Chapter 648: A Curtain Rope

“Where are you two going?”

Watson flew down from the sky and looked at Jayla and Balroy with a smile on his face.

Using the spatial teleportation channel, it only took an instant to return from the Dwarven Kingdom to the Kingdom of Kings. As soon as he returned, he saw Jayla and Balroy carrying large and small packages and preparing to leave the world creation mountain. He immediately came down to ask.

“Reporting to Your Majesty Watson, we have been disturbing you in Mount Creation for a long time. We feel bad to continue staying here. We are preparing to return to the Thorn Empire later,” Balroy said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Returning so soon? Did the servants not treat you well while you were on Mount Creation? Or are you not happy staying here?”

“It’s not that. Everyone on the mountain is very friendly. Furthermore, the resources here are abundant. There are many things that we have not seen in the Thorn Empire. We are very happy here.”

“If that’s the case, why do you have to leave?”

“I—”

Faced with Watson’s question, Balroy struggled to reply. Jayla immediately said, “Well, we are the nine divine generals of the empire. We are about to hold the largest annual celebration in the Thorn Empire—the selection ceremony for the divine generals. As one of the nine divine generals, we have to go back for it.”

The divine general selection ceremony was the biggest event in the Thorn Empire. The Thorn empire advocated the survival of the fittest. All the positions in the empire were gained through continuous battles and not through the hereditary inheritance of the noblemen. The nine divine generals were the soldiers’ top chain of command—one had to be a top-notch elite. It was even more difficult to maintain the position.

It was time to choose the nine divine generals due to the annual rotation. The existing ones might be eliminated; that was why Balroy and Jayla, who were at the bottom rank, wanted to go to the Kingdom of Kings to try their luck.

“I see.”

Watson nodded in understanding. He placed his palm on his lips. “It sounds like that divine general selection ceremony is very interesting. Can I go and take a look?”

“Of course.”

Jayla hesitated for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, with your status and for the care that you have shown us, it is only right for us to extend an invitation to you. We will explain it to our king when we arrive at Thorn Empire. He will write a personal invitation and arrange the best seat for you during the ceremony.”

“That’s settled then. The two of you can leave now. I won’t be seeing you off.”

Watson waved his hand and bade farewell to Jayla and Balroy, who were obviously relieved. The corners of his mouth curled upward, and a smile appeared on his face.

“Your Majesty, do we need to send a Blackmoon Knight to follow them?”

Allen, the leader of the Blackmoon Knights, flew toward Watson and asked in a low voice.

“No need. The fish have been released. We will wait for them to take the bait! It’s not essential to let the people of the Thorn Empire watch the so-called selection ceremony of the nine divine generals. The important thing is how the Thorn Empire will react when they find out about the existence of the Kingdom of Kings. I’m looking forward to it.”

“As expected of Your Majesty. You are indeed meticulous. You can think of things that we can’t think of.”

“Stop flattering me. Hurry up and transport the technological weapons brought back from the Dwarven Kingdom to Blackmoon Castle. Before confronting the people of the Thorn Empire, I want to improve the combat strength of the soldiers on Mount Creation first.”

At the Thorn Empire…

That was the kingdom in the east of the continent. It was near the east coast and the Holy Dragon Kingdom in the west.

At the time, in the Thorn Empire’s Crystal Palace…

The Royal Palace of the Thorn Empire was housed at the Crystal Palace. Outside the massive crystal-like palace, two people moved quickly. Those two people were carrying huge and little bundles on their shoulders, sofa cabinets that looked like furniture, fruits, bottles of spring water stored in magical devices, and other goods that drew the interest of many passersby on the street.

“Look, those two people should be Jayla, who is known as the Whip of Thorns, and Balroy, who is known as the Unyielding Spear. I heard that they disappeared from the Thorn Empire for a long time, and now they are actually back.”

“The nine divine generals’ selection competition is about to start again. It is normal for them to be back, but looking at the things on their backs. Did they just move back here?”

“It’s not a problem for them to come back. After all, the selection competition for the nine divine generals is about to start. This time, I heard that several elites of the new generation are competing for the nine divine generals’ spots in the competition. I predict that the two of them, who ranked at the bottom, will be eliminated! I thought they were searching for treasures that they could win when they left. Now, it seems like they only brought back some furniture and sundries. Are they going to give up their status as one of the nine divine generals?”

