Although the bride Yishan had appeared early, the groom Han Qiu had yet to show up.
Adam explained that according to Suroma's wedding customs, when the ceremony officially began, the groom would enter together with the bride's father to complete the ritual of the father handing his daughter over to her husband.
That being the case, perhaps Han Qiu would come along with Bruce. The latter, being the king, wouldn't find it appropriate to show up early in such a noisy occasion.
Guan Tong watched as Yishan, surrounded by several bridesmaid-dressed women, entered the castle interior. She should be going to do her makeup and change clothes. Compared to the groom's side, the bride's side typically needed to start preparations several hours in advance.
At that moment, Guan Tong unexpectedly looked up toward the entrance. He sensed a creation of his own Mind Power approaching.
A man with a ponytail and wide sunglasses covering half his face swaggered in.
Guan Tong immediately recognized him—it was Scarface.
Since he still carried the Mental Stability Anchor imprint, Guan Tong could sense his location.
Still, he was somewhat surprised. Scarface actually dared to attend the wedding despite receiving an invitation. Wasn't Han Qiu afraid someone would recognize him?
After all, during the "Dialoguer" Rule, Scarface's face had been broadcast live for most of the world to see. Everyone knew he was that madman bold enough to use the Rules to blackmail the Human Consortium.
Seeing Scarface wearing those oversized sunglasses, Guan Tong knew the guy still had some scruples. He didn't dare show up completely uncovered.
But Guan Tong seriously doubted whether he could avoid being recognized under the scanning of all those "human facial-recognition cameras" on-site.
Scarface was wondering the same thing himself.
Something was going to go down here today, right?
Scarface surveyed his surroundings. He'd come purely with a schadenfreude-driven mindset.
He hated Han Qiu. He hated Guan Tong. He hated everyone who had used him or coerced him. So he'd accepted Han Qiu's invitation and risked exposing his identity just to watch—if he was lucky—a scene of "enemies killing each other."
Not long after Scarface arrived, another person showed up.
Guan Tong froze for a moment when he saw him.
That scrawny, pale-skinned young man covered in freckles, cowering and shrinking in on himself—wasn't he the one he and Adam had identified as the true Your Holiness, Paul?
No mistake.
Guan Tong stared at that somewhat sleazy-looking young man. He'd seen the photos and videos Adam had gathered several times. This guy was definitely the Paul they were looking for.
Earlier, they'd concluded Paul had come to Suroma to join Han Qiu. That seemed true now. But fine, Scarface attending was one thing. Was this Paul guy actually daring to show up brazenly at such a high-profile wedding?
Did he think no one knew he was the cult leader?
Guan Tong mused.
After all, a lot of people believed the Fire Thief Cult's Your Holiness was already dead. That Senator Dodge from Suroma had confirmed it a second time during his press conference.
Those unaware of the inside story would naturally never imagine the true Your Holiness was still alive.
...Maybe this was an opportunity to settle the score.
The chances of Scarface, Paul, Han Qiu, and Bruce all being at the same venue at the same time were incredibly slim. Now that they were all gathered at this wedding, it was an opportunity for Guan Tong.
I withdrew my gaze, secretly dispersing shadows to tail Scarface and Paul respectively, waiting for the right moment.
Time passed. Fewer and fewer guests arrived at the castle.
When it reached 5:40 PM, a voice came through the venue's speakers: "The wedding will begin shortly. Guests, please enter the ceremony hall."
The guests, who had been chatting in small groups, filed into the castle's great hall.
With so many people attending the wedding, seating arrangements were impossible, so they'd simply scrapped them altogether. The guests stood on either side of the red carpet, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Guan Tong mixed in with the crowd. He'd cautiously surveyed the hall earlier and confirmed there were no traps like barriers or magic arrays set up.
Aside from some wedding decorations, there were only a few cameras placed around to broadcast the ceremony live. This was Yishan's request—to livestream the wedding to the world.
Finding no traps left Guan Tong both relieved and uneasy. If the wedding really was a trap laid by Han Qiu and Bruce, why wasn't there any preparation?
Harboring some suspicion, he used a few shadow lines to confirm the positions of his targets. Scarface, Paul, and Yishan were all in their respective places. No problems.
The strange thing was, with the wedding about to begin, Bruce and Han Qiu still hadn't shown up.
Some guests were discussing this quietly.
"Has anyone seen the groom?"
"I haven't either. It's almost six in a few minutes. He's not going to be late, is he?"
"How could that be... There's no way he'd be late for his wedding to the king's daughter. Don't forget, it's not just us—there are hundreds of millions of people watching the livestream! If he really was late, that would blow up."
"Yeah. But come to think of it, His Majesty the King hasn't appeared either."
As the time reached 5:58 PM, the lights in the hall dimmed.
