NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1183 - Ma Dong's Hidden Move
Chapter 1183: Ma Dong’s Hidden Move
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Why is there a need for us to gather if we’re merely discussing some trivial matters.” Sounds of agreement could be heard in the hall. Hebre had always been one who was respected. However, his loss of face in the Patriarch Society’s meeting had caused his prestige to fall. Even some ordinary elders dared to question him casually now.
Hebre’s heart was cold, but his face remained normal. Most of the elders in the Holy City had now taken refuge under Wang Zhanfeng and Ma Dong. It had become a norm to ridicule Hebre currently. However, today would be the day when things would change.
He looked around, and finally, his gaze stayed on Ma Dong’s face. “Everyone, Wang Zhong has fallen, and our Earth has lost a major pillar. Is this considered a major event?”
The buzzing conference hall instantly quietened down. Everyone knew how much Wang Zhong mattered to Earth. They knew very well that Wang Zhong was the biggest backer for all of them, perhaps even entirely for the Earth in the Star Alliance. Earth’s current status in the Star Alliance and its quick expansion were all because of Wang Zhong.
Wang Zhanfeng and Shirley immediately stood up from their seats. “Elder Hebre, I do not care when you spout nonsense normally. But on such an occasion, how dare you spread rumors about Wang Zhong to cause chaos! Do you think that us husband and wife are mild-tempered and do not dare to touch you?”
“Spread rumors?” Hebre sneered. “If the Star Alliance were to pass down the news, Minister Ma would be the first to know. Besides, I heard that Minister Ma has a good relationship with the Illusion Race and has also established an intelligence network in the Star Alliance with their help. Minister Ma, please do not tell me you have not heard about this?”
“My intelligence network does not collect this type of false news purposely being spread around.” Ma Dong’s heart had sunk rapidly, but his face remained calm.
“Then what about this?”
Pap!
A stack of copied documents was thrown on the conference table by Hebre. Looking at the Star Alliance seal on it, Ma Dong knew what was written in it even if he hadn’t read the content. This was exactly the so-called “Punishment Order” for Earth he had just received from the Heavenly Gates!
How was this possible?!
Hebre had been stationed on Earth and had no means to contact the Star Alliance. How could he have learned about such secret information? And judging from the time he called for this meeting, he had gotten the information even earlier than himself! This was simply unbelievable. Hebre did not have such resources. There was probably a perpetrator in the dark behind this matter.
This change came too suddenly, and Ma Dong was unprepared, leaving him unable to speak for a while.
Just by looking at Ma Dong’s expression, everyone knew that the credibility of this document was extremely high. Everyone then proceeded to take one each, and after reading a few lines, sounds of discussions echoed throughout the conference hall.
“Wang… Wang Zhong had fallen in the underground world? He has been killed by a Gold Core elder of the Ninth Shade Faction?!”
“The Star Alliance has revoked the level-5 civilization assessment for Earth and has even ordered all the higher-ups of the Earth not to leave?!”
“What is happening?!”
The conference hall suddenly became chaotic. The news was too shocking and hard to believe. However, the stamp of the Star Alliance was authentic, and there was absolutely no possibility of fraud.
“Ma Dong?!” Wang Zhanfeng couldn’t help but look at him with questioning eyes.
“Ma Dong! You have always been in charge of communicating with the Star Alliance. You must give everyone an explanation!”
“Is this real? How could you have hidden such important news from us?!”
Ma Dong’s face was a little gloomy. Hebre’s attack came so fast that he had no time to react to it at all. After all, the matter of the Star Alliance’s prohibition on the Earth’s higher-ups leaving the planet had to be publicly announced sooner or later. Otherwise, it would be considered a violation of the law of the Star Alliance, which would accelerate the end for Earth. Originally, he had planned to find another excuse to explain this, but now that the proper documents had been placed in front of everyone, who would believe him if he simply came up with another excuse?
“Then this is true?” Just looking at Ma Dong’s expression, everyone had already understood.
Both Shirley and Wang Zhanfeng’s faces were a little pale. Whether it was the pain of losing their child or the severe situation facing the Earth now, the two felt distraught.
