Chapter 1498: Stopped
The Second Empress was shocked. She hadnât expected Shang Liuyu to be so ruthless. She laughed inwardly in self-ridicule. She had been the glorious Fiend Empress, and yet now that the Fiend Emperor had died, she had nothing left.
Of course, that was just a thought. She quickly recognized the reality of the situation and didnât continue to throw around her weight as the empress. After all, she was the one who had come to ask for help today. Furthermore, Shang Liuyuâs willingness to meet them because of Zu An was already a good start.
However, now that she thought about it, Zu An really was close to a lot of people. Shang Liuyu had clearly said that so she would recognize the need to be grateful to Zu An. Just what kind of relationship did he have with this mermaid princess, that she was willing to go so far?
The Second Empress sorted out her thoughts, then told Shang Liuyu about the reason behind her visit. Before the princess could refuse, she took the initiative to propose some favorable conditions.
Sure enough, Shang Liuyu didnât immediately refuse; instead, she merely pretended to be concerned, using it as a pretext to ask for more benefits for the Ocean races. However, the Second Empress was no pushover either, so there was no way she would yield blindly.
Zu An was stupefied as he watched them. These two delicate and pretty women were actually so fierce in their war of words! Their way of speaking really was fierce and direct. They even proposed conditions that couldnât possibly be acceptable to the other. He thought one side would just storm off in anger, but instead, they slowly negotiated and gradually showed signs of reaching an agreement.
Chi Wen was eager to give it a try too. His eyes continued to wander across the Second Empressâ stunning face and figure. In the end, he couldnât help but say, âI want to raise a condition! I wantâ¦â
Before he could even finish his sentence, Shang Liuyu shot him a look and snapped âGet out!â
âOhâ¦â Chi Wen moved quietly and dejectedly toward a corner, pretending to be invisible again. He had been scared of his little aunt ever since he was little. Even though she was ridiculously beautiful, she never hesitated to actually beat him up, leaving him deeply traumatized.
Yu Yanluo was a bit worried to see what was happening. None of the beauties around Ah Zuâs side were easy to deal with! What were they supposed to do if they didnât get along and fought with each other?
Hmph, I can seek out Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue for help in the future. Weâve all gone through so much in the Unknown Region and are already really close.
If Shang Liuyu wanted to pressure her with the Ocean racesâ power, she would be more inclined to seek out Yan Xuehen. After all, Yun Jianyue was a bit too violent.
With the friendship we developed along the way, she should help me, right?
Shang Liuyu and the Second Empressâ negotiation eventually reached a conclusion. The Second Empress granted the Ocean races all sorts of favorable conditions in return for the Ocean racesâ support of the youngest prince ascending to the throne. Shang Liuyu was very satisfied. She had obtained many benefits that would normally be impossible for the Ocean races to gain.
Meanwhile, the Second Empress was also satisfied. Even though the Ocean racesâ forces in the Fiend King Court werenât too powerful, their strength among the Fiend races overall couldnât be overlooked. Things would become much less difficult now that she had their support.
As for all the things she had to give up, it was just an empty check for now. After all, her son still hadnât obtained the throne yet, and none of those things were theirs to begin with. They couldnât consider public assets their own property, could they? If she could gain the imperial throne, she felt the price would be worth it.
Then, Shang Liuyu expressed her sincerity and had Chi Wen gather the Ocean racesâ forces in the Fiend King Court so they could lend the Second Empress a helping hand. As for herself, she wouldnât personally make an appearance. The first reason was that she had always preferred peace and quiet. She didnât like to participate in such matters.
The second reason was to ensure her own safety. If the youngest princeâs side lost tonight, she could still push the blame onto Chi Wen. After all, he was known to be a famous hedonistic son and it wouldnât be strange for him to do something like that. That way, if another prince rose to the throne, it couldnât be blamed on the Ocean races.
Of course, Chi Wen had absolutely no idea that he was being used as a scapegoat like that. When he heard that he was tasked to help the Second Empress, he happily left to gather their men.
â¦
Zu An then took the Second Empress and Yu Yanluo to the Demon raceâs residence. With Princess Suolun as their mediator, they were able to smoothly meet with the Demon raceâs representative in the Fiend King Court. Similar to the Ocean race encounter, the Second Empress and the Demon raceâs people haggled back and forth.
