(MC POV)
"Ready? I asked my cute disciples, all of them nodding with a refreshing smile on their faces.
I'm guessing that little fight they had was also a stress reliever for them… Which I shall not comment about anymore.
I braced on one foot and kicked forward with my other, forcing open the huge doors with a loud bang that startled everyone inside the throne room.
A bearded, middle aged and overweight man dressed head to toe in gold and precious metals sat on top of the throne. His face showed an expression that he was not at all impressed by our entrance.
"Who dares?!" Someone near the door yelled, stepping out to block my way.
I stepped forward and slapped his face with the back of my hand, sending him tumbling back into the crowd as I continued my stride towards the king.
A few other brave souls tried to stop me but nothing a few quick slaps to their faces couldn't fix.
Anyone that tried to come up from behind was also swiftly dealt with by my disciples in a similar fashion until they finally learned their lesson.
I stopped a short distance away from the throne and crossed my arms, "So, you the king of this place?"
He leaned further back in his chair, "Speak to me only after you have offered tribute."
"Oh, you want a tribute? Here," I scoffed, waving my arm to teleport the general he sent to ambush us who was still wearing a dress to kneel in front of me. "Here's your little general that you sent to attack us."
The king didn't look surprised to see him, although a few people in the crowd were wondering aloud how I managed to use a Technique even in this area that's supposed to suppress cultivation.
The king waved his hand dismissively, "I have never seen this man before in my life. Why did you bring a bandit here?"
"Oh, you mean to say you don't know your own generals huh? What an incompetent king you are."
"Hmph, big words from someone trying to pass off a random bandit as my general."
I turned to look at the general and he was smirking at me.
I guess he agreed to go on this apparent suicide mission in exchange for the king taking care of his family or something like that, so he doesn't care if he lives or dies.
"So you don't care if that pile of people dies huh? Including your own guards?" I asked.
The king merely rolled his eyes in disinterest.
Shrugging to myself, I teleported the general back and into the human pile.
"Gamma, Beta, bring them out, kill them all," I told the centauress and catgirl.
The two of them bowed their heads, "It will be done, Master."
The king showed no reaction even as Gamma pulled the cart out of the throne room.
Of course I didn't actually mean what I said, this was simply one of the scenarios we prepared beforehand to get a reaction out of the king. Gamma would be bringing them outside but she'll just dump them there and wait for us to return instead of killing them.
If I really need to kill them to make a statement, I'll have to get my disciples out of here first.
I hefted my sword that I've been carrying onto my shoulder, "So you still need a tribute for us to talk to you?"
The king looked away from me.
I thumbed the ignition button on the sword and let the boosters fling it off my hands to embed the sword inches away from the king's face.
He leapt up from his seat, "How dare you! Guards!!"
I waved my hand at him, "They were all in that pile of bodies taken out to get killed, remember? My tribute now is that I don't cut your head off, is that good enough for you?"
"You think I will be threatened? You are still outnumbered here!"
The officials began to encircle us, which wasn't really threatening in the slightest considering how most of them looked out of shape.
I really don't get why they thought unarmed politicians who have little to no combat experience could do something armed and trained soldiers could not.
My disciples spread out around me and got ready for another beat down.
"Papa!" Cai Hong squealed, hugging my leg again.
She most likely got scared by the oversized men glaring at us. Don't worry Cai Hong, this will be over soon.
"STOP!! STOP!!" The king yelled right before we could start the brawl.
He actually rushed down from the throne towards us, his court officials parting like a sea split in two.
He stopped in front of me and stared at Cai Hong who was hiding behind my leg.
The king then turned around and waved at the people around us, "All of you are scaring the little one!! Leave here at once!!"
The officials obeyed without question and quickly vacated the premises, leaving us alone with the king in this big empty throne room.
Eh? What's with this big change in attitude from him?
He lowered himself so that he was eye level with Cai Hong.
"Are you alright little one? Did the big man scare you? I am so terribly sorry about that. Look, all the big men are gone now, you don't need to be scared anymore. Why don't you come out?"
Er… What? Is this guy a lolicon? He's a lolicon isn't he?
Cai Hong only gripped my leg tighter, "Papa…"
The king stood back up and regarded me properly for the first time, "You are her father?"
I tilted my head at him, "Yes. What do you want with my daughter?"
"Let's cut to the chase. You're here for the troublemakers here aren't you?"
"The Dark Sect? Yes, we are."
He took a step back from me, "I can hand them over to you and even pay your little country compensation for all the things they've done. In return, I only ask that she becomes my daughter from now–"
"Out of the question," I interrupted him before he even finished speaking. "I would rather just burn your entire country to the ground."
"Papa~" Cai Hong buried her face in the back of my thigh.
So cute.
He gritted his teeth, "Grr… Fine. I'll hand them over to you if she just spends one day with me as my daughter."
"Again, I'd rather burn your entire country to the ground than allow that."
He furrowed his brows, "Fine! Just let me pat her for a while! That's all I ask!"
I looked down at Cai Hong who was looking at me with her large beady eyes.
"Does Cai Hong want to be patted by the uncle?" I asked.
She shook her head vehemently.
I turned back to the king, "Not happening either."
"Argh! Fine! Just let me see her for a bit! That's not a problem, right?!"
I turned back to Cai Hong again, "Are you ok with letting the uncle see you for a while?"
Cai Hong thought for a moment, "To help Papa… Okies!"
Why are you so cute?!
The king brightened up and immediately reached into his robes to pull out a piece of rolled up parchment and handed it to me.
"Here! These are the details! Let me see her! Quickly!"
Huh… That easily? And you already have that information prepared on you? Oh well, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I took the paper from him and nodded at Cai Hong, prompting her to step in front of me to show herself off to the king.
"Awww she's so cuuuuuute! Call me daddy?"
"Weird uncle…"
I chuckled and unfurled the parchment, quickly scanning through it to see the location of their hideout and even the current known members of the Dark Sect that were operating inside. Looks like this was legitimate and he wasn't trying to scam us.
But just as I was furling back the parchment again, there was the sound of something hitting flesh followed by the gasps and cries of outrage from my disciples behind me.
I looked down and I noticed Cai Hong's face turned to the side, the king… The bastard… The piece of shit that was unworthy of existence… His hand stretched out in the aftermath of the slap he had just given Cai Hong.
He.
Slapped.
Cai Hong.
The universe stopped.
