Chapter 180
Fracture
Arthur moved extremely slowly toward Ning'er's body, as though the ground itself weighed down his feet with every step.
He reached out to touch her face...
But his hand trembled violently and stopped in midair before it could reach her.
Powerful sparks suddenly burst from the ring Ning'er wore, and the ring on Arthur's hand responded to it, flickering intermittently in a desperate attempt...
But Ning'er did not respond.
Nothing happened.
"Who did this?"
Arthur's voice came out low, calm to a terrifying degree, as he slowly raised his eyes toward those around him.
"Arth—"
Chu Xingqing did not finish her sentence.
A muffled, savage roar erupted from Arthur's chest.
It was followed by a harsh grinding sound...
His teeth were clashing together violently, to the point that they seemed on the verge of shattering.
"It was—"
Chu Xingqing failed to finish her words this time as well.
"It doesn't matter who did it now."
Zhuo Fan's voice was firm and decisive as he stepped forward.
"We need to focus on getting out."
As those words fell, Xue Tianyang charged forward like a madman, throwing another punch at Zhuo Fan, but his elder brother moved instantly and struck the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.
At that moment...
Arthur felt a pain tearing through his heart.
A pain he had only known once in his long life.
When he was ten years old.
That day...
The day his father was killed.
Arthur suddenly raised his head and began searching with trembling eyes.
He could not find her.
But he noticed something else.
Long Xingyun, Elder Jiu's family elder...
And Little Moon had come with him.
"Where is Little Moon?"
His voice came out hoarse, choked, nearly breaking as he asked.
Long Xing—
Raised his hand to point toward his men...
But his hand froze in the air.
She was not there.
At that moment, Arthur's body began trembling violently.
He tried to speak...
But the words refused to come out.
"No... no... no... m-m... m-m..."
Broken syllables fell from his mouth without meaning, as though something dark had seized his soul.
---
Elsewhere
Before the Transportation Array
A massive display screen showed everything happening inside the mountain.
The Grand Minister Chuji smiled as he looked at the Imperial Minister.
"It seems you planned to bring down both monsters at once."
A crafty, sinister smile appeared on the Imperial Minister's face as he watched Arthur sink into despair.
"No... this isn't—"
The words froze in his throat.
---
The scene returned to Beast King Mountain.
Everyone stared at Arthur in astonishment.
That devil...
That existence that had made the Empire tremble...
Was now shaking like a small child.
Chu Xingqing cautiously approached him and reached a hand toward his shoulder—
But at that moment...
Arthur disappeared.
He shot away like a madman at a terrifying speed, leaving behind only shock and silence.
They tried calling out his name...
But he did not answer.
Under Zhuo Fan's command, the group moved toward the gate.
And before Zhuo Fan passed through it, he slammed it shut behind him and exploded in fury.
---
A short while earlier...
As Arthur's body trembled, he heard a message inside his mind.
A voice he knew very well.
The voice of the First Prince.
It told him where Little Moon was.
Arthur knew it was a trap...
But he did not care.
He rushed off in madness.
And after an unknown amount of time, he heard Zhuo Fan's distant roar as he attacked the First Prince with blind fury.
But Arthur...
Continued searching.
---
"Minister, may I know whether this was part of your plan?"
Grand Minister Chuji pointed his fan toward the two battle screens:
Zhuo Fan... and Arthur.
Sweat began pouring down the Imperial Minister's forehead.
This...
Had not been part of the plan.
Everything that had happened...
Was entirely the First Prince's doing.
---
Everyone outside the array watched:
Zhuo Fan fighting like a madman, having lost an arm and escaped the trap.
And Arthur...
Who had just arrived at the location described by the First Prince.
He began searching with trembling eyes.
Until he found her.
Little Moon was sitting beneath the shade of a tree.
Calm...
Without any visible wounds...
Her eyes were closed.
"Little Moon..."
Arthur whispered in a broken voice.
She did not answer.
His feet began retreating involuntarily.
Time carried him back to that day...
When he was ten years old.
"No... no... no... impossible... this can't happen..."
His body trembled even more violently.
Then...
A trail of tears fell from his eye.
He cried.
He stood frozen in place, unable to approach.
Gathering his courage with great difficulty, he pressed a hand against his chest and took a step forward... then another...
Until he reached her.
He extended his hand...
Then stopped.
He saw the blood.
Beneath Little Moon's clothes...
Between her thighs.
Something inside him shattered.
He lifted her head and placed it against his chest.
She was dead.
But that...
Was not all.
He embraced her and cried.
He cried for the first time in his life.
He cried like a child who had lost everything.
He raised his head toward the sky and screamed with a pain that tore through the world itself.
Blood flowed from his mouth...
And from his eyes.
They were no longer tears.
They were blood.
---
"I didn't know you were this cruel."
Grand Minister Chuji said while waving his fan in disgust, looking toward the Imperial Minister.
Not everyone understood what had happened...
Until Chu Xingqing pointed toward the blood.
Then...
They understood.
The gazes of the Seven Families turned toward the Imperial Gate with expressions of revulsion, shock, and disbelief.
A nineteen-year-old girl...
Left alone with human wolves.
The Imperial Minister's body trembled to the core.
This...
Had not been part of his plan.
Now...
Everything had fallen into hell.
---
Everyone turned toward Arthur...
And noticed the presence of a girl no one had expected.
No one recognized her...
Except the Master of the Imperial Gate and its Minister.
A beautiful girl dressed in red, wearing clothes similar to Little Moon's...
But far more provocative.
She moved around the crying Arthur, sprinkled something onto his head...
Then disappeared within a cloud of purple smoke.
She was...
The First Prince's lover.
And his future wife.
The Lady of Illusions and Deception.
---
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