Chapter 1256: Chapter 1243: Hunting Divine Beings Chapter 1256: Chapter 1243: Hunting Divine Beings “Your Majesty, please give me a full explanation as to why the engagement ceremony between Princess Astia and myself was canceled? Hadn’t it already been agreed upon? Why was it unilaterally annulled without any prior notice?”

In the resplendent, clean, inverted pyramid-shaped hall, a man seated in the upper middle level questioned the empress, who sat at the highest point, his tone filled with immense anger.

Although he was a duke of the Empire, in a civilization that had advanced to this level, personal control over arms capable of influencing the entire civilization was no longer allowed.

So, although his status seemed noble, he actually had no substantial power backing him; he was merely a nominal noble.

Thus, to marry the most renowned princess of the royal family, he conceded a large number of the commercial resources controlled by his clan externally to obtain support or non-competition, but now all his efforts had come to naught.

“Duke Vijay Kumar, I personally deeply apologize for this matter. But as the empress, I can clearly tell you that your engagement to Princess Astia must be terminated, as it pertains to the survival and continuation of our civilization.”

“It pertains to the survival of our civilization?”

Upon hearing this, the high ranks of the civilization gathered by the empress suddenly became interested; she thought she was just joining this emergency meeting to mingle and hear some gossip, but it turned out the issue was so significant that they did not think the empress would joke at such an occasion.

“Oh, Your Majesty, I really don’t understand how the survival of our civilization could possibly be linked to my engagement with Princess Astia. I don’t believe that Princess and I have such influence.”

“Your Excellency, you indeed do not have such influence, but Princess Astia does,” responded Minister Remi Locke, seated below the empress, his expression stern. As one of the only two witnesses to the unexpected divine power, he clearly understood the necessity of terminating the engagement.

“Princess? Ha? What are you all talking about? I admit, Princess Astia possesses a uniquely beautiful face that is unmatched in the world, but could this affect the rise and fall of our civilization? Isn’t that too absurd?”

The duke had thought the engagement was finalized, and anyone would find it hard to accept such a sudden cancellation. Even though he was a high-ranking and well-composed noble, he was somewhat losing his composure as he loudly questioned the empress.

“Your Excellency, I can understand your feelings. However, I want to ask, don’t you think Princess Astia’s beauty has transcended the ordinary?”

“What are you trying to say?” the duke asked coldly, looking at the minister. The news of his engagement’s cancellation had turned him from an envied figure amongst all the males in the Empire to a laughingstock within a matter of days, a multiple blow to both his spirit and reputation.

“Since our civilization initiated the genetic completion project, our bloodlines no longer carry the flaws our ancestors passed down to us; everyone possesses flawless bodies and faces, and ugliness is no longer associated with us.

While that is the case, the level of perfection still varies among individuals, like with Princess Astia—but don’t you think she is too perfect? So perfect that it seems unreal, like a fantasy.

And now we have the answer. Princess Astia is so perfect because she isn’t fundamentally a Yuguang person; she is the reincarnation of a great being and is crafted from that being’s shell, which is why she is so flawless.”

“Absurd, this is your explanation? Are you mocking me?”

“We have no need to mock you, for you are merely a duke, and in relation to our civilization as a whole, you really are nothing.”

“A great being’s reincarnation? Even if you opposed the marriage between me and Astia, could you perhaps come up with a more reasonable, convincing reason?”

“Duke Vijay Kumar, do you remember the tremor in the Imperial Capital half a month ago?”

“Didn’t the official announcement say it was due to a main engine damage because the maintenance department didn’t replace it in time?”

“That was an excuse for the citizens, but the truth is that a being who suddenly visited us demonstrated his power.”

“How is that possible?”

“What kind of being could penetrate the core of our civilization and even cause the Imperial Capital to tremble?”

The words of the empress stirred the entire upper echelon of the civilization and sparked fierce debates, with the majority questioning the credibility of the event.

“If you don’t believe that, do you still remember that night when the darkness turned into daylight? That was the true power of that great being, a power that could rival the sun.”

