Zayden closed his eyes in silence.
He had been ordered to stay in this place until Devron came to him.
Devron would lead the empire’s troops in their retreat before meeting him.
He let the rain fall on his face, allowing the water to wash away his tiredness.
For the first time in years, he felt relieved.
He smiled to himself as he took another item from his storage ring.
It was a piece of paper, which he slowly unfolded.
His smile grew warmer as he looked at the writing on it, along with a picture of two figures.
A beautiful woman and a baby.
The woman had long blonde hair and blue eyes.
Her gaze was directed toward Zayden, her face filled with joy as she held the baby in her arms.
An adorable baby with green eyes just like his and black hair.
Although he had already read the contents of the paper and looked at the picture countless times, he never grew tired of them.
‘After this, I can stay with Aria for a long time.
And I can finally see my daughter, Mira.’
He let out another sigh, and this time, his expression was filled with regret.
‘I feel bad for not being by her side when she gave birth.
I have to make it up to her with lots of affection.
Maybe we could visit some places for a vacation with Mira?’
He chuckled.
His heart felt light and warm at this moment.
He was already imagining himself together with his small family again.
He could kiss his wife and finally hold his first child in his arms.
Shiinngg!
His thoughts were disturbed by the sudden appearance of a light nearby.
He opened his eyes and saw the light change into the figure of Devron.
Then, a few other lights also appeared and took shape, forming several other figures.
All of them were known to him, and he quickly stored the letter from his wife in his storage ring before standing up.
Devron looked at his surroundings, but the moment he looked at Zayden, he put on a smile.
“Your Highness.” Zayden greeted Devron with a bow as the prince walked closer to him.
Devron nodded.
“Good work, Zayden. You truly did it. You managed to take the sword,” he said, his gaze falling on the sword in Zayden’s hand.
“Let me see the sword.”
Devron ordered him, and Zayden gave the sword to him without hesitation.
Although there was some reluctance inwardly, he firmly handed the sword to Devron.
Devron finally took the sword and observed it with an amazed gaze.
The sword slightly trembled in his hand, but he did not feel any disturbance.
He unsheathed the sword and looked at it in greater detail for a moment.
He then looked at the sky and, with a quick motion, swung the sword toward it.
At that moment, a spatial rift appeared in the sky!
Space itself was cut open, revealing the void behind it!
Zayden and the others who witnessed it felt their hearts tremble.
The Heavenly Sword, in the hands of a Seventh-Stage cultivator like Devron, could cut through even space with a single strike!
It was like an Eighth-Stage strike!
But then Devron felt weakness wash over him, causing him to nearly fall.
Zayden quickly moved to support him, preventing him from collapsing.
Despite the exhaustion that washed over his entire body, Devron smiled as he looked at the result of his attack and nodded in satisfaction.
He sheathed the sword again and let out a sigh of amazement.
“What an amazing sword. I could feel its power overflowing into me,” he commented.
“But… this sword consumes a lot of stamina and energy. Even though I didn’t unleash any technique and only performed a simple slash, it still took a considerable amount of both.”
Devron smiled again at Zayden and patted his shoulder.
“It is because of you that we could obtain the heavenly sword. Our empire truly owes you a great debt.”
Zayden smiled slightly as he lowered his head.
“This is only my duty, Your Highness. This is for the glory of the empire and to achieve true peace.”
Devron nodded, still wearing a smile.
“Thank you for your service, Zayden. Now you can rest…”
Stab!
“For good.”
Zayden’s eyes widened as he looked down at the dagger stabbed into his chest.
Zayden’s eyes widened as he felt something pierce his chest.
It happened so fast that he did not realize what had happened.
His gaze lowered to the dagger that, at this moment, was piercing through his chest.
He felt the coldness of the dagger, followed by a slowly spreading warmth and then pain.
The sensation finally brought him to the realization that he had already been stabbed by the person standing in front of him.
The person he had decided to serve.
Zayden’s trembling eyes turned toward the person’s face who, at this moment, still had a smile.
Despite being the one who had embedded the dagger into his chest, Devron was still showing that amicable smile he usually showed to him.