The passersby stared at Jayla and Balroy in surprise and discussed it animatedly.

Some of those discussions reached Jayla and Balroy’s ears, but they did not say anything. The things they brought back included the Spring of Life water and the sun fruits. Only they knew how powerful the things they had obtained in the Kingdom of Kings were. Every piece of furniture on their bodies was a starlight-tier item.

Even if they knew the significance of these things, the people of the Thorn Empire would not believe them. They did not lack the courage to argue, but they were too lazy to contradict.

They had journeyed for half a month over mountains and rivers on their way back to the Thorn Empire from the Kingdom of Kings. Their own strength was insufficient to return to the Thorn Empire instantly without the assistance of the teleportation channel.

“According to my calculations, the preliminary selection for the nine divine generals competition is set to commence.” Balroy’s voice was troubled.

Jayla, who was beside him, had a similar expression. “I just don’t know if His Majesty will believe what we say.”

The Thorn Empire’s nine divine general selection tournament was nothing compared to the Kingdom of Kings. Even if the Thorn Empire chose nine new divine generals, it was still insufficient in the face of the Kingdom of Kings’ strength.

With a heart full of worry, the two of them approached the Crystal Palace’s wall. When the palace guards spotted Jayla and Balroy, they instantly lowered their heads and said, “Greetings, Lord Jayla and Lord Balroy.”

“Go and inform His Majesty that we are back.”

“His Majesty is currently gathering the ministers to hold a meeting on the issue of the nine divine generals’ competition. Since you are back, My Lords, you can go and join them,” the guard said politely and looked at Jayla and Balroy with a strange expression. The two of them did not say anything else. They nodded their heads in agreement and simply entered the palace.

There was a large hall not far away within the Crystal Palace. The hall’s exterior was similarly made entirely of crystals. Under the sunlight, the purple crystals emitted a vivid brightness. The outside could not see what was inside the hall, but the inside could clearly see the outside. That hall was purposefully created in that manner.

It was the meeting hall. It was a particular gathering place for the Thorn Empire officials to discuss national matters. At that moment, a meeting was being held inside.

Jayla and Balroy entered the room without hesitation. In the hall, there were already two rows of ministers standing. As they turned their heads to look at Jayla and Balroy, each minister had a peculiar expression on their face. A long carpet extended to a high platform several meters tall in the large hall.

A golden-haired youth, no more than 30 years old, sat on the throne on the lofty stage. His fingers supported his stunning face, which was reminiscent of a sculpture. His fiery gaze wandered across several ministers from time to time. He wore a gold leaf headpiece and a long jewel-encrusted robe on his head. It gave him an aristocratic appearance.

The Thorn Empire’s king, Gilgamesh, was a young guy with golden hair and ruby eyes.

“Balroy, Jayla, I’m in the middle of a meeting with my ministers. You rushed in during the middle of the meeting. Do you admit your wrongdoings? Also, I heard that you recently left the Thorn Empire and went to other kingdoms. I thought you would betray the Thorn Empire and join other kingdoms. I did not expect you to come back at this time. Tell me, what have you done? What are you carrying on your shoulders?”

Gilgamesh had obviously seen the furniture and other valuables Jayla and Balroy had brought back.

“Your Majesty, during the time we were away, we went to the Kingdom of Kings. We saw a different scenery there, so we returned to the Thorn Empire to report to you, Your Majesty,” Jayla stated politely.

Jayla and Balroy knelt on the ground simultaneously, placing their stuff on the ground.

“Oh?”

Gilgamesh, who had blond hair and red eyes, looked at the items with interest. “What did you see in the Kingdom of Kings? What do you want to report to me now?”

The Kingdom of Kings, the original Holy Dragon Kingdom, had conquered the Winter Nation in the north and the Kingdom of Elves in the south and merged into the Kingdom of Kings. That was not a secret in the Thorn Empire. A secret agent had already told him the details of the matter, so he was not surprised by the kingdom that Jayla had mentioned.

