Chapter 166: Two Kings Meet

A fierce wind fanning flames, a moonless night for killing. The bloody slaughter in the night came swiftly and ended even faster. In less than ten minutes, the last scream vanished. The entire two-hundred-man cavalry unit was annihilated, not a single one escaped. And the six elite fighters didn’t linger even a moment. Like phantoms in the dark, they quickly vanished into the vast, deep night. They left not a trace. Only the blood trickling like a small stream through the grass and the pungent smell of blood that hit anyone who approached too closely silently showed what kind of battle had happened here.

More than an hour later, voices finally drifted from the distance. A small group of cavalry, clad in silver helmets and armor, astride uniformly black, armored warhorses, galloped fiercely into view from the mountain pass fortress, torches held high. They were laughing and talking, utterly relaxed as they quickly closed in on the earlier slaughter site. Just as they approached, their leader, a one-eyed knight, suddenly frowned in puzzlement. His expression turned serious. He made a hand gesture. The galloping cavalry immediately slowed down, swords drawn, shields gripped tightly, moving into a defensive formation.

“Such a heavy smell of blood! Did Prince Ake and his men clash with the scum from Shampoo City?” The knight murmured his question as he cautiously rode closer. In the shadows lay what seemed like a small, dark hillock. Then, a night breeze blew, instantly filling the air with a sickening stench of blood. The proud warhorses beneath the riders neighed in fear and unease, backing away. The one-eyed knight dismounted, took a torch from a nearby soldier, and threw it forward.

Whoosh! The flame flickered in the night breeze. Its light illuminated the darkness ahead.

“My god… what am I seeing?!” In that instant, everyone’s blood ran cold, as if plunged into an ice cellar, as if falling into the pits of hell.

No one had expected the shadowy mound they had seen to be piled entirely with the corpses of Blackrock City cavalry – blood, broken armor, snapped swords, shattered blades, dead horses, white bones, and severed heads, meticulously stacked together. And before this mountain of death, a relatively intact cavalry spear was thrust into the ground. Impaled on its point was a helmeted head. Crimson blood flowed down the shaft, slowly congealing…

“No… Prince Ake!!!” The one-eyed knight gasped in disbelief. “Who attacked them?”

“It must have been those from Shampoo City… they must have ambushed Prince Ake. Besides them, no one around here could challenge Prince Ake and his men…”

“It’s too brutal. They left no survivors!” The cavalrymen dissolved into chaos as a night wind rustled the trees all around, swirling dead leaves like countless killing gods hiding in the darkness, waiting to strike. The scene was eerie and terrifying. If an enemy had silently slaughtered Prince Ake’s two hundred cavalry, then what chance did their mere twenty-something men have? They’d barely be a snack! The one-eyed knight commander quickly grasped their perilous situation. He retrieved Prince Ake’s head from the spear, wrapped it carefully in his cloak, then immediately turned, vaulted back onto his horse, and led his riders fleeing the slaughter ground as if running for their lives.

They arrived with a rush but left in a blind panic, terrified and scattered, like stray dogs. They didn’t spare a moment to deal with their fallen comrades’ bodies.

…

A golden morning sun slowly climbed over the distant mountains, coating the world in a soft layer of gold. It was a beautiful, peaceful dawn. But at the edge of the sky, a streak of crimson cloud spread like fresh blood, staining half the sky brilliantly red – an eye-catching spectacle.

The Shampoo Expeditionary Force resumed its journey, heading towards the mountain pass of the Scorching Sun Mountains at an unhurried pace. The morning air held a slight chill. Angela and Gemma had both gone to Princess Royal Tanasha’s Magic Carriage to keep the Princess company. King Sun Fei, riding his big black dog at the head of the column, looked at the blood-red morning clouds and grinned, “Look there, the blood stains the sky. Seems something gory surely happened last night…”

Hearing the King’s words, those around him laughed. [Heng-Ha Twin Generals] Paul Pierce and Drogba, riding atop a Blaze Beast, rubbed their axe handles with lingering interest. The giant, lumbering Prison Warden Oleg was clearly still lost in pleasant memories. Saint Legion Commander Cech was, as usual, silent and watchful, scanning their surroundings. Constantly, Saints riding Blaze Beasts would reappear in the distance. Green small flags fluttered – the signal that all was normal.

