Spell Return: The Wheel of Time

Chapter 369: The Emperor's Blood Collapses
Heian-kyō is in chaos.

In the eyes of ordinary people and those small nobles, the chaos in Heian-kyo was inexplicable and unsettling, because the nobles of the aristocratic family who used to be high and mighty were now all closing their doors, and all their attendants and military officers were mobilized. It was said that the Onmyojis also appeared frequently.

There were even rumors that the great nobles had secretly transported some of their family members and their bloodlines away from Heian-kyo, and all kinds of rumors spread everywhere at once.

Some say that the nobles are plotting a rebellion, while others say that the demons and gods that the emperor's descendants have suppressed for generations are about to break free and completely destroy Heian-kyo...

Regardless of which rumor was true or there was another reason behind it, it was an indisputable fact that Heian-kyō was suddenly in turmoil and dark clouds were pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it. So some smart families from small households began to prepare to pack up their belongings and leave Heian-kyō temporarily.

However, the greed in their bones, which was accumulated because of interests and other factors, harmed them. Packing up all the family belongings even if they temporarily left Heian-kyo was not as easy as it sounded. At the very least, they would suffer serious injuries, and at worst, their family property would be lost.

In the eyes of some people, their property may be insignificant, but for these small families and even ordinary people, their property is everything they have, so even if they hesitate, they can't leave.

The disaster began with the breaking of the barrier covering Heian-kyo. Although the barrier here was large enough to cover the entire Heian-kyo, its effectiveness was actually divided into two parts. One was the 'demon-exorcising barrier' that covered civilians and most of the small nobles. Its effect, in short, was to expel some cursed spirits and prevent the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' from affecting Heian-kyo.

The second part is the core of the barrier, covering only the area centered on the palace where the emperor resides. There, all spells will be suppressed to varying degrees, and only those who have been "pardoned" by the royal family can exert 80% to 90% of their strength.

But today, it was like a broken glass cup, completely shattered into a sky full of brilliance.

The culprit behind all this was the figure that was now suspended in the sky, shining in the eyes of countless residents and magicians of Heian-kyo.

Mortals were amazed that this man could actually fly in the sky, and above the imperial palace. Such a disrespectful act would have resulted in immediate capture and execution in the past. The magicians were horrified by the terrifying realm that had just flashed by.

The black sun disc, which was more conspicuous and more present than the sun in the sky, was enough to terrify those magicians in Heian-kyo who were unaware of the Fujiwara family's rebellion just by its appearance for a moment.

The sudden shouts and screams that followed completely ignited everything. It was a team of dozens of people. For a mortal, it would be a pipe dream for such a configuration to cause any trouble in Heian-kyo.

But the terrifying thing is that this team is composed entirely of Onmyojis, or sorcerers, and the aura exuded unscrupulously by the leaders among them has even reached a catastrophic level.

A group of guys like this would have no problem destroying most of the small nobles. Even for the famous ones, the mid- and high-level sorcerers they employ would not be much stronger than this.

And such a team of sorcerers rushed straight into the Imperial Palace with ill intentions, shouting murderous words, not to mention the terrifying existence standing in the sky and shattering the peace barrier in one fell swoop. I believe that anyone who is not a mentally ill person can see that the world is about to change.

……

"Crazy, crazy... all crazy! Where did this guy come from? Is there still no clue?"

The sorcerer of the Fujiwara family rebelled, and several teams that joined forces to suppress them with different purposes were almost wiped out. Only Fujiwara Hiroichi and a few lucky ones managed to escape.

The information from those who escaped, especially Fujiwara Hiroichi, made several families explode. The field of reversing life and death, ultimate destruction... The credibility of the information passed back by Fujiwara Hiroichi was very high. Coupled with his almost collapsed state and unable to lie, no matter how ridiculous it sounded, they couldn't help but believe it.

Most of the forces of the Sun and Moon Star team have been lost, either killed or surrendered to the enemy. A number of the Fujiwara family's top-secret shadow magicians have also been lost, and it would probably be ineffective if they were used again.

