Chapter 33: The True Face of the Rose Prince

"Your Highness, good health to you!"

Seeing the Prince raise his glass, the guests at the banquet followed suit, lifting their own glasses high into the air.

"Cheers!"

The crowd cheered, and as the drinks were finished, the banquet seemed to reach its peak. The Prince took Cinderella by the hand and led her toward his parents; he wanted to introduce her to them.

Cinderella felt somewhat uneasy, but with her hand held in his, her long life of having no agency of her own left her unable to resist. Her eyes darted through the crowd, searching for Murong Xun. To her disappointment, she could not find him anywhere.

"What's wrong?" The Prince sensed her distraction.

"No, nothing at all," Cinderella quickly shook her head. He was a prince—a person she could not afford to offend.

The Rose Prince wore a smile, but his heart was clouded with gloom. He was certain of it: Cinderella had been looking for someone else. It seemed he had changed too many things; how could Cinderella already have someone she liked?

He had come here specifically for Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. A prophet had foretold that Cinderella was a pivotal figure for him, capable of expanding his dynasty, which was why he had organized this banquet. But what was this? Had someone else beaten him to it?

Though many thoughts raced through his mind, he revealed nothing, maintaining a gentlemanly composure. Yet, at that very moment, disaster struck.

Someone in the crowd suddenly collapsed. Once the first fell, it was as if a row of dominoes had been tipped; one after another, the guests tumbled to the ground.

The Rose Prince’s expression turned to one of shock. Why had they acted so soon? This was not at all how he had planned it! The banquet was meant to last three days, and this was only the first; he wasn't prepared, and this was far too rushed!

However, given the situation, he could no longer keep up the facade. With a secret signal, his soldiers surrounded the estate and took control of the grounds.

"King Rose, what is the meaning of this?" seeing the estate surrounded, the King of Deep Blue looked on with fury. He had believed the marriage proposal was sincere, but it seemed the situation was far more complicated than that.

The King of Rose, however, was equally stunned; he had no idea what was happening.

"My dear, let me tell you," a voice whispered softly in his ear. It was the Queen of Rose. "I cannot wait any longer!"

As she spoke, she plunged a dagger deep into the King's body.

"Father!" the Rose Prince shouted. But it was too late.

"Why?" he cried out to the Queen. "Why would you do this?"

The Queen looked at him with a sickly, obsessive gaze. "Don't you understand yet, my dear? I simply couldn't wait. Every night, I hoped for the darkness to pass quickly so that I could see you at dawn. I didn't want to wait anymore, and I didn't want you to marry a princess!"

Looking from the Queen to the Prince, the King of Rose gazed on in disbelief. He tried to raise his hand, but it fell limp, and he breathed his last.

The Queen stood up coldly, looking at the bodies scattered across the floor, and smiled proudly. "Look, I’ve taken care of the people you wanted removed. I am the only one who can help you move forward. Why don't you understand that?"

The Rose Prince ignored her, his eyes fixed on his father. "Why couldn't you wait? You knew he didn't have much time left. His only wish was just to see me get married!"

As a transmigrator and a prince, he had truly felt the greatness of a father’s love. Because of his birth, the entire country had been renamed. The old man had simply wanted to watch his son marry, and now he had died because of the son he loved most. What a cruel irony.

The Rose Prince was, after all, a man of ambition; he quickly composed himself. "Kill everyone!"

The scandal between him and the Queen must never be known. He had originally intended to wipe out the nobility of the Deep Blue Kingdom in one stroke. Although he hadn't managed to wake the princess yet and things hadn't gone according to plan, he had to see it through to the end. At the very least, he had taken out the majority of the Deep Blue nobility, and even with the unexpected turn of events, he was confident he could handle the fallout.

In a corner of the garden, Ding Xiang and Zhong Ye lay in the same direction. Though they were not close, their physical prowess allowed them to hear every word spoken across the grounds. Having witnessed such a massive drama, Zhong Ye looked eager to get involved.

Ye Qing, who had previously left, had returned to the estate. Hiding in the shadows, now that he was no longer burdened by Snow White, he could finally fight without distraction.

