Chapter 1985: Forcing the Emperor

How could he say such a thing to King Perlius?

He could only say, "Whether He Xiao will eventually be suppressed by the Sky God, I don't know. I only know one thing: if you stand in his way now, he will eliminate you."

He added, word by word, "You are you, and the Sky God is the Sky God. If He Xiao can't destroy the Sky God, do you think he can't destroy you?"

"Look, look! And you say this letter wasn't written by him? Just look at how devoted he is to the Dragon God!" King Perlius looked at the other leaders before turning back to Situ He with a playful tone. "Oh, so in your opinion, how can He Xiao be stopped?"

"I've said it many times," Situ He said with a serious expression. "We must stand firm and do our best to show goodwill to Yang Shan. He Xiao is very likely to turn his attention to Bai Tan in Yao first, which would give us more time to strategize."

"Do you even hear the nonsense you're spouting?" King Perlius burst out laughing. "You've been thinking for months, and your strategy amounts to having no strategy at all—just waiting to die!"

"It's about self-preservation. I don't have high hopes for Bai Tan."

His lack of hope for Bai Tan meant he didn't believe the Sky God would ultimately win.

The other leaders exchanged glances.

"You coward, how can you lead the allied forces?" King Perlius pointed at him and addressed the other leaders. "Our best opportunity is to act as mutual guardians with Bai Tan. What if—and I mean *what if*—He Xiao defeats Bai Tan? Then we, in Shanjin, will be isolated and powerless."

In truth, the others didn't need to hear all this to understand his underlying message.

King Pei sneered, "You've gone around in such a big circle today, only to end up saying that?"

There were no fools among them. King Perlius's entire debate with Situ He today was just a setup; even the letter was unimportant.

It was merely a fuse, a detonating fuse.

However, King Perlius also had his difficulties. There were, after all, seven leaders present, and he had to secure the support of King Bao Xin and the Yutu tribe—both of whom had traditionally been neutral, but whose dissatisfaction with Situ He had recently grown noticeably.

Only after laying the groundwork could King Perlius make his move.

The Lord of Baoxin suddenly asked, "If we pledge allegiance to the Sky God and become enemies with Jiuyou, will we or Bai Tan initiate this battle? The one who strikes first will certainly bear the brunt of the Dragon God's wrath."

A vein pulsed on King Perlius's forehead.

He naturally hoped Bai Tan would attack first, with him providing support. But how often do things go exactly as planned?

Just then, a Perlius guard stationed outside suddenly rushed in frantically:

"Report! A large contingent of forces, over three thousand strong, has appeared south of the town and is rapidly approaching!"

The leaders present felt their hair stand on end.

All seven major leaders were here; who else would be rushing to join the meeting? Three thousand people—this clearly signaled ill intent!

Situ He asked, "Whose forces are they?"

"They're all wearing black armor, carrying black dragon banners, and shouting as they gallop: 'The Dragon God comes to aid Marshal Situ! Bystanders, clear the way!'"

"To aid Marshal Situ?" Everyone's gaze immediately fixed on Situ He, who stood wide-eyed and stunned.

The Dragon God was coming to "rescue" him?

That meant—

He was in danger?

Situ He immediately retreated, and his guards instinctively stepped forward, encircling him tightly.

Ever since Situ Yu's assassination, Situ He had become extremely vigilant about his personal safety. Outside his own residence, he was always accompanied by a large retinue of guards. The Bixia people had plotted two assassination attempts against him, both of which had failed.

This time, naturally, he had brought his elite guards as well.

At the same time, King Perlius raised his chin towards the Kan tribe leader, pointing at Situ He and sternly declaring:

"Seize him!"

Having made up his mind, he had to apprehend Situ He before the black-armored army arrived.

Otherwise, his grand plan for the day would be ruined!

These two factions were already his allies; they had been informed beforehand and were now resolute. With a single command, they moved.

The meeting was being held in the main courtyard of the government office; otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough space indoors for so many people. Even so, each leader was only permitted to bring ten guards, making the area quite crowded.

As King Perlius gave the order to attack, shouts outside shook the heavens. The courtyard wall was immediately smashed down, and hundreds of people surged in, making directly for Situ He.

There were more than four hundred people.

Several groups of passing merchants in the town now shed their disguises, revealing themselves to be King Perlius's subordinates.

The Lord of Pei, however, angrily denounced, "Preposterous! How dare you attempt to usurp power!"

His words struck at the core of the matter: no matter how much King Perlius explained, wasn't his ultimate goal to seize power?

Guards from Situ's faction, Pei, and Yan also arrived upon hearing the commotion, but King Perlius's and the Kan tribe's forces had gained the upper hand, blocking them at the periphery, preventing them from breaking through immediately.

Thirty guards from Situ He's and the other two allied factions resisted with all their might.

This meant two factions present had not yet entered the fray: Baoxin and the Yutu tribe.

This aligned with the typical power dynamics of the Seven Realms: Pei, Yan, and the Situ family were aligned, while Perlius and the Kan tribe were closer, with Baoxin and the Yutu tribe often remaining neutral.

King Perlius was well aware that Baoxin and the Yutu tribe were increasingly dissatisfied with the Situ family's lax governance and harbored fear regarding the rise of Emperor Jiuyou, yet each had their own concerns.

To prevent his plan from being exposed, he dared not consult these two factions beforehand. However, he was seventy percent confident he could secure their support—just a small push would be enough to bring them over to his side.

Among the Perlius guards besieging Situ He's group, one man dropped his long saber, turned around, and suddenly ripped off his upper garment.

He had an ordinary appearance and unremarkable armor, blending unnoticed into the crowd. But as he exposed his back, others saw a bulge emerging from it, pushing his skin outwards.

He seemed to be in great pain, crying out louder than anyone else, his voice sending chills down people's spines.

Simultaneously, a burst of blood erupted from his back, and another head emerged!

It had bulging eyes, sunken cheeks, and a pointed snout, resembling a grey-skinned monkey. It should have been furry, but its head was covered in bloodstains.

No one knew what its body looked like, as only its head had emerged. It faced Situ He's direction, took a quick, deep breath, and then—

It let out a piercing shriek.

The sound was like a ghost wailing in the dead of night, or a sharp object scraping violently against glass, but magnified a hundredfold. Listeners felt an intense pain in their ears and instinctively dropped their weapons, covering their ears with their hands.

Some people's ears immediately started bleeding.

Even so, the demonic sound pierced straight through their minds.

However, this sound wave only attacked a frontal fan-shaped area. While others found it grating, they suffered no substantial harm.

The Lord of Baoxin was greatly astonished, as he could almost see the sound wave itself—nearby tree branches were forced to nod repeatedly, then snapped into several pieces with a crack.

This indiscriminate attack did not choose targets; regardless of friend or foe, almost everyone directly in its path was knocked down, either falling unconscious or with their mouths and eyes askew.

This was Qingyang's gift to King Perlius:

The Child-Devouring Demonic Beast, known as Howler.

The Child-Devouring Demonic Beast was usually sealed within a human body, not affecting the host's movements, but could be awakened to fight at crucial moments.