"Fang Zhengzhi?"
"Testify?!"
When the Palace Guards, Dragon Protection Squad and the Palace Guards heard what Fang Zhengzhi said, they appeared completely speechless.
"Ugh, none of us can match the thickness of Lord Fang"s skin!" A Royal Guard shook his head, expressing his resignation at the sheer extremity of Fang Zhengzhi"s shamelessness.
"Precisely, it"s unmatchable!"
"I would really have believed him if I didn"t know the truth."
And this statement instantly received a unanimous agreement from the rest of the Royal Guards. Even the Dragon Protection Squad standing beside Lin Mubai nodded.
Previously when Fang Zhengzhi trumpeted his appearance and followed Chi Hou of the Divine Constabulary into the Flame Capital City, he also mentioned that his name was Fang Zhengzhi, and even took out his alleged "proof".
Did anyone believe him?
Of course n.o.body did, and most importantly, when he confronted the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong at the Imperial Palace gate, Fang Zhengzhi even subverted this "lame" explanation himself.
But now? He"s reusing the same tactic!
Who would believe him?
n.o.body thought that anyone would believe them. Furthermore, his opponent was a Demon King whose intelligence was in no way poorer than a human"s. How could he possibly believe Fang Zhengzhi"s nonsense?
But then, King Xieluo, who was walking towards Fang Zhengzhi, suddenly stopped and turned around slowly to ask Qian Wu, "He said his name is Fang Zhengzhi?"
"..."
Immediately, everyone was startled, regardless whether it was the Palace Guards, the Royal Guards, the Dragon Protection Squad, or even Lin Tianrong and Lin Xinjue.
He believed it?!
King Xieluo actually believed him!
How could this be?
He was a Demon King with an intelligence far exceeding that of ordinary humans. He actually believed such nonsense?
"King Xieluo, you …" Qian Wu"s eyes were wide open, as his face revealed his disbelief. He had a deal with King Xieluo. Hence in other words …
If King Xieluo really used this "reason" to fulfil their pact, Qian Wu wouldn"t be able to do anything.
"King Xieluo? Hahaha …" Ping Yang chuckled after hearing what King Xieluo said. She turned to Fang Zhengzhi and chimed, "He must be an idiot! He actually believed your name is Fang Zheng …"
Ping Yang"s tone was full of disdain but she did not manage to finish her sentence just yet.
Just before she could finish her sentence, a figure appeared in front of her. His curved antlers radiated with a faint golden glow. He donned scholarly white robes which drifted in the night wind, and his strange pair of eyes flickered with an odd dark green light.
"Zheng …" Ping Yang"s final word was seemingly squeezed from her lips. She looked at King Xieluo inches away from her, her clear eyes wide open.
He was too fast!
She totally did not notice how King Xieluo reached her in such a short amount of time. He was even faster than Canyang during the Battle of the Southern Region.
And most importantly … did he not believe Fang Zhengzhi"s words?
Why did he still come over?
Ping Yang gulped subconsciously and tightened her grip on the Blazing Qilin Spear. She wanted to strike, but another hand held hers down.
It was a slightly warm hand, which was evidently sweaty and shaky too, but that hand still held onto hers, refusing to let go.
"That shameless scoundrel, why …. isn"t he running?" Ping Yang looked at the hand which held hers down, then looked up at Fang Zhengzhi beside her.
She could sense Fang Zhengzhi"s true intentions from the drops of sweat on his palm.
If Fang Zhengzhi abandoned her now, she wouldn"t be surprised. After all, they were faced with a formidable Demon King.
"Are you having fun?" King Xieluo boomed, his flas.h.i.+ng green eyes glaring at Fang Zhengzhi as his lips cracked a smirk.
"Are you not having fun?" Fang Zhengzhi"s voice rang just as King Xieluo finished his question. His lips also revealed a faint smile.
"Haha, this is getting interesting!" King Xieluo eyed Fang Zhengzhi closely. Slowly, he took a step forward and his smile widened.