"Violator, I can finally finish you!" Instead of drawing the greatsword on his back, he drew a long spear. Activating the power of the Azure Dragon, he merged with the weapon and charged directly at the Rose Prince.

"Hmph!" The Rose Prince sneered, not at all surprised by his arrival. "I've been waiting for you!"

He had an affair with the Queen of Snow, and the Magic Mirror itself was his possession. Having laid his plans in this world for years—and having killed a previous Executioner—how could he not be prepared? He had known of Ye Qing’s existence the moment he entered the Snow Palace to take away Snow White, and he had been monitoring him closely ever since.

"Roar—!" A thunderous sound erupted.

The Queen of Rose suddenly transformed into a giant black dragon, unfurled her massive bat-like wings, and soared into the sky, opening her maw to incinerate Ye Qing with dragon fire.

Ye Qing’s reaction was swift. Seeing her transform, he leaped into the air with his spear, appearing to manifest as an azure dragon himself.

The two dragons—one from the East, one from the West—collided. The result was instantaneous; the black dragon transformed by the Queen plummeted from the sky, reverting back to human form.

There were few spectators left for this epic battle. After the Queen poisoned the drinks, very few remained standing. Cinderella was stunned by the sudden turn of events, seeing this side of the polished Rose Prince.

Just then, someone pulled her to run toward the back. Cinderella initially wanted to struggle, but upon seeing it was Murong Xun, she stopped.

"Stay hidden here and don't move," Murong Xun instructed after pulling her into a corner.

After the Queen fell, the Rose Prince caught her and then soared into the sky himself. To everyone's surprise, he was incredibly powerful, transforming into a Western black dragon to entangle with Ye Qing’s azure dragon.

Two streaks of light collided repeatedly, the air filled with constant booms. Ding Xiang and the others watched the battle in shock. Such power was terrifying—certainly beyond anything they could match. They knew Ye Qing was a player, but what was the deal with that Rose Prince? To possess such strength in a world like this was horrifying.

They could not intervene in the battle above. Meanwhile, the King and Queen of Deep Blue watched with grief. Their people were being slaughtered before their eyes, and they were powerless to stop it, much like when their own child had been harmed. What could be more devastating than that? But having consumed the poisoned wine, they were paralyzed, unable to do anything but watch.

Boom!

A figure plummeted from the sky. It was Ye Qing! His clothes were tattered, and three distinct claw marks bled across his chest.

"You know me very well!" Ye Qing’s expression was grim.

From the exchange, he could clearly feel that his opponent was intimately familiar with his tactics. This kept him on the defensive, and in the end, he had been outplayed, his Azure Dragon form shattered by a strike to his weak point.

"Hahaha!" The Rose Prince laughed. "Did you think I did nothing while staying in this world for so many years? I have the system, and I’ve killed your kind. I’ve long since decoded the information on them; of course, I know you well."

Ye Qing said nothing, his face dark. The feeling of being known while knowing nothing of his opponent made him deeply uncomfortable. He fought with hesitation, and because the Prince knew his flaws so well, he couldn't even utilize seventy percent of his true strength.

Beyond the Prince's knowledge of him, the man’s power was genuinely at the Third Order—a demigod level in this world. Ye Qing was also Third Order, at the peak, but he could clearly feel that the Prince’s control over his power was far superior.

"Don't understand why I'm stronger than you?" The Rose Prince sneered. "Your power is greater than mine, but my strength was built step by step through my own cultivation. That is the biggest difference between us."

He spoke with pride. His raw power stats might not have been as high as Ye Qing's, but his mastery was far better, resulting in greater combat effectiveness. This was the flaw of power directly bestowed by the Magic Tower; such strength could never compare to that of a peer who had cultivated it themselves.

After bandaging his wounds, Ye Qing put away his spear. A long spear was inconvenient for close-quarters combat; a greatsword was much better. The Dragon-Headed Greatsword could also channel the Azure Dragon’s power, so it wouldn't hinder his strength. As for his wounds, the powerful wood-elemental properties of the Azure Dragon force were already healing him. The effect of the Yi-Wood power was truly heaven-defying.