Chapter 2498: The Lakeside Assault

After putting on Aku’s clothes, Zu An produced a spark of flame and burned the corpse into ashes. He left the room and saw several monster guards waiting outside. They were all Aku’s subordinates.

“Sir, the other commanders have already headed over,” the guards said worriedly. They were worried that his tardiness in responding to the Lord of Slaughter’s summon could implicate them. That would put them in a bad position.

Zu An looked up and saw countless figures rushing toward the imperial tomb.

The Monster World is indeed at its peak. None of these commanders are weak, and there are even a few who are exceptionally powerful.

Knowing that he would draw unwanted attention if he tried to escape right now, he decided to head over and observe the situation first. He made his way to the imperial tomb together with the monsters. The gates to the tomb were wide open, and many sculptures of the Fiend races’ ancestors had been destroyed. Only the most majestic Fiend God sculpture remained intact.

Now that he was back here, Zu An couldn’t help but notice a peculiar aura shrouding the Fiend God’s sculpture that made it seem solemn and powerful. Beneath the sculpture was a giant stone bench that had bloodthirst lingering on it, likely left by people who had sat on it.

Zu An took a look around; there were almost a hundred monsters gathered here. Aku was one of the weaker ones. The conspicuously stronger monsters in front had all surpassed earth immortal rank.

Soon, a brawny figure walked in. His eyebrows stood at forty-five degrees, looking as if they would pierce through the sky. He looked at the monsters before him with sharp eyes.

“Paying respect to master!” The monsters bowed.

Zu An secretly sized up the Lord of Slaughter. The latter was indeed stronger than the one who had been suppressed for millennia in the future. His bloodthirst was so overpowering that it almost felt palpable. -Those beside him trembled uncontrollably before the Lord of Slaughter’s presence.

“He’s too powerful.” Zu An didn’t dare to check the Lord of Slaughter’s cultivation with his divine sense, lest the latter detect it. He could only fathom a guess. The latter was undoubtedly stronger than him and the Monster Lord.

I wonder how the Monster Lord suppressed him in history.

“Master, may I know why you have summoned us urgently?” one of the monsters in front asked.

“Something is happening among us,” the Lord of Slaughter said.

The commanders were perplexed. Some whispered among themselves as they tried to figure out what those words meant.

“Incestuous King Mojard and his army were recently wiped out by the Ocean races,” the Lord of Slaughter said.

“What?!”

The commanders were taken aback, but there were also a few who exchanged glances with each other.

“I was shocked when I first learned this news. But what shocked me more was...” The Lord of Slaughter stared at the commanders with eyes as frigid as winter, causing them to shudder in fear. “Why has no one reported this matter to me?” His voice sounded like the roar of a primal beast.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

One after another, several monsters exploded into bloody mist. A powerful monster in front cried miserably as he tried to get up and flee, but he was unable to suppress the destructive energy rampaging inside him and exploded.

Blood and flesh splattered on the other monsters, causing them to shudder even more fearfully. The survivors were frightened and confused, and they dared not move lest the Lord of Slaughter turn his wrath upon them.

Goosebumps rose all over Zu An’s body. He had only come here to weather the crisis and escape as soon as everything calmed down. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon the Lord of Slaughter massacring his subordinates. It was a relief he wasn’t one of the targets.

The ‘fireworks’ killed a third of the monsters gathered here. The remaining ones were trembling, looking as if they wanted to fight back yet dared not.

If we’re going to die anyway, we might as well try fighting back.

The Lord of Slaughter is too strong. I’ll surely die if I attack first. I should wait for others to make a move.”

What’s going on? Has our master lost his mind?

Different thoughts floated in the monsters’ minds. Fortunately, the Lord of Slaughter spoke up. “Calm down, I was only purging the traitors. I know that the rest of you are loyal to me, and I don’t mistreat those who are loyal to me.”

“Traitors?”

Most of the monsters were stunned. The Monster World was at its prime, and it was already on the verge of conquering the Cultivation World. Who were these traitors defecting to?

A few smart ones had already figured out what was going on, though.

The Lord of Slaughter harrumphed. “The Monster Lord even dares to bribe my subordinates.”

A huge commotion broke out.

The Lord of Slaughter had gone into seclusion to uncover the secrets of the Fiend races’ Imperial Tomb, and he'd entrusted all military affairs to the Monster Lord. The Monster Lord had always enjoyed great prestige because of his strength and commanding prowess, and years of monopolizing power had elevated his standing to be almost on par with the Lord of Slaughter. However, the two of them still fell out in the end.

“We vow to serve master to our deaths!” the remaining monsters roared. As the Lord of Slaughter’s aides, it was in their best interest to continue serving him. Even if they tried to defect to the Monster Lord’s side, it was unlikely that the latter would trust them.

Zu An’s eyebrows shot up.

Looks like my visit to little Salamay paid off. She does have a way to communicate with the Lord of Slaughter.

The Lord of Slaughter continued, “The Monster Lord removed my aides and put his people in power. I now see that my trust in him was misplaced. That ambitious bastard dreams of overthrowing me! It’s about time for an internal purge.”

One of the commanders anxiously spoke up, “Our army is now under the Monster Lord’s control, and the Incestuous Lord has fallen in defeat. The other troops loyal to our master are stationed in the distant borders and won’t be able to make it back in time. Master, I beseech you to calm down and think things through!”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The Lord of Slaughter laughed. “Relax, I am not a reckless fool. I played a little trick. The Monster Lord will be coming to the imperial tomb within the next few days. We’ll take him down while he is on our turf.”

The monsters were overjoyed to hear that. “We will fight him to our dying breath!” It would be advantageous to them if they were fighting on their home turf, especially since the Lord of Slaughter’s cultivation was higher.

Zu An was awed. The Lord of Slaughter was indeed a formidable individual, to concoct a scheme against the Monster Lord so quickly.

I wonder what he used as bait to lure the Monster Lord over. Is it the imperial tomb’s secret?

He looked contemplatively at the imperial tomb.

The Lord of Slaughter proceeded to craft a detailed plan to deal with the Monster Lord.

Zu An nodded in approval.

It would be hard for the Monster Lord to deal with such arrangements. I wonder how he turned the tables on the Lord of Slaughter in history.

To prevent news from getting out, none of the monsters were allowed to leave the imperial tomb until this matter was settled. The monsters spent the next few days constructing all kinds of formations in the imperial tomb. If they were tired, they would simply find a place to lie down and rest. There was plenty of space inside the imperial tomb anyway.

Zu An thus found a chance to sneak into the imperial tomb. He remembered that this place was structured as a Yin Yang Tomb. The Fiend races’ Imperial Tomb was merely a distraction to conceal the Unknown Region hidden below.

He made his way to a deep lake. Back then, the entrance to the Unknown Region had been located at the bottom of the lake, but he had no idea whether the gates were currently opened or not. He was thinking of taking a look when he suddenly heard a sharp whiz.

A black shadow flew toward his neck. At the same time, a small formation appeared underneath his feet, causing the surrounding air to become viscous. It was a slowing formation, hindering him from dodging the attack.