When Zhao Hai arrived in front of the Hall of Administrationsâ door, the eunuch announced a second time, âZhao Hai Buda has arrived!â
Zhao Hai looked into the eyes of the eunuch and then took a deep breath before he entered the hall. Upon entering, Zhao Hai scanned the hall to see that there were a lot of people inside. He also saw people he was familiar with, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, Charlie, Randolph, Jasonâs Grandfather, as well as Nobles he became acquainted with during the banquets that he had attended the days before. Now these people were divided into two sitting columns. Zhao Hai already expected other people to be present, but he didnât expect that it would be this much.
There was an elevated stage with a throne in the middle of the hall, a man can be seen sitting down on it. The throne was made of gold and silver, it was also inlaid with a lot of gems, and covered in a layer of animal leather. The throne looked very soft and comfortable.
The man wasnât very tall, he looked very refined, maybe even delicate. His hair was faintly gray, his complexion was still quite rosy. He had a gold crown on his head and a staff in his hand. The staff wasnât very long, it was only about 40 centimeters. The staff was made entirely of gold, its head was decorated with gigantic gemstones. This wasnât a Magic Staff, but a scepter, an item that was a symbol of influence.
This man wore very magnificent and expensive looking clothes. Although he looked very refined, he also gave off a very imposing aura, enough to make a weaker man submit. The man just sat there, calmly looking at Zhao Hai. However, Zhao Hai felt pressure, this pressure came purely from the manâs body. This pressure wasnât deliberately made to shake Zhao Hai, it was just the natural aura coming from the manâs body.
âThis should be the Rosen Empireâs Emperorâ, Zhao Hai mused inwardly. He immediately made a move and slowly walked towards the man, when he was five meters away, he performed a 90 degree bow to the man. He straightened his body and then said, âZhao Hai Buda has seen His Majesty!â
Rosen Empireâs Emperor looked at Zhao Hai and then nodded, âYou are Zhao Hai? Good, young man, very good. Were you present when the Robert Family used Antimagic Powder?â
Zhao Hai quickly responded, âYes, Your Majesty. The Robert Family did use Antimagic Powder to attack me.â
The Emperor nodded, then said, âAre you really a Mage? How did you survive the Robert Familyâs attack?â
Zhao Hai stared, then he thought that Randolph might have not told the Emperor about him being a Martial and Magic Dual Cultivator. Randolph also didnât tell the Emperor that Zhao Hai can cast magic under the influence of Antimagic Powder, leaving Zhao Hai with a card in hand.
Thinking about this, Zhao Hai immediately said, âReplying to His Majestyâs question, this one isnât only a Mage, Iâm an 8th rank Warrior as well. Because of that, Antimagic Powder cannot suppress me.â Zhao Hai also didnât reveal the fact that he was unaffected by the Antimagic Powder, he wanted to make this into his hidden ace. Compared to his ability as a Warrior, this matter was a better choice to conceal.
After hearing Zhao Hai, the people in the hall became shocked. They couldnât help but whisper to each other. They already knew that Zhao Hai was an 8th rank Mage, but they didnât expect that Zhao Hai was an 8th rank Warrior as well!
In other words, Zhao Hai was a Dual Cultivator of Magic and Battle Qi? However, in the history of the continent, Martial and Magic Dual Cultivators didnât have much of a success. There were only a handful of people of people who can reach 6th rank, reaching 7th rank was the highest recorded instance.
But now, Zhao Hai revealed that he wasnât only an 8th rank Mage, he was also an 8th rank Warrior, this was unbelievable. If Zhao Hai wasnât in front of the Emperor right now, they would surely think that Zhao Hai was lying.
The Emperor was also somewhat surprised at Zhao Hai, then he nodded and said, âGood, young man, youâre very good. This Emperor has called you today for a small request. If you handle this matter well, you will be rewarded.â
Zhao Hai bowed and said, âFor the benefit of His Majesty, I wouldnât even need a reward to take action. I ask His Majesty to show me.â
The Emperor gave a satisfied nod and said, âThis is about Engraved Ark that you have uncovered. I will not hide it from you, we already turned Robert Patriarch and Terry into advanced level undead in order to interrogate them. However, the matters that they knew were not many. They also mentioned that there should also be another member of Engraved Ark in their family. But as to who this member was, they didnât know. Now that the Robert Family has been eliminated by you, the amount of corpses present is too much for our Dark Mages to turn into advanced level undead. Randolph told me that you can achieve it. Is that true?â
Zhao Hai nodded, âI can, Your Majesty. Rest Assured.â
The Emperor nodded and said, âThen can you do it inside this hall? Our country wants to see how different your Dark Magic is.â
Zhao Hai stared for a while before saying, âYour Majesty, turning these corpses into undead needed them to be present. If we do it inside this hall, it might contaminate Your Majestyâs sights. Moreover, Iâm afraid that His Majesty might not like the way I use Magic.â
The Emperor didnât seem to care, he shook his head and said, âNo need to worry, just do it in this hall. Let this Emperor see for himself.â
Zhai Hai didnât say anything else, he nodded and said, âJust as you wish, Your Majesty.â
The Emperor nodded, then he waved his hand. Third Eunuch, who was standing right by the Emperorâs side, took two steps forward and said loudly, âTake them in!â Then a buzzing sound was heard outside the hall before stretchers carrying bodies covered in white cloth entered.
