Chapter 142. Operation: Destroy the King of the East, Descending on Mount Olympus

The Celestial Archangel knew that killing Lu Yuan wouldn't be that easy. Since they couldn't kill him through a direct confrontation, they had no choice but to resort to thermonuclear weapons.

Thermonuclear weapons were humanity's most devastating weapons of mass destruction, and their might was simply unimaginable.

The death of the Twelve Apostles had already ignited the Celestial Archangel's fury. Moreover, he knew Lu Yuan harbored killing intent toward him. Faced with these circumstances, the Celestial Archangel knew he had to strike first.

The Celestial Archangel stared at the Holy Knight. The man was even more ruthless than himself.

"Since you agree, then we can start. I'll announce that you and I will wait for Lu Yuan in the Holy City beneath Mount Olympus. Once he's in there, you just have to activate the Vatican's holy relics to seal off that area," said the Holy Knight.

The Holy Knight rose to his feet, and a powerful killing intent emanated from him as he said, "Lu Yuan has shattered the balance between the East and the West. For everyone's sake, someone as powerful as him cannot be allowed to exist—at least not now."

From the very beginning, he had always wanted to kill Lu Yuan. Huaxia was already a formidable nation in its own right, and the presence of such a terrifying existence was just too much.

With the balance broken, they could certainly be annexed in the future. The Holy Knight would never let that happen. Hence, killing Lu Yuan was the wisest choice.

"The Holy City?" The Celestial Archangel noticed a certain detail and asked, "The entire city will be obliterated alongside him. You're willing to sacrifice it?"

He truly hadn't expected that the other party could go to such lengths. After all, the Holy City was extremely important for Mount Olympus. Its destruction would be a devastating blow to it.

"The East has this popular saying about how one ought to pay the price to obtain something[1]. What's a mere city?" the Holy Knight replied, remaining unconcerned. What was a single city to the ruthless man, who had once slaughtered those opposing him in cold blood?

"Very well." The Celestial Archangel stood up. "But I have one condition..."

"We must gather reporters from all media outlets. I want them to witness Lu Yuan's annihilation. He has disrespected God; he is a true heretic. I want the world to witness what fate befalls those daring enough to blaspheme God."

In his eyes, no Awakened could withstand the incredible power of nukes. Lu Yuan would certainly die. Lu Yuan's death would restore his dignity while serving as a deterrent to everyone.

As for whether this could affect the world's dynamics or ignite the fury of the Eastern World...

The Celestial Archangel couldn't care less. Once Lu Yuan was dead, the balance would resume. From his understanding, Huaxia had always prioritized patience and tolerance. They would never throw all caution to the wind unless they wished to see a world war.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do, Mr. Edward." The Holy Knight nodded in response. If Lu Yuan were to stay alive and given his formidable strength, the Alliance of Humankind he had proposed would be established sooner or later.

The Holy Knight wasn't exactly unwilling to witness the establishment of such an alliance, but he didn't want Huaxia to be its leader, nor did he wish to become subordinate to anyone.

The majority of the councilors of Mount Olympus felt the same way.

"All right. Then, how about we call this plan—Operation: Destroy the King of the East?" the Celestial Archangel said, gazing at the Holy Knight. The two exchanged glances and saw the glimmer of delight in the other's eyes.

With that, they quietly departed and mobilized their people to begin their operation.

The entire operation had to remain absolutely secret, as any leak would lead to failure.

Meanwhile, the entire world soon learned about King Lu's departure for Mount Olympus.

The Holy Knight announced that they would receive Lu Yuan in the Holy City with the utmost sincerity. Many reporters would be present to broadcast the event live, allowing the entire world to witness the historic moment.

The announcement sounded wonderful, as if they truly welcomed Lu Yuan's arrival. When the announcement reached Elder Ji and Elder Yun's ears, however, they sensed something amiss.

The enthusiasm was too much; something was definitely going to happen.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan was already on his way, and they had yet to uncover any useful and reliable intelligence. They could only inform Lu Yuan about where he ought to go while simultaneously picking up the pace on their investigation.

***

The Golden-Winged Great Peng's wings beat with incredible force as it streaked across the clouds ten thousand meters above sea level. It was so fast that it shattered the sound barrier.

If it were an ordinary creature, its speed would have obliterated it into a bloody mist, but as a beast king, the pressure on it remained trivial. In fact, it was even speeding up.

"Master, at our current speed, we should reach that whatever-its-name-is mountain in about ten days," the Golden-Winged Great Peng said.

"Understood." Lu Yuan nodded. Elder Ji and Elder Yun's message had reached him, and he had long known that his destination was the Holy City beneath Mount Olympus instead of the mountain's summit.

Thanks to the communication device, he need not worry about getting lost. Since the world was still expanding, the device could only accurately locate cities, but it was good enough.

