Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix - Chapter 479

Chapter 479: Desperate Retreat
Asura’s body was in no state to fight. He could barely do more than breathe. Mu Xue and Mu Yue tried to escape. However, they couldn’t head back to the east, where their troops and the forest of monsters existed.

“Sister, we have to enter the lion’s den!” Mu Yue’s face looked at the remnants of the Vigilants and her sister with a sense of loss.

There was little chance of survival if they didn’t escape the capital. With Asura severely wounded and Mu Xue on the cusp of giving birth, Mu Yue took the lead.

“I know, but Asura and I cannot help you. We are nothing but a hindrance right now.”

‘They are in panic, there’s no way to help them… Is there?’

Asura’s mind raced. He could barely move his eyes, but he still prioritised the safety of his lover and her family.

Lucia’s shadows were wiped out and unusable for the next 24 hours because of the abyssal lord earlier. It felt like the Demon Empire was just waiting for this moment, and the conflict with Silvara in the West was just for show.

“Féng He Ran, how many enemy troops are there?” Mu Xue’s stressed voice echoed, causing Asura’s heart to palpitate and frustration to build inside his chest. There had to be something he could do to escape this situation.

‘I cannot sense the monoliths… yet, the world tree has somehow fused with my entire body, as if becoming my source of life.’

“We should head to the northern district of the palace, then take the secret passage of the inner court to escape.”

The one who joined the conversation was someone unexpected.

He leaned on Mu Lan, with one of his arms missing. It was Shang Luo, the greedy light in his eyes nowhere to be seen. Replaced with a gaze of sorrow, he observed the fallen empire and corpses littering the streets.

“How can we trust you?!” Mu Xue’s body began to emit a frigid cold light. Her icy blue eyes shone brightly before Mu Yue’s hand pulled on her shoulder, causing the maiden to calm down.

“Sister now isn’t the time—”

“What do you mean not the time? It was him! He killed our family, our lovely mother… and our caring father. It was all his family did!”

*Smack*

In her moment of hysteria, the stress of Asura being wounded, about to give birth and seeing Shang Luo caused Mu Xue to go past her limits.

Thus, Mu Yue, who felt similar but remained calm, slapped her sister. The first time she went against her since they were little and used to fight.

“Focus! Mu Xue, we are in danger to the east, and the west is an enemy army. To the south are flames and chaos that will lead to death! Our only choice is north and through the secret passage, as Shang Luo stated!”

“!!!” Mu Xue’s eyes widened, yet she couldn’t… she just couldn’t! So, instead of causing more strife, she swayed over to Asura, who lay on a large piece of debris, his eyes closed, the black hair he so loved slowly fading.

‘Is it because of stress, or is he dying…?’

Silver hair, identical to his mother’s, although it lost its colour. His face was pale, and the wounds from his fight against the demons seemed to struggle to repair themselves.

Shang Luo gazed at Mu Xue and Mu Yue before pushing off Mu Lan and lowering himself to his knees.

“I understand you can never trust a member of my clan. However, I swear on my mother’s honour that this is the only way for us to escape!”

Because of his words, Mu Yue grits her teeth with a huff, and she nods. “Then, you should take the survivors and help them through the castle.”

With a regretful eye, she watched her sister. There was a gaze of determination and stubborn will, which Mu Yue realised meant she wouldn’t follow. ‘Sister…’

‘Mu Xue is suffering… wake up, I cannot keep sleeping here. There must be something I can do to help. How can I be useless at the key moments as always?!’

Asura could feel the comfortable feeling of her cold fingertips brushing through his hair. He didn’t want to be like this—trying to focus, he tried to move his Animus the way he desired.

‘Eh… What’s this…’

However, there was no mana inside his body. He couldn’t feel mana, anima, or animus.

“Come on! We need to go. The Demon Army is almost upon us!” Mu Lan supported Shang Luo and ordered some Vigilants to grab Mu Xue while others held onto Asura.

“Lady Mu Xue, we must leave. I will have people help carry Prince Asura to the escape route.”

Screams began to sound closer, and the Demon Army entered the capital. The sounds of combat and murder close to the group that sluggishly began to move towards the palace.

“…No!”

Mu Xue, who was practically dragged away from Asura, struggled, yet, thanks to Lucia and Mu Yue hugging her, she calmed down even a little. At this time, a group of hooded figures appeared and blocked the path between the group heading to the inner castle and where Asura and his people just was left.

“Hurry! The castle is safe!” Shang Luo called out, while Mu Lan and the other able Vigilants remained behind to hold off the approaching Demon Knights. Many Vigilants stayed with Asura, forming a guard around his injured body.

“Hehe…” An abrupt laugh sounded as Mu Yue looked at the shadowy figure that appeared from the half-destroyed palace.

“Weren’t you guys dead already?” Shang Wei… the emperor stood dishevelled, his hair messy, the crown missing from his head, and his robe covered in blood. The eerie thing was his eyes. They looked like a madman pretending to be normal as if they had been through hell.

