At Count Gray’s manor.
“Gray, that is the place where you brought me? Why did you bring me here?”
King Landhar III looked around as he spoke in a dignified voice.
The manor in front of him was Count Gray’s property. King Landhar III knew that. There was nothing special about the manor.
“Your Majesty, you will know when you go in.”
Gray’s expression was calm as he walked into the manor first. The moment he entered the manor, Count Gray’s body disappeared from view. That scene made the King anxious. Even Hoen, who was beside him, also frowned. He moved closer to his side and whispered, “Your Majesty, it seems that that manor has been enchanted. Should we be more cautious and call more soldiers to prevent any danger when we enter later?”
“There’s no need for that. I’m already here, but I’m standing still at the door. If the so-called Black Emperor finds out about that, would I not be a joke to him? Besides, don’t I have you? With you, no matter how bold those people are, they won’t dare to do anything to me.”
The King’s expression was calm as he said that, causing Hoen to shut his mouth and stop consoling him. He only focused his attention there. The King trusted him so much. If he were to let anything happen to the King, it would be a massive crime.
King Landhar III did not know Hoen’s thoughts. He dared to bring Hoen to that courtyard not because Hoen was a platinum-tier elite but because his own strength was at the peak of diamond-tier. Furthermore, there were seven gods’ projections that were guarding him. If the Black Emperor had set up an ambush in that courtyard, it would align with his intentions. He could take the opportunity to capture the Black Emperor and the others in one fell swoop.
After making up his mind, King Landhar III began to walk into the courtyard. “Count Gray, let me see what exactly is in that manor. What was the Black Emperor up to that time? ”
As he entered, King Landhar III saw a courtyard that overlapped in the sky and stretched for an unknown number of meters. The courtyard area in the sky was ten times larger than the manor itself, and it was filled with plants. There were also various houses. People wearing different clothes spread their combat aura wings and flew into the courtyard, carrying various items and placing them on different levels.
“What is that?” Hoen exclaimed in disbelief.
He knew that magic had been cast on the manor in front of him, but he did not expect the scene inside the manor to be like that. Eight huge courtyards were floating in the sky, looking even more magnificent than the palace. Plus, how were they floating? Was it some kind of wind magic?
Hoen was astonished, and a hint of silence appeared in the eyes of King Landhar III, followed by a deep killing intent. How could he not know that such a magnificent building had been built right under his nose in the capital? The so-called Black Emperor’s actions had violated his rights and interests. If he could create such a courtyard, the Black Emperor could also create many other things. If he did not control it, his rule would be threatened.
After entering the courtyard, Count Gray, who had disappeared, emerged again in front of the two people. King Landhar III could not help but say, “Gray, is that courtyard what you want to show me? I can see it now. That does not change the outcome of your death. If there is any change, it is that, other than you, everyone here will die too.”
“Your Majesty, those are not all that I want to show you. I believe that after you’ve seen all of them, you won’t say such things anymore.”
Count Gray chuckled. He spread the light-elemental combat aura wings that symbolized a gold-tier elite and flew straight toward the third courtyard in the sky. King Landhar III gave Hoen a look, and Hoen immediately understood as an earth-elemental domain spread under his feet. A rocky mountain protruded from the ground, carrying him and King Landhar III as they flew toward the sky.
“Who is casting magic in the courtyard?”
“Look at that person. He seems to be General Hoen, who is known as the kingdom’s Iron Wall. Is the person next to him wearing royal clothes?”
Hoen and King Landhar III’s actions were too prominent, and many Severed Fingers members had noticed it. Those members turned their heads to look at the two of them, and some of them recognized Hoen and King Landhar III. Cries of surprise rang out, and there was fear on their faces.
As members of the underground forces, the kingdom regarded them as vermin, and the King had always wanted to kill them. Even though they were no longer criminals under Watson’s rule, they still feared the King.
When they saw the King, they thought that the King had discovered that secret base and was about to make a move on them.
“That’s the King. I saw him when he gave a speech in the capital. Don’t worry. He must have come here with Count Gray. He must have other reasons to be here other than to kill us.”
