Silent Crown

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The collapsed world pressed downwards.

It was as if the sky that seemed like iron curtains was smashing down. In the indescribable feeling of suffocation, intense pain came from every part of one's body, resulting in a sensation that could hardly be put into words.

Even divinity could not exempt one from such dramatic changes.

With Odin's vitality, although it would not be killed by the earth-shattering power, it would be difficult for it to escape the ending of being sealed.

One could predict that if Paganini was put at a disadvantage, the King of Red definitely wouldn't let the opportunity go. As the thorn in the Church's flesh, the Sacred City must have reserved a place in the Silver Cellar for him since a long time ago. They would either grind his bones and scatter his ashes, or imprison him forever, never ever letting him see the sun again.

"Actually, I think you all have gotten one thing wrong…" Paganini let go of the Wheel of Balance, let it fall from his hand, and laughed self-mockingly. "From the very beginning till the end, your enemy has never been me. But now it seems that the revival of the abyss is doomed to failure, and the world does not allow the era of the ancient darkness to take place. Maybe, all of these are all part of your plan from the start?"

He paused and looked away into nothingness. "I lost."

Even the King of Red was stunned at the moment.

Paganini actually admitted his defeat.

But soon, the King of Red turned his gaze to the nothingness in which nothing existed. Paganini had admitted his defeat, but he wasn't directing it at the King of Red.

A response sounded.

A fuzzy projection appeared in front of Paganini.

"I've said it a long time ago, Paganini, those large heads were destined to fail, even though they had put in all their effort. The world no longer has any need for the abyss." The old man thousands of miles away looked at Paganini and pointed to his own heart. "Because there is a place more terrible than the abyss right here."

Facing the thin old man, Paganini reached out and suddenly stabbed his fingers into his own chest, cutting open his music theory and scepter, revealing the deep darkness within. He reached in and took out a large bowl that seemed to be carved out of a skull from the darkness in his chest.

The large bowl was filled with deep darkness, and the darkness in it rippled like water, as if it was a crack leading to another world, and countless phantoms emerged vaguely from it.

In the darkness, it seemed as if countless people were crying and whining forlornly and the world was sinking with it.

Paganini held the large bowl in his hand, but it seemed as if he had propped up the whole world, despite the fact that even Odin's body could hardly support the huge weight.

Just by appearing, it made the colors of the heavens and the earth change, and the whole world was dyed with an indelible layer of black. The light from the stars and the moon disappeared, and even the powers of the three kings were faintly shaken under the erosion of the darkness.

The expression of the King of Red abruptly changed. He reached out, played the musical movement that gathered the powers of the three kings, disregarding everything else, and started attacking fiercely.

But Paganini showed no concern. Instead, he bowed respectfully at the incorporeal projection in front of him and handed over the large bowl in his hand. "Then, Lord Gaius, according to the promise, I present you with the abyss."

He smiled and looked up. "Please give me redemption."

Gaius smiled, and the incorporeal projection reached out, pressing a hand on Paganini's forehead. He announced softly, "Then, in the name of the Eastern Orthodox Church, I here declare that you, Paganini, may have redemption. " At the moment, thousands of miles away, on the land of the Caucasus, the bells of countless churches rumbled. All the priests of the Orthodox churches gathered in front of the altar, singing a hymn loudly, praising the God reigning in heaven.

On the altar, the projection of the sacred crown of thorns gradually condensed, drawing the power of the entire Orthodox Church, and the light shone brighter and brighter. When the hymn reached its chorus, the mighty power converged, crossing thousands of miles. The crown of thorns emerged out of nothingness, appearing out in thin air thousands of miles away, and fell into the hands of the projection of Gaius.

It was the holy crown that the Pope of the first generation had once worn, an artifact that had been lost in the long history of the Church, but at the moment, it reappeared in the hands of Gaius!

"Gaius!" The King of Red widened his eyes and 16 angry voices sounded from his throat. "How dare you!"

"Such is the right thing to do." Gaius chuckled lightly, held the crown high, and put it on Paganini's head.

At the very moment, in the Orthodox Church, hundreds of bishops that had been temporarily promoted vomited blood at the same time, screaming shrilly, and dark blood flowed out of their seven orifices. Polluted by the aura of the abyss in Paganini's body, they turned into stinking ashes in spontaneous combustion.

But in Paganini's body, a darkness so thick that one couldn't see through it rapidly seeped out. Under the redemption and purification of the holy crown, Paganini could no longer maintain his smile. His face turned blue with pain, and he screamed hoarsely. He convulsed and roared, as if he was enduring the torture of purgatory. But as countless wisps of darkness seeped out from his body, a pure light once again emerged from his chest.

The strange aura disappeared without a trace, and a sacred and solemn light replaced it. The entangled thorns on the crown seemed to have pierced through his flesh, growing together with his bones. It became an irremovable shackle, an inescapable restraint.

At the same time, it also purified the music theory of the abyss in his body continually, redeeming him, making him an apostle of God once more.

Paganini, the saint! No, after swallowing half of the divinity of Odin and the power of all the abyss sages, at the moment, he had already gained an eternally elevated status.

Paganini, the Messenger of God!

"Such an amazing grace! It seems that the God that does not exist has not abandoned me!" The huge, incorporeal wings of light slowly opened. Paganini looked up and laughed loudly. Casting a look at the King of Red, who had turned purple with rage, he bowed to Gaius.

