Despite its grievous injuries, it fought with no regard for its life. All of the first rank Sword Masters ended up injured. Only Sword Grandmaster Shang remained the same as always.
He eventually destroyed its other eye, and all the snake could do was move around wildly, hoping to destroy its targets.
Sword Grandmaster Shang pierced the snake a few times through its eyes, reaching its brain, before the snake finally fell. As it hit the ground, a thud sounded through the Imperial Capital, and even the walls trembled.
The Mountain Serpent, a mythical creature once regarded as a legend, was slain. There were no casualties at all, excluding the snake itself.
With this, the war was truly over. Nothing remained that could threaten the Faceless Empire. After the Emperor settled everything down, he returned to the prison with Skymender. The Ancient Empire Emperor was still there.
"Continue." The Faceless Emperor said.
The Ancient Empire Emperor nodded. "In our discoveries, the Light Ocean Kingdom has found evidence of another continent existing somewhere, though it is not one hundred percent certain. They found an island which contains descriptions of a place similar to our continent, but there are also things that are different. This discrepancy, however, could simply be due to how long the papers had been there."
He then paused before speaking. "However, I have had a suspicion that they have been keeping things from me. What it is, I wasn't sure. I was too preoccupied with the war to care about anything else."
The Emperor of the Faceless Empire did not seem too surprised.
He turned to Skymender. "Your mission is to gather all of the information possible on a possible second continent. Posing as an escapee from the Imperial Capital of the Ancient Empire, you will infiltrate the Light Ocean Kingdom. There you will find whatever they were hiding, and perhaps even help us take it over with the least amount of resistance. Do you now understand the importance of this mission?"
Skymender nodded. "I will not fail."
"Good. Then get going. There will be a carriage waiting for you. Everything will be prepared within the hour."
Skymender nodded and left.
Before long, he set off in a carriage. It was extremely high speed. As he left the Imperial Capital, he saw that hundreds of workers were dismantling the Mountain Serpent. Ignoring everything else, just the meat on it was enough to allow the entire Empire to feast on it for a while. It was best to get it now before it began to decompose.
Even its scales and skin were supremely valuable. Skymender had made a point to have someone collect and store its blood, for though it flowed like a river, this was possibly the only Mountain Serpent in the world, and its blood was valuable.
It was a pity the eyes were destroyed. They could have been studied and had great effects on technological advancement.
As Skymender traveled towards the Ancient Empire, he had a master of disguise and infiltration help him prepare. Though he knew a lot about being an assassin, this person's expertise went far beyond that.
He was given clothes, his face disguised with paint and makeup, and even his actions were taught to be more like someone of the Ancient Empire's.
By the time they arrived at their destination, which was farther east than the Ancient Empire, he was completely prepared.
Skymender thanked the master of disguise and began to run. He made sure to intentionally fall down, receiving scrapes and bruises, as well as getting dirty, before he saw the city walls of the royal capital of Light Ocean Kingdom.
The guards stopped him with drawn bows.
Skymender put his hands up. "I am a soldier of the Ancient Empire's Imperial Capital. Our squad was destroyed and I managed to escape here. Please allow me entry."
The guards looked at each other unsurely. After a minute or so, someone began to walk towards him. He was elderly and wore scholar robes.
When he was within speaking distance, he spoke. "With our city facing the inevitable conquest of the Faceless Empire, we are in quite a strict lockdown. Nobody in, nobody out. I'm sure you understand. Please just answer a few questions for us."
"What is your name?" He asked.
"My name is Sui Linglan."
"Any relation to Count Sui?" The elderly man asked.
"A distant relative, but no personal relation. I am a commoner." Skymender said.
The elderly man asked another question. "How did you get here?"
"As the Sword Masters of the Ancient Empire fell one by one, we were sent retreating. I managed to nab an uninjured horse and run away. I managed to feed him for a while, but he eventually couldn't move anymore due to lack of food. All that I had, I had to eat. I came here because this is where I was born and raised until the age of nine. You can check the records."
The elderly man seemed surprised, and walked back. After having someone check the records, he finally allowed Skymender entry.
"At this point, we believe you, but without absolute proof, we will have to have someone watch you. Before we let you get settled in, the King wants to hear what happened during the battle."
He was taken to a large palace and brought in front of a surprisingly young king. He was an adult, but probably in his early twenties.
At his request, Skymender explained details of the battles and how the Ancient Empire lost. His information was accurate and had been studied countless times over the last months.
The King fell silent before sighing. "It seems that it is truly over for the Ancient Empire."
After a minute or so of silence, he spoke again. "For now, please stay in the Imperial Palace. When we confirm some things, we can have you go out."
Skymender nodded. He had gained initial access, and the rest would be easy from here.
He was brought to a room and left to rest.