The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 410: The News Reach Outside

At the imperial palace of the Losaris Imperial Family, the atmosphere was tense and grim. In front of the second prince, who wore a dark expression, lay Marquess Xavier, seemingly on the verge of death. He remained unconscious, his condition worsening as his cultivation continued to drop. Once powerful, his cultivation had already fallen to the duke stage and was still deteriorating.

His guardian knight knelt before Wilmar, delivering a report on the failed negotiation. The news cast a heavy silence over the room, turning the expressions of the second prince and everyone present grim.

"We were too careless. I thought that by giving him a high-grade artifact, he would come to us out of a sense of superiority and courtesy, acknowledging our sincerity. But he is more decisive and principled than I expected," Grand Duke Donovan said.

He then looked at Wilmar and bowed slightly. "My apologies, Your Majesty. I overlooked something, which led to us losing an artifact and crippling one of our people. I deserve to receive harsh punishment."

Wilmar’s eyes remained cold as he observed Marquess Xavier’s condition before turning his gaze to Grand Duke Donovan. He was furious at Aldrian and how their seemingly perfect plan had failed. And to make matters worse, he had lost a high-grade divine artifact!

Although that artifact was more for display, as no one in his family could fully unleash the true potential of the guqin, it was still a high-grade divine artifact! His heart ached at the thought of that bastard simply snatching it away without giving anything in return.

He wanted nothing more than to strangle Aldrian for his arrogance and Grand Duke Donovan for suggesting such a plan, but he forced himself to calm down. After reconsidering, he realized that Donovan couldn’t be entirely blamed. He had agreed to the plan himself, believing it to be flawless—surely, Aldrian would take the bait.

After all, who wouldn’t want further compensation after receiving a high-grade divine artifact? He had been certain that Aldrian would come to the capital.

However, he had never expected Aldrian to be so decisive and ruthless. Not only had he snatched the artifact without hesitation, but he had also crippled the envoy he had sent. Marquess Xavier hadn’t even gotten the chance to mention the traitor to lure Aldrian to the capital! Aldrian had shown him no respect, despite his supposed gesture of "goodwill."

He sighed, trying to calm himself once again.

"You are not entirely to blame for this, Grand Duke Donovan. I also thought your plan was flawless, but we underestimated that young man’s principles and decisiveness. We overlooked them—and paid a heavy price for it," he said.

Grand Duke Donovan straightened his posture and let out a sigh.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It seems we cannot judge that man using common logic," he replied.

"Although the plan to lure that man to the capital has failed, we will proceed with the other one. Even if he refuses to come, we can still buy time with the ’plague’ plan. How is it progressing?" Wilmar asked.

"We began yesterday, as per Your Majesty’s orders. At most, we should see its effects within a week," Grand Duke Donovan replied.

"Good. At least this plan will remain unknown to him, and he’ll have his hands full dealing with it. I want to see if that man can truly handle this problem on his own," Wilmar said, his eyes flashing as he thought about the future.

"At least until that ’thing’ can be used again, we are in a passive position. But it’s still worth trying. We’ll wait for the results next week—then, we can decide our next course of action," he added.

Before long, the nobles left the throne hall—except for Carlson Harris, whom Wilmar ordered to stay behind.

"This is just a precaution, but be prepared to abandon Carsius if all our efforts fail," Wilmar said to Carlson.

Carlson was stunned. "You plan to abandon him, Your Majesty?"

This concerned him as well, after all, the three of them were already tied to the devils. If something went wrong, he would be dragged down with them!

"This is only a last resort," Wilmar explained. "If everything we do only fuels that man’s wrath and costs us countless troops, it would be no different from handing the rebels the strength they need to strike back. If our losses become too great, it’s not impossible for the rebels to push all the way to the capital. Before that happens, sacrificing Carsius would be the better option. It’s a far better price to pay than losing the civil war."

Carlson pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright, Your Majesty. I will take care of it."

With that, he excused himself and left the throne hall.

Now alone in the vast hall. Wilmar clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

"That mysterious swordsman bastard! I will find your weakness—I will be the one to have the last laugh!"

