Chapter 777: Hidden

"Well done, this dog emperor is about to fail. Increase your efforts."

Prince Shun turned his head away, his face pale, and said in a low voice, "I cannot increase them any further..."

At this moment, a huge circular ring was placed in front of him. Inside the ring was a shallow surface of water, looking like liquid, or more like a mirror surface created by light and shadow. Blood was flowing from Prince Shun's hand, dripping into the mirror surface drop by drop.

With every drop of blood, a set of huge Rune Formula symbols on the mirror surface would brighten a fraction, as if they were bamboo shoots nourished by sweet dew, growing rapidly and extending another Rune Formula to the surroundings, until the mirror surface was gradually becoming covered.

The mirror vaguely displayed the emperor's figure. He was hunched over, his expression dazed, sweat streaming down his face, as if he were experiencing unbearable pain, and he had become incomparably weak.

After Prince Shun refused, a person cloaked in a black cape behind him said coldly, "Prince Shun, how can you say it's impossible at a time like this? Do you see that emperor? It is precisely because of your continuous efforts that he is currently losing strength; soon he will lose everything, and you will take his place. You have planned for ten years, and no opportunity has been as good as this one. How can you give up halfway at a time like this?"

Prince Shun would not believe such empty promises, but at this moment, he was under the eaves and had to lower his head. He smiled bitterly, "It is not that I want to give up halfway, but I only have so much blood. Your mechanism works by exchanging my blood for his; it depends on the quality of the blood. He is the emperor, and I am merely a prince, not even the crown prince. He still has his own younger brother, so my blood is not as good as his. To drain his blood, I would not have enough even if I died twice."

The person under the black robe said coldly, "If that is the case, then it is truly disappointing. I gave you this opportunity because I saw that you were the most ambitious among the imperial clan and would not submit to that dog emperor, yet you cannot grasp it. It seems you do not have the destiny to be emperor. Go back and be your rebel. If you do not kill him this time, once the emperor recovers, he will leave none of your household alive. If you will not do it, there are plenty of people who will. There are many people in this world who want to be emperor."

Prince Shun gritted his teeth and looked at the black-robed person above, then looked at the emperor in the mirror—the emperor looked very disheveled. Every time he dripped blood, the emperor seemed to have his blood drained, appearing incomparably hollow. But this hollow emperor had not yet given up; he held a sword in one hand to attack, and used the Heaven-Traveling Seal as a shield to block the attacks of the scythe, actually managing to hold on without being defeated.

At first, Prince Shun only felt shocked: Could the emperor be a hero who never yields? It made him feel somewhat ashamed of himself. But later, he noticed something unusual. Several times the emperor was clearly distracted, yet he was still able to use Sword Light like golden thunder, and the Heaven-Traveling Seal also flew up automatically to defend against the enemy, as if someone were fighting for him.

So it was not that the emperor was so resilient, but that someone was helping him?

Even so, the emperor had never given up, which made him seem a bit unlike the little emperor raised by the hands of women in the deep palace. This made Prince Shun's courage weaken slightly, as if he should not continue to harm him.

But the black-robed person's reminder was also correct; now Prince Shun had no way out. Not to mention how the emperor would settle scores with him later, even the figure hidden under the black robe in front of him had already gripped his lifeline.

This fellow should be a Human, but he was working for the Heavenly Demon. Having already defected to the Heavenly Demon, could one expect him to have any bottom line? Prince Shun dared not think about the position of emperor now; he could only listen to this person. Being able to shed blood meant he was still alive.

Prince Shun had no choice but to say, "Then I will try again..." As he spoke, he reluctantly dripped another drop of blood, feeling a wave of dizziness, and could not help but say, "The reason it isn't working is because your Heavenly Demon teammate is too weak, right? The emperor is already like this, yet it still hasn't won. Shouldn't I be the one creating the opening, the emperor becoming weak, and then it taking the opportunity to win? Are you really waiting for me and the emperor to trade blood until he dies? Also... don't you have people here? Since it isn't enough, why not send reinforcements to attack from both sides?"

Behind the black robe, there were still several figures wearing black robes and Masks, arranged neatly like a military formation. Although they were hiding their heads and tails, just looking at their Momentum showed they were not to be trifled with. Probably any one of them could pick Prince Shun up with one hand and throw him several dozen zhang away; this was also the reason he dared not resist. However, he did not understand: that black-robed person looked so imposing, acting entirely like a mastermind behind the scenes, so why did he not know how to choose the right moment to act?

Although he did not know where this dimly lit space he was in was located, Prince Shun felt that it should not be far from the battlefield; after all, he had been transferred here from below in an instant. Sending people from here would probably be very easy to reach the battlefield, right?

Then why were these powerful figures not going out to reinforce, but instead staying here playing at forming formations? It couldn't be to watch him, could it? How could he be so powerful as to be worth so many people guarding him?

The black-robed person smiled slightly under his hood and said, "Why should I go to reinforce? Isn't it better to let them decide the outcome themselves? They are all arrogant fellows who think the world should revolve around them, so let us grant their wish. Let them fight to their heart's content and see who really gets to call the shots in this world."