Frank Lampard, also astride a Blaze Beast just behind Sun Fei, heard the comment and couldn’t help the faint curve that touched his lips. Last night was the first time he’d unleashed the full power of his [Lightning Fist] technique in actual combat. The results had wildly exceeded his expectations. Driven by Lightning Elemental Combat Aura and coursing through previously unheard-of hidden Qi channels, the sheer speed of his punches was astonishing. Lampard hadn’t imagined that after such devastating setbacks, he’d find himself back on the path of Lightning Elemental Combat Aura cultivation, and advancing so rapidly. A new, incredible path had opened before him, just when he’d almost despaired. He could clearly envision the heights the fully mastered [Lightning Fist] could achieve. Alexander had also declared this manual wasn’t the final version; there was room for further refinement and improvement. Clenching his fist tightly, Lampard felt the familiar sense of power return.

The column slowly approached the mountain pass. In the distance, the fortress built by Blackrock City grew steadily clearer. It was a stronghold constructed from dark rock, molded to the mountain terrain. Its walls, over twenty meters high, were immensely solid, built from unrefined iron ore blocks packed densely together. Two colossal warrior statues, a hundred meters tall, stood atop the peaks flanking the pass. Battlements and parapets rose distinctly along the high walls. Blackrock City had stationed a heavy garrison here. Exposed on high, it was easily defensible and very hard to attack – an absolutely critical strategic stronghold. Moreover, this fortress directly blocked and spanned the only route through the Scorching Sun Mountains to the Imperial Capital Saint Petersburg! It was truly an unshakable hold against overwhelming odds.

For the Shampoo Expeditionary Force to reach the Imperial Capital Saint Petersburg smoothly, they had to request passage through this fortress named Blackrock Fortress. Right now, however, Shampoo and Blackrock were hostile states. Securing passage would be immensely difficult. Only because Sun Fei’s group had long proclaimed their purpose for journeying to participate in the Martial Arts Combat Tournament were they not immediately branded invaders upon entering Blackrock territory. Some suggested King Sun Fei detour, bypassing the Scorching Sun Mountains entirely and traveling along their outer flanks to Saint Petersburg. Relying on the endurance of their Blaze Beasts and military horses for long-distance marches, they might still reach Saint Petersburg before the tournament. Sun Fei refused.

Doing that would mean Shampoo City feared Blackrock City.

Sun Fei intended to stride boldly through the Blackrock Fortress.

However, long before the Shampoo Expeditionary Force approached the fortress, the gates of Blackrock Fortress suddenly swung open. A series of blaring horn calls pierced the heavens. A cloud of dust erupted in the distance as a torrent of black-clad cavalry surged out of the city – at least two thousand strong! They charged forward with imposing momentum and undisguised killing intent. At their head was a robust, golden-haired, golden-bearded man about fifty years old, wearing a gem-studded golden helmet. His expression was sinister, his eyes filled with hatred. With a wave of his hand, the cavalry split into two black torrents, sweeping forward, their hostility plain.

“Form Up–Defense!”

Cech, ever vigilant, roared the order. Instantly, fifty Saint leaped down from their Blaze Beasts. Sixty steel shields locked together with serrated edges, instantly forming a sturdy, mobile wall of steel. They arranged themselves into a pointed, wedge-shaped formation at the very front. At the tip of the wedge, Prison Warden Oleg stood, a vicious grin on his face, his great axe gripped firmly in both hands. Behind him, the [Heng-Ha Twin Generals] Pierce and Drogba stood shoulder to shoulder with their warhammers… Facing the enemy, the three war-mongers showed not a trace of fear. Instead, their expressions held only eager anticipation.

Squeak-Squeak-Squeak!

One hundred Urban Management soldiers divided into two groups. The first group, fifty men, remained seated on their horses, drawing powerful bows fitted with White-Feathered Great Arrows. Gleaming arrowheads gleamed, trained on the approaching enemy. These were [Zhebie-level] archers, capable of cutting down at least fifty elite cavalry with a single volley. The other fifty Urban Management soldiers formed a protective perimeter around Princess Royal Tanasha’s Magic Carriage, shielding Her Highness the Princess Royal and Her Highness the Royal Consort Angela from any stray threats in the potential chaos.

King Sun Fei stood alone beside his big black dog, attended only by his personal guard, Fernando Torres. In the eyes of every Shampoo soldier, His Majesty the King was an invincible warrior. He would never need protection from comparatively weak soldiers like themselves. To stand before the King in battle would, in fact, be an insult to the sovereign.

The Blackrock City cavalry thundered closer.

Though fierce, they didn’t launch an immediate charge. Instead, they encircled the Shampoo group. Horses galloped hooves pounding dusty soil in swirling circles. Spears clanked and struck against shields in a rhythmic, thunderous boom-boom-boom! The simultaneous clashing of two thousand shields and spears sounded like the rumble of the earth itself, like the furious roar of gods. The shockwave was almost tangible. Gusts of wind whipped up dust and pressure as the overwhelming noise crashed over the encircled group led by Alexander.

This was the momentum of war.

