Chapter 95 - The Rat King is Timid, The Lion is Strong

Chapter 95: Chapter 93: The Rat King is Timid, The Lion is StrongLu Hong, holding the Blood Holy Sword, had already exchanged dozens of rounds with the rat-man royal guard captain. To be honest, the rat-man’s skill with his long blade was hardly inferior to Lu Hong’s swordplay.

As the rat-man royal guard captain resisted Lu Hong’s successive slashes, the tremendous impact forced him to step back repeatedly. "Granite, cover me!"

With the innate abilities of his race, streams of Earth Element essence rose from the ground, quickly enveloping the entire body of the guard captain.

Bolstered by the power of the Earth Element, the royal guard captain swung his blade at Lu Hong once more.

"I’m done playing with you," Lu Hong declared. He hadn’t even used half his strength up to now. Rat-people, relying on agility, inherently lack the advantage in brute strength. Even with the elemental enhancement increasing his defensive power, the guard captain wasn’t a match for Lu Hong.

"Break!" Lu Hong stepped back to sheath his sword, then unleashed ninety percent of his strength in a punch towards the guard captain.

"Not good!" Before the fist even arrived, the surging air from the punch locked the guard captain in place. He hastily raised his long blade to defend, and then, like a cannonball, he was blasted through half of the Imperial Palace, his fate unknown.

"Damn! Brother Hero is incredible!" Iron Hammer had not anticipated Lu Hong could be so fierce. Even if rat-men aren’t known for their strength, they should be far stronger than a First Transition human.

With the guard captain dealt with, there were no more obstacles in front of the Song and Dance Hall, and Lu Hong pushed open the great doors and entered.

Outside the hall, the clamor of battle was deafening, yet upon entering the Song and Dance Hall, all seemed untouched by it—like a world apart. Within the confines of the hall, the chaotic and noisy outside world faded like clouds drifting past.

"Are you here to kill me?" The Rat King stood at the end of the grand hall, his corpulent figure barely concealed by his gold robe.

Though plump in stature, his tone still carried a hint of imperial authority.

"Are you the Rat King?" Lu Hong advanced towards him.

"Hey, hey, stop, stop!" The Rat King hastened back, trying to reopen the distance between them.

Observing the Rat King’s comical demeanor, Lu Hong chuckled. "Aren’t you a rank six Demon Beast? How come you’re such a coward?"

"Even if I were a rank ten Demon Beast, I wouldn’t be brave. Which one of us rat-people isn’t naturally timid? Hey, how much did Iron Hammer and Long Spear give you for this? I’ll double it. Just don’t kill me, okay?" The Rat King blurted out his offer.

"Double? If it’s double, that would be four Space Rings, deal!" Lu Hong agreed without a second thought.

The Rat King’s face contorted with sorrow and anger. "Those fools are giving you two Space Rings? I only have two Space Rings, where am I supposed to get four for you?" He hadn’t expected Iron Hammer and Long Spear to be so wasteful, giving away two Space Rings just like that, leaving no opportunity for him to bribe his way out!

"I’m sorry then," Lu Hong said as he continued his approach.

"Wait, wait a moment," the Rat King called out in panic, stopping Lu Hong. "Can’t we negotiate something else? Maybe trade with other treasures? My treasury is full of rare metals and premium gems."

"Not interested," Lu Hong shook his head. With the Blood Holy Sword in hand, everything else seemed trivial.

"Then... then... how about the 7,200 beauties in my collection? I’ll give them all to you if you let me go?" The Rat King, seeing Lu Hong continuing to move forward, decided to cut his losses and offered his concubines as a generous gift.

"I don’t swing that way!" Lu Hong almost vomited. The very sight of rat-women was nauseating!

Lu Hong’s sword was now at the Rat King’s throat. "Then... then I’ll trade a secret for my life!"

"A secret? Hand over the Space Rings first. If I find the secret valuable, I’ll let you live," Lu Hong insisted, fixated on the Space Rings.

"Fine, fine, fine. Just don’t hurt me, and we can talk," the Rat King said tremblingly as he removed two pale blue rings from his fingers and handed them over to Lu Hong.

Having taken the rings, Lu Hong’s heart settled considerably. "Speak, what’s the secret?"

"You’re from the Holy Divine Empire, aren’t you?"

"Correct."

"This secret will certainly save my life. Five years ago, I received a secret order from the Beastman Empire to build a stable space passage at the cost of rat-people lives."

"How did an order from the Beastman Empire get to the Holy Divine Empire?" Lu Hong frowned, puzzled.

"A human conveyed the message," the Rat King explained. "Many orders from the Beastman Empire are passed through him."

"Who is he?" Lu Hong pressed urgently.

The Rat King shook his head. "I don’t know his name. Every time I saw him, he was cloaked in a black cape that concealed his face. The only thing clear was that his voice was very old."

"An old man?"

"I don’t know if he’s actually old, but his strength is immense. Just revealing a hint of his aura made me unable to think of resisting."

Lu Hong nodded and continued, "Where is this space passage you mentioned?"

"It’s at..." Just as the Rat King began to speak, a golden streak of light pierced through his head.

