Imperial Throne

Chapter 17: The First Component

The mournful howls gradually faded into the distance.

Before long, the sound of footsteps slowly echoed within the cave once more.

Akar, who had been sitting silently to the side, finally turned his head to look at the approaching figure.

“Father.”

Ion gazed at Akar, who had been staring at Burton's remains earlier, his expression somewhat complicated.

However, Akar seemed indifferent. He stood up from the ground and asked, “Is Hughes taken care of?”

“Mm.” Ion nodded. “Although he was somewhat wary of my sudden appearance, when I told him that something had happened to Burton, he became anxious, giving me an opportunity... Just as Burton mentioned before, I was a Second-Tier [Flame Hound] bloodline user from the start, so when my bloodline concentration reached a certain level, I naturally advanced to Second-Tier, unlike First-Tier bloodline users who experience a distinct sense of 'shackles'.”

The strength of a bloodline user could only be enhanced through various forms of continuous training to stimulate the increase of bloodline concentration.

This could be simple physical training or the development and control of one's own bloodline abilities, with different methods aligning with individual abilities and tendencies.

Ion's method of bloodline stimulation originated from the [Flame Hound] bloodline knight Berman of the Gem Territory.

Berman's potential and strength were evidently not impressive, and Ion himself was similar.

Therefore, if it weren't for exploiting Robin's 'loss of control' earlier, he might not have reached Second-Tier even after another ten years.

Conversely, Akar's bloodline concentration increased at a rather rapid pace.

It had been just over two months, yet he could already distinctly feel the surging sensation deep within his bloodline, making him realize that the path to becoming a Second-Tier bloodline user might not be too far away.

“What was the result?”

Ion sighed softly, marveling at his son's keen perception. “As you suspected, Hughes' bloodline power was indeed drained. His corpse quickly withered, just like the bloodline knight I killed in the Gem Territory.”

“I wonder if Burton's corpse is still usable.”

Under the resentful charge of the second Armored Demon Rabbit, Burton's upper body was completely smashed into a smear of bright red flesh on the stone wall.

The lower body, which wasn't crushed, didn't escape either, as it was devoured entirely by the Armored Demon Rabbit.

This rising star of the Kasein Family had made numerous contingency plans and battle strategies before setting out, but none of them anticipated that he would end up with not even a complete corpse.

Ion knew what his son was thinking.

He didn't say much and directly stabbed the rusty sword into the smear of flesh on the stone wall.

In the next moment, astonishment appeared on both Ion and Akar's faces.

The smear of bright red flesh on the stone wall visibly dimmed rapidly, as if it had been there for years: the unique vibrant vitality it once had vanished completely as the color faded.

...

Robin felt helpless about the sword's reaction to absorbing bloodlines, as it wasn't something he could control.

Initially, he thought that only bloodline users he personally killed would have their bloodlines absorbed, forming what he called bloodline seeds, the true bloodline essence presented within the sword's internal world after absorption.

However, when Akar whimsically attempted to extract bloodline power from the smear of flesh on the stone wall, Robin realized that anything possessing bloodline power could be directly absorbed.

At this moment, two blood beads of different colors appeared before him.

One was a dusty gray, representing Hughes' Second-Tier bloodline [Ghost Fox].

The other emitted a cold, grayish-white hue, representing Burton's Second-Tier bloodline [Gray-Scaled Snake].

What caught Robin's attention was precisely this [Gray-Scaled Snake] bloodline.

Burton's method of bloodline advancement differed from Hughes', who directly consumed a Second-Tier bloodline potion.

Instead, Burton started with a First-Tier bloodline potion [Armored Rock Worm], and only after his bloodline concentration reached the Second-Tier standard did he consume the Second-Tier bloodline potion [Gray-Scaled Snake].

This was due to the effect of Burton Kasein's family bloodline, the [Six-Armed Martial Armor Demon Ape].

Previously, Burton had briefly mentioned bloodlines to Ion and Akar but didn't tell them that bloodline users with inherited bloodline abilities faced no risk of death during early-stage bloodline advancements.

This allowed those with inherited bloodline abilities to activate their bloodlines starting from First-Tier potions and continuously advance, granting them an advantage over peers of the same tier.

Therefore, for families with inherited bloodline abilities, they no longer focused solely on the immediate strength of bloodline abilities but continuously sought ways to enhance and amplify their bloodline powers.

For instance, the First-Tier bloodline [Armored Rock Worm] had the ability [Skin Hardening].

This ability wasn't particularly outstanding; it merely allowed the bloodline user's skin to harden, preventing bleeding from sharp objects. Generally, bloodline users wouldn't consider this bloodline.

But the Kasein Family had developed a bloodline advancement path that started with the [Armored Rock Worm], if their family’s Second-Tier advancement used the [Gray-Scaled Snake], then the ability [Skin Hardening] would mutate into [Scale Armor]. This transformed ability allowed the bloodline user's skin to be covered in a layer of soft armor resembling snake scales, granting them near immunity to slashing attacks.

In addition, it also significantly enhanced their strength.

Their family’s inherited combat skill, [Guillotine], required reaching the Second-Tier bloodline level to even begin learning it.

