71: Chapter 71 The Demise of the Dawn Dynasty

Youying Dynasty, Imperial City of Youying.

Atop the grandest high platform in the imperial palace, two figures stood, one primary and one secondary.

King Louis XVI, the monarch of the Youying Dynasty, stood bowed to the side, his posture respectful and his expression cautious.

Standing high and overlooking the center of the main hall was the Council's Pope, Ulysses.

The difference in status and nobility was clear at a glance.

In today's Youying Dynasty, the imperial power had long since declined, while divine authority towered over all domains and dominated the imperial court.

During this period, extraterritorial trial-takers wreaked havoc one after another, capturing a large number of towns within the territory and tearing apart the domain's borders. The Imperial Dynasty's military forces suffered heavy losses, and its ruling power experienced a cliff-like decline. In contrast, the Church Council, though also affected by the turmoil, suffered losses far smaller than the royal family.

The divine authority faction, which already possessed a deep foundation, took this opportunity to completely suppress the imperial power and unify the right to speak in the imperial court. Although King Louis XVI sat upon the imperial throne, he had long since become nothing more than a Puppet.

King Louis XVI took a deep breath, suppressing the panic and helplessness in his heart, and looked cautiously at Ulysses, asking in a low voice, "Your Holiness the Pope, external rumors say that there has been a drastic change in the Xiguang Dynasty. Is this matter true?"

Ulysses lowered his eyes and glanced at him. On his normally indifferent and majestic face, a rare layer of heavy gloom covered it, and his deep, raspy voice echoed through the entire main hall.

"The intelligence is true."

"Ten days ago, the entire territory of the Xiguang Dynasty fell and was completely destroyed. The Xiguang Emperor died defending the imperial city to the death and has already sacrificed for the country. The Xiguang Pope, Lewis, only led a small number of remaining church members to flee in a panic, and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

As the words fell, the entire hall fell into a dead silence.

King Louis XVI's body suddenly stiffened, and his complexion turned as pale as paper.

Below, the pupils of all the civil and military ministers and royal nobles abruptly constricted, and their eyes churned with extreme terror and disbelief.

The Xiguang Dynasty and the Youying Dynasty had confronted and slaughtered each other for thousands of years, knowing each other's strength deeply.

Yet such a vast and powerful dynasty was actually completely devoured by a group of bizarre monsters that appeared out of thin air within a mere two months, destroying the country overnight!

If the other party could crush Xiguang with the force of a withered tree, they could naturally trample Youying just as easily!

Extreme panic instantly swept through the main hall, and the oppressive atmosphere made people choke.

"Where on earth did that group of monsters come from! Why are they so terrifying!"

"The great Lord of Mingyuan is above! I implore the Divine Lord to show mercy and protect your devout believers!"

Panicked wails and prayers rose one after another, and the imperial court was thrown into complete chaos.

"Shut up!"

Holding a scepter, Ulysses gave an angry shout, and a majestic wave of sound suddenly exploded, suppressing all the noise.

Everyone in the hall instantly fell silent like cicadas in winter. No one dared to speak more, and they all lowered their heads and bowed in fear.

King Louis XVI forced down the trembling in his heart and spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of entreaty, "Pope, those monsters have become an unsolvable natural disaster, and even the Xiguang Dynasty has collapsed with a crash. Now the situation is critical, can you contact the great Lord of Mingyuan and pray for the Divine Lord or divine envoy to descend to save the world?"

"Are the Divine Might and actions of the Lord something you can casually guess and rashly disturb?" Ulysses sneered coldly, his expression majestic and fierce, "If mere external troubles require disturbing the Supreme Divine Lord, then what is the meaning of the existence of us believers and various clergy?"

Feeling the anger in Ulysses's tone, everyone present trembled all over, and no one dared to argue another half sentence.

"The monster army has been dormant for three days and currently has no unusual movements. Following any changes later, I will naturally notify all parties to deploy defenses."

Leaving behind a comforting remark, Ulysses stopped lingering, turned around to leave the imperial palace, and headed straight back to the council.

Outside the council at this moment, dozens of archbishops had already packed and were waiting.

This group of people had all reached the half-step Saint Knight Realm, making them the top combat strength of the council.

In the past, the council possessed four Saint Knights who served by the side of the Lord of Mingyuan year-round. However, along with the inexplicable disappearance of the Supreme Divine Lord, the four Saint Knights also vanished without a trace together.

Ulysses swept his gaze across the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Have the things I ordered to be prepared been properly readied?"

