Chapter 522 - Bewitched
Chapter 522: Bewitched
It was already ten o’clock at night when Chiba Michiko left.
Ling Ping’an closed the door and felt a little sleepy. He took out his cell phone and lay on the bed. As he browsed through the short videos he’d watch before turning in, he thought about what had happened in the capital recently.
This was the habit of a gentleman.
Confucius said, “I reflect on myself three times a day.”
It was also a habit of his, that every once in a while, he would reflect on what he had done in the past.
Sometimes he’d feel ashamed, sometimes he’d feel amused, sometimes he’d feel proud, and most of the time, he’d feel childish!
Yes!
He always did things that he felt were childish.
Just like what happened today.
“I’ve really gone crazy!” He recalled in depth.
Today was another day for him to be a good teacher.
Not only did he find a way out for Silla, he had also wanted to interfere with Chiba Michiko’s family matters.
How childish!
He thought.
However, he wouldn’t regret it!
A gentleman would reflect on himself and his mistakes.
Even so, there were some mistakes that he would never correct!
For example, when he was playing games, he would often reflect on whether he could have used the time spent on games to do more meaningful things instead.
For example, he could have gone to obtain a certification or something.
Or he could have gone out and make more friends.
But…
Since he could just muddle along and wait for death, he could live very well.
Why did he have to change?
It was just like today.
Trying to be a good teacher was indeed childish and ridiculous.
But he didn’t change!
Because, this was him.
While he was scrolling through the short videos, battlefire was erupting across his phone screen.
The war reporters were in the midst of the artillery fire, shouting at the top of their lungs as they introduced the situation.
He recalled what he had seen and heard in the imperial capital these past few days.
Those blurry figures and many things had already been forgotten.
But there were some things that were hard to forget.
That night at the cross slope flashed through his mind.
Faintly, some absurd scenes seemed to appear in his memories.
In the cross slope, it was no longer the beautiful scenery and starry sky that he had seen.
Instead, it was the howling of the cold wind and the poking of ghosts.
Fog lingered.
And his figure was projected in it.
It was a ball of something that looked very cute and beautiful, like something that had grown countless pieces of black flesh.
He shook his head violently. “I’m imagining things again!”
And so, he fell into a deep sleep.
Beside his ear, the reporter’s voice in his phone’s video was faintly repeating over and over again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am at the Fort of Avalon in the Republic of Delhi… And now… The armies of the Mughuri Empire are attacking Avalon…”
Boom, boom, boom!
The guns rumbled.
The voice echoed and repeated.
Gradually, Ling Ping’an felt that the voice changed, becoming cold and distant.
“Under the authorities of the Great Qin and Chen Meng jurisdiction of the Imperial capital of the Federal Empire of Xia, Hades’ Acting Minister of the City God Zhuang Qiu was ordered to grant power to the department of the dead. I will humbly do my best, and only worry over my personal incompetence that might bring insult to the ruler’s sacredness…”
Ling Ping’an turned over.
The voice continued, “There is a son of heaven in the secular world. With my minor accomplishments. I humbly request to confer an additional title on myself as the ‘City God of Inspiration’ of the Great Xia Federation…”
“I am in trepidation and do not dare to overstep my boundaries. We await the sacred decision of the Lord of the palace!”
“We await the sacred decision of the Lord of the palace!”
“We await the sacred decision of the Lord of the palace!”
The incessant pleas made his ears hurt.
Ling Ping’an turned over again and mumbled, “Do as you wish… Don’t disturb my sleep!”
……
Cross slope.
Hades’ building.
Zhuang Qiu, who was standing in front of the statue of the Lord of Mount Tai with hundreds of Death Messengers, was reading a written memorial.
This was the ritual that the Blackguard had dug out from the pile of old papers.
It was the rite carried out to report to the heavenly court, back on Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Although she did not know if it would work, this was something that had to be done.
Therefore, Zhuang Qiu followed the ritual strictly and burned incense two days in advance. Only then did she dare to put forth her request.
Pillars of incense made from underworld grass that grew below the underworld burned, and as she chanted, clouds of green incense smoke spread out.
The nether candle that had been formed from the blood of ghosts and sinners sizzled and burned.