Lu Yuan gazed downward at the seas of clouds and the towering mountains around him. This had been his scenery since the journey began; he hadn't seen any human beings nor human settlements.

However, this was normal. Human territories had been shrinking since the Global Awakening, and at this point, the majority of the lands around the world now belonged to mutated beasts.

Even at an altitude of roughly ten thousand meters, Lu Yuan still saw beast kings flying past him. Fortunately, the Golden-Winged Great Peng's mythical-tier bloodline aura deterred them from attacking.

Had he been in an airplane or even in a fighter jet, he would have crashed by now.

Thanks to the world's constant expansion, traveling to Mount Olympus would take a long while, even at the Golden-Winged Great Peng's extreme speed.

However, Lu Yuan wasn't pressed for time. After admiring the scenery, he closed his eyes once more. This journey to Mount Olympus wouldn't be so easy. Neither the Holy Knight nor the Celestial Archangel would agree to establish the Alliance of Humankind.

Of course, Lu Yuan couldn't care less. Strength reigned supreme, after all.

After three months of seclusion, he was in peak condition and was virtually without any weaknesses. In other words, Lu Yuan could be considered to be invincible. For now.

His absolute strength was the reason he dared to visit Mount Olympus by himself. Regardless of their schemes, he could shatter them all with his absolute power!

Screech!

The Golden-Winged Great Peng cried out. It seemed to have sensed its master's mood as it picked up the pace once again.

Time trickled bit by bit, and the entire world awaited the day of their meeting with bated breath.

Ten days later, nearly everyone aware of the matter stayed home, preparing to witness a historical moment.

The entire world held its breath.

Would the Alliance of Humankind be founded today?

Would the two sides part on bad terms, or would a great war begin?

***

In a conference room somewhere in the Mount Tai Trials Academy, Elder Ji was presiding over the first meeting about the affairs on Mount Tai.

Dean Zheng, Ji Yuzhen, Zhu Qingyu, the Northern Emperor, and the Ice Fairy were present. They represented both the top echelons and the cream of the crop students.

These two groups of people all had crucial roles to play in the near future.

The meeting was nearing its conclusion, as Lu Yuan would soon arrive at the Holy City beneath Mount Olympus. They all needed to be ready to monitor the situation in real time.

Bang!

Just then, the door burst open, and Elder Yun rushed in, frantically shouting, "This is bad! We've received news that Mount Olympus has prepared a nuke! And a large number of Awakened have gathered in the Holy City. They seem to be conducting some kind of operation!"

Despite their secrecy, leaks remained inevitable. Upon hearing the news, Elder Yun had made his way here.

At his words, everyone present shot to their feet in shock and fury.

Elder Ji looked extremely furious as he roared, "I knew it! I knew the Holy Knight and Celestial Archangel had been planning something behind the scenes, but I never imagined they'd be so utterly deranged!"

Their intentions were now crystal clear. They planned to annihilate Lu Yuan with a nuke. Elder Ji immediately saw through their plan.

The meeting could no longer continue.

"How despicable!"

"Damn it, they deserve to die!"

"Elder Ji, go and contact King Lu! Now!" Dean Zheng shouted urgently while hoping that Lu Yuan had yet to arrive at his destination.

The others grew worried as well. A nuke was a nuke! Even though Lu Yuan was strong, surely he couldn't withstand one, could he? And even if he somehow survived, he would surely be severely injured?

The Holy Knight and Celestial Archangel could just finish him off by then.

Elder Ji nodded like a chicken pecking rice and transmitted the news to Lu Yuan. He decided to send a text instead of calling Lu Yuan, as the latter was flying well above ten thousand meters on the Golden-Winged Great Peng's back, which meant a text was more reliable than a call.

Everyone stared intently at the device in Elder Ji's hand. Their brows furrowed deeper and deeper with each passing second.

Ding!

After what felt like an eternity, the device in Elder Ji's hand chimed. Everyone loomed over the device and saw Lu Yuan's reply—"No worries."

That was it? That was the reply? Just two words? Everyone froze as a crazy idea popped into their minds at the same time. A nuke and "no worries."

King Lu wasn't... planning on withstanding a nuke, was he?

Meanwhile, high within the clouds over the Western world's territory, Lu Yuan closed the device in his hand and looked up. His gaze landed on the magnificent Mount Olympus.

The majestic and imposing mountain was no less impressive than Mount Tai. The extensive massif looked like a terrifying giant prostrated on the earth. The Holy City was at its base, and it was so tiny it was barely noticeable.

"Seems we're nearly there," he smiled faintly, murmuring to himself, "I wonder how strong a nuke really is..."

1. 舍不得孩子套不住狼. Lit. it says 'you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub ☜