"Tell me, where's the place of the many almighty beasts' will?"

Merlin's voice was calm and it entered into the second prince's mind. The second prince was now completely controlled by Merlin's Mind Power and would obediently answer anything Merlin asked.

"There are many almighty beasts' will in the royal family's treasure vault."

The second prince answered Merlin's question without hesitation.

Merlin frowned. He knew a little about the royal family's treasure vault. Rumor had it that the royal family's treasure vault was the most precious to the royal family apart from where the Sacred Lion Beast was.

Most of the royal family's resources as well as thousands of collections were kept in the royal family's treasure vault. There were countless treasures of all kinds. However, the treasure vault was guarded by some ancient and powerful beings and even the King could not enter it.

Knowing this, Merlin knew that the second prince was only stalling for time for Merlin to let him go.

Merlin looked at the glassy-eyed second prince and slowly held out his hand. His pale fingers gently pressed on the second prince's forehead.

"Spurt."

A bloody arrow shot out from the back of the second prince's head. The second prince's dull eyes immediately cleared but dimmed thereafter. Without even a groan, he fell to the ground.

Merlin did not look back. He turned around and disappeared from the palace, leaving behind a bloodstain and a strong stench of blood.

...

In the quiet palace, there was incense burning, emitting a strong aroma.

"Whoosh."

A figure quietly fluttered from outside of the palace and stood in the hall soundlessly.

Seated in a chair, the King immediately raised his head. He appeared anxious as he quickly asked, "Farron, how did it go? Did you stop them?"

Farron raised his head and looked at the King. Although it was covered, there seemed to be more wrinkles. It looked like the King had aged even more than a few decades.

Perhaps the King was old!

"Your Majesty, unfortunately, I couldn't stop them. His Highness the Second Prince, is dead!"

"What did you say?"

The King was in disbelief. His second prince had died just like that. He had been so powerful that he almost threatened the King but now, he had died quietly and by the hands of his own daughter, the Princess Royal, Lisa.

"How's that possible? Farron, even you couldn't stop them? Who was it that you couldn't stop?"

The King's eyes grew red. There were times where he was unreasonable but the second prince was his son after all, so he felt grief upon his son's death. Just like when the Princess Royal "died" before, he had also felt grief. Only later did he begin to accept the authority left behind by the Princess Royal.

"Your Majesty, it's Marquis Leon whom you've conferred! Although his Supreme Talent hasn't been strengthened, he seems to have found a way to continuously enhance his almighty beast's physical strength. I can't kill him…"

Farron's tone was bitter as he spoke. It was the first time that he had felt so helpless. Even if it was against Doomsday, as long as he retaliated, Doomsday would retreat.

This was the only time where he retreated in defeat!

"Marquis Leon? Has he grown so strong? He's not loyal to me but to my ambitious eldest daughter, Lisa."

The King narrowed his eyes and no one knew what he was thinking about at the moment. Perhaps the second prince's death made him sad but it was only momentarily. He had many children and familial love in the royal family was thin.

What he faced now was a grim choice. Once the second prince died, there was no one to pin down the Princess Royal. Moreover, the Princess Royal's power would expand dramatically. The Princess Royal would force him to abdicate the throne even before it was time for him to step down.

"Farron, have we grown old?"

The King had mixed thoughts. He felt exhausted and overworked. Even the pride he had felt when he first ascended the throne no longer existed.

With the chaos and splitting of the Holy Dragon Empire, he may be evaluated the worst among the Kings of the Holy Dragon royal family. However, it was not due to his incompetence.

At times like these, the King seemed to feel "old".

"Your Majesty, what do you think should be done about the Princess Royal?"

The King's expression turned cold at the mention of the Princess Royal, and he answered, "Don't do anything about Lisa for the time being. I'm afraid Leon will have an all-out fight with you in Phantom's Intelligence Team. Phantom's Intelligence Team mustn't lose."

Phantom's Intelligence Team was the royal family's strongest force. Even if the Holy Dragon Empire was now in chaos, as long as Phantom was around, the royal family still had a chance to control the situation.

If the King wanted to maintain his supreme authority, then he must naturally hold onto Phantom. Originally, the King relied on Farron to control Phantom. Farron's strength was the greatest, and he stood at the top of the royal family. With him around, the King could control Phantom.

However, now, there was Merlin who was evenly matched with Farron. It was no longer Farron who dominated the entire Phantom Intelligence Department.

"Your Majesty, the greatest threat now isn't the Princess Royal but Leon. Do you want to consult some of the elders?"

Farron hesitated for a moment. He was very fearful of Merlin. He had always felt that Merlin's potential was too great. Moreover, since they were walking on different paths, he could not see Merlin's strength.

Farron alone could not deal with Merlin nor could he contain Merlin. However, Farron knew the royal family's secrets. The royal family did not just have powerful people on the surface. They had many full-shifters as well.

Moreover, the most frightening part was that there were a few unfathomable elders in the royal family guarding the treasure vault. They were the safeguard of the Holy Dragon City and even Farron was not sure if he could deal with them.

These elders in the royal family were ancient and mysterious. Even the King did not know how powerful they were. If these elders intervened, Merlin would not be able to resist no matter how strong he was.

However, the King shook his head and said, "The elders won't easily act if it's not a matter regarding life or death for the royal family. What's more, Leon is relying on the Princess Royal, who's also a child of the royal family. The elders wouldn't interfere with someone loyal to the royal family."

For the elders of the royal family, they protected the interest of the entire royal family, not the rights of a single King. Even if the Princess Royal tried to remove the King from the throne, the elders would not intervene.

For them, it was fine as long as the empire was still ruled by the royal family.