Blood finally fell from Zayden’s lips, and with trembling lips, his shaking voice resounded.
“Wh… why?”
“Well, because your role is already finished. There is no need for you anymore. You and your blood family, after this war, will have no place in the new dawn of the empire,” Devron replied as he pulled the dagger out.
Zayden’s chest began bleeding even more heavily, and he felt weakness spreading throughout his body.
“You’ve already been inflicted with the Northern Black Spider’s poison. There is nothing you can do.”
Devron said it calmly.
Zayden gritted his teeth as he began to feel a burning pain from the poison spreading throughout his body.
His energy circulation became a complete mess, and he could no longer circulate his energy properly.
He fell to the ground, his knees dropping first before he collapsed entirely.
He felt despair.
Hearing what kind of poison had entered his body, he knew that his chance of survival was zero.
The Northern Black Spider’s poison was one of the deadliest poisons on the continent.
Depending on the strength of the spider and the dose, it could even kill a Ninth-Stage cultivator!
“Because you have already been helpful to me and the empire for a long time, I will let you die this way. Die slowly while you can still talk to me,” Devron continued.
Zayden gritted his teeth.
Although he was having difficulty moving his body, he kept forcing his head to move so he could look at Devron’s face.
“What do you… mean… my role… already finished? And my family… what do you… mean?” he asked in a pained voice.
The pain in his voice was not only because of the pain in his chest.
It was also mixed with the pain of disbelief that he felt at this moment.
How could the person he had decided to serve want to kill him?
Inside his heart, he still couldn’t believe it.
Was there a misunderstanding somewhere?
Why would Devron kill him?
Why?
He did not understand it.
“Like I said, your role is already finished. What do you think I let you become one of my trusted people for? I have my own plan for you,” Devron answered.
His expression still did not change.
He was still smiling.
His voice did not show even the slightest hint of pity.
“You and your blood family… well, let’s just say that I… no, my family has never liked yours. And then, as if the heavens themselves had granted me an opportunity, this war happened. You even told me about your extraordinary ability, the ability to do what no one else could… approach the Heavenly Sword.”
“This is the chance to get rid of you and your family without much backlash.”
Zayden’s heart trembled.
His eyes still tried to maintain contact with Devron’s face.
“Are you… really meaning it… Your Highness?” he asked weakly.
Although he had already heard Devron’s firm answer, he still felt like he could not believe it.
Devron shrugged upon hearing the question.
“It’s up to you to believe it or not. Anyway, this has already gone on for too long. By now, I know the poison has already spread toward your heart and dantian,” he said.
“You don’t have to feel sad about your family or feel lonely. They will follow you later, and that also includes your small family.”
Zayden widened his eyes.
The pain in his chest was getting worse.
He felt his chest tighten, making it difficult to breathe.
He didn’t know if this was because of the poison or the sudden feeling of betrayal that finally rose inside him.
It really wasn’t a misunderstanding.
Devron really wanted to kill him from the beginning.
His relationship with Devron all this time had been a fake.
The loyalty he had shown.
His effort and struggle that he had already endured for Devron and the empire…
All seemed to be for nothing.
All of it was nothing in front of Devron.
The feeling of betrayal kept seeping into his heart.
For the first time in his life, Zayden felt fury toward Devron.
Hearing Devron mention his small family, he knew that Devron must have meant his wife and daughter.
Something inside him finally snapped.
It was like an adrenaline rush that forced him to ignore all the pain and gave him a sudden boost in power.
“Devron! Don’t you dare touch my wife and daughter! If you really hate me, then target only me! Don’t bring my family into this!”
But his heart felt cold when he saw Devron shake his head.
“No can do. How could I show mercy toward a traitor of the empire? The punishment for a traitor also implicates their family. You must know that.”
Zayden gritted his teeth.
“What do you… mean?”
Devron smiled.
“Like I said, you are a traitor. Someone who tried to bring the heavenly sword to another empire after taking the sword by sacrificing many of our compatriots.”
Zayden was confused for a moment, but then realization dawned upon him.
He chuckled and suddenly burst out laughing.