523: Chapter 523: The True Identity of the ‘Boss’ (Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Votes) 523: Chapter 523: The True Identity of the ‘Boss’ (Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Votes) “Talking to a person like you while concealing my appearance makes seem like a rat hiding in the gutter,”
He said with a smile, his gaze fixed on He Ao, “Of course, with Krod dead, you should have figured out my identity.”
He Ao studied the man’s cheeks.
He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, with a chiseled face, arching eyebrows—like a pair of drawn swords—and a pair of handso reddish-brown eyes.
He bore a seven to eight-tenths resemblance to Elfia.
Upon seeing his face, He Ao offered no comnt.
“Since the advent of the Evil God’s Offspring is inevitable, one might as well let oneself beco the vessel for its advent,”
The ‘Boss’ halted his steps not far in front of He Ao, as pitch-black shadows slipped through him and flowed into He Ao’s body.
One more step and the man would enter He Ao’s explosive attacking range.
He had precisely gauged the limit of He Ao’s instantaneous attack range previously displayed.
“Nobody can stop the contamination of the Evil God.
I imagine you have prepared a way to perish together with the Evil God’s Offspring,” the ‘Boss’ said, his smile unwavering, “to avoid interfering with your plan, I think it’s better for not to get too close.”
He bowed slightly, performing a courtesy that seed quite courtly,
“I don’t need much ti.
Once I’ve taken the Velora and the Space-Ti Anchor, I will leave.
You need not thank for coming to see you off on your last journey.
I have always admired heroes, and this is my respect for a hero,”
He continued to smile warmly and speak composedly, appearing flawless.
“When did you discover that Rhodes was the leader of the Primitive Sect?”
He Ao, suppressing his pain, asked in a low voice.
“Just a bit earlier than you,” the ‘Boss’ replied with a light laugh, “I found the Puppeteer, and then I followed him to Rhodes.”
“So was this ‘invitation’ targeting sothing you and Rhodes discussed, too?”
He Ao chuckled with restraint, “When Rhodes was stalling with , he was actually just waiting for you to make a move, right?
But he didn’t anticipate you would stand him up on purpose, showing up only after we had both been exhausted from fighting each other.”
“He didn’t tell either,”
The ‘Boss’ glanced briefly at the giant snake’s corpse entwined around the rooftop, “With such a terrifying true form, his original plan was clearly to engage in the ritual while you and I were entangled in a fight, intending to sacrifice both of us to his Divine Being.”
At this point, He Ao and the ‘Boss’ both chuckled.
Everyone was old silver, trying to out-sche one another.
However, in this situation, it was quite clear that the ‘Boss’ was holding a firr hand than Rhodes.
Rhodes and He Ao’s conflict was sharper, having reached a life-and-death level, which ant Rhodes could not hold his breath.
Even if the ‘Boss’ didn’t show up, he had to try and deal with He Ao himself.
So in reality, it was the ‘Boss’ who held out to the end.
As ti ticked by, He Ao felt himself slowly losing control over the Velora and the Space-Ti Anchor.
But it seed that this loss could be slowed by strengthening the connection with Soul Power.
It was like a tug of war, with He Ao on one end and the ‘Boss’ on the other.
He lifted his head, looking at the ‘Boss’, “Your ability is sowhat interesting.
Are you ‘stealing’ my things?”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not stealing,”
The ‘Boss’ shook his head, seemingly concerned with the term ‘stealing’, and he explained, “I’ve rely replaced so of your destiny characteristics.
These things still belong to you, but in their ‘eyes’, I am you.”
“Alright,” he paused, “I also have a question that needs your clarification.”
He looked at He Ao, “Are you from the relic?
Who does the relic truly belong to?”
He Ao looked up at him and uttered two peculiar syllables.
“What does that an?”
He was taken aback.
“Federation.”
A quiet murmuring reached his ear, followed by a sword light cloaked in pitch-black shadows.
He Ao gathered his strength in his legs and exploded with a speed greater than he had shown before, propelling himself directly in front of the ‘Boss’.
The ‘Boss’ swiftly sidestepped, dodging the attack.
