Chương 599: Chapter 597: Shattered Will

Julius watched as Freya restrained the gray-robed man. He was still alive, but was in quite bad condition, and Freya was forced to heal him slightly so that he didn't die during the transport back to House Zenith. Julius hadn't been very gracious to the man, not that he deserved it in the first place. Julius didn't think he deserved to live, and his being kept alive was all the mercy that Julius could spare at the moment.

Freya bundled up all of the surviving members so that Lily and House Zenith might find something to use against the Conclave. The odds were low that these men knew anything of real importance, but it didn't hurt to check. He was also a little surprised that there were no Tier 5s stationed at this hideout, especially since it was such a large building. If there had been, he suspected they would have known a lot more than these men they captured.

He had hoped that he would have the chance to test himself against a Tier 5 again. But alas, his good fortune extended only so far. On the bright side, he was finally able to review his notifications. He didn't get many skill levels, which wasn't too surprising since it hadn't been that hard a task. They weren't prepared for him, and their panic was their downfall in the end. Once they lost their formation, he picked them apart quite easily.

[Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin lvl 25 -> lvl 26] [Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 16 -> lvl 17] The skill levels in these skills were very welcome. However, he was much more interested in the other notification about his kinetic skills, so he opened it, his excitement barely contained. Synergy detected. Would you like to evolve [Kinetic Energy Refinement], [Kinetic Shell], and [Graveforce Impact] into a single skill? Notice: This will remove existing skills.

He accepted it and belatedly realized that he probably should have waited for Cain's input beforehand. Although he doubted Cain would tell him to wait and didn't feel that bad. Plus, he was excited. Congratulations, you have learned the skill [Field of the Shattered Will] (Epic+) Julius didn't quite know how to feel about his new skill. On one hand, he wasn't all that surprised that it had something to do with fields and shattered. But the part that referenced a shattered will was quite alarming.

Was it talking about his own shattered will? Or rather, the shattered soul that he experienced half a day ago? Or maybe it was talking about shattering his opponent's will? It was hard to say. But he knew the second the skill's information flooded into his brain that it was a very good skill. There was a potency that stood apart even when compared to his other epic skills. He was distracted from his thoughts when he spotted the team from House Zenith pull off in several large carriages.

There was also a team already inside the building to retrieve any relevant information or documents that might help. Luckily, Aliyah had come with them, and it was quite simple to call in people from House Zenith to transport their prisoners and help the victims from their cages. It was all turning out to be a mess, and once a large number from House Zenith arrived, they were ready to leave.

He looked at a team of healers helping the injured victims and threw a disgusted look at the surviving members of this hideout. Hopefully, they had more information that would lead to finding more of these secret bases.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked him suddenly from his side. He turned to look at her and the rest of his friends. He felt kind of bad for bringing them all the way out here. They had done nothing except watch him fight and then had to help with the cleanup afterwards.

"Yeah, I'm good. Why?"

"I don't know. I noticed that you were a little…" She didn't finish her sentence and let the words float in the air.

"A little angry, is what she means," Aubrey commented with a wide smile for some reason. Julius didn't even deny it and shrugged.

"To be fair, I have a lot of reasons to be angry. They almost killed me today, and I needed to release some stress."

"Yeah, you still didn't fully explain to us what happened," Derek said with a worried frown.

"Or why do you have to leave. I don't think that's a good idea. Doesn't matter how powerful you are now," Aubrey added.

"I have to leave, and my mind is already made up. I just have to collect some things before I head out. I also need to talk with some people." He unclenched his fists and sighed.

"By the way, what happened to the tournament?"

"There hasn't been any official news about it. But it is widely known that it is being canceled since you know, the entire capital is on fire and all," Aubrey said sarcastically.

"What else happened?" He asked, mostly towards Lily and Derek. He felt like the two of them, mainly Lily, would have the most information on hand. Lily looked as if she had aged five years and gave him a sorrowful expression.

"A lot of people died. A good number of prominent people as well. Kidnappings, theft, and assassinations. You name it. The Conclave and whoever they were working with hit the capital hard. It will take time to recover and repair the damage. It will take even more time to repair the loss of the Empire's reputation. An attack of this magnitude happening in the capital during a high-security event isn't something that people will brush off. Foreign dignitaries and guests died.

People will ultimately lay the blame on the Empire for their lack of preparedness." Julius scoffed.

"Yeah, I am one of those people." Lily sighed sadly.

"You won't be the only one either. While it is clear that there was a lot of help from both inside and outside, the Empire should have responded better. There is no way the enemy should have had access to so many ward schemes and enchantments. That was what really impeded the Empire's ability to respond." Stolen story; please report.

"Yeah, how in the hell does that happen?" This time, it was Aubrey who asked, her disgust evident in her tone.

"Bribes, threats, unsatisfied workers, or all of the above. It will take some time to unravel the mess the Empire has found itself in. It's actually the perfect opportunity for you to get out of here. I can even have my family start spreading rumors and false information about your death to make sure that the Conclave or related parties are searching for you," Lily offered.

"Lily! You aren't supposed to be supporting his stupid idea of leaving. You are supposed to help us convince him to stay," Aubrey shouted. Lily turned to her best friend.

"Why? I think it's a good idea too. The Empire is no longer a safe place for him. He will always be in danger if he stays. It has already been shown that even a place as well fortified as the capital isn't safe from the Conclave's reach. If they know Julius is alive, believe me, they will try to kill him again. He has proven himself to be too strong to be left alive."

"We can protect him, though," Derek argued.

