When the ominous aura from Nine Nether Palace shot up to the sky, the sects in Daluotian were shocked. They looked toward the direction that Nine Nether Troop had gone to with a knowing look.
Daluotian had heard of the messages sent to the cities by Nine Nether Palace and only a handful had submitted to them. Everyone, including Blood Hawk Palace, had treated it as a joke.
Although the people were mocking them, they knew that Nine Nether Palace would not take it lying down. If not, Nine Nether would not be able to gain a foothold in the Daluo Territory in the future. Even if Nine Nether had the support of the Condor King, Nine Nether Palace would not be able to continue to exist if they lost their reputation. Hence, it seemed that Nine Nether Palace was about to take action.
For the past few years, the development in Nine Nether Palace had been slow. Their foundation had been the weakest among the Nine Lords. Although Nine Nether had successfully gone through the tribulations, a force could not possibly depend on one person alone in order to expand.
The other Lords had many masters under them. However, under Nine Nether, other than Mu Chen, who had just joined her, the rest were only average.
The struggles within the Daluo Territory depended upon the people that they had present among them at any time. The Lords were not allowed to get involved in the fights. Thus, many people were doubtful whether or not Nine Nether Palace would succeed in their mission.
Mu Chen's performance in the Daluo Golden Pool was perfect. However, he was only one person. The dukes of the cities were no ordinary people. Some were top powers, who were very reputable within the Daluo Territory. Whether Nine Nether Palace could successfully restore their reputation remained a question.
Back in the Blood Hawk Palace, Lord Blood Hawk was sitting on his throne in the main hall, stroking the hand rest. He looked out of the main hall with his red eyes and smiled mockingly.
"Nine Nether Palace has finally taken action." Lord Blood Hawk smiled flatly. He looked at Wu Tian and said, "Have you got everything in place?"
"All the dukes have gathered in Demonic Python City. If he dares to be there, he will be humiliated," Wu Tian said with an evil smile. To be the dukes of the cities, they would have possessed extraordinary power, and some of the top powers possessed the abilities of the four great commanders. However, they were older, and therefore, did not have the latent abilities of the four young great commanders.
Now that they had gathered together, they were extremely powerful. As for Nine Nether Palace, other than Mu Chen, the rest were not up to par. Hence, it would be silly to fight the dukes based on his strength alone.
"Women are after all, women. They are incompetent," Lord Blood Hawk said with a smile.
Although Nine Nether had returned strong, she had been too hasty in carrying things out. This inaction had caused her to have a weak foundation. The moment she returned, she had wanted to restore the territories that she had lost.
However, she soon found that it would not be so easy. For the past few years, Lord Blood Hawk had been terrorizing the people with his military force. Did she think that his efforts were in vain?
Although Mu Chen had potential, all the dukes were cunning, and they also had his backing. Mu Chen would lose the glory that he had painstakingly earned at the Daluo Golden Pool. Nine Nether would also be taught to know the difference between Nine Nether Palace and Blood Hawk Palace.
In Demonic Python City.
This was a big city, situated in the northwest region of the Daluo Territory. It was also an important city, as it was flourishing and ranked among the best.
When Nine Nether Palace had this city under their reign, many people had been envious. When Nine Nether went missing, Lord Blood Hawk was the first to strike and take over the city.
Demonic Python City was particularly lively on this day. Shadows covered the sky of the city and landed on it. The Transfer Spiritual Array in the city glittered continually.
It had been rumored one day before that Luo Mang, Duke of Demonic Python City, had gathered 50 dukes in Demonic Python City. Those who were well informed knew that it was to fight Nine Nether Palace.
Strictly speaking, everyone was under the rule of the Daluo Territory. However, Nine Nether Palace had weakened in its power, and Luo Mang was ambitious. He would not want to offend Blood Hawk Palace.
Nine Nether Palace had lost its power, and it could not be compared to Blood Hawk Palace, which was extremely influential. Using that influence, Luo Mang had openly gathered the people to fight Nine Nether Palace, as he had the backing of Blood Hawk Palace.
At the center of Demonic Python City, a Demonic Python statue stood in the Square. It was about 1,000 feet tall, and it overlooked the entire city.