Although He Ao was weakened, he was not to be trifled with; who knew if he had prepared so thod of mutual destruction capable of dragging him down together, even if there was no such thod.
Being touched by the contamination of the Mysterious Shadow is certainly not sothing easy to shake off.
anwhile, his thoughts raced through his mind.
Federation, what is that?
It sounded like so sort of organization.
At that mont, He Ao, who had just passed by, turned his head and suddenly asked, “Do you know who Elfia is?”
This question montarily halted the ‘Boss’s thoughts.
Thereupon, the next second, a dark sword light flashed by, leaving a wound on his arm.
He Ao staggered, leaning against the steel skeleton that once secured the glass curtain wall on the edge of the rooftop, barely maintaining his form.
The cool night breeze brushed against his face, and behind him lay the unprotected night sky; a slight tilt could send him plumting from the building.
“You madman.”
The ‘Boss’ took a step back, observing the blood gushing from the wound on his arm, with black shadows incessantly pouring into his body through the cut.
The next mont, his entire body began to distort, unable to withstand the intense contamination, and it abruptly collapsed, turning into an indescribable mass of flesh and blood.
He Ao observed the ‘Boss’s disintegration calmly, without a trace of expression on his face.
The power attempting to take control of the Velora from him was still at work; the one present here was not the ‘Boss’s true self.
——
Rodan Royal Palace Museum
The cold moonlight filtered through the classic windows into the dark, chilling building, falling upon the empty podiums illuminated by a muted light.
This was an abandoned room.
Through the window, the inverted reflection of towering, pointed skyscrapers flickered faintly.
Among the silent podiums, a pitch-black shadow rapidly condensed and eventually took the form of a hooded black figure.
He looked up at the high-rise buildings outside the window, his expression silent,
“Truly a crazy fellow,”
“Indeed.”
A voice of agreent ca from beside him.
‘Boss’ turned his head, looking towards the source of the voice.
A shadowy figure slowly erged from beneath the dim light, a young man from Central Earth carrying a bone sword, his face youthful.
At this mont, the young man was tilting his head, watching him with a light smile, “Nice to et you, ‘Boss’ sir,”
The young man’s tone paused for a mont, “Or should I say, Your Majesty, the King.”
‘Boss’ turned back and took off the hood he was wearing, looking at He Ao.
This face was no different from the one ‘Hao Yi’ had seen atop the spire, it belonged to the missing ‘Prince Ronnie’, which was also the face of Elfia’s father.
“Are you the new C-level from the Research Institute?”
‘Boss’ watched He Ao’s face, “Did you collaborate with ‘Hao Yi’?”
“In so sense, you could understand it that way.”
He Ao gazed steadily at ‘Boss’.
“How did you know I was here?”
‘Boss’ smiled, looking at He Ao.
“Once I knew that you were not Prince Ronnie, but rather the King, everything else was quite simple.”
He Ao took steps closer, “Prince Ronnie wouldn’t have any safehouses, but for a last-born King who ran the Kingdom for over a decade and spent a substantial amount of ti in the Royal Palace, the palace is the place he trusts the most.
“This palace contains many secret rooms and underground passages you built, allowing you to leave at the fastest speed in dangerous situations.
“And this location is the closest to the spire.
Your abilities probably have a certain range limitation, so you need to stay nearby to use this power.
“When Moonlight decided to set up their headquarters next to the Royal Palace, maybe it was to monitor you, but now it has beco convenient for you.”
“You seem very certain that I am that deposed tyrant?”
The smile on ‘Boss’ face remained calm and collected, without a single flaw to be found.
“It seems like you yourself believe you’re a tyrant,” He Ao shrugged, “You say you’re Prince Ronnie, then let ask you, do you know Elfia?”
“Of course, that’s my daughter.”
‘Boss’ kept a composed expression.
“No, you don’t know her,”
He Ao shook his head, “Your expression is very calm, with alienation and indifference.
You’re just surprised that I know Elfia, not shocked by the impact of that na on you.
“Though you are using Ronnie’s identity and face, you just know that Elfia is supposed to be your ‘daughter’, not truly believing she is your daughter.