Adam's voice rang out in Guan Tong's mind: "The priest is about to set out. I'm going to make my move now. Shadow, how's the ceremony hall?"
"No abnormalities other than Bruce and Han Qiu not—"
Before Guan Tong could finish his sentence, a circular light array suddenly lit up at the entrance of the red carpet. Accompanied by teleportation radiance, two figures gradually materialized.
When the light faded, people saw the two men in sharp suits and burst into exclamations of amazement.
It was Bruce and Han Qiu.
So they hadn't been absent—they'd timed it perfectly and used an item to teleport directly to the scene!
No wonder Guan Tong hadn't anticipated it. Such behavior was extremely extravagant. With teleportation-type items becoming increasingly scarce and expensive on the market, using one like this was pure waste.
But thinking about it differently, in this age of Doomsday Rules, how could one showcase the extravagance of a wedding?
Money, valuable objects, celebrity endorsements... All those meant nothing in this era.
Using a one-time, high-value, extremely scarce group teleportation item merely as a prop for a flashy entrance—that was undoubtedly the best way to demonstrate prestige.
Their entrance was a resounding success. The guests' hushed gasps and murmurs proved it.
Han Qiu walked forward along the red carpet, smiling and waving to the crowd as he went.
His gaze swept across the guests below the stage. When it passed over Guan Tong, there was no pause at all, as if, like everyone else, he was automatically overlooked by the Camouflage Coat's effect.
But Guan Tong did not overlook him.
His eyes followed Han Qiu the entire time. This opponent, who had been contending with him in the shadows, was finally meeting him face-to-face in reality for the first time.
Compared to Han Qiu, Bruce's behavior was the complete opposite.
After teleporting in, he stood still as a statue, expressionless, his eyes blankly staring straight ahead, not even glancing at the noisy crowd.
This attitude was truly terrible. With that look on his face, it was like he'd come to a routine meeting rather than his daughter's wedding. No emotional fluctuation whatsoever.
"They haven't appeared yet?" Adam asked.
"No... They just used a teleportation item to arrive at the ceremony hall," Guan Tong said.
Crack.
When Han Qiu reached the end of the red carpet and stopped, the lights in the entire hall abruptly went out.
Then several powerful spotlights blazed to life, shining on the closed doors beside them.
"The ceremony is starting," Guan Tong said.
"I've already dealt with the priest," Adam said.
Uenoshi was silent. Guan Tong had agreed with her that aside from her scheduled check-ins every minute, she wouldn't take any action unless he notified her.
A gentle, melodious piece of music began to play. It wasn't an audio recording but a live performance by a symphony orchestra.
This, too, was the royal wedding flaunting its strength. In this era, being able to assemble a hundred-member orchestra for a live performance was probably harder than gathering a thousand Ascendants.
Accompanied by the soft music, the doors slowly opened, and Yishan, dressed in her wedding gown, gracefully walked onto the red carpet.
The crowd let out a collective "wow." Under the lights, Yishan in her wedding dress with her delicate makeup was truly beautiful. The genuine smile of joy radiating from her added an extra touch of loveliness.
On the major livestream platforms, the Barrage of Comments was filled with praise. Many people were even moved to tears from afar.
"A castle, a wedding dress, and a live orchestra—this is so dreamy!"
"Look at them, then look up at the shelter outside my screen. Once again, I feel the disparity in this world..."
"This wedding is really beautiful. It feels like returning to the world before the Fire Thief descended."
"Same here. It's none of my business, but I'm still inexplicably crying from emotion!"
Whether online or on-site, everyone's attention was focused on Yishan under the spotlight.
When she entered, the light beam followed her movements. She walked up to her father and naturally took his arm.
She could feel his arm was stiff. She turned to glance at him. Whether it was an illusion or not, on Bruce's icy face, she seemed to glimpse an imperceptible crack, a hint of softness.
No matter how bad their relationship had been before, at least today, she should put all that aside.
Thinking this, Yishan walked with Bruce toward the end of the red carpet, where Han Qiu stood waiting.
While everyone else's eyes followed Yishan, Guan Tong only glanced at her once before she entered the hall. After that, his gaze was fixed on Han Qiu at the other end of the red carpet.
A spotlight also shone on him. His head was slightly bowed, the shadow of his bangs partially covering his eyes and nose bridge.
Guan Tong didn't know what Han Qiu was thinking. He didn't know what his scheme was. But he didn't need to.
A dead man was like a snuffed-out candle. Once the physical body was destroyed, no amount of planning or scheming was just empty talk.
A large number of shadows silently spread throughout the hall. The lights that had been dimmed to highlight the couple ironically became the best camouflage for the shadows.
At the same time, through a small side door of the hall, Adam, dressed in priestly robes, approached Han Qiu from the side.
