Chapter 25: Vice Officer, Be Serious, No Laughing
"If there's an opportunity like that, seventy percent certainty."
Su Xiao had imagined many ways the Old Saint King would deal with the Moon Goddess, but he never expected him to take such a direct approach.
"Is that so? It seems saving you back then was the right choice."
The Old Saint King changed the subject, completely dropping the previous plan, and began discussing the theft case of the Immortal Crystal Goddess Statue.
After talking for over an hour, Su Xiao finally left the greenhouse. From the partial information the Old Saint King had revealed, he learned one thing: this old fellow wanted to finish off the Moon Goddess in a short time. The specific plan was unknown for now.
It wasn't a frontal assault. If the Old Saint King had done that, Su Xiao would have drawn his blade and slain him on the spot, because an Old Saint King making such a foolish decision would likely be under someone else's control.
The Old Saint King had a long-prepared plan about to begin. As for the details, he wasn't revealing them yet.
As soon as Su Xiao returned to his residence, Bubu Wang came running toward him.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang's expression was somewhat anxious.
"Are you sure about the authenticity of this intelligence?"
"Woof (Very sure, that woman said it herself)."
"So, they can't sit still over there either."
Su Xiao learned an important piece of intelligence from Bubu Wang: the Moon Goddess had bribed an assassin from the Rodan Empire to assassinate the Old Saint King. So, the Moon Goddess had been waiting for the Old Saint King here. The Rodan Empire had just taken the blame, and if an assassin from that country came to kill the Old Saint King, it would be perfectly logical.
The assassin the Moon Goddess had placed such high hopes on must be incredibly powerful. Don't forget one thing: the Moon God she worshipped was not a vague, illusory existence; it might very well assist her in some way.
The relationship between the Dawn Empire and the Ximoro Empire had just stabilized, and now the confrontation between the Old Saint King and the Moon Goddess was heating up rapidly.
"Assassination..."
Su Xiao felt the Moon Goddess wouldn't just resort to a simple assassination. There were likely many more backup plans. Don't forget, she could foresee the future. Although it was unclear how powerful that ability was, even if it only allowed her to glimpse a single moment, it was an incredibly formidable skill.
Although Su Xiao was on the Old Saint King's side, he understood one thing clearly: whether it was the Old Saint King or the Moon Goddess who won, once they decided the outcome, the next target would definitely be him. There was no doubt about this. The Ninth Division was a prime example. Talk about old friendships with those in power? Talk about past achievements? Go take a nap.
Su Xiao's ultimate goal was only one: to complete the Awakening Mission. Currently, the Awakening Mission was stuck on killing the Earth Dragon · Tamen.
Or rather, when the Old Saint King won, what he should truly worry about was whether Su Xiao's blade would sever his head.
"Getting more and more interesting."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. Just as he exhaled a puff of blue smoke, a bell toll rang out. It was the sound of the Imperial Bell. One toll was the Moon Goddess's Blessing Day, two tolls were the Empire's Celebration Day, and three tolls signified an enemy invasion.
Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong!
After five tolls echoed through the Imperial Capital, the entire empire fell into dead silence. Before long, Su Xiao faintly heard cries and wails.
Five tolls of the Imperial Bell meant the Saint King had passed away!
Su Xiao had met with the Old Saint King just that morning. Moreover, this public form of bell tolling meant the Old Saint King hadn't died from an accident.
Su Xiao took Bubu Wang, Baha, and the Little Vice Officer, and quickly headed out of the residence, straight for the Lurenfei Palace.
Along the streets he passed, Su Xiao saw countless civilians and soldiers.
When Su Xiao arrived at the entrance of the Lurenfei Palace, the sight before him was covered in white flowers. Countless soldiers and imperial officials were kneeling on one knee, their right arms bent with fists over their chests, expressions heavy, and some were even in tears.
Su Xiao walked along the path flanked by white flowers on both sides, following the direction of the crowd, straight toward the auditorium at the rear-central part of the Lurenfei Palace.
In front of the auditorium stood rows of stone pillars, and the sounds of wailing were incessant.
"Oh, my King! How could you leave us? This morning, just this morning, you still..."
The Finance Officer knelt inside the auditorium, snot and tears streaming down his face, his acting skills off the charts. The Old Saint King had vaguely mentioned to Su Xiao earlier that he was planning to deal with the Finance Officer.
On the surface, the Finance Officer was crying his heart out, but in his heart, he was definitely laughing three times and roaring: 'Old bastard, you're finally dead.'
But there were those who were truly grieving. Sword King · Xiusite was devastated. He stood upright inside the auditorium's main entrance, veins bulging on the hand gripping his sword hilt.
"Xiusite, the cause of the Saint King's death."
"Illness. His physical condition... couldn't hold out any longer."
Sword King · Xiusite nodded to Su Xiao. This guy was a breath of fresh air among the many officials around the Old Saint King. He had survived until now for one reason only: loyalty. And his mind wasn't actually that sharp; otherwise, some things should have been done by him, not Su Xiao.
Sword King · Xiusite wiped his tears and looked toward the crystal coffin inside the auditorium. The Old Saint King was lying inside.
Su Xiao stepped forward to the crystal coffin. This coffin was only about fifty centimeters deep, with patterns carved on its surface.
Su Xiao examined the Old Saint King inside the crystal coffin. At this moment, the Old Saint King's face was sallow, his hands were placed flat on his chest, he was dressed in white robes, and white flowers were spread beneath him.
Whether by coincidence or because someone was asking for trouble, a small white flower was perched on the Old Saint King's ear, making it look like he was holding a small flower with his ear. The somber atmosphere suddenly became comical. The Little Vice Officer beside him had a twisted expression, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
A metal wire shot out from Su Xiao's sleeve. He kicked the Little Vice Officer's calf, and with a comically twisted expression, she blocked beside him.
After blocking everyone's line of sight, Su Xiao's metal wire shot out and coiled around the Old Saint King's neck.
Blood flow had stopped. The cells were in a state of gradual necrosis. All organs had ceased functioning. The nervous system was also rapidly deteriorating.
This physical condition indicated that the Old Saint King was indeed dead, and his cause of death was not suspicious. His heart had been overloaded, and there were three supernatural items inside it. Without these three things, the Old Saint King would have died from cardiopulmonary failure long ago.
Su Xiao felt that this old fellow's death was unbelievable. How could a figure like him just kick the bucket like that?
Whether it was an illusion or not, Su Xiao always felt that this old fellow would suddenly sit up from his deathbed, resurrecting like a corpse coming back to life.
What made Su Xiao feel even more wrong was that the Moon Goddess hadn't shown up. Even if they were in conflict, not showing up at a time like this was simply inexcusable.
It wasn't that the Moon Goddess didn't want to come, nor that she didn't know about this 'good news.' It was that she simply didn't have the time.
At this moment, the scene at the Moon Goddess Monastery was very similar to the Lurenfei Palace. All the Moon Disciples were kneeling on the ground.
Directly above the Moon Goddess Monastery, a massive phantom was floating. The phantom was humanoid, conservatively estimated to be over two hundred meters tall, and its image was no different from the Moon Goddess statue. The Moon Goddess had descended!
Countless believers were kneeling in the courtyard, with the Moon Goddess at the very front. At this moment, she felt something was very, very wrong. A chilling sense of crisis filled her heart. The Goddess should not, and could not, descend, because... the Moon Goddess had already fallen. The current Moon God was no longer a goddess.