Chapter 172 - The Lion Moves

Chapter 172: Chapter 163 The Lion MovesHalf a year passed swiftly, and the wounds left by the War of the Mandarin Ducks were gradually healed. The group of elite family members selected by Songxi and Andre, who had returned to the Golden Family, marched alongside the Silver Family toward the Eagle Alliance.

Lei Shan had long been standing quietly with more than thirty subordinates in front of the transmission portal, waiting. Shortly thereafter, Hua En and Songxi arrived with the clan members.

Facing the immensely powerful Lei Shan, Hua En dared not show any disrespect. Compared to this duke at the top of the food chain, Hua En felt like he was just a younger brother. He hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on one knee, saying, "Hua En of the Silver Family greets Duke Lei Shan."

"Mm," Lei Shan responded indifferently, acknowledging the Silver Family’s incorporation into his ranks. He then turned and wrapped his arm around the graceful Songxi, chuckling, "Sweetheart, did you miss me all this time?"

"Of course, I missed you terribly," Songxi nestled in Lei Shan’s embrace, playfully whining.

"If you ask me, you should have followed me to the Eagle Alliance long ago. What’s good about the Empire’s territories? You can’t even fight one battle in three days. Following me, there are plenty of planes waiting for you to conquer in the Eagle Alliance."

Lei Shan rambled on for a while before leading everyone on their journey back.

The distance between the Eagle Alliance and the Empire was incredibly vast. Even without rest, it would take crossing thousands of large teleportation arrays to reach the border of the alliance.

Shortly after Lei Shan’s departure, in a mansion within the Beastman Empire, Small De burst through the courtyard wall, covered in mud and dust, kneeling before Eferot: Eferot was just about to kick this guy, who never used the door, out.

"Your Highness, there’s news from Lei Shan."

"Mm?" Eferot retracted his large foot, sneering, "After waiting half a year, they have finally set out."

Having said that, Eferot stood up and strode away, "Old fox, go inform Uncle Barret. I must settle this grudge!"

This movement of the Golden Lion drew the attention of all the intelligence departments within the Empire. A lion activating its dormant personnel at any cost for such a major undertaking—who could pretend not to see?

In no time, the movements of the Golden Lion were presented before Emperor Konstantin.

"Your Majesty, Eferot crossed the border with just one attendant this time. Meanwhile, on the other side, a person in a black robe who closely resembled War Lion Barret set out alone." The critical intelligence was analyzed bit by bit to Konstantin by Questasa, "From their route, it seems their target is... Lei Shan?"

Konstantin didn’t immediately respond. He meticulously examined the route the Golden Lion had paved internally within the Empire. After contemplating for a long time, he nodded, "You’re right. That little lion’s target might indeed be Lei Shan."

"Then, Your Majesty, should we dispatch troops to intercept?" Questasa, despite his dissatisfaction with Lei Shan, could not advise Konstantin to take action. He knew that Lei Shan, as a prominent Duke of the Eagle Alliance, represented the face of the Alliance. If something went wrong internally within the Empire, the Empire couldn’t escape blame.

"No need," Konstantin laughed, "This guy Lei Shan has been running amok in the Empire without restraint for half a year. It’s time someone disciplined him. This time, it’s just right—I’ll do the Golden Lion a favor. Send orders that no one is to intercept the Golden Lion and ensure their journey is unhindered across every plane under my Empire!"

"Your Majesty..." Questasa expressed concern, "If the Eagle Alliance finds out about this, it might affect border relations."

"Hmph! It’s just Lei Shan. The reason he can leverage the Eagle Alliance’s backing against me is because the Empire has always been in a state of division, isn’t it?" Konstantin thought back to what had transpired in court and fumed, "One day, if I unite the Empire, let’s see if Lei Shan still dares to act presumptuously on my court!"

Faced with Konstantin’s complaints, Questasa wisely chose silence. Such words were not to be answered carelessly.

But Konstantin wasn’t wrong—at its core, the Sacred Empire could indeed be considered in a state of division. The Queen of the Shahe family and the Emperor of the Plough family clearly had a power struggle, but the current Queen Shahe wasn’t particularly ambitious and just wanted to govern the northern territories peacefully. As for the outcome, well, it was all clearly arranged by Konstantin, and she was GG before even stepping onto the scene.

