Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
When the black-clad man removed his mask, Liu Guanfeng finally recognized him. The man was the same elder he and Chonghong had seen at Poppy Plantation earlier that afternoon.
At that moment, although the elder looked tired, he still appeared quite vigorous. Liu Guanfeng glanced at the elder and said, "I didn't expect it to be you. Are you alright, old sir? Not injured, I hope?"
The elder nodded. "I'm fine; those kids couldn't hurt me. But thankfully you arrived in time; otherwise, I wouldn't know what to say."
Liu Guanfeng did not deny this. He smiled slightly and said, "Old sir, since you dared to venture into Demon King's Ridge at night, it seems your identity is not simple. May I ask if you could share a bit about yourself?"
The elder looked at Liu Guanfeng and nodded. "Young man, you saved Old Man's life today. As a token of gratitude, I should share some of my matters with you. Old partner, come out."
With the elder's words, a Mount Dragon Hawk on his shoulder instantly grew to human height and stood beside him. The Dragon Hawk belonged to the Earth Dragon lineage and naturally possessed the proud demeanor of dragons. Upon seeing Little Black beside Liu Guanfeng, it sensed a presence from Little Black that rivaled its own, as if its dragon lineage was being challenged.
The Dragon Hawk fixed its gaze on Little Black and unleashed its full aura, pressing down heavily on Little Black. The elder was startled by the Dragon Hawk's display, but when he saw Little Black's reaction, he was even more surprised. Among dragons, their greatest ability was not their high defense or magic but their imposing presence.
The aura of dragons can diminish an opponent's strength. Whenever magical beasts faced dragons, it was difficult for them to exert their full power under the pressure of dragon might. Even a Tenth Rank magical beast often found victory elusive against a Ninth Tier dragon. This was also why Tenth Rank beasts rarely appeared on the main roads alongside Earth Dragons; their presence would directly influence the relative balance of the continent.
However, when the elder looked at Little Black, he was astonished to see Little Black yawn without being affected by the Dragon Hawk's imposing presence at all.
After yawning, Little Black addressed the Dragon Hawk: "Hey there, little guy. Are you tired? Your attempts are useless against me; you'd be better off scaring those Cloud Rabbits instead; they might actually fear you."
Feeling its dignity challenged, the Dragon Hawk unleashed all its power in an attempt to compete with Little Black. Little Black was not one to back down either; after being provoked repeatedly by the Dragon Hawk, it charged right up to the Dragon Hawk, releasing its own aura in response.
Caught off guard, the Dragon Hawk stumbled back two steps from Little Black's aura. However, this did not mean that Little Black's aura was stronger than that of the Dragon Hawk; it simply had better resilience against attacks.
Seeing the two mounts' antics, Liu Guanfeng and the elder both shook their heads helplessly before stepping in to stop their respective mounts.
Once both Mounts had stabilized, the old man gently stroked the Dragon Hawk's head and said, "I apologize, young man. My old companion acted impulsively; please forgive him."
"It's no problem. The Dragon Hawk should indeed have a certain majesty. However, based on your Mount's performance just now, if I am not mistaken, you must be the esteemed Shangguan Jinglei, right?"
The old man quickly waved his hand. "Indeed, I am Old Man, but in front of you, I cannot dare to call myself an elder; I am merely a few years older."
Liu Guanfeng was able to recognize the old man's identity immediately because there was no one within the Eastern Dragon Empire who did not know this legendary figure. His appearance marked the beginning of a legend.
This old man was the grand-uncle of the current king of the Eastern Dragon Empire, Shangguan Ji. Shangguan Ji's grandfather was the older brother of Shangguan Jinglei. Shangguan Jinglei's father was also a king of the Eastern Dragon Empire named Shangguan Wu. Throughout his life, Shangguan Wu had only two sons, both of whom were born under extraordinary circumstances. The elder son, who is Shangguan Ji's grandfather, was born amidst red clouds appearing over the imperial palace of the Eastern Dragon Empire, leading Shangguan Wu to name him Shangguan Hongyun. Meanwhile, when Shangguan Jinglei was born, a thunderclap struck in the sky above the largest square in the palace, creating a deep pit at its center; thus he was named Shangguan Jinglei.
The two brothers were born of the same mother but had vastly different personalities. Shangguan Hongyun was naturally quiet and loved reading and writing, while Shangguan Jinglei had a passion for martial arts and displayed exceptional talent. By the age of ten, he had already become a Junior Knight. At fifteen, he entered the ranks of Intermediate Knights, and by twenty-five, he became an Advanced Knight. On his thirty-eighth birthday, he officially broke through to become the youngest divine realm expert on the continent at that time.
When it came time for succession, Shangguan Jinglei strongly recommended his elder brother and willingly stepped back to become a Divine Envoy for the nation.
At fifty years old, he received a summons from the Dragon King of Dragon Island, requesting his assistance with a task: to collect an Eternal Snow Lotus from Northern Snow Peak, the highest mountain in the Northern Bear Empire. Guarding this Eternal Snow Lotus was a Tenth Rank Ice Ape. Due to Guardian Xuanyuan Guang's orders prohibiting dragon kin above Ninth Tier from entering Knight Continent and considering that Earth Dragons found it difficult to reach the peak, they chose the capable Shangguan Jinglei for this mission.
Shangguan Jinglei did not disappoint the Dragon King's expectations; despite nearly losing his life, he managed to kill the Ice Ape and obtain the Eternal Snow Lotus.
