Chapter 962: Admit Defeat

The kings who had bet on the challenge simultaneously unleashed their auras. The solar king's body glowed with the radiance of a thousand suns. The ten suns that shone overhead suddenly seemed to bear down on the castle.

The decaying king began to froth as dark clouds gathered overhead. The ice queen surrounded herself with an aura of ice and frost. Ice crept from beneath her feet, and a snowstorm beset the castle.

The king of black fog sent a turbulent wave of fog overhead, threatening to engulf them all.

The king of evil writhed as gray matter in the form of malformed creatures split off from its body—limbs without bodies, rolling heads, struggling kidney-shaped objects with gills, and so on. Much of these creatures were absorbed back into the main body, leaving a vile stench in the air.

The kings' combined aura tried to repel Li Zongming, but he stood firm.

"Do you intend to renege on your promises? If you were incapable of fulfilling these terms, you shouldn't have started a bet at all!"

Golden wings unfolded from behind Li Zongming, releasing a dazzling golden radiance. A golden roc took to the sky.

The five kings' combined aura formed a whirlpool of energy, one that would have decimated any existence weaker than a superior king.

Try as he might, Li Zongming was no match for the kings. His golden roc was sent stumbling back from the force—Li Zongming hadn't had enough time to grow into his position as a superior king.

His face flushed red. He was about to be forced back when the doors to the meeting room suddenly blasted open. "If you couldn't handle losing the bet, you shouldn't have participated to begin with."

An unusual strength cut apart the five kings' combined aura, sending them all stumbling from the backlash.

The solar king, the decaying king, the ice queen, the king of black fog were forced to the ground, whereas the king of evil's body fluid exploded. The black fog of its eponymous king trembled violently.

Zhang Lie and his warlords rushed into the meeting room. Zhang Lie clasped both his hands behind his back and shouted, "You're all superior kings of antiquity, aren't you? Have you no shame, no reputation to uphold? Deal with the consequences of your actions! No one forced you to allow fifty-to-one odds."

The king of keys and the king of chaos considered Zhang Lie seriously.

He had broken through the five kings' combined aura. A foe of lesser strength would have been disintegrated by the attempt, but Zhang Lie had succeeded and transferred the backlash to the five superior kings instead.

That indicated that even the five superior kings combined might not be a match for Zhang Lie.

The king of black fog wasn't using his full strength, but Zhang Lie certainly was able to counter the solar king, the decaying king, the ice queen, and the king of evil. Was Zhang Lie stronger than they had given him credit for?

Zhang Lie marched behind Li Zongming, informing everyone present with his actions that he supported Li Zongming and no other. He would back Li Zongming up. The warlords followed behind Zhang Lie and stood behind him, lending him an impression of strength.

Upon seeing Zhang Lie return, Li Zongming immediately grew more confident. He snorted. "If I had lost, would any of you have shown me pity?

No, of course not— you wouldn't have been satisfied without sucking me dry of my world's energy!"

Civility? He didn't need any civility—he didn't want to see the other superior kings at all!

If Li Zongming had lost the bet, these superior kings would surely have done their best to wring him dry. They would never relent; they were more than happy to see the Zongming world crushed. Li Zongming had no intention of going easy on them, because he knew they wouldn't do the same for him.

The solar king, decaying king, and ice queen, despite being superior kings of antiquity, found themselves knocked to the ground. They grew furious, their pride bruised.

The decaying king roared, "Don't think we'll be easy opponents just because you were able to handle our troops. We were superior kings before any of you were born!"

The solar king threatened, "The death spirits might be an enemy we have to face together—but it'd only take us a little more effort to get rid of all of you at the same time."

The ice queen shouted imperiously, "Get down on your knees and apologize!"

"Oh? You're all angry because of your pride, aren't you?"

Zhang Lie turned to the king of keys. "King of keys, you're responsible for overseeing this bet, aren't you? Do you intend on reining in these mongrels?"

The solar king gritted his teeth. "What did you say?!"

"Would you prefer that I step in myself?" Zhang Lie stared straight at the king of keys.

The king of keys met his gaze. Within its blue eyes were a myriad worlds, spinning and tossing and turning, cycling into and out of existence. Even so, Zhang Lie managed to keep control of his senses.

The king of keys inclined his head. "I am indeed responsible for the bet. All participants will uphold the terms of the bet."

Zhang Lie turned to the sullen kings. "Did you hear the king of keys? Pay up, or you'll be disappointing him."

Zhang Lie didn't have to deal with the kings on his own; he could simply invoke the authority of the king of keys, who had organized this bet to begin with.

The superior kings might dare to mess with Li Zongming, but certainly not the king of keys.

The king of keys continued, "It would be foolish for us to fight among ourselves while the death spirits wage war around us."

The king of keys had no choice but to step in and mediate the dispute.

If Zhang Lie and Li Zongming were weak, the king of keys would have done nothing or even helped the other kings to get rid of them, but the strength that Zhang Lie had demonstrated gave even the king of keys and the king of chaos some cause to be wary.

If they were to begin fighting, it would be easy for them to get rid of Li Zongming, but as for Zhang Lie… The king of keys knew that it couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Admit your defeat. There's no need for any rebuttal!" Zhang Lie crowed.

The solar king opened his mouth. "But—"

.

The king of keys waved a hand, cutting off the solar king's words. "Enough. As the banker, I'll shoulder half the burden of the bet. As the participants, you'll collectively handle the other half."

The five superior kings widened their mouths. None of them dared to speak, but they were cursing internally. Wasn't the banker supposed to be responsible for paying Li Zongming? Why would they, the participants, have to contribute as well?

That was unreasonable, but none of the kings dared to contest the king of keys.

Meanwhile, the bones of the decaying king, who had been the one to agree to fifty-to-one odds in the first place, were slowly turning an acid green...