His gaze looked at the survivors until it focused on Shang Luo and then over to Mu Lan, Mu Yue and Mu Xue before stopping entirely.

“Hmm? The spawn of those damn Mu Clan dogs… and my son, ah, what a complete disappointment you are with these wretches. To make it worse, you lost your arm? After all, the second prince was my only hope!”

“F-Father now isn’t the time! We must make haste through the passage and escape. The enemy will be upon us soon!” Shang Luo seemed frightened as he called out, but a powerful force collided with his stomach as a kick landed on him.

*Cough* “Agh! Fath-”

“There isn’t time, you say? It is the perfect time. I will kill all those who made a fool of me! Even my pathetic son, who was born from that witch!” Spitting on the man whom he had kicked, the Emperor continued.

“My precious army and most of the east have been destroyed. My empire will fall. Now, even those bastards from the Bahamot Empire dare to try and snatch my life! I will kill you all before that happens!” Shang Wei seemed to have succumbed to madness as his sword pierced the thigh of Shang Luo, his son.

“Ahhhhh!” The son screamed out in pain as tears formed in his eyes.

“You bastard! How could you!” Mu Xue finally had enough; with her sword covered in frost, she jumped forth, slicing at the deranged king.

“A fatted bitch, pregnant with a mutant spawn. Die!”

“Sister!”

“Xue!”

Before the king’s blade could reach her body, Mu Xue’s icy sword cut the king’s chest, slicing from his chest to his shoulder. The blade extended from her forearm, cleaving his right arm off.

“ARGHHH!”

“Hahaha!” Without giving him a moment of rest, her fist buried itself into his face. The force of her magic created an explosion of force, creating a loud bang.

As if it were a rag doll, the emperor went flying and smashed into a building.

“No!”

But suddenly, Shang Luo, who was supporting himself on one knee, shouted.

Thud…

His words did not warn his saviour. Instead, Mu Xue stared blankly as Mu Lan knelt before the half-dead king, his arm missing and the insanity in his eyes dulled after her assault. “Please… not now, we don’t have the time.” The words Mu Lan said were gentle and soft, unlike her usual personality.

“The priority now should be to escape, so…” Mu Lan’s face looked strange, but when she looked at Shang Luo’s sorrowful look, it became obvious why she acted this way.

Shang Wei’s sinister smile turned Shang Luo’s stomach as he stabbed Mu Lan with a rusted blade.

“Father?!”

“I see, so that is why… haha, such a fool of a woman. I suppose my son would only deserve such a woman.”

Shang Luo was speechless, and as Mu Yue rushed forward and grabbed the emperor’s neck, holding her sword against it, his expression grew grim. His body seemed to move on instinct, rushing to Mu Lan, his hand holding a potion that trembled, almost spilling.

It was an advanced healing potion given to him by Mu Lan beforehand, which was worth many silver coins. There weren’t any better, and he saved it for a life-and-death situation.

“Oh my dear, oh please… drink this…”

“Hrk…”

Mu Lan tried to talk but kept coughing up blood. Her strength faded fast, and Shang Luo’s heart felt pained. He pulled himself together and used all of his effort to give the medicine to Mu Lan.

The sound of battle came closer. It seemed the knights of Bahamot had come near, yet a large space of collapsed buildings protected them. No one noticed Asura’s eyes slightly opening. He sensed an enormous amount of vitality, almost boundless energy within his core.

If it could be called a core anymore.

Asura’s eyes gaze at the situation, and he realises there is only one solution… he never tried before but from the moment he gained the elven bloodline. He always felt he gained it for a reason, and that reason must have been now.

‘Celine was about to have peace talks, the empire collapsed, and Xavida’s uncle made a move to conquer the empire. It cannot be a coincidence!’

[Did you call me darling?]

‘Ah… prepare lots of guest rooms and some healers….’

[Darling?! Why is your voice so weak? What happened?!]

‘Please do what I asked, okay?’

[Mm…. I’ll ask Mother!]

The next moment, Asura watched Shang Luo, his sword enemy, crying for Mu Lan. A lady from the clan he helped destroy, and her not blame him for it either.

He felt his grudge could be forgotten now… There was no need to be obsessed with a past that would never come to be.

Green light started forming a giant magic circle.

The circle formed an enormous tree formed beneath the feet of the Vigilants and Asura’s allies. However, just outside the stone circle, the Emperor lay bleeding on a slab.

“What’s happening?!”

“Are we under attack?” Mu Yue gasped.

“Hurry! We have to do something!”

“It’s okay… this isn’t dangerous.” Mu Xue didn’t know how, but she turned to Asura and grasped his hand, understanding that this circle was something he had created thanks to their bond.

“But my father!”

Shang Luo still carried a small sense of affection for his father but didn’t leave Mu Lan’s side.

The ground began to shift, turning into a bright green glow that shone toward the sky like a beacon. Everyone saw this from across the land.

A huge green tree grew in the sky before a bright green light swallowed a portion of the empire. The moment the green light vanished, several people vanished from the continent with no bodies or corpses.

Only leaving the mystery of where they vanished.