Chapter 154: The Arrogant and Presumptuous Three Great Domain Lords
The Four Great Protectors walked in side by side, heading straight to Ye Feng. They then bowed with hands folded in front and said, "Greetings to the Northern King. May we know why the Northern King has summoned us here?"
The five Domain Lords watching were dumbfounded. What exactly was going on?
The Four Great Protector Dharma Kings of the Southern Territory had come in and immediately paid their respects to the Northern Border King. While paying respects could be considered normal courtesy, their demeanor was excessively reverent— bordering on awe.
Moreover, the Southern King was still present. By choosing to ignore the Southern King and pay respects to the Northern King instead, one must realize that this was happening in the Southern Territory, not their own Northern Border. This was quite inappropriate.
Suddenly, the five Domain Lords came to a realization— the incident that occurred half a month ago had not been exaggerated. The Reincarnation Wheel Grand Zen Master from Brahma Kingdom had indeed become the Martial King and was indeed defeated by Northern King Ye Feng in the end.
In other words, despite still sitting in a wheelchair at the moment, the Northern King's combat power had long surpassed that of an ordinary Martial King!
This was quite terrifying; in fact, it was almost on par with King Kao Shan from the Imperial City!
Ye Feng looked at the four and asked, "The Southern King just asked me about the ongoing military council meeting. The Lords of Nan Dong, Hundred Herbs Realm, and Hengling Domain received the King's Orders but not only did they not comply, they tore up the Summoning Orders on the spot. I am indeed an outsider in this matter, how do you four view this situation?"
In truth, Ye Feng was not clueless on how to handle the situation. In fact, he had already made a decision upon entering. The reason why he still questioned these four was merely to observe their attitudes and choices.
The expressions of the Four Great Protectors shifted slightly, as they too realized the gravity of the situation. If mishandled, not only the three Domain Lords might fall, but even the four of them could be affected.
The four knew that the Northern King was asking them to take a stand and declare their allegiance. Moreover, it was abundantly clear that with Northern King Ye Feng's return to the Southern Territory, he was evidently intent on supporting Southern King Dugu Ming to fully consolidate control over the Southern Territory.
Having understood this, the Four Great Protectors knew exactly what to do.
"All land under the heavens belongs to the king. The Lords of Nan Dong, Hundred Herbs, and Hengling, as subjects of the Southern Territory, dared to openly defy the King's Orders. According to the laws, they should be executed without exception!"
"Good!" Ye Feng spoke, having waited for these very words.
After speaking, Ye Feng turned to Dugu Ming and said with a smile, "Southern King, the next steps are up to you."
Southern King Dugu Ming stood up straight, picked up his King's Order, and declared word by word, "The Lords of Nan Dong, Hengling, and Hundred Herbs openly defied the King's Order, even attempting to assassinate I. By the King's Order, they shall be executed, decision to be carried out immediately!"
"Four Great Protectors, hear my command. Five Great Commanders, listen to my order. You are to immediately lead two thousand elite troops of the Southern Territory and set out for Hundred Herbs Realm at once. I will personally oversee the battle formation!"
"Yes!" The Four Great Protectors bowed their hands in compliance, and although they did not take the Southern King seriously, with Northern King Ye Feng present, they dared not show any defiance.
"Southern King, I shall go and mobilize two thousand soldiers right away!" Lan Youzhong appeared very excited. He had long been awaiting this day. Over the years, these Domain Lords had been too arrogant and overbearing. It was time they were dealt with.
"To be on the safe side, Northern King, it seems we'll need you to go and take charge," Dugu Ming turned and asked.
"Alright, let's set out!" Ye Feng nodded slightly.
Thereafter, the group immediately left the assembly hall and headed for the even further south Hundred Herbs Realm. As for the five Domain Lords in the hall, Ye Feng and his party paid them no heed.
At this very moment, the five Domain Lords were still seated, not because they did not wish to stand up, but because they could not. Their legs were trembling, their faces dripping with sweat, all wearing expressions of stark terror.
Quite a while later, a Domain Lord spoke up, "Looking at the situation, it seems that the three Domain Lords from Nan Dong, I'm afraid that they're more likely to have met with misfortune than fortune."
Another Domain Lord said, "That's for sure. This Northern King Ye Feng is clearly here to support the Southern King. Now, with such a Northern King stationed here and the addition of the Four Great Protectors' blessing, the three Domain Lords of Nan Dong Hundred Herbs Hengling are nothing but crawling insects."
