Chapter 1219: Eight Emperor War
Proofreader: Papatonks
The Sword Emperor and Enchanting Empress were obsessed with the map at this point, taking their good time copying it and then comparing it for good measure. This whole process took a week, before handing the paper to the Gambling Emperor.
Zhuo Fan sent the three great people on their way, as the representative of Devil Mountain, to get ready for war. Zhao Chen looked to not have gotten over his loss in this deal and never showed up in the meantime.
The Emperors felt even more gratified by his demeanor, like they won big. So they saluted Zhuo Fan as they left.
The Gambling Emperor gave him a long look, “Demonic Emperor has earned heaven’s favor to have Steward Zhuo by his side.”
He left flying, under Zhuo Fan’s watch and grin.
“How was it? Did it work?”
The Demonic Emperor strolled out and smiled in joy.
Zhuo Fan bowed, “Sir, everything went perfectly. To get their copy as soon as possible from the Gambling Emperor, they’re sure to help us crush the other two quickly.”
“Ha-ha-ha, Steward Zhuo is incredible, getting those two to fall for your scheme with a few words and coming to my rescue. They wouldn’t have taken such a risk otherwise.”
“Demonic Emperor sir, all I did was play a little mind trick.”
Zhuo Fan’s eyes shone, “Asking them to fight for us by using the map as bait wouldn’t have worked. So we had them act as mediators first, fooling them into coming to the talks before changing your mind. They were promised the map, but now that the Gambling Emperor has validated it and seeing it so close, they couldn’t bear the thought of missing out.”
“Then we played our little act, one with the other against them.”
Zhao Chen laughed, “I gave them crumbs while Steward Zhuo argued over honorable reward. Of course they’d side with Steward Zhuo but forgot to consider if they should join the war in the first place. It was truly smooth how they got dragged into fighting our war for us with none the wiser. Steward Zhuo’s skills are ingenious, way better than any adviser I ever had, ha-ha-ha…”
Zhuo Fan bowed, “Demonic Emperor is too kind. I’m just ashamed of making sir play the bad guy.”
“It’s fine, since it’s only natural for me to play such a role. You’d come off as fake if you’d done it and the plan would fall through. What mattered was for this deal to work. And they wanted the Nether Sea copy, humph.”
Zhao Chen sneered.
Zhuo Fan nodded with his own cruel smile. He took out the real map and splashed water over to clean it.
“They wanted to copy the original, never imagining we’d tampered with it, adding more black circles. They still have a fake in the end!”
“It’s all due to Steward Zhuo’s clever thinking, antic.i.p.ating such a situation. You have my complete admiration!”
Zhao Chen’s eyes flashed and both cracked up.
Zhao Chen said, “Should we now gather the men and join them in raiding those old fools’ lands?”
“No, Demonic Emperor, we cannot join this war.”
“Why not?”
Zhao Chen stated, “Those two came for me and I have to be a part of this war. Steward Zhuo, do you have another devious plot?”
Zhuo Fan gave a vague smile, “Demonic Emperor, think about it. With three Emperors, those two will fall, no doubt about it. But when push comes to shove, what of our allies? Knowing the enemy is going to be defeated, they would give their all to fight in anger and hatred against such indignity. Our losses would be huge while our allies would just wait at the side. They would have some losses as well, while us and the enemy would be crippled, making them the real winners.”
“Yes, none of those Eight Emperors are good. They’ll be sure to do this!” Zhao Chen gnashed his teeth.
Zhuo Fan grinned, “Then, when they fight, we just do nothing. The enemy would give their all against our allies, making them suffer while we watch them burn from a safe distance. When the outcome is obvious, we join in as allies and win everything. Isn’t that better?”
“Yeah, we won’t lose one man and would get a third of those two’s lands.” Zhao Chen’s eyes shone with joy, “Steward Zhuo, amazing as ever!”
“I did say Demonic Emperor, to look for adversaries and not allies, and found I have.” Zhuo Fan’s eyes shone.
