Upon seeing Danba appear, Su Chen laughed, then flew towards him.
This caused the Ravagers to panic slightly, but Danba raised his hand, quelling the brewing chaos.
Su Chen was quite impressed by that.
If this had been a restricted group of elite soldiers, this would not have been as much of a surprise, but it was truly a shock that the Ravagers were in fact able to do this as well. The fact that he was able to command such obedience even from members of another tribe was even more incredible.
Su Chen pa.s.sed by the armies and walked over to Danba’s carriage. “I trust you have been well.”
“Same to you.” Danba laughed in response, then gestured at the throne beside him. “Come and sit.”
The throne was large enough to seat three people in total.
Su Chen chuckled and didn’t stand on courtesy, taking a seat next to Danba.
Given his current status and ident.i.ty, it was fitting for him to sit there as well.
“I’m amazed that you didn’t bring your direct subordinates with you,” Su Chen said with a smile.
“That wasn’t up to me. Sect Master Su gifted me a poisoned meat pie, so I must be careful,” Danba replied.
“But you still chose to eat it, and you even showed up personally.”
“Because it tastes good.”
“It’s hard to eat only the good parts without eating any of the poison, you know.”
“Well, it’s worth a shot,” Danba replied indifferently.
Su Chen approached from a different angle. “Using these tribes, who may still have some resistance, to take this risk is not a bad idea. But coming on your own is significantly more dangerous. Are you not worried that these guys will try and find an opportunity to betray you?”
Danba calmly replied, “Their family members are under my control. If I die, so will their loved ones.”
“But that plan isn’t foolproof.”
Danba countered, “No plan is ever foolproof. Is there ever a fight that Sect Master Su has been one hundred percent confident that he can win?”
Su Chen chuckled. “Well, I think my odds are a bit higher than yours. Danba, your courage seems to know no bounds these days.”
“I just believe that I can control the situation, is all.”
“Perhaps this self-confidence of yours will become your downfall!”
Danba calmly replied, “I am the leader of the Ravagers. Is it rare for us to die because of excessive self-confidence?”
Su Chen froze for a moment, realizing that Danba was right.
There had been many Ravagers throughout their history who had died for that exact reason.
“I think that you have a bit more reason to have this confidence than they did,” Su Chen said.
“That’s nonsense. I’m just young and overconfident, is all,” Danba laughed self-deprecatingly. “Su Chen, I am impressed that you were able to forge all the way through to Wanlai Caves. The human race has indeed risen to prominence because of you. Perhaps I should have killed you back then instead of cooperating with you to nip this problem in the bud. My self-confidence back then appears now to have been a big mistake.”
“If that was the case, then you wouldn’t have been able to witness the fate of the Astrals like this.”
“I’m afraid that the fate of the Astrals today will be the fate of the Ravagers tomorrow.”
Su Chen chuckled. “Where did all your self-confidence go?”
As they were speaking, a junior Harpy general flew over and walked over to Danba’s throne, saying, “General Lonely requests your presence.”
The Harpies were led this time by General Lonely Skyleap, who had been responsible for guarding Sky City back then. He was a legendary figure amongst the Harpies, but in comparison to Eternal Night’s prestige, his glory was apparently lacking.
Eternal Night’s sending him over was a clear indication of how seriously he was taking this issue.
However, he hadn’t antic.i.p.ated that Danba would personally make an appearance. Given that Su Chen was also the leader of his own group, there was an obvious discrepancy in status.
Most critically, the Harpies were still just as arrogant as before.
Lonely Skyleap was inferior to Su Chen and Danba in terms of status, but the fact that he was requesting their presence and not going to meet them left a bad taste in their mouth.
Danba and Su Chen glanced at each other, their eyes revealing that they were both thinking the same thing.
Su Chen said, “Get the h.e.l.l out of here!”
He completely ignored the messenger Harpy.
The young Harpy general was startled. “What did you say?”
“He said get lost!” Danba impatiently unleashed a punch.
This punch appeared incredibly casual, but a violent wave of energy immediately burst forth from the fist, sending that Harpy general flying. The Harpy general wasn’t wounded at all, but he was knocked backwards quite a significant distance. It was obvious how precise Danba’s control over this fist was.
To the Ravagers, unleas.h.i.+ng explosions of energy was not difficult, but precisely controlling their strength was much harder.
Su Chen’s gaze grew sharper upon seeing such meticulous precision. “Flying Immortal Cultivation Techniques.”
“An improved version.” Danba smiled slightly. “I must thank you for providing us with this cultivation technique and making up for the large flaw in the Ravager cultivation system.”
A simple cultivation technique had allowed Danba’s strength to increase that much?
Su Chen could tell that Danba had undergone all of the Origin Energy Temple baptisms, but unlike the former Totemic Warriors, Danba’s wild energy was actually sheathed like a sword. On the surface, he appeared much more plain and una.s.suming. No other Totemic Warrior had been able to achieve a similar effect in the past.
Danba truly had made a breakthrough and was bringing the Ravagers on to new heights.
And this was all given to Danba by Su Chen.
Most importantly, Su Chen hadn’t expected his cultivation technique to have such drastic effects on the Ravagers. Danba had obviously been planning this for a long time.