The territories and strength the Shahe family possessed were almost on par with the Plough family, and Lei Shan dared to be disrespectful to Konstantin precisely because of this. Konstantin didn’t represent the entire Sacred Empire. If conflict arose, Lei Shan’s forces wouldn’t fear the Plough family alone, but if the Shahe family submitted to Plough, Lei Shan likely wouldn’t dare to step into the territories of the Sacred Empire again, fearing elimination.

Though Konstantin didn’t know why the Golden Lion wanted to trouble Lei Shan, he was quite happy to help. Of course, it would be even better if Lei Shan could die at the hands of the Golden Lion.

At this point, Lei Shan, still unaware, had already passed through the transmission portal on the outskirts of the Continent of God’s Grace, arriving at the plane of Langyuan at the outer limit of the teleportation array.

"Songxi, this return journey will take some time; I’m not in a hurry. Let’s treat it as sightseeing." Lei Shan said, "Don’t worry, the plane I promised to give you has long been cleared out. It just awaits your arrival to become Queen."

Songxi smiled slightly, "Since Lord Lei Shan has arranged everything, I, as a woman, will surely follow. But..."

"Mm?" Lei Shan wondered, "Does beauty have any concerns?"

"Don’t you fear being intercepted and assassinated by enemies in secret, my Duke, having been away for so long?" Songxi’s expressed concern made Lei Shan laugh heartily.

"You mean you see only a few followers and worry about my safety?" Lei Shan turned to his line of subordinates and said, "Show a bit of your strength. Don’t let my beauty worry."

As soon as Lei Shan finished speaking, the aura of thirty Third Transition Peak powerhouses immediately stirred the heavens of the Langyuan plane, turning the sky tumultuous. Standing not far behind Lei Shan, Hua En turned pale under the invisible pressure. Producing thirty Third Transition Peak experts as escort all at once—who would dare to act rashly?

Songxi was also shocked. While she knew of Lei Shan’s strength, she hadn’t expected such prowess. After her initial panic, she looked at Lei Shan with even more charm in her eyes.

The duo’s conversation had barely ended when a sneer echoed inappropriately from afar.

"A bunch of useless rabble!"

"Who?!" Third Transition Peak experts held their dignity high and immediately raged at the anonymous mockery, "Get out of here!"

Under everyone’s gaze, the Golden Lion made his appearance a hundred meters away with Small De, while the city’s residents had long been arranged to evacuate. At this moment, there was only emptiness.

"What are you?" Lei Shan, seemingly unfamiliar with the Golden Lion, said in a deep voice, "Dare to act rashly before me!"

"Shut up! Garbage like you doesn’t deserve to speak to our Highness!" Small De jumped out and cursed, "His Highness said you’re a bunch of useless rabble, and that’s what you are. Anyone who disagrees has to pass through me first."

As Small De spoke, he was internally preparing to retreat. Truth be told, while there were level restrictions on the Langyuan plane, he absolutely couldn’t match this group of Third Transition Peak powers. If the Golden Lion really commanded him to lead the charge, he could only prepare for martyrdom.

Hua En, having stayed in the Empire long, recognized them and quickly reported to Lei Shan, "My Duke, he is the Golden Lion of the Beastman Empire."

Golden Lion? Lei Shan had heard of this, and upon meeting in person, he squinted to size him up, then spoke, "You’re not staying put in the Beastman Empire, and you come here for what reason? Do you want to make a deal with me?"

"A deal? Are you even worthy?" the Golden Lion said in a deep voice, "Today, I’m here to kill you!"

"Kill me? Hahaha! Kill me?" Lei Shan laughed, saying to his followers, "He said he wants to kill me. Did you hear that?"

"Reporting to the Duke, we heard it."

"If you heard it, then kill him for me!" Lei Shan roared, "An uncrowned lion dares to act rashly before me—damn it, I’ll send two hundred thousand troops to crush every plane of your Beastman Empire!"

"Presumptuous!" The Golden Lion roared, activating the state of Lion King’s descent, and the Lionheart’s Roar resonated in all directions.

The pressure on the Langyuan plane was at the Second Transition initial level. Even though the Golden Lion hadn’t reached the Third Transition in strength, the Lionheart’s bloodline was no joke. Lu Hong’s bloodline at level two already provided him with unparalleled combat power. Eferot’s recent advancement to a level five bloodline was nothing less than terrifying.