The loss of a high-grade divine artifact still stung, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Dwelling on regret would accomplish nothing. What mattered now was securing his power as emperor and crushing the rebellion once and for all.

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In the neighboring Atria Empire, the Vindas Empire was far more stable compared to the previous year. Since the downfall of the Larson family, the emergence of the giant beast, and the revelation of the truth about the Duclan family, the people of the empire had become much more aware of the devils’ presence. It was now clear that they had already infiltrated the empire and were operating within it, aided by numerous traitors.

The purge carried out last year by the imperial family, with the support of noble houses, had successfully uprooted the devils’ network within the Vindas Empire. The results were shocking to the masses, several big bases had been uncovered in different territories, some even within noble domains.

Chaos ensued as certain nobles were stripped of their status, but the emperor swiftly redistributed their titles to more deserving families, restoring order and strengthening the empire’s foundation.

The Duclan family, whose status had been elevated to a grand duchy, also played a crucial role in assisting the imperial family in eliminating the remaining devils within the empire. Many saw the matriarch, Carol Duclan, as a woman with both a vast heart and a strong, assertive nature.

People knew that although the imperial family had been deceived by the Larson family, they had still played a role in the downfall of the Duclan family years ago. Yet, despite this, Carol Duclan continued to assist them in their efforts to eradicate the devils.

Many believed that the Grand Duchess might still harbor a grudge, but she had chosen to bury it for the sake of confronting the devil threat. This only deepened people’s admiration for her generosity and determination in dealing with the devils, as she was able to set aside her personal resentment for the greater good.

Unfortunately, no one knew that it was Aldrian’s persuasion that led Carol to let go of her grudge against the imperial family. After learning that Emperor Herman had punished Princess Loraine, she tried to bury her resentment, following Aldrian’s suggestion—though it took her quite some time before she could truly suppress the bitterness in her heart.

This was why the Duclan family joined the imperial family’s efforts to eradicate the devils within the empire. Carol understood that the devils were the ones truly responsible for everything. In the end, it was their cunning schemes that had led to her family’s downfall and forced her to endure so much—until she finally met Aldrian.

At this moment, Carol Duclan was inside the cultivation room of the grand mansion that had once belonged to the Duclan family. She had just finished her training, and her body was covered in sweat, making her skin glisten. Dressed in a simple cultivation robe that accentuated her curves, she looked undeniably sexy. Her captivating beauty, combined with her ponytail hairstyle, made her a fatal temptation for any man’s heart.

After changing into a more appropriate robe, she stepped out of the cultivation room. However, before she could walk far, a maid approached her.

"Milady, there is a report from the Atria Empire that might interest you. The documents are inside your study," the maid informed her.

"Alright, thank you," Carol replied.

Not long after, she walked toward her study. Inside, she found a scroll and, without hesitation, unrolled it to read its contents. Her eyebrows lifted as she took in the report—it detailed the appearance of the mysterious swordsman in the Atria Empire and his involvement in the empire’s civil war.

According to the report, the swordsman was described as a young man, seemingly in his twenties. Attached to the scroll was a sketch of a face, supposedly depicting the mysterious figure.

Carol, of course, already knew that the so-called mysterious swordsman was Aldrian. She was surprised to read that he had acted so openly, even allowing others to see him directly. Although the sketch differed slightly from Aldrian’s actual face, it still bore some resemblances to him.

She then took out a communication artifact and spoke into it. "I want our intelligence network to monitor developments in the Atria Empire. Keep a close watch on the movements of the mysterious swordsman and report to me immediately if there are any updates."

"Yes, milady," came the response from the other side.

Now that Aldrian had revealed himself after all these years, he was undoubtedly planning something. Carol intended to pay close attention to these developments. As the savior of her family, he had earned her unwavering loyalty, and if he ever needed her help in the future, she would be ready to assist him in any way she could.

At the imperial palace of the Vindas Empire, Emperor Herman and Prince Claude had already received news from the Atria Empire the day before. They also wondered what Aldrian would do next. Since they knew the mysterious swordsman was Aldrian, this development came as a surprise to them.

However, at this moment, they had no time to dwell on the matter, as a special guest had just arrived at the imperial palace!