Published at 9th of January 2024 9:28 am

Chapter 1211: Protection

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Zhao Chen stared at the familiar faces, his shocked voice breaking the brief silence, “Thousand Faced Devil, Huangfu Song? What are their heads doing here?”

“Guard, who brought them here?”

“Demonic Emperor sir, they call themselves the Luo clan of Joy Town and are outside the mountain waiting to see you.” A guard rushed in, looking fretful in the face of Zhao Chen’s rage.

Zhao Chen’s face twitched in disbelief, “Luo clan, as in the same one? They dare bring my men’s heads? They’ve gone too far! Seize them and drag them in here! I want to see what the hell they are up to!”

“Yes.”

His men went to follow his orders and brought a man and a woman surrounded by black guards into the hall.

Looking at his old place, it took Zhuo Fan back to the good old days. The only thing spoiling his reminiscing was seeing Zhao Chen unchanged after thousands of years. He showed a savage grin, yet bearing no hatred.

Zhao Chen shivered as their eyes met, feeling an uncanny familiarity. His heart began to race with fear and even staggered back.

Pa!

One man in black bowed, “Demonic Emperor sir, they are the Luo clan’s people that brought the heads. We await your orders!”

“Uh, leave.”

Zhao Chen never took his eyes off Zhuo Fan, losing all his anger as he gave a numb wave, “All of you leave!”

“Uh, right.”

The men shared puzzled looks, finding Demonic Emperor’s demeanor off, like he wasn’t himself. It was their first time hearing his kind voice, so they left on the double.

Zhuo Fan, Bali Yuyu and Zhao Chen were the only ones left, as well as the bloody floor with the corpses.

Zhuo Fan smiled at the stiff face, cupping his hands, “Demonic Emperor, your reputation precedes you. I am steward Zhuo of the Luo clan. Here is my guard, Bali Yuyu. It’s an honor to finally meet the great Demonic Emperor.”

“Your name feels familiar…”

Zhao Chen squinted, lost for a moment before saying, “Not just the name, but also the character… No, it’s not the same. He was never one to be casual, and never lowered himself to become some steward. No, it’s definitely impossible for a dead guy, ha-ha-ha…”

Zhuo Fan smiled, “Demonic Emperor, what are you saying?”

“Uh, nothing.”

Zhao Chen snapped back to reality, his face going cold as he stared at the heads, “Steward Zhuo was it? What is the meaning of this? Your show of force, or challenge?”

“No no no, Demonic Emperor sir, this is the Clan Head’s gift, he wishes for you to gladly accept it.”

“Gift? You kill my men and bring me their heads and you call it a fricking gift?”

Bam!

Zhao Chen slammed the table in anger, “No one does that! Explain yourself or not only will you meet your end here but the entire Luo clan will be wiped out. I’ll take all your heads to trample them on the way to hell!”

Hu~

Zhao Chen’s explosive aura swept the hall, making Bali Yuyu shiver back.

[The Eight Emperors are way stronger than common Emperors.]

Zhuo Fan faced the pressure, shouting as well, “Demonic Emperor sir, please hear us out. After that, you’re free to take our heads without any complaint.”

“Speak.”

Zhao Chen eyed them.

Stretching his collar, Zhuo Fan smiled, “Demonic Emperor sir, did you perhaps send someone to attack the Ruby Cloud Sect’s disciples and steal their Purple Gold Glazed Cup?”

“No!”

Zhao Chen said casually after a moment.

Zhuo Fan beamed, “I thought so as well. The Demonic Emperor would never stoop as low as do something like this to the Ruby Cloud Sect Leader, one of the Eight Emperors. It would not only stain your name but would make another strong enemy without any reason. Why ever go through all that grueling trouble?

“But he announced himself as one of Demonic Emperor’s aides, dropping sir’s name while saying it was your idea all along. I did not want him to yammer on and make sir’s life worse so I was swift in removing this bandit, to preserve sir’s name. Was I wrong?” Zhuo Fan pointed at the first head, smiling.

