Chapter 185: Gaining more power even in defeat

"Emperor!" Lucien cried out as he shot out of Rakuzen's hands and charged towards the swaying emperor. Before the emperor's body could fall off the sky, Lucien grabbed the young red-haired kid and slowly descended with a tearful expression on his face.

His mask slowly fell off as he landed softly, staggered a bit before falling on his knees with the emperor in his hands. He completely ignored the burning body of Derik and focused solely on Emperor Fei not knowing what to say. Seeing the man he considered as a grandfather, a father and a best friend slowly turn to dust Lucien could barely contain his sorrow! He ended up letting his emotions lose and cried his heart out while emperor Fei just laid on his hand and watched with a bitter smile on his face.

"That was a hell of a ride… I never thought there would be someone who would take on the two emperor combo! Damn! But we still came out on top buddy… These weaklings have nothing on us!" Emperor Fei finally spoke up and only then did Lucien stop crying.

"Yea…. Instructor Han was useless again" Lucien laughed lightly while tears kept rolling down his eyes and the emperor laughed with him.

"I guess this is the end for me… My only regret is that I didn't get to see the kind of emperor you will become" Emperor Fei said calmly after a while with a sad look on his terribly pale face. Lucien could tell he meant every word he sad now, shaking him up even more.

"I didn't get to surpass you anymore… I didn't get the chance to beat you down and take your crown" Lucien said with a sad smile making the emperor laugh.

"I can't believe we tried to raise a powerful army and ended up not using it" Lucien sighed but then he felt the emperor tighten his grip on his wrist.

Gazing at the emperor he saw an unusually serious expression on the gaze of the emperor and even his dying eyes were brimming with power.

"The empire will need you… Now I am dead and our forces have been weakened badly, the Libet and Drakon empire will try to swallow us up…. They won't stop until there is nothing left! This empire is my legacy… This empire is my home, My past, my present, and Your Future! Please! I beg of you… Protect it!" Emperor Fei shivered occasionally as he spoke.

Lucien had never seen the emperor this emotional so he felt moved by the request and quickly responded.

"As long as I live… No one will harm this empire… I will fight till the end… I swear it!" Lucien growled and only then did the emperor give him a sweet smile.

"Then this will be my parting gift to you… My power is yours, Lucien… I will be watching over you from above… I will go ahead before you and tell the gods of a fourteen-year-old who will definitely rise to the rank of godhood in less than a century! I will make that bet with them and boy, I am pretty sure I will win big!" Emperor Fei laughed lightly and as he spoke his voice got softer and lower until he finally stopped speaking.

Only at this point did Lucien realize that half of Emperor Fei's body had been turned to dust and it was spreading all the way to his head. Lucien shifted his gaze back to the emperor only to realize that the old man was already at his last breathe. He gazed at Lucien and smiled sweetly before saying his last words.

"You don't have to be worried anymore… It is not your fault… It is no one's fault… You and Instructor Han did your bests for me and even now, I feel lucky to have met you both…" Emperor Fei said before his body was reduced to dust.

DING!

[Beast assimilation successful]

[Phoenix God beast assimilated]

Fresh hot tears rolled down Lucien's eyes as he remained kneeling, unaware of the fact that he was surrounded both by the enemy forces and allies. Instructor Han, the Wuxing clan head, Klaus of the Lightborn clan, and the enemy forces stood there in silence and just watched everything take place! The emperor has always been an invincible figure in their eyes and now he is gone. 

Even though they all tried to take his life together they still found it hard to believe he is dead. They gazed at Derik's scorching body and they couldn't help but feel renewed fear for the death god. Either way, this could be considered a double victory for them since they won the battle and still didn't have to lose anything in the process. If Derik remained alive after killing Emperor Fei and Lucien, what stops him from attacking the empire just for his amusement?

"He worried about the welfare of the empire till the very end… He was a true emperor" The bulky massive man of the Hammond clan!

"AZURE!" Lucien exploded with power as his body was quickly covered with dragon scales as a blue dragon spear appeared in his hands!

Xiu!

Lucien's body only left behind afterimages as he appeared right in front of the massive man, striking out so quickly no one could respond!

"Azure Dragon spear!" Lucien growled as a whirlpool of dragon blue flames surged forward, consuming the enemy like a flood.

"YOU!" the clan head growled as he quickly activate his defensive sealed artifact, creating a golden sphere around him!

BOOM!

As the explosion occurred the massive man's figure could be seen flying meters back. Only after flying for over a hundred meters did his body hit the ground rolling rapidly for a while before stopping. What was stunning wasn't that he was defeated by Lucien, it was that Lucien was able to power through his defensive spell from a grade two sealed artifact in a mere instant, making them wonder how powerful the death god who took the full brunt of the attack head-on is.

They watched as the dragon scales on Lucien's body vanished as he staggered back and fell in Instructor Han's arms.

"The Raizen clan is mine… The royal family is free to stay in the Rakuzen clan territory for safety… Should I get news of members of the royal family getting massacred, I can assure you whoever is responsible will lose his family and all his loved ones to me! No one else dies! NO ONE ELSE KILLS ANYONE! YOU HEARD THE EMPEROR, WE NEED TO GATHER OUR STRENGTHS FOR THE REAL ENEMIES… SO GET YOUR SHITS TOGETHER AND SET THINGS RIGHT… For now, I need some rest… I am leaving everything in your care, old man… I hope we won't have to cross blades again because of a silly mistake!" Lucien said to the clan head of the Lucardo clan and flew off.

Without a second thought, the survivors of the royal family followed him tightly behind. Unknown to Lucien while he was speaking the image of the emperor could be seen standing behind him with the image of the phoenix god beast standing behind the emperor. He had assimilated the power of the phoenix god beast and thanks to the fact that the emperor had already subdued the spirit avatar of the phoenix god beast, he didn't have to go through the issues of god descent anymore.

Seeing the powerful link, these people instinctively followed him and headed towards his domain. Unknown to Lucien the Raizen clan members had already abandoned their homeland and moved towards the Rakuzen clan territory, alongside other small level clans, increasing the number of the people under his care greatly!

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"Ouch!" Lucien muttered as he slowly opened his eyes and his body felt extremely weak even after sleeping.

The images of the emperor's death kept replaying in his sleep so many times it made it difficult for him to get a good sleep. Gazing to the side he saw Alice gazing at him with puffy red eyes, showing she has been crying for a while but he really didn't care now. He still had many things to deal with, so he didn't have time for this.

'Call me cruel or insensitive, it doesn't matter now… There are things more important right now' Lucien said in his mind as he walked away.

The events of the previous day are still like a dream to him and he found it hard to accept things that have happened. Who would have thought a day would come when he would wake up and realize he won't be able to see the emperor again.

"Lucien!" Alice wiped her eyes and chased after him.

He ignored the young lady and walked towards the door but before he could open it the door swung open and instructor Han was there. He wore a grave look on his face but upon seeing Lucien he felt surprisingly calm!

"Lucien… The Rakuzen is on the verge of crumbling! You need to come now!" Instructor Han said hastily!