Some of the members were more compliant. They pointed at Count Gray, who had led the way before the King, and comforted their companions.
If the King were there to eliminate them, then Count Gray would not have led him there. Instead, he would have been tied up or shackled. It was impossible for the King to have gone there by himself. Instead, he would have sent thousands of soldiers and horses to flatten that place.
The other members in the vicinity began to relax. On the one hand, they knew that the King’s goal was not to destroy them. On the other hand, they were all gold-tier elites then. Even if they were not a match for the entire kingdom’s army, if they wanted to escape, the kingdom’s army would not be able to stop them.
As the Severed Fingers Gang members looked at King Landhar III and Hoen, the two men also looked at the gang members around them. They only panicked for a moment before reverting to their original state. They were doing what they were supposed to do. That made King Landhar III’s eyes shine with a strange light.
‘Those people clearly recognize me, but they don’t seem to be afraid of me. Is it because they do not respect me? No, that should not be the reason.’
Even though he did not know what the Black Emperor had said to those people and made them lose their fear, King Landhar III was more interested in the Black Emperor.
While he was thinking, King Landhar III was standing on the mountain peak created by Hoen’s fighting technique. He had already flown past the first level of the courtyard. Looking down, he saw countless thick trees in the courtyard. Those trees had many red or silver-white fruits. The strange thing was that those fruits did not grow on the trees. Instead, they were hung on the trees. There were ribbons on the fruits, and the ribbons wrapped around the branches of the trees.
Those fruits were flowing with flickering light as if it was breathing. One could feel the dazzling light just by looking at it from afar. The fresh air filled the space, and one could not help but want to take a deep breath. As the air entered one’s lungs, the sweet air would rush straight to one’s head, making one feel invigorated.
“Count Gray, answer me. What are those fruits?”
As a knowledgeable king, King Landhar III already had an answer in his heart. However, he was not sure if that answer was correct.
“Your Majesty, those are the sun gems and moon gems from the Forest of Eternity in the south. Consuming one will allow one to advance to gold-tier, and at the same time awaken the cultivation talent of light or dark elements.” Gray stopped flying as he explained to King Landhar III.
“It is as I expected.”
King Landhar III’s eyes flickered, but his heart was filled with great waves. There was a time when he wanted to attain immortality, so he sent envoys to the Elven kingdom in the Forest of Eternity to obtain a portion of the spring water of life. Thus, he had some understanding of the Forest of Eternity. He knew that the entire Forest of Eternity was actually an illusion of a World Tree, and that the Spring of Life was the sap of the World Tree. There was also a fruit that absorbed the water from the Spring of Life and was born on the World Tree’s trunk, and that was the sun and moon gem.
Unfortunately, the Elven kingdom did not agree to his request. They did not give him any water from the Spring of Life of the sun and moon gem. He knew what that fruit looked like because the magic staff that Antonio had used before, the Sun and Moon Divine staff, was the branch of a World Tree, and there was a sun gem condensed on it.
Even Antonio, who had a close relationship with the elves, only had a sun gem that had not fully matured. However, the courtyard he was in was full of such fruits, and there were at least 100,000 of them in total. It made King Landhar III wonder if he was dreaming. What he awakened was his talent for light and darkness cultivation, which was enough to sweep through everything.
Just as King Landhar III was considering the scene in front of him, he suddenly heard Count Gray’s words. “Your Majesty, those sun and moon gems were created by the Black Emperor via special methods. Other than the Forest of Eternity, the only other place in the world that has such a large number of sun and moon gems is here.”
“Let’s go, Your Majesty. We’ve finished the first floor. Next, it’s time to go to the second floor.”
Under Gray’s lead, King Landhar III and Hoen left the courtyard on the first floor reluctantly. One of them was the kingdom’s general, while the other was the supreme ruler and held countless riches. However, they were still surprised by the scene in front of them. It was precisely because they were in high positions that they knew that some things could not be bought with wealth, and those things were more attractive to them than ordinary people.
