Chapter 656: What happened to Almighty Sovereign?

Felix ran a hand through his crimson hair, his jaw tightening in frustration. "I would have personally sent Maximilian to his old father if not for the illusions of that bitch!" He barked.

Vincent’s brows furrowed at the sheer audacity of Felix’s statement. Even though the Sovereign had been killed, Felix was clearly ignoring two major facts: the number of dragons who had died in the process, and the condition the Sovereign had been in when he was slain.

He had decided to cut off any ties with this idiot as soon as they reached the border of the Riftlands or his foolishness might someday become the reason of death for both of them.

"You may return and claim his head if you wish, Lord Felix," Vincent replied, a clear jab in his voice.

Felix only gave an annoyed glare in response. If he were to turn back now, who knew what news Vincent would feed to the other dragons? He must not leave his side until they met the others.

"Haha, alerting the clan should be prioritised over personal achievement," Felix answered in his usual sly tone.

Vincent didn’t even bother to entertain him anymore. His silver eyes moved to the window, one hand on his chin beard as he looked at the scenery outside. The dark waves of the sea were already visible in the distance. They were about to reach the shore.

"Just a few more minutes and I will be out of this cursed contine—"

His words stopped mid-sentence as the chariot came to a sudden halt, slamming the two forward against the wall.

The roof of the chariot cracked as eight large, sharp, obsidian-like fingers dug through the ceiling. Dust and splinters rained down on the floor.

Four of the fingers pulled the ceiling to one side while the other four pulled it to the other, revealing the face of the black dragon beyond, glaring down at them with his golden eyes and their vertical slit irises.

"Im-impossible..." Felix gasped, his face turning pale as he slid backward on the floor. "H-how are you still al—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Maximilian stretched his arms outward, tearing the chariot in two.

The two heirs immediately transformed into their adult dragon forms.

Vincent’s body grew long and sinuous, covered with glacier-like scales that glittered with a frosty blue sheen. Long white whiskers drifted from his snout like strands of frozen mist, and a crown of icy antlers rose from his head. His eyes were sharp and icy, cold enough to freeze whoever dared to meet them. The air around him dropped in temperature, frost spreading across the surrounding.

Felix’s draconic form was beautiful. His serpentine body shimmered in magenta, streaked with deep shades of black that swirled across his scales like ink in water. Petal-like patterns bloomed along his sides, and his long mane flowed behind him in crimson waves. He looked more ethereal than imposing.

Felix’s eyes shifted to the hole in Maximilian’s abdomen and the numerous wounds he carried across his form. Even his wide black wings bore a gaping hole. He was anything but unscathed.

"D-did you escape from the elders to take us as leverage to save your life?" he demanded, slithering around Maximilian’s body.

A devilish smirk spread across his face. Maximilian must already be at his wits’ end. "Don’t think you can overpower us. Even if we are a realm lower than you, we are still adult dragons. I can just crush you to death with my superior scales."

His serpentine body tightened around Maximilian, gripping him from his legs up to his chest. Just as he was about to slither around his neck, Maximilian grabbed him by the mouth.

He forcefully parted Felix’s jaw with both hands, opening his mouth wide before him. Felix’s eyes widened in shock. A dragon’s jaw was its strongest body part, and Maximilian was forcefully keeping it open with sheer physical strength.

In desperation, Felix tightened his grip around Maximilian to crush his bones. The latter didn’t even react.

Maximilian parted his own mouth, his throat bulging. Something dark began churning inside it, bending the space around his mouth.

Felix realised what he was about to do. He immediately loosened his coils and tried to move back.

He couldn’t even budge, like an ant trying to pull a mountain.

Desperation surged further, and his eyes shifted to Vincent behind him in a cry for help.

Vincent had been observing from afar. But he needed to act right now. If Felix fell, his own chances of survival would only decrease.

Vincent had only just moved from his position when—

"ROARRRR!!!!"

A thick beam of concentrated Death Lightning erupted from Maximilian’s mouth, entering straight into Felix’s mouth.

"Gahhhhh!!!" Felix cried out in pain as his numerous scales tore apart, blood splattering from his skin while his massive body squirmed violently.

The beam of Death Lightning burst out of his tail, striking the Abyssal Sea several hundred metres ahead. A wave erupted from the strike. When it crashed against the shore, Felix’s body also went limp.

Maximilian hurled Felix’s limp body into the sea before turning his golden eyes back to Vincent.

"I-I wasn’t the one who assaulted your disciple," Vincent blurted, moving back, his arms shivering in raw fear from what he had just witnessed. "It was all Felix’s doing."

Maximilian produced no reaction. His body shrank back to his demi-human form as he walked towards Felix with cold, decisive steps.

Chills surged through Vincent as his mind raced for anything that could make Maximilian stop approaching. "Y-Your Highness, the five clans have betrayed the éclair Clan. A coup d’état occurred in Valcyrian."

Maximilian still didn’t stop, as though Vincent’s words had fallen on deaf ears.

"Th-the Almighty Sovereign has been killed by the ancestors of the five clans!" Vincent revealed in a loud voice.

Maximilian halted, an expression finally forming on his face. His eyes widened and his lips parted in shock.

"F-father is...dead?"