Chapter 1255: Number One Pretty Boy (3)

Sea of Stars.

Great Xia King cupped his fists at Great Ming King.

That was his expression of gratitude.

If it wasn't for Great Ming's help, Great Xia would have been destroyed during the conflict. His son, his grandson, and even his great grandson would all die.

Great Xia could have lost everything. They had taken all their trump cards out, but the enemies were still stronger. Great Ming King nodded with a smile before turning to look in the direction of Human Realm. His son? Was this a bluff?

Was his son really that strong?

No way.

Even as Zhu Tiandao's father, Great Ming King was finding it hard to believe this.

So be it. At the very least, this could help in keeping those people wary. Even if they were suspicious, they still had to spare some manpower to watch over him lest he really attempted his dao affirmation.

However, Great Ming King still couldn't help but sigh. It wouldn't be easy for Zhu Tiandao to affirm his dao in the future. Would a better chance to affirm his dao come in the future? Regardless of whether he was really strong enough to kill four Invincibles, the myriad races would not risk it and allow him to affirm his dao. His dao affirmation would probably be even more difficult than Xia Longwu's.

***

Zhu Tiandao was laughing heartily, but he was feeling terrible inwardly.

At this point, he was already resigned to remain a Pseudo Invincible forever. Becoming an Invincible would be nothing but a dream for him now. Thanks to this conflict, he had transformed into the number one Pseudo Invincible in existence. He was too famous to affirm his dao successfully.

This was probably the only way he could squeeze more value out of himself. At that thought, he sent the Invincible in charge of guarding the realm entrance a voice transmission, "Uncle Song, keep an eye out. I'll retreat the moment they start fighting. Remember to notify me when the fight starts."

"You're the killer of four Invincibles. Is there a need for you to fear them?"

Great Song King was merely teasing him. Zhu Tiandao couldn't be bothered to answer. Was there a need for him to fear them? Definitely! He sighed inwardly. This was all he could do. The rest was up to Xia Longwu.

Suddenly, someone else walked out of the portal. When the newcomer saw Zhu Tiandao, he started cursing as he walked back into the portal, "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else? Why are you here?"

The newcomer was none other than Niu Baidao. He was planning to sneakily affirm his dao while nobody was noticing. Alas, he was greeted by the sight of multiple Invincibles right after stepping out of the portal. He had no choice but to try his luck elsewhere. Perhaps the portal Great Han King used earlier was still available. That damn Zhu Tiandao was clearly there earlier. Why was he here?

How annoying. Old Niu had finally gotten his hands on a carrier treasure after killing a Pseudo Invincible. With a carrier treasure in hand, he naturally had to make an attempt at dao affirmation. As for whether he could succeed, well, that was up to fate, even if he had always been unlucky.

***

Before long, Niu Baidao left through a different portal.

He wasted no time and started fusing his three bodies while fleeing madly. If he was lucky enough, he would be able to complete the fusion. If he was unlucky, he would die. That was all.

At the same time, Yun Chen and Nan Wujiang were also attempting their dao affirmations elsewhere. If the myriad race Invincibles decided to go after them, that would reduce the pressure on Xia Longwu slightly. If they were left alone, they would complete their dao affirmations.

In fact, Marquis Xia was the only one among them who was not attempting a dao affirmation. He was following behind Great Han King's group. When he looked around, he noted that some myriad race Invincibles were indeed splitting up to go after those affirming their dao. He could only sigh inwardly and wish them luck.

These were all comrades who had just fought alongside him not long ago. He wanted to see them succeed as well. Alas, it was unlikely that they would succeed. The Invincible Realm was not guaranteed for every single Pseudo Invincible.

Meanwhile, Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng had disappeared. They had not attempted to affirm their dao. Or to be precise, that was not an alternative for them.

Marquis Xia could make an attempt as well. In fact, he had the carrier treasure to make the attempt. After all, so many Pseudo Invincibles had died in the Human Realm earlier. He had managed to pick one up from one of the dead Pseudo Invincibles. However, he had not opted to do so.

