Chapter 969: Fighting the Extinguishing Alliance
“Four Imperial Protectors, I have urgent matters that require the use of the Space Gate. We can catch up some other time,” Jian Chen said calmly. Although he should be very happy about returning to his homeland, the Tian Yuan Continent, whatever happened to the Flame Mercenaries made it very difficult for him.
Qin Yunlong sucked in a deep breath and slowly calmed himself down. At that moment, his gaze toward Jian Chen underwent a complete change, and he said, “Jian Chen, are you referring to the matter of the Flame Mercenaries?”
Jian Chen nodded and asked, “Just what has happened to the mercenaries? They were just fine, so why did they get chased away and have Flame City taken away? Who’s the person behind this Extinguishing Alliance?”
“It is one of the eight princes of the Felicity Empire, Bi Jian,” said Qin Yunlong.
“Bi Jian. So it’s him.” The killing intent exploded in Jian Chen’s eyes. It was extremely terrifying.
“Then, how are the Flame Mercenaries right now?” Jian Chen followed up.
Qin Yunlong sighed gently as he replied, “The Flame Mercenaries have basically dispersed. A portion have run off by themselves, another part has joined the Extinguishing Alliance, while the remaining wentto the Gesun Kingdom. Your group of friends are all fine. They were taken away by a Saint King from a protector clan.”
Jian Chen could not help but sigh in relief when he heard that You Yue and the others were fine. However, the killing intent in his eyes remained just as terrifying. He gnashed his teeth and said, “I want to borrow the Space Gate to go to Flame City. I’d like to see just what the Extinguishing Alliance can do for taking my Flame City.”
Afterward, Jian Chen arrived at the Space Gate under the accompaniment of the four Imperial Protectors. He passed through it and traveled to Flame City.
With Jian Chen’s departure, the four Imperial Protectors stood there in a daze. Shocked lights flickered through their eyes, while a group of Heaven Saint Master Imperial Advisors gathered around them.
“Weird. Has Jian Chen reached Saint King or not? His presence is definitely at the level of Saint Kings, but why does he need to use our Space Gate?” An Imperial Protector asked doubtfully.
The three other Imperial Protectors nodded in agreement when they heard that. They all found it extremely strange.
The Imperial Advisors around them were all astounded when they heard the words of the protectors. Stupefaction shone through their eyes, and at that very moment, all of them seemed to doubt what they had heard. The Imperial Protector Jian Chen had only just reached Heaven Saint Master a few years ago, yet he was now a Saint King. They struggled to believe this.
Meanwhile, Jian Chen had no idea just how much he had shocked the people of the Qinhuang Kingdom. He had arrived ten kilometers from Extinguished City.
From afar, Jian Chen saw the grandiose and extravagant dark city walls. They stood like a coiled dragon, radiating with an invisible pressure that shocked the souls of people.
The city gates were wide open as large numbers of people in the attire of mercenaries poured in and out of the city. Some traveled by foot, while others rode magical beasts. It left behind thickly-packed footprints on the ground below.
The current Extinguished City was bustling. Not only did several million people live within its walls, stores also filled the city. The noise and commotion on the streets were very great, filling the city with life.
Jian Chen slowly looked upward and stopped on the two words on the plaque that hung on the walls: Extinguished City. Killing intent immediately began to churn within him, leaking out of his body uncontrollably. It surged directly toward the sky.
The city before him, completely constructed from tungsten alloy, belonged to the Flame Mercenaries. The people that settled down in the city and the flags on its walls should have belonged to the Flame Mercenaries as well. However, everything had changed. It was all someone else’s now.
Jian Chen struggled to keep his fury suppressed when he thought about how the city that the Flame Mercenaries had poured a countless amount of wealth and energy to construct was now taken over by someone else. The Flame Mercenaries had to overcome many hardships to create this city.
“Argh!” Jian Chen roared at the sky. It was thunderous, exploding in the sky. Just the sound was enough to pass through rock; not only did it disperse the clouds in the sky, it caused the entire city to begin trembling gently, resulting in a thick layer of dust being kicked into the air.
The guards of the Extinguishing Alliance on the city walls all covered their ears tightly as they tossed and turned on the floor in agony. The terrifying roar was ear-piercing to all of them, and caused a trail of blood to flow from their ears.
Countless people within the city walls were affected as well. The eardrums of several million weaker people were destroyed by the roar, causing agony to all of them. Some of them had even fainted directly.
In the blink of an eye, the city fell into chaos. The streets became filled with people lying on the ground.
Just Jian Chen’s roar was enough to incapacitate millions of people from the Alliance. The number of people injured was innumerable. This was the might of a Saint King.
Roar!
At the same time, a deafening tiger roar rang out. It was filled with a tremendous might, like the descent of an overlord that could look down on everyone.