You haven’t even truly seen what she looks like.
Compared to Elfia, Jin Ya is your real daughter.”
At this, He Ao paused for a mont, “Of course, you don’t really care about your own children, after all, your other children died at the hands of the opposition faction which you had supported with your own hands.”
When He Ao said this, a slight change finally appeared on ‘Boss’ face.
He smiled and spread his hands, “It seems you have your own ‘understanding’ of what happened back then.”
“It’s not hard to guess these things,”
He Ao watched him closely, “The ‘anomaly’ five years ago developed too smoothly.
The opposition easily overthrew the king and seized power.
Although the Tia Empire provided assistance, you are not a fool.
“During the decade or so of your reign, you grabbed a vast amount of wealth, practically plowing through Rodan.
If you were just an incompetent and tyrannical king, your downfall would have been simple, but you are not.
You are smart.
“After the kingdom’s downfall, a large amount of wealth disappeared without a trace.
Outsiders suspected you transferred the wealth, but that’s not true.
That money had been secretly ‘spent’ by the secret Transcendent organization you nurtured.
“This organization existed long before five years ago, and Krod was a mber.
Of course, it’s only reasonable that Prince Ronnie, who ‘disappeared,’ was ‘invited back’ by you to lead the organization,
“After I learned from Krod that this Transcendent organization had existed far longer than five years, I realized that what happened five years ago wasn’t so simple.
Of course, back then, I hadn’t suspected your identity yet.
“A Transcendent can do many things, let alone a tight-knit organization loyal to the king.
Even with Moonlight’s protection, the opposition wouldn’t have won so easily, but they did, as if smashing through rotten reeds.
“This can only an one thing, the kingdom’s destruction was sothing the ‘king,’ or rather, you, were pleased to see.
You wanted to use this event to step out of the role of king and move from the forefront to behind the scenes.
“The continued substantial influence of the Rodan Restoration Organization within Rodan proves this point.
Your power hasn’t disappeared; it’s just shifted from visible to hidden.
I can even boldly guess that most of the opposition is your people,
“And those people Jin Ya assassinated two years ago were the real ‘opposition’ who refused to obey your orders.”
“A fascinating story,”
The ‘Boss’ clapped his hands, “Since you claim I am the last king who overthrew myself, then tell , why would I abandon the good life of a king, cause so much trouble, and even assu my brother’s identity?”
“Being the king of Rodan is not easy,”
He Ao said, his gaze steady, “I imagine, your father, the old king who has passed away, who was dedicated to his duties, did not die of natural causes?
And the reason you’re using your brother’s identity…”
He Ao locked eyes with the ‘Boss’, “Given your abilities, is it because of a ‘ritual’?”
The ‘Boss” ability seed to be related to stealing and replacing.
Perhaps his ritual for advancing to B-level required him to take over soone else’s life.
When He Ao ntioned the word ‘ritual,’ the ‘Boss” gaze stiffened montarily before he relaxed, revealing a smile,
“It looks like you’ve learned quite a lot from Hao Yi.
You’re guarding this place; did he send you here?”
As he spoke, he spread his arms, and two short swords fell from his sleeves into his palms, “Kid, you’re very clever,”
He said sowhat sentintally, “Living soone else’s life is not easy.
Every morning when I wake up, sotis I even forget who I am.”
When a Transcendent’s cognition encounters obstacles, they’re not far from madness.
“To be honest, you look quite likable,”
The ‘Boss’, or rather the last king, Ruonati, stepped closer to He Ao, “It’s been a long ti since anyone knew my identity.
The last ti soone called Your Majesty, it seems like a very long ti ago, but,”
Clang—
The next second, he appeared behind He Ao, the two short swords slashing toward He Ao’s neck, yet they were firmly blocked by He Ao’s bone sword,
“Since you know about this, you must die.
Show the power that gave you the confidence to ambush .”
The short sword blades almost touched He Ao’s skin.
The existence of soone who knows Ruonati’s true identity would deepen his cognitive dissonance, bringing him a step closer to madness.
Therefore, He Ao must die.
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