CHAPTER 66: | THE EMPEROR'S CONFERENCE

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  Silence reigned for hours as the only sound in the room that could be heard was the faint, steady scrape of a quill across paper.

  Elara, lost in her thoughts, finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper in the room.

  "Is it time for the conference?"

  ---

  Cracks splintered across the sky all over the world, as a powerful, crushing pressure descended upon the land.

  The top figures of the world, feeling this unprecedented force, hurriedly ordered their subordinates to retreat and halt their wars.

  All of them rushed to the very center of the continent for a gathering.

  Each of these figures was an emperor, with prestige beyond any common person's dreams.

  They were hailed as gods in their respective kingdoms.

  In the west, dread filled the hearts of all living beings.

  A massive, malevolent eye peered from the cracks in the sky, as a searing golden light radiating from its pupil.

  On the colossal sky island, a landmass that was a few hundred million miles wide, the God of the Dragons let out a thunderous roar that shook the very foundation of the earth.

  It was none other than Lierium, the Second Dragon Emperor, and his roar was not one of rage, but of acknowledgment.

  He had seen a being beyond himself, a true god.

  He felt it.

  The being peering from the sky possessed an authority and a power that could destroy their world.

  Even his dragon pride demanded that he kneel and worship.

  But Lierium snorted.

  How could he, the God of all Dragons, the Forefather of his entire race, worship an evil god that sought to devour their world?

  He chuckled to himself, his gaze falling upon the hall filled with ornate decorations that would cost millions of spiritual stones.

  He smiled, then he muttered internally.

  "Not bad."

  He found the taste of the Divine Emperor’s aesthetic appealing as he gazed at the emperors gathered around the massive round table.

  The conference was about to begin.

  An Emperor Conference was only held when a being that could pose a threat to the entire world appeared.

  It was the only time when all the mighty figures of the world gathered to discuss the solutions to a calamity.

  Their leader was the Divine Emperor, Sylvia, and the conference was held randomly, whether in the abyssal depths, on a sky island, or here, in Sylvia's small kingdom in the Middle Continent.

  A beautiful man with silver-white hair, as pure as a polished crystal, was seated at the round table.

  His mere presence alone silenced all the other emperors.

  There were no greetings needed, as all of them had known each other for thousands of years.

  The Divine Emperor raised his hand, and all attention shifted to him.

  "Now, let me tell you why we have gathered today."

  The Divine Emperor flicked his hand, and scrolls appeared on each of the emperors' tables.

  They read the parchment and nodded in unison.

  He then flicked his finger again, and a hologram appeared in the center of the round table.

  "A crisis worse than the Fourth Calamity has arrived! A god beyond us, with a power estimated at Stage 7, has now attempted to invade our plane."

  A low murmur filled the room as the emperors discussed the implications.

  "But worry not."

  The Divine Emperor continued.

  "Mother Skaira herself will suppress that very entity to Stage 3 once he descends into our world. So before it can descend, we, the emperors of this world, need to come up with an idea of how we should kill it."

  His words were imbued with a divine authority that caused the emperors to nod.

  They all turned their gazes to the God of the Sun, the sole ruler of the Western Continent.

  It was none other than Surya, a handsome young man in his late twenties with hair as golden as the sun itself and a striking golden eyes.

  He closed them and sighed.

  "Don't look at me. All I could provide for this farce is nothing but my power."

  The emperors frowned at his words, especially since he had called their conference a farce.

  A woman wearing a white robe with ornaments covering her red hair gazed coldly at him with her crimson irises.

  "What arrogance are you spouting, Surya?"

  She asked.

  The woman was a reclusive cultivator from the east with a sect under her that dominated nearly half of the continent.

  Surya gazed at her for more than a split second, then yawned.

  "Isn't this a farce, Fairy Xie Chian? I, Surya, could kill that very entity once it descends."

  Surya's words were arrogant, but none could refute him.

  He was the strongest of them all and the only emperor who had an entire continent under his thumb.

  But then, a sweet voice echoed, and all the emperors fell silent.

  "Fufufu… Surya, could you please shut that filthy mouth of yours?"

  It was the Holy Empress, or perhaps better known as the ruler of the Holy Trinity Federation and the one who controlled the merchants of the world.

  Her jade-like hair cascaded like silk, and her emerald eyes gleamed with a mischievous glint.

  Surya shut his mouth.

  He knew the consequences of provoking this fearsome lady.

  The Holy Empress, Cynthia, smiled.

  She gazed at the Divine Emperor and then at the Dragon God Lierium.

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  "Lierium, how about bedding with me for a night? Maybe your big sister would tip you?"

  The emperors gazed at the unfolding drama with interest.

  Surya pulled a bowl filled with sunflower seeds from thin air and began snacking on the seeds.

  Lierium shook his head and snorted.

  "What do you mean by big sister, you century-old hag!"

  Surya giggled and muttered.

  "Ouch, that hurts…"

  But before he could finish his words, Cynthia pinched his side with a cold smile.

  "What did you say, Surya?"

  Surya shook his head and smiled.

