772: Chapter 772 Another Fragment of a Map!

Mark stood on the spot, his whole body trembling. He knew he wouldn't survive today.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Ye Chen, I admit, I underestimated you."

"But remember, in this world, there are plenty of people far more terrifying than me."

"You have offended people you shouldn't have; sooner or later, someone will come to claim your life."

Ye Chen looked at him and said calmly,

"That is my business; you don't need to worry about it."

"Your task now is to die."

Mark's eyes flickered suddenly.

He knew he couldn't beat Ye Chen, but he didn't want to die.

He still wanted to live.

Even if it meant living like a stray dog, he had to leave here alive.

Only by living could there be hope.

Mark's gaze swept across the hall, passing over the nobles who were huddled on the ground with their heads in their hands, and finally fixed on Euphemia.

The princess.

The princess of Eagle Country.

As long as he caught her, he would have leverage for negotiation.

After all,

She and Ye Chen had a close relationship.

And as long as he could leave alive, he could make a comeback.

Mark suddenly exerted force under his feet, his whole body shooting toward Euphemia like an arrow released from a bow.

"Mia!!!"

The Queen instantly grasped Mark's intention and screamed in terror on the spot.

Euphemia's pupils constricted suddenly, and she subconsciously wanted to retreat.

But she was too slow and couldn't react in time.

Closer.

Even closer.

In an instant, Mark's hand was less than half a meter away from Euphemia's throat, and a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

As long as he caught her, everything would...

Suddenly!

A foot kicked out from the side.

"Bang!!!"

Mark was kicked into the air by that blow and sent flying horizontally.

The next second,

His body bounced twice on the ground, slid another few meters, and finally slammed into the wall at the end of the hall.

"Boom!"

The wall caved in, and cracks spread outward.

Mark was embedded in the wall, blood gushing from his mouth, his whole body sliding down the wall like a pile of mud.

At least five of his ribs were broken, his lumbar spine was shattered, and his lower body had completely lost sensation.

Mark was terrified.

He hadn't expected...

Ye Chen to be this powerful, actually crippling him with a single kick!

Ye Chen withdrew his foot and walked toward Mark.

"Hey!"

"You're quite durable; that didn't even kill you?"

Mark lay on the ground, his whole body trembling violently as he saw Ye Chen walking over.

He wanted to shrink back, but his lumbar spine was shattered and his lower body couldn't move at all, so he could only use his hands to support himself on the ground and inch backward.

"No... please don't kill me... I know I was wrong!"

Ye Chen stopped and stood in front of him: "You don't know you were wrong; you just know you're about to die."

Mark burst into tears.

"Please spare my life, I'll give you whatever you want..."

Ye Chen shook his head: "I have no interest in your money or your power."

Mark's eyes were full of despair, but suddenly, he seemed to remember something and jerked his head up.

"A map! I have a map! A treasure map! I can trade that map for my life!"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Tell me about it."

Mark swallowed hard and explained hurriedly.

"It's a fragmented map!"

"A fragmented map recording the whereabouts of the Kunlun Ruins key!"

"That map is a true treasure; there are four copies in the whole world, and I have one in my hand!"

"As long as you let me go, I will give you that map! I swear! I swear on my life!"

Ye Chen looked at him, a look of astonishment on his face.

Good heavens!

Talk about finding something without even looking for it!

To think the whereabouts of another fragment had appeared?

He raised an eyebrow: "Do you have it with you?"

Mark froze for a moment, then nodded quickly.

"Yes! I keep it on me at all times! It's right in my chest pocket!"

"Oh."

Ye Chen smiled, "Then wouldn't it be easier if I just kill you and take it?"

Mark: "???"

His mind went blank, and he stood there like a wooden chicken, as if struck by lightning.

That's right.

He had it on him.

Then Ye Chen could just kill him and take it.

Why would he let him go?

Fuck!

Why did he have to say he had it on him???

Seeing this, Ye Chen smiled: "Are you thinking that if you had changed your answer to say you didn't have it, you could have lived for a little longer?"

Mark looked up in despair, unable to say a word.

Ye Chen continued: "Unfortunately... even if you had actually said that, I wouldn't have let you go anyway; after all... I could have found it regardless."

Saying this, Ye Chen raised his right foot and stepped onto Mark's chest.

"Crack!"

Mark's sternum shattered on the spot.

The next second,

His eyes widened abruptly, the light in them gradually dissipating, and finally extinguishing completely.

Ye Chen withdrew his foot, squatted down, and reached into Mark's chest pocket, feeling around until he pulled out a map.

It was a yellowed fragment.

