AEKMEM chapter 59

An Qiao leaped lightly, landing calmly and gracefully on the central platform of the square where the “fake elf” stood.

**

The crowd, filled with anticipation, and the imperial citizens watching the live stream were all taken aback by the “elf’s” sudden declaration: “Crown Prince Chu Heng will surely bring immense disaster to the Empire. I, an elf, guarantee this.”

Upon realizing what the “elf” had said, they were shocked and couldn’t help but frown.

They had all witnessed Crown Prince Chu Heng’s contributions to the empire.

Without Crown Prince Chu Heng’s leadership of the Second Army in their defeat of the Zerg, and his single-handed wounding of the Zerg queen, the war between the Empire and the Zerg would have continued for an unknown amount of time. Crown Prince Chu Heng’s contribution was indispensable to the Empire’s swift victory over the Zerg and the rapid restoration of peace and tranquility.

Yet, without any irreparable or unforgivable wrongdoing on the part of Crown Prince Chu Heng, this “elf” has determined that he will inevitably bring immense disaster to the Empire.

On what basis? Just because of your status as an “elf”?

Undeniably, due to historical reasons and other factors, the people of the Empire worship and revere spirits, bordering on fanaticism.

However, this doesn’t mean they would irrationally deny the heroes who protected the empire based on a single statement from an elf.

“Was the elf coerced by the Second Prince and Mo Zhiyuan? Otherwise, why would it say such a thing?” the people whispered among themselves.

Because of their naturally high level of goodwill toward elves and their deeply ingrained belief that “elves are all bright and good,” the people of the Empire did not doubt the elves themselves. Rather, they suspected that the elves had been coerced into doing something contrary to their image.

“Perhaps he really was coerced. Not long ago, the Second Prince had someone falsely accuse the Crown Prince of something terrible. Now, it’s not impossible that he’s coercing the elf to smear the Crown Prince and fabricate a crime against him.”

“The Second Prince’s methods are despicable and shameless! If you’re going to compete, do it fairly! Why resort to these underhanded tricks?”

Most viewers watching the live stream agreed.

Crown Prince Chu Heng has contributed so much to the empire. How could they possibly deny or doubt him based on one casual remark?

The elf has always had a pure and noble character. It must have been the Second Prince who coerced the elf into saying slanderous things about Crown Prince Chu Heng.

Almost everyone in the empire believed that it was the Second Prince, Chu Feiyu, who had coerced the elf.

Those on Crown Prince Chu Heng’s side and his admirers were disgusted by the Second Prince’s actions.

Meanwhile, the Second Prince’s supporters were bewildered, anxious, angry, and disappointed in him.

Hadn’t the Second Prince been too hasty and irrational? How could he be so foolish as to allow the “elf” to label Crown Prince Chu Heng as “inevitably bringing immense disaster to the empire”? Didn’t he consider that the crown prince’s high prestige couldn’t be so easily defeated?

Why didn’t they proceed gradually, using the “elf” to strengthen and elevate themselves while subtly suppressing Crown Prince Chu Heng? Why were they so foolish as to openly slander him? With the “elf” as a trump card and such a favorable advantage, they still managed to make such a mess of things!

Second Prince Chu Feiyu: “…”

Chu Feiyu was speechless with bitterness. This clearly wasn’t his doing. Mo Zhiyuan acted on his own initiative. He only found out now.

Suddenly, the imperial citizens in the square and in front of the live broadcast screens noticed a slender figure in white robes gracefully leap across the crowd. The figure landed elegantly and calmly on the central platform where the “elf” stood.

Hmmm? Why is there an elf on stage?

Everyone stared wide-eyed and speechless in disbelief.

An elf!

Does the Empire have more than one elf?

When did the Empire become so arrogant? Two elves have appeared at once!

The Empire hasn’t seen an elf in hundreds of years.

Now, two have appeared at once!

When the crowd below and the viewers of the live stream saw the newly appeared elf, they involuntarily held their breath.

Draped in a pure white cloak, the elf had long silver hair that cascaded down to his ankles like moonlight: beautiful yet aloof.

His face was shrouded in a soft mist, making it indistinct yet breathtakingly beautiful. It seemed untouchable.

Though his face was obscured, the “elf” who had appeared earlier paled in comparison—like an ordinary piece of rubble next to a lustrous piece of jade.

The contrast was utterly stark.

It was perplexing. Both were elves, so how could there be such a vast difference?

Before this new elf appeared, they thought the previous “elf” was impressive. But now, compared to him, his aura, presence, and appearance were utterly inferior.

“Just by being a cheap imitation, you dare call yourself an ‘elf’?” The silver-haired elf glanced sideways at the “elf” that had appeared earlier, his expression cold and condescending.

His voice was chilling yet melodious, reminiscent of cold silver ornaments falling onto a jade plate.

As he spoke, he casually waved his hand, and something seemed to emerge from the first “elf.”

