A severed hand fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
The pale-skinned messenger's face twisted in agony as he clutched his bleeding stump with his remaining hand, staring in horror at the expressionless young man before him. He'd never imagined that this upstart would dare attack him in front of His Majesty Motian himself.
Azrael, however, paid no attention to such insignificant prey. He simply gazed calmly at Motian, his tone unwavering. "Your Excellency's subordinates are somewhat undisciplined. I've taken the liberty of correcting them on your behalf. I hope you won't take offense."
Behind Azrael, Aramaki stood frozen, already calculating escape routes. He hadn't anticipated the young Master would be so aggressive.
Motian offered no immediate response, maintaining his previous lounging posture as he studied Aizen, who had materialized beside Azrael, with emotionless eyes.
After a long pause, the handsome Sovereign finally cracked a strange smile, slowly uttering two words, "Interesting."
He then glanced at the pale-skinned messenger, who continued whimpering softly, and said with mild disapproval, "You're being rather noisy."
The messenger's face, already pale from pain and blood loss, went ashen. His lips trembled as he tried to speak, but ultimately chose silence.
Motian, however, wasn't finished with him.
The Mughal Sovereign straightened slightly and said casually, "Leave your tongue here and get out."
The pale-skinned messenger swayed on his feet, staring at Motian in disbelief. Why? Hadn't he been helping the Lord establish dominance?
Before he could voice his confusion, Motian's expression turned frigid. With a casual flick of his finger, a bloody chunk of flesh, complete with tongue, appeared on the floor before Azrael. The messenger had already collapsed unconscious from the pain.
Azrael frowned slightly at the gruesome display but said nothing. He simply summoned a Shadowkhan and ordered it to drag the messenger's limp body away.
Motian didn't dwell on such trivial matters. He simply raised an eyebrow and said with false courtesy, "Well, that should suffice as an apology, shouldn't it?"
Honestly, Azrael saw no apology in the display, only naked intimidation.
But considering the man's status as a Sovereign-level Lore Cardian, he couldn't afford to push further.
Before Azrael could formulate a response, Motian continued with undisguised interest, "However, I must admit... I didn't expect this."
"I never imagined that you people from the Empire of Aetherlight would actually bare your teeth at me."
With those words, the atmosphere in the hall plummeted to subzero temperatures.
Even Aramaki, who'd been observing from the sidelines, muttered inwardly, 'As expected, these Mughals came with ill intentions.'
He turned his attention to Azrael, silently wondering how the young Master would handle this provocation.
Direct confrontation was clearly the most foolish option.
What Aramaki could deduce, Azrael certainly understood as well. He simply sighed internally and said calmly, "Mr. Magnustian, there's no need for such provocations."
"However, if you're truly prepared to make an enemy of the Empire of Aetherlight, I will fight you to the bitter end."
Diplomacy between nations was never about simply yielding, especially when the opposing side sought to exploit weakness.
As Azrael finished speaking, a blond youth wearing a forehead protector materialized beside him.
Seeing what appeared to be preparation for battle, Aramaki swallowed hard and stepped forward with a forced laugh. "Gentlemen, please calm down. There's no need for such extremes."
The former emperor was already regretting his decision to accompany Azrael to the Mughal Empire. He'd never dreamed that Master Azrael would be so bold as to confront a Sovereign-level Lore Cardian head-on.
In this situation, Aramaki had certainly considered fleeing, but where could a mere Diamond-level Lore Cardian escape if these two powerhouses actually started fighting?
Therefore, he ultimately had no choice but to play peacemaker.
Unfortunately, Motian paid him no mind whatsoever. The Sovereign was well aware of Aramaki's identity, his subordinates had thoroughly briefed him on the Empire of Aetherlight's current situation over the past few days.
But even if he was a former emperor, so what? He was just a Diamond-level Lore Cardian now. In the end, this world ran on strength.
With sufficient power, even claiming divinity in the Mughal Empire was trivial. There were cases of Sovereign-level Lore Cardians placing themselves on equal footing with the Trimurti themselves.
Furthermore, his own title of [Golden Emperor] was equally outrageous. Brahma, one of the Trimurti, was born from a golden cosmic egg, claiming such a title was essentially an act of blasphemy against their religion.
