MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again

From last night's conversation, Lu Hong had also speculated a few points, suspecting that Sword Saint Lu had targeted him solely because he had come into contact with Sword Saint Li. Thus, this seemingly destitute Sword Saint Li, residing in the old district, must have joined some underground organization, but Sword Saint Lu did not have any evidence, thereby keeping him under strict surveillance.

Facing Lu Hong's inquiry, Sword Saint Li sighed, "Your excellency really has acute perceptive abilities, come with me."

Saying so, Sword Saint Li led Lu Hong through the intricate alleys of the old town, twisting and turning for half an hour, before finally arriving in front of a seemingly dilapidated mudbrick house.

After a series of coded knocks, the door was opened.

But after entering, the house was still empty.

Then Sword Saint Li opened a secret passage and said to Lu Hong, "Please."

"This is quite hidden!" Lu Hong chuckled and then walked in.

Navigating through a gloomy man-made tunnel, the two finally reached their destination.

"Welcome to Ground Rat's Home."

Lu Hong looked around, astonished to find that beneath the capital of Saint Peace, there lay a huge underground castle, bigger by a third than the common imperial palace.

This was not a project that could be completed in a day or two. Concealing it from the entire city's notice, especially transporting the soil, was a major issue.

"It looks like you have quite a few accomplices in the court."

Faced with Lu Hong's guess, Sword Saint Li smiled without replying.

Continuing deeper into the castle, the two reached the administrative hall at the core area where two men and a woman were arguing loudly.

The arrival of Sword Saint Li paused their dispute, and they bowed, saying, "We have seen Sword Saint Li."

"My friends," he introduced.

At Sword Saint Li's gesture, Lu Hong bowed and said, "I am Lu Hong, pleased to meet you all."

"Paske."

"Mo Bo."

"Su Mei'an."

After exchanging names, they were acquainted.

"Come, sit."

At Sword Saint Li's invitation, everyone sat down again.

Then Sword Saint Li truthfully shared with Lu Hong, "This place is Rat's Nest, established over five thousand years ago. Its purpose is to monitor the kingdom. Enemies are rare in this land of Saint Peace, and without external pressure, corruption can easily fester internally. Thus, it is necessary for some to assume the role of purging the rot within the Human Race, and that is our identity."

Lu Hong nodded, "Then I am very eager to know, where is my wife now?"

"The Imperial Palace," Sword Saint Li said gravely. "For a long time, the Saint Peace Kingdom has witnessed numerous mysterious disappearances of beautiful women, yet despite extensive investigations consuming much manpower and resources, the officials could never resolve them, so we too have been secretly investigating, eventually discovering that these women were all taken to the Imperial Palace and secretly imprisoned by the king."

"Just as I thought," Lu Hong was not surprised; he had already surmised this outcome.

"Not only that," Sword Saint Li said worriedly. "After carefully comparing the habits of past kings, we shockingly found that with the Crown Prince's ascension, everyone's lifestyle habits become identical, a complete change from before ascension!"

"Yes," Su Mei'an added from the side. "This phenomenon has persisted from three thousand years ago to the present. Furthermore, over these three thousand years, the forces deployed in the three eternal wars have gradually decreased. We have reason to suspect that the Saint Peace King has betrayed the Human Race, and moreover, by using some Secret Technique, extended his life for three thousand years, reincarnating in his own descendants."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sword Saint Lu continued, "The Cultivation Technique practiced by generations of Crown Princes is also that unique Cultivation Technique for children. This may be a necessary condition for reincarnation. The old king has been unable to follow the human path since five years ago. I suspect he took your wife to enjoy life after reincarnating as the virtuous Crown Prince, so as long as the Crown Prince has not yet ascended the throne, your wife should still be safe."

Lu Hong nodded, the information now seemed to link together. He then asked, "So what do you plan to do? Overthrow the king's rule?"

"Yes," Sword Saint Lu openly replied. "We plan to start a rebellion on the day the virtuous Crown Prince ascends the throne, kill the old king, and establish a new dynasty!"

"How many people do you have?" For such rebellious acts of tyranny, Lu Hong had seen plenty and was not very interested.

"Five with the power of a Sword Saint."

