novelraw Chapter 1779: 238: Making a Complete Fool of Oneself
Chapter 1779: 238: Making a Complete Fool of Oneself
Capítulo 1779: Chapter 238: Making a Complete Fool of Oneself
The Golden Luang Hall is where the Emperor holds court. It houses the supreme throne, and ascending this throne means reigning over the Kingdom of Leizhen.
The soldiers wore expressions of joy, delighted beyond measure.
The fruits of victory were within easy reach; just one more step, and the Kingdom of Leizhen would be theirs.
Unable to contain themselves any longer, General Ma and his men rushed forward with the army.
However, as soon as they set out, the doors slammed shut, and immediately, a large number of Imperial Forest Army soldiers and the soldiers of Heavenly Thunder City, who seemed to have vanished into thin air, emerged from all around.
Despite their smaller numbers, the Imperial Forest Army troops were elite soldiers, selected from among hundreds; each could defeat ten, even a hundred foes, so they should not be underestimated.
The rebels following General Ma and his men were somewhat fearful; after all, the name of the Imperial Forest Army was infamous. These were Death Warriors who couldn’t be swayed by anyone and held immense strength, making them formidable opponents.
The sudden turn of events gave General Ma and his men the feeling of having fallen into a trap.
But they weren’t intimidated by such petty tricks, as they had come with a grand army precisely to face the Thunder King head-on, aligning perfectly with their intentions.
After surrounding the treacherous rebels, the Thunder King immediately led the entire court officials and generals out from the Golden Luang Hall.
Upon seeing General Ma and others leading the charge, the Thunder King realized his disloyal son had been manipulated.
“Traitors and rebels, you’re surrounded on all sides. Surrender obediently.”
The Grand Marshal stepped forward, urging them with the weight of his authority.
“Hmph! Today is not like yesterday. We’ve come here with the mandate of Heaven; so it’s you who should surrender obediently.” General Ma retorted.
“Oh? I’d love to see what kind of heavenly mandate you have.” The Thunder King responded, seemingly amused, his tone exuding a sense of curiosity and disdain.
“This bead is the Heavenly Thunder Pearl. The First Emperor stated that whoever possesses the Heavenly Thunder Pearl can claim the Kingdom of Leizhen!”
General Ma presented the “Heavenly Thunder Pearl” he had acquired, making this shocking announcement to everyone present.
The civil and military officials beside the Thunder King widened their eyes to inspect it closely, to see if it was the legendary Divine Object blessed by fate.
The Third Prince did the same, examining it intently.
Only the Thunder King merely gave a dismissive glance and concluded that the black pearl in General Ma’s hand was not the supreme Heavenly Thunder Pearl of legend.
Thus, with a smirk and a scoffing tone, he called out, “Take a closer look at the pearl in your hand, and see what kind of Spiritual Pearl it really is.”
“This was summoned using the Thunderous Heavensent Technique, and it’s absolutely a genuine Heavenly Thunder Pearl!”
General Ma didn’t bother to look again, for he believed in the Thunderous Heavensent Badge and was certain that the celestial phenomena couldn’t be mere fabrications.
“Ridiculous, nonsense! How could the genuine Heavenly Thunder Pearl be entirely black? The pearl in your hand is clearly just a Thunder Spirit Pearl!” The Thunder King unceremoniously rebuked General Ma, ruining his stature and disgracing his divine image.
“What?”
Upon hearing this news, everyone was dumbfounded.
Upon closer inspection, all the civil and military officials believed the black pearl in General Ma’s hand did somewhat resemble the Thunder Spirit Pearl, albeit larger—hence they couldn’t be entirely sure it wasn’t genuine, given they were not very familiar with the true Heavenly Thunder Pearl.
“Impossible! The pearl in my hand is the Heavenly Thunder Pearl, descended in response to the mandate of Heaven!”
General Ma vehemently denied it, but inwardly felt a sense of insecurity, lacking full confidence; for, upon closer inspection, it did appear to be a larger version of the Thunder Spirit Pearl.
The Thunder Spirit Pearl became the turning point due to its commonality.
The Thunder Spirit Pearl was also a Spiritual Pearl nurtured by the Thunder Sea, and legend has it that the Heavenly Thunder Pearl evolved from the Thunder Spirit Pearl, albeit this evolutionary process took an immensely long time.
The Thunder Spirit Pearl was commonly found in the Thunder Sea and wasn’t rare; many ministers owned them, using them as one of their weapons in the Kingdom of Leizhen.
Therefore, if the black pearl in General Ma’s hand was proven to be a Thunder Spirit Pearl, his arrogance would collapse like a mountain, shattering into nothingness.
“Why don’t you test its effects? See if it can harm me?” The Thunder King taunted, utterly unafraid.
Not willing to concede, General Ma immediately wielded the “Heavenly Thunder Pearl” and performed the Summoning Thunder Technique, evoking lightning to descend and strike the impertinent Thunder King.
“Boom!”
The sky roared, and soon, a dark lightning bolt descended from the heavens, striking toward the Thunder King.
Watching this bolt, the high-ranking figures on General Ma’s side felt hopeless, realizing that this lightning was not particularly remarkable and might not even harm a single hair on the Thunder King.
“Boom!”
Indeed, when the lightning struck the Thunder King, it was as if he was being showered with rain, having no effect whatsoever.
“Hmph! Rebels, do you now believe what your lone king has said?” The Thunder King let out a cold snort, his face stern and authoritative as he questioned.
“Impossible, this was clearly a Spiritual Pearl summoned by the Thunderous Heavensent Badge; how could it be fake?” General Ma stood bewildered, unable to comprehend why such an unexpected situation had occurred.
“Because the Thunderous Heavensent Badge is fake.” The Thunder King replied.
“Impossible. If it’s fake, how could it create celestial phenomena and summon the Spiritual Pearl to descend?” General Ma inquired.
“Because the Thunderclap Jade that the Crown Prince stole is a forgery.” The Thunder King answered.
“What? He stole a forgery? Could we have been deceived? Impossible, he is more determined than anyone to obtain the throne!”
This revelation, like Five Thunder Bombardment, left General Ma and his men frightened and at their wits’ end.
“Indeed! He desires the throne more than anyone else—only, I held an ace up my sleeve. In fact, all past kings of the Kingdom of Leizhen had an ace up their sleeve.” The Thunder King answered.
“Did you anticipate that the Thunderclap Jade would be stolen someday?” General Ma inquired.
“What do you think? How could we possibly leave such a precious object in a poorly guarded place?” The Thunder King responded with a cold sneer, the answer now glaringly obvious.
General Ma and his men were left dazed; this was undoubtedly a message of despair, pushing them into an endless abyss with no path of escape.
After despair, General Ma suddenly grew fierce, pointing his sword at the Thunder King: “Even if the Heavenly Thunder Pearl is fake, today I shall cut down you, you bastard.”
“I am very curious; I treated you well, so why do you hate me so?” The Thunder King inquired, perplexed by this question he had never fully understood.
“Do you still remember the poetry and verse by the Thunderstorm Lake? Do you remember Concubine Lan whom you poisoned and killed? You heartless, ruthless scoundrel, I will surely hack you to pieces.” General Ma roared in fury, consumed by hatred.
“You knew Concubine Lan?”
The Thunder King was somewhat surprised, as in his memory, these two had seemingly no connection, so how did they end up linked?
“Concubine Lan and I grew up together, childhood sweethearts, and we’d made a vow to hold each other’s hand, to grow old together. It was you, this damned Emperor, with your decree you stole my beloved woman, tearing us apart—now living worlds apart. You deserve to die!” General Ma replied, heartbroken and tormented.