Western Monks - 707

It was clear that not all of the people in this room were aware of what was going to happen. Based on their expressions earlier, only around half were aware of the plan. Skybelle showed no mercy, her rage truly incensed.

She killed the Emperor, along with half of the people in the room, including one of the two kings under the Emperor.

Only then did she stop. "Anyone who leaves this room will be killed."

Leaving behind these words, she left, moving out of the throne room and looking for the Imperial Scholar. It did not take her long to find him where Skymender left him.

"You won?" He asked, clearly surprised. 

"More like Skymender won, but he needs help. If we don't do something, he will die."

The Imperial Scholar's eyes narrowed. Skybelle helped him into the throne room, where he saw Skymender.

He took a step forward, but Skybelle stopped him. 

"Skymender said to stay away. He used some sort of poison which created this outcome." She explained.

The Imperial Scholar nodded, understanding that Skymender must have used the deprivation poison. 

He looked around and saw the rank 2 Sword Master. He was still alive, but he could not move. Both of his arms had been crippled, and the countless bone fragments caused blood to continuously flow out. The pain was immense, and he could barely stand it. 

The Imperial Scholar spoke. "Kill him."

Skybelle nodded. She took out her sword and threw it. It pierced the head of the rank 2 Sword Master, killing him instantly. At this moment, the battle was worth it. Killing a rank 4 Sword Master of an enemy Empire, as well as a rank 2 Sword Master of their main enemy Empire, was an incredible achievement.

The only issue was, the cost of losing Skymender was high, perhaps even higher than the worth of those two Sword Masters. But if Skymender could survive, he would return to the Empire a hero. 

Even Sword Master Shang rarely accomplished the feat of killing a rank 2 Sword Master. It was not because it was difficult, but because there were extremely few in all of history, much less the current time.

After enough time passed, the Imperial Scholar rushed towards Skymender. By now, the deprivation poison had dispersed. He quickly examined him. It was not nearly as bad as it looked. The corrosion of his jaw had actually stopped any sort of future damage through bleeding or infection, and though it looked bad, the damage had already been done and would not worsen. 

He quickly stopped the bleeding from the sword wound. Although he did not have any medicinal plants on him, applying pressure was enough for now. Finally, there was the injury to his eyes. 

There was nothing that could be done. By the time the deprivation poison had dispersed, his eyes had been destroyed. They had shrunken and withered, not even connected to his body even more. 

After a moment, the Imperial Scholar could only sigh. However, he quickly gained some sort of determination.

"So what if you are blind. As long as your brain works, you can be the next Imperial Scholar. Forget fighting, forget the Serpent Master. Intelligence can make up for all of these losses."

After saying this, he fell silent for a moment. 

"Western monks." He muttered.

He turned to Skybelle. "Let's go."

She nodded. They left the throne room, leaving the remaining officials behind. 

As of this moment, the Natural Empire was no more. Without a Sword Master, they were worth nothing, and even their Emperor was dead. They were no threat, nor anything to care about any longer.

Skybelle carried Skymender, while the Imperial Scholar walked behind.

Skymender was currently unconscious.

They arrived at the carriages, and the Imperial Scholar began to use some medicinal herbs to heal Skymender. He also pulled out a few vials of medicine, which combined with the herbs and some bandages, quickly stopped any bleeding.

Skybelle thought that they would leave and head for the Faceless Empire, but the Imperial Scholar shook his head. 

"You go, take all of the carriages with you. We, however, will not be returning for the time being."

Skybelle was shocked. "Why not?"

The Imperial Scholar explained. "In the western area of the continent, there is a group of people known as the western monks. These people have proclaimed to have achieved some sort of ability, where even without eyes, they can still see. This is Skymender's only hope."

Skybelle hesitated for a moment before nodding. 

"We will leave separately and quietly. Let's hurry."

Skybelle helped the Imperial Scholar, finding a carriage from the Imperial Family of the Natural Empire, and wiping off any sign that it was anything besides a normal carriage. It was still as fast as one of the Imperial carriages from the Faceless Empire, but appeared to be ordinary. 

Even the animals pulling it seemed more ordinary than the animals pulling the Faceless Empire's carriage.

After packing all of the essentials onto the carriage, the Imperial Scholar said his goodbyes to Skybelle. Skybelle reciprocated, and said goodbye to the unconscious Skymender before leaving. It was necessary for them to split up, as the Ancient Empire surely had people around the Natural Empire.

Seeing the Faceless Empire's three carriages leave, they would believe that all three of them were leaving. 

This left the Imperial Scholar, who dressed in commoner clothes, taking a carriage out of the Empire. It moved at a normal speed in order to avoid attracting attention.

Only when the Natural Empire's Imperial Capital was out of sight did they take off, moving extremely fast.

The Imperial Scholar spent most of his time driving, and for a week, continued to take care of the unconscious Skymender. 

Creating a true successor had become his last obsession in life, and he would not be willing to die unless he succeeded.

After a week, Skymender woke up. He was extremely injured, but he was able to move. Naturally, the first thing he noticed was darkness, endless darkness.