Chapter 2433: Explosive News

Those words worried the Mermaid Queen. If the North Sea Dragon King’s anger could be felt from so far away, it would be no easy feat for them to rescue the Peacock Princess under his nose.

The two of them stepped into the Dragon Palace and saw four conspicuous men dressed in different-colored dragon robes, each with a pair of horns growing on their heads. They looked grim, and they had dispositions that distinguished them from the others. Their superior strength and their outfits made it clear they were the Four Dragon Kings.

Zu An was perplexed. On the whole, the Four Dragon Kings appeared to be of equal standing even though the East Sea Dragon King was their de facto leader, so why was there only one Dragon King in the future?

“My queen has arrived!”

The Mermaid Queen lived up to her reputation as the brightest star among the Ocean races. Her mere appearance caused a stir. Despite their best attempts to hold it in, the crowd couldn’t hide their delight and zeal.

The East Sea Dragon King’s face also lit up when he saw the Mermaid Queen. He was about to greet her when he noticed Zu An and remembered she was already taken. That dampened his mood, but he didn’t let it show on his face. He approached them with a chuckle and said, “Esteemed guest, pardon me for my lack of hospitality.”

He was socially adept enough to be able to keep up appearances despite not knowing how to address Zu An.

His solemn and perhaps even humble attitude tipped others off that the newly-arrived fellow could be the mysterious individual who had defeated Incestuous King Mojard.

The other three Dragon Kings secretly sized up Zu An. They had steered clear of yesterday’s chaos to avoid being implicated, but their intelligence officials had already filled them in on the events. Not daring to appear disrespectful, they quickly greeted Zu An alongside the East Sea Dragon King.

Zu An took the chance to size up the North Sea Dragon King. The latter looked to be the oldest of the Four Dragon Kings, though his wide shoulders, round belly, and reddened face suggested that he had a terrible temper.

“I heard you captured the Fiend races’ Peacock Princess. Where is she?” Zu An got straight to the point.

The Four Dragon Kings were startled. They wondered to themselves what this mysterious individual was planning.

Does he have a grudge against the Fiend races?

The North Sea Dragon King clenched his fists under his sleeves.

He might be strong, but our Ocean races are no pushover either. Does he dare to be unreasonable when we have so many experts here? I will avenge my son even if it means offending him!

The Mermaid Queen was sensitive to emotional fluctuations. She noticed the Four Dragon Kings’ vigilance and panicked.

Shouldn’t you be more subtle about your intention to save the Peacock Princess?

“That woman killed our crown prince. Our people have just captured her.”

By pointing out the Peacock Princess’ grievous crime, the East Sea Dragon King was trying to prevent the mysterious individual from raising any unreasonable request. He then tilted his body and averted his gaze.

A beautiful woman dressed in green sat in a formation cage located at the corner of the room. Her hair was unkempt, and her clothes were stained with blood. She had to have been engaged in an intense battle earlier before being defeated, resulting in her capture.

Zu An had noticed her through his divine sense from the moment he stepped into the palace, and he was as shocked as when he first met the Mermaid Queen. The Peacock Princess looked identical to the future’s Kong Nanwu!

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Goosebumps covered his body. He couldn’t understand why this was the case. It could be a coincidence with the Mermaid Queen, but the odds of such a coincidence happening twice were too low to brush off as luck.

He even wondered if he had fallen for an illusion and entered a dream, and everything was just his imagination. That would explain why the people resembled those in his memories.

But who would have such powerful means? Is it the Time Scribes’ doing, or a trap the Lord of Slaughter left on the Nature Jade Plate?

However, he quickly dismissed those conjectures. On one hand, his cultivation was high enough for him to know if they had cast such tricks on him. On the other hand, Mi Li hadn’t sensed anything amiss with this spacetime fragment when she appeared earlier.

Apart from that, the only ones who resembled people he knew in the future were the Mermaid Queen and the Peacock Princess; the others in the Dragon Palace were foreign faces.

Besides, he had the Lord of Slaughter’s tooth; illusions weren't supposed to work on him.

So what could the reason behind this be...

Just then, the Mermaid Queen nudged him with a cough. She was perplexed as to why he was staring fixedly at the Peacock Princess.

Is he attracted by her beauty? Surely not. He didn’t display such a strong reaction when he first saw me.

She had absolute confidence in her beauty, and she didn’t think the man before her could be tempted by appearances.

So why is he acting this way?

The others in the palace also sensed an anomaly.

Bro, you already have the Mermaid Queen beside you. Where do you find the courage to stare so intently at another beautiful woman?

Even the Peacock Princess felt uncomfortable. She instinctively retreated a step, feeling weirded out by his incessant gaze. But when she met his gaze, she was surprised to discover she didn’t feel loathing for him. It was baffling, considering how she hadn’t hesitated to kill the North Sea’s crown prince for teasing her.

Upon hearing the Mermaid Queen’s reminder, Zu An returned to reality and said, “You have it wrong. She isn’t the murderer of the North Sea’s crown prince.”

Shock rippled across the palace. Many eyes narrowed in response.

Does this mean he’s intending to side with that woman?

The Mermaid Queen was confused too. She had helped him analyze the pros and cons of different options on their way here. Was he intending to go about the forceful method despite that?

The East Sea Dragon King opened his mouth, but no words came out.

I don’t dare to provoke Mojard, but as for you... Fine, I don’t dare to provoke you either. What’s been going on these last few days? Why are there so many people I can’t mess with?

The North Sea Dragon King, however, was too overwhelmed by the grief of having lost his son to hold himself back. “You might have the superior cultivation here, but aren’t you disrespecting us, the Ocean races, too much here by blatantly siding with the murderer?”

The other three Dragon Kings exchanged looks before taking half a step back.

Don’t drag us into this.

That being said, they knew that as much as they wanted to, there was no way for them to stay out of this anymore.

Since ancient times, the Four Dragon Kings had always stood on the same front. They were viewed as a collective entity, sharing glory and humiliation. If they refused to back the North Sea Dragon King here, their reputation would fall into shambles.

If a crack surfaced between them, others in the Ocean races could start refusing to submit to them. So, the three Dragon Kings could only muster their courage to take a step back in support of the North Sea Dragon King.

“I’m not siding with the murderer. She was with me for the entirety of last night, so how could she have killed the North Sea’s crown prince?” Zu An replied calmly.

Those words stirred a huge commotion.

The Peacock Princess stared in disbelief at him, her almond eyes wide. The Mermaid Queen’s eyes were also filled with bewilderment.