CHAPTER 677: CHAPTER 677: THE SERPENT EMPRESS’S INITIAL AWAKENING

General Sost, High Priest Kent, and Zara worked together to seal off the area around the Great Pyramid, making sure that even if the curse inside spread, it wouldn’t cause massive destruction right away.

As for what to do after that, none of them had any idea.

"Are we just supposed to sit here and wait for Charles?" Kent asked worriedly.

He felt that putting all their hopes on Charles was far too risky. No one could guarantee Charles would make it back in time.

Zara, sitting quietly on one side, kept her eyes fixed on the direction of the Empress’s chamber.

Standing nearby, General Sost spoke in a low tone, "That’s right. All we can do now is wait for Charles to return."

Hearing that, Kent had nothing more to say.

The three of them waited in silence for Charles’s return.

Time crawled by, and just when Kent’s patience was about to run out, a voice finally echoed from the distance.

"What’s the situation now? I can sense a strong curse spreading—has the curse on the Empress completely lost control?"

Hearing Charles’s voice, the three immediately turned toward the sound.

Charles looked rather worn out. His condition hadn’t fully recovered yet, and since he carried the Dark Gem, the dark energy’s influence still lingered over him.

When Zara saw how rough he looked, the joy on her face quickly turned into concern.

She rushed to his side and asked anxiously, "Are you hurt? You look terrible. The curse on the Empress hasn’t gone completely out of control—just a little unstable. I think the most important thing right now is making sure you’re safe."

Zara’s concern for Charles had already gone beyond her concern for the Serpent Empress herself.

Her words made both Kent and Sost look a little awkward.

"I’m fine! I’m still in good shape. What matters now is dealing with the Empress’s curse!" Charles said, then immediately started moving toward the Great Pyramid.

While talking with Zara, he had already taken a moment to check the situation there.

The curse’s power had spread around the pyramid.

If they didn’t find a way to weaken it soon, the entire Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis would be consumed by the curse in no time.

In this situation, Charles didn’t plan to waste any more time talking to the others.

Without saying a word to anyone, he went straight into the Great Pyramid on his own.

His sudden move shocked the other three.

Zara instinctively wanted to stop him, but before she could speak, General Sost said in a deep voice, "We have to trust Charles! Whatever he wants to do, let him do it."

High Priest Kent quickly nodded.

"That’s right. Charles must have found a way to deal with the curse on the Empress. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a rush to enter the pyramid!"

Hearing the two of them, Zara finally managed to calm herself down.

The moment Charles stepped inside and came into contact with the curse’s power, he immediately took out the Dark Gem.

As soon as the pitch-black gem touched the curse energy, it began sucking the power inside itself.

The Dark Gem absorbed the curse’s energy rapidly, creating a safe zone around Charles, completely free from the corrupting force.

That allowed him to move forward with far less pressure.

Holding the Dark Gem, Charles moved quickly toward the Empress’s chamber.

Along the way, every trace of the curse’s power was devoured by the gem.

By the time he reached the entrance of the chamber, all the spreading curse energy had already been absorbed.

Outside the pyramid, Zara and the others, who were closely watching the situation, could clearly feel the curse fading fast.

"Charles really did it! He actually brought back a way to weaken the curse!"

General Sost’s tone was serious, but there was admiration in his voice.

In his heart, his respect for Charles grew even stronger.

High Priest Kent also nodded with relief.

"I shouldn’t have doubted Charles before. His talent truly goes beyond ours."

Only Zara stayed silent.

She had believed from the start that Charles would find a way to weaken the curse. What she cared about now was his safety.

So she kept her worried eyes fixed on the Great Pyramid.

At the entrance of the Empress’s chamber, the curse’s energy was so dense that it had formed a wall of black, ominous light.

Even the Dark Gem couldn’t absorb such a massive amount of cursed power all at once.

Charles felt a flicker of worry.

"Could it be that even the Dark Gem can’t absorb such a massive curse? Did Aldany use more than just the underground curse energy? Did he mix in other curses just as strong?!"

A string of doubts ran through Charles’s mind.

If his worst guess was right, things were about to get very complicated.

While he was thinking, the solid black wall in front of him suddenly cracked.

A flood of curse energy poured out through the cracks, and all of it was instantly sucked into the Dark Gem.

The cracks spread fast.

Then, with a sharp sound, the wall collapsed completely.

A storm of curse energy burst out from the Empress’s chamber.

Charles instinctively summoned Mousie.

The little creature instantly formed a shadow large enough to cover both of them, then pulled Charles inside.

The wild curse energy swept past them, missing by inches.

All of it was devoured by the Dark Gem in a blink.

When the last of the curse power was gone, the Dark Gem returned to the same form Charles had first seen.

It gave off a chilling, ominous black glow, as if it were swallowing every trace of light around it.

Only when the curse storm finally ended did Charles step out from the shadow.

He quickly sealed the Dark Gem inside the time-space turbulence created by the Chrono Rabbit,

then rushed straight into the Empress’s chamber.

Inside, the air was still heavy and eerie.

The curse was gone, but the scene was horrifying.

The maids and servants who had been consumed by the curse were now twisted, motionless statues.

"What a pitiful bunch," Charles sighed softly.

He walked among those frozen shapes.

When he got close enough to the Empress’s resting area, he suddenly heard a faint cough from ahead.

"Could the Empress be awake already?"

The thought flashed across his mind.

He moved toward the sound as fast as he could.

A few minutes later, he finally saw the awakened Serpent Empress.

"I knew it... you would save me,"

Empress Aria said weakly, her lips curved in a faint smile as she looked at him.

Charles smiled back.

"I’m just glad you’re awake. But you still don’t seem fully recovered... there’s still a trace of the curse left in you, isn’t there?"

Facing Charles’s question, Aria slowly nodded.

"You’re right. Most of the curse on me has faded, but there are still some stubborn traces left. I’ve only just begun to wake up, and I still can’t offer you any help. All I can do is stay here in the chamber."

As she spoke, a look of regret crossed her face.

She truly felt useless.

Charles quickly said,

"Don’t think like that! None of this is your fault. It’s all because of Aldany. He’s the one who triggered the curse on you—and he’s also the one who surrendered to the Stellar Empire."

Aria’s eyes widened in shock at his words.

Charles then explained in detail the current situation in the Atacama Desert.

When she heard everything, pain filled Aria’s expression.

"The Serpent Empire must not fall while I still live! I beg you—please help our empire stand against the Stellar Empire’s invasion!"

"Of course I will," Charles answered firmly. "I’ll make sure the Serpent Empire doesn’t fall. And I’ll make the Stellar Empire—and every one of their allies—pay dearly for what they’ve done."

Hearing this, Aria’s face brightened with joy.

"Then call in the high officials of the Serpent Empire. I’ll give them my order personally—they must obey your command. From now on, you are the new regent of the Serpent Empire," Aria said solemnly.

Charles didn’t refuse.

He knew Aria could only rest easy once he accepted the title.

Soon after, Charles called Zara and the other two inside.

When they saw that Aria had regained consciousness, their faces lit up with relief.

And when Aria declared Charles as the new regent of the Serpent Empire, none of them looked surprised.

In their eyes, Charles had already been the empire’s true leader for a long time.

"You must follow Charles’s orders! The Stellar Empire will soon launch another attack. Only by standing together can we withstand their assault!"

Aria spoke those final words through her weak voice.

Then everyone quietly left the chamber,

while Aria closed her eyes and drifted back into rest.