World version update

Chapter 281 Is there really a prince who lives for seventy years?

Lu Yan's voice was calm, yet it was like a boulder thrown into a stagnant pool, stirring up a tidal wave in the hearts of Charles and the silver-haired woman.

He toyed with the royal scepter, a symbol of supreme power in the Kingdom of Victoria. The jewel at the top of the scepter shimmered with a chilling light under the setting sun over the ruins, as if reflecting the turbulent future of the Victorian royal family.

The silver-haired woman's body tensed almost imperceptibly for a moment, but she quickly suppressed it and returned to her previous aloofness and humility. However, the slight clenching of her hands betrayed the unease in her heart.

She didn't answer immediately, but turned her head slightly and glanced at Charles beside her out of the corner of her eye.

Prince Charles's face was beyond pale; he looked as if he had heard the most unbelievable things.

He instinctively moved his lips as if to refute, but under Lu Yan's ambiguous gaze, he swallowed all his words.

A fine layer of cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, sliding down his handsome but bloodless face. Fear, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around his heart, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

If the scepter of kingship is just an ordinary scepter, then Lu Yan's "script" is utterly threatening.

If the royal family so desires, they can create another scepter symbolizing royal power at any time.

The most crucial issue is that the Scepter of Royal Power is not just an ordinary scepter; it is the root of the royal path, a level zero seal that suppresses the royal family's foundation.

The reason the Victorian royal family was able to rule one of the seven kingdoms was because they held the royal path, a powerful path that led directly to the Sequence Two Earth Angels, which maintained the Victorian royal family's rule for countless years.

It wasn't just the Victorian royal family that relied on the path of royal power; their closest supporters were also a number of long-established top noble families.

To advance beyond Sequence Three, the Scepter of Kings is an essential medium. Top nobles attach themselves to the royal family in order to ensure that each generation produces a Sequence Three member of the current world's gods and humans, thus stabilizing their families.

It was precisely because of shared interests that the Victorian royal family was able to control the kingdom.

However, once the scepter of royal power was lost, it meant that the Victorian royal family lost control over the means of royal power.

If the scepter of kingship cannot be regained quickly, the top nobles will waver.

As controllers of the royal power pathways, the seven royal families are natural competitors, and the royal families of the other six kingdoms will certainly not let go of such a good opportunity.

The scepter of royal power is the foundation of the Victorian monarchy and must not be lost.

The order given to Prince Charles and the silver-haired woman was to reclaim the scepter of the throne at all costs.

But now the situation has exceeded their control.

If the scepter of kingship falls into the hands of someone else, and the deal falls through, the royal family can simply use its resources to seize it by force.

However, not long ago, Lu Yangang forcefully killed Prince Rhine, who was wielding the scepter of royal power.

Keep in mind that this was a living god wielding a damaged level zero sealed artifact, someone who could easily contend with even angels descending from the earth, yet Lu Yan easily killed him and took away his scepter of kingship.

Such terrifying strength is such that even if the Victorian royal family were to use all its resources, it might not be able to contend with it.

Moreover, if they were to take action again, it would inevitably escalate the conflict between the two sides. If they failed in their attempt, regaining the Scepter of Kingship would become a pipe dream.

A jumble of thoughts flashed through the silver-haired woman's mind as she weighed the pros and cons.

Above the ruins, only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the broken walls and the heavy, suppressed breathing of Prince Charles remained.

After a long silence, the silver-haired woman seemed to have finally made a decision.

She took a deep breath, bowed slightly again, and although her voice remained steady, it carried an undeniable dryness and resolve:
"What Your Majesty said... is not entirely impossible."

The royal family definitely needs a more capable leader to guide Victoria out of her predicament.

She neither directly acknowledged nor denied Lu Yan's "script," and the bias in her words was self-evident.

This subtle acquiescence was like the fuse that lit a powder keg, instantly igniting Prince Charles's pent-up anger and humiliation.

The oppressive force that Lu Yan exerted on him, which was almost suffocating him, actually loosened for a moment under the impact of this furious attack.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the silver-haired woman, his voice distorted by extreme emotion.

"Are you crazy?"
You actually... you actually condoned an outsider's trampling of the royal family's dignity and interference in the succession of royal power. What exactly do you want to do?

He roared out with almost all his might, his handsome face flushed red with anger, and his chest heaving violently.

If Lu Yan hadn't restrained him, Prince Charles would probably have pounced on him without hesitation the next second.

Faced with Charles's loss of composure and accusations, the silver-haired woman simply turned around slowly, her cold gaze like a sharp blade tempered with ice, piercing straight at him.

"My respected elder brother."

She spoke, her tone almost cruelly calm, each word striking Charles's nerves with undisguised irony, especially the word "respect."

"Please tell me, on this ruin, facing this monarch who can easily suppress the scepter of royal power and obliterate Uncle Rhine, what 'better' solution can you come up with?"

Are you preparing to use your Sequence Four Saintly Power to contend against a powerful figure who has almost stepped into the Hidden Realm?
Or are you planning to use the 'dignity' of the Victorian royal family to persuade him to give up the spoils of war?