Prince Shun shuddered, realizing the information the other party had revealed: this guy had connected with the demons, but not completely! It seemed he did not treat the Heavenly Demon as a superior, but as an object to be utilized, waiting for the other party to pull chestnuts from the fire for him. Such a person was essentially no different from himself. So their Demon Sect was not of one mind in serving the Heavenly Demon either?

Thinking this, he gained another layer of understanding of how terrifying the person who kidnapped him was, to the point that he did not think carefully: even if this guy had the heart to reinforce, was his power enough to intervene?

Outside, there were two Sword Immortals fighting, their power condensed into Sword Law!

The figures around this black-robed person might look imposing, but they were truly not Sword Immortals, and the Human World had not yet reached the point where Sword Immortals were everywhere. This level of strength was enough to scare Prince Shun, but going out to interfere in a Sword Immortal's battle was just seeking death.

If they truly had the ability to interfere in a battle of the Sword Immortal level, they would not be here using Prince Shun's identity and bloodline to interfere with the emperor's "curved path to national salvation."

It was not that they would not, but that they could not.

Because of his lack of awareness of powerful strength, Prince Shun easily formed the impression that these people were unfathomable and unscrupulous, and he dared not disobey even more. Whether to die now or later, he could only choose to survive for the moment.

He gritted his teeth, about to cut another opening on his other hand, when he suddenly saw the image fluctuate. Originally it was just the emperor's shadow, but above, a shadow appeared, approaching the battlefield.

This person... is the Gaoyuan Marquis, right?

Prince Shun recognized her. Not long ago, he had tried to win this person over, but had not succeeded. Seeing her about to come to the emperor's rescue in the identity of a Sword Hero, he could not help but sigh, "She was actually harmed by the emperor like this, yet she does not hate him and even takes the initiative to risk her life to help. No wonder people say the Gaoyuan Marquis is essentially a great loyal minister..."

Just as he was sighing, suddenly, that shadow was already before his eyes, and then it turned its head, facing the direction of Prince Shun.

The two pairs of eyes looked at each other across the mirror surface.

Although the "resolution" of the mirror surface was pitifully poor, Prince Shun still felt those eyes were as bright as autumn water, seemingly piercing through the mirror surface and his own skin in an instant, looking directly into his Soul. He shuddered all over, jumped up, and shouted, "She saw me! She discovered this place!"

The cloaked person said coldly, "Shut up, that is impossible. Absolutely no one can discover..."

Boom—

Suddenly, the surrounding dim walls were hit by a violent impact. They did not last for a second before a large hole was smashed through.

He saw a huge, strange two-wheeled vehicle charging in through the hole. In front of the two-wheeled vehicle, a Lamp, more brilliant than all the lanterns of this night, shone, with the three large characters "Sun Court" written on it.

Prince Shun was uncontrollably staring at the old lady in the mirror surface when he suddenly felt a palpitation. He turned his head and saw a rider on the two-wheeled vehicle, handsome in appearance and full of heroic spirit, as bright and dazzling as the sun.

He rode on the vehicle, which was like a steel beast, and looked around at the black-robed person and everyone else hidden in the small space, sneering, "Finally found you, you ghosts and monsters hiding in the dark!"

This person... have I seen him somewhere before?

Prince Shun felt that if he had seen such a person, he would definitely never forget him, so since he didn't remember, he must not have seen him, but he inexplicably felt he was very familiar, as if there had been some kind of intersection.

But regardless, since this person had broken in, he was naturally an opponent of the black-robed person and might be able to save him. Prince Shun opened his mouth and shouted, "Save..."

Before he could shout it out, he saw the youth pull out a sword from somewhere and raise it, and a huge golden beast rushed out. Prince Shun only felt a heat on his face, and before his eyes, flames soared to the sky; several big men had already disappeared into the golden light.

Powerful! Cruel!

Power was one thing, but starting with a killing move, as if wiping out mosquitoes and insects, to roll and extinguish several Masked men who Prince Shun had just regarded as experts, made Prince Shun's heart tremble. Instinctively, he ran in the opposite direction, wanting to hide. Seeing there was absolutely no place to hide around him, he lowered his head and hid under the screen.

As he hid, the source of the blood was immediately cut off, and the dense Rune Formula on the screen immediately disappeared. The emperor in the image immediately recovered; although his face was still pale, he was already able to hold his sword steady. Similarly, the Gaoyuan Marquis looking from above no longer stared at the screen and turned her head back, making one feel that she had not seen anything through the screen.

It seemed she revealed a smile of relief.

At the same time, the golden flames extinguished, and a few survivors crawled out of the flames in a hurry. Most were already in a sorry state, their capes burned away for the most part, and the Masks on their faces were probably discarded like worn-out shoes because they conducted too much heat.

Among them was that black-robed person who seemed to control everything. His cape was burned away, revealing an unusually young and handsome face.

The youth who had broken in only swept his gaze over him, instead staring at another black-robed person who had just taken off his Mask. That person was also only of weak-crown age. He said, "The little prince of Prince Hengchang, you are indeed here."