It was clear that the Demon race wasnât willing to join their side, and they didnât want to support the youngest prince. However, they really couldnât withstand the sheer amount of benefits the Second Empress was offering themâ¦
In the end, after giving them a ton of benefits, the Second Empress was able to successfully recruit them. Just like the Ocean races, the agreement was only to allow Princess Suolun to bring some of her subordinates with her. That way, even if something happened, the blame would just fall on Princess Suolun, and they could claim it was because she and Zu An had a deep personal friendship. That would be her own personal action, unrelated to the Demon race.
The Second Empress cursed them for being wily old foxes, but she knew that the fact that they could reach such an agreement was already quite good.
When they emerged from the Demon raceâs residence, the Second Empress looked at Zu An with a smile, asking, âAre there any other little sisters you are close to? Should we make another trip?â
Zu Anâs expression darkened. He replied, âWhat in the world are you saying? There arenât that many of them.â
The Second Empress said, âI am not teasing you. I am being serious. I realized that as long as there is a woman you are close to, that faction will basically agree.â She then gave Yu Yanluo a look.
Yu Yanluo thought, What are you looking at me for?
The Second Empress said with a smile, âLittle sister Yu, we were in such a rush that I have not had time to talk to you yet. I am grateful for your support in this situation too. If we succeed, I will definitely help you restore the Snake race to its former glory.â
In the past, the Snake race had been a powerful clan among the Fiend races. Unfortunately, after the Medusa Queen disappeared, the entire Snake race had ended up in a poor situation.
Yu Yanluoâs eyes lit up. Even though she knew the Second Empress was just trying to buy her good intentions, she still couldnât help but feel happy. After all, the Snake raceâs power among the King races was already negligible. She was the only one who could pull weight. The Second Empressâ promise was already extremely generous.
Even though she knew the empress was only doing it to rope in Zu An, she still expressed her thanks. The two of them immediately started acting more familiar. They even began to chat while holding hands as if they had already been close friends for many years.
Zu An clicked his tongue distastefully. Women always became friends quickly, but didnât they also leave each other quickly?
â¦
Then, the group joined up with other forces. The Elf King had also gathered his forces, but the ones who led the troops were Qiao Xueying and Qiao Heng, whom Zu An was close to. The Great Elf King didnât show himself.
After they returned and talked things over, the Elf raceâs elders hadnât agreed to that risk. Their line of thinking was similar to that of the Ocean races. The Demon race was the same and adopted similar plans of action.
The Second Empress couldnât help but feel slightly disappointed when she saw that the Great Elf King hadnât arrived. After all, this was a crucial moment. Having someone powerful on their side could be the deciding factor between victory and defeat.
When he saw her concern, Zu An consoled her, saying, âDonât worry, Iâm here.â
The Second Empress forced a smile. She was confused about why he had so much confidence; he was just a master rank cultivator. He wouldnât necessarily be able to affect the situation much.
The Second Empressâ Xiao clan had also rushed over when they received the news. Together with the Demon race and Ocean racesâ troops, as well as the Golden Crow Guards led by Lei Xin and Wu Cheng, they marched straight toward the Imperial Palace.
Regardless of the dynasty, the Imperial Palace would always be a powerful symbol of political significance. As long as one controlled the Imperial Palace, one would practically have won half the war already.
With the Second Empressâ identity, they had a justification to carry out their plan. Thus, the group slaughtered their way up to the Imperial Palaceâs gates.
However, they were quickly stopped by a group of soldiers. The Imperial Palace was the crown princeâs territory. How could they let others defile this place?
The Second Empress walked forward and called out, âAm I not allowed to return to the Imperial Palace either?â
âThe crown prince has ordered that no individuals without assigned tasks are to enter the palace,â a soldier refused in a robotic tone.
âWhat crown prince? You need to call him his majesty now,â a loud and clear voice called out.
Zu An frowned. The voice was a bit familiar.
A tall and sturdy figure appeared at the top of the wall, and behind him were some familiar people. The ones behind him were the Lion raceâs princes, Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong; the man in front was naturally the Lion King Shi Zhentian.
A large group of Lion race warriors followed behind them, aiming their crossbows at the group and the Golden Crow Guards outside.
The Second Empressâ expression changed. She exclaimed, âShi Zhentian, are you rebelling against the nation?â
âThe one who is rebelling is you!â Shi Zhentian sneered. âThe new Fiend Emperor has already nominated and appointed me to the Imperial Palace defenses. Did you lead all these people here to start a rebellion?â
As they looked at Zu An, Shi Min and the other princesâ eyes were filled with cold smiles. Who cares if you win in the beginning? Arenât we the ones who will have the last laugh? Just wait and see how weâll deal with you!