Everyone's attention was on the couple. No one noticed that the priest had been swapped.
Step by step, Yishan and Bruce arrived in front of Han Qiu.
According to tradition, at this moment, Bruce, as the father, was supposed to place Yishan's hand into Han Qiu's. Then the priest would lead them in their vows.
Bruce held Yishan's hand and reached forward.
His movement stopped halfway.
"...Father?"
Yishan, who had been waiting in anticipation, turned to look at Bruce. His expression was grim, as if he had discovered something.
Across from them, Han Qiu looked bewildered.
This brief moment seemed frozen in time. Then, a violent gravity field instantly pressed down. Light flickered simultaneously on Bruce, Han Qiu, and Yishan.
That was the effect of Mind Power defensive items. They were all under attack!
"Danger!"
Following someone's shout, chaos erupted on the scene. Dozens, then hundreds of guests rushed to the stage in the first instant to protect Bruce.
From their reaction speed and agile movements, it was clear they were pre-deployed special security personnel, all elite Ascendants.
But when they entered the range of a few steps around Bruce, they found themselves gasping for breath, their bodies heavy as if pressed down by an invisible iron weight, barely able to move!
"What's going on?!"
Yishan screamed in shock, her smile and anticipation completely wiped away.
"You should ask your father." A cold voice came.
Everyone looked over. With the hall lights on, Adam stood not far away, one hand slightly raised, channeling his power.
"Adam!" Yishan shrieked in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? Coming to ruin my wedding?!"
Adam ignored her. His eyes were fixed dead on Bruce. "Give me back my wife and child."
The gravity field Adam manipulated covered several meters around Bruce. All three of them—Bruce, Yishan, and Han Qiu—had Mind Power defensive items, allowing them to resist, but it was obvious Adam hadn't yet exerted his full strength.
Bruce's expression was grim and cold. He said nothing.
Han Qiu's face was full of panic, as if he hadn't anticipated any of this. But the faint calm in his eyes had already betrayed him.
Yishan was about to lose her mind. The wedding she had painstakingly prepared was being destroyed halfway through. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but as her Mind Power was rapidly consumed by the defensive items, even her breathing was becoming difficult under the gravity's suppression.
The chaos in the hall contrasted sharply with the brief silence of the few people on the red carpet. Then Adam's expression suddenly shifted. He sidestepped.
The next moment, a bullet pierced through the force field he used to defend himself, shattering a section of metal exoskeleton on his shoulder.
A sniper. And someone capable of breaching Adam's force field defense—they had to be an Ascendant who had broken through to the second stage, with over a thousand Mind Power.
Guan Tong had yet to make his move. He planned to have Adam's back. If the latter couldn't handle it, he'd step in himself.
But now that Adam had been shot at, he wasn't going to stay on the sidelines.
He immediately locked onto the sniper's position through his shadows. The sniper was half-crouching by a third-floor window, a digital screen covering his face, both hands holding a bizarrely shaped multi-barreled firearm.
Guan Tong directed his shadows to kill the exposed Bruce guards while simultaneously swapping positions with the shadow closest to the sniper. Without a word, he raised his hand, condensed a small space, and hurled it at him.
On an occasion like this, he wouldn't show any mercy. Any threatening enemy had to be eliminated.
The sniper failed to kill Adam with his first shot, so he fired several more in quick succession. The last two shots he twisted around to fire behind him—he'd sensed an enemy approaching.
But the Mind Power bullets from his gun were nothing in front of Guan Tong's small space. They were instantly devoured.
"ZZZZ—BOOM!"
The crackling sound of electric explosions and the rising dust concealed everything happening by the third-floor window.
On the first-floor red carpet, the sniper's shots had put considerable pressure on Adam. Each one broke through his force field defense. But fortunately, the force field's buffer slowed them down, giving him time to avoid the vital spots.
Still, this distraction weakened the gravity field's suppression on Bruce's group.
In truth, aside from Yishan, neither Bruce nor Han Qiu had actually been suppressed by the force field. Both of them stood still, but that didn't mean they couldn't move.
Bruce glanced at the explosion on the third floor. The sniper beside him had been positioned there. Being able to force someone to use an "electronic explosion bomb"—there weren't many enemies in the world capable of that.
Combined with the mass collapse of his security personnel around them, the person behind it was obvious.
It was "Shadow."
"Hurry, Yishan. We need to hide first!"
Han Qiu made as if to grab Yishan's arm and run, but she went berserk and shoved him away.
"Get lost! I want to kill Adam. I want to kill them all! Dad, kill these people who ruined my wedding!!!"
Bruce remained stone-faced, deaf to his daughter's hysterical screams. Expressionless, he said to Adam: "Adam, since you've come today, you might as well stay here."