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Magic clouds flew through the air.
Nezha, the God of Thunder, and Heavenly King Li appeared above the Valley of Death, leading two-hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and officers.
About an hour ago, they’d received Ye Zichen’s message in the chat group.
After a brief discussion, they reported to the North Pole Emperor and led out the troops unhindered.
The Count of Wind and Lord of Rain had come with them. Each led tens of thousands of reinforcements as well. You could say that practically all of the Heavenly Court’s military might was included in this expedition. Their goal: delivering the demons a fatal blow.
“We’ve finally reached the Immortal Region.”
Standing amongst the clouds, the God of Thunder couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Last time they’d come here, it had been like traversing a maze. No matter what they did, they couldn’t seem to escape.
This time, he’d gone out of his way to ask Yue Lao for the navigational treasure known as a compass. If they got stuck in a maze again, they could use it. It was strange, though. This time, the maze had vanished.
They’d stopped at this particular spot in order to meet up with the forces of the Underworld and Immortal Region.
None of them dared underestimate the demons and blood zombies. Although the Heavenly Court possessed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, they couldn’t afford to attack recklessly.
“Hey, what exactly are the Underworld and Immortal Region up to? This spot is closer to them than it was to us. Why are they making us wait?”
“Isn’t this a little over the line? When they get here, we’ve definitely got to teach them a lesson.”
“Mm, we’d better show them a thing or two.”
The God of Thunder, agitated, babbled on and on. No matter what he said, no one responded. He had no choice but to answer his own questions.
He suddenly found himself missing Yang Jian. If Yang Jian were here, he’d undoubtedly be the one doing all the complaining.
Could it be that the Underworld encountered a maze again?”
The Underworld and Heavenly Court were both in Ye Zichen’s Red Packet Server and shared important information with each other. Last time, after the Heavenly Court returned home in defeat, they’d contacted the Underworld……
But they’d experienced the same thing.
At this point, Heavenly King Li’s expression finally shifted. Then God of Thunder continued, “should we go ahead and meet them en route?”
“That’s no good.” The Count of Wind rejected the God of Thunder’s suggestion. “We agreed to meet them here, so we shouldn’t just wander about randomly. If we leave, then they get here and find us missing, won’t they assume we encountered another mirage formation? What do we do then?”
Although everything he said was reasonable, the God of Thunder felt a strong distaste for him.
Earlier, when he’d requested they send out troops, it was the Count of Wind who’d rejected his proposal. Now, here he was, doing the same thing all over again.
The God of Thunder felt the two of them were polar opposites.
“Hmph,” said the God of Thunder, “then you can just stay here. I’ll take my people and go out looking for them.” The God of Thunder didn’t want to spend even another second with him. Disregarding the others’ opinions, he led his troops away.
As he left, the Count of Wind glanced at him briefly but said nothing.
“Dammit, I have no idea what’s wrong with that guy. If I did, I’d report him no matter what,” snorted the God of Thunder coldly. Suddenly, he saw a boy, flaming wheels at his feet, flying towards him from afar.
“Nezha, why are you here?”
“I don’t want to hang out with the Count of Wind either,” said Nezha, scratching his head. “He creeps me out. I can’t quite take it, so I told my dad I’d go find you.”
“That’s right, I don’t want to spend any more time with that guy,” snorted the God of Thunder. “I have no idea what’s going on with the old man but I can tell he’s no good. Let me tell you, earlier, when we couldn’t escape the maze even after all that time, I already thought it was likely his fault. The Count of Wind and Lord of Rain are both mirage formation experts, yet he kept acting like he had no idea what to do. That geezer is clearly up to something.”
“Ah?” Nezha gaped at him.
“It’s just, I don’t have any proof. If I did, I’d absolutely go and report him,” said the God of Thunder with yet another cold snort.
“But why would he do something like that?” said Nezha, his shota-like features twisted in confusion.
The God of Thunder glanced at him, then patted his head. “You’re still too young. You don’t understand how adults see the world. For him to do something like that, he naturally has his reasons.”
As they spoke, they led their troops forward. They’d already been gone for an hour but still had yet to encounter the Underworld or Immortal Region armies.
“What the hell are these people doing? Can’t they keep track of time is it? How much time has passed already? Before long, Brother Ye will start fighting the demons!” complained the God of Thunder.
To his side, Nexha put his finger to his lips thoughtfully, his cute little face wracked with confusion.
“Tell me….. Why doesn’t he want us to go out? I know he said that leaving would weaken our defenses but he could have gone back on his own. Why did he want to come with us again this time? Brother Ye didn’t contact him, did he?”
“That’s because……” The God of Thunder was about to speak but came to a sudden stop. “You’re right. Why did he come with us? When we requested these orders at the palace, we didn’t encounter him, nor did we see the Lord of Rain. How is it, then, that both of them followed us through South Heaven’s Gate?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking you! If I knew, why would I ask you? You’re dumb!” Nezha rolled his eyes at him.
“That’s right, you’re asking me.”
The God of Thunder had been scanning the area, looking for their allies. Now, he came to a sudden stop. He stared, wide-eyed behind them, inwardly trying to piece together just why the Count of Wind and Lord of Rain came on this particular expedition.
Just then, one of the underworld’s prison guards entered their line of sight. It was clear that his soul was already on the verge of collapse.
“Third Prince, God of Thunder……”
“What’s going on! Who hurt you so badly?” The God of Thunder grabbed the guard’s shoulders.
The wounded guard mustered up the last of his strength, using his last breath to say, “help us send a message to the Underworld. Leopard Tail and the others have betrayed us. The Ghost Marshalls are in danger… please… send help……”
“What!”
The God of Thunder was visibly shaken. However, just as he was about to press for details, the guard took his final breath.
Leopard Tail and the others have betrayed us!
This sentence echoed through God of Thunder’s mind. Instantly, his heart sank. “This isn’t good. Ol’ Li’s in danger.”
……
The enemy was going to surround them?
Black Dragon’s was stunned briefly. Then he turned to face his soldiers and roared, “retreat!”
This sudden call to retreat left the army dumbfounded. They were already fully prepared to fight the Three Realms once more. Now they were supposed to just retreat all of a sudden?
Gu Li froze briefly, then frowned. “My Dear Black Dragon, you want to retreat even though we’ve come so far already?”
“Are you telling me not to retreat? What, should we just wait for the Three Realms to surround us?” said Black Dragon furiously. If they went much further, they’d no longer be able to escape. Once the Immortal Region arrived, they could do nothing but wait to die.
“So that’s what you’re worried about. In that case, Your Excellency, please be at ease…. They… won’t be coming!”
