429 Monstrous Waves. Where is the Mystical Core? (1/2)
As the crowd observed the aberration, the curious looks turned into stares of extreme fright. There were endless walls of monstrous waves that surged in the horizon, far away where the white waves seemed to reach the sky.
It was terrifyingly glorious.
The tidal waves came quickly. In about a quarter of an hour, the monstrous tides had arrived, coming within a few hundred feet of everyone present.
The Emperor of Ziyou's eyes seemed about to bulge out of their sockets. He moaned hopelessly as he whispered in fear, ”That… that is the Lunar River's water!”
Everyone had turned pale, as they witnessed the oncoming calamity. All of them were aware of what was coming for them.
It was the Lunar River's water!
Supreme Cloud's departure and subsequent return was to bring the Lunar River here?
Only Supreme Water had the ability to manipulate water among the Nine Supremes, but Supreme Cloud now seemed to be even stronger in his water-bending abilities.
To direct the Lunar River's water to Zilong City and cause the river to change its course – what could possibly have warranted such madness?
To put it simply, the Lunar River's flowing waters could easily turn the Empire of Ziyou's Zilong City into a swamp.
The thousands of miles of land would become another ocean in Tianxuan Continent within the blink of an eye.
At this moment, everyone could not help the regret surging from the bottom of their hearts.
Supreme Cloud was a lunatic, a complete madman! A psychopath who cared nothing about his reputation or morals, nor the safety of ordinary citizens!
Would he drown the Empire of Ziyou over this small matter and put an end to billions of innocent lives?
Don't you still have any humanity left? What did we do to provoke such a psychopath?
Before this, this lunatic's madness was only limited to the battlefield; he had only interfered when we attacked their country.
Now, the series of ill-planned actions – kidnapping his relative, setting up the trap, and all the other tasteless tactics, had caused Supreme Cloud to finally erupt. He cared nothing more about the principle of worldly matters, about the citizens, about the sacrifice of innocent lives; he would do anything to achieve his objective!
When the Lunar River was redirected into the Empire of Ziyou, lives would truly be lost!
No one among the billions of people in the Empire of Ziyou's tens of thousands of miles of land could survive, save a limited number of high-level cultivators.
As for the Empire of Ziyou, perhaps it would be today, maybe tomorrow – it would disappear entirely from Tianxuan Continent in an extremely short period of time. It would fall into extinction!
The Emperor of Ziyou's lips were trembling wildly as he watched the approaching waves that almost reached him but he remained stationary.
No matter how the guards and officials beside him tried to pull him and persuade him to leave, the emperor stood dumbly as he watched the Lunar River's water approach with a hopeless gaze.
Since ruler showed no signs of leaving, the rest of the officials could not flee, leaving their king behind. To retreat now would mean a sentence for treason, without any room for discussion.
The multitude of officials could only stand still and accompany the emperor of Ziyou to stare, dumbfounded, at the surging tide. Their faces were pale, and they could feel their very souls leaving their bodies that were being supported by trembling legs.
A while later, the crowd was relieved to find out that the impending tidal waves seemed to behave rather strangely. The waves approached with vigor but came to an abrupt stop when it reached within a hundred feet of the gathered crowd and came no closer.
The waves grew taller as the volume of water increased, but it accumulated in front of their eyes without coming any further.
ZIyou's emperor and officials had just encountered a strange phenomenon, a rare sight in this world.
A hundred feet away, the monstrous waves surged. The tides reached hundreds of feet high, like an upended river! At their own feet, however, the land was dry, without a single drop of water on it.
The entire situation was strange enough to cause those who were witnessing it to wonder if they were actually dreaming.
Those who were sharper connected the dots immediately, knowing in their hearts that the anomaly now must be manmade and the culprit could only be one person – the Nine Supremes' think-tank, Supreme Cloud!
It was a warning, to threaten or to send a message before further atrocities would be visited upon them!
The entire Empire of Ziyou could perish within an instance; the sacrifice of countless citizens of Ziyou was all in the hand of a single person.
It was truly a situation of life and death within a single thought, with the afterlife as an immediate judgment.
Seeing the waves in front of them piling up, growing higher and higher, the fear in every individual's chest grew more intense. As no one had any idea of what to do, the tides surged in an even more violent manner, while on the tip of the white tidal waves, an apparition was rapidly forming.
With a snap of the fingers, a silhouette stood tall above the waves, illusory like a deity that had come to visit mortal earth.