He unfolded the fragment; it was covered in dense lines, the paths of mountains and rivers, a partial map.

Ye Chen flipped the fragment over; there were also lines on the back that could vaguely connect with the patterns on the Black-robed man's fragment.

Another quarter.

Adding this one, he already had two fragments in his hand.

He was still two fragments away from the complete treasure map.

Ye Chen put the fragment away and stuffed it into his pocket.

Hey!

It's mine!

Watching this scene, the Queen was slightly dazed.

Ye Chen's ruthlessness, decisiveness, and that indifference that treated human life like dirt made her feel fear from the marrow of her bones.

This person was too terrifying.

Euphemia, on the other hand, felt nothing; she skipped over to Ye Chen's side and grabbed his arm.

"Ye Chen, that kick you did just now was so cool!"

"That old thing wanted to grab me, he should have looked at how much he weighed!"

Ye Chen glanced at her: "Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid of what?" Euphemia tilted her head, "With you here, what do I have to fear?"

Ye Chen smiled and didn't speak.

The nobles in the hall finally recovered from their shock, one by one crawling up from the ground and looking at each other.

Their faces didn't look good.

That scene just now was enough to give them nightmares for a lifetime.

The Queen took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and stood up from her chair.

"Come here."

Several guards recovered and rushed over.

"Drag the High Priest's corpse out and hand it over to the Ministry of Justice."

The Queen's voice was cold.

"Also, issue a notice..."

"High Priest Mark, treason, murder, abuse of power, all crimes to be punished concurrently!"

"Strip him of all honors and titles, display the corpse for three days, and then..."

"Grind his bones to dust!!!"

The guards nodded quickly, and with much effort, pried Mark's corpse from the wall and dragged it out.

The Queen turned around and looked at Ye Chen.

"Mr. Ye, about today... thank you."

Ye Chen waved his hand: "Just a small matter."

Another small matter.

The Queen's mouth twitched, but she didn't say anything more.

She glanced at Euphemia, then at Ye Chen, and sighed.

"Let's end today's banquet here; everyone go back and rest."

The nobles felt as if they had been granted amnesty; they bowed and retreated, their footsteps as fast as if their backsides were on fire.

They didn't want to stay in this hall for even a minute longer.

Soon,

Only the Queen, Euphemia, and Ye Chen remained in the hall.

Euphemia grabbed Ye Chen's arm and said with a grin: "Ye Chen, you were really so cool just now!"

Ye Chen pulled his arm away.

"Alright, alright, stop buttering me up, let's go."

"Where to?" Euphemia blinked.

"Back to sleep."

"Back where? The palace or the manor?"

"None of your business where I'm going back to."

"Then I'm going with you!"

"..."

The Queen stood to the side, watching her daughter's infatuated look, her temples throbbing.

She took a deep breath, turned around, and walked away without looking back.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Out of sight, out of mind!!!

...

The next day, Eagle Country.

Before dawn, the whole country exploded.

The news of High Priest Mark's execution detonated like a nuclear bomb on social media, the shockwave sweeping through every inch of the land.

"The High Priest is dead! That beast is finally dead!"

"I heard he was executed in the palace last night! Her Majesty the Queen must be truly furious!"

"Serves him right! That kind of scum deserves to have his bones ground to dust! No, grinding his bones to dust is too easy on him!"

"I only feel sorry for the victims; they endured so many years of pain, and now they can finally rest in peace."

...

On social media, overwhelming posts flooded the screens.

Under every post, there were thousands of comments, almost unanimously supporting the Queen's verdict and cursing the High Priest for deserving his death.

But just as the public's anger was gradually subsiding and they began to accept the facts...

Another revelation, like a pebble thrown into a boiling wok of oil, instantly triggered a second explosion.

"Have you heard? The person who killed the High Priest wasn't a royal guard or special forces, but a person from the Dragon Country!"

"That's right! It's the person from the Dragon Country who forced the High Priest to demonstrate yesterday!"

"Holy crap? The same person from the Dragon Country that the High Priest called a 'thug'? Turns out he's not a thug, but actually helped us get rid of the High Priest?!"

"Exactly! I heard from my Younger Male Cousin who works at the palace that last night the High Priest brought people into the banquet hall, wanting to kill everyone! As a result, that person from the Dragon Country single-handedly smashed the High Priest!"

"Wow! That Ye Chen must be from South Korea!"

"Shameless!"

...

The news spread like wildfire, burning from social media to news websites, from news websites to TV stations, from TV stations to the streets and alleys.

Every person in Eagle Country was talking about the same name.

Ye Chen.

That young man from the Dragon Country!