"Thank goodness, truly thank goodness. It's fortunate we came, that we didn't act too arrogantly just now, and didn't oppose that guy from the Northern Border, otherwise, we'd probably be dead by now!"
The five Domain Lords were repeatedly frightened, but they also knew that, after today, the good days when they could act as they pleased might come to an end, and the skies of the Southern Territory were about to change completely.
Soon, Lan Youzhong, the chief Great Commander, had gathered together two thousand soldiers. Truck after truck drove out of the Southern Territory Base Camp, headed for the Hundred Herbs Realm further south, in what looked like a very mighty formation. Your next chapter awaits on empire
At this moment, in the residence of the Domain Lord Xiao Jingyuan of the Hundred Herbs Realm, there was an air of peace and prosperity as a dance performance was underway. The presence of two other Domain Lords warranted festivities, so Xiao Jingyuan had invited the native beauties from the minority tribes of the Southern Border to dance in the spacious hall.
The dance was fiery and explosive. Naturally, the dancers didn't wear much on their bodies. They were all tall and alluring, causing the three Domain Lords seated in the main seats to stare in amazement.
"Haha... How's that, my two old brothers? My place isn't bad, right? These indigenous dancers, they are all the real deal, much stronger by several folds than those crappy internet-celebrity beauties in the big cities!"
Xiao Jingyuan burst into loud laughter. In his own residence, he was the Heavenly Emperor Laozi, free to do whatever he wanted—such a merry life.
The Lord of Nan Dong was so enticed that his eyes almost popped out, repeatedly nodding and saying, "Not bad at all, not bad, Brother Hundred Herbs really knows how to have fun. I've lived such a long time and have yet to taste what these are like."
"Haha, no problem. If Brother Nan Dong likes them, just pick any two. After the banquet is over, you can take them directly to the private chambers. There's nothing to it!" Xiao Jingyuan said, his demeanor that of a boastful and powerful nouveau riche, clearly much more domineering.
Being in his Hundred Herbs Realm, with a full five hundred guards at his disposal, all elite, and over fifty of them top-notch experts, such a force was already considerably strong. Moreover, he controlled a formidable army under his banner.
The Lord of Nan Dong laughed giddily, but suddenly, as if he remembered something, he changed the subject, "Right, today I heard there was a discussion about important military affairs at the Base Camp. If we three don't show up, could it cause any trouble?"
"What trouble could it cause?" Domain Lord Xiao Jingyuan snorted disdainfully, "We've missed it before and nothing happened. Besides, the three of us are Domain Lords, each ruling over our own domain, guarding the Southern Border Gate. I doubt Southern King Dugu Ming would dare to do anything to us!"
The Lord of Nan Dong said, "I'm not afraid of Southern King Dugu Ming—that guy is nothing but a wimp, and I don't even take him seriously. What I'm worried about is that cripple with the broken legs from the Northern Border. Could he possibly..."
"He dares!" Xiao Jingyuan glared furiously and growled, "That kid with the broken legs has some skills, but if he dares to come to my Hundred Herbs Garden, let him try!"
At this time, the Hengling Domain Lord who had been drinking all along also laughed and said, "Brother Nan Dong, don't worry needlessly. What I can tell you is that the cripple with the broken legs won't live much longer."
"Oh? Could it be that Brother Hengling knows some insider news?" The Lord of Nan Dong asked, turning his head.
"Of course!" The Hengling Domain Lord set down his wine cup and sneered, "Three days ago, the Heng Mountain Sword Sect sent someone with a message saying that many of their elders were very angry and insisted that the kid from the Northern Border must be slain.
They even said that in two more days, they would send out their inner sect experts without waiting for the kid with the broken legs to personally visit and pay his respects to the mountain."
"Great!" Xiao Jingyuan roared, "I've been annoyed with that kid for a while now. His legs are already broken, yet he still hops around everywhere. He's barely able to hold onto his Northern Border King throne and he still wants to swagger around in our Southern Territory!"
"Damn it, I'm declaring this now—if that kid dares to come to my Hundred Herbs Realm, I'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"
However, just at this moment, a guard hurriedly rushed in and shouted frantically, "Bad news, my lord, something terrible has happened! Trouble at the Base Camp, they're coming, they're killing their way here!"