Chapter 664: King of the Realm

...unless Father was gone himself…?At the point of his betrayal, the crown prince seemed to see through everything.

He had underestimated the second prince and devoted all his attention to dealing with the threat of peak-grade lifeforms that lay before them instead. Survival was the most important thing—he expected that everyone, like him, would be focused on the threat of the peak-grade horde.

Most importantly, his brothers were a blind spot of his. He was so far ahead of his other brothers, and his father all but viewed him as his successor. As a result, the crown prince never expected any of them to pose a threat to him—or indeed to backstab him.

"Why?" the second prince asked rhetorically. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Crown prince!" The crown prince's guards finally rushed forward.

The advent of the peak-grade horde had caused the troops to split up. The crown prince had rushed ahead of his guards by too much, giving the second prince an opportunity to strike.

The second prince continued, "Eldest brother, you're too outstanding, so outstanding it makes the rest of us jealous, so outstanding none of us would ever have a chance against you. I don't understand why Father chose you; I don't think myself any worse in comparison. Unfortunately, because of your presence, Father won't acknowledge my strengths—so I have to kill you in order to have Father give me a chance."

The crown prince clutched his bloodstained chest. "Second brother, are you crazy? Look at what's happening around us—how do you expect to take down these fourth-level beasts?! The ninth prince's master gave us a fighting chance, but you've just destroyed that chance!"

"Perhaps so. I've contracted a terrible illness, after all—jealousy. Out of jealousy, I had no choice but to do all this. Don't you think it strange that there were suddenly so many lifeforms stampeding around the hunting grounds?"

The crown prince's eyes widened. "You can't have—"

The second prince burst out in laughter. "Indeed, I was the culprit behind all this! The lifeforms that battled you and me, that killed all the guards around, all those that you see—they're all under my control! I caused this disaster!"

The crown prince could barely believe his ears. "Are you mad?!"

The guards all around them had seen the second prince launch a sneak attack on the crown prince. They were staring at the confrontation now, their eyes bulging, thoughts whirring through their heads.

The crown prince, ignoring the fact that every motion was tearing his wound ever wider, the fact that blood had dyed half his body red, roared out, "You crazy fool! Don't you know what sort of devastation these beasts will wreak if we can't defend against them? Have you thought of the consequences?!"

The second prince smiled coldly. "And even so, I chose this decision. I chose this outcome. Otherwise, the throne would have landed in your hands—this would have been Father's kingdom, your kingdom—never mine. Why should I feel bad about ruining it?"

The crown prince clutched his head. "You're mad, absolutely mad! How could you have become his way? Was it the aliens?!"

The second prince chuckled coldly. "At this point, there's no need to pretend to care about me, brother. In order to induce this calamity, I secretly sent lifeforms under my control into the hunting grounds one after the other. The setup alone took me years; I only had this opportunity thanks to Father's declining health."

"It really was you—I knew there was a mastermind, but you?"

The second prince shook his head. "Such is the battle for succession, after all." Hearing this, the guards all began to panic.

"The second prince caused this calamity?"

"The second prince is trying to kill the crown prince!"

"What should we do?"

The crown prince snorted and pointed his blade at the second prince. "Don't forget that Father's still around. It won't be so easy for you to take the throne."

"Don't worry—I've planned for this. Someone will take care of Father."

Suddenly, a Jindao fighter within the camp rushed into the golden tent, sending a golden pillar of light roaring into the air.

"What?!" The crown prince's face crumpled.

The second prince drew his blade and shouted, "Where are you looking, brother? I'm your opponent!"

The guards fell into a panic after the second prince's sudden assault on the first, and the peak-grade lifeforms barreled forth.

The second prince never intended to leave any eyewitnesses behind. Without a commander to guide them, many of the guards perished in the first charge.

The second prince laughed evilly. "Don't worry, Brother. After you die, I'll send Father and the other princes to the underworld with you so you won't be lonely!"

Even after getting rid of the crown prince, the second prince couldn't be certain that he would be able to claim the throne on account of the other seven princes he had to face. If he were to kill them all, however, the second prince, the sole survivor, would by necessity become the winner of this battle of succession, as well as the next king.

The crown prince had been heavily wounded by the second prince's sneak attack. Despite his superior martial ability, his body was weakening dramatically the longer the fight dragged on.

He was just about to lose to the second prince when something suddenly happened back at the base camp.

A frightening aura rose into the sky, causing heaven and earth, grass and shrub and tree, air and water, to tremble. It seemed that the entire world was paying its respects to the man who had invoked this aura. Even the rampaging peak-grade lifeforms halted, trembling.

The aura seemed to activate some primal part of their bodies that allowed them to shake off the Jinghun compulsion and to instead submit to their rightful king—the king of the realm, who ruled over all that the world had to offer.

Even the crown and second princes couldn't help stop their battle and turn back toward the base camp.

"Father!"

"Father!" One prince's voice was jubilant; the other's, horrified.

Sensing the king of the realm's aura, the guards all began to kneel. "Long live the king of the realm!"

As long as the king of the realm were alive, they would be safe—he, the king of the realm, could compel all living creatures of this world.