"I feel so too." Fang Zhengzhi nodded. He took a step out too, appearing very relaxed.
Too close!
In this moment, Fang Zhengzhi and King Xieluo were less than one foot apart.
This was a truly bizarre sight.
Normally, Fang Zhengzhi would be fleeing now. One could only imagine the danger of confronting a Demon King up close, but what about Fang Zhengzhi now?
He took a step forward!
His decision baffled everyone.
And when Ping Yang took in this sight, her palms became as sweaty as Fang Zhengzhi"s. As haughty as Ping Yang was, she was still extremely nervous at this juncture.
She certainly realized that King Xieluo was merely toying with them, just like how Fang Zhengzhi toyed with the people in black previously.
But what she did not undertand was, why isn"t King Xieluo striking them down even after his opponents severely underestimated him and after he has arrived in front of them?
Ping Yang was not the only one with this doubt. Lin Xinjue and Qian Wu were also puzzled.
"Why hasn"t he attacked?" Qian Wu clenched his fist even tighter. He didn"t think that King Xieluo was someone who delayed his actions, and in fact, King Xieluo has always executed his tasks promptly.
But now … not only did King Xieluo not attack Fang Zhengzhi immediately, he even started "chatting" with Fang Zhengzhi out of the blue?
"Are both of you together, or is it just you alone?" King Xieluo seemed to have ignored the gazes of the onlookers, and asked Fang Zhengzhi with a smile.
"Together!"
"Together!"
"Together!"
Three voices chimed simultaneously right as King Xieluo finished his sentence.
One of them belonged to Yan Xiu. His expression was as cold as ever. He eyed King Xieluo closely as the blood-red glow around his arms swirled continuously.
The second voice belonged to Ping Yang. Her palms were still a little sweaty but she clenched her fist tightly. Her crystal-clear eyes radiated with an extraordinarily tenacious glow.
And the third voice belonged to … Shan Yu.
She too stood beside Fang Zhengzhi. She had already raised the pitch-black dagger in her hand, and her hand was illuminated by streams of fiery red patterns.
"Alone!" A fourth voice was heard.
Naturally, it was Fang Zhengzhi"s voice, but his words were not echoed by the other three, because …
Just as he voiced his opinion, Yan Xiu, Ping Yang and Shan Yu attacked - without any hesitation and without their usual confidence in Fang Zhengzhi, seeming as though they have completely ignored Fang Zhengzhi"s existence.
The glistening blood-red light shot towards King Xieluo while a figure appeared before him, her sinister bloodl.u.s.t going straight for King Xieluo"s throat.
Yan Xiu and Shan Yu were too quick.
Ping Yang subconsciously s.h.i.+elded Fang Zhengzhi, her crystal-clear eyes blinking at Fang Zhengzhi while her other hand held onto him tightly, her expression seemingly provoking him, implying, "You shameless scoundrel, did you see that? I protected you again!"
"Boom!"
A thunderous explosion rumbled.
Shortly afterwards, two people flew up together while locking in an embrace, like the long spears hurled into the air by the Southern Region Army, arching gracefully across the sky.
This baffled Ping Yang. She felt that she should have blocked Fang Zhengzhi from the attack, but she didn"t know why she did not feel anyone strike her back. And yet … she was flying again?
What"s going on?
Could it be that the shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d she was embracing figured out her plan, and forcefully swapped places with her in the instant the attack landed?
That"s not right either!
He did not move a muscle.
As she mulled over it, she discovered a new problem. The direction she was flying towards didn"t seem right. If King Xieluo struck her from behind, shouldn"t she be flying backwards? So why was she thrown forward instead?
"Are you crazy? Why are you holding onto me?"
Just as Ping Yang was completely baffled, Fang Zhengzhi"s voice rang in her ears. It was a angry yet helpless scream.
In fact, Fang Zhengzhi was indeed pretty helpless at this point of time.
Who in the right mind would not pummel their enemies in a battle and instead hug their comrades so tightly instead? Was this some new battle strategy?
A human s.h.i.+eld? Fine!
