CHAPTER 36: KING BLOODLINE

Richard didn’t spend much Aether to kill all the beast infants inside their eggs.

From outside, Augus couldn’t believe what he was seeing—Richard, whom he had thought would only ever be a star in a remote village, suddenly wielding such overwhelming power.

Up to this point, Richard hadn’t even gotten off his horse.

But to his surprise, Athena began eating the eggshells.

Apparently, their nutrients were useful even for a Primordial Beast like her.

Richard didn’t stop her since Athena wanted to eat, but he couldn’t wait around. He dismounted.

"Return on your own later," he told her.

Athena nodded lightly, and Richard went over to Augus.

"I’ll ride with you," he said before climbing onto Augus’s horse.

"Richard, why is your horse eating?" Augus asked curiously, but Richard couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Hua! Hua! Hua!

Receiving no answer, Augus gave up and urged his horse back toward the village.

When they returned, Richard saw the knights had already gathered in front of the orphanage.

They seemed ready to leave, but the villagers were protesting.

The knights, however, simply insisted that everything was fine.

Augus’s arrival caused the debate to pause for a moment.

"Where have you been? Why did you take so long?" one knight scolded.

"Mm, I went for a walk, and my horse wanted to eat. I couldn’t force him to stop until he was full," Augus replied cautiously.

Richard had, of course, dismounted before leaving the forest, so he slipped away unnoticed.

He strolled calmly toward the orphanage, his eyes falling on Sister Lisa, who was speaking with Carlos.

"Lisa, there’s nothing I can do. Orders from above command me to withdraw. I can only hope you’ll be careful. Of course, it’s better if you leave quickly," Carlos said, while Sister Lisa looked anxious.

Naturally, she understood how the Legion worked.

If an order from above had been given, subordinates could not refuse unless they were ready to be branded rebels.

"Brother Carlos, have you not discovered why the birds fled?" Lisa asked in response.

"I searched the area, but I found nothing. Of course, I can’t guarantee there’s nothing out there—there are still many places left unexplored. The time was too short, and the forest around this village is far too vast..." Carlos sighed helplessly.

"You know, even though this kingdom is anti-crime, its power has been declining continuously. Some noble clans have grown aggressive, eager to strengthen themselves so they might at least play a role when the World Magic Aether appears," he added.

"Who do you think the mastermind is? Clearly, they would start with Purple Rose Village, then move to the others nearby. While everyone is slaughtered, he’ll watch from the side and draw in the slaughtered souls," Sister Lisa said.

"It’s hard to say. The Moonshadow Clan is the unofficial ruler of the Eight-Star Province, but they don’t have the habit of mass slaughter for growth. While they do kill often, it’s usually out of conflict," Carlos replied.

Sister Lisa fell silent at that.

Carlos sighed again.

"I hope we meet again someday. Please be careful," he said before mounting his horse.

With him leading, the knights departed at once.

Augus occasionally turned to glance back at Richard, while Emma clearly didn’t understand anything.

To her, this village and its people were merely something curious.

"Richard..." Sister Lisa was slightly startled to see him.

"Where’s your horse?" she quickly noticed he hadn’t returned with it.

Of course, she had seen him leave on horseback.

"Sister, there’s no need to worry too much. Everything is fine now," Richard said casually before walking off again.

Lisa was baffled by his words, unsure what Richard meant.

Meanwhile, Richard walked toward his ancestor’s hut.

Today, the old man was fishing, sitting on a chair he had built himself.

"Ohh, Richard, where’s your horse?" he asked as he saw Richard approaching on foot.

"She’s eating the eggshells I destroyed," Richard replied.

"Your horse is eating them?" Aldric looked so shocked that he rose from his chair.

"What’s wrong, Grandpa?" Richard asked in confusion.

This man knew about the eggs but had only regarded them as a minor problem.

The fact that Athena was eating them was what shocked him.

"Not every Primordial Beast can eat just anything to grow stronger. Normally, only Nature Spirits or some pure resources. But those eggshells—they’re coarse, suitable only for their original owners. Yet, there are Primordial Beasts that can consume anything and absorb its nutrients. They are the ones who carry the King Bloodline."

"The King Bloodline?" Richard was somewhat surprised to hear this.

Though he had never heard of it, the word King was obviously not something ordinary.

"If your horse can continue to grow, there’s a chance she could approach the peak level of the magical world, close to my level in my prime," Aldric said with a chuckle.

"Only close?" Richard asked.

"It’s not so easy to reach the peak. You should know—in this kingdom’s long history, only three people ever reached that level: the kingdom’s founder, who eventually obtained the World Magic Aether in his era, then one of its kings, and myself. To reach that height, a Primordial Beast must carry the Emperor Bloodline."

"So there’s an even greater bloodline. But Grandpa, who placed those eggs there?" Richard couldn’t help but bring up the matter.

Even though he had destroyed them, the mastermind was still unknown.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for the mastermind to act again. After all, how easy was it to find over ten thousand beast eggs?

"I found those eggs while wandering around, but I didn’t see who put them there. Aren’t they destroyed already? Why dwell on it?"

"If I hadn’t found them, this village could have been destroyed because the knights from the Sky Armor Legion suddenly withdrew," Richard said with a frown.

"Ohhh, then the culprit must be connected to the Sky Armor Legion..." Aldric chuckled, still treating the matter lightly.

Richard scratched his head. Talking to him about this seemed useless.

"Grandpa, I’ll be training here..."

Richard climbed up into his ancestor’s hut, sat down, and began absorbing Aether again.

Until Athena finished, he couldn’t wander far, so while she ate, he would keep cultivating.

After that, he could embark on adventures to gather materials for the Black Heart Soul.

If possible, he wanted the brain of the mastermind behind this massacre plot—along with a pair of his eyes.

And perhaps the lackeys too—he could take their eyes as well.

Of course, he was filled with hatred, knowing his village had been marked for slaughter.

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