On this day, Barren Dynasty.
Livid, the Barren king stared at the shadowy figure in front of him.
“The parley of five has become the world’s biggest joke,” he said coldly after a long moment. “There is obviously going to be no meeting. City Lord Red Dust, aren’t you an even bigger joke for coming to me still?”
The shadow wavered slightly; it wasn’t as strong as it’d been during its last appearance.
“These unexpected developments do not bear that much of an influence.” It was as noncommittal as ever and smiled meaningfully. “The world is still stabilizing, it is only a matter of time! Li Hao killed the Saints of Divine Nation. Doesn’t that make the Barren king worry about the Saint desolate beasts?”
“So what if I am, so what if I am not?” the Barren king said coldly. “Great Li could withdraw safely. Barren has not set foot outside of our territory from beginning to end. Since Li Hao could let Great Li off the hook, he may not cause trouble for Barren Dynasty!”
“There is sense in that.” Red Dust nodded slightly. “Li Hao is not as tyrannical as the Human King. But even if he doesn’t come to Barren Dynasty, are the desolate beasts willing to bide their time like this? Will they agree to not polluting the world and turning it into chaos?”
The Barren king frowned. That was a valid concern! The desolate beasts very much wished to occupy the world, change it, and turn it into a world of chaos. Their will was contained within the Barren army and they wished to occupy Silver Moon.
Although the Barren king was the liege of his nation and shared the bloodline of the desolate beasts, there was nothing he could do if the desolate beasts wished to march into battle.
“You are caught between a rock and a hard place as well, Barren king!” chuckled Red Dust. “I am willing to give you two choices. First, continue our partnership and attack Skystar!”
The king immediately frowned.
“Second...” Red Dust’s tone turned meaningful. “The desolate beasts have taken over Barren Dynasty, you are almost their puppet now! As the desolate beasts awaken to greater degree, their greed will eclipse human desires! They will force you to attack Silver Moon. That is a very, vey grave latent threat!”
The king didn’t say a word.
“And I am willing to help the king resolve this threat,” Red Dust continued with a tender smile. “If the king is willing, I can force an ancient city to move into the fringes of Barren territory. We will be very close to you.
“We can move anytime so long as the king is willing to conceal our movement. Even if it isn’t my primary body leading the operation, there will be a Saint in the field to help the king eliminate danger!”
“What a bunch of nonsense!” exhorted the king with a shift in expression. “The desolate beasts are the basis through which my nation has established its footing. Senior Red Dust is being absurd!”
This guy wanted him to cover their tracks so he could send one of his Saints into Barren territory and kill the desolate beasts! What a joke!
“Think it over, Barren king!” Red Dust smiled and didn’t grow angry. “I’m afraid that when push comes to shove, it won’t be me forcing your hand, but them. You will neither be able to advance nor retreat. If Li Hao can topple three nations, he can topple four!
“The kid will not sit idly by after pacifying the invasion of the four nations. Only Barren Dynasty remains a bit of a threat out of the four. Think carefully on it, Barren king!”
The shadow faded away; the king snorted coldly!
This Red Dust wants me to betray the desolate beasts. That is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard! They are the basis of our strength!
But he soon frowned again, his heart beset with worries. The desolate beasts have been wanting to expand their territory, but they are unable to walk out of the zone of chaos. We are fated to clash with Li Hao once we start expanding our territory.
It was a headache-inducing situation!
Being that the desolate beasts had awakened and taken part of the world, how would they be willing to retreat?
An animal seemed to roar next to his ear as the king dwelled in his thoughts—a shadow intermixed with chaos presence materialized in the next second. It came with hints of violence and brash impulse.
“That person concealed the heavens and four directions just now. What did he want with you?” it rumbled.
“Honored Horse!” the king quickly said when he saw the shadow in front of him. “He did not say much. He simply wanted to know if we would continue our efforts to attack Skystar or retreat...”
“Of course we continue to attack!” agitated the shadow. “Retreat? Why would we retreat? We are invincible within Barren territory! As strong as Li Hao might be, he is not worth mention once he sets foot into our domain! We should make use of while this Silver Moon world is yet to fully awaken and take advantage of its weak heavenly will to seize all of this for ourselves!
“The stronger Barren domain is, the stronger we are! An immature world represents a chance for all chaos beings...” Searᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
“I understand that as well, Honored Horse!” the Barren king said carefully. “It’s just... if Li Hao can kill Saints of Divine Nation... then I’m worried about unexpected developments if we clash with him.”
“You are cowardly and afraid of hard work!” rebuked the desolate beast. “How can some modern martial masters that’s cultivated for a few decades cause concerned?”
You motherfucking... The Barren king cursed up a storm to himself! Some modern martial masters? I just said that they’ve killed a lot of divine spirits. Look, the world hasn’t awakened even after so many died. There might be other developments that we’re unaware of. The Great Li king and Watercloud empress dowager are the overlords of their nation. How could they compromise so easily?
But they did in the end. Meanwhile, even Red Dust’s side would rather pay the price of attacking the desolate beasts than going for Li Hao in direct, frontal conflict. Even if the Barren king was a fool, he understood some key details within that Red Dust didn’t speak of.
“Honored Horse, the enemies that we face are more than just Li Hao’s side!” the resigned king had to repeat himself. “As chaos beings, the entire world targets us because we have set ourselves against the heavenly will.
“It is not only that, but also that Red Dust’s side wishes to seize the world. They do not seek to turn the world into chaos. Even if we work with them, the arrangement is only temporary!”