Wilson by his side immediately stepped forward and bowed in response, his tone respectful, "Reporting to the Pope, everything has been prepared and is fully placed in the main hall."

Wilson had previously been ordered to go out for reinforcements, but as soon as he returned, he heard the bad news: the Xiguang Dynasty was invaded by monsters, and a bizarre beast tide swept across a thousand miles.

The upper echelons of the Youying Dynasty knew deeply that the overall situation was critical and they were unable to take care of themselves internally, so they directly rejected his request to send troops for reinforcement.

With no results from seeking reinforcements, Wilson knew that going out was meaningless, so he decisively stayed in the imperial city on standby.

Given the current situation, the vast majority of archbishops held this kind of mentality: guarding the center and waiting to see how things develop.

Ulysses nodded slightly, a trace of approval flashing across his eyes, "Wilson, you did very well in this matter."

Receiving this praise, Wilson could hardly conceal the look of pride on his face.

Just at this moment, a shrill and angry reprimand suddenly resounded through the main hall, breaking the peace.

"Ulysses! You cannot do this! This is blaspheming the Lord and acting beyond your authority! When the Lord of Mingyuan returns, divine punishment will surely descend! And all of you are accomplices in wrongdoing!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar. The expressions of all the archbishops changed abruptly, and deep panic welled up in the depths of their eyes.

"Clang——!"

Holding a heavy scepter, Ulysses struck the ground heavily, and the clanging resonance suppressed all noise.

"In the face of troubled times, do not be bound by minor details!" His gaze was stern as he scanned the audience, his tone resolute, "All consequences will be borne entirely by me after the return. The Supreme Lord is discerning and knows that we are doing this to protect the living beings of the entire territory and consolidate divine authority; he will certainly understand our expedient measures!"

Hearing these words, the panic and unease in everyone's hearts subsided slightly, suppressing the misgivings in their hearts.

Without further hesitation, the crowd followed Ulysses together into the core of the main hall.

Upon the high platform in the hall, a clear golden pool stood quietly, its water shimmering with ripples and exuding an extremely dense sacred aura.

If new deities like Su Ming were to witness this scene, their eyes would definitely turn red and their hearts would be filled with greed.

How could this be ordinary pool water? This was purely condensed, completely pure liquid Power Of Faith!

The reserve in a single pool was as high as a staggering one billion!

Such a massive amount of pure faith was a supreme treasure to all deities.

Ulysses stripped off the divine robe on his body and slowly stepped into the golden pool water.

The endless and majestic Power Of Faith poured frantically into his limbs and bones, Divine Soul, and Meridians, while the overbearing and fierce power washed over his Physical Body and Realm.

The extreme swelling pain and tearing sensation twisted his face and made his whole body tremble. His eyes were filled with undisguised pain, but he gritted his teeth tightly to endure it, refusing to take half a step back.

He intended to use this massive Power Of Faith to forcibly break through the shackles, achieve a Breakthrough from the half-step Saint Knight Realm, and ascend to the Saint Knight Realm!

But if external deities were to learn of his cultivation method, they would certainly curse endlessly and feel heartache beyond measure.

This crude and arrogant method of forced infusion would directly waste more than ninety percent of the pure Power Of Faith, and the loss was terrifying to the extreme.

If it were in the hands of trial-takers, this one billion Power Of Faith would be enough to steadily nurture several demigod powerhouses. But in Ulysses's hands, it could only be used to risk one's life to charge at one person's Realm, which could be described as extremely extravagant.

Just as Ulysses was in seclusion to break through his Realm, the various trial-takers flooding into the Youying Dynasty never stopped their actions.

Among them, the one with the biggest commotion and highest stature was Yan Qinghe, who had fled in a panic from the Xiguang Dynasty.

When he first entered the Youying Dynasty, he originally planned to keep a low profile, lurk, develop stealthily, slowly recover his Origin Qi, and accumulate strength.

But when the news of the complete destruction of the Xiguang Dynasty spread over, Yan Qinghe completely dispelled all wishful thinking.

Those bizarre beast tides left too deep an impression on him.

In his view, if the trial-takers allowed the situation to develop further, they would ultimately all degenerate into stepping stones and nourishment for the monster army.

Under desperate circumstances, Yan Qinghe no longer hid his capabilities, actively running around in all directions and widely issuing invitations to contact surviving trial-takers from all sides, intending to integrate all scattered combat power and form an unprecedentedly massive trial-takers Alliance.