Ma Dong lifted his spirits first. He could only try and respond to all the questions that were posed to him. Hebre came today fully prepared, and it did not look like he would simply walk away before he was happy.
“…I too just got the news.” Wang Zhanfeng and Shirley didn’t say a word. Faced with the doubts of many elders, Ma Dong said calmly, “But as of now, things have yet to be confirmed. Wang Zhong is suspected to be dead at this stage. Everyone here has been through thick and thin. If we were to become chaotic at this point, others will only find us laughable!”
The noise in the conference hall became a lot quieter in an instant, and Hebre next to him agreed. “What Ma Dong said is right. Our top priority now should be how to deal with this matter and preserve Earth.”
Everyone didn’t expect that Hebre, who had never agreed on any matter with Ma Dong, would second the idea. They were all taken aback.
“Let’s put aside Wang Zhong’s importance to Earth,” Hebre said. “Everything has a cause. Wang Zhong had offended too many people in the Heavenly Gates. Now that he has died, it’s only expected that Earth would be involved in such a crisis.”
“Elder Hebre!” Ma Dong said coldly. “Wang Zhong’s death is still uncertain. Not to mention that even if he is dead, you are not allowed to slander him here with the contributions he has made for Earth!”
There was a lot of buzzing in the conference hall. Everyone knew the position of the Earth in the Star Alliance. Although he had indeed offended too many people there, the Earth was also part of the reason. Earth was only able to reach today’s heights with Wang Zhong’s strength. All the elders and Sacred Teachers present knew this in their hearts. They had all supported Wang Zhong from the beginning and gained a lot of benefits from his strong rise. Now that Wang Zhong had died, they could not just turn their back on him.
“It’s too much for you to say that, Elder Hebre!”
“Talking about Wang Zhong’s demerits now. Aren’t you just an ungrateful villain?” a Sacred Teacher angrily rebuked. “Hebre, if you just want to say such nonsense, this meeting can be called off now!”
“Everyone, you have misunderstood me.” Hebre smiled slightly. “I didn’t mean to disparage Wang Zhong. Saying such a thing was just to explain the facts so that everyone knows the trouble Earth is in now.”
If that was the reason, it could still be accepted. Everyone would not mind continuing to listen to him.
“Earth has too many enemies now. Without Wang Zhong and without the support from the Heavenly Gates, do you think we can continue to stay in the Star Alliance with our strength?”
“Then, do you intend for us to leave the Star Alliance? Do not forget the Ocean Empire Planet incident not long ago. Do you want to repeat the same mistake?”
“That’s not true.” Hebre laughed. “As long as we turn our enemies into friends, all problems can be solved!”
Everyone was slightly taken aback. “It’s simple to say, but how can the enemy become our friend?!”
“Ma Dong controls all the intelligence systems for Earth. How do you think I knew about Wang Zhong’s death before him?”
Hebre fetched something from his sleeve and placed it on the table respectfully; it was a badge of a Blood Demon clan.
Ma Dong’s pupils shrank suddenly, and the faces of Wang Zhanfeng and the others changed accordingly. Hebre then said loudly, “Elder Gaiyi of the Blood Demon Race has sent someone to negotiate with me. The elder has promised that as long as Earth surrenders to the Blood Demon Race and turns into a subsidiary civilization of the Blood Demon Race, they will protect Earth and shield us from trouble!”
The conference hall became quiet as everyone was astonished. Everyone knew of the grievances between Wang Zhong and the Blood Demons. Many people in the Heavenly Gates even suspected that Wang Zhong’s death this time was their work. Hebre dared to maintain contact with the Blood Demon Race even at this time?!
The news was so explosive that everyone couldn’t speak for a while, and even their brains couldn’t get over the fact.
“In the beginning, Wang Zhong was able to find the Heavenly Shell Race as a backer, but now we can also have the Blood Demon Race as our backer! Turning enemies into friends is as simple as this!” Hebre’s voice sounded loudly in the conference hall. “I know what you are all thinking about. Do you feel that I am a traitor? Feel that I have betrayed the Earth? It’s not like that. I’m pretty sure that Wang Zhong’s death has nothing to do with the Blood Demons.
