Chapter 341: Three Months in Hell

Chapter 341: Chapter 341: Three Months in Hell

Chapter 341: Three Months in Hell

"I refuse the Heavenly Vow."

The words dropped like a thunderclap, and the entire Royal Court was instantly paralyzed by shock.

"He... he refused? Is he completely insane?"

"By refusing to swear, he is blatantly declaring that he hasn’t given up! He still harbors the firm intention to kill Crown Prince Lucius!"

"This madman! He stands in the Imperial Court, surrounded by the Emperor and the Patriarchs, and he still wants to murder the Crown Prince!"

"He is basically spitting in the Emperor’s face after being granted a lifeline!"

"Arrogance! It’s arrogance arrogance!"

Frantic whispers and furious roars erupted across the hall like a boiling cauldron.

Standing in the center of the chaos, Rhain’s dark grey eyes remained perfectly placid, entirely unbothered by the venomous glares raining down upon him.

He knew exactly what taking that Heavenly Vow would mean.

If he swore to the Heavens never to harm the Royal Family, the invisible shackles of the world’s laws would bind his soul forever. He would lose his only chance to sever Lucius’s head.

But far worse than that, the vow would only bind him.

Lucius would still have a completely free hand to scheme, plot, and send endless waves of assassins after him and, more importantly, after Seris.

To leave his wife vulnerable to the venomous whims of a royal snake while his own hands were tied?

That was fundamentally unacceptable. He would rather go to war with the gods themselves than accept such a suicidal condition.

BOOM—!!!

An earth-shattering pressure exploded from the Golden Sun Throne.

Emperor Haldrion’s fury had finally reached a boiling point.

As the supreme ruler of the Solathane Dynasty, he had already compromised.

He had stepped back to avoid a civil war, offering the youth a generous lifeline to save face for all parties.

Yet this lowly bug from had the audacity to push his limits and disrespect his authority so openly in his own royal court!

"Rhain Voss," Haldrion’s voice rolled across the hall, "You dare reject the mercy of this Emperor? Do you think the patience of the throne is without limits? "

Despite the overwhelming, mountain-crushing pressure bearing down upon his shoulders, Rhain stood completely unmoved. His back was as straight as a spear, and his dark grey eyes met the Emperor’s wrathful gaze without a single ripple of fear.

"I will accept the banishment," Rhain repeated, his voice chillingly calm. "But my soul belongs to me. I will not bind it for anyone."

With his patience completely exhausted, Emperor Haldrion glared down from his throne, his eyes burning with a furious light.

"Since you are so eager to throw away the grace of the Gods, then you shall reap the consequences of your own arrogance!" Haldrion ruthlessly declared. "If you will not take the Heavenly Vow, then your punishment shall be tripled! Instead of one, you will survive in the Sunless Umbral Basin for three full months!"

The ministers and Imperial Patriarchs exchanged horrified glances.

Three months!

Sunless Umbral Basin was an infamous graveyard zone filled with mutated Domain Master beasts. Surviving there for a single month was already a monumental challenge.

Surviving for three months was considered a guaranteed death sentence, even for seasoned, late-stage Domain Masters!

Hearing his father’s order, Lucius smirked triumphantly.

’Go ahead and act arrogant, you foolish bug,’ Lucius mocked inwardly, completely assured that Rhain had just signed his own death warrant. ’You will never survive three months in that hell. It’s better this way, I won’t even have to dirty my own hands.’

"Your Majesty! This is unacceptable!"

Dean Qaylus stepped forward, his sharp features etched with outrage. "Three months in the Sunless Umbral Basin is no different than execution! It violates the terms of the pardon we just agreed upon!"

"He is right!" Sect Master Wexian stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Qaylus. "You cannot send a Core Formation youth into a Domain Master graveyard for three months and call it a banishment!"

Vaelstrum Patriarch also gritted his teeth, his peak Domain Master aura rising in protest. "Your Majesty, we ask that you reconsider this modified sentence!"

"SILENCE!"

Emperor Haldrion’s roar shattered their protests, his Half-Step Monarch aura pressing the three Valdris titans back.

"He brought this upon himself!" Haldrion stated coldly, "I gave him a way to live, and he spat on it! The terms are set."

Haldrion turned his unforgiving gaze back to Rhain, demanding his final choice.

"Rhain Voss. You will either swallow your foolish pride, kneel before this court, and take the Heavenly Vow... or you will spend three months in the Sunless Umbral Basin. Make your choice!"

The entire court stared at the dark-robed youth.

Dean Qaylus tried to warn him frantically, lowering his voice. "Rhain, please, think rationally. Do not let your pride blind you! Just take the vow! A vow can be circumvented in the future, but if you die in that basin, it is all over!"

Rhain completely ignored the frantic warning.

He would rather face the deepest depths of hell itself than lose his chance to sever Lucius’s head from his neck.

Rhain tilted his chin upward, meeting the Emperor’s oppressive gaze without a single shred of fear.

"I accept the three months," Rhain stated calmly.

The Royal Court was left utterly stunned.

Hundreds of jaws practically hit the floor.

The ministers stared at him as if looking at an entirely different species.

"Is he... is he completely ignorant of what the Sunless Umbral Basin is?" a commander whispered in utter disbelief.

"He must be! Only a madman or a fool would willingly accept a three-month death sentence just to preserve his pride!"

While the entire court believed his decision was born of arrogance; however, inwardly, Rhain didn’t care about the Sunless Umbral Basin in the slightest.

"Sunless Umbral Basin...’ Rhain mused coldly.

He had already planned to visit this place eventually.

It was the very place where Dean Carmilla had been afflicted with her lethal fire poison decades ago.

If he wanted to find the cure to save her life and completely eradicate the poison from her meridians, he had to trace it back to its source.

Haldrion wasn’t sending him to his death; he was merely aligning with Rhain’s own necessary objectives.

Seeing Rhain’s fearlessness, Haldrion’s expression turned dark. He could not comprehend how someone facing certain death could remain so thoroughly unfazed.

But he had no patience left for this man.

"So be it," Emperor Haldrion spke in a coldly dismissive voice, "You have exactly ten days to enter the Sunless Umbral Basin. If you are found outside its borders after the deadline, you will be executed on sight."

Haldrion turned his gaze to the three Valdris leaders. "Take him out of my sight."

Dean Qaylus, Sect Master Wexian, and the Vaelstrum Patriarch exchanged grim, heavy looks.

They had successfully saved Rhain from immediate execution, but the outcome felt like a hollow victory.

"Let’s go, Rhain," Qaylus said heavily.

Without a single backward glance at the Emperor or the smirking Lucuis, Rhain turned on his heel.

With his hands clasped casually behind his back, he followed the three Valdris leaders, walking leisurely out of the grand hall, leaving the paralyzed, bewildered Royal Court staring at his retreating back in stupified silence.