  "Nothing at all, big sister."

  Surya knew when to retreat.

  Since angering Cynthia would make his life harder financially, but Lierium, knowing no fear, just snorted.

  "What big sister? That woman??"

  Cynthia slammed her hand on the table, but the Divine Emperor, saving the day from the two 'nemesis' heated argument.

  "Ahem, please behave like an emperor and stop your quarrel."

  Lierium smirked, and an annoyed Cynthia bit her lips.

  The Divine Emperor turned his attention back to Surya.

  "Surya, we all know that you possess power stronger than me or the Dragon God, but killing a suppressed Stage 7 entity is nothing but a dream, and you know that so maybe driving it away is better."

  All the emperors knew that Surya was the most powerful emperor in this very era.

  But would that continue in the next?

  They shook their heads.

  They knew Sylvia was just starting his growth and could become a zenith that would lead all of them to Ascension.

  But then, Cynthia’s eyes filled with greed upon a sudden realization.

  "Fufufu, why drive it away when we could try and kill it for ourselves?!"

  Lierium smirked.

  "Then what?"

  Cynthia, seemingly flustered by Lierium's continuous provocation, bit her lips as she shouted.

  "Then what? What do you mean by that, my lovely dragon? We the emperors know that the higher your stage, the harder it will be to kill you."

  Cynthia’s emerald eyes curved into a cruel smile.

  "With our measly combined strength, that of Stage 3, dealing some serious damage to that divine entity would be a reality, right?"

  Her smile widened as she spread both her hands, and greed became visible in her eyes.

  "Wouldn't a divine god at Stage 7 be a perfect material to create a divine weapon among ourselves? One that is hundreds of times stronger than the Cereum Emperor Armor?"

  The Cereum Emperor, covered with his cereum exoskeleton, nodded at Cynthia’s claim.

  "Lady Cynthia is correct, but if it is a hundred times stronger than my cereum exoskeleton, the probability of us killing it or obtaining its body for ourselves is nonexistent."

  The emperors nodded.

  They knew that cereum itself was a divine metal that only the cereum beetle could produce, and the hardness of their cereum depended on their diet.

  But Lierium snorted at her idea.

  He snapped his finger, and a hologram appeared, displaying what was happening in the sky.

  "You truly live up to your title, Cynthia, the Holy Empress. Or maybe I should call you the 'Insatiable Empress.' You're as foolish as your appearance suggests. Let me ask you. Do you know of its strength? Did you get close to it? No, you wouldn't, as you're too busy taking care of your concubines! I, the Dragon God, live on the Primordial Island floating above the sky, so I know better than you, bitch, how terrifying its presence is! So stop spouting nonsense. We all know that even with the world's suppression, we wouldn't be able to kill that being, nor defeat it! So stop daydreaming!"

  All the emperors gathered inside nodded their heads.

  The sound of footsteps echoed, and then three figures entered the room.

  A beautiful woman with striking golden eyes was leading them, smiling gently.

  The emperors, already tense from the threat of the godly entity and the incoming calamity, were now faced with emperors they didn't know.

  Their killing intent radiated densely, but the woman, Elara, simply shrugged it off.

  "We are the Emperors of the Realm of Water, and we have come here to help you solve your problem with that entity above."

  The Divine Emperor gazed at her and nodded.

  "Then tell us, uninvited guest, what you could contribute."

  Cynthia gazed at Elara's voluptuous figure with lust.

  She licked her lips.

  "Truly a delicacy."

  But Elara ignored her comment.

  She chuckled at the 'cute' emperors displaying their presence and domain.

  "Omniscient, let them know their place."

  Omniscient, the emperor of one of the three biggest empires in the Realm of Water, smiled.

  He snapped his hand, and an unforgiving pressure descended on the entire kingdom.

  The people all around the kingdom coughed up blood, and some died instantly.

  He then muttered with affection.

  "Would this do, my empress?"

  But light exploded.

  The Divine Emperor gazed at Omniscient furiously, his eyes dilated as he coldly muttered, as a divine sword was inches away from Omniscient's neck.

  "What do you think you are doing in my own kingdom?"

  Omniscient smiled.

  He pointed his index finger at the Divine Emperor, and a vortex of mana gathered at the tip, forming into a sphere.

  But all of the emperors had already surrounded Elara's group, their spells and weapons ready to be unleashed.

  She bit her lips.

  "Stop it, Omniscient!"

  The room fell silent.

  Her authoritative voice sent all their souls trembling.

  They dispelled their spells and sat down.

  All the emperors nodded in acknowledgment of her strength as Omniscient pulled a throne from his inventory and put it on the ground.

  Elara sat, with the other two emperors standing behind her.

  "Now let's skip the formalities and discuss the more pressing matters, don't you think so... leader of the surface dwellers?"

  The Divine Emperor smiled and pulled a tome from his inventory.

  He threw it towards Elara.

  Omniscient caught it, read its contents with incredible speed, and then closed it in the next second, passing it back to the Divine Emperor.

  He chuckled.