“We await the sacred decision of the Lord of the palace!”
As Zhuang Qiu chanted the last memorial…
All the Hades officials kowtowed and bowed, “We await the sacred decision of the Lord of the palace!”
All of the officials were uneasy.
Because the Lord of the palace was real.
And he had performed miracles before!
Even after three invitations, there was nothing unusual in the building.
Just when everyone thought that the Lord of the palace was not paying any attention to them at this moment…
All the nether incense suddenly shot up into a huge pillar of fire. Almost in an instant, they were burned to the end.
The flames of the nether candles suddenly expanded.
The entire hall instantly surged with a rolling fog.
The fog enveloped the incense and turned into a blurry shadow.
“Do as you wish!” A majestic voice resounded from within the shadow.
“Don’t disturb my sleep!”
“Please be appeased!” Zhuang Qiu hurriedly bowed.
All the officials of the department of the dead also stopped. “Please be appeased!”
Although they had been part of the Blackguard or soldiers when they were alive…
They still recognized their identities when they were alive even now.
But in the end, in the underworld, they were the kings who truly controlled their lives and deaths!
…
Standing on the top of the 60-story-high XingTian building in the imperial capital…
Nangong Wang looked up at the sky.
Tonight’s wind seemed to be particularly cold and gloomy.
It made him shiver uncontrollably.
Transcendent beings, especially high-level transcendents, were no longer afraid of any physical heat or cold.
Whether it was at the North Pole or the equator…
They wouldn’t feel cold or hot.
This was because their bodies had already formed a small cycle of their own.
But…
The physical cold was gone. However, the fear in his mind still made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
“The Blackguard…”
“Was that really what they said?” He asked the person standing opposite him.
Zheng Kexing, the head of the Zheng family.
He was a major-general powerhouse like him.
“Yes!” Zheng Kexing was the same as him, feeling a chill in his heart.
“Zhang Hui of the Blackguard received me… saying that… as long as I turn over a new leaf, they can let bygones be bygones…”
“Do they think they’re coaxing a three-year-old?!”
That’s right!
How could they let it go so easily after they had done such a thing?
More importantly, the Blackguard did not even send anyone to ask them about it after so long.
It was as if they did not know about it, as if they did not know what they had done.
Then when they had come to confess and beg for mercy…
It was a sentence that could not be any lighter, ‘Let bygones be bygones’.
Was this children playing house to them?!
What did this mean?
Whether it was Nangong Wang or Zheng Kexing, they all understood.
After all, there were countless similar stories in history.
The Duke of Zheng Conquered Duan at Yan City.
Emperor Taizu’s execution of the Emperor of Jin.
It was all the same.
They pretended to be indulgent, but in reality, they were sharpening their knives.
They weren’t stupid!
Every extraordinaire was a top-notch elite with powerful strength. No matter how stupid a person was, after becoming an extraordinaire, they could easily get a doctorate!
Therefore…
“Brother Nangong…” Zheng Kexing said worriedly, “We can’t just sit around and wait for death!”
Nangong Wang smiled bitterly. “I understand your worries!”
“But brother Zheng, how could you know that the Blackguard wasn’t deliberately luring the snake out of its hole?”
When Zheng Kexing heard this, he was instantly dumbfounded.
That’s right!
How did they know that the Blackguard wasn’t intentionally waiting for them to take a gamble?
Was this a trap?
A trap just like the one at cross slope!
They were waiting for them to jump out of their own accord and then kill them right and proper!
But…
“If we don’t take action, would we be able to survive?”
“Brother Nangong!” Zheng Kexing shouted, “Won’t we become like the Cao family laying under the Gaoping Tombs?!”
The Cao family was helpless during the incident at the Gaoping Tombs.
In the end, all of Cao Wei was killed.
Therefore, throughout the generations, many people lamented. If Cao Shuang had fought to the death, the situation might not have been so bad that it was out of control!
At least, the Cao family could still die with dignity!
Nangong Wang listened and hesitated.
“Brother Zheng, that might not be the case…” He muttered.