“We saw the possibility of conquering the Kingdom of Kings, so we returned with only one goal—to persuade Your Majesty to sign an agreement with the Kingdom of Kings. It is to turn the Thorn Empire into a vassal state of the Kingdom of Kings so that the disaster could be avoided,” Jayla said earnestly.

Meanwhile, Balroy, who was beside her, lowered his head and did not move as if agreeing with her. The expressions of the other ministers, including Gilgamesh, changed.

Gilgamesh was the Thorn Empire’s youngest king in history. He had ascended to the throne before the age of thirty. Gilgamesh developed the system of selecting the Thorn Empire’s nine divine generals, which he established. Gilgamesh had forcibly boosted the Thorn Empire’s national strength several times over with his own strength. Of course, the biggest desire of a young and bright emperor was to expand his domain.

Gilgamesh was the same. His greatest wish was to conquer the Holy Dragon Kingdom and occupy the other three kingdoms on the continent in turn. He would become the king of unifying the continent and recreate the glory of the 12th era’s Tudor dynasty. That was something that all the ministers present knew very well.

Even though they knew that the King wanted to become the king of the unified continent, Jayla and Balroy had said such outrageous words—making Gilgamesh give up the unification and become a vassal of the Kingdom of Kings. They were too bold.

As expected, after hearing Jayla’s words, Gilgamesh’s face darkened. “What do you mean?”

“It’s exactly what I meant, Your Majesty Gilgamesh. We hope that the Thorn Empire can become a vassal state of the Kingdom of Kings.” Jayla gritted her teeth in response. That time, Gilgamesh had yet to reply.

A burly man not far to the left frowned and said, “Jayla, why do I feel that you’ve become timid after making a trip to the Kingdom of Kings? They had indeed subdued the Elven Kingdom and the Winter Nation. It’s a very resourceful kingdom, but the Thorn empire is different from those two kingdoms. Our strength might be stronger than the combined strength of those two kingdoms.”

The Kingdom of Kings’ ability to acquire the Elven Kingdom and the Winter Nation did not imply that they could overcome the Thorn empire.

The burly man was wearing a mask with three eyes on each side. He had a peculiar appearance and had a long sword around his waist. Even though he did not use the biting cold sword aura, it was still whirling around him. It was difficult to approach him.

That burly man was called Cecil, and he was the strongest of the nine divine generals of the Thorn Empire.

Not far away from Cecil, a thin and weak man with blue shoulder-length hair and a feminine appearance spoke up. “Perhaps Jayla and Balroy were brainwashed by the people from the Kingdom of Kings. Or maybe they were affected by some kind of magic that impacted their spirits and did not know it? I originally disapproved of Jayla and Balroy continuing to be divine generals in last year’s selection competition. Now it seems like we should just let them vacate their positions.”

“You’re right. Jayla and Balroy are the weakest of the divine generals. Their strength can’t be compared to that of the other divine generals. They even went to the Kingdom of Kings for a very long time this time. I’m unsure if they were bribed there. In my opinion, His Majesty should strip them of their qualifications! Of course, it doesn’t matter if His Majesty doesn’t do it. In any case, His Majesty has already agreed to my request to become one of the new nine divine generals of the Empire.” Next to the man with feminine blue shoulder-length hair, a muscular man with a bare upper body opened his mouth to speak.

The man with a bare upper torso had a cross-shaped scar on his face and a ferocious expression. Both of his hands were chained, and he was wearing pointy gloves in front of him. He did not appear to be a good-for-nothing.

My name is Polo Bismarck! You two outdated divine generals. If you are dissatisfied with anything, you can look for me to put it into practice right now. But I have already stated that I will not hit women.”

“Polo Bismarck, that is my name! You two outdated divine generals, you can look for me to practice it now if you have anything you are not satisfied with. However, I have already said that I will not hit women.

The man who called himself Polo licked his lips. His gaze swept past Jayla’s plump body and stopped on Balroy.

Bismarck was a famous surname in the entire Thorn Empire. The empire’s prime minister’s surname was Bismarck, and he was known as the Prime Minister of Iron Blood. Since that young man named Polo had Bismarck’s surname, it proved that he had a certain relationship with the prime minister.

Subconsciously, Jayla and Balroy looked at the prime minister, who was standing in front of all the ministers. The prime minister had gray hair and was resting with his eyes closed. His face was solemn. The prime minister had no intention of interfering with Polo’s words.