The silver-haired woman's voice was not loud, but every word was piercing, silencing any possible rebuttal Charles might have.

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze sharpening: "The foundation of the royal family? Brother, have you forgotten? The true foundation of our Victorian royal family has never been any particular person sitting on the throne, but rather the means of royal power itself!"

This scepter represents the extraordinary path!
As a saint of the path, you should know this better than I, a Sequence Five.

Kings may come and go, but the continuity of the lineage and the power it represents are the foundation upon which we stand!

The silver-haired woman paused, giving Charles time to process this harsh reality, then changed the subject, her tone turning cold and resolute:

"Moreover, isn't it the result of Father's own foolish decision that led to this situation?"

It was his attempt to challenge His Majesty and hand over the scepter of the throne to the Prince of Rhine; it was his tacit approval of this doomed ambush that led to the royal treasure falling into the hands of outsiders!

Since he made the mistake, he should pay the price and bear the consequences.

Even in order to reclaim the scepter of kingship and quell His Majesty's anger, isn't it only right to sacrifice some things?

Prince Charles's face turned from red to white, then from white to green, looking extremely unpleasant.

The silver-haired woman's words were like a cold blade, peeling away all the warm and affectionate facade to reveal the naked logic of power and the ruthless reality within the royal family.

He wanted to refute, but found that every word seemed so pale and powerless.

Faced with absolute power and cruel reality, so-called dignity and anger become laughable luxuries.

Just as Charles was mired in humiliation and struggle, the silver-haired woman's expression suddenly softened, as if a thin layer of warm sunlight had covered the ice, carrying a strange and alluring power.

"Brother."

She took a step closer, lowering her voice, which was useless in front of Lu Yan, but created an atmosphere of secret conversation.

"You are the most dazzling prodigy in the history of the Victorian royal family, and the undisputed first in line to the throne."

Your talent and potential far surpass those of your father.

She paused, a complex and enigmatic light flashing deep within her pale purple eyes, before fixing her gaze intently on Charles's.
"However, my father has been on the throne for over a hundred years."

Even if he has no hope of advancing to Sequence Four in this lifetime, with the help of the pathway, he will at least have more than seventy years of life left.”

"Seventy years! Brother!"

She uttered the number softly, as if it carried an immense weight.

"With your qualifications, are you really willing to continue being a prince in name only for the next seventy years?" "You should know that if you cannot ascend to the throne, you will have no hope of becoming a monarch of the second order of laws in this lifetime."

Do you really intend to waste such a long time and miss the opportunity to become a Law Lord?

These words were like the most precise key, directly piercing the deepest corner of Prince Charles's heart, a corner occupied by ambition and resentment.

Prince Charles was saddened to discover that he was instinctively agreeing with the silver-haired woman's words.

She was like a mirror, reflecting the deepest desires and anxieties in his heart that he himself was unwilling to fully acknowledge.

The anger and humiliation on his face had not completely disappeared, but that last bit of desperate struggle had quietly crumbled as if his spine had been ripped out.

He abruptly looked away, unable to bear looking into the silver-haired woman's eyes that seemed to see through everything, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

In the end, Prince Charles lowered his head, as if accepting the reality.

Lu Yan quietly watched the drama unfold before him.

It must be said that the exciting plot unfolding before him completely exceeded Lu Yan's original expectations.

Proposing a "script" to remove the king was originally Lu Yan's way of mocking the royal family, and also a test on another level.

However, things progressed unusually smoothly. The silver-haired woman not only agreed to Lu Yan's conditions, but also successfully incited the originally furious Prince Charles.

Lu Yan keenly sensed a hidden trace of power in the seemingly normal words of the silver-haired woman.

By subtly influencing Prince Charles through arousing his desires, he acquiesced to the script of removing the king.

It appears that Prince Charles is showing ambition and wants to take advantage of the situation to inherit the throne.

However, upon closer examination, one would realize that once Prince Charles agreed to Lu Yan's conditions, he would definitely be able to inherit the throne.

Although he is the nominal first in line to the throne and possesses the most outstanding talents in the royal family.

But the king ultimately held the reins of power, and Charles was the king's son.

Even if the various parties within the royal family, after weighing their options, tacitly agree to the king's abdication, Prince Charles, who was obligated to meet Lu Yan's conditions, will inevitably be implicated.

The king would not want such a treacherous son to become his successor, nor would the other powerful figures within the royal family allow such an ambitious new king.

Perhaps because of his extraordinary talent, he will have the opportunity to sit on the throne in the future and try to become a second-order monarch of the Codex.

It is foreseeable that Prince Charles will undoubtedly lose this time.

With the King abdicating and Prince Charles unable to inherit the throne, who will be the biggest beneficiary?
Lu Yan's gaze slowly fell on the silver-haired woman, and their eyes met.

Those beautiful pale purple eyes stared directly at Lu Yan, their light flickering with complex emotions—warning, probing, and even a hint of barely perceptible anticipation.

The silver-haired woman bowed to Lu Yan again, her voice soft as she said:

"Changing the king is no easy task; a slight misstep could trigger even greater turmoil in the kingdom."