Fang Zhengzhi could understand Ping Yang"s intentions, using her body to block a direct blow at Fang Zhengzhi because she knew that she was wearing the great treasure of the Xia Empire.
But … King Xieluo was no idiot!
At such a close range, he could easily spin behind Fang Zhengzhi without a problem.
And most importantly, did Ping Yang not hear Qian Wu"s condition for King Xieluo to kill Fang Zhengzhi only? So why would King Xieluo possibly waste his time attacking Ping Yang?
Fang Zhengzhi felt slightly indignant taking this attack. And not just that, the attack he took was considerably powerful. An immense force surged from behind him, barraging his insides.
"Cough!"
Fang Zhengzhi"s face flushed red as he expectorated a mouthful of blood straight onto Ping Yang"s face, staining her astonished face with a blood-red flower.
"Plop!" Both of them crashed into the ground, kicking up the gravel and dust.
Silence.
But it was a fleeting silence.
Following that, Yan Xiu"s eyes swelled.
"Ah!" A h.e.l.lish voice erupted from Yan Xiu"s mouth. Then, a sinister aura surged violently from his feet, shrouding his entire body.
"Kacha, kacha …"
Moires fissured through the ground speedily beneath his feet as the blood-red glow cloaking his body grew oddly clear and transparent like a crystal.
At the same time, Shan Yu"s skin turned as black as ink.
This was the result of being enveloped by countless red moires. Her ink-like eyes instead blazed into flames, with the fiery embers dancing within her pupils, bizarre and sinister.
"Ow!" A beastly voice burst from Shan Yu"s throat.
"Protect the Lord!"
"Save Lord Fang!"
"Block that monster!"
The Southern Region Army was now tangled up with the Palace Guards, but they immediately turned around and gazed at Shan Yu dressed completely in black after noticing the development of the battle. They changed their direction seemingly subconsciously, and charged towards King Xieluo who was standing on Fang Zhengzhi"s original spot.
"Hahaha, how interesting, but what a pity. I don"t have any obligation to kill you all!" King Xieluo"s eyes scanned Yan Xiu, Shan Yu and the approaching Southern Region Army. His snow-white scholarly robes drifted in the night wind and suddenly, his body vanished.
And in the next instant …
King Xieluo"s body appeared in front of Fang Zhengzhi and Ping Yang. He looked at Fang Zhengzhi quietly with eyes flas.h.i.+ng with a dark green glow as his lips cracked a strange smile.
"You should thank my sincerity because I"ll only be killing you!"
…
The night grew darker.
Both the Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad were astounded by the sight that unfolded before their eyes. All of them gasped.
"That"s the Demon King?"
"He"s too fast!"
"It"s impossible to win!"
"Fang Zhengzhi became useless after the Battle of the Southern Region. He should already be dead after that blow right?"
The Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad gazed at the lifeless body of Fang Zhengzhi sprawled on the ground. They felt some pity, but the results of life and death on the battlefield were already determined right from the start.
Now, they were more concerned about Ping Yang"s safety.
Although King Xieluo did declare that he would only kill Fang Zhengzhi, and neither did King Xieluo and Qian Wu"s deal mention anything about capturing Ping Yang, what if something out of the blue happened? And who could ensure that nothing unexpected would happen?
"Ping Yang!" Lin Mubai clenched his fists and prepared to charge out, but he was held back firmly by Chen Feihua and the Dragon Protection Squad.
"Your Majesty, leave the Princess" safety to us!"
"Quick, save Her Highness!"
"Yes!"
Following a single command, tens of soldiers from the Dragon Protection Squad rushed out from Lin Mubai"s side without hesitation and charged towards Ping Yang.
"Humph, how naive! Intercept them!" Qian Wu sneered as he gazed at the motionless Fang Zhengzhi.
Regardless whether Fang Zhengzhi was alive or dead, the result of the battle was already determined when King Xieluo arrived in front of them. In other words, when Qian Wu made the deal with King Xieluo …
Fang Zhengzhi was already dead!