However, this wouldn't affect the amount of resources controlled by the Jialan Monarch. Given that there were so many mines in his territories, he had no need for worry at all. Among the mines, the Flowing Sand Mine, Skyfall Mine and Purple Cloud Mine were the most tightly guarded. The experts there were as common as the clouds and there were even immortal emperors among the guards.
The date of opening for the Skyfall Mine was finally here. Today, there were even more guards than usual. A mid-stage immortal emperor and two low-stage immortal emperors personally came here to receive the harvest.
The sky was as blue as water, in the clear air, a gentle breeze could be felt, causing many to feel extremely comfortable. However, the people of the Skyfall Mine felt extremely tensed. The day of harvest was an extremely important day and no mistakes could be allowed. All the guards were on the alert. Although the chances for bandits to appear was low, there was still a possibility. Hence, nobody dared to be careless.
At the hinterland of the Skyfall Mine, a group of excavators walked out, handing over their harvests. At this moment, the mid-stage emperor sitting there suddenly frowned. After that, his eyes snapped open as he glanced into the air. He then coldly shouted, "There are bandits."
As the sound of his voice faded, everyone immediately moved, activating the formations to protect the area. All of them inclined their heads and stared at the skies, only to see numerous figures appearing. All of them were masked and their faces couldn't be seen. There actually were three immortal emperors and the rest of the bandits were all at the immortal king realm.
That mid-stage immortal emperor guard instantly took out his messaging crystal and sent a message into it, "Monarch, there are bandits here to plunder the Skyfall Mine."
As he spoke, the guard inclined his head and said to the bandits, "Everyone, this is the Skyfall Mine governed by the Jialan Monarch. If there are any losses sustained, the monarch will definitely not rest. In addition, the Lifire Palace is above him. The price for plundering this mine will be too high for you all to bear. If you guys give up now, I'll treat this as a misunderstanding.
The bandit head waved his hand, signalling for his men to rush forward. Terrifying auras gushed forth, the atmosphere grew incredibly tense.
"You guys are crazy." The mid-stage immortal emperor guard cursed. A resplendent light radiated from him as he soared into the air, rushing towards the bandit head. The bandit head was clad in mysterious robes and radiated a glacial feel, like a powerful devil lord.
"KILL!" The mid-stage immortal emperor guard radiated a towering sword intent as he slashed his weapon at the bandit head. The bandit head waved his hand, unleashing a saber strike that cleaved apart everything. In an instant, an opening appeared in the center of the mid-stage emperor guard's brow as the saber strike continued downwards. The mid-stage immortal emperor guard died just like that.
The other guards below all turned as pale as paper. But at this moment, spatial fluctuations rocked the area. Many fearsome auras filled the area as a voice thundered out, "Who dares to act so impudently in my territory?"
"The monarch is here." The guards of the mine all felt excited. They saw the Jialan Monarch leading his subordinates and rushing here. A resplendent light radiated from the Jialan Monarch as a dragonsnake spiralled above his head. His eyes gleamed with a demonic light as he stared at the bandit head.
The Jialan Monarch was very angry, he was truly very angry. In the past, it was precisely because of a group of bandits that made him into a laughing stock, resulting in his descendants being killed, and the lowered recognition his clan had for him. Right now, yet another group of bandits actually dared to appear in his territory?
However, this bandit head seemed to feel no fear at all. He stared at the Jialan Monarch, his eyes were cold to the extreme. He didn't seem to have any intention to flee.
The Jialan Monarch furrowed his brows when he saw the bandit head's reaction. He suddenly felt a sense of unease. Why did it seem as though the bandit head was waiting for him to appear?
"Who are you? Don't you know the crime of banditry is punishable by death? Even if you escape now, you will face relentless pursuit." The Jialan Monarch icily spoke, his eyes staring at the bandit head in the air. However, bandit head's eyes were extremely terrifying and immeasurably deep, he had no reactions.
"Someone that wants your life." At this moment, the bandit head's eyes seemed to generate a terrifying lightning devil saber that shot right into the Jialan Monarch's eyes, slaughtering its way into his soul.
The Jialan Monarch's expression turned incomparably heavy. All of a sudden, a strange white snake arced across the air, wrenching its maw open, wanting to swallow the bandit head in a single gulp.
Black thunder instantly manifested, they were akin to cleaves performed by a devil saber, capable of tearing this space asunder. The white snake was directly cleaved into two, causing the Jialan Monarch's expression to change. He hurriedly took out a divine weapon and unleashed its power, instantly causing millions of demonic beasts to rush at the bandit head.
The bandit head was like he didn't see the demonic beasts. He took a step forward as a tyrannical might rocked the area. Beams of saber light burst from him, crackling like black bolts of thunder, and completely tore those demonic beasts apart. A white flash of lightning suddenly appeared in the darkness, demonic scales appeared on the Jialan Monarch's arms as he punched out, manifesting gigantic snakes that danced wildly in the air.
