Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 381: Punishment for treason

Titan El Rockbane.

Apart from being the Strongest Eternal Sage in physical might, he was also known for being an absolutely loyal vessel of the Thunderbanes. If Voltrex had allowed the participation of other sects in the Ultimate War, the Rockbanes would have been the first to march into the Sentinel Line.

So what caused the sect that was utterly loyal to the Thunderbanes to suddenly bend the knee to the Empire?

It was a facade.

Titan never submitted to the Empire. Born with an exceptionally strong physique, Titan respected strength more than anything. None were his match in physical might within the same realm, with the sole exception of Voltrex El Thunderbane, who had defeated him when the two were at the same realm.

Titan was aware of Voltrex’s might. He knew mere demons were not enough to kill the absolute strength Voltrex possessed, which led him to only one conclusion.

Betrayal by the Empire.

In order to find evidence of the Empire’s betrayal, he submitted to them and allowed the knights of the Empire to enter the Hundred Sky Mountains.

For eighteen years, he acted as if he had completely forsaken his duty to the Hundred Sky Mountains, working as a hound for the Empire. As a result, he was able to gather evidence of Ignis’s betrayal and every person involved in the treachery.

Although Taranis did not care for any evidence to make Ignis pay for his crimes, the detailed report made it easier to avoid retaliation from Ignis’s supporters.

Even though he was the prince, if he had arrested or executed Ignis without any evidence, he would have faced backlash not only from the Flamebanes but from other sects as well.

---

"His Highness has asked you a question, Ignis," Titan muttered, glaring at him.

Instead of Ignis, Aethon answered, shock and confusion laced across his face.

"Your Highness, there seems to be a misunderstanding. The Flamebanes have never bowed to the Empire. Ignis only has a few acquaintances from the Empire, and it was only because Lord Titan allowed the Empire’s people to enter the Hundred Sky Mountains."

Taranis took out a report from his storage ring, threw it toward Aethon, and announced,

"Check for yourself, Lord Aethon. This report contains the letters exchanged between your son and the Empire. It includes his mental and physical harassment of the Snow Goddess, his intention of usurping the throne, and his sharing of the body constitution information of Father, me, and Uncle Stormir with the Empire, which ultimately led to the poisoning and slaughter of the Thunderbanes."

The court gasped in shock and disbelief upon hearing the crimes Ignis had committed.

"N-no way..." Aethon murmured as he quickly read the report filled with undeniable and concrete proof.

"Treason! A sin of the highest degree!" one of the court members shouted.

"Punish the traitor!"

"Feed him to insects!"

"Burn him alive!"

"Cut him to pieces!"

The court erupted into absolute chaos, their murderous intent directed at Ignis.

"I... I’m being framed," Ignis shouted in desperation. "This evidence is forged."

His words fell on deaf ears. No one in the court believed him when even his father, Aethon, could not deny the credibility of the report.

Desperate, he turned his gaze toward Taranis and shouted while pointing a finger at him.

"T-that man is a fake. His hair and even his eyes are different. You are all being fooled by an impostor. Taranis is dead—"

Before he could say another word, a shallow cut appeared on his neck, from which a trickle of blood flowed.

"Choose your words wisely, Lord Ignis," Barbatos muttered, a terrifying bloodlust radiating from his eyes. "Disrespect toward the Prince will not be tolerated."

"H-how dare you—"

Ignis was about to retort when he suddenly felt the suppressing pressure of every individual present in the court pressing down upon him.

While everyone restrained themselves from killing Ignis then and there, Aurelion rose from his seat and moved toward Aethon, his face unreadable.

The court once again fell silent upon seeing Aurelion, the Demi-God, move.

Reaching Aethon, he snatched the report from his hands and began reading the section that described how Ignis had harassed his daughter, Nymeria.

Taranis’s eyes twitched. He vanished from his place in a blur before reappearing in front of Aurelion. A crackling sphere of golden lightning materialized around his arm as he launched a punch straight toward Aurelion’s face.

A blinding flash followed by explosive thunder filled the entire hall.

When the light faded, Barbatos, Tartaglia, Titan, Sylvaris, Robert, Jambavan, and Vyaghra all had their weapons unsheathed, pointing at Aurelion’s neck. He stood completely unfazed by the destructive punch.

Meanwhile, Taranis, who had launched the attack, stood a few feet away. The arm that had delivered the punch was horrifyingly mangled and dripping with blood.