“A great being who suddenly visited—was his demand really to cancel my engagement with Princess Astia?” the duke questioned, his dissatisfaction surging within him.

“Yes, he claimed that Princess Astia is the reincarnation of his wife, so to avoid any conflicts, I directed Minister Remi Locke to announce the termination of the engagement immediately,” the empress said calmly, her eyes cold.

As the supreme leader, she would set aside all her personal emotions and not let personal feelings influence her judgment, making the most beneficial decisions for the civilization as possible.

“Is that the reason?”

“Is that reason not sufficient? To soothe a deity-like great entity by paying such a small price is absolutely worth it. Even if it demanded your life to quell its anger, I would not refuse.”

“You…” The Duke raised his head, staring at the empress in anger. It’s hard to suppress negative emotions when someone explicitly tells you that you will be used as a sacrifice.

“And indeed, my decision was not wrong. We have won the favor of this great entity. It has already allied with us and will protect our civilization in the difficult years to come.”

“Your Majesty, please elaborate on this matter.”

…

“Report to me the results of this exploration mission, Commander Zomali,” Muria said with a gentle smile, looking at the dispirited Yuguang person before her.

“Yes.” A young successor, unable to accept the reality, suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart and began to report as per the script…

“Hmm? There are seven worlds where you determined there’s a high probability of the presence of deities. Why are there eight worlds designated as extremely dangerous and off-limits in your report? What is in that one world you haven’t reported to me, to place it alongside worlds where deities might exist?”

“Report, I don’t know!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Muria arched an eyebrow.

“Because we know nothing about this world. Almost instantly after the teams go in to explore, a whole fleet loses contact, sending back no useful information.

Such incidents, even in worlds where there’s a high probability of deities’ presence, have never happened before. This is so far, one of the worlds our vanguard fleet hasn’t gathered any information about.”

“I see,” Muria suddenly became interested, “Your most important task now is to trace the traces of gods and report to me the instant you find anything. As for this world, you don’t need to bother; I’ll take care of it.”

“Mom, isn’t your student already a deity? Why are you still seeking other divine beings?” After the fleet commander left, Areina asked eagerly.

“Is my student not one of our own? How could I move against him?” Muria rubbed her forehead, somewhat helplessly. Even if one were to breach moral boundaries, attacking one’s own student might not end well.

In a short time, transitioning from an ordinary human to a True God within reach as an Earth God, such a transformation is truly incredible. Though it was his own effort, external influences were indispensable. Jiuli is the protagonist of the era, endowed with unusual fortune.

“Not against Jiuli. Wait, are you planning to move against other divine beings?” Areina looked at Muria with a face full of horror.

“Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I, and you, are here?” Muria responded as if it were the most natural thing.

The reason they, as a family, risked great danger to reincarnate into the large world was to obtain resources to enhance their own strength.

And for resources valuable even according to epics, the easiest to find are the divine beings. Each True God is an elite of the world; killing one would yield considerable benefits.

However, although deities are the easiest resources to find, the difficulty of obtaining them is not least significant. A slight mishap could lead to getting killed instead. The roles of hunter and prey can easily switch.

“You want to hunt Divine Beings!” Areina’s expression was beyond spectacular.

“Not just me, you too.” Muria gazed at Areina, or more precisely, at the Dragon King Atris slumbering within her.

He was highly suspicious that his mother had already awakened but hadn’t shown any sense of crisis due to his presence, coupled with her inherently lazy nature, so she simply pretended to sleep.

This suspicion was not without basis, because since meeting Areina, Muria had traveled the world with her, seeing many marvels, and the number of times she had been startled by the sights was significant.

Logically, with so much stimulation, the chances of the Golden Dragon Mother awakening were quite high. Yet, Areina still appeared like a normal little girl, nothing extraordinary.

“We are here to ascend to a higher realm, and hunting divine beings is the most convenient way to do so, of course, it’s also the most dangerous way.”

“This… I’ll not be involved.”

“Of course, you don’t have to participate, but my mother, she must take part in the action of hunting divine beings.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read