Entering the second floor, King Landhar III and Hoen realized that the courtyard had been designed to look metal-like. On the metal floor, some towers reflected cold light. The sound of forging came from the towers as if someone was polishing weapons. After entering that place, the temperature instantly rose by more than one level, and there were weapons stuck in the towers.
“Those are platinum-tier weapons? A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand… How many weapons are there?”
When Hoen saw the cold weapons on the tower, his expression changed. As a general, he had a deep understanding of weaponry, so he could tell at a glance those were platinum-tier weapons. No fewer than 10,000 tower-shaped buildings were standing in the courtyard, which proved that there were more than 10,000 weapons.
How did they get 10,000 platinum-tier weapons? There were only ten platinum-tier weapons in the entire kingdom, and the King treated each of those like treasure. However, there were 10,000 of them there, which was 1,000 times more than the what the kingdom had. Furthermore, it seemed like those platinum-tier weapons were not crudely made. Each of them emitted a strength that was strong enough to distort space. They were no weaker than the so-called strongest offensive weapon in the kingdom, the Sky Severing Blade. Even their styles were very similar.
“Your Majesty, those are also weapons that the Black Emperor created using his own abilities. It was modeled after the kingdom’s strongest offensive weapon, the Sky Severing Blade. Of course, these platinum-tier weapons are not inferior to that sword in the slightest. In fact, their hardness and sharpness are even greater than that sword.”
Count Gray explained the situation to King Landhar III before flying to a higher level.
“Next is the third level. The real wealth of the Severed Fingers is stored here. I hope that you will be mentally prepared so that you won’t be frightened later.”
The 100,000 sun fruits, moon gems, and more than 10,000 platinum weapons were already shocking enough. There was something even more surprising than that?
Taking a deep breath, Hoen subconsciously glanced at the King beside him. That unfathomable ruler had been expressionless since the beginning. No one knew what he was thinking, and he was nervously guessing King Landhar III’s thoughts. Hoen and the others finally arrived on the third floor.
The moment they entered, the three of them were blinded by the golden light. The light did not come from the sunlight in the sky but the reflection of countless gold coins. The entire third floor of the courtyard seemed to be made of gold, and there was nothing on the ground; there was only a mountain of coins piled up. It was hard to imagine hundreds of billions of gold coins or even trillions of gold coins.
For King Landhar III and Hoen, wealth was not enough to arouse their interest because they both held great wealth, but there was too much wealth in front of them. It turned out that when there was a certain amount of money, it could also impact those in high positions, and the impact was far more significant than other things.
“Hoen, help me.”
King Landhar III, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly extended his right hand. It seemed like he could not hold himself up in front of so many gold coins. Hoen, who was beside him, did not help the King up. Instead, he revealed a bitter smile. “Your Majesty, I am very sorry. I do not have the strength to help you up.”
Hoen’s legs were trembling. If it were not for the fact that he had been a general for many years and had a superior mind, he would have already fallen to the ground in shock.
“The amount of gold coins stored here is one trillion, which is the group’s entire wealth. With this amount of money, even if the kingdom suffers from continuous famine and other natural disasters, or if the kingdom’s production is reduced by several times, or even if we do not receive sufficient tax revenue, this amount will be enough to support the expenditure of a kingdom for hundreds of years,” Count Gray said in a calm tone.
One trillion gold coins.
The total wealth of the entire kingdom was only a few billion, and those gold coins could support the operation of tens of thousands of kingdoms similar to the Holy Dragon Kingdom. One could imagine how terrifying that number was.
“Gray, why did you bring me here?” King Landhar III asked Gray after he snapped back to his senses.
“Your Majesty, I want to say that if you give up on pursuing us, then at least half of the money and supplies will be yours! That is the Black Emperor’s words. ”
“If I kill all of you now, everything here will be mine.”
“Your Majesty, that is no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. These are just the things that we have obtained after the Black Emperor reorganized the Severed Fingers Gang. If we are given time, the resources that we will receive will be ten times more than these.” Count Gray did not panic. He said, “If Your Majesty still wants to kill us after knowing this, then I have no complaints. However, I have to remind Your Majesty that it will be of no use even if you kill us because the one who brought about all these changes is the Black Emperor! As long as the Black Emperor doesn’t die, he can build another Severed Fingers Gang anywhere.”
