I put my arms around her back and felt her warm and soft body pressing against my own. I gave her a smile and asked her, "Yes, I missed you very much too. Why are you here, Xinran?"
She let out a giggle before answering, "Ever since Sophie came to Frostbone Snow Region, she"s been summoning dead souls from the Purgatory via nearby necropoleis and expanding her undead troops, which completely violates the Violet Empire"s founding principles of not expanding the size of the undead. Queen Sophia believes that the dead shouldn"t be disturbed once they have entered their eternal rest. However, Shadow Dancer Xue Wei dared not face Sophie in person for fear of what she might do to her, so she came to me for help instead. Sophie"s temper is just unbearable. It"s been a whole month since I came over to persuade her, but she isn"t even budging in the slightest!"
After she was finished speaking, she pressed her cheek against my neck before whispering, "Where have you been, big brother? It"s been so long since I last saw you."
Still holding Xinran, I got up on my feet and said, "I"ve been fighting on the battlefield until just recently. Have you heard of the war between Sky City and Purple Grape City? That is why you weren"t able to find me at Sky City. Is there any particular reason you wanted to see me?"
Xinran abruptly turned red and hid her face from me. "No. I just… wanted to see you, that"s all…"
A while later, she looked up again and blinked at me. "Wait, so you"re the reason Purple Grape City was destroyed?"
"Yep! By the way, I came here to see Sophie. Can you lead the way?"
"Sure!"
Xinran grabbed my hand with her free hand and smiled at me. "Come on! It"s been a long time since Sophie met you as well. Maybe she misses you a lot too!"
I felt my mouth twitch a little. "No way. I"ll be grateful already if she doesn"t try to beat me up!"
"Heehee…"
……
I didn"t encounter any further resistance after Xinran had become my guide. No one was stupid enough to stand in the Wind Singer"s way after all. We moved up the castle until we reached the palace hall. Even from a distance, I could see Sophie standing next to her throne and holding her sword next to her feet. At the lower steps, two rows of high-level undead were facing toward her respectfully and discussing with her about something. They were all Asuras, and two or three of them were Asura Kings. Sophie herself was probably an Asura G.o.d or something beyond.
"What news do we have on Coldblade?" Sophie asked.
An undead general dropped to one knee and reported, "Lady Sophie, my news came from b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain. After the Wind Singer had defeated the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger, Coldblade took up residence to the southwest of b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain and summoned a huge legion from the Purgatory. His Bone Dragons alone number over ten thousand, so his forces are not to be underestimated. Vanished G.o.d City dispatched an army to wipe them out, but they were surrounded and slaughtered to the last man by Coldblade himself. It was a tragic battle. Since then, Vanished G.o.d City lost their courage and didn"t dare to enter b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.+eld Domain any longer. The local officials simply labeled it as a forbidden land and forbad all normal humans, elves, succubi and more from entering."
Sophie pressed her lips into a frown. "Hmph! That despicable Coldblade lied to me and put the Sword Saint"s innocent blood on my hands. He must pay, or I"ll never be able to face Princess Karinshan again. That little girl might keep her silence, but I know she blames me for the death of the Sword Saint. I"ve already betrayed the Purgatory, I cannot afford to lose the Silver Moon Alliance as well. Killing Coldblade is the only way to atone for my sins and maintain our position on the Heavenblessed Continent."
A cold light flashed across the general"s face at this moment. "Lady Sophie, can I say something?"
Sophie nodded. "Speak!"
He visibly resolved himself before speaking with killing intent, "We used to be one of the key armies of the Purgatory, and the very reason behind our existence is to wipe out all that is living. We don"t mind going against our nature for you, our lady, but we must remind you that the humans may turn on us once the Night Creatures are eliminated from this world. There is a reason the saying "to boil the hound once it caught the rabbit" exists. Surely you"ve considered a future beyond the end of the Night Creatures?"
Sophie smiled approvingly at her general before replying, "Commander Slack, you are undead, and so am I. We both understand better than any living being that our final resting place belongs to the soil beneath our feet. But until that happens, we will continue to struggle until we have breathed our last, even if our very existence violates the laws of nature. Once the Night Creatures are beaten, I will take everyone away from this continent and seek out a domain of our own in the barbaric lands. There, we will seclude ourselves from the living permanently and cultivate until we become G.o.ds… or dust."
Slack nodded and praised, "Lady Sophie is wise!"
With that done, another general spoke up, "My lady, our necropoleis are starting to fall behind our needs. Many of our Corpse Eaters were unable to evolve into undead warriors due to a lack of s.p.a.ce. In your opinion, is it time we invade Frost Flame Mountain Range or Ice Horse Lake and claim them as our new territory? If we remain as we are, we will not be able to fight against the combined forces of Linda the Whisperer, Coldblade the Infinite Storm and Opero the Nightwalker. Once their Purgatory Legion is formed, the first thing they"ll do is to wipe out the traitor, namely us. Can you guarantee that the humans, succubi and beastmen will obey the treaty and come to our aid immediately?"