“Back then, during Emperor Taizu’s northern expedition, he had wanted to give the nobles of the bogus dynasty a way out, and pardon the royal family…”
“Among the descendants of the bogus dynasty, there were even bigshots like Mr. Hongli…”
“If the holy dynasty forgives us… if we sincerely repent, we might be able to get a pardon!”
Zheng Kexing listened, and he could not help but feel angry.
Emperor Taizu did indeed pardon the bogus dynasty back then.
After the Battle of Shengjing, not only did he order troops to protect the tombs of the bogus dynasty, he also ordered that no one who surrendered or was captured was to be harmed.
Later on, he issued a great edict to pardon a large number of war criminals.
But why did Emperor Taizu do this?
Because Emperor Taizu was a genius!
Because Emperor Taizu’s thought process was above everyone else in his generation.
It was also because he was confident that he could defeat the bogus dynasty once and crush them a hundred more times.
Most importantly, the bogus dynasty had already been established for decades. The real criminals and culprits had all died.
The ones left behind were either orphans, widows, or good-for-nothing sons.
He was naturally willing to exhibit his tolerance by showing his magnanimity. This was to announce his determination to the world: I am the son of the heavens, not just the people of the central plains, but all the people of the Empire!
Therefore, Emperor Taizu forgave the bogus dynasty more for the sake of unity, to stop conflict between ethnic tribes and the nation, as well as to curb the hatred.
However…
Looking at Nangong Wang’s expression, Zheng Kexing knew that there was no hope in persuading him anymore.
“In that case!” Zheng Kexing said, “Brother Nangong, you should take care of yourself!”
With that, Zheng Kexing gave a flick of his sleeves and left.
On the roof of the building, a bronze mirror shattered all over the ground.
It turned out that Zheng Kexing had not come from his real body. Instead, he had used a ritual to project his image onto the mirror.
Nangong Wang looked at the shattered mirror on the ground.
He sighed.
“How could I not know that now is not the time for Emperor Taizu…”
If the Emperor Taizu was still in power, how could he dare to have any other thoughts? He would have long gone to butter up to him.
He was such a heroic figure, even if he was just a mortal.
His thoughts, the depth of his heart, and his ambition were enough to make all the heroes in the world willing to be his pawns.
It was also impossible for anyone to have any other thoughts.
Now, it was naturally past his era.
But the problem was…
What could he use to go against the central federal government?
It wasn’t as if he had not seen the outcome of such a confrontation a few days ago.
Yan Sheng Sect, Voodoo sect, together with them, as well as other forces in the open and in the dark, had cooperated with each other.
Even the Land of Qin had gotten especially involved.
For this, they had detonated a high-yield hydrogen bomb to cover their tracks.
But in the end?
Not a single hair of the Blackguard fell.
Yet Yan Sheng Sect and Voodoo sect were completely annihilated!
Not only that, even the cross slope was quelled.
Something like Hades had actually fallen into the control of the central federal government.
How could they still play this game?
They couldn’t do it anymore!
If they continued to remain stubborn, there was a fear that…
Not only would they be killed, they would also have to make a trip to Hades and suffer all the punishments meted out to them!
They would also implicate their children and grandchildren!
Why bother!
Nangong Wang closed his eyes. “It’s just death!”
Death wasn’t scary.
The continuation of the family was more important.
……
Zheng Kexing opened his eyes.
“A bastard is not worthy of being schemed against!” He said in a huff.
Opposite him, He Wan, the head of the He family, was smiling. “Brother Zheng, why are you so angry?”
“I’ve said it before!” He snorted coldly. “That Nangong Wang is just a rotten skeleton in the graveyard!”
“It would be more than he can bear to say that he’s Yuan Shao or Cao Shuang!”
“At best, he’s just a miser!”
“Let’s just focus on our own matters!”
Zheng Kexing listened and nodded. “That’s true!”
The Nangong family was going to sit and wait for their deaths.
He wouldn’t do that!
After all, how could he not recognize what had happened in the past?
Even Emperor Yuan Shun knew. How could he become Hui Qin again at this time?!
How could people like them, who lived in the present, stretch out their necks and wait for others to kill them?
That was impossible!
Not to mention that they were transcendent beings.