He gave Xia Longwu a glance before looking at Great Xia King. With a sigh, he said "Father, I'm leaving. Great Xia is currently in a mess. I need to go back and take care of things. Longwu, if success is really impossible, just give up. We can remain Pseudo Invincibles."

Xia Longwu said nothing.

"You're as stubborn as your old man."

After saying that, Marquis Xia turned to leave. No Invincible bothered to stop him since he wasn't affirming his dao. In any case, Great Xia King and the others were here so they wouldn't be able to kill him anyway. If they dared to kill him when he wasn't even affirming his dao, Great Xia King could also start assassinating their descendants for no reason. Even at this point, there was still a bottom line for the Invincibles.

Marquis Xia started heading toward the portal previously used by the Myriad Race Cult while cursing nonstop. Nobody tried to stop or kill him.

Before long, he reached the portal.

Instead of entering, he stood there silently. His nephew was still in the Allheaven Battlefield. His father was still in the Allheaven Battlefield as well. As for Great Xia...it was already heavily damaged. His return wouldn't change anything.

After a short while, several heavily injured individuals appeared.

While coughing blood, Administrator Hu asked, "Marquis, will the prefect succeed?"

"Unlikely." Marquis Xia asked, "How are things?"

"Bad..."

Administrator Hu replied with sorrow, "Almost everyone is dead. Out of our twenty-six Sunmoons, seventeen died."

Marquis Xia sank into silence.

Seventeen Sunmoons.

Out of all the human prefectures, Great Xia had lost the highest number of Sunmoons in the conflict. Great Qin and Great Ming had each lost about ten while Great Wu had lost three or four. As for the other prefectures, they had lost about one or two each.

At the peak of the battle, around eighty human Sunmoons had thrown themselves into the battle.

Nearly forty of them had died.

Of course, the myriad races had lost even more.

Su Yu and Zhu Tianfang had killed about seventy of Sunmoons. Eleven Pseudo Invincibles had perished, and an additional forty to fifty Sunmoons had also died in the hands of the other human combatants. All in all, the myriad races had lost over a hundred Sunmoons.

However, humanity had actually lost more Sunmoons after the battle. In his anger, Wan Tiansheng had killed more than forty human Sunmoons, bringing the number of dead human Sunmoons beyond a hundred.

This was the biggest loss humanity had suffered in centuries.

"Seventeen dead..."

Marquis Xia smiled helplessly. So they were left with only nine Sunmoons.

Administrator Hu and General Zhao were both still alive. Of the five Sunmoons who had returned from the five minor realms under their rule, only one survived. The chief commander of Great Xia Army was dead. The leaders of the Martial Dragon Guard were nearly fully wiped out as well, with only one survivor.

Ji Hong, the white dragon, Zheng Ping, Old Madam Wu, and the Devil Subduing Army's chief commander were all still alive.

With a sigh, Marquis Xia asked, "Where are Hong Tan and the others?"

Administrator Hu answered, "They left. After Principal Wan left, Hong Tan and the others were unwilling to remain. The vendetta between them and some of the other human factions will end with this. I don't know where they went. I didn't ask. I didn't try to stop them either..."

Marquis Xia nodded. So be it.

Perhaps leaving was the right choice.

He knew that they might not have left because they didn't want to stay anymore. Rather, they knew that Great Xia could no longer afford more damage. Thus, they had removed themselves to preserve Great Xia.

As one of the so-called top three human prefectures, they were left with only a small number of Sunmoons.

The survivors weren't even those who were particularly strong among Sunmoons. Rather, they had been spared because the stronger enemies were all focused on the stronger humans. With their heavy injuries, it was unknown if they could even recover to their peak. Perhaps after this, they would spend the rest of their lives nursing their injuries like the elderly who had survived the battle over four hundred years ago.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

One could say that this conflict had crippled Great Xia.