And at the Third-Tier, the [Armored Demon Rabbit] not only further evolved the [Scale Armor] ability into [Armored Armament], granting near-immunity to slashing, piercing, and other physical attacks, but also provided a notable increase in strength and physique.

Upon understanding this, Robin began to take the concept of "bloodline inheritance" seriously, realizing there was clearly a lot more to explore and study.

…

Ion and Akar were unaware that Robin had started studying the nature of bloodline inheritance.

They were only puzzled as to why, after killing Hughes and absorbing Burton's bloodline power, there was no reaction like when they killed the bloodline knight from the Gem Territory, nor did they get a new purified bloodline potion as when they had boiled the bloodline before.

After a brief moment of thought, Akar proposed a theory.

He believed it might be because both of them were already bloodline users.

Thus, the rusty sword didn't produce a new bloodline for them this time, after all, this time they had stolen bloodline power by killing others, unlike before when they had personally refined a bloodline potion. The two processes were quite different.

Ion, knowing his son was far more intelligent than himself and unable to come up with a more reasonable explanation, agreed with Akar's theory.

Looking down at the greatsword on the ground, his face was full of regret. “What a pity.”

“Burton clearly had a significant background. We can’t take his rare iron weapon with us. If discovered, it would be no different from the special effect of the rusty sword being exposed to other bloodline users.” Akar was clear-headed and not tempted by the two men’s weapons.

“Even Hughes’ corpse can’t be left here. We have to take it above and feed it to the magical beasts.”

“I understand.” Ion nodded.

In truth, he was a very cautious and careful man. He would never think of taking Burton’s greatsword or Hughes’ dagger.

Earlier, Hughes had identified Ion based on the scent left from when he had killed that Gem Territory bloodline knight.

So this time, before hunting Hughes, Ion had poured a bottle of scent repellent hated by the Armored Demon Rabbit over himself before taking action.

Ion admitted that he didn’t fully understand all the special abilities of bloodline users, and no one could guarantee there weren’t special detection methods.

Thus, he always acted with extreme caution to avoid any unforeseen incidents.

That’s why he had absolutely no intention of keeping an exotic iron weapon used by someone as prominent as Burton, he didn’t want to bring trouble upon himself.

“Right, Father, did you find the component?”

“Not yet. I was busy taking care of Hughes, and there’s still another Armored Demon Rabbit in here, so I didn’t take the risk,” Ion replied. “However, the signal is getting stronger, and it shouldn’t be far.”

The father and son then carefully began searching the cave.

Thanks to the feedback strength from the rusty sword, they didn't have to search too hard before finding the missing component, somehow brought into this cave, of the rusty sword.

It was a sword pommel with a counterweight, roughly one-third the length of the current rusty sword.

“So it’s a two-handed sword!” Akar exclaimed in sudden realization as soon as he saw the component. “No wonder it looked so odd... So what do we do now? Should we take it to a blacksmith for reforging?”

“I don’t know either,” Ion admitted, somewhat puzzled.

He held the rusty sword and aligned it with the small section of the hilt. But in the next instant, the weighted pommel suddenly shot forward like it was magnetized, transforming into a streak of light that slammed into the rusty sword.

Immediately, the rusty sword burst forth with a black radiance.

Like a black hole, it absorbed all surrounding light!

At the moment they were enveloped by this black radiance, the bloodlines that had fused with Ion and Akar’s souls trembled in fear. Both of them felt an intense chill, as though their very souls were about to be frozen.

But what they didn’t know was that this strange phenomenon wasn’t limited to this cave.

Across the entire Withered Wood Forest, all magical beasts simultaneously felt a soul-deep tremor of fear. Not a single beast dared move, they could only lie prone on the ground, trembling, with many even urinating in terror.

Even bloodline users hunting magical beasts at the edge of the forest were struck with such intense fear that they were frozen stiff, unable to move.

The stronger and higher-tier the bloodline user, the more severe this soul-shaking terror became.

…

In some unknown part of the world, there was a region shrouded in darkness. The sky was gray and lightless.

Even the ground was nonexistent, only a vast, invisible abyss.

Yet, suspended in midair above this void, was a magnificent cluster of golden palaces.

At the center of these palaces stood a colossal tower hundreds of meters high.

Atop the tower, in an observatory, it was as if a massive earthquake had just occurred, everything was knocked askew, and many items lay shattered on the ground.

“What’s going on? Why did the Sacred Codex suddenly go berserk?”

A voice filled with alarm rang out.

On the observatory platform, four aged priests wearing robes of different colors all wore looks of sheer panic.

“It must be that sacred sword the Azure Progeny spoke of, the one that carries the legacy of the Supreme Bloodline!”

“What nonsense are you spouting? If such a thing really existed, the Hall of Spirits would’ve found it long ago!”

Their heated arguments turned the once solemn and tranquil observatory into a scene of chaos.

But eventually, an aged voice spoke, finally quelling the escalating dispute: “No matter what’s going on, the sudden loss of control over the Bloodline Codex is a grave matter. We must report this to the Lord of the Hall.”