What are Your Majesty's thoughts on this?

The moment the silver-haired woman finished speaking, Charles, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly raised his head.

He originally thought that completing the change of royal power according to Lu Yan's requirements would be enough, but the silver-haired woman took the initiative to ask Lu Yan for his opinion.
The momentous event of the transfer of supreme power in the Victorian royal family was so casually handed over to an outsider who had just slaughtered the royal princes and seized the scepter of the throne to "guide".
However, when his gaze uncontrollably drifted to the figure holding the scepter of kings, the raging anger that had just been burning in Charles's heart was instantly extinguished, as if a bucket of icy water from the far north had been poured over his head, leaving only a cold sense of despair and powerlessness.

To put it simply, the scepter of royal power is in Lu Yan's hands, and the power of choice has long since shifted away from the Victorian royal family.

Lu Yan took in all of this, casually hefting the royal scepter in his hand, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"This is an internal dispute within your royal family." Lu Yan finally spoke, his voice calm and even, yet it entered the ears of the two men as clearly as a decree, carrying an unquestionable authority.

"Who is a mediocre ruler and who is a wise ruler is none of my business. I have no intention of interfering in the power struggles within your family."

He paused, his gaze falling on the scepter in his hand. His tone carried a hint of disdain, as if he were evaluating a slightly flawed toy: "This so-called path to royal power, touted as one of the shortcuts to the throne, is of little value to me."

These words were more impactful than any previous intimidation, causing both Charles and the silver-haired woman's hearts to clench simultaneously.

What they considered life itself, the extraordinary path that represented royal honor and the source of power, was utterly insignificant in the eyes of this mysterious and powerful man.
Lu Yan raised his eyes, his gaze passing over Charles's dejected face and finally landing on the silver-haired woman's seemingly calm face.

“My conditions remain unchanged. Once the internal affairs of your royal family have settled down and the new king has ascended the throne, I will return this scepter of royal power to your Victorian royal family.”

However, Lu Yan did not finish speaking.

A subtle, enigmatic smile played on his lips as he added, "However, before that, I have one small request."

This sudden turn of events made Charles, who had just felt a little relieved, tense up again, while Elizabeth immediately raised her head, maintaining a respectful posture, and said in a steady voice: "Your Majesty, please speak freely."

Lu Yan's gaze finally focused entirely on Elizabeth, sharp and direct, as if trying to pierce through her soul.

"I want you," he said slowly, each word crystal clear.

"He will serve as the union president, with full authority over the establishment and development of the union in Orange, and in the future throughout the Kingdom of Victoria."

The silver-haired woman suddenly raised her head, a pure shock and astonishment flashing in her beautiful pale purple eyes. She had imagined countless possibilities, even becoming a hostage or in a more humiliating situation, but she never expected this.

To put a Victorian princess in charge of a union that represented the working class and was destined to clash violently with the aristocracy?
But when the silver-haired woman's gaze met Lu Yan's, she clearly saw that deep within those eyes, as deep as the ancient starry sky, rippled a layer of undisguised, almost pitying mockery.

It was a kind of all-knowing understanding, as if watching a child who had just picked up a pretty pebble and thought he had the whole world.

Then, a whisper, seemingly penetrating straight to the soul, resounded deep within her soul.

"Intrigues and schemes are ultimately just rootless duckweed, scattered when the wind rises."

Even if your good brother Charles has completely lost his right to inherit the throne because of what happened today, the Victorian royal family is so large and powerful, can't we find other more suitable and obedient candidates to take that position?
Do you really think you can compete with those old fogies who have been entrenched in power politics for hundreds of years with your paltry tricks?

"Besides, do you really think the royal family is full of fools like Rhine, or ambitious young men like Charles?"
"Those ancient relics, slumbering deep within the old manor, witnessing the rise and fall of generations of kings—can their eyes truly be blinded by your petty, self-serving schemes?"

Every word was like a cold dagger, precisely piercing her newly burgeoning ambition, dissecting it thoroughly and exposing its fragile foundation.

Elizabeth's face turned even paler in an instant, and her self-righteous schemes seemed so naive and ridiculous at this moment.

However, just as this near-despairing realization dawned, an even more dazzling bolt of lightning pierced through the gloom of her consciousness.

She suddenly realized that this was neither a simple warning nor a complete denial.

The whisper was not meant to discourage her ambition, but rather... to guide her.

It was telling her that she had no chance of succeeding by relying on her own underhanded tricks.

So, what is His Majesty's true intention?
As her thoughts raced, she suddenly realized that what this mysterious and powerful monarch had given her was neither the position of "guild president" nor a tool to increase her bargaining power in the royal power struggle.

He gave her an opportunity!
An opportunity that would truly free her from the constraints of her princess status, bypass all traditional succession orders and internal power struggles, and lead her directly to the core of power!

An opportunity for her to truly reach that supreme throne!

"What's your name?" Lu Yan asked in a calm tone.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her excitement, and said, word by word:

"Elizabeth Victoria!"

(End of this chapter)