The white tiger on Jian Chen’s shoulders had stood up suddenly as well. It roared at the sky, imitating Jian Chen. It produced a sound that did not match up to its size at all. Although it was nowhere near as loud as Jian Chen, its roar seemed to contain a level of deterrence that Jian Chen’s did not possess. It was filled with a supreme awe, something that could not be trespassed upon.
Countless magical beasts began to mourn miserably inside the city. All of them collapsed onto the ground as they trembled, fear flooding their eyes. The weaker mercenaries that managed to stay conscious despite Jian Chen’s roar were all knocked unconscious by the tiger’s roar.
Over twenty vast presences appeared in the palace at the very center of the city. The Saint Rulers cultivating within it had all been alarmed, immediately flying outside.
The Extinguishing Alliance was formed from over ten peak-level mercenary groups, while the Saint Rulers were all former captains from those groups.
The Saint Rulers arrived at the city gates with lightning speed. They looked toward Jian Chen who stood high up in the air; they all became extremely stern.
With their current cultivation level, they could naturally sense Jian Chen’s strength. The tremendous aura from Jian Chen caused them to shudder in fear. They all understood that the person before them was a Saint King.
However, they had never seen Jian Chen. Even though they had heard of him, they failed to recognize him immediately.
“May I ask the senior’s name? Why must senior make it hard for the Extinguishing Alliance? Our alliance doesn’t seem to have offended senior before,” a Saint Ruler asked carefully.
Killing intent sprouted from Jian Chen as he coldly stared at the Saint Rulers. He bellowed, “You take my city and you chase away my Flame Mercenaries! Who do you think I am!?”
The Saint Rulers all reacted violently when they heard this. Someone immediately reached an understanding and cried out, “You’re the captain of the Flame Mercenaries, Jian Chen!”
“What!? He’s that Jian Chen that the protector clans have been searching for for so many years? Doesn’t that mean that the white tiger on his shoulder is the Winged Tiger God!?”
“Impossible. This is impossible. They said that Jian Chen was only a Saint Ruler, and that he had only broken through a while ago. How did he become a Saint King so quickly…”
“Even if Jian Chen’s talent is unprecedented, his cultivation speed can’t be at such a heaven-defying level. He can’t be Jian Chen.”
The Saint Rulers all called out in shock. They stared at him with disbelief, but most of their gazes were focused on the white tiger on Jian Chen’s shoulder. Their eyes burned with greed.
Jian Chen’s face sank and he glared at the Saint Rulers as he slowly glanced past them. He failed to find Bi Jian, so he bellowed out, “The captain of the Flame Mercenaries, Jian Chen, is present. Where is Bi Jian!? Come for your death!”
Jian Chen’s voice reverberated through the surroundings. It was enough for the void to begin trembling as his voice traveled over a hundred kilometers away.
“What! The captain of the Flame Mercenaries has returned?”
“It’s captain Jian Chen. Captain Jian Chen has returned.”
…
Within the Extinguished City, a few conscious mercenaries called out. They all revealed extremely mixed emotions, as they were part of the Flame Mercenaries before. It was just that after the Flame Mercenaries collapsed, they joined the Extinguishing Alliance and became a part of them.
The Saint Rulers all confirmed Jian Chen’s identity when they heard this declaration. They all reacted abruptly. They would naturally not fear Jian Chen if he was just a Saint Ruler, but the Jian Chen before them currently irradiated with the aura of a Saint King. That was enough to cause them to panic.
“Hmph, the captain of the Flame Mercenaries is not even fifty years old right now. It’s impressive that he can become a Saint Ruler at that age, but I just don’t believe he can really become a Saint King. Maybe his presence is fake and not actually his true strength,” A Saint Ruler suspected.
“Yeah, there can’t be such a young Saint King. His presence must be fake and his true strength is probably not as great as we currently perceive. Let’s get him together and call his bluff. Don’t be scared by him,” another Saint Ruler called out. With that, he grabbed his Saint Weapon and charged toward Jian Chen with three other companions.
Jian Chen’s gaze became icy-cold. The Emperor Armament appeared in his hand and he stabbed out four times toward the four experts.
The four Saint Rulers bellowed out in unison and struck out as hard as they could. Their Saint Weapons pierced the surrounding space, flying toward Jian Chen as they radiated with a powerful energy.
Jian Chen’s Emperor Armament collided with their four Saint Weapons. How could mere Saint Rulers withstand the attacks from a Seventh Heavenly Layer Saint King? The four of them were immediately forced to shut up and they started to vomit blood. They paled in that very moment.
The Emperor Armament continued with no reduction in force. It sliced through their heads like a hot knife through butter, chopping their heads in half and directly wiping out their souls. Blood erupted in the air like a blooming flower.
The four Saint Rulers had been slain so easily, with no room for resistance.
The other Saint Rulers all reacted violently as they personally witnessed this. They stumbled backward in the air while their gazes toward Jian Chen underwent a tremendous change.
Now, no one dared to doubt Jian Chen’s strength. He was truly a Saint King.