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"Our Divine Mountain Empire is surrounded by powerful enemies. Do you know that every year, the Atlantic Empire raids our borders, leaving countless families destroyed?"

"And all of this is because our nation isn\'t strong enough."

Two tears streamed down Octavius\'s face.

"I am your father, but I am also the father of all these people!"

"No! No!"

"Spare me!"

The girl desperately struggled, her eyes filled with terror and despair.

Octavius sighed, "You still don\'t see the bigger picture."

Then, the Emperor flipped his palm and placed it on the girl\'s head, forcibly refining her into a blood-red pill. He then swallowed the pill.

Instantly, Octavius\'s aura surged again. Though he had been concealing his true power, now he temporarily broke through, exuding the presence of a legendary-tier figure!

The countless civilians and soldiers present were ecstatic. "Our Emperor is invincible!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

They all shouted sincerely, filled with excitement!

Then the crowd began to chant, "The princess is righteous, sacrificing herself bravely!"

"The princess is righteous, sacrificing herself bravely!"

"The princess is righteous, sacrificing herself bravely!"

...

Though this scene was bloody and horrifying, outside the Prince\'s Mansion, it presented a united front.

The Emperor sacrificed his daughter, yet donned a facade of righteousness, full of moral integrity, an incredibly bizarre sight!

The soldiers rejoiced, congratulating the Emperor.

The civilians, too, were elated by the sight, showing immense support.

Then, aside from the Emperor who maintained a facade of compassion, the soldiers, civilians, nobles, and officials once again shouted toward the Prince\'s Mansion, "Surrender! Surrender!"

"Sacrifice for the Empire!"

"Sacrifice for the Empire!"

...

The might of the entire Divine Mountain Empire was on full display as countless people fervently chanted, their devotion and fanaticism undeniable!

Even Sterl, who had infiltrated the vicinity, was left utterly flabbergasted.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Are these people all insane?" His worldview was being challenged. How could an emperor who slaughtered his own offspring be so revered?

Sterl was baffled, unsure if he was the one who had lost his mind or if it was the world around him that had gone mad.

However, the civil and military officials he had taken hostage gazed at the Emperor with devout expressions, even offering unsolicited explanations: "Our Emperor Octavius does not need to manipulate anyone."

As they elaborated, Sterl grew increasingly bewildered. The situation was unfolding in a way he hadn\'t anticipated.

The people present weren\'t brainwashed, nor were they under any magical influence.

The reason was...

The current Emperor of the Divine Mountain Empire, Octavius, was the most wise and visionary ruler in the past 400 years. Under his leadership, the Empire expanded its territory by a third and reduced the number of impoverished citizens by half.

The additional tax revenue from the expanded territories enriched the nobles and soldiers, who in turn funneled their wealth back into the economy through trade, benefiting the general populace.

Under Octavius\'s rule, the entire Divine Mountain Empire had taken a significant step forward. However, many lamented that this wise ruler was destined to die young...

No, he wasn\'t dead yet.

But Octavius was naturally poor in cultivation talent, lacking in strength and longevity. He had been bedridden, waiting for death.

Then, at a critical moment...

He unexpectedly acquired a unique skill called [Blood Recompense], allowing him to extend his life, enhance his strength, and improve his cultivation talent by consuming his direct descendants.

Moreover, the stronger the talent, strength, and fortune of his descendants, the more effective the consumption.

As an emperor, Octavius had consumed countless rare treasures over the years. During his many campaigns and territorial expansions, he also accumulated a significant amount of legend points.

After experimentally consuming a deathly ill princess, his talent improved. The myriad resources accumulated within him began to take effect, and combined with the legend points, he directly leaped from a third-tier strength to legendary!

This newfound power sparked even greater ambition in the Emperor.

Although Octavius broke through using the unique skill, his strength was only equivalent to the weakest legendary figure, similar to advancing with a gold-tier skill requiring just two to four legend points.

But he could sense that as long as he continued to devour his descendants, he could fill the gaps in his legendary realm and transform into a perfect legend, complete with three fully legendary golden skills.

Moreover, his lifespan would increase significantly, and he might even have a chance to reach the demigod level in the future.

Thus, countless princes and princesses were captured from their territories, controlled, and offered to the Emperor for refinement.