“I also respect Wang Zhong very much. To have gone to the Land alone with the strength of a Foundation Stage, and being able to achieve such magnificent results, even Elder Gaiyi of the Blood Demon clan admired him very much! Everyone knows that the Blood Demon Race has always looked towards the Fire Demons as their head. After the Heavenly Gates life and death battle, the tension between the Fire Demons and Wang Zhong has eased a lot. On the contrary, the Heavenly Shell Race that is said to be our ally did not put effort into protecting Wang Zhong initially and now even sees Earth as a burden.
“The punishment from the Star Alliance this time is the most obvious example. Without Wang Zhong, the Heavenly Shell Race is not willing to take on the burden of Earth, a low-level civilization. They are eager to get rid of us, and if it weren’t for the Fire Demon Race who spoke for Earth in the meeting, do you think that the penalty this time would have been so simple?”
After putting on a look of respect for Wang Zhong, the Sacred Teachers present calmed down a lot. At this time, some people said, “Elder Hebre might be thinking of things too simply. None of us have seen the meeting with our own eyes. Just because the messengers of the Blood Demon Race said that they had spoken for us, should we believe it? Who can prove it? Besides, since we are useless in the eyes of the Heavenly Shell Race, how are we able to attract the attention of the Blood Demon Race? Elder Hebre, do not be foolish and be used so easily!”
“Haha, this matter is easy to analyze. The Blood Demon Race is a faction of the Fire Demon Race, and relying on the Blood Demon Race is equivalent to taking refuge in the Fire Demon Race. And everyone here knows about the factional struggle between the Fire Demon Race and the Heavenly Shell Race. Although the overall strength of Earth is not good, now in the eyes of others, it is still part of the Heavenly Shell Race faction. If the Fire Demon Race wins us over at this time, it will inevitably have a certain blow to the reputation of the Heavenly Shell Race. This is our purpose for the Fire Demon Race and the reason why they let the Blood Demon Race rope us in. Our purpose is time-limited. If we do not do it now, when the Heavenly Shell Race gets rid of us, we will be of no use to the Blood Demons and Fire Demons!
“Our alliance with the Heavenly Shell Race was only because of Wang Zhong. Now that Wang Zhong is dead, this alliance will disappear.” Hebre talked freely. Everything should be dealt with depending on the situation. It was as if he had already prepared a script beforehand, “There are some opportunities that if you miss them, you won’t have them again. This is the last bit of hope for our planet. If we don’t grasp it, we will regret it in the future!”
“They are just using us,” many elders frowned, “After we join their faction and dampen the reputation of the Heavenly Shell Race, the Blood Demon Race will also abandon us like a spoilt shoe. How is that different from our current situation? And is the Heavenly Shell Race easy to provoke? If we do according to what you propose, we would at most gain a few days to breathe. On the contrary, others will all say that Earth has no integrity!”
“Gaining a few days is better than nothing!” Hebre said sternly. “Although we will offend the Heavenly Shell Race, they are not as harsh as the Blood Demon Race and Fire Demon Race. We have to seize even the first hope of living!”
This time, no one in the conference hall objected anymore, and it was obvious that many elders had already been moved by the idea.
To be honest, the people present were all in high positions. All of them were smart when it came to political matters. People would never believe in any kind of favor. There were no eternal friends and no eternal enemies. This sentence applied not only on Earth, but also in the Star Alliance. Furthermore, the current Earth was about to fall. The Star Alliance’s judgment had already come down. They had already reached the critical moment of life or death. Since there was such a life-saving bud, no matter whether it had thorns or not, why should we not grab it? Hebre was right. No matter how bad the situation would be, it could not be worse than it was now.
Silence was acquiescence. Hebre’s words had touched many elders.
Wang Zhanfeng’s face was a bit ugly. The Blood Demons and Fire Demons were the biggest suspects in Wang Zhong’s death. He couldn’t choose to take refuge in the Blood Demon Race.