“Gray, are you threatening me? What are you thinking? Do you really think that that wealth will make me yield and let you off? Then you are wrong. Hoen, kill Gray.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After hesitating for a moment, Hoen still respectfully agreed. Initially, when Gray had said that he wanted to give more than half of the things there to the King, Hoen was moved. The King would definitely not be able to squander so many of those things. When the time came, even if it were just a fraction of the wealth, it would be more than he could enjoy in a few lifetimes.
Who would have thought that His Majesty would resist such a temptation and still wanted to kill Gray? He wanted to placate the King, but after thinking about it, he still swallowed what he wanted to say. He knew the King well. Once he made his decision, it would not be easily changed. Forcefully changing the will of the King would only bring death.
Hoen sighed inwardly and extended his right hand toward Gray. The earth elements in the air spontaneously condensed and quickly turned into a ten-meter-large rock palm. Each finger was imbued with a complex color. It gathered and locked onto Gray with a loud cracking sound as if a giant was about to squish a mosquito to death.
“Count Gray, this is His Majesty’s order. I can only apologize to you.”
Just as Hoen’s attack was about to crush Gray into a cloud of blood mist, a loud bang was heard.
With a muffled sound, the giant rock arm that Hoen had summoned instantly shattered. In its place, a tender figure appeared in front of Count Gray. The man wore a simple white robe and only pressed down slightly in front of him. The aura emitted from his body caused the rock arm to disintegrate.
“General Hoen, it’s not appropriate to attack someone else’s subordinate just because of a disagreement, right?”
“It’s you! Watson!”
Hoen’s expression changed drastically while staring at the youth in front of him and hearing that familiar tender voice. He suddenly took two steps backward, and his mind automatically recalled what had happened in the Campbell family a week ago. The scene of that youth’s sword striking down and not a single person in the entire area being able to stand was still fresh in his mind, causing his legs to begin to tremble subconsciously.
“That’s right. It’s me.” Watson nodded casually, his gaze landing on King Landhar III. After exchanging a glance with the King, Watson revealed a bashful smile. “Your Majesty, it’s been a long time.”
“Watson, why are you here? Are you related to the Severed Fingers? I was just about to destroy the underground force that endangers the kingdom. If you are related to those people, even if you are Antonio and Reid’s disciple, I have no choice but to kill you.”
King Landhar III spoke in a stern tone. Facing his threat, Watson only sneered. “Your Majesty, since I dared to appear here, I’m not afraid of being killed. What do you have to kill me? Just General Hoen?”
Watson’s words had a hint of mockery, which made Hoen somewhat dissatisfied but unable to refute. If it were anyone else in the kingdom who dared to say such words in front of him, they would have long been smashed into pieces. However, that was Watson. Not only did he not dare to break Watson, but he was also afraid that if he angered him, the young man would turn around and make him kneel.
“Watson, even if you are powerful, this is our supreme ruler. You have the audacity to be so disrespectful to His Majesty? Are you trying to rebel?”
Hoen’s face darkened as he threatened him with words.
“If I say that I am going to rebel, General Hoen, will you help me if I can give you wealth, weapons, and fruits that can increase one’s strength?”
Watson opened his hands and deliberately put on a proud expression. In his heart, he was sighing. When the King contacted Gray, he had used some method to inform him. If the King accepted Gray’s proposal, he did not need to sacrifice himself.
The Severed Fingers Gang had just started. Even though they were quite powerful, it was not enough to contend with the entire kingdom. He needed time.
Unfortunately, King Landhar III had rejected Gray’s proposal. He had no choice but to go there over personally to negotiate with the King. During that process, he would implement his second plan to try to use the system’s ability to fuse him.
If King Landhar III was a ruler that was consistent with the rumors and did not have much power, then he could him and turn him into his puppet and take over the kingdom. Unfortunately, that plan did not succeed. That made Watson vigilant.