The crowd could clearly see that the silhouette was formed entirely from water, but the facial features obviously belonged to Supreme Cloud who had just charged out of Zilong City.
”My apologies. To prepare a surprise for everyone, I was unable to come at the promised time and am late. I have overstepped my bounds. I ask for Ziyou Majesty's pardon.”
Lord Supreme Cloud stood above the surging waves like a mountain, stable and unmoving.
He seemed to be apologizing, but the stone-cold tone was distinctive to everyone's ears!
How could that be an apology? It was an obvious threat; he was wild, looking down upon everyone from a high stature like they were ants! Who else in the world could steer the Lunar River's water here – who?
He had not regarded himself too highly, he was simply telling a truth, a fact – Supreme Cloud had the ability to wipe Ziyou out with a flip of his palm.
The Emperor of Ziyou inhaled deeply and took three steps forward, disregarding the officials and guards who tried to stop him, saying as he lifted his head, ”Lord Supreme Cloud is true to his reputation indeed. Such skill is truly amazing and unprecedented. I am very impressed. No, I am utterly impressed. What a talent you are!”
Surprise flashed in Yun Yang's eyes as he replied faintly, ”It truly is the Emperor of Ziyou himself. I didn't expect meeting you again. I said earlier that I hoped to have someone I can speak to, but I didn't expect Your Majesty to come personally. I thank you for the honor.”
Emperor of Ziyou chuckled bitterly, ”The valiance of Supreme Cloud is peerless and unique. Since Supreme Cloud has come and even extended an invitation to meet, I had no choice but to come personally to meet Lord Supreme Cloud. I didn't know I was meeting Supreme Cloud himself during our previous encounter. A terrible faux pas on my part.”
Yun Yang nodded and said, ”Your Majesty's grace impresses me. No wonder you are supreme among men, leader of Ziyou!”
Emperor of Ziyou smiled. ”Lord Supreme Cloud, you flatter me.”
Yun Yang said slowly, ”Chaotic times produces heroes. This saying has remained unchanged throughout the years. There's another saying that, perhaps, wasn't recorded in history but I think makes a lot of sense as well. Chaotic times produces brilliant rulers!”
Yun Yang's voice was filled with a weariness for the vicissitudes of life, ”Only when great men rise together that heroes can be produced and there must be a brilliant ruler to restrain and lead these heroes. Only then can an eternal dynasty of heroic conquests be formed!”
”No matter who triumphs in this world hegemony, to contend for domination amidst this chaotic times needs one to have great talent and bold vision. Only among the brilliant and wise emperors can a legendary war be fought!”
”Only such wars qualify to leave their colorful and thick ink in the pages of history.”
Yun Yang said sincerely, ”As for Your Majesty, you are one such remarkable ruler. As a sovereign, Your Majesty's actions are befitting a brilliant emperor of his time.”
The Emperor of Ziyou smiled faintly and asked, ”How about when I'm compared to Yutang's Yu Peize?”
He stood calmly before the monstrous waves; he was at an absolute disadvantage, yet he conversed naturally without a hint of change in his expression and gaze; it was like he had never been on the losing end at all. His arms were behind his back, while his gaze held a sense of disdain; he still had the mannerisms of a magnificent ruler.
Another tinge of admiration flashed in Yun Yang's eyes as he replied, ”I have no comment about who is better or lower regarding Your Majesty and my country's emperor. There's just one thing; perhaps Your Majesty's bold vision, valiance, and other aspects may not be lacking compared to my ruler, but regarding your nation's mastery of control, I am certain that my own emperor holds the upper hand.”
Emperor of Ziyou sighed softly and said with a smile, ”Weaker in the mastery of the nation's control? Only this?”
Yun Yang thought about it and answered earnestly, ”Truly, it is only this. After all, Your Majesty and my emperor employ different methods to control the people. Your Majesty uses tactics, pacifying people with influence and power, while my emperor uses friendship and sentiment. Therein lies the difference. Of course, there are pros and cons regarding these two methods, it is hard to say which is better.”
The Emperor of Ziyou said, ”I would like to hear more.”
Yun Yang continued, ”To drive subordinates with the emperor's tactics, the royal grace has to br everywhere – this is a sovereign's way undoubtedly, and the benefits of it are obvious. The officials are on their toes when facing such a leader and would not dare to slack; the governance will be smooth. It's a good tactic. However, one of the drawbacks of this is the lack of heart. Such an arrangement will sometimes be fragile, ready to collapse with just one blow.”