"Thank you for bringing me to my senses, Prince," Aurelion murmured, his voice low. "Otherwise, I would have killed that scum."

"I should be the one thanking you for restraining yourself, Lord Aurelion," Taranis replied. His body was drenched in sweat, yet his breathing remained steady as if the injury caused him no pain at all.

"Everyone, return to your seats."

Ignoring his injured arm, Taranis also walked back to his seat.

For cultivators below the Eternal Sage realm, everything that had just happened was utterly confusing. What they saw was Taranis suddenly launching an attack at Aurelion, and the next moment he was the one wounded.

However, the Eternal Sages felt it.

The absolute and insurmountable murderous intent Aurelion had radiated in the brief moment he read the report.

If Taranis had been even a nanosecond late, not even the ashes of Ignis would have remained. But in his attempt to stop Aurelion, Taranis had been directly exposed to that murderous intent, which shredded his arm instantly.

Meanwhile, Ignis had already fallen to his knees, his hands resting on the floor. His eyes were wide open, his chest rising and falling heavily as each breath came in struggling gasps.

For a brief moment, he had felt the absolute murderous intent of Aurelion.

"Ignis El Flamebane is proven guilty of treason, the highest degree of crime. Two days from now, he shall be publicly executed after having all of his limbs severed," Taranis announced.

After a brief pause, he commanded,

"Guards, arrest him."

"N-no! I’m innocent," Ignis pleaded. "I haven’t done anything. No... I don’t want to die."

Losing the strength in his legs, Ignis crawled toward Aethon in desperation.

Grabbing his legs with both hands, he pleaded,

"Fa-father, please save me. I... I was wrong. I understand my mistake. Pl-please—"

He raised his head to look into Aethon’s eyes, and what he found in them was utter disappointment and anger.

The royal guards entered the hall, grabbed Ignis by both arms, and dragged him out of the court as he continued to plead until his voice was no longer audible.

Turning to Titan, Taranis continued,

"I trust you with the arrest of all the Empire’s knights and Ignis’s subordinates."

"As you command, Your Highness," Titan replied.

The royal court continued for a few more hours.

The next day, the news of Taranis and Aestra’s return, Ignis’s treason, and the Empire’s betrayal spread like wildfire across the Hundred Sky Mountains.

The citizens erupted in fury and anger, demanding a full scale war against the Empire.

The exits of all the peaks were sealed, and a nationwide operation to arrest Ignis’s subordinates and the Empire’s knights was launched.

But then something strange happened.

On the day Ignis was supposed to be executed, he was found dead in prison.

His body was burnt and twisted beyond recognition. Nothing more than a pile of charred flesh remained.

If not for the scar on his face, from which blue lightning still flickered at regular intervals, he would not have been recognized.

---

Three days later, Heaven’s Sovereign Peak

"Your Highness, all the Empire’s knights have been arrested, and the traitors who helped Ignis have been executed. Their bodies were thrown into the Mountain of Ten Thousand Beasts to be devoured by the animals," Titan reported.

"You have done well, Lord Titan," Taranis replied from his seat, his right arm covered in bandages.

Even though his healing speed was unmatched, the injury caused by direct exposure to the killing intent of a Demi-God was taking its time to heal.

"Lord Titan, return to your peak and prepare your army," Taranis ordered.

Titan flinched for a moment but then agreed without asking another question.

After Titan left, Aestra entered the hall.

"Taranis, you should rest for some time," Aestra said, gently touching his cheeks.

Taranis, lost in his own thoughts, did not realize his mother’s presence until she spoke to him.

"I cannot rest until I reduce the Empire to ruins, Mother," Taranis replied, rising to a standing position.

His eyes were distant, and the usual playful nature he always carried with him was completely gone. He seemed like a completely different person from the naive boy he once used to be. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Before his mother could insist further, he had already left the hall.

---

The screeching sound of metal echoed as the door of a dark room opened and Taranis stepped inside, holding a lantern in his hand.

Taranis’s face was the only thing illuminated by the dim light of the lantern in the otherwise dark room as he walked forward with heavy footsteps.

Upon reaching the end of the room, Taranis bent down and murmured, the lantern revealing another person chained to the wall of the dark chamber.

In an eerie, deep voice, Taranis murmured,

"Where should I begin, Ignis El Flamebane?"