But so what? The Mughal Empire still allowed him to do as he pleased.
Just as sweat began beading on Aramaki's forehead, Motian suddenly grinned. "Interesting. Truly fascinating."
"You're the first person in years who dares speak to me like that."
"Very well then. Let me see where your confidence comes from."
Before he'd even finished speaking, Aramaki sensed something was wrong and immediately moved Azrael aside using a spatial technique.
As for Azrael himself...
BOOM!
A violent explosion instantly resonated throughout the palace, and swirling flames painted the sky crimson.
Everyone in the palace was drawn to the sudden detonation.
Lucian and the other two Master-level Lore Cardians looked toward the blast, their expressions darkening. "Azrael?!"
"Is he fighting Motian?"
The three Masters' hearts immediately sank. Fortunately, the worst hadn't happened yet, if Azrael and Motian had truly engaged in all-out combat, the disturbance wouldn't be limited to this scale.
After exchanging glances, the three hurried toward the scene.
As the smoke gradually cleared, Aramaki gazed with lingering fear at Azrael standing calmly before him.
In front of Azrael stood a young man clad in radiant golden energy, resembling a divine sage. The figure was unmistakably Naruto Uzumaki in Six Paths Sage Mode.
A pitch-black spherical shield hovered before him, while several small black orbs floated behind his back.
"So this is your confidence?"
Within the collapsed palace ruins, Motian remained in his previous position, half-sitting, half-reclining on his bed. Only a few meters around him remained intact amidst the destruction.
Motian narrowed his eyes, carefully examining Naruto Uzumaki in his current state. He knew exactly what had just occurred, when his card launched its probing attack, it was this powerful figure who'd managed to block it.
"What strange objects!"
Motian thought to himself, seeing the Truth-Seeking Orbs for the first time. He'd perceived that some of his card's attacks had been directly nullified, while others were absorbed by those peculiar black spheres floating behind the unknown card.
Furthermore, Motian noticed something unusual about Naruto Uzumaki's power level. Having lived so long, he'd encountered many Master-level Lore Cardians and countless red-quality Master cards.
But none of them matched the sheer power radiating from this card in the distance.
And if he remembered correctly, intelligence reports indicated that Azrael hadn't used this particular card when expelling the Sovereign-level demon Edley.
Thinking of this, he said with some regret, "I was hoping to witness the method you used to force Edley into retreat."
"What a pity."
Azrael felt nothing. After all, he couldn't possibly unleash his ultimate trump card in response to what amounted to a probing attack.
Besides, Naruto could handle the current situation adequately. That was assuming, of course, that Motian didn't genuinely intend to fight.
If an actual battle erupted, Azrael would definitely hold nothing back.
Just then, Lucian and the other two Masters arrived.
They materialized beside Azrael, staring warily at Motian across from them, and asked softly, "What happened, Azrael?"
As they spoke, the three Master-level Lore Cardians glanced at Naruto Uzumaki with curiosity. This was their first time witnessing Azrael's card in action.
Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Naruto, they couldn't help but feel apprehensive. At the very least, in their experience, ordinary red-quality cards couldn't possibly achieve this level of power.
Unless they possessed superimposed special features, or were of chromatic quality.
Of course, there was also the possibility that the card possessed both superimposed special features and chromatic quality.
"But can a Master-level Lore Cardian truly create a chromatic-quality card?"
Lucian and the others couldn't help but wonder.
On the battlefield, before Azrael could respond, Aramaki beside him hurriedly announced, "Master Azrael and His Majesty Motian were having a brief exchange of techniques."
"Master Lucian, there's no need for concern."
Hearing this, the four Master-level Lore Cardians, including Azrael, gave him peculiar looks.
But Aramaki couldn't afford to care about appearances. Even pleasure-seekers had to prioritize survival. If he died here, he wouldn't be able to enjoy any future entertainment.
He wasn't some ultimate pleasure-seeker like the Aeon of Elation, Aha.
Motian's hearing naturally caught Aramaki's words. He startled briefly, then burst into laughter. "An exchange of techniques!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Former Emperor of the Empire of Aetherlight, you've successfully captured my interest."
"Yes, indeed, an exchange of techniques!"