The particular power cavalry could exert on the battlefield.

Used effectively, this battle momentum could even achieve victory without direct combat. Often, green troops who had never seen carnage would be reduced to trembling wrecks before blades even clashed. These two thousand Blackrock City cavalry were clearly battle-tested veterans. They wielded the tools of pressure like masters. Their display was intimidating, a mere two thousand conjuring the might of a countless host. Some Shampoo soldiers sweated in their palms, their throats dry and tight with unease. They were, after all, largely untested in large-scale warfare.

But fear mattered not at all.

Because Shampoo had a dog.

An enormous, humongous, ridiculously large big black dog, big as a draft horse.

“WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF——!!!”

The big black dog, who had been growling low in his throat, instantly erupted into furious barking. His volume was immense, like the sudden roar of a dragon.

Then came an unbelievable turn of events— The dog’s bark completely drowned out the ‘war noise’ generated by two thousand cavalry! Moreover, this dog’s furious cries inexplicably held a terrifying, paralyzing resonance for horses specifically. Dozens of Blackrock City’s perfectly trained warhorses circling them offered zero resistance. They instantly went rigid-legged, collapsing onto their bellies while foaming at their mouths. Riders on their backs, caught entirely off guard, were flung violently off like dumplings tossed into a pot, screaming as they crashed hard onto the ground…

In a moment, Blackrock Castle’s cavalry’s carefully constructed atmosphere of menace evaporated.

The Shampoo soldiers burst into loud, unrestrained laughter.

“HALT——!”

The golden-helmeted burly man boomed the order. The black cavalry circling the Shampoo expeditionary force slowed to a stop. By now, over a dozen unlucky soldiers who had fallen were trampled into bloody pulp by their own comrades as they still circled wildly moments before. Hatred and venom practically dripped from the golden helmeted Elder’s eyes as he forcefully nudged his horse forward, parting his cavalrymen. His gaze locked onto Sun Fei. His hand on the pommel of his golden sword whitened from the force of his grip, knuckles bulging, veins popping. After a long pause, he reluctantly loosened his fingers, letting go of the sword hilt, and gritted out hatefully, “I am Blackrock King Kant, respectfully insist King Alexander of Champoo turn over the murderers who slaughtered my Blackrock City’s two hundred cavalry— including Prince Ake, last night! Hand them over this instant, and I permit your forces to peacefully traverse my territory. Otherwise…”

To demonstrate their King’s resolve, the encircling cavalry raised their weapons in unison. Spear points and pikes swiveled to point inward toward the encircled Shampoo City contingent.

Murderous pressure enveloped them.

“Yawn… Not sure what you’re yapping about,” Sun Fei stretched lazily. “Someone got murdered last night?” he said disinterestedly. “No wonder tonight’s clouds are so fresh and lovely. All the clashing and shouting kept me beautifully rested… Emperor Kan’t, the state of your Blackrock territory’s safety really needs some work!”

“You…” Golden-haired Kant struck speechless with rage; fury twisting his features. “I stand here with the entire might of Black Rock’s military present— how dare you spew such insolent words? Hmph!” He forced a cold laugh. “Alexander! You killed a Prince of a Vassal State sanctioned high honour by our Empire? Even if we dragged this matter before Emperor Yassin, I stand firmly within my rights! Hand over the perpetrators now, or I shall rip your pride from your bones! One command from me, and within moments— there will not remain a single trace of royal lineage within your bloodline! Say goodbye to your monarchy!” Blackrock King Kant threatened.

Sun’s glance casually passed with supreme contempt over all the fierce cavalrymen encircling him. But he completely ignored all of Kant’s hostile words in favour of his own short dictate: “Ten breaths’ time: Clear the road. Open the gates. For yourself—retreat. Remove your forces blocking my path immediately. Let my expedition continue unhindered beyond your insignificant fortifications….” Then Alexander paused meaningfully before delivering his ultimatum: “…Or else—From this moment henceforth—Black Rock City shall no longer recognize sovereignty of kings.”

As he said this—Sun Fei’s body gave only an incredibly faint tremble of movement.

To mortal onlookers surrounding—what they perceived was only a flickering blur of motion.

Instantly felt King Kant’s neck feel inexplicably cold! Instinctively, he touch-stroked his beard… and shock hit him as he discovered – a substantial section of his treasured, meticulously groomed golden beard… gone!

Looking up in bewilderment… He saw the huge handful of loss golden hair swirl from the hand of Shampoo King Alexander opposite as nonchalantly flung away!

Cold air sharply inhaled simultaneously from nearly all surrounding forces sounded… a collective gasp!

Few among the assembled cavalry besides some higher capacity fighters caught Shampoo King Alexander’s ultimate movement at all.