Zhao Chen was noncommittal, “And Thousand Faced Devil?”

“Demonic Emperor sir, was it not you who instigated the Demon Light Castle issue three years back, making Wraith Emperor and Falcon Emperor wage war, gaining the most in the process?”

“Nonsense! That was their own problem born from their animosity. What does that have to do with me?” Zhao Chen’s heart sank, denying everything.

Zhuo Fan gave a natural nod, “But of course, Demonic Emperor sir could’ve never have done such a thing. Thousand Faced Devil must’ve run his mouth in Gambling Town, making you the scapegoat. Now Wraith Emperor and Falcon Emperor joined hands to deal with you. I could not stand letting such a man live any longer!”

“What?”

Zhao Chen darkened, then flicked his hand, “Fine, fine, let those geezers come. I’m not scared of them.”

Zhuo Fan made a deep gesture of respect, “Demonic Emperor sir is so heroic, with those two beneath you. But what about three, or four Emperors? Ha-ha-ha, fear not an able opponent but an incompetent ally. With a foul aide like Thousand Faced Devil and the other poisoning the well outside and earning sir enemies, sir is bound to become public enemy number one. No one can face entire crowds by himself, even someone as heroic as sir.”

Zhao Chen’s face twitched, his fists clenched, his teeth grinding.

“As such, we took it upon ourselves and did sir a favor by removing these scumbags. Didn’t we do sir a great favor?” Zhuo Fan beamed.

Zhao Chen stared into his eyes, still looking uneasy, “These dogs might be in the wrong, but only I get to punish them, and not an outsider. With them dead, my forces weakened. How am I to handle it then?”

“Demonic Emperor sir, out with the old, in with the new. It’s no trouble at all if they’re gone, not when you have the Luo clan to fill in the gap, Ha-ha-ha…”

Zhuo Fan gave a weird smile, bowing, “Our Clan Head admires the Demonic Emperor’s heroism, wishing to stand among the Eight Emperors since young. So we came to join you. I ask that Demonic Emperor gives us a spot. Of course we’re not going to be like those two boneheads, for we are far superior than them in every way, be it in strength or handling matters. This way, they didn’t die to outsiders, but removing the filth in sir’s stead!”

Zhao Chen shook hard, gasping, “You want my protection?”

“Of course, there’s no reward without effort. Which is why we went out of our way to showcase our results and receive sir’s protection.”

Zhuo Fan’s hand shone and took out an aged paper.

He offered it with two hands, making Zhao Chen jump in joy, “The Nether Sea map?”

“Yes, we know sir wants it and went through hell and high water to bring it to sir.”

Zhuo Fan smiled, glancing at the ghastly heads with derision, “Also, this is our chance to prove our use to sir. The two lost their lives and couldn’t get it while we did. I am confident sir would be pleased to have us!”

Zhuo Fan nodded as he smiled wildly, but then he hesitated, “Why is it you chose me of all the Eight Emperors? And don’t tell me it’s out of admiration or some flowery speech. I want the truth!”

“Demonic Emperor sir is a man of many values. I knew we made the right choice!”

The two shared a nod before Zhuo Fan turned to Zhao Chen, “I’ll be perfectly honest. The Luo clan has been hiding in Joy Town for millenium. To come out of that hole, we needed an Emperor on our side. We had to make a choice from among them. Sir can also see that with our strength it’d be easy to have any Emperor’s favor. The first that took our notice was, of course, the head of the Eight Emperors, the Sword Emperor!

“Alas, Sword Emperor has the highest demands and the greatest power. Like they say, it’s better to be a leader among men than a grunt among giants. We feared that we had no room to grow under the Sword Emperor, giving up. As for the rest, they’re all geriatric and washed up, pedantic and outdated, hardly able to help us rise among their people. Only Demonic Emperor sir, with your youthful valor, is the perfect choice to work for, your right hand!”

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