"Who’s there!" Lu Hong turned his head, as the Lionheart beastman punched a hole through the palace wall and stepped in gracefully.

"Ah, that was close, we almost exposed the secrets of the Beastman Empire." The Lionheart beastman dusted off the dirt from his body, speaking in a very relaxed tone.

"The Lionheart royal family?" Lu Hong dropped the now thoroughly dead Rat King and said, "You don’t stay hidden within your Beastman Empire and you actually have the guts to run into human territory?"

"It’s nothing special, at most I just need to disguise my appearance, and maybe kill a few more people every now and then."

Kill a few more people? Lu Hong’s expression darkened as he spoke, "I advise you to run for your life while you still can, it’ll be too late soon."

"Don’t rush, although you didn’t hear our most core secrets, I still need to take care of you, to prevent any future risks."

Damn, all of Lu Hong’s calm was for naught, in the end, this Lionheart beastman still wanted to take him down. Poor him, he hadn’t even had a chance to ask the Rat King about other precious treasures, and now he had to face such a powerful enemy.

Facing the Lionheart beastman, Lu Hong truly had no confidence at all; the opponent could walk boldly in the Empire, clearly demonstrating he was a mature male lion with overwhelming strength.

Escape!

With a strong push off, the door was already too late, Lu Hong headed straight for the nearest wall.

"You can’t escape!" The Lionheart beastman saw Lu Hong running away and leapt to chase after him.

Lu Hong hadn’t run far from the Song and Dance Hall before the Lionheart beastman caught up to him, aiming a punch right at his head.

"I’ll chop you to death!" Lu Hong turned around and thrust his sword, but the Lionheart beastman simply grasped the Blood Holy Sword with his bare hands, while his other fist smashed directly into Lu Hong’s face.

That punch was heavy; Lu Hong rolled seven or eight times before he stopped.

"Tsks, you’re just at the First Transition, how can you have such high defensive capabilities?" The Lionheart beastman looked at Lu Hong with some surprise, his punch had used thirty percent of his strength, yet it didn’t burst this human?

"Damn it, don’t you know not to hit someone in the face?!" Lu Hong sheathed the Blood Holy Sword and wiped away his nosebleed. The sword was sharp, but he still couldn’t fully wield its power, and the lion could grasp the sword barehanded; it seemed the sword couldn’t really harm him, so it was better stored away.

"Sorry, next time I will definitely crush you," said the Lionheart beastman calmly, in an instant drawing closer to Lu Hong.

"You take a punch from me too!" Lu Hong was ready for the Lionheart beastman’s sudden advance, and for a moment, the two of them were tangled in a brawl.

This time, Lu Hong was fighting for his life, going all out to block every attack from the Lionheart beastman.

"Are you really human?" The Lionheart beastman fought with increasing astonishment, "I’ve already increased my strength to fifty percent, and you still manage to withstand it."

Lu Hong had no time to waste on talk with this Lionheart beastman, he yelled straight to the trusted aide, "Quickly go outside to the mine and tell Lord Louis there is a member of the Lionheart royal family here!"

On one hand was the human who cared only for the Space Ring and not for the rat’s nest, on the other hand was the Beastman emissary who wanted to sextuple the previous advantages, the trusted aide made an immediate decision saying, "Yes, yes, yes, Hero Bro, you have to hold on!"

"I dare you!" The Lionheart beastman bellowed angrily, a huge lion phantom flashed across the Imperial Palace, and the roar of the lion quelled the whole scene.

Lionheart’s Roar!

This roar, imbued with endless Magic Power, continued to echo in the rat’s nest, and those weaker rat people swelled up under the roaring sound, bursting into a cloud of blood mist with a loud pop.

Lu Hong suffered too; as the source of Lionheart’s Roar, the roar affected him so that his blood felt like it was boiling, constantly surging against his veins.

At the same time, the dormant Lionheart bloodline within his blood felt provoked by its kin and started to grow restless.

The Lionheart beastman, looking at the human in front of him with a flushed face and trembling body, felt a sense of familiarity wash over him.

Compared to Lu Hong, those rats that didn’t explode were now sprawled weakly on the ground, unable to move, completely incapable of going out to send the message.

"You truly intrigue me, just at First Transition strength, yet able to directly withstand my Lionheart’s Roar," sniffed the Lionheart beastman, "Besides that, there’s something on you that gives me a very familiar feeling, quite strange indeed."

"Strange your mother’s money!" Lu Hong resisted the violent blood, gathering strength for a left hook punching towards the sky.

Smack!

The Lionheart beastman easily blocked Lu Hong’s strike, returning a punch that sent Lu Hong smashing into the ground.

The Lionheart beastman squatted by the hole and said to Lu Hong, "I have all the time in the world, we can slowly discuss your previous question."

"Lion King’s Descent!"

Before he could react, a flash of Gold passed by.

"Discuss your mother’s money!" Lu Hong’s fist wind howled, the Lionheart beastman quickly raised his hands to defend, shock written on his face as he was smashed from the upper to the lower layers of the rat’s nest.

"You actually have our royal family’s bloodline?!"