The Martial Unity

The Throne Hall grew chilly as Prince Rajak blatantly attacked Emperor Rael with condemnation much more directly than Prince Raijun did.

"Condemn you for a power struggle…?" The Emperor's tone hid a smile. "No. I condemned you for a civil war. Those are close but not quite the same."

Prince Rajak's face contorted with cold rage. "As I said, your cheap word word games do not impress anybody."

"Those are neither mere words nor games, my hateful child of the Underworld," The Emperor smiled. "You and I, indeed, have partaken in our respective power struggles for the throne. Yet, do you know what the difference between the two of us is?"

Prince Rajak stared at him coldly.

He didn't utter so much as a word.

"The difference between us is that I won."

His aura rapidly shifted from serene to overbearing dominance.

"I won the war before it even began."

The Emperor's domineering words sent a wave of surprise washing through everybody in the throne room.

"I won before anyone got hurt."

An abundance of confidence echoed the deep masculine melody of his voice. The dominance of his words came from the fact that they were rooted in history. He ascended the throne at the young age of thirty-one after the previous Emperor passed away mysteriously, crushing the allied resistance of his brothers and sisters, initiating the crowning ceremony, and becoming Emperor.

Prince Rajak gritted his teeth as his expression grew ugly.

"That is the difference between us. The 'struggle' in 'power struggle' came from those who struggled against me in vain," The Emperor's words were unshakable. "I prepared to ascend the throne my entire life…"

A grin lit up on the Emperor's face.

"…and when it was time, I killed my power-hungry fool of a father."

"!!!"

Every single person in the throne hall shook.

They shook.

Physically.

Mentally.

Emotionally.

How could they not?

The Emperor of Harmony had just confessed to assassinating the previous and Founding Emperor of Kandria!

He had just confessed to the highest treason as recognized by Kandrian law.

Even the most hardened poker faces had cracked.

At that moment, regardless of their origin, affiliation, station, rank, or field, every single member of the Kandrian Throne Hall was united in their reaction.

They were shocked.

Shocked to their very core.

Murder conspiracy against the Royal Emperor was the highest form of treason, and it was a crime with no statute of limitations that not even the Emperor himself was entirely immune to being prosecuted for!

Should he abdicate the throne, he would instantly be thrown behind bars!

Yet his expression was defiantly fierce.

His eyes pierced holes into a frozen Rajak, stunned and speechless by the Emperor's confession to high treason.

"I killed Emperor Ra."

His bold words reverberated throughout the throne hall.

"I killed my warmongering power-hungry before he tore Kandria apart with an apocalyptic civil war."

His declaration rang in the ears and the hearts of those who beheld it.

"I killed him and brought three centuries of peace, harmony, and glory to Kandria."

The weight of Kandria itself bore down on Rajak with the Emperor's powerful gaze.

"That is the difference between you and me," Emperor Rael's domineering voice pushed down on the various princes and princesses. "The best way to prevent a war is to win it before it even begins. You, my hateful son, are unable to win at all, let alone before it begins."

Prince Rajak glared at him, gritting his teeth.

Rui, on the other hand, was stunned.

He had begun with an impactful speech that showed a pacifist heart and a saint's aversion for war, yet as smooth as the workmanship of the throne that bore him, he immediately became a domineering conqueror who brilliantly seized power over Kandria moments before the catastrophic war broke out and went on to raise the nation to high heavens for three centuries after successfully blowing out the embers of war.

One moment, he was even more saintly and dovish than Prince Raul.

The very next, he displayed a domineering hawkish dominance that exceeded that of Prince Randal.

Yet, they didn't contradict each other.

No.

They coexisted within him.

They coexisted in harmony.

They coexisted within him for the sake of the Kandrian Empire.

At that moment, Rui truly understood why he was called the Emperor of Harmony. He possessed a depth of mind and dimensions of character that exceeded that of all of his progeny.

A ruler able to adopt any mindset, any inclination, any doctrine, any philosophy to overcome any hurdle, all for the sake of the Kandrian Empire.

He was like water in that regard. Formless, shapeless, able to become what was necessary for the Kandrian Empire to survive and thrive.

Rui's eyes widened at that thought.

Never in his wildest dreams did he think that they would share this trait with the Royal Emperor.

"It doesn't matter!" Prince Rajak snapped. "It doesn't matter. No matter what you say. No matter what you do. We will converge upon the throne, and I will emerge victorious. And when you breathe your last breath, I will crown myself Emperor. If you think you can stop us with rhetoric, then you are sorely mistaken!"

His voice was reverberated through the throne hall.

Unfortunately for the Emperor, the Underworld Prince had a point. The bottom line was almost impossible to change. Once he passed away, people would forget about his words this day and fight for the throne.

It was a truly remarkable attempt, of course. Some would even say he came close to putting an end to the Kandrian Throne War.

Yet, reality was not soft.

It was not convenient.

His physical condition, his diseased body, his waning influence and power.

On top of that, the fact that he had simply woken up too late to deliver his powerful words.

All of these seemed to work against him.

They seemed to work against him as the guests of the throne hall increasingly returned to their sober mindsets prior to the powerful impacts that the Emperor dealt them with his words.