If all the magicians who were scattered outside performing various tasks were to gather back, the Fujiwara family would not be without the ability to fight. However, the current head of the Fujiwara family, Fujiwara Hiroichi's brother, Fujiwara no Homichi, certainly would not think that this was the correct way to deal with it.

The disaster that came out of nowhere and the unimaginable catastrophe did daze him for a while, but he quickly freed himself from it and made the next arrangements. First of all, the Fujiwara family could not escape. The only way to escape was that the main family was destroyed and all the branches were killed one by one. At that time, the only way was to find a way to send away a few descendants.

But by that time, the Fujiwara family would be no different from destruction, so there are actually only two paths before him now. One is to gather all the strength to fight again. If you lose, you will be destroyed, and if you win, the glory of the Fujiwara family will be preserved.

The second option is very simple, which is surrender. The law of the jungle and the winner takes all applies at all times, especially among nobles like them who are fighting for flesh and blood. If the opponent's strength is really that strong, then if the Fujiwara family does not want to be exterminated, then surrender is also a way to survive.

Of course, the premise of all this is to thoroughly understand the opponent's full strength. Whether to fight or surrender must be waited and seen. For a family of this size, every decision made by Fujiwara no Homichi affects too many things, just like a huge ship has to be extra careful when turning.

"Report - the rebels have already reached the gate of the Imperial Palace!"

Fujiwara no Homichi listened to the news continuously sent back by the spies in front. At this moment, the heads of the Genji and Taira clans had already arrived at the Fujiwara clan for a while. As the most powerful family in the contemporary era, the choice of the Fujiwara clan at this time will inevitably influence their direction.

As for guarding the Imperial Palace... forget it. That kind of nonsense that combines divine power and imperial power into one can only fool the ignorant lower-class people. At their level, who wouldn't know what's going on?

If it weren't for some kind of extraordinary curse that has been passed down among the emperor's descendants, a counterattack that they could not withstand might break out in a critical moment. In addition, many things would be inconvenient without this title, so the Fujiwara family chose to undermine the imperial power and become the uncrowned king behind the scenes.

Otherwise, who wouldn't want to truly sit on the supreme throne? Now that those rebels have chosen to capture the Imperial Palace, no matter what they want to do, waiting and seeing is the best option.

In the face of life-and-death crisis, the royal family must be able to unleash all their hidden strength. If the rebels cannot even solve this, or are extremely struggling, then they may be able to take the opportunity to intervene in the war. It would be very reasonable for the emperor to die at the hands of the rebels afterwards, right?
If the royal family was completely wiped out despite their best efforts, it would mean that they probably had no chance of winning, and the only way out was to surrender and sacrifice all their values.

"Report - most of the Imperial Palace has been destroyed into pieces, the royal magicians are losing ground, and the reinforcements from the Buddhist and Shinto sects are all... all..."

Seeing the spy's horrified expression that made him unable to speak clearly, Fujiwara no Homichi already had a bad premonition in his heart. It was not surprising that Buddhism and Shintoism came to the aid of the royal family. These two religions were the forces that were truly tied to the royal power, and they were a true community that prospered and suffered together.

"But now even they..." Under the oppressive gaze of Fujiwara no Homichi and several family heads, the spy finally calmed down and told the battle report from the front.

"All those reinforcements were wiped out by the leader of the rebels alone! The head of the family, their leader, deployed a domain, and then... then I saw the sun set, and all the people involved disappeared..."

The spy's speech was almost incoherent and confusing, but he still brought back the key information. The heads of the families present looked at each other in bewilderment. The information brought by just a few sentences was so dense that they were all a little confused.

"How many times can a magician that you have seen deploy a domain multiple times in one day do this?"

Naturally, several family heads have a deep understanding of spells, and some of them are even experts in it. However, as the sons of wealthy families cannot sit in the hall of power, they cannot reach the top level of spells. However, their inability to reach that level does not mean that they do not understand things at that level.

"Three times... Among all the disaster-level magicians I've seen and heard of, the highest record is that he deployed his domain three times in a row in one day. If he hadn't completely eliminated all the enemies the last time, the wins and losses would have been reversed."