These corpses were naturally processed. They didnât have any unusual smell, but the sight of this row of corpses looked very unattractive.
The nobles inside the hall already knew that it was Zhao Hai who exterminated the Robert Family. But when they saw the bodies being carried in, they couldnât help but exclaim about Zhao Haiâs ruthlessness, they whispered between each other.
The Emperor didnât care, he turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, âYou can begin.â Zhao Hai gave a bow before he took his Magic Staff out and muttered several incantations. Then a black gas appeared and covered the corpses inside the hall. When the black gas disappeared, all of the bodies were already standing. These people looked no different than when they were alive. If it werenât for their pale complexion and lifeless eyes, people might even mistake them for live people.
Zhao Hai could just change these people into skeletons, but since he wanted to display his abilities, he deliberately made them into zombies. In Ark Continent, one didnât need to be afraid if they had the strength. As long as you are strong, people would give you great importance. Conversely, if you are useless, nobody would look at you in the eyes.
When the people in the Great Hall looked at the undead, they couldnât help but feel somewhat restless. In their minds, undead were generally either skeletons or rotting zombies. However, Zhao Haiâs zombies were in a pristine condition, they looked exactly just like a normal person. This wasnât something that they had seen before.
After reviving the undead, Zhao Hai turned to the Emperor and said, âYour majesty, you can now ask them questions. I can assure you that they wouldnât lie.â
The Emperor was also shocked by Zhao Haiâs undead, he looked at Zhao Hai and then said, âAlright, you go ask them. Just find out who the other member of Engraved Ark was.â
Zhao Hai nodded, then he immediately went to ask the group of undead. But unfortunately, the member of Engraved Ark wasnât present among them. Zhao Hai didnât say anything as he received these undead into his Space and then had another batch of corpses be sent in.
Zhao Hai remained in the hall as he turned groups upon groups of corpses into undead until he found out the other member of Engraved Ark. When he found out, Zhao Hai was surprised, the member of Engraved Ark turned out to be one of Robert Patriarchâs wives!
From the mouth of this member of Engraved Ark, Zhao Hai managed to get a few more information. The source of faith of the organization was truly the Demon God. Destroying the continent was their duty. All of the members of Engraved Ark almost never meet, they just communicate with each other using encrypted codes. Most importantly, none of these members knew each otherâs identity. They donât have any marks on their bodies. If one wanted to find out about anything regarding their identity, then it should be that each of their homes should have an idol of the Demon God!
This kind of information was truly useless for Zhao Hai. How many people were in the continent? How many noble families? They donât have any obvious characteristics, just the fact that they have an idol of the Demon God in their homes. But who actually knew what the Demon God looked like? There were too many factors to consider, there was no way to find it.
However, even if they didnât have a single good harvest, this member knew much more than Robert Patriarch and Terry. This organization has existed for more than a thousand years. In the very beginning, all of them were just people at the bottom of society. These people were oppressed by the nobility and found that there was no way to resist them. In the end, these people joined up and create the Engraved Ark, it was also at this point that they started to worship the Demon God.
Along with the transformation on the continent and the constant change of dynasties, the organization slowly gained power and influence and eventually became Great Nobles. The Robert Family was one of those families.
Also, even if there wasnât a definite indication that one was a member of Engraved Ark, they were devilish in their hearts. They believed that the Demon God was a good killer and a ruthless person, therefore, the attitudes and temperaments of their members would generally be ruthless and sinister. All of these would naturally reflect on the overall outlook of their families, just like Robert Familyâs Savage Wolf emblem.
Obtaining this information was a great help for the Rosen Empire. At the very least, they now have a heading, they can now somewhat decrease their scope of surveillance.
At this point, the nobles in the hall were now dreading Engraved Ark. This was because this organizationâs threat to the continent was much higher than the Radiant Church. The Radiant Church only wanted to establish control, but Engraved Ark actually wanted their life!