Chapter 47: Deep into the Throne
Su Xiao carried Elisa Herbert, who had tears in her eyes, down the stairs. Elisa Herbert was initially uncooperative, but when the Slaughter short blade was pressed against her neck, Su Xiao's Charm attribute "soared" from 9 points to "90 points," and she shamelessly surrendered.
Su Xiao took the opportunity to check Elisa Herbert's attributes. Aside from her relatively outstanding Charm attribute, the rest were simply an eyesore.
Name: Elisa Herbert
Category: Human (Royalty)
Health: 94% (lightly cut by Slaughter)
Mana: 60 points
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Stamina: 15
Intelligence: 6
Charm: 38
Skill 1, Royal Bloodline (Passive): Stamina +10, Charm +10, graceful demeanor.
Skill 2, Call for Help (Active): Shout loudly. If Elisa Herbert is within the Royal Capital, there is a 70% chance of attracting the Royal Capital Guard, and a 100% chance of attracting Guardian Knight Goss.
Skill 3, Erudite (Passive): Elisa Herbert is proficient in multiple languages and has self-taught botany through books.
...
From a combat perspective, Elisa Herbert was so weak it was an eyesore; Su Xiao could kill her with a casual wave of his hand.
Elisa Herbert's combat ability was indeed weak, but her Guardian Knight, Goss, possessed considerable strength, enough to serve as cannon fodder beneath the Throne.
Su Xiao only needed Elisa Herbert to activate the mechanisms beneath the Throne; he had no need for her combat ability. As for her personality, as long as she wasn't an old schemer, that was fine.
Compared to other princes or princesses, Elisa Herbert was undoubtedly the best choice. She had a decent combat force (Goss) but lacked personal ability. Such a princess, if she entered beneath the Throne with Su Xiao, whether she was kneaded into a ball or flattened, it would be entirely up to Su Xiao.
Su Xiao sat in the living room. Beside him, Elisa Herbert had bandages wrapped around her neck. The Slaughter short blade was Su Xiao's weapon for killing enemies, and his foes were all monster-level, so even a touch of the blade had cut Elisa Herbert's skin.
Goss was furious about this, but he had no recourse. Both the old king and the new king had allowed Su Xiao to temporarily requisition Elisa Herbert.
Requisition was different from assistance. Requisition meant that even if Elisa Herbert died, the royal family would not hold Su Xiao responsible. As for grinding Elisa into the ground, the Third Prince would only comment lightly afterward: "I didn't expect the Iron Hand to have such refined tastes."
That's right, this was Elisa Herbert's current situation.
"How could His Majesty agree to something so absurd?"
Goss dared not speak his anger aloud; even his complaints were muttered under his breath.
This master and servant were somewhat oblivious to the world outside. With undercurrents surging within the Royal Capital, who would care about the life or death of an arrogant Holy Warrior and a useless princess?
"That's basically the situation. Go deep beneath the Throne with me. And let me tell you, you don't have the right to refuse."
Su Xiao stood up. He was still unclear about the situation beneath the Throne, so he needed to hurry.
"Then... then let me prepare a bit."
Elisa Herbert had also grasped the current situation. She had two choices: one was to go deep beneath the Throne with Su Xiao. In that case, she had a high chance of survival, as Su Xiao would still need to come out from beneath the Throne and would require her to open the return mechanisms. As for refusal, the result was obvious.
"No time for you to prepare. We move now."
"So... direct."
What Elisa Herbert meant by "prepare a bit" wasn't packing luggage, but bringing a few of her treasured books. This princess wasn't just useless; she was also a bookworm.
Don't mistake this for a thirst for knowledge. She was simply too bored and afraid to go out, so she stayed home reading to pass the time.
Su Xiao walked out of the room. After a moment's hesitation, Elisa Herbert could only follow with quick, small steps. Goss followed closely behind, his gaze fixed on Su Xiao with hostility.
Su Xiao's first task upon entering beneath the Throne was to maximize Goss's value as cannon fodder. If this guy survived a single day, it would be a failure in Su Xiao's plan.
He needed cannon fodder, not a Guardian Knight who could cause trouble at any moment. The knight's duty to protect the princess sounded nice, but had the knight ever considered that he was guarding someone else's future wife?
The team was assembled. It had to be said, the team members were quite peculiar.
