World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 968 - 448: Hell’s Despair_2

Chapter 968: 448: Hell’s Despair_2

At that time, Zhi Bian was merely a wayward prince, wandering the lands with Earl Suo Long, a "big bird traversing the world," sleeping wherever they went.

When the entire world speaks well of a person, it’s extremely abnormal.

Governing the world isn’t like hosting a dinner party; one will inevitably offend others, even many people.

The former king certainly recognized the danger in this and sent out agents from Heibing Mansion to investigate Crown Prince Zhi Lan, uncovering his ties to Yin Zhou and the Hidden Yuan Association.

The former king was a very wise man and immediately sensed the immense conspiracy and danger behind this.

He promptly warned Crown Prince Zhi Lan and ordered him to sever ties with the Yin Zhou forces immediately.

However, Crown Prince Zhi Lan thought his father was merely jealous of him and continued to act willfully.

The Yin Zhou forces believed the time was ripe, so they set a trap to assassinate the former king in an attempt to have Crown Prince Zhi Lan ascend the throne sooner.

The assassination of the former king by Yin Zhou failed, and he was merely injured.

Whether or not Crown Prince Zhi Lan was behind the assassination, the former king knew he had no choice left. At this point, he had to be decisive and ruthless, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thus, he immediately summoned Zhi Bian back to the royal city! Then he struck down Crown Prince Zhi Lan’s forces harshly, uprooting them completely!

The death of Crown Prince Zhi Lan was a momentous event in the Rage Wave Kingdom, with far-reaching effects to this day.

However, the duration of this dramatic change was very brief, it lasted just a few days from start to finish.

It began with Earl Suo Long escorting Zhi Bian back to the royal city, where they encountered three assassination attempts on the way. Moreover, the assailants were all princes under Crown Prince Zhi Lan.

Under the former king’s instructions, Zhi Bian began to eliminate Crown Prince Zhi Lan’s power base.

During those days, the entire Wangcheng Zidu was in turmoil, with beheadings aplenty. Two of the princes’ heads were chopped off by Zhi Bian himself.

Zhi Wei and Duke Zhi Ting were young, so they were not implicated.

As for the entire family of Crown Prince Zhi Lan, they were exterminated by the head eunuch Gao Ting, leading the Forbidden Army, personally dispatched by the former king.

Head eunuch Gao Ting was Gao Yin’s adoptive father and personally beheaded Crown Prince Zhi Lan and his wife.

As for siblings Zhi Li and Zhi Ning, they were spared by a moment of mercy from Gao Ting, who refrained from totally annihilating them.

When Li Chenglian fled with siblings Zhi Li and Zhi Ning, Gao Ting pretended not to see them.

After reporting back to the former king, head eunuch Gao Ting immediately chose to take poison and commit suicide. In his view, even if Crown Prince Zhi Lan had betrayed the king, he was still his master. Having slain his master, Gao Ting found no reason to continue living.

After the death of Crown Prince Zhi Lan, the former king was worn out. He first named Zhi Bian as the crown prince and then abdicated and went into seclusion a few days later.

Thus, Zhi Bian abruptly became king!

And from the first day he sat on the throne, he was destined to stand opposed to the lords and nobles.

Now, more than two decades later, King Zhi Bian is still notorious, with conspiracy theories spreading across the world.

They said he killed the crown prince and his brothers to ascend to the throne and even poisoned the former king, an act of monstrous insanity and egregious crime!

However, it was the former king who ordered the death of Crown Prince Zhi Lan. And the other two princes were also eliminated on the former king’s orders given to Zhi Bian.

It’s just that the former king could not bear the infamy of killing his own sons, so Zhi Bian had to take on the infamy of killing his brothers.

And now, in the Rage Wave Kingdom, Crown Prince Zhi Lan’s reputation remains spotless like a white lotus bloom, as if he were a saint wronged by the vile and cunning Zhi Bian, prompting lament that the heavens are blind.

And King Zhi Bian, therefore, became the deceitful and vile usurper.

Foolish traitors are sainted, while the true defenders of the nation are branded villains.

Sometimes, the world is just that absurd.

But fortunately, King Zhi Bian is carefree about it; if you think it was me who killed them, so be it, let’s assume I did.

Unlike Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, who became infamous for offending the scholars and gentry. Narrow-minded and unable to contain his anger, he even wrote a book called "A Record of Awakening from Delusion" to defend himself, but to no avail. This is a struggle of interests, not of reputation!

...

More than two decades ago, the death of Crown Prince Zhi Lan and the accession of Zhi Bian as the king signified a temporary halt to the Yin Zhou’s colonial plans for the Rage Wave Kingdom. Thus, they had to lie dormant and shift their focus to the next generation, Zhi Li.

Now, Zhi Li has been defeated by Suo Lun.

Could it be that Yin Zhou’s colonial plan is going to fail completely again?

For this plan, Yin Zhou has already spent over thirty years, the effort of two generations.

Moreover, even if Yin Zhou can afford the delay, Fang Qingyi cannot. The failure of the colonization strategy for Rage Wave signifies the end of his political career.

With a sudden determination, Fang Qingyi set out towards Holy Priest Ge Li’s castle.

"Holy Priest, Suo Lun has gone mad; he would rather see the Rage Wave Kingdom utterly collapse than compromise with us," Fang Qingyi said. "So, is there a possibility of sending the Sanctuary Legion to eliminate Suo Lun?"

Holy Priest Ge Li exclaimed in shock, "You mean, for the Sanctuary Legion to go to war directly with the Rage Wave Kingdom?"

...

JinHao Headquarters in the royal city!

A griffin beast swiftly landed, and a Shadow Cabinet Warrior knelt and reported, "Duke, Princess Yuanyuan of Yaozhou led assassins to attack the princess manor, where they were intercepted by Lord Ashi Liren and Mrs. Fang Qingzhuo. The enemy was almost completely annihilated but Witch Yuanyuan managed to escape successfully."

Suo Lun was astounded and asked hoarsely, "What else?"

The Shadow Cabinet Warrior responded, "Lord Ashi Liren is unconscious, enveloped in chilling frost, his life hanging by a thread. Mrs. Fang Qingzhuo has been poisoned by a sword wound, and she too lies unconscious!"