‘As expected, King Landhar III is not as weak as he looks. To be able to bestow senior brother Samuel with a starlight-tier God’s Remains, how weak can he be?’
The system fusion was good, but it could not fuse an existence stronger than himself.
Fortunately, apart from the first two plans, Watson had other preparations.
“Your Majesty, just now you said that I have a connection with the Severed Fingers Gang, but it is actually not accurate. Rather than saying that I have a connection with the Severed Fingers, it would be better to say that they are my product! Stop pretending. I have laid my cards on the table; I am the Black Emperor.”
Watson’s voice reverberated in the courtyard.
“Watson, what did you say? You are the Black Emperor. Are you kidding?” Hoen’s eyes widened in disbelief. Previously, he and the King had guessed that Watson was the person who had reorganized the Severed Fingers Gang. However, when Watson admitted that he was the Black Emperor, he could not believe it. Who would dare to directly claim that they were any kind of emperor in front of the King? Was he not setting himself up for death?
As expected, Hoen noticed that after Watson’s voice fell, King Landhar III narrowed his eyes. A cold killing intent flashed in his eyes.
“Watson, are you challenging me?”
“Of course not, Your Majesty. I’m not stupid enough to challenge the ruler of a kingdom. I’m not here to belittle you, Your Majesty, but to make a deal with you! I sincerely invite you to join the Severed Fingers Gang and become our new member. We will become the Severed Fingers Gang’s two leaders. ”
What?
It was not just Hoen. Even Gray, who was loyal to Watson, grew anxious when he heard Watson’s suggestion. His scalp went numb. To ask a dignified ruler of a kingdom to join the Severed Fingers Gang, that could no longer be described as audacity, but madness. If they were the King, they would probably have to kill him a hundred times to vent their hatred.
However, contrary to their expectations, after hearing Watson’s thoughts, not only was King Landhar III not angry, he even showed signs that he was interested. “Joining Severed Fingers and ruling those people with you? What makes you think that I will agree to your request and sit on the same level as you?”
“There’s no need to sit on the same level with me. After you join us, I can listen to your commands. You only need to join us,” Watson replied casually, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “As for the reason? Well, there are a few, but none of them are important. Let’s talk about my conditions first. I hope that after you joins us, you won’t come here and test me again.”
Those words made Hoen even more surprised. Before mentioning the reason, he had mentioned his own request first. Watson was probably not really crazy. Initially, Watson had listed out all the benefits, but even then, King Landhar III might disagree. Then, the young man had made an even worse request.
Watson stretched his fingers outward. Then, dazzling lines flew from his finger and intertwined in the air, turning into a majestic divine kingdom in the shape of a giant sword. The walls around the divine kingdom were filled with sword aura, and the bright light illuminated the entire eighth-tier sky courtyard.
Sword Saint Reid’s specialty, the Kingdom of the Sword, displayed its full power at that moment.
Plop!
With a muffled sound, Gray and Hoen could not withstand the pressure and knelt on the ground.
Only Watson and King Landhar III could stand where they were. A layer of light of faith appeared on King Landhar III’s body. Without any movement, he isolated the power of the divine kingdom.
“Interesting. Within a few days of becoming Reid’s disciple, you’ve advanced to such a level. You can even use the divine kingdom. It’s hard to imagine what it will be like when you advance to the starlight tier. No one in the entire kingdom, no, the entire world can control you, right?”
“But I’m not at starlight-tier yet. Your Majesty still has many ways to control me, right?”
Watson and King Landhar III answered each other’s questions, making the people around them confused.
“Watson, you are an interesting guy, indeed. I apologize for the meaningless probing I did before this. No wonder Reid and Antonio, who have such high standards, would fight to have you as their disciple at the same time. I also feel a little interested in you! I agree with your proposal. I can join Severed Fingers and help you govern that group. In return, you will sign a contract with me. You must swear on your soul that you will never betray me. Can you do that?”
“As Your Majesty wishes,” Watson simply replied and extended his finger above his head.