"From now on, you are the leader of the Orthodox Church, my Ecumenical Patriarch, the Pope of the Orthodox Church." Gaius looked down at him. "You will protect the true history and future of mankind, correct the distorted world, and restore everything to its true appearance."

Paganini nodded and slowly got up. "Then, allow me to bring the Wheel of Balance back to you."

"No need for that." Gaius looked up at the gradually collapsing sky, and his smile became mocking. "Just watch on, for now, Paganini, it's not yet time for you to act."

Just as he said so, as if it had sensed something, the Wheel of Balance rotated wildly, and a rumble burst forth.

The collapsing domain created by Waldstein broke with a rumble.

But to everyone's surprise, it was not Paganini who had taken action.

It was the stars in the sky.

The pillar of the sky and the stars fell.

The sky shook, and the earth's crust whined forlornly, as if the pillar supporting the heavens and the earth had been cut into two. Countless stars fell, but more stars emerged from behind the broken sky.

The rays of starlight so sharp that they were unparalleled converged and turn into the Big Dipper, shrouding the Wheel of Balance.

The Alkaid Sword Movement that had been accumulating strength for quite some time erupted instantly. Innumerable phantoms loomed in their surroundings, and a shadow that resembled both a man and a sword emerged from the Big Dipper, controlling the murderous intention all over the sky from afar. It forcibly tore the collapsed space apart, as if it was forcefully cutting a collapsed, dilapidated house into two. Then, the starlight blazed, turning into a giant pillar, and once again propped up the heavens and the earth.

Everyone was stunned.

Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes in shock.

House Yuan? Has the old man gone crazy? Is he intending to give up Aurora's initially neutral position to forcibly oppose the three kings for Paganini's sake?

No, regardless of how you look at it, he can't possibly be powerful enough to oppose the three kings even if he wants to, can he?

The music theory of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline depends on their blood and the Empire of Aurora, and has no subordinative relationship with that of the three kings, nor is it restrained by the Holy Cauldron. Despite so, musicians have always perceived the Six Royals to be of the same level as saints. In any case, it would be next to impossible for one of them to win a fight against the King of Red who had the scepters of all three of the kings with him.

What is he thinking?

Soon, Ye Qingxuan's perplexity was answered.

It was because the physical world was rumbling, as if some behemoth was slowly descending from the realm of aether, casting its own projection towards the physical world.

It was a city… It was a city so magnificent that it seemed to only exist in one's dreams!

The city was so far away, as if it was covered by layers of clouds. One could only see a corner of its splendor and brilliance in the fleeting changes, but the corner was so resplendent that it was suffocating. One could see halls and buildings that seemed to be made of jade, as well as pavilions and terraces that seemed to be built of white jade and pearls, and they were decorated with all the beauty in the world.

But it was too surreal.

In contrast, the walls of the city in the sky extended outwards from the illusion, as if they were close at hand. They loomed, high and forbidding. It was a majestic wall that isolated the mortal realm and the heavens, shockingly huge and incredibly steep. On the parapet, countless beacons burned, the mighty flares illuminating the dark night.

Every blaze was a restrained and deep aether wave, as if countless invisible musicians were patrolling on it, guarding the city in the sky.

It was the Great Wall!

It was the miracle that the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline had taken centuries to produce, separating the entire East from the West, the man-made catastrophe that shrouded the entire territory of the Aurora. With nine artifacts controlling it at the core, the music theory and scepters of countless musicians combined to form a terrifying defense.

Next, a magnificent musical movement unfolded above the sky, in the low peals of chime stones, a mighty melody played loudly. The gates on the huge wall opened, and aether that had converged into a tangible torrent spewed from it, like the magnificent Milky Way.

Through the open city gates, it was as if one could catch a glimpse of the scenery of the city in the sky.

It was an illusory creation, a legend that only existed in one's imagination.

Luxuriant red carpets paved the ground, and a cavalry consisting of tens of thousands of men guarded the city. Spices were burnt in the huge copper furnace, the pleasant scent spreading like a cloud of mist. Devas strolled in the city, their posture graceful and their faces beautiful.

12 buildings stood in the compound of the palace. In the main hall, one could vaguely see an ancient-looking emperor, wearing a crown, with cataracts in his eyes.

But soon, everything hid in the clouds once more.

Only huge aether waves flew out of the gates of the city one after another, crossing thousands of miles, appearing out of thin air in the sky above the Ultimate. They drew massive amounts of aether, and soon, their temporary forms were outlined once more.

The first to appear was a middle-aged man of Hu ethnicity, with a purplish beard and green eyes. He was followed by an old woman with white hair, holding a wooden cane. Next came a man with a blurred face, wearing a tall crown.

No one had expected the Empire of Aurora, which had never been interested in the outside world, to turn out almost in full strength this time around. Out of the Six Royals of the previous generation, four came!

Under the strengthening of the Great Wall, the aether waves of the four musicians soared in intensity, and they actually integrated themselves into the projection of the city in the sky seamlessly. Under the strengthening of endless power, the intensity of the aether waves skyrocketed and they completely entered a non-human level!

It was the secret that was only circulated among the Six Royals, the terrifying strengthening that sufficed for one to evolve into a catastrophe in an instant by relying on the projection of the city in the sky.

Ascent!