Zhao Chen was over the moon. Thrilled and oblivious at this careful net being laid out, meant to drag him down to h.e.l.l as well…
A month later, the Wraith Emperor and Falcon Emperor had no trouble at all taking twenty more of Demonic Emperor’s cities.
The rest of the world found it odd. Even with two Emperors against him, Demonic Emperor wouldn’t just sit still, right? Letting his lands be taken away without even a fight?
The attackers themselves found it queer.
Out of the blue, the neutral Sword Emperor and Enchanting Empress joined the fight against them.
They looked to have been gotten ready just for this too.
The war was thus in full swing, with each side having two Emperors. As for Demonic Emperor, he showed no sign of joining. The enemy had no intention to duke it out with those strong crazies so they withdrew from the Demonic Emperor’s lands.
The Demonic Emperor still hadn’t sent one soldier on the front or recovered his lands.
Uncertain, the two enemies set their soldiers at the borders, waiting for a week, only falling back for real when the Demonic Emperor still showed no signs. They now moved their soldiers to deal with the Sword Emperor and Enchanting Empress’ invasions on their lands.
Their weakened borders led to the new partic.i.p.ants having an easy time taking ten cities.
The enemy was furious, sending their armies to help while shouting curses all the time.
[We had no beef with you so why the h.e.l.l are you ganging up on us? This is absurd!]
The two rushed to counter, making the strong forces of the Sword Emperor and Enchanting Empress suffer losses.
Another month pa.s.sed and the newcomers took five more cities with their relentless a.s.saults, though losses mounted to forty percent.
The Sword Emperor and Enchanting Empress felt it and swore on and off because of it. Not the enemy Emperors, since they were just defending their lands.
Their only gripe was, of course, with the Demonic Emperor. It was his mess to begin with yet after more than a month, he still sat on his laurels, leaving them four to enjoy a nice day on a b.l.o.o.d.y battlefield.
The Demonic Emperor had to strike the enemy’s heart and then the war would’ve been over and done with ages ago.
He didn’t do that of course, letting the four Emperors clash and entwine, making a resolution improbable in the short term. The Demonic Emperor would definitely hang the copy over their heads because of this too, making all the effort till now wasted.
So the war went on, with no one to direct it or stop it; just what Zhuo Fan wanted.
[Eight Emperors? Ha! Letting you rulers kill each other is the fastest way to fall. So go ahead, tear each other apart to your heart’s content, ha-ha-ha…]
Shriek~
Over the b.l.o.o.d.y battlefield, with limbs and corpses rotting in the blazing sun, a two-mile-long bald eagle cast a dark shadow with its huge wings. On its back was a spindly man with sharp eyes.
“Senior sister, the Falcon Emperor has joined the battle!” In a large tent, Mei Sangu rushed to report.
Eight Emperors frowned, “The old man is here? d.a.m.n it, a fight among Eight Emperors can’t be avoided now. The war has to end now if we are to endure. Sangu, take the Ruby Cloud Sect forces fifty miles back so that they do not get affected.”
“Yes!”
Mei Sangu carried her orders. The Enchanting Empress’ eyes flared and she flew out to face the Falcon Emperor above the h.e.l.lscape.
“Old man, you’re finally stepping in yourself. I thought you’d wait till the last man to show up.”
“Enchanting Empress, what did I ever do to you to invade my lands?”
“We all work for our greed. You didn’t do anything, but I’m entrusted with another’s business.” Enchanting Empress’ eyes shone.
The Falcon Emperor squinted, “A deal with the Demonic Emperor perhaps? I was wondering why would you and the Sword Emperor turn on us? Tell me, what did he promise you anyway? I’ll just double it!”
“Ha-ha-ha, Falcon Emperor, you think any random trinket could impress us? You don’t have what he does!”
“Really? Then that leaves war as the only option.”
The Falcon Emperor flicked his sleeve and the eagle beneath him shot for the Enchanting Empress with bloodthirst…