Chapter 2544: Human Hearts Are Treacherous

A Hegemon asked, "How could Yuanxi City send us a message using a resonance imprint? That ability has always been exclusive to Governor Cities; Hegemon Cities don't have that kind of communication between themselves."

The Hegemon on duty replied with a strange expression, "They said Yuanxi City performed a great service, and because of this, the Governor City granted them such authority. Furthermore, they are mobilizing our city to join them in seizing the Lotus Seed, which is to be offered to the Governor City as a sign of respect!"

"Performed a great service? What kind of great service could warrant being granted such power?"

"And not long ago, an inspector from the Governor City even went to Yuanxi City, claiming they had harmed their comrades and committed treason, demanding they go to the Governor City to explain the details."

"How could they have performed a great service in such a short amount of time?"

"Unless killing that inspector counts as a great service, which is simply ridiculous."

Silence filled the grand hall. After a long moment, City Lord Zhao finally let out a slight breath. "That woman... she truly has a significant background!"

He had suspected this before but had no way to confirm it. Now, however, the Governor City's reaction undoubtedly validated his suspicion.

He truly couldn't fathom Yuanxi's origins, to make a powerful Cosmic-tier Governor City so apprehensive.

"My Lord, how should we respond?" the Hegemon on duty inquired.

"Tell them our city will cooperate fully and without delay!" City Lord Zhao stated gravely. Since he had already recognized the situation, he naturally couldn't act carelessly. It was merely a matter of complying with the mobilization. A true leader knows when to adapt, and their previous friction was insignificant. Given their powerful backing, he certainly wouldn't risk offending them.

The Hegemon on duty paused slightly, then quickly affirmed, "Understood!"

In Yuanxi City, You Die received the reply and said, "My Lord, they have agreed."

"Excellent. Later, arrange for them to lead the charge. Lotus and I will seize the opportunity amidst the chaos!"

Lu Ye's eye twitched slightly, and he silently felt a pang of pity for City Lord Zhao.

The Wasteland-tier City Lord was likely regretting not agreeing to ally with Yuanxi City earlier. If he had, he probably wouldn't be facing this trouble now.

Time passed quickly.

Then, at a certain moment, the strange phenomenon there abruptly receded, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

Even Lu Ye recognized this as a sign that the Lotus Seed was about to emerge.

Almost simultaneously, two figures suddenly appeared near the original location of the phenomenon, darting straight towards where it had been.

These were undoubtedly enemy Hegemons who had been lying in wait, poised to seize the Lotus Seed.

At this precise moment, City Lord Zhao also led his Hegemons, charging forth.

"I knew you hadn't left!" an angry roar echoed as another Hegemon appeared—none other than the enemy Wasteland-tier City Lord who had previously attempted to sway Yuanxi.

He led his numerous Hegemon subordinates to intercept City Lord Zhao and his group, clearly intending to buy time.

As long as they could keep City Lord Zhao's group occupied, the two Hegemons who had appeared first could easily secure their objective. Once they seized the Lotus Seed, their mission would be complete.

In terms of the total number of Hegemons, City Lord Zhao's group was slightly outnumbered, as the enemy comprised two Hegemon Cities while they only had one.

However, since two Hegemons had been dispatched towards the Lotus Seed, in this initial clash, there wasn't a significant disparity in either numbers or overall strength between the two sides.

In an instant, battle erupted. The Star Abyss energy surged, and Dao power became chaotic.

The enemy Wasteland-tier City Lord immediately sensed something was amiss. City Lord Zhao and his group appeared remarkably at ease, showing no intention of fighting to the death.

They intended to delay City Lord Zhao's group, but it now seemed that City Lord Zhao's group was also trying to delay them!

"Oh no!" the Wasteland-tier City Lord exclaimed, abruptly turning his head to look towards the Lotus Seed.

What he saw sent shivers down his spine.

For near the Lotus Seed, a small city had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere like a phantom.

After confirming City Lord Zhao's agreement to cooperate with the mobilization, Yuanxi City had already secretly relocated to this spot. Its sudden appearance now undoubtedly caught the enemies completely off guard.

"You tricked me!" the Wasteland-tier City Lord roared furiously. He had distinctly witnessed Yuanxi City and City Lord Zhao's group part ways earlier after a disagreement, never imagining that the two cities had secretly allied once more.

In hindsight, all the prior actions of these two cities were clearly a pretense, utterly cunning and despicable.

It wasn't that he hadn't taken precautions; it was simply that human deceit was too profound.

As he spoke, three figures swiftly emerged from Yuanxi City: Yuanxi, Lotus, and Lu Ye.

Lu Ye's gaze was fixed solely on the spot where the phenomenon had vanished, as his mission for this endeavor was to seize the Lotus Seed; everything else could wait.

Yuanxi, meanwhile, charged with Lotus towards the two Hegemons flying their way.

The two Hegemons clearly hadn't anticipated such a sudden turn of events. Seeing Yuanxi and Lotus attacking in tandem, they didn't hesitate, immediately turning to flee.

It wasn't that they were cowardly; rather, ordinary Hegemons stood no chance against a Hegemon City Lord unless they possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage allowing them to jointly suppress the opponent.

In a two-on-two situation like the current one, engaging in a direct confrontation would be nothing short of suicidal.

In Yuanxi's original plan, she and Lotus were meant to take some risks at this point to create chaos, thus giving Lu Ye a slim chance of succeeding.

However, after mobilizing City Lord Zhao's Hegemon City, the task of seizing the Lotus Seed became exceedingly simple.

What she desired now was far more!

So, seeing the two Hegemons flee, she immediately uttered a low command: "Lotus!"

Lotus knew exactly what Yuanxi was thinking. She raised her hand and grasped Yuanxi's arm. The next moment, a pair of gigantic white wings suddenly unfurled from Lotus's back. These wings were not physical, but rather manifestations of Dao patterns.

In terms of cultivation, Lotus and Yuanxi were at the same peak Hegemon level. However, when comparing their strength, Yuanxi was considerably stronger than Lotus, even without the Hegemon City's enhancements.

Yet, Lotus had her own strength: speed.

In her ninefold Dao integration, six of the chosen Dao patterns were dedicated to enhancing her speed. Few cultivators in the entire realm made such a choice.

This meant that, apart from certain races with an inherent advantage in speed, very few cultivators could rival Lotus in terms of speed.

Even while carrying Yuanxi, Lotus's speed remained undiminished.

In mere moments, the two caught up to the fleeing enemies. Yuanxi raised her hand and unleashed a palm strike forward; as Dao power condensed, a colossal palm shadow slammed through the void.

Sensing the danger behind them, the two fleeing individuals' expressions drastically changed, and they hastily turned to confront the attack.

However, as soon as they clashed, both of their expressions soured.

Not only was the Hegemon targeted by Yuanxi completely overwhelmed and unable to retaliate, but Lotus's opponent was also instantly put on the defensive, struggling to cope.

The reason was simple: Lotus's Dao weapon was a soul artifact. This explained why she had chosen so many speed-enhancing Dao patterns during her Dao integration. Relying on a soul artifact to integrate with the Dao allowed her to compensate for deficiencies in her raw strength to some extent, enabling her to still possess power capable of dominating most Hegemons.