"Yes, but at what cost?" Lily shot back, tension rising.

"Let's not fight. We still have a lot of stuff to do, and we might as well try to enjoy our time together while we can," Julius said placatingly. This seemed to work, and the tension slowly ebbed away. He could see that the others weren't convinced that his leaving was a good idea, but they also seemed to know that it was futile to change his mind.

"What else do we need to do?" Edgar asked with confusion.

"Well, I have a certain royal uncle that I need to go and talk to before I leave. He is supposed to give me something, and I am going to have to cancel our agreement," Julius explained vaguely.

Now that they knew that he was serious about leaving the country, they were adamant about staying at his side. However, that also made things easier because while the entire capital, especially the palace, was on lockdown, there were a few exceptions. One of these exceptions was House Zenith.

Being a ducal household was really coming in handy because, unlike the many other people trying to get an audience with the Emperor and royal family, Derek, or rather Aliyah, was able to get them into the palace without much issue. There were many security checks, but they were eventually cleared. Julius tried to hide his face, but he was also too recognizable. He was probably going to take Lily up on her offer to spread rumors about his death.

He thought it was a good idea and would give him more freedom to move around without worrying about people trying to find or hunt him down. He just hoped that the guards didn't recognize him or had tight lips. Walking through the palace was tense. Everyone was on alert, and the reason was obvious. Cassian was also already informed by Freya beforehand, which was why it wasn't surprising when they were immediately greeted by a well-dressed older gentleman.

"Hello, my name is George, and I am a Senior Advisor to the Royal Family. I am to take you to see His Imperial Highness. If you would please follow me." The man didn't even wait for a response and hastily led them deeper into the palace. Julius had no other choice but to follow behind. The rest of them were right behind him, passing by a number of bustling workers. Eventually, they were taken to a room where Cassian was sitting in a chair.

However, unlike the environment all around the palace, it would appear that Cassian didn't look the least bit ruffled. Cassian's brows raised when he saw the large number of people Julius brought along, but he didn't say anything about it. He looked at the older man who led them here.

"Thank you, George. I will handle it from here."

"As you command, Your Imperial Highness," George said with a deep bow, elegantly strolling out of the room.

"I heard you had quite the morning, young Julius," Cassian immediately addressed him with a curious look on his face.

"Yes, I did indeed," Julius said with a blank expression.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you are okay, though, since you are somehow already Tier 4. I suspect that it ended up okay," Cassian said with a short nod of his head.

"No thanks to you or your little Empire," Freya said with a dark look.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cassian looked offended.

"It means that it was your Empire's own laziness and ineptitude that caused this mess. Just how corrupt is the Empire that something like that happens on your watch? Or are you just that incompetent?" Freya shot out. Cassian put his hands up.

"Don't blame me. I have been telling my brother for years that he needs to do something about the corrupt nobles and guilds. Unfortunately, we live in a world where an Empire runs by the will of a lot of people. There are countless cogs that need to be maintained at every second, and unfortunately, this time around, these cogs were greased in the wrong direction." Julius could only snort quietly, but he didn't want to waste his time arguing with the man.

"I was told that you have something that could help me?" He asked with an expectant look. However, before Cassian could respond, the door suddenly opened, and Reinera strolled into the room, immediately pulling Julius into a hug.

"I heard what happened. Are you alright?" She asked with concern, looking him up and down. He tilted his head.

"Well… I'm alive." He saw her grimace.

"We have already found out the person who helped mess with the wards and enchantments. We are going to find out everything we can about who they contacted and how they managed to pull it off. Isn't that right uncle?" Cassian sighed loudly.

"Yes, I already told you that I traced all of the signatures that messed with the ward scheme as best as I could. They tried to erase their tracks, but I managed to piece some of them back together. I also updated them so that only a few select individuals can access them in an emergency. Furthermore, I have already handed out several devices I made to the Imperial Knights and other operatives hunting down the perpetrators. It should help them." Julius turned to Cassian with surprise.

"So you are doing something."

"Of course I am. What do you think I am doing? Sitting around eating sweets all day while the capital is in chaos?"

"..." Julius simply stared at the way Cassian was spread out on the couch. Cassian's brows furrowed at Julius's lack of response.

"That's hurtful."

"So what's going on? What are you doing here?" Reinera asked him.

"I wanted to ask your uncle if he had anything similar to the item he gave you when we first met," Julius explained. She frowned.

"Item?" Her eyes widened when she realized what he was asking for.

"Oh! You mean the item that changed my appearance?"

"Yeah, that one." Julius observed as the wheels in her mind started to turn. She was probably wondering what he wanted with something like that, and he noticed when she had pieced the information together.

"You're going into hiding?" He shook his head.

"Not exactly hiding. But I have been reminded by a lot of people that I have a recognizable face now."

"I understand why you want it. But I can't give you something like that," Cassian interrupted.

"Yes, you will. It is the least you can do for him, considering what he has been through thanks to your Empire's lack of diligence," Freya stated firmly.

"Do you understand how valuable an item like that is? Do you know how dangerous it could be if someone got their hands on it?"

"You let Reinera use it," Julius noted.

"She's my favorite niece. Of course, she can use it. But I also made sure to set up several fail-safes to track it. I doubt Cain or Freya would allow me to put any of those on the one you would use." Julius admitted that it was a good point.

"Just give it to him, uncle. It's the least we can do for him. We can even consider it as part of his reward for the tournament."

"No." Julius pressed his lips together and tried to think of a way to convince Cassian to change. This was going to be a little more difficult than anticipated.