The fourth prince, who had originally secured the position of crown prince, refused to die without a fight. He resisted and even secretly aided other princes and princesses who sensed the danger, allowing them to take refuge in his mansion.

As for why the fourth prince and others, who simply wanted to survive, were labeled as rebels.

Because...

Sterl assumed that an emperor using such a bloody arcane skill would certainly try to hide it, fearing exposure and the inevitable backlash.

However, Octavius openly announced the details of his arcane skill in the Congress, candidly admitting, "I do not act solely out of public duty. I also crave longer life and greater power."

"But all of this is also for the resurgence of the Divine Mountain Empire!"

The general mimicked the Emperor\'s speech from a few days ago, his face radiating admiration.

The civil official\'s expression was similarly reverent.

Sterl was speechless...

He understood now. Novels had indeed deceived him. People were driven by self-interest. There was no such thing as a king being overthrown by everyone simply because his bloody and cruel methods were exposed.

The old emperor might be ruthless, but he could lead the nobles and soldiers to wealth and guide the common people to prosperity.

So, from the nobles to the military to the common folk, the entire nation leaned toward him.

It was true that the princes wanted to live.

But they were betraying the entire Divine Mountain Empire.

Refining descendants into nourishment had paradoxically become an act of righteousness.

Sterl shook his head. He was utterly confounded, at a loss for words.

At that moment, Sterl saw the Emperor wave his hand, and the iron gates of the Prince\'s Mansion were forcibly shattered.

This was the power of a legendary figure! Unstoppable by any army!

Following that, the fourth prince\'s staunch supporters led their troops to block the advance. The prince himself and the dozen or so siblings he had persuaded were all pale-faced.

Equally pale were a group of players nearby, who had previously been recruited by the fourth prince.

Sterl raised an eyebrow, suddenly noticing among the players...

Sure enough, Faye was there.

"Ancestor, what should we do?" On the surface, Faye appeared calm and noble, but in reality, she was socially anxious and internally panicking.

In the mental space, Felicia was also on the verge of breaking down. "Seriously, why do we keep running into stuff like this?"

Faye and Felicia had arrived in the capital of the Divine Mountain Empire long ago, thinking they could just explore and enjoy the scenery.

Then, a plea for help was received from the Fourth Prince.

Without hesitation, Faye and Felicia agreed. They had witnessed divine battles in the Netherworld. What danger could the Divine Mountain Empire possibly pose? It seemed like a free mission.

However, they were relentlessly pursued by soldiers all the way to the Prince\'s Mansion. Just when they thought they had reached the final stage of the mission and were about to face the boss, a legendary figure stood before Faye and Felicia.

And this legendary figure turned out to be the Emperor of the Divine Mountain Empire, who had surrounded the Prince\'s Mansion with a formidable army!

Felicia was already contemplating escape tactics, hoping it wouldn\'t consume too much soul power.

The other recruited players nearby wore similarly despairing expressions. Most of them were only second-class, with only a few third-tier warriors who had been recruited after the fourth prince became the crown prince.

But Octavius\'s army included several third-tier powerhouses, and his own legendary aura was overwhelmingly strong!

"How do we fight this? It\'s certain death!"

"Do we even have a chance to abandon the mission?"

"We might as well give it a go. The way those civilians outside are looking at us, they probably want to tear us apart alive."

The players discussed the current situation. The only reason they hadn\'t betrayed yet was that they had no means of escape at the moment.

To keep the Emperor\'s actions secret, the capital was under a disruption array, preventing the use of any teleportation devices.

They had already lost hope.

The situation before them was utterly dire!

They felt there was no chance to surrender. The civilians outside wanted nothing more than to rip them apart for aiding the Emperor and harming the Empire\'s interests.

Otherwise, the players would have been begging on their knees by now.

The princes and princesses were even more terrified. At least the players had the option to log out and return to the real world upon death.

But these princes and princesses, their strongest fighters were only third-tier.

How could they possibly face their legendary father? The thought of ultimately being refined into elixirs and consumed filled them with dread!

The fourth prince, commendably the one with the best mental fortitude, was still trying to comfort his siblings.

"At this point, there\'s nothing more to say. We have to fight for our lives."

"If we don\'t want to be calmly eaten, we have to struggle with all our might!"

Unfortunately, his stirring speech had no effect.