Everyone was silent. The more they saw the methods displayed by the mysterious enemy leader, the more suffocated they felt, and the road ahead became narrower and more dangerous.

……

Heian-kyo, Kyoto Imperial Palace.

This country's highest power center, the heart of imperial power and divine authority, its owner is the nominal and eternal holder of the supreme legal system here. The ruler respected as the emperor is also recognized as a descendant of God. Therefore, this bloodline naturally has an unshakable legitimacy.

The Fujiwara family was able to undermine some of the power of the imperial family by marrying into the emperor's family for generations, and then gradually infiltrating their influence into all aspects. However, it is actually unlikely that they could dethrone the current emperor and replace him with the Fujiwara family.

Even if the current emperor no longer has power and is not restrained by others, he can still sit in the Imperial Palace and be the supreme emperor, and the next emperor will also be his descendant.

But now, this sacred and inviolable ruler who possesses both divine and royal authority has lost all his composure in panic. The shouting and killing from the outside world has been going on for a long time. He cannot personally see the specific situation outside, but judging from the extremely nervous and frightened expressions of the guards guarding this palace, the situation outside is probably extremely bad.

thump—

The palace door was suddenly slammed open with a loud noise, and a fishy smell rushed into the hall, which almost made the emperor, who had lived a life of luxury and had never experienced such a scene, faint. However, the group of people who then rushed into the hall and brought blood with them made him tense.

After seeing the faces of the group of people clearly, the emperor's heart suddenly plunged into ice water. It was that group of traitors! This also meant that all the guards and military officers outside, as well as those Yin-Yang magicians, were probably all killed by them...

The magicians who attacked the hall were all extremely excited. They no longer had the awe they used to have when looking at the emperor who was being protected, because at this moment the opponent's life and the future of the country depended on their swords!
Descendants of God? Their master is a living god! A walking god! He attacked and killed countless magicians and military officers in the palace, but none of them were killed or injured. This is all the manifestation of the glory of God. So, how can a vague descendant of something dare to hinder the master's steps?
despair--

The crisp footsteps were like thunder tearing apart the sky. The group of magicians who rushed into the hall lowered their heads and made way for an extremely wide space. Then a figure walked into the hall. The emperor who held the power and authority in the world faced the "God" who had greater power and authority.

"He who kneels will live."

"Be bold!"

"Rebel!"

For a moment, the group of people who were protecting the emperor were extremely angry, and they cursed and scolded the traitor in front of them. However, when the devil-like figure glanced over, death strangled their next words, and at the same time, it also brought punishment on those who dared to disobey the gods.

A bloody storm arose, and the excessive amount of blood spurting out from the narrow blood vessels strangely created a sound like that of a strong wind. Those people who were splashed by the scarlet blood and fell to the ground still remained prone, not daring to move at all.

"I……"

It was an extraordinary performance for the emperor to be able to maintain his last consciousness after losing all his guards in an instant, but he could not even utter a complete sentence.

'Shenyuanyi' swept his indifferent eyes over, not intending to repeat it a second time, and held an ancient cursed sword in his hand. Just by its existence, this cursed sword actually caused incomprehensible cutting marks on the surrounding environment it touched.

"My Lord! Saving his life for now may be of better help to your cause..."

Seeing those eyes moving over, the untied Nose, who was under great pressure, gritted his teeth and continued, "The royal bloodline seems to have suppressed something. This is why all families always respect them as the royal family. That thing may not be able to do anything to you, but it is still a trouble after all..."

"what's your name?"

The noose paused for a moment, and then he spoke his name. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to feel some slight fluctuation in the other party's emotions. Then there was a "thump" sound of someone falling to the ground in the hall, and then there was silence.

He knew that the country's former supreme ruler had become a corpse no different from any other being of the same kind.

"No need, no need to go through so much trouble. Those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish. My path does not require so many people."

The earth began to roar, the palace began to tremble in fear, and it seemed that a demon had been awakened under the palace.

(End of this chapter)