However, before Ma Dong’s intelligence had the time to report back to him, Hebre had already received the “information” from the Fire Demon Race. How could he then prove that he had the resources to make accurate judgments and convince the elders to take the choice with a much higher risk to go against both of the Blood and Fire Demon Races and live and die together with Earth?
Shirley, who was next to him, had already become a little delirious because of the news of Wang Zhong’s death. Wang Zhanfeng knew that she was the one who loved Wang Zhong the most. Hearing the news of Wang Zhong’s death, it was already very difficult for her to continue sitting in this conference hall without fainting. He would not expect her to come up with any suggestions.
At this time, only Ma Dong could be relied upon, so he frequently turned his head to Ma Dong. This young man had now become Wang Zhanfeng and Shirley’s right-hand man in the Patriarch Society and also the chief consultant for the two. However, now that he needed to speak, nothing managed to come out of his mouth.
Ma Dong had been watching coldly on the sidelines the whole time. If it was during peacetime, he would definitely fight with Hebre. With his prestige in the Patriarch Society and with Wang Zhanfeng and Shirley’s backing, Hebre had been unable to cause much trouble. However, the situation today was a bit different.
The news of Wang Zhong’s death had too much impact on the people of the Patriarch Society. The orders from the senior leaders of the Star Alliance came with a lot of pressure. Ma Dong knew what the elders of the Patriarch Society would choose even without thinking.
Reasoning with them? There was no such thing in this world. Only the strong were worthy of reasoning with others. The vocal support in the hall did not mean anything. He believed that Hebre also understood this. To dare make trouble and cause chaos in today’s meeting, he definitely had the support of the Blood Demon Race. Perhaps, the Blood Demon Race had already arrived on Earth, or they were already even near this conference hall. That was the biggest threat today!
Thus, he didn’t waste energy and words at all to talk to Hebre. There was no point to it at all. He had to put all his energy into the final stage of the decisive battle.
“Then, Elder Hebre,” Ma Dong finally said, “where is the sincerity of the Blood Demons? They surely did not use a badge to represent their sincerity right?”
“Minister Ma is smart.” Hebre laughed. Everything happening now was according to what he had planned. Even Ma Dong, the thorn in his plans, seemed to have finally softened. This was normal. Wang Zhong was Ma Dong’s backer in the Patriarch Society. Now that the backer had fallen, no one would bother looking up to a Heavenly Soul Stage soldier who relied on medicines to reach this cultivation level.
Wang Zhong was once considered the cornerstone of their alliance with the Heavenly Shell Race and thus became a god-like existence on Earth. It was now time for Hebre to enjoy the feeling of being a “god”.
Hebre continued, “To show their sincerity, the Blood Demon Race has sent an envoy. Right now, Lord Lyon is waiting at my house for my reply. This is one of the captains of the Blood Demon Guards, one of their strongest Solid Cores! He is also the most powerful one we have ever welcomed on Earth. Even when Wang Zhong joined the faction of the Heavenly Shell Race, the Heavenly Shell Race never sent an official messenger here! What’s more, he is a Solid Core!
“This also shows the importance and sincerity the Blood Demons have towards us! Lord Lyon has already prepared the documents to be signed. As long as we agree to their terms, he can immediately come over and sign with the Patriarch Society to turn Earth into a subsidiary civilization of the Blood Demon Race. This is the status of subsidiary civilization for a level-7 civilization! Compared to our former level-4.5, it is of a much higher status. Everyone, the opportunity is here!”
The conference hall was quiet again, and those who were willing to agree naturally nodded quietly. Joining the Blood Demon Clan was equivalent to joining the Fire Demon Clan. When Earth joined the Heavenly Shell Race faction previously, they had not sent any formal messengers to contact Earth. At that time, the people of Earth were immersed in joy and felt that as the Heavenly Shell Race was a high-level civilization, they must have had too many matters to handle. Thus, they did not care about it. But now, compared to the attitude of the Blood and Fire Demons, they seemed lacking in sincerity.
But even more people in the conference hall who had kept their heads sober were shocked and wary.
A Solid Core? It was just being a messenger. Why was there a need to ask a Solid Core to make the trip in person?
