Currently, the most important figures of the empire were gathered in the palace of the faraway Candora Empire. They were waiting to see if they obtained the Sacred Lion Beast's head from the Holy Dragon Empire.

Although it was only half, it was enough to make the upper brass of the Candora Empire mad. The Holy Dragon Empire had established the foundation of a millennium because of this Sacred Lion Beast head.

"Haha, Trio-Lords, you've done well. You've made great contributions to obtain the Sacred Lion Beast's head!"

The Candora King, who was sitting on the throne, saluted the Candora Trio-Lords. These Trio-Lords looked identical and had become ultimate contenders. It was basically a miracle.

However, they did not have any thoughts of competing with the King, and instead became the most powerful sword of the Candora Empire. The Trio-Lords, together with the Magic Mirror, had few rivals. This time, if not for the sudden appearance of the abnormality, Leon, they would have brought back the entire head of the Sacred Lion Beast.

"Your Majesty, we are really ashamed that we failed to bring back the complete Sacred Lion Beast's head," the Candora Trio-Lords said regretfully.

The Candora Trio-Lords did not know about Merlin at all but after returning to the Candora Empire, they learned that even Doomsday had died long ago by Merlin's hands. They knew that the Holy Dragon Empire would not be destroyed as long as Merlin existed. Merlin's name was destined to resound throughout the continent.

"The Holy Dragon Empire has stood for millennia, so it naturally won't fall that easily. It's already very good that you were able to bring back half of the Sacred Lion Beast's head. Now, let's take a look at this Sacred Lion Beast's head."

The King was also full of curiosity. The Sacred Lion Beast's head was the greatest secret of the Holy Dragon Empire. If not for the civil strife in the Holy Dragon Empire, it would be impossible to obtain the Sacred Lion Beast's head by relying on the Candora Trio-Lords alone.

"Bring it here."

The Candora Trio-Lords clapped and called for people to bring the Sacred Lion Beast's head in. The huge head was immediately displayed in front of everyone. Even though it was only half, anyone who saw this head would be shocked.

"This is the Sacred Lion Beast's head?"

Many core figures of the Candora Empire, including some ultimate contenders, all stared at the Sacred Lion Beast's head with intense eyes, as if wanting to see the secrets of the Sacred Beast.

When one became an ultimate contender, there was almost no difference in their boundary although there were still high and low points in strength.

No one was at a higher level.

Countless ultimate contenders had one common point of view after a long period of analysis, and that was that ultimate contenders had already developed the power of the bloodline to the limit. It was similar to the terrifying peak almighty beasts back in the ancient era.

If they wanted to go further, it would be the realm of a Sacred Beast. The next step for an ultimate contender was Sacred Beasts. However, no one had ever seen what a Sacred Beast looked like, much less how terrifying its power was.

That was because Sacred Beasts had been extinct for a long time, and no one had ever seen a Sacred Beast before. There was only a small trace of a Sacred Beast's will in the Candora Magic Mirror and was not useful at all. Even so, the Candora Magic Mirror had the terrifying ability to teleport through space, which served to show how frightening a Sacred Beast was.

Perhaps the next step for an ultimate contender was not a Sacred Beast, or perhaps if an ultimate contender could take a step further, they would really step into the realm of almighty beasts. No one knew the truth. This was all speculation among the ultimate contenders.

Therefore, the Sacred Lion Beast's head was incredibly precious because it was the real corpse of a Sacred Beast.

"There doesn't seem to be anything special about this Sacred Lion Beast's head besides its huge size. Perhaps that unique aura is different from regular almighty beasts, but has anyone else noticed that that unique aura is rapidly disappearing," an ultimate existence said after realizing something while frowning.

"An aura?"

The Candora Trio-Lords sensed carefully. Indeed, in the beginning, they sensed an aura that was completely different from an ordinary almighty beast. The domineering and vastness of the aura made them feel their insignificance.

That was why they believed that this was truly the Sacred Lion Beast's head. However, thinking about it now, how vast was the aura that they felt in the Holy Dragon City's secret chamber? It was not like this one, where it seemed like it would disappear at any moment.

"This…"

While the Candora Trio-Lords were puzzled, the unique aura on the Sacred Lion Beast's head completely disappeared and could no longer be sensed.

"Crack."

At the same time, the Sacred Lion Beast's head began to crack, and the crack spread, just like a spider web, across the head in the blink of an eye.

"Boom."

Finally, the huge Sacred Lion Beast's head crumbled with a loud noise, turning into debris and scattered all over the ground. A blanket of smoke filled the entire hall.

The next moment, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

"No… the Holy Dragon Empire, the Holy Dragon royal family, they outwitted us this time!"

At that moment, the Candora Trio-Lords finally realized that the Sacred Lion Beast's head was fake, and had been fake since the beginning. Perhaps the King was telling the truth, but the Sacred Lion Beast's head was fake. No one knew when the royal family switched out the Sacred Lion Beast's head.

The Candora Trio-Lords knelt on the ground and said lowly, "Please punish us, Your Majesty."

Not only did they end up empty-handed this time, they even used the power of the Candora Magic Mirror. Even if there was an almighty beast will, traveling through space was not a power that ordinary people could grasp. Each time the Candora Magic Mirror was activated, it cost an unimaginably huge price.

The King's eyes were cold. He looked in the direction of the Holy Dragon Empire in the distance and sneered. "The Holy Dragon Empire is indeed an ancient empire with millennia of history. This time, we'll admit defeat!"

The King also knew that with 'Leon's' appearance, the Candora Empire could not do anything even if they were furious.

Meanwhile, besides the Candora Empire, Shadow King and the others also realized that their half of the Sacred Lion Beast's head was fake. Although they were furious, they did not dare to go to the Holy Dragon Empire again.

Out of the five rebel leaders, only three remained, while the three elders of the royal family were only injured. The situation of the entire empire had changed quietly.

Perhaps, what was next were painful days for the rebel.

...

At the same time, there was a jubilant atmosphere at the Princess Royal's main hall in the Holy Dragon City. That was because the next day was the day when the Princess Royal would be crowned King.

The King had been disheartened and voluntarily abdicated and passed the throne to the Princess Royal. The Princess Royal had also deployed a force that resulted in almost all the ministers to support her ascension to the throne.

Therefore, the next day was bound to be a day that caught everyone's attention. Similarly, perhaps the entire Holy Dragon Empire would change and grow with new vitality with her ascension.

The Princess Royal wore a hastily made crown full of precious stones on her head. Under the dim light, it looked incomparably beautiful.

Soon, there was a burst of concentrated footsteps outside the palace, and Merlin marched in. No one dared to stop him. Everyone knew that Merlin was the Princess Royal's closest confidant.

Merlin walked into the palace, his eyes tightly fixed on the Princess Royal. Suddenly, he said slowly, "Lisa, I just received news from Phantom's Intelligence Team that the Sacred Lion Beast's head taken by the Candora Empire and Shadow King is fake. Did you already know?"

Although Merlin's tone was calm, everyone could feel the coldness in his voice.