The saber attacks unleashed by the bandit head didn't stop. With a single strike, he slashed through the void. At the instant he attacked, the Jialan Monarch felt his soul about to collapse. He groaned in pain and was forced back. At the next instant, he saw the bandit head moving forward, grabbing out in the air. With a grab, a devil hand of darkness formed, sealing the space he was in.
"BOOM!" The air trembled. The Jialan Monarch couldn't move at all, he was grabbed by that devil hand. He struggled madly, his eyes were frigid as he stared ruthlessly at the bandit head. He then roared in anger, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"
He faintly sensed that this powerful bandit wasn't here for the mine at all. He was here for himself, and was using the identity of a bandit to mask the fact that he came here to hunt him.
If not, given how strong this bandit head was, there was no way he would choose to become a bandit. He could simply head to the Lifire Palace and the Lifire Empyrean would definitely place him in a position of importance.
One must know that as one of the nine great monarchs under the Lifire Empyrean, there was no need to doubt how strong his combat prowess was. If he was not powerful enough, he wouldn't be able to seize one of the nine positions no matter what the Jialan Clan did to push him up. How could weaklings hold a position of such importance?
However, before this bandit head, he seemed so fragile that it felt like he couldn't even withstand a single strike. From this, one could tell how strong this bandit head was.
The bandit head didn't reply. The killing intent radiating from the bandit head grew more intense. The people below only saw the Jialan Monarch being restricted completely as their faces turned pale. The bandit head was like a devil god, unexcelled in this world. Even when the Jialan Monarch personally came here, he wasn't a match for this bandit head at all. Everyone felt like doomsday had arrived.
Even the Jialan Monarch couldn't deal with him. How terrifying was this bandit exactly?
"GO TO HELL!" A cold voice echoed out. A terrifying devil king palm imprint of darkness burst forth with boundless destructive might. The Jialan Monarch screamed in misery as his body was being bombarded by the pure aura of destruction. He could sense how fearsome that giant palm was. The Jialan Monarch stared fixedly at the bandit head as a thought flash in his head.
"YOU ARE…" He shouted, but an explosive boom thundered out, drowning his voice. The darkness palm strike dominated everything. It crushed the Jialan Monarch's defense as wounds appeared all over his body. Upon coughing blood, he directly closed his mouth and his expression was like dead ashes. His eyes that were filled with despair glanced at the bandit head, as boundless terror could be seen on his face, as well as a streak of anger.
At this moment, the Jialan Monarch seemed to have guessed who the bandit head was. He was roaring silently in his heart. It's him, it must be him who wanted to kill him!
He definitely didn't guess wrongly.
Bastard, he actually dared to disguise himself as a bandit to come here and take his life. This was truly sparing no expense, wanting him to die.
At this instant, the Jialan Monarch took out his messaging crystal and was prepared to reveal the bandit head's identity. However, everything was too late. Only despair could be seen on his face.
"BOOM!" Boundless destructive might bore down, the Jialan Monarch's body trembled apart violently from the impact. Before his death, he suddenly thought of many things. He was a genius of the Jialan Clan and was heavily nurtured by them. The clan arranged for him to become one of the nine monarchs under the Lifire Empyrean, granting him a lofty status and overwhelming authority as well as control over the life and death of many. In addition, he controlled a large number of resources, just a thought from him would gain him wealth unimaginable by ordinary people.
He was full of mettle and was walking towards a path of radiance. He could summon rain and call for the wind whenever he wanted to, there was nothing he could not achieve.
However, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that his life would change so quickly. Just as he was feeling complacent, everything suddenly changed. He met those fellows that caused him to enter a path of condemnation with no hope of reprieve.
Another thunderous boom rang out, the Jialan Monarch's body was narrowly shattered apart. Blood flowed from his wounds, he was only left with a single breath of life and his eyes were fixed venomously on that bandit head.
"You…" He seemed to want to say something but there was no time any more. The destructive attack blasted into him again and the Jialan Monarch was finally killed completely in body and soul. His corpse fell helplessly down from the air.
At this instant, the subordinates of the Jialan Monarch were completely stunned. They even forgot that they were in combat, and stared at his corpse in a dumbstruck manner.
The monarch died?
One of the nine great monarchs, the Jialan Monarch under the Lifire Empyrean, was killed by someone?
All of them felt their hearts trembling as they stared at the body of the Jialan Monarch. After that, they looked at the figure who killed him. Has this person gone mad? He actually dared to kill one of the monarchs. Doesn't he know what the consequences would be if he did so? There would no longer be a place where he can survive here in the Lifire Palace's territories.
Even if the Jialan Monarch and Lifire Empyrean weren't on the same side, it was a great taboo to kill a monarch. However, this bandit head did so with no hesitations. He publicly executed one of the nine great monarchs in front of everyone.
At this moment, many people felt chills go down their back as their hair stood up. Has this world gone mad? Even bandits dared to act so crazily!