As a king, he was very familiar with these types of situations. He was well aware of the hassles implied and even more fearful that Red Dust had expressed a desire to eliminate the desolate beasts. He didn’t speak of the rest, but fully expressed that Red Dust’s side was not to be trusted.
The matter could not be spoken of too clearly. Otherwise, with the desolate beasts’ nature, they would start suspecting the king. He would be hastening his own death!
The king was extremely soul weary, but the shadow in front of him did not let up. “It is because of this that we have a more pressing need to seize the world before they have fully awakened and can walk within the world. We are not to wait for their awakening, do you understand?”
Its words also made sense. If Barren Dynasty didn’t take the world now, they might not have a chance to in the future.
“They will be unable to awaken if we occupy the world,” continued the shadow. “The world is fragile and we will grow stronger when it turns into chaos. Do you think we will continue our partnership with them indefinitely? The only thing that stands before us now is that Li Hao. The world will belong to chaos once we dispose of his side!”
“But...”
“There is no but! This is an order, a command from all of the honored beasts! You simply need to execute it!” With that, the shadow disappeared.
The Barren King plopped into his chair, an unpleasant expression on his face. They could’ve easily retreated or advanced before, but now could not manage either!
A female general in a white robe walked in from outside. “Royal father...” she murmured when she looked at the king.
“Ah Jun is here...” the king responded wearily.
“Is royal father troubled by the failure of the parley of five?” frowned the general.
“Not entirely.”
“It does exceed expectation that Li Hao was able to defeat Divine Nation like this,” nodded the female general. “But, that nation has not been entirely toppled. The Moon God escaped, so we may be able to get in touch with her. Great Li is just withdrawing, they have not been defeated. Royal father, we have the desolate beasts as the shield behind our backs. We are not entirely without a chance...”
The Barren king looked at her for a long time and suddenly transmitted, “You should immediately flee if anything happens to Barren Dynasty...”
Flee, to where?
As the king sank into deep thought, the female general jerked with astonishment. If anything happens?
The king looked at his daughter and thought for a bit before touching upon his next thought. “Barren Dynasty transmutes the world into a domain of chaos and utilizes chaos to invade Silver Moon. We bring the will of chaos against heavenly will!
“The honored desolate beasts have their own plans in mind. They are not subordinate to one central power, but the will of chaos must be grasped in one person or one beast’s hand alone. Chaos will not break if the will of chaos is not shattered!
“If one is to defeat the chaos, they must destroy the will of chaos. Remember this, Ah Jun—the world is incomplete so long as chaos exists. If the world is incomplete, it will be very hard for the second awakening to arrive...”
Princess Jun was slightly mystified by what she was hearing, but the king pressed his hands down to motion for silence.
“There are many honored beasts,” he continued transmitting. “They are unable to reach one accord. The crux of the issue is that the will of chaos is a similar existence to heavenly will, and it has always been with you.”
Princess Jun’s eyes widened. Always been with me?
“The white horse that you ride is not a true desolate beast. It is a desolate beast formed by a stone of chaos. The will of chaos is within. Apart from the honored beasts, I am the only one who is aware of this!
“They didn’t even tell me at first, but I have ruled over Barren Dynasty for many years. I’m not an idiot. They always wish for you to ride the white horse whenever battle breaks out. Wherever the horse sets foot is a facilitation for the will of chaos to be one step ahead in invading the world!
“The desolate beasts are proud, arrogant, and short-tempered. Who would let a mixed blood such as you or I ride them? They just need our help and cannot easily set foot outside of the chaos. This is why Barren humans exist!
“No matter what, once unrest or riots occur in Barren territory, you need to set everything aside and take the white horse away from here. Go to...” The king thought it over. His daughter could not go to Red Dust, Great Li, or Divine Nation. That left only Li Hao or New Martial.
But New Martial was stuck inside the ruins at present! Therefore, they had no choice in the matter, did they?
“If anything happens, go to Li Hao. Don’t say too much, just that the horse you ride is the will of chaos. He’ll understand the key of what you say so long as he’s not an idiot! If the will of chaos isn’t seized and broken by Red Dust’s side, then Barren Dynasty will not easily fall!”
“Royal father!” Princess Jun’s expression shifted rapidly. Barren Dynasty, fall?
How was that possible??
“Don’t show it, but I find it difficult to persuade the honored beasts from their course of action,” the king smiled. “We can neither attack nor retreat. Survival is difficult to eke out from the cack that we are stuck in. We could’ve stood a chance if an alliance of the five sides was struck and checks imposed on each other. But now, there is little hope!
“Li Hao is not to be underestimated since they were able to defeat Divine Nation. Just remember my words, do you understand?”
“Royal father, I...”
“Just remember them!” The king switched back to speaking out loud. “You’ve come at a good time, Ah Jun. Select ten thousand of our cavalry and patrol the borders from this day forth. Attack when a good opportunity presents itself! You can choose from any of our elites. Take what chances there may be to trample the eastern continent!”
Princess Jun’s heart shook—she understood what her father meant. If there was a chance or anything unexpected happened, she was to lead her cavalry out of Barren Dynasty and find Li Hao.
But...
Although she was completely baffled, she lowered her voice. “I understand!”
“Dismissed, and be careful...”
“Will do!” The princess left to choose her elites.
The Barren king also heaved a sigh of relief. It was torture to be caught between Li Hao, Red Dust, and the desolate beasts. He understood how difficult the young man had it before, but he lacked the strength and courage to cut off his means of retreat as Li Hao had.