Even if they were just ordinary people, they wouldn’t just sit around and wait for death.
“Brother He…”Zheng Kexing looked at He Wan and said, “Now that things have come to this point, there’s no turning back!”
“We can only take a gamble and hope for a world transcendent war to erupt!”
“Yes!” He Wan nodded.
The concept of a world transcendent war had been raging ever since the end of the Hundred-year War.
Transcendent beings had appeared like bamboo shoots after a rain.
It wasn’t just for the federal empire…
The entire world was the same!
Even the transcendent beings of Kunlun state was growing.
Their strength brought about a brand new world and a brand new conflict.
Territory was no longer important.
Steel, coal, and oil were no longer important.
What was important was the resources of transcendent beings!
Spirit veins, blessed lands, and even various spirit mines and spirit lands.
Even… the soul and flesh that could be used as transcendent beings’ resources!
Therefore, after the Hundred-year War ended, regardless of whether it was Great Xia, Land of Qin, Kunlun State, or India, there were people who foresaw the possibility of a great war breaking out in the transcendent world.
Once that happened, the order of the entire world would completely change.
Transcendent beings would step onto the stage and become the strength to dominate the world.
Then, each of them would erupt into their own intense battles for transcendent resources.
Especially those countries and families that had the backing of gods.
It was bound to be a life-and-death battle.
There had to be a clear winner!
Therefore, it was not only in Land of Qin and Kunlun State.
Even the transcendent families of the Federal Empire were preparing for the upcoming war of the transcendent beings!
The generals who were lurking in blessed lands and spirit veins were waiting.
Unfortunately…
The war of the transcendent being did not start ultimately.
Even if Diablo was revived.
Even if the commander-in-chief of the Blackguard attacked Land of Qin.
All parties had maintained their restraint.
At the same time, the appearance of nuclear weapons and space-based weapons countered the dangers of transcendent beings.
Mortals also had weapons that could sanction and even kill generals!
For transcendent experts, they were gods, and every plan was put forward.
The theory of saturation attacks and super-saturation attacks began to appear.
The simple meaning was that if one shot was not enough, two shots would be fired.
If two shots were not enough, then a hundred shots would be needed.
If all those did not work!
Then, ten thousand arrows to the sky!
They’d drag everyone to the wastelands for a holiday!
Hence, the transcendent beings were scared silly.
The mortals actually held a dagger to both their necks: if you continue to act recklessly, we will all die together!
“Then…” He Wan asked, “Brother Zheng, what do you mean?”
Zheng Kexing licked his lips and said, “Brother He, you have thought of it too, right?”
He Wan nodded. “Yes!”
“Since we are going to take a gamble, we can no longer hold back!”
“We have to put aside all our grudges!”
“We have to do whatever it takes!”
“We have to start a war in the transcendent beings world!”
“Even if we die, we have to start it!”
“After all… If we are going to die… Then we might as well drag the entire world along with us!”
“A world without me in it is worthless!”
This was He Wan’s realization.
A world without me in it is better destroyed!
“Moreover, we might not necessarily die!” He Wan laughed.
As long as they succeeded, the world would fall into chaos.
How would the Blackguard have the mood to care about them?
Zheng Kexing heard He Wan’s words and became excited as well.
A real man should be like this!
Should he wait for death?
No!
Even people from ancient times knew that when a gentleman died, he would inevitably be crowned.
As a transcendent being, if he must die, then he must do so with great fanfare, so that the entire world would know his name!
Just as Master Yan said, “One’s life should not be consumed using five cauldrons, but one’s death should be cooked by five cauldrons!”
And just as Li Qingzhao sighed, “Up until now, Si Xiangyu has refused to cross Jiangdong!”
“Then…” He Wan asked Zheng Kexing, “Let me guess, brother Zheng’s thoughts…”
“Is it three days later…”
“At the so-called ‘Legend of Nightmare’ press conference?”
Zheng Kexing laughed, “Great minds think alike!”
“The ‘Legend of Nightmare’ press conference three days later sounds like it’d be flawless!”
“But in fact, we all know…”
“Whether it’s those people or those from Land of Qin…”
“It’s impossible for them to sit back and watch Great Xia take control of the realm of Nightmare!”