The Square was filled with people, and shadows continually flooded into the city. Ultimately, even the rooftops of the buildings and the sky were filled with people.
All eyes were fixed on the people who were sitting under the Demonic Python statue. They sat according to their ranks, as majestic spiritual energy indistinctly exuded from their bodies.
These people were calm, and lights were surging in their eyes. They were obviously no ordinary people.
Among these people, three of them, who were sitting in the center, had extremely strong spiritual energies. One of them was in black and looked burly. He had short hair and a rough face. Although he was smiling, his deep eyes were like a serpent's, causing one to shiver.
There was a tattoo of a black python on his neck. The ferocious python was baring its fangs, and it looked weird. This same man laid on a stone chair, stroking the hand rest. He did not seem the least bothered with what Nine Nether Palace was about to do.
He was Luo Mang, Duke of Demonic Python City. He had been controlling Demonic Python for many years. He was cunning and merciless. His strength had advanced to Grade Two Sovereign, and had now reached its peak. Among the dukes in the Daluo Territory, he was quite famous.
On his sides were two middle-aged men, who were quite thin. They were the dukes of Blood Vulture City and Black Rock City. Their strength was at Grade Two Sovereign as well. However, they were not as calm as Luo Mang.
In any case, it was not a good thing to offend Nine Nether Palace. Moreover, Nine Nether had successfully gone through the tribulations, and her strength was comparable to Grade Five Sovereign. Hence, she was as powerful as Lord Blood Hawk.
"The two of you need not worry. Although Nine Nether is no longer the same, Nine Nether Palace has a weak foundation. The new commander might be capable, but he is young. He will not be able to achieve much," Luo Mang smiled and said, as he could sense their anxieties.
Having heard that, the two dukes calmed down a little.
"We just need to display our battle array. When the youth is here, that should be enough to put him down. We will then have a good talk with him to scare him off," Luo Mang said with a smile. "Don't forget, Lord Blood Hawk has promised us that if we are able to fend Nine Nether Palace off, we will be able to truly join Blood Hawk Palace. By then, we need not be afraid of Nine Nether."
The two dukes nodded in agreement. If they could truly enter Daluotian, it would be better than slogging hard in their current roles as dukes. Although the income was good, they had to hand over a big portion of their funds when all was said and done.
"Although we have a lot of people with us, most of them dare not offend Nine Nether Palace openly…" Duke of Blood Vulture City said softly.
Luo Mang curled up his lips and said, "That is why they have to be utterly disappointed with Nine Nether Palace. As long as we can fend off the people of Nine Nether Palace, they will naturally know which choice they should make."
The two dukes nodded their heads again. As they were about to speak, their faces suddenly changed. A large beam suddenly shot up to the sky in the northwest direction of the city. It was the ray given out by the Transfer Spiritual Array.
"They are here. The newborn calf is not afraid of tigers!" When Luo Mang saw it, he turned grave and said this phrase mockingly.
The people in Demonic Python City looked at the direction of the beam. They then saw a dark cloud whizzing out. A dreadful atmosphere covered the entire place.
Many of them in the city turned pale. They were shocked and awed by the austerity of the troop. Daluo Territory was indeed amazing. Even Nine Nether Palace, which was the weakest in the Daluo Territory, had such a great and vigorous troop.
As the dark cloud swirled out, it dashed straight to the Square and hung in the air. Although there were a lot of people present, there was only dead silence. The people looked coldly and grimly at the dark cloud.
The expressions of the 50 dukes also changed. Luo Mang squinted his eyes and sneered. He stood up, cupping his fist, and said with a smile, "The Lord of Nine Nether Palace is here. I feel so honored. May I know, who is the new commander of Nine Nether Troop?"
As Luo Mang spoke, the people looked at Nine Nether Troop, seeing a slit in the dark cloud. Then, a slender figure slowly stepped forth from it.
He stood at the frontline of Nine Nether Troop, looking at the dukes at the Square. He smiled and said lightly, "Your battle array is pretty impressive."
Suddenly, his dark eyes turned cold, and his voice was sharp and harsh.
"You have two options. Submit to Nine Nether Palace, or…give up your positions as dukes!"
As his cold voice sounded out, the atmosphere in the city froze. Many people gasped. The new commander in Nine Nether Palace was extremely overbearing!