Su Xiao, reeking of blood; Bubu Wang, intermittently acting foolish; Amu, starving and rolling his eyes; the arrogant Holy Warrior; and finally, the princess, who was... a decorative piece. Her role in the team, aside from activating the mechanisms beneath the Throne, was just to be a pretty face.
About forty minutes later, Su Xiao arrived at the Royal Palace. The palace was heavily guarded by Imperial Guards, who watched with eagle-like eyes. Upon seeing Su Xiao, they tensed up.
"Lord Iron Hand, may I ask what business you have in the palace?"
An Imperial Guard captain stepped forward, his attitude still polite.
"The Council Chamber."
"Right this way."
This Imperial Guard captain had already received orders from the Third Prince. Su Xiao could no longer freely enter and leave the Royal Palace, but if he wanted to enter the Royal Council Chamber, the Third Prince would not stop him. Blocking Su Xiao from the Council Chamber would be equivalent to openly breaking ties with him.
Su Xiao's group entered the Council Chamber smoothly. Goss, at the back of the group, sensed the increasingly tense atmosphere.
Just as Su Xiao's group entered the Council Chamber, the Third Prince also arrived with his men, purely out of curiosity about what lay beneath the Throne.
"Iron Hand, don't mind me. I'm just here to watch."
The Third Prince smiled. Now that he held great power, he had restrained some of his ruthless and decisive nature. What he needed most now was to win people's hearts.
Su Xiao approached the metal Throne. Regarding how to open it, the old king had left only one cryptic remark, suggesting some kind of mechanism.
Standing before the Throne, Su Xiao took off his upper garment, tossed it to Bubu Wang, and placed both hands on the Throne.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, exerted force in his hands, and began pushing hard against the side of the Throne.
With a crack, stones beneath the Throne flew up, and the ground under Su Xiao's feet fractured extensively.
Crack! Crack!
Su Xiao's True Strength attribute, boosted by the Demon Hunting King, was a full 89 points. Such terrifying monstrous strength caused veins to bulge on the back of his hands, and the ground within a dozen meters beneath him cracked open.
With a rumble, the entire Council Chamber shook. The Third Prince, watching from the side, twitched his eyes. He had previously tried to have the Imperial Guards dismantle the Throne but failed. The Throne was nearly fused with the entire Council Chamber.
Dust fell from the ceiling. Su Xiao's body was half-pressed against the Throne. He had no intention of using the mechanism to open it; the risks of that were too great.
Creak, creak...
The Throne began to tilt, accompanied by the harsh sound of twisting metal. When the Throne tilted to about 30 degrees, Su Xiao stopped exerting force.
"Iron Hand, while I don't care about the Throne, this thing isn't opened by brute force. Hey, what are you..."
The Third Prince waved his hand, signaling the surrounding Imperial Guards to step back. Before they could retreat, Bubu Wang and Amu had already moved away.
Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist. He had pushed the Throne earlier only to determine its structure. While the top of the Throne was shaped like a seat, its overall form resembled an iron pillar, with over 90% buried below.
Holding the Dragon-Slaying Flash, Su Xiao stood before the Throne. After a moment of preparation, he swung the blade forward.
Clang.
A silver streak appeared, and Su Xiao slowly sheathed his long blade. He then kicked the Throne with force.
With a thunderous crash, the Throne was sent flying, revealing a pitch-black opening. The opening was about three meters wide, resembling a vertical shaft, with walls made entirely of metal.
The area below the opening was pitch black. The sound of whimpering wind came from below. Su Xiao kicked a piece of rubble down; it took over ten seconds before he faintly heard the crisp sound of the rubble hitting metal.
"Let's go."
Su Xiao leaped into the opening. Bubu Wang followed closely, while Amu grabbed Elisa Herbert and, amidst her screams, jumped into the opening.
Goss stood before the vertical shaft, sensing the intense malice from below. His expression turned grim. He didn't understand how Su Xiao and the others could jump into such a dangerous place without changing their expressions.
Elisa Herbert had already entered the shaft. Now it was time to test Goss's loyalty, but he hesitated.
Goss didn't know that this level of danger was just routine for Su Xiao. As for Bubu Wang and Amu, forget a dark hole; even if it were a volcanic crater, if Su Xiao jumped, they would follow without a second thought.
Goss gritted his teeth and leaped into the opening.