When he presented the Eternal Snow Lotus to the Dragon King, the Dragon King offered to fulfill one of his requests. At that moment, Shangguan Jinglei's Mount had just fallen in battle against the Ice Ape, and since he had not yet captured another Mount, he requested a Tenth Rank magical beast as his new Mount.
Due to Xuanyuan Guang's influence, the Dragon King could not grant him a true dragon as a Mount but instead chose a flying Earth Dragon—Dragon Hawk—as his Mount. Although Dragon Hawk was merely an Earth Dragon, it was also the only Tenth Rank Earth Dragon in Knight Continent and uniquely permitted to live there.
When Shangguan Jinglei rode Dragon Hawk back to Eastern Dragon Empire, it shocked everyone on the continent. This was the first time someone had helped the Dragon King complete a task and received rewards for it. Thus, this Dragon Hawk became a symbol of Shangguan Jinglei.
Because of this reason, Shangguan Jinglei fought so hard earlier without summoning Dragon Hawk; once Dragon Hawk appeared, his identity would be revealed. Moreover, Shangguan Jinglei had long since withdrawn from public view; although people knew he was alive, he remained in the palace every day tending to flowers and plants when he had nothing else to do.
Although he had faded from people's sight, no one dared to act recklessly in the Eastern Dragon Empire with him around, and other countries were even more afraid to harbor any dissatisfaction towards the Eastern Dragon Empire.
Liu Guanfeng, after recognizing Shangguan Jinglei, curiously asked, "Old sir, why are you here fighting with bandits instead of staying in the palace?"
Shangguan Jinglei shook his head and sighed, "I didn't want to come here either, but I've recently heard that people have been disappearing without a trace nearby, and the City Defense General has been helpless. So I decided to come and see for myself. However, I didn't expect to encounter that group of bandits before I could find out the reason for the disappearances. It's strange; those people are quite strong, especially the Little Guy who led the attack on me—he's actually a Divine-Level Expert, just slightly weaker than me. At first, I didn't pay much attention, but they surrounded me without attacking, continuously draining my Fighting Qi. By the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late. Fortunately, you came to help today. Oh right, I haven't asked for your name yet."
"My name is Liu Guanfeng; it's not worth mentioning. My father is Liu Yong'an, the general of Starfall Kingdom."
Upon hearing Liu Guanfeng's name, Shangguan Jinglei was taken aback. "Oh? You are that Liu Guanfeng from Starfall Kingdom?"
"Is there a problem? Have you heard of me?"
"Of course! Your reputation is quite significant now. You single-handedly fought against the Divine Envoy of Huaxing Kingdom and emerged victorious. Moreover, the Golden Dragon King couldn't gain any advantage over you; your boldness is truly admirable."
"You're flattering me, old senior."
"Liu Brother, since you are already a powerful Divine Knight, we should regard each other as equals. I've been calling you little brother or young man; it's not appropriate for you to keep calling me senior. If you think highly of me, just call me Elder Brother."
"In that case, I won't be polite anymore, Elder Brother. Do you know who those people were just now?"
"I'm not too sure. I only wanted to take advantage of the night to scout Demon King's Ridge, but unexpectedly ran into them before I could find their lair. Dozens of them immediately surrounded me. I ended up fighting with them for several hours. Liu Brother, what brings you here?"
"Same as Elder Brother."
"Oh? Have you discovered anything?"
"There are still some clues, so I came tonight to investigate. I didn't expect to run into you, Elder Brother."
"I suspect that all of this is the work of that brat, Qin Hongguan. However, I have yet to find any evidence. Many ministers in the court, including Cui Wenwu, say that Qin Hongguan has a rebellious heart due to his military power, but without evidence, we cannot act rashly against him."
"Elder Brother, what would count as evidence?"
"For instance, finding Qin Hongguan's imperial seal, Dragon Spring Sword, Dragon Robe, or a large number of private soldiers would all be considered evidence of his rebellious intentions."
"I have seen the Dragon Robe, imperial seal, and Dragon Spring Sword before, but I haven't gotten my hands on them. As for the private soldiers, I wonder how many would be considered a large number?"
Upon hearing that Liu Guanfeng had evidence, Shangguan Jinglei immediately perked up: "The state has regulations on the number of private soldiers each official can have. For someone like Qin Hongguan, the state allows him to have no more than twenty thousand private soldiers. However, we have investigated this and found that he has less than ten thousand across his three estates."
"Twenty thousand? That's not much at all. If those people I found are all Qin Hongguan's private soldiers, then it definitely exceeds that number."
"Really? So little brother, do you know how many private soldiers Qin Hongguan has?"
"I haven't counted them, but based on my estimates, the total from his several Hidden Military Locations should be no less than a hundred thousand."
"What did you say? Qin Hongguan has a hundred thousand private soldiers? How is that possible?" Shangguan Jinglei's eyes widened as if he were trying to see if Liu Guanfeng was lying to him. A hundred thousand is certainly not a small number; how could one person possibly possess such a force under everyone's noses?
"Elder Brother, don't be anxious. I found four Hidden Military Locations belonging to Qin Hongguan near Qianlong City, Azure Dragon City, and Crimson Dragon City. Aside from one location where I didn't see any personnel, the other three combined already account for a hundred thousand people. Moreover, I also discovered a palace in Qin Hongguan's home; it is fully equipped with everything and has several tens of thousands guarding it."
Comment 0 Comment Count