Chapter 151. Liam’s Ambition
Kroll II nodded. The three of them continued discussing border defense, legion deployments, and the development of the Secret Realm for quite some time, only stopping when the sun had climbed to its highest point overhead.
Before leaving, Fenlilan looked at William with expectation in his eyes.
“Little William, study state affairs properly with your royal father during this period, and do not slack off in selecting slaves either.”
“I have already had your royal father reduce the slave tax by thirty percent. Slave traders from the surrounding nations will soon gather in the Royal Capital, so this is the perfect chance to pick out some suitable slaves.”
“Oh, and for the time being, the First Monster Legion will be under your command.”
At that point, he paused, and his tone shifted.
“I heard something happened over at the Goblin Secret Realm?”
Kroll II frowned when he heard that, his voice carrying a trace of helplessness.
“It’s Duke Marcus conducting experiments in there. As for how badly things have turned out, we still do not know.”
“That old bastard... I truly do not know whether I should praise him or kill him. Forget it, let’s not talk about him for now.”
He turned to William, his expression growing solemn.
“Starting tomorrow, come here every morning to learn how to handle state affairs from me. In the afternoon, go to the Slave Market to select manpower, and at night, focus on your cultivation.”
“Time is pressing. You need to shoulder this burden as soon as possible.”
William bowed and replied, “Yes, Father King.”
Fenlilan patted him on the shoulder.
“Work hard. Sooner or later, the future of the Kroll Family will be placed in your hands.”
With that, he turned and left the Study.
While the three men of the Kroll Kingdom were discussing the future, an entirely different scene was unfolding at the Magic Serpent Fortress in the Eastern Frontier of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom.
The once-solid fortress had long since been battered into ruin by the Hydra Clan. Even among the broken walls and shattered stone, traces of corrosion still remained.
A group of people hurried through the wreckage.
At the front was none other than Liam, the ancestor of Silver Oakleaf. At his side followed two other Domain-Level Powerhouses with deep, steady auras. All three wore expressions as grave as iron.
Behind them, sixteen Legendary Combatants were carrying a crystal coffin that emitted a faint golden glow. They struggled forward as though something with the weight of a thousand tons lay sleeping inside it.
The radiance of the crystal coffin clashed with the cold, sinister aura filling the fortress, sending up tiny sparks from time to time.
“Quick, get inside.”
Liam barked in a low voice and took the lead toward the mine pit deep within the fortress.
A great number of hydra remains lay scattered along both sides of the tunnel, along with the withered bones of unknown creatures. Every step on them produced a sharp crack, startlingly harsh within the silent passage.
At last, they arrived in a broad underground chamber.
This was the very place where the old hydra had advanced. The rock walls were covered with twisted, grotesque Runes that exuded an ancient and dangerous aura.
“Begin deciphering the Runes.”
At Liam’s command, several accompanying Archmages immediately stepped forward. Their staffs lit with intricate halos of light as they carefully touched the Runes on the rock walls, trying to strip away and unravel the secrets hidden within them.
At the same time, several other Archmages directed the Legends to slowly lower the heavy crystal coffin into the recessed array slot at the center of the underground chamber.
The moment the coffin touched the ground, the entire chamber trembled faintly, and the Runes along the edge of the array suddenly lit up with a dark red glow.
Liam exchanged a glance with the other two Domain-Level Powerhouses, and each of them took out a broken black fragment from within his robes.
The fragments were icy cold in their hands and faintly radiated a vicious aura that seemed to devour all life.
The three of them clenched the fragments tightly and stared fixedly at the crystal coffin, their eyes devoid of the slightest warmth.
“Success or failure will be decided here.”
Liam’s voice was as low and heavy as an underground current.
“We cannot let the Kroll Kingdom see through this.”
In the darkness, the golden light of the crystal coffin gradually dimmed, while the red glow of the array grew brighter and brighter, as though something were being awakened.
From deep within the mine tunnel came faint sounds, like countless undead whispering in the dark.
Following a certain ancient sequence, Liam and the other two men cast the black fragments in their hands one by one into the center of the array.
Then something bizarre happened. The moment the fragments touched the light of the array, they were seized by an invisible force and shot straight into the crystal coffin.
The coffin suddenly began to shake violently, as though whatever was imprisoned inside was struggling with all its might. The golden light on the coffin walls flickered on and off, letting out a strained hum as if it could no longer bear the burden.
But at the same time, the Rune energy in the surrounding rock walls surged toward the coffin like a drawn tide.
And clearly, the being within the coffin could not resist the temptation of that energy. Its struggle gradually became hesitant.
In the end, the fragments and the Rune energy were both absorbed into the depths of the coffin.
When Liam hurled the final fragment into the array, an inhuman roar suddenly erupted from within the crystal coffin, filled with rage and unwillingness.
“How dare you, you lowly vermin! You dare enslave the Lich King Bolvar? Damn you all! I will turn every last one of you into frozen corpses!”
The voice pierced through the coffin walls, carrying a bone-chilling cold that caused every Legendary powerhouse present to change expression. One after another, they hurriedly circulated their Dou Qi and mana to resist it.
Liam, however, remained expressionless as he raised a hand and formed a seal.
“Activate the final confinement.”
The surrounding Archmages immediately began chanting in unison. In an instant, the array Runes erupted with blinding red light, coiling around the crystal coffin like countless chains.
The howls from within the coffin grew more and more frenzied. Spiderweb-like cracks even began to spread across the coffin walls, but the red chains only tightened further, locking that violent power firmly in place.
“The Lich King?” one Domain-Level Powerhouse said in a low voice. “I never expected that a fragment of his soul was hidden within this helmet.”
Liam gave a cold snort.
“The more terrifying it is, the more useful it will be. Once it has completely fused with the Divine Artifact, it will be the moment when Silver Oakleaf rises to its peak once more.”
He looked at the crystal coffin, which seemed on the verge of collapse, and a vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
“Increase the energy infusion. Even if it’s the Lich King, he will still obediently submit to me.”
Within the underground chamber, the red light and the ghostly blue radiance leaking from the coffin collided madly. The howling gradually turned hoarse, yet it still carried a resentment so venomous that it chilled the heart.