Unfortunately, even though Motian had descended the stairs Aramaki had provided, the former emperor wasn't particularly pleased. He genuinely didn't want to be targeted by a Sovereign with such an erratic personality.
Aramaki silently lamented his fate.
Lucian and the other two couldn't help but breathe sighs of relief upon seeing the matter resolved. The old Master glanced at Azrael, who stood frowning beside him, and said to Motian in the distance, "Since that's the case, I'll arrange new accommodations for you, Your Excellency."
At Lucian's signal, a Diamond-level Lore Cardian hurried over to Motian's side.
Motian simply nodded noncommittally, then cast one final, meaningful look at both Naruto Uzumaki and Azrael before turning to follow the Empire's Lore Cardian away.
Unknown to Lucian and the others, Aramaki wouldn't have needed to provide that face-saving exit. Motian wouldn't have continued his attack regardless.
His original purpose had been simply to test Azrael's strength, and now that he'd achieved his goal, there was no need to persist.
He was certainly eccentric, not foolish.
Furthermore, within the imperial palace, several nations close to the Empire of Aetherlight were secretly observing his every move. It wasn't that Motian feared these observers, but rather that the backers supporting some of them posed genuine challenges, figures like Catherine III of Tsarist Russia.
Otherwise, an attack launched by a Sovereign-level Lore Cardian wouldn't have destroyed merely one palace.
"How fascinating! I truly underestimated the Empire of Aetherlight."
"They actually possess the audacity to challenge me."
Motian's lips curled slightly as he recalled Azrael's recent performance. He wasn't entirely certain, but he'd felt a strange, inexplicable aura surrounding the young man.
As a Sovereign-level Lore Cardian, he didn't believe his instincts were mistaken, but for the moment, he couldn't identify the source, so he set the matter aside temporarily.
Then Motian thought of the pale-skinned messenger from earlier.
"By the way, that incompetent fool must be dealt with upon my return."
"Disobedient dogs should be put down as quickly as possible."
The messenger was the brother of one of his favorite concubines. Only after much persuasion from her had he reluctantly brought the man along.
Unfortunately, the messenger clearly lacked proper discipline.
Motian didn't particularly mind the messenger's presumptuous attempt to intimidate Azrael. What bothered him was the young man's hesitation after receiving the direct order to leave his tongue behind.
If he hesitated now, wouldn't he eventually become a threat?
Motian sighed with regret at this realization. He'd quite liked that particular concubine, but upon returning, he would need to dispose of her as well.
After all, siblings often shared similar flaws. Presumably, she possessed the same inferior qualities as her brother.
The Empire's Diamond-level Lore Cardian leading the way had no idea of Motian's dark thoughts, but sensing that the Sovereign behind him seemed displeased, he immediately quickened his pace.
Elsewhere, after seeing Motian off, Lucian and the other three Master-level Lore Cardians breathed collective sighs of relief.
They turned to look at Azrael beside them but didn't question why he'd clashed with Motian. After working together for so many years, how could they not understand Azrael's character?
Therefore, they simply stood beside the young man, silently supporting his decisions.
However, Azrael was clearly no longer suitable for further contact with Motian, and everyone present understood this implicitly.
As for the new candidate...
Seeing the four Master-level Lore Cardians all turning to look at him, Aramaki froze in place.
He mechanically scratched his head and laughed nervously. "I actually have something urgent to attend to, so I should probably, "
Unfortunately, before he could finish his excuse, Tempest interrupted him.
Tempest smiled kindly and said, "Young Master Zhu, I'm afraid we'll need to trouble you to maintain contact with this individual going forward."
"Of course, as compensation, your salary will be doubled from now on. How does that sound?"
Aramaki's face fell upon hearing this. He genuinely didn't want to take on such a perilous assignment.
Unfortunately, after what had just transpired, he couldn't escape even if he wanted to. At least the association wasn't going to work the horse without feeding it, which provided some small comfort.
Sadly, even pleasure-seekers eventually became the entertainment.
With this resigned thought, Aramaki reluctantly agreed, "I can only promise to do my best. If anything goes wrong, please don't hold it against me, Masters."
"Of course not."
Seeing his agreement, Azrael and the other three couldn't help but smile slightly.
At that moment, envoys from other nations also arrived at the scene.
"Lord Azrael?"
"What exactly just happened here?"