Sophie thought for a moment before nodding. "It"s true that we cannot sustain a powerful army without a rich land, but… I"ve also promised Xinran that we would never invade the lands that were occupied by the humans. And I don"t intend to break my promise."
"But, my lady…"
"Enough. My mind is made up!"
"Yes, my lady…"
……
Pa pa pa…
Xinran and I walked up the icy stairs until Sophie finally entered our view. It was only then Xinran let go of my hand reluctantly and walked up to her sister with a smile, "How are you doing, Sophie?"
Sophie smiled back. "Xinran, I can feel your power growing day by day. You may have even surpa.s.sed me already. How on earth do you cultivate normally? And…"
Sophie stared at Xinran"s gorgeous features and said, "How do you make your skin smoother and whiter? How do you make yourself look so pretty? Teach me everything…"
I nearly vomited blood at the sudden change in topic. I should"ve known that even a G.o.ddess couldn"t escape some norms, such as the neverending desire to preserve one"s beauty.
Xinran grabbed Sophie"s hand and replied smilingly, "All you need to do is to give up the cultivation of the dead and calm down your heart. I chose to cultivate the laws of the holy, so I"m only going to grow prettier by the day. Just like the Dragon Speaker Binglan, it"s only a matter of time before I become the most beautiful G.o.ddess on the entire continent…"
Sophie stared at her grumpily. "Your body is of the holy type to begin with, so of course you have no trouble cultivating the laws of the holy. I"m a true undead, even the laws of ice and fire I cultivate are based on the powers of the dead. Unfortunately, there"s no way I can follow your advice…"
Xinran smiled. "That"s fine too. Who knows, maybe cultivating the laws of the dead will grant you some sort of supernatural quality…"
"Really?"
"Really. By the way, big brother is here to talk business with you…"
"Oh?"
Sophie abruptly looked at me with a flash of anger. "You"re looking for me, boy?"
I nodded. "Mn."
"Speak!" Sophie replied indifferently, "You are Xinran"s older brother, so I will grant you an audience with me. However, understand that your time in Frostbone Snow Region is limited. This is not a place normal cultivators may come and go as they please."
"I understand…"
I shrugged. "By the way, can you not speak to me like that? I came with a big gift, you know. One that will help you greatly in your hour of need."
"Really?" Sophie smiled dangerously. "Tell me then. If it doesn"t satisfy me, I will throw you into a pit of oil and fry you into a donut!"
While I was shuddering at the image, Xinran shot Sophie a glare. "h.e.l.lo? Care to correct that?"
"Hahaha…" Sophie giggled like a girl and caused her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to bounce up and down despite her armor. Swaying her hips a bit and grabbing Xinran"s arm, she said with a smile, "Relax, I wouldn"t bear to eat the older brother of my dear sister. By the way, Xinran, I"ve never seen you falling for any man for as long as we"ve known each other, not even when you met Ares the War G.o.d himself. Just what is so special about this average rascal to you?"
Xinran turned bright red as she stuttered, "N-no? He"s just my… older brother. There"s… all there is to it…"
"Fine, fine, whatever…" Sophie looked back to me and said, "Well, what is this gift, boy? Speak frankly."
I nodded. "I want to gift you a human main city!"
"What? A human main city?"
Sophie"s mouth dropped open in shock. Her saliva almost slid down the corner of her lips and destroyed her image when she turned away and said in a determined voice, "I promised Xinran that I will never attack the humans again, so while your gesture is appreciated, I—"
I shook my head and interrupted her. "You don"t have to break your oath. Did you hear that Purple Grape City was destroyed recently? It"s true. I slayed its regent and chose to abandon the city, so right now it"s a neutral, ownerless territory. There won"t be a better time to invade it than now. If you hesitate for too long, the humans will reclaim the city, and you"ll regret this loss of opportunity for life!"
"Ah?"
Sophie"s red lips parted and closed again and again. A long time later, she looked at Xinran imploringly and asked, "What… what should I do?"
Xinran giggled a little before answering, "Big brother"s enemy is my enemy. Whatever you do at Purple Grape City, it has nothing to do with me…"
……
"Very well!"
A few seconds later, Sophie abruptly jumped back to her throne, pulled out her sword and stabbed it on the floor. She ordered, "Commander Tall Sky, Commander Slack, Commander Wanjun, mobilize our forces now! You will circle around Lost Forest and march straight for the abandoned Purple Grape City, our soon-to-be capital! Besides that, you will mobilize all our undead dragon knights and awaken those lazy giant dragons from their slumber! And don"t forget about the 200000 Devil Giants hibernating beneath Dragonbone Mountain Range! We will use three armies to conquer Purple Grape City!"
I was stunned by what I heard, to be honest. Just how many troops did Sophie possess? Forget the abandoned Purple Grape City, even Sky City would be hard-pressed to defend against a monster wave this size! There"s no way little j.a.pan is going to make a comeback from this!