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, the first “elf’s” distinctive pointed ears suddenly transformed into human ears!

What…what’s going on?!

Everyone was dumbfounded.

How could the “elf,” who had seemed perfectly fine just moments ago, suddenly turn back into a human?

Recalling what the elf had said, could the first elf to appear have been fake?

Suddenly, something exploded in front of the elf who appeared later with a “bang.”

Seeing the drop of blood he had summoned explode, An Qiao’s eyes turned cold.

Although he wasn’t surprised—

—he would have been astonished if the Demon King’s remnant soul hadn’t interfered.

However, the destruction of something belonging to him greatly displeased him.

“Tsk, tsk. You really did come.” At the same time the drop of blood “exploded,” a phantom figure appeared. Invisible to ordinary people, the figure attacked An Qiao with sinister and terrifying dark magic.

An Qiao remained indifferent and unleashed a burst of light-attribute magic with one hand, which bombarded the Demon King’s remnant soul’s magical attack. With his other hand, he conjured a light shield to block the invisible, eerie “curse” power spilling out from the “explosion” of the altered blood drop. He pushed it back toward the Demon King’s remnant soul.

If he had been even slightly careless or had underestimated his opponent, he might have focused only on the Demon King’s overt magical attack and neglected the “curse” power of the blood drop’s explosion.

This “curse” power was of the same origin as the Demon King’s curse, complementing it. Once tainted, the backlash from the curse would be severe beyond measure, making it difficult for him to defeat the Demon King’s remnant soul.

“Consider yourself lucky. I’ll let you go for now.” Seeing his plan fail, the illusory figure—his expression sinister yet filled with panic and resentment—managed a brief clash with An Qiao’s magic before attempting to flee.

How could An Qiao let him escape?

A “wall of light” blocked the Demon King’s remnant soul’s escape route.

Then, gathering all his strength, An Qiao unleashed a “Holy Radiance Annihilation,” completely annihilating the Demon King’s remnant soul’s illusory figure before it could react.

—Having lost its demonic body, the remnant soul was already weaker than An Qiao, who had recovered seventy to eighty percent of his light-element magic. Moreover, the remnant soul had split its power into multiple fragments.

An Qiao had previously destroyed one of these fragments. Because of this, An Qiao suffered a backlash and coughed up blood to prevent the Demon King’s remnant soul from obtaining a drop of his blood.

Now, although this fragment was the most powerful and closest to the Demon King’s original strength, destroying it wouldn’t be difficult for An Qiao.

A familiar, sweet, metallic taste rose in his throat.

It was the Demon King’s curse backlash again.

An Qiao frowned, unable to help but curse inwardly.

Bound by his image as an idol, he chose to swallow the blood in his throat instead of coughing it up in front of so many people.

He gritted his teeth and thought, “What a pity. What a pity that the Demon King’s remnant soul still has a powerful fragment, preventing its complete annihilation.”

However, it’s not hard to understand. If the Demon King’s remnant soul hadn’t left itself a way out, it wouldn’t have set up this almost hopeless situation.

Even if it loses this round, the Demon King’s soul still has its fragment. Although its power has been greatly reduced, at least it’s still alive. Its power can be restored over time. While restoration will be difficult, it’s not impossible.

If it wins, the Demon King’s remnant soul can “take revenge.” The Demon King’s remnant soul forced the “fake elf” to publicly appear and broadcast it live throughout the entire empire. This forced him to reveal himself, which caused him frustration and displeasure. It also aimed to humiliate him in front of everyone, perhaps even defeating and destroying him.

As An Qiao frowned and analyzed the situation, he suddenly felt a familiar gaze upon him.

He had a bad feeling.

Turning his head, he saw that it was indeed Chu Heng.

Wait… What was Chu Heng holding? The remaining fragment of the Demon King’s soul!

He wasn’t mistaken; the unconscious, illusory figure was a fragment of the Demon King’s soul.

Could the Demon King’s remnant soul have sensed something was wrong and tried to escape, only to be caught by Chu Heng, who had just arrived?

An Qiao’s icy blue eyes lit up instantly, the frustration of not being able to annihilate the Demon King’s soul completely vanishing!

The Demon King’s remnant soul had schemed countless possibilities but definitely never expected its final, precious fragment, meant for a comeback, to be caught by Chu Heng. It had probably fled while laughing smugly, convinced that even if An Qiao destroyed one or two fragments, it could still continue hopping around triumphantly.

But unexpectedly, just as he was laughing triumphantly, he bumped into Chu Heng and was caught red-handed!

An Qiao reflected on the scene and felt incredibly refreshed and cheerful.

He thought that Chu Heng’s arrival was perfectly timed.

But the moment his lips curled into a smile and his gaze met Chu Heng’s, An Qiao remembered that he was disguised as an elf.

An Qiao: “… ”

His face was obscured, his hair was a different length, and he had pointed ears. Chu Heng shouldn’t be able to recognize him, right?

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