“I, Watson, swear on my soul that from now on, I will become the King’s friend. I will definitely complete my mission for the King, and at the same time, I will never betray him!”
Along with the oath, a pale pattern formed by a layer of soul aura appeared on Watson’s body. Even if Watson had advanced to the starlight or even higher level, he would not be able to break the oath he had made at that moment. Otherwise, his soul would collapse and be burned into dregs by the soul flames.
“Your Majesty, do you have any other requests?”
“No.”
Gazing deeply at Watson, King Landhar III suddenly revealed a smile. “There is a banquet in the palace tonight. It will start at around six o’clock. When that time comes, you can come over. After the banquet ends, I have something to tell you in private.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Watson said. “Since you have joined the Severed Fingers Gang, Your Majesty, please let me announce this exciting news to everyone. Your Majesty should not have any doubts, right?”
“Of course.”
After confirming that King Landhar III had agreed, Watson opened his mouth and used his combat aura to announce the news of King Landhar III joining the Severed Fingers. His voice resounded throughout the eight-layered courtyard, and all the members of the Severed Fingers heard it clearly.
“The King has joined the Severed Fingers Gang and become the other leader. Is that true?” A member of the Severed Fingers Gang was transporting goods when he heard Watson’s voice from the sky. He suddenly froze on the spot, and the goods in his hands fell to the ground without him realizing it.
The other Severed Fingers Gang members were also looking at the sky in shock, their eyes wide open.
Watson called himself the Black Emperor. They had initially thought that Watson would go against King Landhar III, which was why he had come up with such a name. What kind of operation was that?
“The Black Emperor is too strong. Long live the Severed Fingers Gang! Long live the Black Emperor!”
“Oh, right, now we have to add another—long live His Majesty!”
For a moment, the members of the Severed Fingers Gang who had come to their senses knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the sky. There was a mixture of respect and excitement on their faces. The fact that His Majesty had become a member of the Severed Fingers Gang was no small matter. In other words, not only was the future Severed Fingers not an underground force that everyone wanted to beat up, but it had also gone from an underground force to an official force under the King. In other words, no matter what they did in the future, they would no longer have any scruples.
Accompanied by the crowd’s cheers, King Landhar III brought Hoen to the courtyard entrance and nodded at everyone who saluted.
Seeing that Watson was not lying, the King gestured to everyone in an elegant and easy going manner. It was apparent that he had become their leader. Their expressions became more and more excited.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for being willing to let go of the Severed Fingers Gang and become our leader. Your Majesty is wise. We will definitely follow Your Majesty’s orders in the future!”
Standing in front of the courtyard gate, King Landhar III ignored the compliments. He only looked back, and his gaze fell on the young boy in the sky. “Watson, don’t forget to come to my palace at six o’clock in the evening to attend the banquet. Also, my banquet will use those sun and moon gems of yours. When the time comes, don’t forget to bring some over. Also, don’t forget to leave those gold coins on the third floor. Leave enough for your use. Then, move the rest to my palace tonight. ”
Then, the King left Count Gray’s manor with Hoen.
Standing on the street and looking back, King Landhar III found that the courtyard behind him had suddenly become the same as before. The majestic eight-story courtyard had disappeared entirely. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth twitched as if he had seen something funny and laughed.
“Your Majesty, what is so funny?” Hoen asked gloomily. Just now, because Watson had used the Kingdom of the Sword, he had to kneel again. That was the second time he had knelt in front of Watson, especially in front of King Landhar III, which made him feel very embarrassed.
In addition, he also felt strange that King Landhar III had agreed to Watson’s request. King Landhar III had not wavered in the face of such a degree of temptation before, but after Watson appeared, he had a change of attitude, and he had agreed to join the Severed Fingers. No one would believe it.
“Hoen, do you not understand why I agreed to Watson’s request just now?”
After a few minutes, King Landhar III had had enough of laughing. He rubbed the tears at the corner of his eyes and asked.
Hoen nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty. I don’t understand.”
