Chapter 1967: Acting

The leader of the Third Legion had just raised an arm, about to respond to Xu Yang's inquiry, when the leaders of the two other legions immediately stepped forward to object. The one on the right was particularly arrogant, drawing the long sword from his waist and pointing it at Xu Yang and the Third Legion leader.

"Every leader of the Ten Legions has a chance to compete fairly. Why would you give this opportunity to him? Even if you are the only witness who personally saw the Nightless Emperor fall, I'm afraid you don't have the right, as an outsider, to interfere with the decision regarding our Nightless Empire's internal succession."

Xu Yang didn't even glance at the man, merely letting out a cold sneer and raising a finger, pointing it at the individual who had just spoken so presumptuously.

In an instant, a beam of light shot from Xu Yang's eyes, directly piercing a large hole through the head of the dissenting man, right in front of all the legion leaders. The man's soul world instantly disintegrated; he completely lost all vital energy and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Undoubtedly, this was Xu Yang's way of "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys," a tactic to intimidate all other leaders of similar rank.

"This is a world where strength commands respect. Everyone has the right to contend for influence, but the leverage is, naturally, their own power. If your power is insufficient, then please keep your mouth shut, otherwise, you might very well invite death. So? Have you thought it through? Give me a clear answer."

Xu Yang spoke again, addressing the leader of the Third Legion. This time, without any hesitation, the leader raised his right hand and placed it on Xu Yang's chest.

"I am willing to accept your guidance, esteemed sir, and become the new monarch of the Nightless Empire. I am also willing to lead this empire towards a more brilliant and glorious future."

Xu Yang could naturally see that every legion leader beside him was quite dissatisfied with this outcome, but due to Xu Yang's overwhelming personal strength, these individuals could not openly defy his decision and could only grudgingly accept it in silence.

Xu Yang knew very well that even if this man was forcefully installed as Emperor by him, he would likely face more trouble once Xu Yang chose to leave in the future. To help solidify the man's identity as the Nightless Emperor, Xu Yang slowly spoke again.

"The throne is behind me, but you must step onto it through your own strength. The Nightless Empire is now facing an invasion from the allied armies of other ancient Martial God Dao empires. I believe this should be the perfect opportunity for you to prove your strength and leadership.

If you can lead the various Sea Beast Legions to withstand the combined assault of the allied empires, then without a doubt, I believe no one in this empire would dare to object to your succession to the imperial throne.

If you lack this ability, even if I, an outsider, support you, you will not be able to hold this position securely. Ultimately, everything still depends on the fruits of your own efforts. This is all I can do."

The leader of the Third Legion nodded gravely. He understood that the platform Xu Yang had set for him was high enough; now, he only needed to take this final step to achieve his unparalleled imperial ambition.

"Rest assured, esteemed sir, I will not disappoint you or all the citizens of the entire Nightless Empire. All commanders of the Ten Legions, listen to my command!"

As soon as the man stepped onto the towering throne, he immediately began issuing orders to the various legion leaders below. With Xu Yang personally present, none of the leaders dared to resist, and they all immediately knelt on one knee before the Third Legion leader, who had temporarily assumed the imperial position.

"Now, as the acting Emperor, I command you: everyone is to immediately lead their legion forces to assemble along the empire's island coast. Await our enemies' entry into the waters we control at any time."

It was evident that the man's own leadership was quite outstanding; the biggest problem now was that the Ten Legion leaders were grudgingly compliant.

Xu Yang had also successfully used the Third Legion leader's ascension, by supporting his rise, to create a legitimate opportunity for himself to command the entire Nightless Empire's forces.

Two days later, tens of thousands of allied forces swept across the Martial God Sea, cutting down countless powerful sea beast warriors along the way. The main contingent finally gathered in the waters at the edge of the Nightless Empire island.

Undoubtedly, this was the largest conflict between empires in the ancient Martial God Dao region in thousands of years. And this epic showdown was personally arranged by Xu Yang. With the help of the Empress of the Star Empire, this climactic confrontation was successfully established.

Little did they know, Xu Yang's ultimate goal was to use this battle to draw out the dark forces lurking behind the scenes. The "performance" by both sides was truly seamless.

Because of Xu Yang's involvement, the supreme leaders of the major empires were well aware that the true purpose of this war was not to inflict a substantial, fatal blow on the Nightless Empire.

Hundreds of thousands of warriors from both major factions engaged in the confrontation, and indeed, a small number of them perished in this battle. This also included a considerable number of berserk sea beasts, all of whom contributed their powerful combat strength to the battlefield and ultimately sacrificed their lives for the glory of war.

It was not until the night three days after the war began that both sides temporarily retreated five hundred li to regroup. In the encampment, the acting Emperor of the Nightless Empire, accompanied by Xu Yang, briefly tallied the casualties of the sea beast warriors from the battle.

Out of a total deployment of 500,000 sea beasts, over 50,000 had perished. The lifeless bodies of these powerful sea beasts still floated in large numbers in the nearshore waters, still emitting a lingering life force that had not completely dissipated.

Furthermore, these sea beast corpses, guided by the power of the trident and following Xu Yang's instructions, were subtly directed towards the surface of a target area in the sea. That location had also been personally marked by Xu Yang before the operation; he intended to wait there for the disciples of the dark forces to appear.

Sure enough, everything progressed slowly according to Xu Yang's imagined rhythm. Late at night, large numbers of dark force elites suddenly appeared over the Martial God Sea.

These mysterious and unpredictable dark force elites had specifically chosen a path that perfectly avoided all the surveillance of the two major factions, silently approaching the specific sea area Xu Yang had delineated. Clearly, they did not want to alert anyone; their sole purpose was to absorb the energy from the bodies of the tens of thousands of sea beasts.

Having prepared in advance, Xu Yang immediately dived near this sea area, using his powerful mental energy to directly determine the number of dark force members who had gathered underwater this time.