That night, He Xu entered the old king’s chamber and laid out their plan to use Will Ganfeng to kill Zhan Yuwen. While the old king did not trust Will Ganfeng, he trusted He Xu and the others. After learning of the plan, he patted his youngest son, Zhan Fanyin, on the head and then peacefully closed his eyes for the last time.

News of the old king’s passing had already spread across Battle City that same night. Generals flooded into Zhan Yuwen’s residence and demanded that he become the new king.

Zhan Yuwen complied with the generals’ wishes. At dawn, he donned the crown and entered the royal palace to sit upon the long-coveted throne under the watchful gazes of the assembled generals.

Unbeknownst to him, Will Ganfeng and Han Wu hovered a hundred meters above the throne.

“Target is in position. Kill him,” Han Wu instructed bluntly.

Will Ganfeng immediately gathered the power of wind into a wildly spinning wind cone. The friction even generated electricity and fire within the cone’s interior. Taking aim at the throne, he released the wind cone. It crossed the hundred-meter distance in an instant.

The wind cone exploded with a blast of lightning and fire, blowing Zhan Yuwen to pieces on the spot. The saluting generals stood frozen in shock.

At that moment, bells tolled, and Zhan Fanyin entered the great hall of the palace, draped in royal robes and wearing the crown. He Xu and Qin Shuang stood at his sides, escorting him.

The generals watched in disbelief as Zhan Fanyin climbed the steps and approached the shattered, blood-soaked throne. Grief turned his eyes red. He had lost both his father and his brother within mere hours of each other. He had no one left.

The generals finally snapped back to their senses and glared furiously at Zhan Fanyin atop the platform.

“Traitor! You murdered the new king!”

“You killed your own brother for the throne. You’re no different from an animal!”

“Kill the usurper! Avenge the new king!”

The generals summoned their Microcosms one after another and unleashed their power. Over thirty generals were present, and two-thirds of them had already reached the World rank. Their combined pressure threatened to bring down the entire palace.

At that moment, Han Wu entered with his Divine Authority greatsword. The Subcosm-rank pressure he radiated pinned everyone in place.

“Did any of you actually see him kill the king?” Han Wu’s question silenced the generals.

Zhan Yuwen was indeed dead, but it was true that none of them had actually seen Zhan Fanyin do it.

One loyal general forced himself to stand despite Han Wu’s pressure. “Zhan Fanyin must’ve hired outsiders to assassinate the new king! He killed his own brother for the throne. This is a crime deserving of death! He’s unfit to be royalty, unfit to be here. He should be thrown in prison and hanged!”

“First, let me make one thing clear,” Han Wu said, glaring at the man. “The old king passed the throne to Zhan Fanyin, not Zhan Yuwen. Do any of you have a problem with that?”

The generals could not openly admit that they had supported Zhan Yuwen because they had no faith in Zhan Fanyin.

Han Wu continued. “As for Zhan Yuwen’s killer, the culprit is standing right there at the entrance.”

All the generals turned toward the door where Will Ganfeng stood.

Once everyone’s attention was on him, Will Ganfeng declared loudly, “You savages of the Battlecraze Empire, I killed Zhan Yuwen!”

“Who’s this old man? He looks familiar.”

“That’s Will Ganfeng! Why’s he in the Battlecraze Empire? How did he get into Battle City? How did he sneak into the palace?”

“The new king’s Axe Legion defeated Will Ganfeng’s Orange Legion. It makes perfect sense he came for revenge!”

“Then what are we waiting for? Seize him! Avenge the new king!” one general roared.

None of the other generals moved.

“Are you brainless? He has the guts to stand there and admit he’s the killer. Who do you think gave him that courage?”

The generals raised their heads to look at the four figures on the dais. Zhan Fanyin materialized the Iron Throne Totem in place of the ruined throne and sat upon it with bloodshot eyes.

“All hail the new king!” Han Wu bellowed, pinning everyone down further with his overwhelming Divine Authority.

The generals’ bodies grew heavy. Those not yet at the World rank buckled and dropped to their knees. Even the World rank generals felt as though someone were pressing down on their shoulders, forcing them to kneel and acknowledge the new king.

They attempted to resist, but the ever-increasing pressure quickly took that choice from them. In moments, every general in the hall was kneeling in submission. The servants assigned to conduct the coronation carried out the ceremony as rehearsed. The only difference was that the new king had changed from Zhan Yuwen to Zhan Fanyin.

The ceremony concluded quickly, marking Zhan Fanyin as the new king of the Battlecraze Empire. The generals also swore their loyalty to the new king under Han Wu’s threat.

The entire ceremony was a farce, but this was the mission Han Wu and his companions had been assigned.

After the ceremony, the generals were allowed to leave. Zhan Fanyin stared at the scattered remains on the ground and finally broke down into wailing sobs.

He desperately tried to pick up the chunks of flesh from the floor, but could not piece together a whole brother. Han Wu and his two companions sighed at Zhan Fanyin’s pitiful state.

“Senior He Xu, if I told him that those generals will probably rebel, do you think he’d completely fall apart?” Han Wu asked He Xu.

He Xu shot Han Wu a helpless glance. “Are you the devil? Give this poor kid some time to grieve. He’s had it rough.”

“Nothing we can do about it. He was born into royalty, and the old king forced him to become the new king to carry on the bloodline.” Han Wu felt no pity for Zhan Fanyin.

In his view, this was Zhan Fanyin’s chance to grow. However, if Zhan Fanyin failed to rise to the occasion, he would most likely die. If the generals’ rebellion did not kill him, an enemy nation’s invasion would. Everything depended on Zhan Fanyin’s choices.

After roughly ten minutes of crying, Zhan Fanyin wiped his tears and approached the three of them. His eyes were still red as he expressed his gratitude. This time, when he looked at Han Wu, the resentment in his gaze was replaced by a trace of appreciation.

If Han Wu hadn’t suppressed those generals during the ceremony, Zhan Fanyin would not have survived the coronation. Han Wu had saved his life.

Zhan Fanyin also understood that if he did not act quickly, the Battlecraze Empire would not even survive the day. The only people he could rely on were these three from the Divine Civilization.