystal mines. However... its main challenge is that the territory is still surrounded by nests of strong mutant monsters, ranging from Rank 5 up to Alpha Rank 6 and 7."

Zhaoyue looked at Sylvia with sparkling eyes full of a self-confidence she had never shown before.

"In the past, Father and First Brother hesitated to hand it to me because I did not yet have a protector capable of overcoming those monster threats," Zhaoyue continued with a bright smile. "But now... I have a friend and protector like you at my side, Sylvia. I no longer have any doubts."

With graceful and fully confident steps, Zhaoyue rose from the dining table. Her ice-blue Cloud Silk dress swept the floor as she walked to the center of the hall. Before the Emperor and all the royal nobles, Zhaoyue bowed her body respectfully and offered a salute full of firmness.

"This servant, First Princess Hua Zhaoyue, accepts the decree and the trust of Father the Emperor!" Zhaoyue declared in a clear voice that cut through the silence. "This servant swears to manage and develop the Southern Star Territory into a prosperous land that will bring pride to the kingdom!"

Emperor Hua Chen smiled proudly at his daughter’s firmness, then glanced briefly toward Sylvia, who sat relaxed while holding Sol and Noir on her lap. The Emperor knew full well that Zhaoyue’s courage to step forward tonight was inseparable from the presence of the mysterious black-haired girl beside her.

For Sylvia herself, the announcement of a territory of that size located 10,000 kilometers to the south was extremely interesting news.

Fertile land 10,000 kilometers away filled with strong monsters, far from the supervision of the Noble Council, and managed by my own close friend? Sylvia thought while stroking Sol’s sleek fur. A thin smile full of charm and mystery rose on the lips of the Queen of Death. This is the perfect location to build Nocture’s first branch base on the Tianhua mainland. Stacia will surely be very pleased when I dictate the coordinates of this new territory.