“So they will definitely flare up!”
“At that time…”
“The mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole follows behind!”
“We’ll take advantage of the chaos to strike…”
“As long as we kill an important figure at the venue, it’ll be enough to stir up the world!”
At that time, the scene would definitely be extremely chaotic.
In the chaos, if an important person of the federal empire was assassinated…
This would definitely start a world war!
The furious Blackguard would directly start a war with all parties!
At that time, the world would be in chaos and flames of war would fly everywhere.
People like them could go into hiding and wait for the current order to collapse.
Hence, they had to choose a person that the federal empire would be willing to start a war for as their target.
Who would it be?
He Wan and Zheng Kexing looked at each other and smiled. They had read the same name from each other’s eyes.
Young Master X!
He Wan took out an amber-colored item from a glass bottle.
“This is a treasure that I obtained from Land of Qin!”
“It’s called the ‘Blood of Yemegard’. It’s extremely poisonous. Even a God wouldn’t be able to fight back once he’s contaminated with this!”
Yemegard was the world-devouring snake of the Odin faction.
Its blood could poison even gods to death!
It was a treasure that He Wan had exchanged for with great difficulty through secret channels!
Zheng Kexing smiled as well. He took out a long sword that was surrounded by countless poisonous aura.
He gently pulled it out from its sheath.
“This is the Demon Blade, Muramasa!”
“Fusang’s most famous weapon of the transcendent beings!”
“Legend has it that even the king of demons in Fusang can be injured by this!”
Demon Blade Muramasa, along with the blood of Yemegard.
Killing Young Master X should be a piece of cake!
The reason was simple.
From their point of view, that so-called young Master X should be the representative of a mysterious force.
No matter how strong he was, he should only have the strength of a revived God.
Considering that in the past two hundred years, the strongest God that had revived was only the King of Fallen Angels in the Church of Bone on Land of Qin.
However, even if it was the King of Fallen Angels, there was still one who had fallen outside.
The Archangel, Shariye, who symbolized restraint, had fallen in Greece.
According to legend, the one who had attacked was only a woman who had held the divine artifact of Ares, the God of War.
Since the Archangel on Land of Qin had also been plotted against and fallen outside…
It was said that even its corpse had been eaten by others
In addition, Li Shouyi had also beheaded Diablo and killed him completely.
This meant that even a god could be killed.
As long as the arrangement was right, it would even be easy!
Such examples had appeared endlessly in both reality and mythical grade!
However, He Wan and Zheng Kexing would never know, that while they were speaking…
In the air above their heads, in the depths of the void…
There were countless evil eyes that seemed to have grown out of the void, growing out from the bulging void walls.
Those Evil Eyes wriggled, emitting a strange and terrifying cry that no other living creature could hear.
It was like the ravings of a nightmare.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“This dream is getting stranger and stranger!”
“I can actually dream of someone trying to assassinate me?!”
“Crazy! I’m really crazy!”
However, the surface of the evil eye began to crack.
Deformed wriggling tentacles grew out.
The wrists of these tentacles cracked open. Rows of sharp, long and thin teeth that could devour and tear apart anything were arranged in a certain pattern.
Crack crack crack!
Crack crack crack!
The teeth rubbed against each other.
The void began to shake.
Vaguely, one could see shadows sitting on the tentacles’ slime-covered bodies.
There was a majestic emperor.
There was a sacred and evil Buddha.
There was also the Lord of the Netherworld who gave off an aura of death.
But most of them were strange and abnormal objects that did not look like humans or even creatures.
Most of them seemed to be in a strange state, as if they were in a deep sleep.
Those that woke up emitted waves of strange laughter.
“Ga ga ga… Ga ga ga ga…”
“Assassinate!” They even let out murmurs. These murmurs flowed out of the void and silently settled into He Wan and Zheng Kexing’s minds.
They bewitched them and encouraged them.
They magnified their determination and distorted their vigor.
“You will succeed!”
As these murmurs quietly settled down.
He Wan and Zheng Kexing’s will became more and more determined.
They even faintly had a feeling.
That perhaps, this was their destiny!
Something that they were destined to do!