The Earth today was no longer as ignorant as it used to be. It was good to know the many rules of the Star Alliance or to understand the strength of a Void Core…
This was not a messenger, but a nuclear weapon to monitor or threaten the entire planet! Everyone present had no doubt that if the negotiation broke down today, the Solid Core powerhouse would immediately destroy the entire Patriarch Society without hesitation! For him, it was just a matter of snapping his fingers.
Otherwise, how could the “official messenger” have no paperwork? How could he meet with Hebre alone instead of conversing with the higher-ups of Earth first?
This was betrayal! Hebre had betrayed the entire Earth!
Wang Zhanfeng stood up from his seat at once, but before he could say anything, he saw Ma Dong wink at him secretly.
“Then please invite Lord Lyon to come over,” Ma Dong said. “How could we discuss such a big matter without a conversation with the Lord?”
“Hahaha! Minister Ma has thought it through well!” Hebre laughed loudly.
Today, I will let you be proud for a while. When the negotiation with the Blood Demon Race was completed and the documents signed, whether it was Ma Dong or Wang Zhanfeng and Shirley, including the guys in the Patriarch Society who had opposed him, they would no longer have any value. At that time, all these people would die!
In the future, he would be the absolute master of Earth!
One of Hebre’s men went to his house to invite the Solid Core powerhouse from the Blood Demon Race over.
The conference hall was idle for a while. They all waited and were all talking constantly. Some people discussed the matter of the Blood Demon Race, while some discussed the future development direction for Earth…
Shirley’s face looked a little better than before, but she was still pale. She closed her eyes and rested, accompanied by Wang Zhanfeng and Ma Dong. They seemed to have talked to Shirley. The matter being the fact that Wang Zhong’s death was only being suspected right now, and he might not have died at all.
Hebre had been constantly observing. When he sent his men out earlier, he saw that Ma Dong seemed to have ordered something to the people below, but he didn’t care.
Ma Dong must have other plans. Hebre could even see the rejection by Wang Zhanfeng and some of the Wang family’s diehard loyalists. But what could they do? Under the deterrence of the strong powerhouse from the Blood Demon Race, what other tricks could these people find? In this world, strength determined everything after all. Except for the former Wang Zhong, they could field no resistance at all against a Solid Core. They could only be obediently arrested and be dealt with at the mercy of others! As soon as Lord Lyon came, everything would be concluded!
Tick, tick, tick. Approximately ten minutes passed. Ma Dong suddenly felt something and smiled at the people in the conference hall before saying, “Everyone, Lord Lyon seems to have arrived.”
When his voice fell, a blast from the base outside the conference hall was then heard, followed by a surge of violent energy that came in frantically.
Boom!
The entire conference hall and even the entire base trembled. The surrounding walls were cracked, and the roof, which could not withstand the violent shock, collapsed and fell.
Many elders in the conference hall were Sacred Teachers, and the few weak ones like Ma Dong were also at least a Heavenly Soul. The building’s collapse was no threat to them at all, except that it had come too suddenly, causing them to be covered in dust.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~~
A group of figures flew up from the dusty ruins. Their vision suddenly widened. In the field, a huge Blood Demon had directly revealed its true form, with a pile of horns on its head. It looked scary and horrifying. Merely the outward surge of its terrifying and violent aura had already caused the entire base to tremble! Just looking at it from a distance had already made these Sacred Teachers’ scalps go numb.
Except for Ma Dong, everyone’s expressions changed drastically. Didn’t they say they had come to negotiate? Why were they attacking us?
“What is that?!” The sharp people finally realized that the situation seemed to be different from what they had imagined.
Hebre opened his mouth in shock.
One could only see that although the Blood Demon had unleashed its true form and was strong to the point that it made the Sacred Teachers tremble in fear, it was bound tightly by a transparent silk thread. It was being tied up and suppressed! No matter how hard it struggled in anger, it was unable to break free from it!
And around the place were a total of six powerful and incomparable figures standing upright. These powerful beings were people from Earth. And most of them were women! Each of them exuded spiritual power that made even the Sacred Teachers terrified.