Administrator Hu gazed into the distance and said, "If the prefect succeeds, with him, Great Xia King, and you around, there is still hope for Great Xia."

If Xia Longwu were to succeed, they would have two Invincibles and one Pseudo Invincible among their ranks. Even with a greatly reduced number of Mountainseas and Sunmoons, Great Xia would still be able to stand tall.

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "Let's stop talking about this. It is all up to fate. How about Huyou? Did he use the Sky Sundering Saber in our ancestral house?"

"Yes. There were too many enemies..."

Marquis Xia nodded, "Were a lot of people killed in the city?"

After a short silence, Administrator Hu nodded, "Yes. All above Skysoar Realm who had ignored the call to battle were killed. There was even one Sunmoon among them. Zhou Mingren. He's now dead."

At that, Marquis Xia laughed and asked, "The people there must be cursing the Xia Family relentlessly right about now. After all, the people we killed were not alone. Their families are still around. Some are still serving in the military. They must be very disappointed to receive such treatment after their service to the Xia Family."

"They won't." Administrator Hu said, "Great Xia has never been lenient to deserters."

"But that's still too ruthless. It's not like I'm Wan Tiansheng." Marquis Xia sighed and said, "We need to prepare an answer. After all, Huyou still needs to inherit the prefecture. Go back and throw all the blame on me. I ordered the slaughter. Huyou was merely following orders. They can curse me all they want. I don't care."

"Marquis..."

"It's fine. What's a little infamy?" Marquis Xia laughed, "Go. Throw all the blame on me. I'll wait here and see if my nephew can complete his dao affirmation. If he succeeds, the Xia Family will count two Invincibles in our ranks. That is enough power for us to keep our spines straight."

"Yes!"

Administrator Hu left with his order.

Marquis Xia continued staring in Xia Longwu's direction silently. As he stared, he started mumbling how he had been the professional scapegoat for his brother and his nephew all his life. For their sake, he became the most infamous member of the Xia Family. They owed him a lot.

How could that ungrateful nephew give him all those beatings when that nephew was still a young man? Even after becoming a prefect, that ungrateful nephew had persisted in giving him a beating every now and then.

He was only a few years older than that ungrateful nephew, yet he had to care for that nephew like he were a father. How could that ungrateful nephew beat him up after all his sacrifices?

He had even raised his ungrateful nephew's son for his nephew, to the point that many suspected that Huyou was his son instead of his nephew's son. He was considered an unofficial student of Ye Batian. And since his nephew was a student of Wan Tiansheng, his nephew was also his junior brother. What a mess of seniority!

Marquis Xia continued grumbling as he laughed and cried at the same time.

His old friends had all left. Hong Tan was gone. Liu Wenyan was gone. Old Wan was gone. Meanwhile, the people of Great Xia only knew him as a greedy merchant and parasite despite his numerous sacrifices for Great Xia.

Perhaps...this would be his final act as the professional scapegoat of Great Xia.

That stubborn nephew of his should learn to be less stubborn in the future.

Marquis Xia sat down on the ground and lowered his head as he thought about the past silently.

He had not lived a life as glorious as Wan Tiansheng's. He had not lived a life as miserable as Liu Wenyan's. His life was rather dull and consistent. He had done nothing except bear one blame after another.

He recalled a past thought of his.

When he died, his epitaph would be as such:

Xia Xia'er, second son of Great Xia King. Intelligent and talented since young, loved and admired by the masses in his youth. In his middle age, he developed an obsession for business and money. He was willing to do anything in pursuit of wealth. Eventually, he came to be known as the Ruthless Marquis.

Marquis Xia mused that the final part of the epitaph could perhaps be given to Wan Tiansheng instead with a slight modification.

And when he finally thought of all his crushes during his youth, he started cursing, "Damn you, Liu Wenyan! All the ladies who used to fancy you...were the same ladies I fancied!"

He started wailing.

Back then, he wasn't even chubby. Back then, he was known as the number one pretty boy of Great Xia!