"Wow, half of the eight Sword Saints in the Saint Peace Kingdom are with you?"

Sword Saint Lu shook his head, "These five are not official Sword Saints."

"Then I understand, you brought me here to ask for my help, right?" Including Sword Saint Lu, it was six against seven; if Lu Hong joined, it would be an even seven against seven. That's probably why Sword Saint Lu had brought Lu Hong to Ground Rat's Home.

"Yes," Sword Saint Lu nodded. "Last night, during your battle with Sword Saint Mo Bo, although a barrier isolated it, I sensed it too. You possess power on par with a Sword Saint. Our goals are aligned this time. Your wife and friends imprisoned by the king—I'll help you rescue them."

"That sounds quite good," Lu Hong approved. The scene where people betrayed him in the Mandarin Duck Plane still flashed vividly in his mind. "How can I trust that you won't betray me?"

Sword Saint Lu smiled slightly, "May I ask, Brother Lu, if I were to betray you, what would I gain? The dynasty must be overthrown; if this coup fails, we are undoubtedly doomed. This rebellion has had no way out from the start."

"Alright," Lu Hong agreed and then added, "I'll wait for your signal." After saying this, Lu Hong stood up and retraced his path, leaving the vast underground fortress.

Watching Lu Hong walk away, several people around Sword Saint Lu began to speak, "Sword Saint Lu, do you really trust this young man? What if he…?"

Sword Saint Lu looked up, letting out a light sigh, "We have no choice but to trust him. Do you realize how powerful a Sword Saint can be? If there is even one Sword Saint in the kingdom that we haven't countered, our uprising will have no chance of success."

Hearing Sword Saint Lu's words, the three men's faces slightly stiffened. Indeed, the power of a Sword Saint was the pinnacle of combat prowess in Saint Peace Kingdom. Only those who reached the peak of the Third Transition or Great Perfection were eligible to be nominated as a Sword Saint, and these nominees had to undergo countless trials and fierce competitions to truly earn the title of Sword Saint, revered by the kingdom.

The selection of a Sword Saint was extremely brutal. Each selection event saw numerous formidable individuals fall. Once you accepted the nomination, becoming a candidate for Sword Saint, there were only two paths before you, one, to become a Sword Saint; two, to be killed by other candidates!

While Ground Rat's Home still had five individuals whose strength matched that of a Sword Saint, in Sword Saint Lu's view, their combat experience and will were still hugely inferior to that of a real Sword Saint. The only breakthrough, in fact, was him. Sword Saint Lu had to defeat the Sword Saint he was up against as quickly as possible, then work with the others to systematically dismantle the kingdom's Sword Saints.

Stepping out of the dilapidated old house, Lu Hong saw Sword Saint Mo Bo waiting for him nearby.

"It seems, Sword Saint Lu's secret... You've known about it for a long time?"

"Yes, but I didn't expect him to actually let an outsider like you participate; it appears he's not entirely confident of winning," Sword Saint Mo Bo commented, offering a gesture to Lu Hong, "Sir Lu Hong, may we have a word?"

After leaving Sword Saint Lu's secret base, they returned to Sword Saint Mo Bo's mansion.

Entering Sword Saint Mo Mo Bo's study, Lu Hong sat down. "Even you knew about Sword Saint Lu's secret. I'm curious, does the kingdom have any countermeasures?"

"No," Sword Saint Mo Bo shook his head. "The king is not aware of this matter."

"Oh?" Lu Hong now had some doubts. "You've hidden this secret?"

"Yes, I've been aware of the organization behind Sword Saint Lu for a long time, but I've been keeping their information under wraps."

"May I ask why you would do that, Sword Saint Mo Bo?"

"It's probably because I somewhat believe in Sword Saint Lu's speculation," Sword Saint Mo Bo sighed. "The kingdom has been corrupted. Although we are loyal to the kingdom, we are more loyal to the Saint Master, loyal to the Human Race. I've investigated for half my life, the mysterious power behind the king couldn't possibly originate from within Saint Peace."

"I see, so you also suspect that the Saint Peace King has colluded with Heng Domain?"

"Yes, but without sufficient evidence, I still can't easily believe it."