Chapter 980: 0577 When a Man Is About to Die

Through vicious threats and cunning persuasion, you successfully corrupted Prince Andre of the Krook Kingdom, completing the subversion of a national organization; your Silver-rank badge, “Traitor,” has met its advancement condition.

However, since you chose not to seize power in the Krook Kingdom but to utterly destroy it, in addition to the normal advancement to the Gold-rank badge “Unrighteous Pretender,” an additional hidden optional path—“King-Slaying Hand”—has been unlocked.

After careful deliberation, you chose the hidden path; your Silver-rank badge “Traitor” has advanced to the Gold-rank hidden badge “King-Slaying Hand.”

King-Slaying Hand: A hidden hand lurking in the shadows, targeting the destruction of all major kingdoms, delighting in stirring chaos across the world—a mysterious figure seemingly driven by immense ambition.

Wearing Effect: When you ambush an enemy with “Royal” status and remain undetected by the target or any witnesses, your attack has a 100% lethal effect.

Your efficiency and stealth while committing illegal acts are greatly enhanced;

The likelihood of your conspiracies being exposed is drastically reduced;

The likelihood of you being discovered while deliberately concealing your identity is drastically reduced;

When you actively remain behind the scenes, it becomes extremely difficult to produce concrete evidence proving your involvement.

Advancement Path: After completely overthrowing all existing human kingdoms, this badge will automatically ascend to the Chromatic-rank hidden badge “King of the Great Curtain (Iron Black).”

Hidden Trait (No Need to Wear): Though you are cautious, meticulous, agile, and cunning, with near-perfect concealment, those naturally suspicious and highly vigilant conspiracy theorists can still sense the dark aura you hide within.

“…”

This badge… seems useless at first glance, even inviting baseless suspicion—but in certain special moments, it might prove incredibly useful. Overall… it’s passable?

“Good! Good! Excellent!!!”

As Li Ang inspected his newly acquired badge, watching the distant Wang Gong melted into molten iron and the Krook Kingdom consumed by the “Sunset,” the “White Snake” parasitizing Prince Andre’s soul could not help but laugh bitterly in rage.

After shouting “Good!” three times, the White Snake—having failed to preserve the Krook Kingdom or eradicate its royal bloodline—said not another word and severed itself entirely from Andre’s soul.

With its departure, the three-colored blood bead on Prince Andre’s forehead shattered violently, the serpent-scale patterns entwining his soul vanished without a trace; soon after, the unconscious Filia groaned, her black raven feathers rapidly fading, revealing her original fair, delicate skin.

Phew… finally, this damn thing is over…

After checking the state of the fallen royal siblings and confirming they had escaped the blood oath’s control, Li Ang exhaled deeply, then crouched beside the prone Prince Andre and announced:

“The White Snake has left. You two have escaped the King-Slaying Society’s judgment… What do you plan to do now?”

“Our affairs aren’t urgent.”

Gazing at the Krook Kingdom he had personally destroyed, Prince Andre fell silent for a moment, then asked:

“What of the one million three hundred thousand subjects…?”

“I’ll contact the Cleanup Bureau to handle it.”

Li Ang replied seriously:

“In about five or six hours, the Chief of Scorpio will awaken; I’ll have him contact the Cleanup Bureau to deliver essential supplies—food, water, and the like. The quantity may not be generous, but no one will starve or freeze to death.

As for their memories, they’ll eventually be collectively altered by the [Fantasy Jar] into a narrative where you predicted an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption, and evacuated the entire population in advance.”

“As for their destination, I, in my capacity as Prince of the Thrush, will formally accept them into the kingdom. If they truly cannot be sustained, the Scorpio Branch owes me a massive favor—perhaps they can persuade the Olesong Kingdom to take in a portion as well.

Though short-term expenditures may be high, for two kingdoms each with nearly a hundred million people, one million three hundred thousand refugees are manageable.”

Manageable? Are you sure?

Upon hearing Li Ang’s words, Prince Andre, lying exhausted on the ground, couldn’t help rolling his eyes at him.

Among the Krook Kingdom’s one million three hundred thousand subjects, over twenty thousand were scholars; another sixty thousand were elite soldiers; skilled artisans and technicians from every trade numbered in the tens of thousands.

Even the vagrants, long kept at the kingdom’s expense, had received at least three to five years of basic education—after minimal training, they became excellent laborers.

Once you bring them back, your newly usurped First Princess will probably wake up laughing in her dreams, and even sell off the Wang Gong to fund it, taking every single one of these “burdens” for herself, not giving Olesong a single hair.

“Forget it. As long as you have a plan.”

Considering Li Ang had saved Filia and slapped him back to his senses, Prince Andre held back his urge to retort, fell silent for a moment, then closed his eyes and said:

“If you can, treat them well. After all, they were our royal family… it’s my fault I failed them.

And Filia—after this, the Cleanup Bureau will surely guard her tightly. But I still hope you’ll grant her some freedom; don’t turn her into a caged emerald bird.”

“I’ll suggest to the Bureau that Filia’s freedom be preserved as much as possible while ensuring her safety.”

From Andre’s dying-words tone, Li Ang sensed something deeper; after nodding in agreement, he asked with surprise:

“Andre, don’t you plan to live with her?

The machine used to create your body—I had Elder Arjé retrieve it earlier. Your soul, though severely damaged and weakened by seventy to eighty percent, was once at the True God level; its foundation is still strong enough. If you rebuild your body, you could live another few decades without issue.”

“I won’t live.”

Glancing at the unconscious girl with emerald eyes, Prince Andre, his green eyes filled with longing, unbuttoned his collar and showed Li Ang the serpent scales on his neck.

“When the White Snake left, it tampered with my soul. My soul will slowly unravel, enduring prolonged agony.

If I die now and enter the Death Realm, my soul’s strength and resolve might carry me to the City of Regret. But if I wait decades until my soul weakens further, I’ll never reach it.”

“You still intend to go to the City of Regret?”

“Yes.”

Prince Andre nodded, his expression wistful:

“But if the White Snake didn’t lie—if the Death Realm truly has their people there—I doubt I’ll ever reach the City of Regret.”

“It’s not necessarily impossible…”

Li Ang hesitated, then spoke uncertainly:

“If you’ve truly made peace with death and are determined to go there and apologize, I might have a way to get you there.”