“So after the Ravagers made breakthroughs using my cultivation technique, they became better able to control their bloodthirst and anger? Seems that I sold it for far too cheap,” Su Chen said as he squinted his eyes.
The Flying Immortal Cultivation Techniques had been like a giant door to the Ravagers, opening up unlimited possibilities to them.
In that sense, Danba had indeed gotten quite a good deal.
“This is the reason why I was willing to work with you in the first place,” Danba said as he retracted his fist.
Su Chen found this quite amusing. “Very good, very good. The Flying Immortal Cultivation Techniques have caused both of our races to advance in leaps and bounds. The Oceanids will likely experience a sudden surge in strength as well now that the Deep Sea Sorrow has been dealt with. As for the Harpies, once they get their hands on the Immortal’s Soul and Sky City is freed, their might will also increase significantly. Fighting for supremacy would only be interesting that way. This is very good, very good!”
Su Chen began to laugh loudly.
Danba glanced at him strangely. “Are you really planning on giving the Immortal’s Soul over to Eternal Night?”
“Why not?” Su Chen countered. “We’ve already reached this point, so I would prefer to see it through to the end. Only if all four Intelligent Races become strong will we be able to defeat the Beasts. Isn’t that what you said in the past? For the sake of the future of all the Intelligent Races.”
Danba glanced at Su Chen, his gaze deep, and was just about to speak when Lonely Skyleap flew over, his expression extremely ugly.
“Sect Master Su, Emperor Danba, this is supposed to be a three-party discussion. Isn’t it a bit too early for you to be pus.h.i.+ng aside the Harpies?”
Danba and Su Chen glanced at each other before smiling simultaneously.
Then, they turned to gaze at Lonely Skyleap.
Lonely Skyleap instinctively felt a sense of unease surface in his heart.
Su Chen and Danba simultaneously said, “So noisy. Scram!”
They simultaneously punched at the sky.
Lonely Skyleap was badly startled and hurriedly attempted to defend himself. A large cloud of smoke appeared in the sky with a bang.
Lonely Skyleap had only just activated his barrier when a violent punch slammed directly into it. The Eighth-Ring Metal Fortifications skill was shattered by a single fist. The other fist slammed into his body, send him flying.
Even though he was an expert amongst the Harpies, Su Chen and Danba bullied him like he was a little child. He received the exact same treatment as the general from before, even how far backwards he was knocked. Upon closer inspection, Lonely Skyleap realized that he hadn’t been wounded in the slightest. Obviously, his opponents hadn’t planned on killing him in the first place. That was quite humiliating to him.
They had completely ignored his prestige as a warrior amongst the Harpies.
Su Chen calmly retracted his hand and said, “Even though the Harpies have the right to proudly soar the skies, Gloom City is underground. Those wings will only hinder you in that kind of environment. The Ravager warriors, on the other hand, can fight much more effectively there. General Skyleap, if you want to make this battle even the slightest bit easier, you had best pay Emperor Danba your respects. After all, whether or not your warriors will be able to survive the complicated maze underground will probably depend in no small part on the Ravagers.”
Lonely Skyleap froze, as his former anger immediately dissipated.
Most frustratingly, Su Chen had actually amplified his voice so that they spread in all directions, and the other Harpies definitely heard.
This was the same as saying that if Lonely Skyleap didn’t acquiesce, all of the Harpies would know that he wasn’t treating their lives with gravity.
And that the Harpies would need to hand over some of the benefits that they reaped when all was said and done.
Because the Ravagers were certain to do more during this battle.
Lonely Skyleap had no option but to agree, because their primary target was still the Immortal’s Soul.
Upon realizing this, Lonely Skyleap let out a long sigh.
He was an important individual, meaning that he knew when to extend and when to retreat.
He flew back and lowered his head. “Lonely Skyleap understands. I would like to apologize for my earlier rudeness.”
Danba immediately said, “You don’t need to say sorry, but after we take Gloom City, the Immortal’s Soul will belong to the Harpies, and everything else will belong to the Ravagers.”
“What?” Lonely Skyleap was immediately enraged. “Danba, you’re just trying to take all the profits for yourself! Even though we Astrals are here for the Immortal’s Soul, we aren’t just going to work for you for free!”
Su Chen said, “I think we should just divide the spoils based on who has the ability to take it.”
Danba nodded quite readily. “Fine. We will divide the spoils by ability. Whoever takes the spoils is who it belongs to. But if that’s the case, if the Immortal’s Soul lands in the hands of the Ravagers...... Hehe.”
Lonely Skyleap’s heart sank.
The Harpies’ ultimate goal was still the Immortal’s Soul. That would not change. In theory, giving up on everything else for the sake of the Immortal’s Soul was an acceptable exchange. But since the Ravagers and the Harpies were fighting side-by-side, it was quite unreasonable for the Ravagers to take everything. After all, the Immortal’s Soul was only valuable to the Harpies. Amongst all the treasures that the Astrals possessed, it was merely a drop in the ocean.
If the Ravagers began to try and fight the Harpies for the Immortal’s Soul, the situation would become extremely troublesome.
It was true, after all, that the Ravagers had an advantage underground compared to the Harpies.
But Lonely Skyleap was also unwilling to just let go of all of these potential spoils.