Demon Emperor : The Secret Of Reincarnation

"Lay down your weapons." Lander’s voice echoed across the summit of Mount Tianxu. He stood at the center of a ring of soldiers filling the rocky ledge, his black cloak whipping in the wind. Before him stood thousands of cultivators from every sect, and at the very front were three figures who should have been the last people on earth to draw blades against him. Lander looked at each of them in turn, then gave a faint smile. "Who gave you the courage to raise steel against the Demon Emperor?" No one answered. Lander lifted his right hand. Black flame bloomed in his palm, swirling like a small vortex that swallowed the light around it. Several soldiers took a step back, but the leaders before him remained still. Their gazes held none of the respect they had carried for decades. There was only cold resolve, and it told Lander one clear truth. They had come here to kill him. "Marvek." Lander’s gaze settled on the white-haired man to his left. Marvek had been his right hand for two hundred years. He had stood beside Lander when three human kingdoms sent armies to storm the demon realms. He had taken three separate blows to the body just to shield Lander. "You too?" Marvek tightened his grip on his sword. "I am sorry, Your Majesty." "Sorry?" Lander gave a soft, dry laugh. "After two hundred years at my side, that is all you have to say?" Marvek said nothing. Lander turned to the woman beside him. "Seraphine." The woman in red looked away for a heartbeat. "You are the keeper of the inner palace. You know every path in and out of my stronghold. You know the defensive formations, the vaults, even the chamber where I meditate." Seraphine drew a breath. "That is exactly how we made it this far." The black flame in Lander’s palm died instantly. Those words spoke louder than any confession could. "I see." Lander looked down. A golden formation had taken shape beneath his feet. Four pillars of light rose at the four directions, sealing away his demonic power. Dozens of spiritual artifacts circled in the air above, each aligned precisely to his meridian points. This was no ordinary attack. It was a trap. "Even the severing-meridian formation?" Lander pressed a hand to his chest. A sharp pain twisted inward, stalling the flow of his demonic energy. He understood then. This set of rules was not built to defeat him in open combat. It was built specifically to contain his core power. Someone had studied his very being. Someone had taught them how to kill him. "Who told you all of this?" Lander asked. Marvek stayed silent. "Do not make me ask twice." "There is no point, Lander." The voice came from behind him. Lander turned. Darius. The general who had commanded the imperial armies for decades. The man who had sworn that as long as Lander lived, no one would ever touch his throne. Now Darius stood among the throng of enemies. His sword was drawn. "So you are part of this as well." Darius met his gaze without blinking. It has gone on long enough." Lander’s brow furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?" "You truly do not know?" "Explain it to me." Darius let out a breath. "Every person standing here has been waiting for this day." Silence stretched out. Lander looked over the faces surrounding him. Commanders. Sect elders. Region lords. People who had raised cups with him after great victories. People who had bowed their heads and called him Emperor. Suddenly it all looked like pieces of one vast, hidden game. "When did it begin?" Marvek finally lifted his head. "Five years ago." Lander narrowed his eyes. "Five years?" "The groundwork was laid even earlier than that." Lander’s smile faded. Memories began to surface. Guard rotations that had seemed trivial at the time. Battle reports that arrived late. Officials who tendered their resignations without warning. Troop deployments to the northern border that always seemed to coincide with thinning defenses around the palace. Small things. Too small to catch his notice. Put together though, they formed a pattern. "This betrayal did not start today." "No," Seraphine confirmed. "Before I even sensed something was wrong." "Yes." Lander gave a short, humorless laugh. "You are clever, all of you." He raised both hands. A burst of black energy slammed into the formation beneath his feet. The ground shook. Several cultivators were thrown backward, and the four pillars of light swayed violently. Marvek shouted at once. "Do not let him break the formation!" Dozens of swords streaked toward him. Lander vanished. In the next instant he stood before an elder of one sect. His hand cut straight through the man’s spiritual defenses and struck his chest. The elder was flung backward dozens of paces. "Foolish." Lander turned. Three swords struck from different directions. He blocked two. The third bit deep into his shoulder. Black blood dripped down onto the earth. Lander stared at the wound. Normally an injury like this would close in mere heartbeats. Not this time. Poison. He caught the faint scent rising from the blade. "So that is how it is." Marvek stepped forward. "Give him no opening!" The next wave of attacks came all at once. Lander twisted away from slashing blades, then struck Marvek hard enough to send him flying. Before he could press the chase though, glowing chains coiled tight around his ankles. Seraphine stood several paces back. "Now!" The formation beneath Lander blazed bright. Agony tore through every part of him. He dropped to one knee. The combined armies closed in at once. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Demon Emperor found himself fighting just to hold his ground. Lander lifted his head. Amid the thousands of faces surrounding him, he searched for one thing. Fear. There was none. They were too certain of themselves. That was more dangerous than every sword pointed at him. They knew something. Something he did not. Lander wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Marvek." The man met his eyes. "If you have planned all of this for five years, there must be a reason you are so sure I cannot fight my way free." No answer came. Lander smiled. "Then tell me." He stood slowly, even as the chains pressed down hard on him. "What have you found?" Marvek froze. Seraphine turned sharply toward him. Even Darius’s expression shifted. None of those small changes escaped Lander. He had his answer. There was something they were hiding. Something far greater than a struggle for a throne. Darius stepped closer to Marvek and spoke so quietly the words barely carried. "Do not let him learn the secret." Lander had heard every word. His smile returned, slow and steady. "A secret?" The whole gathering fell silent. Black flame began to glow once more in Lander’s eyes. "Very well then," he said softly. "Now I know exactly what I am going to find."