“Bulls.h.i.+t! Even rivers change direction over time. Rejuvenation may have been the ruler of this region once upon a time, but new talents emerge every generation. Each century is influenced by different generations. Your time has ended!”
“Brat, what gives you the right to strut around in our airs.p.a.ce?”
“Rejuvenation may be in decline, but if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that your time has yet to come,” Imperial Prince Huo responded blandly. “In fact, your time may never come.”
Tritalent’s experts raged. They could barely contain their urge to charge at the imperial prince and give him a good thras.h.i.+ng. His remark was a direct insult and utmost humiliation to their home.
Tritalent’s time would never come?!
Was Rejuvenation still clutching at unrealistic hope?
Before they could counter that with their own insults, the emperor emerged from the crowd and leveled a cold stare Imperial Prince Huo. There was an inherent air of superiority to him.
“Imperial Prince Huo, You haven’t come all this way here to spout off such nonsense, have you? If it’s about the islands, is Rejuvenation ready to make an offer for peace?”
“An offer for peace?” Imperial Prince Huo smirked. “What offer?”
The emperor growled, “You dare come seeking peace without offering us anything?”
Imperial Prince Huo’s smile dropped, in its place was a severe scowl. His voice was frosty as he said, “I haven’t said we’re here to negotiate peace, have I, Your Majesty? I’m here to deliver you a message: Gao Kui and his people were all killed in their attempt to ambush us. It’s laughable that you people consider yourselves superior to us.”
“Hmph, you aren’t claiming that you’ve killed Gao Kui, are you?” The emperor wasn’t convinced.
“I didn’t kill him, but I was part of it,” the imperial prince said faintly. “Rejuvenation and Tritalent know everything about each other, old emperor. Without the twenty elites, Tritalent lacks battle strength.”
“Is this why you’ve brought so few people with you? Do you think that’s enough to wage war on Tritalent?”
Imperial Prince Huo gave the emperor a look that was both sympathetic and indifferent. He turned around without another word and walked up to Jiang Chen.
“Young lord, I just checked and confirmed that most of Tritalent’s elites are here, as well as some of the neighboring factions that have chosen the unjust side.”
Jiang Chen nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s get down to business. If they want to fight, we’ll fight. If they know what’s good for them, I’ll consider showing them mercy.”
“They aren’t going to give up until they have one foot in the grave,” Imperial Prince Huo forced out through gritted teeth. “Tritalent may be aggressive, but they used to be a respectable faction. The other factions are local pirates in the neighboring seas. Some were recruited by Tritalent, some chose to follow it, and others struck a mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p with it. Tritalent had gathered all kinds of people.”
“That’s not important,” said Jiang Chen. In a flash, he zipped to the front line, his icy gaze landing on those from the Tritalent Isles.
Apart from the emperor, there were also a group of elites on their side. However, other than the bodyguards protecting the emperor, the others stood without any order, obviously a disparate group unfamiliar with teamwork.
The emperor blinked when a young man suddenly showed up next to Imperial Prince Huo. One of his men snapped, “Who are you, brat? You should be bowing to His Majesty!”
Jiang Chen huffed and responded with faint amus.e.m.e.nt, “Bowing to him? Me? Isn’t he afraid of losing a few years off his lifepan?”
That elicited quite a reaction from the Tritalent’s group.
“You’re bold, brat! What gives you the courage to speak so rudely to His Majesty like this?!”
“His Majesty is our supreme leader, the most n.o.ble of royalty! How does he not deserve your respect?”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “Oh, he sure doesn’t.”
The emperor frowned and asked faintly, “Do you have the final say with regards to Rejuvenation, or is that Imperial Prince Huo?”
He was trying to guess at Jiang Chen’s ident.i.ty.
“I do.” Jiang Chen’s expression was still calm and unreadable.
“Alright, since you’re in charge, I can pull our army back and maintain peace as long as you offer us half the islands. What say you?”
“Nothing.” Jiang Chen shook his head. “You still naively refuse to face reality. It’s ridiculous.”
“Face reality?” One of the emperor’s personal experts scowled. “Tritalent has a powerful army and countless experts. What does Rejuvenation have left?”
Jiang Chen shrugged, attacking the emperor with his Evil Golden Eye without warning.
The emperor froze and trembled uncontrollably. It felt as if his soul had been hit by an unknown force.
“Be careful, Your Majesty!” One of the imperial experts blocked his line of vision with a brandish of the sleeve, which offset part of Jiang Chen’s attack. The remaining power wasn’t enough to penetrate the emperor’s consciousness. Otherwise, the emperor would’ve turned into a statute as soon as the young lord had finished his sentence.
Jiang Chen’s Evil Golden Eye had reached terrifying levels of power after years of hard work. Even the emperor had almost fallen for it when caught unprepared.
Jiang Chen’s attack was a wake up call to everyone from Tritalent. The young man held a higher status than the imperial prince, and he was a much more formidable foe!
“Who are you?” The emperor steadied himself, still reeling from the attack. That had been a close call. If his men hadn’t reacted quickly enough, he’d would’ve been hit.
Jiang Chen was slightly disappointed that his eye art had failed. He wore a cold smile. “That’s not important, but here’s a friendly reminder: Tritalent can give up on the islands.”
“Give up? On what grounds?”
“Who the f.u.c.k are you, d.i.c.khead? Fancy yourself some kind hot s.h.i.+t? Look at you strut around like you own the place! I’ll break your neck myself if you want to die so much!”