“That is where you are lacking. Although there aren’t many people in the kingdom who can defeat you as one of the best among the kingdom’s elites, you are far too lacking when it comes to intelligence and strategy! The reason why I agreed to Watson’s request was because that youth had seen through all of my thoughts from the start. I did not want to agree, but I had no choice but to do it.”
King Landhar III’s explanation made Hoen even more confused. What did he mean he had to agree? Didt Watson use some kind of method to force the King? However, no matter how he looked at Watson’s actions just now, there was no hint of coercion. On the contrary, Watson took the initiative to show weakness to King Landhar III and even signed a contract saying that he would never betray the King.
“Hoen, you still don’t understand. In this case, I’ll explain it a little more clearly! Do you know why I didn’t agree to Gray’s request? It’s because I don’t allow anything to exceed my control. Regardless of whether it’s over a trillion dollars in wealth, or precious sun and moon gems, or platinum-tier items, I’d rather not have those. I don’t allow anyone to use those things to escape from my control. Therefore, the Severed Fingers Gang must be destroyed.”
“Then why did you change your mind?”
“Because Watson threatened me. Do you know why I chose to go along with Watson’s bad attitude toward me? Before that, I had sent people to investigate Watson and did some things in secret. You are also aware of those things. It seems like Watson was dissatisfied with me after he found out about that. It’s no wonder. I think he must have been dissatisfied with me ever since I destroyed the Dragonspine Snow Mountain.”
As King Landhar III spoke, he seemed to be immersed in some kind of memory. After a moment, his eyes became intense. “First, he showed his hostility toward me. Then, he showed me his power. That power to create platinum-tier weapons and that majestic courtyard in the sky, as well as Watson’s own strength! He is only 12 or 13 years old, but he could already use the divine kingdom. In the entire kingdom, the only person who could rival him was Sword Saint Reid, and Reid happened to be his master.”
“Even if Reid is Watson’s master, the two of them together are not a match for the entire kingdom.” Hoen still looked confused.
“Yes, even if they work together, as long as I mobilize all of my strength, I can still kill them. However, after losing the Sword Saint, the surrounding kingdoms will take the opportunity to invade us. That will break the plan that I had previously made! Of course, that was only one aspect. More importantly, Watson had given me a choice. Should I make him submit while he was still unable to fight against the kingdom, or should I wait until he entered the starlight-tier and accept his revenge? What do you think I should do?”
Watson’s strength was deceptive. Although he was powerful, he was still unable to contend against the entire kingdom. However, if Watson took another step forward and became a starlight-tier, he would become a god on land. There would be a fundamental difference between him and humans, the kingdom would not be able to do anything to him. At that time, Watson would not need to negotiate with the king at all. If King Landhar III did not agree to what he wanted to do, he could kill him with a wave of his hand. He could even destroy the entire kingdom.
He would not choose not to make Watson submit. Instead, he would destroy Watson and the Severed Fingers Gang. That was because with Watson’s strength, even though he was no match for the kingdom, as long as he wanted to escape, no one would be able to catch him. At the very least, Hoen did not have the confidence to catch Watson. If they could not catch Watson, the only thing they could do was to kill Watson’s family and friends. Doing so would only aggravate Watson and cause him to fall into a vicious cycle.
The Holy Dragon Kingdom was not the only country in the world. Watson could escape to the Winter Nation, which had a grudge against the kingdom, or entered the Forest of Eternity and returned to the kingdom for revenge after becoming a starlight-tier elite. Just thinking about that scene made Hoen feel terrified.
“Get Watson to surrender? No, it doesn’t seem possible to make other choices. It seems like accepting Watson’s proposal is the best way,” Hoen said helplessly, scratching his head.
“Yes, I would prefer to make Watson surrender, but I was forced to accept his conditions instead. Now you understand why I said Watson is an interesting young man, right? He is a teenager, but he can strategize to such an extent, scheming against me step by step. Although it might be due to his strength, it is also related to his intelligence. On the one hand, I am terrified that such a teenager has appeared in front of me, but at the same time, I feel lucky that such a genius is a citizen of our kingdom.”
King Landhar III raised his head and stared at the clouds floating in the sky. He sighed deeply.
