Chapter 161 Azir dies! The ancient witch spirit appears!

Azir stood beneath the sun disk, and just before the priests began the ceremony, he turned and walked towards Xerath.

The sudden change caught Xerath off guard.

The audience in front of the screen also opened their eyes wide and stared at the screen without blinking.

"Could it be that Azir knows about Xerath's conspiracy?"

"Are you going to expose him at this last minute?"

"Has Xerath's plan been exposed?"

"Shouldn't there be any? Otherwise, how could the Shurima Empire be destroyed?"

"So what is Azir going to do?"

Azir's behavior also puzzled the audience who saw this scene. What would he do at such an important moment before the Ascension Ceremony?
……

Zerath felt the same doubt and anxiety in his heart.

Did he know? How could he know? This spoiled, stubborn little boy?
This righteous and hypocritical emperor actually has his hands stained with blood like Xerath.

Even if he knew, he couldn't stop the fatal blow, everything had already started to move.

However, what happened next was beyond everyone's expectations!
Xerath prepared for many contingencies.

He bribed, murdered, brokered, and conspired for decades, even using the monster-like brothers, Nasus and Renekton, to lure the enemy away, but he never expected this.

The Emperor of Shurima, the golden sun, the darling of the Desert Mother, who was about to ascend, took off his helmet, revealing his proud brows and smiling eyes, facing his most familiar and trusted friend.

He spoke of brotherly love, love of friends, hard-earned victories and helpless losses, family, the future, and finally freedom.

After he finished speaking, the guards on both sides came forward and raised their weapons.

So this young prince really knew. Did Xerath's plan fail?

But these fools in armor are saluting. They're not looking mean, they're saluting him. They're congratulating him.

Congratulations on his freedom.

His hated master had just freed him. He had freed the slaves. No Shuriman would ever be shackled again. Azir's last command as a mortal was to free his people.

The crowd cheered loudly, drowning out any reaction from Zeratul.

Azir put on his helmet and stood on the altar. His followers prepared him for the divinity that he would never get.

Standing in the shadow of the sun disk, Xerath knew that a disaster that would destroy the entire empire was about to come.

It's too late, my friend. It's too late, my brother.

For us, it's all too late.

...No one expected that Azir would announce an order to abolish slavery in the Shurima Empire at this time!
Perhaps it was the moment when he stood in front of the sun disk that he believed that everything would be foolproof. He was not only the emperor of Shurima, but was also about to become an ascender!
And this time, he can finally fulfill his promise with his brother, Xerath!
He turned to Zerath and finally granted him freedom as promised. Not only him, but all slaves were freed.

Xerath was stunned and speechless, but before Azir could finish his words, he embraced Xerath and acknowledged him as his brother forever, just as he had promised all those years ago.

It should have been a moving moment, as the brothers' decades of hard work had finally paid off and they now ruled a powerful empire.

The purpose of all they did was actually to fulfill the promise they made when they were children.

Sentimental female audiences even shed tears when seeing this scene.

The audience in front of the screen were also shocked by Azir's sudden behavior, just like Xerath! But then they felt uneasy!

Is it too late for all this?
Azir had no idea what Xerath was planning in secret, and everything he said came too late.

Next it’s Xerath’s turn!
Now the Emperor of Shurima, who is also his friend and brother, has completely freed him from slavery and fulfilled their agreement, abolishing the slavery system that had been practiced in the Shurima Empire for thousands of years!

He got everything he had ever hoped for.

However, he has already planned so much in secret for today, and everyone's eyes are focused on Zeratul.

What will he do next? Will he stop here or will he continue?
……

Xerath was stunned.

He was given everything he had ever wanted.

But Xerath's plan will inevitably lead to Azir's death, and at this point there is nothing that can stop Xerath from going forward.

Too many links have been set in motion, too many sacrifices have been made, and Xerath can no longer turn back - no matter how much he wants to stop.

The emperor's words pierced the shackles of pain around Xerath's heart, but they came decades late.

Azir, unaware of his impending destruction, turned back. The priests began a ritual to summon the sun's powerful energy to the world.

However, the emperor who had just freed his friend from slavery did not know that during these years, Zeratul had not only learned history and philosophy in his pursuit of knowledge, he had also learned sorcery and black magic. His long-cherished desire for freedom had expanded like a cancer and turned into a fiery hatred.

At the climax of the ceremony, the former slave released his power. With a roar mixed with anger and sadness, Xerath pushed Azir off the altar and watched with tears in his eyes as his former friend was burned to ashes.

Without the protection of the rune ring, Azir was immediately consumed by the sun's fire, and Xerath took his place. The light infused Xerath with power, and he roared loudly as his mortal body began to change.

But the magic of this ritual did not belong to Xerath, and the diversion of such a vast amount of astral energy could not fail to bring about tragic consequences. The unleashed power of the sun destroyed Shurima, crumbling temples and razing cities to the ground.

The people were burned to ashes, the towering palaces collapsed, and the yellow sand surged up, engulfing the entire city. The sun disk sank from the sky, and the empire built over hundreds of years was destroyed in an instant, all because of one person's ambition and another person's wrong hatred. All that was left of Azir's city was the broken ruins and the screams of people in the cold night.

Even though the city was in dire straits, Xerath still used magical powers to control the sun priests, preventing them from ending the ceremony.

A huge amount of energy poured into his body, merging with his own dark witchcraft and solidifying into a powerful energy body.

He continued to absorb the power of the sun as his body was completely consumed and reshaped into a shimmering vortex of arcane energy.

The witch spirit appears in the world!
(End of this chapter)