Void Core! Six Void Cores!
Not only that, but each of them also held a silver magical instrument in their hand. The silver rope was transmitted from these magical instruments, and regarding these six people, all the Sacred Teachers present recognized every one of them.
Laura, Sharmie, Mo Xingchen, Oli, Papada, and Small Felix!
To be honest, the reason why so many Sacred Teachers knew of these six people was probably because of Wang Zhong and Ma Dong. Among the many genius children on the Earth, these six were not dazzling, and they had not achieved the Heavenly Soul Stage in the previous two years. Therefore, they were not qualified to immigrate to the Land!
However, they had now all become Void Cores? Six Void Cores? What was this? Where did they come from?
All the elders were stunned. The change in the state of affairs was so fast that it was simply dizzying and incomprehensible.
“Earthlings, you dare!” Lyon, the Blood Demon, roared angrily. He was a dignified Solid Core! Yet, here he was, being suppressed by a few Void Cores! Of course, it wasn’t due to the strength of these Void Cores, but the magical artifacts in their hands!
If he did not see wrongly, it was the Six Awning Rope from the Heavenly Gates’ Heavenly Objects Pavilion! Separately, they were just a few level-8 magical artifacts, and Void Cores would be able to control them, but when used together as a complete set, their power would be comparable to that of a rank-6 magical artifact.
There was no problem in using them to suppress a Solid Core forcibly and to trap him.
The ropes also happened to be sucking Lyon’s spiritual power. If this continued, let alone break free, he would soon collapse and even be sucked dry!
This was truly unexpected! He had thought that this trip to the Earth would just be a relaxing one. Who could have known that a mere level-4 civilization had so many powerhouses?! Moreover, there were six Void Cores stationed on the Earth?! Weren’t the strong Earthlings only Wang Zhong, the Netherworld King, and Aiolos? What kind of place was this?!
“I came for the friendship between the Blood Demon Race and the Earth. Do you want to be the enemy of the Blood Demon Race?!” he roared angrily, trying to frighten the people of Earth with the name of the Blood Demon Race.
“Friendship?” Ma Dong smiled contemptuously. “You were just trying to take over! Everyone knows of the Blood Demons. How dare you talk about friendship?”
“Hebre!” Lyon, the Blood Demon roared. “You dared to trick me?!”
Hebre was already dumbfounded; he never knew that Ma Dong had such a hidden card. He never knew that besides the trio of Wang Zhong, Mu Zi, and Aiolos, there were still six Void Cores on Earth! He also never knew that these six Void Cores could subdue a powerful Blood Demon Solid Core powerhouse! Only the strong would be respected.
He initially wanted to come to scare the Patriarch Society, but he had been countered! Moreover, Ma Dong dared to directly attack the Blood Demon! He knew what Ma Dong was planning even without thinking!
“I—I…” Chaos filled his mind. Before he could finish saying another word, a thin figure suddenly appeared in front of him, followed by a flash of blue light carrying a powerful and cold spiritual force.
Hebre only felt his pupils shrink suddenly, and his entire head flew up, flipped a few times in the air, and then closed its eyes. Before all his consciousness disappeared, he faintly heard Wang Zhanfeng’s voice.
“Anyone who dares to speak of allying with the Blood Demon Race will die!”
Now, the blue light quietly stood beside Ma Dong, revealing herself in front of everyone.
Emily! The female Assassin who was already famed for her assassinations before entering the Holy City!
It was too easy!
For Hebre to be able to sit in a seat on the Patriarch Society, he had once been considered a god of war. In his time, he had also been a cruel character who fought in the Fifth Dimension. But at this time, he did not even manage to resist the slightest bit before being killed.
Many Sacred Teachers and elders — especially those who had spoken for Hebre just now and those who had wavered in their thoughts — felt a chill behind their backs.
On the other hand, the suppressed Blood Demon Lyon’s face changed drastically. If he felt humiliated when he was being suppressed by six Void Cores, then at this moment, he felt the threat of death.
Those who spoke for the alliance with the Blood Demons would die! What a stance this was!