After he took his seat upon the throne, no one had dared speak to Kui Lin like that.
Scram!
It was just one word, but it was like a slap right in the face.
Kui Lin nodded heavily, but said nothing. He didn’t even fire an insult back. The way he saw it, and this point, nothing he said would have any impact. He’d only embarra.s.s himself.
There was nothing else to say.
In the future, they’d meet again on the battlefield!
He waved his arm and a ma.s.sive gate appeared in the sky. The Demon Emperor stepped inside. Watching this, the king of the Southern Kingdom’s expression s.h.i.+fted dramatically. The Demon Emperor had left, just like that, without a single word. Jiao Hai was already badly injured. Without Kui Lin’s support, continuing the invasion would be even more impossible.
“Emperor Hades, we….”
“Scram!” Emperor Hades suddenly whipped his head around. This time, his shout contained his comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth. Just hearing it shook Jiao Hai to the core. He felt himself sweating involuntarily, and he forced everything he was about to say back down. Finally, he gnashed his teeth and descended from the clouds without so much as looking back.
On the battlefield, the slaughter continued. As the tide of battle turned, the yao of the Southern Kingdom were forced back. Sun Wukong had, with a single breath of scattered fur, manifested tens of thousands of monkeys. All of them were now watching the Southern Kingdom’s forces as they fled.
“Why are they all running?” Yang Jian stopped swinging his lance. Neither he nor the rest of the alliance nor Xuan Ji’s Divine Generals chased the fleeing army.
They’d already won. There was no need to give chase!
In fact, it was better not to. Who knew what ambushes or traps they’d encounter should they try? Besides, they were only here to rescue the River Styx from its predicament, not to slaughter every last soldier of the Southern Kingdom.
Once the enemy ran off, some of the forces of the Upheaval Alliance and the Profound Pavilion sat down and began treating the wounded, while others started gathering up the corpses. Xuan Ji, Ye Zichen, as well as Yang Jian and a few others close to them stepped into the skies, only to find that Emperor Hades was still maintaining the same grim expression as before. Even his position was the same as when he’d scared the enemy off.
“Emperor Hades, are you waiting for us to comment on your pose?” Xuan Ji said, half joking.
Ocean Emperor Xue Yang then patted him on the shoulder. Even he had to admit it: Emperor Hades’ grim expression, angry roar, and that single “scram” were, in combination, super cool.
He could have just kept them here, but he’d let them go anyway.
And those words! He was giving the Southern Kingdom a chance to rally their forces and try again! And he told the Demon Emperor to come back with his real body next time, so they could duke it out for real!
That aura! That domineering presence!
Even Xue Yang, the Ocean Emperor himself, couldn’t help but mutter inwardly. In terms of sheer presence, he was inferior to Emperor Hades, and by no small margin at that.
“That about wraps it up. We all know you’re cool, so you can quit posing.” Xue Yang patted him on the shoulder, but the instant he made contact, his smile disappeared. He then placed both hands on Emperor Hades’ shoulders and infused him with divine power. It flowed through his palms, touching on all his vital organs.
Emperor Hades coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his full head of dark hair instantly turned silver.
His youthful appearance faced; in an instant, he looked like a wrinkle-faced elder. His gaze was listless, and his hands trembled.
“Emperor Hades!” When they saw this, everyone in the sky was frantic. Xuan Ji knit her brows and grabbed his arm. Only then did she realize his pulse was weak, to the point that she could barely sense it. See seemed as if he were on the verge of death.
“Your low ebb?” Emperor Hades’ cultivation method had the unfortunate downside of occasional low ebbs. By now, the upper echelons of all three upper realms know about this.
But hadn’t he only just recovered from his last low ebb? How long had it been? For it to happen again so soon, wasn’t this frequency a bit much?
“Ha, I was really afraid…. Afraid that kid, Kui Lin, would refuse to accept his defeat and insist on fighting on.” Facial muscles quivering, Emperor Hades nevertheless managed a smile, but even talking sounded like a struggle.
The Ocean Emperor supported him firmly. He’d only just realized…. Why Emperor Hades had let the enemy escape despite all that talk about “cleaning up after himself” and despite the fact that they’d been at an advantage.
Even Xue Yang had been fooled; he’d just thought Emperor Hades was trying to slap them in the face and humiliate them. But now, it seemed that part way through their battle, he’d sensed an incoming low ebb. That was why he’d used proud words and a domineering posture to send them packing.
“We were lucky.” Emperor Hades couldn’t help but sigh.
Xue Yang frowned. “Your low ebbs have increased in frequency lately. Has something gone wrong with your cultivation technique?”
In the face of the Ocean Emperor’s questions, Emperor Hades merely shot him a profound gaze.
“Fine. If you want to hide it, just hide it. There’s no need for me to know.” Xue Yang snorted, then jumped straight into the River Styx.
Emperor Hades’ gaze didn’t so much as fluctuate. He turned to Xuan Ji, Ye Zichen and the others, then smiled. “I’ll have to trouble you to take care of the situation on the river banks. The river denizens will cooperate with you.”
“Leave it up to us.” Ye Zichen and Xuan Ji nodded in unison.
“Thank you.” After expressing his thanks, Emperor Hades waved Su Yiyun over. “Yiyun, help me back to the palace.”
The faded Emperor Hades left the skies. Ye Zichen and the great emperors, however, lingered, their brows tightly knit.
Emperor Hades had entered yet another low ebb.
Who knew how long he’d take to recover this time? The demons and yao were already brazen enough to directly invade G.o.d race territory. Yes, this time, the Southern Kingdom had retreated, but that was no proof that the River Styx had earned lasting peace. Rather, they were in even more danger than before.
All of them could sense the yao and demons’ determination to invade race territory.
They’d retreated this time, but next time, the Southern Kingdom might come back with the Eastern and Western Kingdoms fighting alongside them. If that happened, the River Styx would have to face the combined military might of three kingdoms at once.
Without Emperor Hades to intimidate their foes, how long could the Upheaval Alliance and Profound Pavilion last? They couldn’t be sure of that, either!
Demon Emperor Kui Lin had returned to the Demon Realm in defeat, but upon his return, he was sure to rally his forces and attack the Divine Mountains. Before long, many of the Divine Mountains would be in no place to send others reinforcements.
In truth, the situation left little room for optimism.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
The sound of experts cutting through the air filled the skies. Those cleaning up the battlefield felt their hearts clench, and Ye Zichen’s group descended down to earth. It was then that they saw them: a group of long-robed physicians were headed straight towards the riverbank. An elegant, scholarly, middle-aged man was at the front of the pack.
“Alliance Head Ye.” “You’re from the Hermits Palace?” asked Ye Zichen.
“That’s right. The Hermit Emperor ordered us to rush over and provide support,” said the elegant middle-aged man with a nod.
Ye Zichen smiled back. “You’ve arrived just in time. The Southern Kingdom’s army only just retreated, and we’re in need of your aid.”
“In that case, we can talk more lately. Saving the wounded comes first.”
“We’ll have to trouble you, then!”
Every last physician of the Hermits Palace landed, then set about treating the wounded, while those with no or relatively light injuries guarded the perimeter….
Meanwhile, in Emperor Hades’ palace….
Su Yiyun helped Emperor Hades onto his throne. He was naturally worried about his master, but he’d spent enough time at his master’s side that he knew better than to ask. “Master, you should get some rest. I’ll just be on my….”
“Wait a minute, Yiyun. Your master has something to say to you.”
Su Yiyun paused. Then, Emperor Hades smiled. “Do you know why my low ebbs have been coming at an increasingly higher frequency lately?”
