Immortal Supreme: Sovereign of the Grand Dao-Chapter 273: Invaders Reveal

Emperor Markus walked toward the bound invaders with steady, measured steps. Each footfall echoed in the silent arena.

His expression was cold and dangerous. His eyes showed no mercy or hesitation. He had already planned all this with Arthur.

"Now you will answer my questions," he said firmly. His voice carried absolute authority. The voice of a ruler who would not be denied.

The five Nether Realm figures remained completely silent. They didn’t respond at all.

Their faces were hidden beneath their hoods so no one could see their expressions clearly. But their body language showed clear defiance.

They shifted slightly against their chains in small movements. Their shoulders stayed tense. They said nothing in response to the emperor’s demand.

Emperor Markus’s jaw tightened with frustration. These invaders thought they could resist him even while bound and helpless. They were wrong.

Telford took a single step forward from his position beside Arthur. He didn’t speak or make any threats. He didn’t need to say anything.

The pressure from his aura intensified slightly. This time it focused entirely on the captured invaders rather than spreading across the whole arena. It pressed down on them specifically with crushing force.

One of the invaders started shaking within seconds. His entire body trembled violently. The chains rattled from his movements.

Then another began shaking as well. His hood moved as his head jerked back and forth. The third one started breathing heavily with loud gasps that everyone could hear. His chest heaved up and down rapidly.

They didn’t know what it was exactly but a strange power was eating at them invisibly.

It felt like something was consuming them from the inside. Like invisible insects were devouring their organs piece by piece. The sensation sent shivers down their spines. Cold sweat poured from their bodies and soaked their robes beneath the hoods.

"Wait!" the fourth invader finally broke under the pressure. His willpower crumbled. "I’ll talk! Just make him stop! Please!"

The oppressive pressure eased slightly but didn’t disappear completely. It remained there as a constant reminder.

A threat that could return at any moment. Emperor Markus gestured with his hand for the invader to speak.

His fingers moved in a simple motion.

"Continue."

"We’re from the Nether Realm," the invader said quickly. His voice trembled with obvious fear.

Each word came out fast as if he was afraid of being cut off. "We’ve been enemies of the Mortal Emperor Realm for thousands of years. The war between our worlds never truly ended."

Several people in the arena gasped at this revelation. A war lasting thousands of years? How was that possible?

Those who were aware of the Realm Wars from ancient times narrowed their gaze.

"Why are you here now?" Emperor Markus demanded. His tone left no room for lies or evasion. "What changed?"

"The Martial Emperor Secret Realm," the invader answered immediately without hesitation. "It opens soon. Within the next few months. We need to get inside before it’s too late. Before the opportunity passes."

Emperor Markus’s eyes narrowed. "For what purpose? What’s inside that realm that matters so much?"

The invader hesitated for a moment. His body tensed. Telford’s aura pressed down again with more force. The invader screamed.

"To acquire that item!" the invader shouted desperately. His voice broke from the pain. "We need to get that item before anyone else does! It’s crucial to our plans!"

"What item?" Darius Noir asked sharply from the side. He stepped forward with an intense expression. "Explain what you’re talking about! What item could be so important?"

But the invader shook his head quickly. The movement was frantic. Desperate. "I can’t say more about it. There’s a seal on my soul that prevents me from speaking. If I try to describe it, the seal will kill me instantly. I’ll die before the words leave my mouth."

Emperor Markus studied the invader’s body language. The fear seemed genuine. The soul seal was likely real. "Tell me everything else you know then," he commanded. "Everything you’re allowed to say."

"There are others," the invader said instead. His words came out fast now. Tumbling over each other in his rush to speak. "More of our forces already embedded throughout the continent. Dozens of us. Maybe hundreds. They’ve been here for months, maybe years. We don’t know the full count."

He took a shaking breath before continuing. "Some have infiltrated the major sects. They pose as disciples and elders. Some work as merchants in the cities. They run shops and gather information. Some pose as wandering cultivators. They move freely without suspicion."

The sect leaders standing in the arena looked at each other with growing alarm. Their faces showed shock and fear.

Invaders hidden in their own sects? People they’d trusted for years might be enemies? It was impossible to know who to trust now.

Anyone could be a spy working for the Nether Realm. Your closest friend. Your most trusted advisor. Your own disciples.

Darius Noir’s face went pale. "How many in the Heavenly Sword Sect?" he asked urgently.

The invader laughed bitterly. "I don’t know specifics. We operate in cells. Separated for security. But I know your sect has them. All the major sects do."

Emperor Markus’s face darkened with clear anger. Red crept up his neck. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

His empire had been infiltrated without his knowledge. How many spies were hidden in his own court?

How many advisors and officials sitting in important positions were actually enemies? How many decisions had been influenced by their presence?

If it wasn’t for Arthur he might not even be alive by now. That thought struck him hard. It made his blood run cold.

Arthur had saved him from a threat he didn’t even know existed. Without Arthur’s planning and preparation, this tournament might have been his death instead of his victory.

Arthur stood quietly through the entire interrogation. His posture remained relaxed. His expression showed no surprise at any of the revelations being spoken.

He simply watched and listened as if he’d already known everything being said. As if none of this information was new to him at all. His calm demeanor stood out sharply against everyone else’s shock which a few people noticed.

Ava in particular grew lost in her thoughts as he watches Arthur with increasingly shining eyes.

Thomas Hartfield noticed Arthur’s calm demeanor during all this. He watched the prince’s face carefully.

A terrible realization struck him suddenly. His eyes widened with understanding.

’He knew,’ Thomas thought with horror.

’Arthur knew about all of this from the beginning. Every piece of it. This entire tournament was designed to draw them out into the open. We weren’t just fighting the empire. We were tools to expose the real enemy.’

The rebels finally understood the full scope of what they’d been involved in.

The truth crashed down on them. They weren’t just challenging the emperor’s rule. They weren’t fighting for political change or power.

They’d been manipulated by an ancient enemy of the entire world. Used as pawns. They were pawns in a game far bigger than any political struggle. A game that involved the fate of multiple realms.

Kaiser felt sick to his stomach. Everything he’d worked for. Every alliance he’d made. Every promise of power and position. All of it had been built on lies and manipulation by forces he couldn’t comprehend.

The weight of their mistake pressed down on all the rebels. They’d doomed themselves. And they’d nearly doomed the entire empire in the process.