  "I see. So all of you were worried about this divine entity that is trying to enter our world. That's why you gathered here to discuss countermeasures, right?"

  All the emperors gazed at Omniscient as he continued.

  "Now, let me construct a plan based on the discovery of its power that you conducted in the past few days."

  He snapped his hand, and a new hologram with information and the steps needed to vanquish the divine entity descending into this world could be seen.

  The emperors nodded.

  Lierium smirked and spoke.

  "Then tell me, if your plan succeeds and we bring that monster by chance into the abyssal depths, where two of the three ancient Emperors, the very first emperors that this world produced, are located..."

  Lierium smirked as he continued.

  "Would those two be able to defeat that thing without him?"

  Omniscient smiled at Lierium, testing his knowledge.

  He chuckled, then laughed in a disturbing manner as his body, made from a combination of all the aquatic demonic beasts, shifted grotesquely.

  All the emperors were disturbed.

  Surya frowned, then muttered coldly, as a miniature sun exuding the heat of a real sun appeared on his index finger.

  "Sylvia, allow me to pulverize this demonic entity."

  The Divine Emperor gazed at Surya, then sighed.

  "Please don't cause any trouble, Surya."

  Surya nodded as Omniscient gazed at his spell dissipating.

  He smiled and spoke.

  "We all know that the three ancients are zeniths. So what would killing a mere suppressed deity be to them?"

  Lierium looked back at the horrors of the First Calamity, where he was born ten thousand years ago, and he smiled.

  "It's possible, but would the ancient Emperors lend us a hand?"

  The emperors murmured to each other.

  Cynthia’s mocking voice echoed as she sneered at Lierium.

  "Fufufu, my lovely dragon, the two ancients would. When would they ever have the opportunity to devour a deity?"

  Lierium snorted and glared at the Cynthia on her high horse before him, then sighed as he gazed at the man who had appeared behind Elara.

  He began to sweat profusely.

  Lierium couldn't believe it.

  How could this very being, one of the three ancients, appear in this conference?

  He shouted with fear.

  For he knew this being all too well.

  "Akarim!!! What are you doing here?!"

  Akarim Delight, the myth holder, the bearer of the Sin of Pride, and one of the three ancients and the emperor of the Lake of Dreadnought, appeared behind Elara, unnoticed by all the other emperors gathered in the conference hall except for her.

  "My, it's been a while, little dragon god. So, how was it, having a piece of your small island missing?"

  Akarim asked jokingly.

  But Elara, unhappy with his appearance, sighed.

  As she slapped Akarim’s hand, which was advancing on her shoulder, and gazed at him coldly.

  "Stop playing here, Akarim."

  Akarim smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

  He grabbed one of the emperors by the collar, threw him to the ground, and sat on his chair.

  Then he smiled.

  "Now tell me, how would you convince my brothers?"

  The Divine Emperor, nervous about Akarim's appearance, managed a smile and nodded.

  All the emperors pulled hundreds of bloodstones from their inventory.

  He muttered.

  "We would offer each of you a thousand bloodstones."

  Akarim nodded and smiled.

  "Hmm, a tempting offer, but allow me to add a condition."

  Elara bit her lips and snorted.

  "Don't tell me that you want to leave the Lake of Dreadnought, the prison where my dear founder, your previous lover, trapped you."

  Akarim's smile broke.

  He disappeared from the chair and grabbed Elara by the collar, glaring at her.

  But Elara mockingly sneered.

  "Stop the farce, Akarim. You know, we all know, that you couldn't hurt me."

  Akarim clenched his fist harder as Omniscient smiled.

  "Well, look who we have here. If it isn't the great ancient emperor threatening a defenseless woman."

  Akarim glared at Omniscient, then sighed as he let go of Elara and smiled gently.

  "Count yourself lucky, or I would have killed you."

  But Elara only giggled as she laughed it off.

  "But didn't you cowardly betray the first ancient so that you could be with the ancestor, grandpa?"

  Who was the first ancient that Elara was spouting about?

  It was none other than the enigmatic emperor, the very first emperor, the one who should lead this world, the emperor of the wharks, Aulie.

  He was the first being who had awakened his race and obtained the power that all feared.

  Akarim was Aulie’s sworn brother, and Aulie himself was the strongest and most feared emperor of this world.

  His wife was none other than Ashin Sae Acoustine, Elara's ancestor.

  But why did Akarim betray him?

  Well, that's another story for another time.

  Akarim smiled at Elara, unable to help but remember Ashin Sae Acoustine, who he had stolen from his sworn brother.

  He laughed.

  "Hahaha, it's been a while since I've laughed this hard! As a reward for making me laugh, allow me to help you solve the crisis of this world, Divine Emperor."

  Surya clenched his teeth and glared at Akarim.

  His skin began to wrinkle and fall to the ground as intense heat seeped out from his body.

  Rage was visible on his visage.

  But the Divine Emperor nodded and gazed at surya, as he regained his calm.

  Akarim gazed at Surya and smiled, and then the Divine Emperor announced.

  "Let us begin."

  Maybe give it a try? ??