“Your Majesty, everything we said is true. We have no intention of lying, and the Kingdom of Kings has not brainwashed us! The Kingdom of Kings has power that the Thorn empire can not contend against. Right now, the most important thing is not to worry about who the nine divine generals will be but to think about how to deal with that powerful kingdom.” Balroy, who had been silent all that while, opened his mouth to speak.

Gilgamesh’s eyes flickered; he asked in return, “This is a high-tier meeting. Only the nine divine generals and the various ministers can stand here and chat. What qualifications do you have left if you lose to Polo and are stripped of the nine divine generals’ qualifications? Deciding the nine divine generals is the most important thing right now.”

“Your Majesty, alright, since that is the case, then we can only fight with Lord Polo.”

Balroy was in a bit of a dilemma. After exchanging a glance with Jayla, he made up his mind.

“The two of you should attack together, lest others say that I’m bullying you.”

Polo gestured at Balroy and Jayla. His expression was arrogant, and as he spoke, a peak diamond-tier aura spread from his body.

It was as Balroy and Jayla had predicted. Polo Bismarck was indeed related to Prime Minister Bismarck. Polo was the Prime Minister’s son.

On the one hand, Polo’s exceptional talent enabled him to achieve peak diamond-tier elite status at such a young age. However, it was also owing to his own hard effort. He would train for no less than ten hours a day, no matter what the weather was like, no matter how comfortable his body was that day, and there was no hurdle in the wind or rain.

A genius was already more than an ordinary individual, let alone a hardworking genius.

He had already ascended to diamond-tier a few years before. He did not instantly face the nine divine generals because he felt he still lacked something. It was not as simple as simply becoming one of the nine divine generals. Instead, he wanted to face the strongest nine divine generals. He might as well become the leader of the nine divine generals if he wanted to be one of them.

Subconsciously, he looked at Cecil, the strongest of the nine divine generals. A flame burned in Polo’s eyes.

‘I will begin with the two divine generals who ranked eighth and ninth respectively. I will show them how powerful I am. Then I will seize the opportunity to challenge Cecil and become the number one divine general.’

As he was thinking excitedly in his heart, Polo saw Jayla walk out after making a simple agreement with Balroy. She came in front of him and drew a weapon that looked like a hanging curtain rope from her waist.

That scene made Polo laugh.

Jayla had previously wielded a platinum-tier prickly whip. Due to its quickness and the poison-smeared thorns on the whip, it was exceedingly threatening to ordinary people; Polo was also afraid Jayla might use that whip. He was not expecting Jayla to pull out a curtain rope.

How comical was that!

“Hey, you’re not planning to use that curtain rope to deal with me, are you?”

Polo moved over to Jayla with a sneer on his face. What made him feel even funnier was that Balroy appeared doubtful after Jayla took off with the curtain rope. His expression grew tense. “Are you going to utilize that weapon, Jayla? Should we switch to a different one? If we use that, the other party will be extremely dangerous.”

“It’s fine. I’ll use this one. Doesn’t he look down on us and want to replace us as the new nine divine generals? I’ll let him understand the gap between us right now.”

“Your Majesty, I’ll have to trouble you. I hope you don’t mind using this hall as our battlefield.”

Polo did not believe Jayla’s words. He turned around and bowed to Gilgamesh. The king did not seem to care about that and waved his hand. “I approve of the battle between the two of you. I am tired from the meeting, so I’ll treat it as a performance! However, there’s no point in just fighting. I’m preparing to set up a bet. Ministers, why don’t you take a gamble and see who can win this match?”

Under Gilgamesh’s instructions, the ministers took out their belongings and placed their bets. Most of them were betting on Polo’s victory.

“Admit defeat later, so that my attacks won’t hurt you! This battle will determine the outcome and gamble on our career as the nine divine generals. If you lose, you will be removed from the nine divine generals. How about that?”

Polo and Jayla were less than ten meters apart at that moment. He had spoken with a disdainful expression.

“No problem.”

Jayla nodded solemnly.

“Then let’s begin.”

Polo quickly opened his massive arms in response to Gilgamesh’s announcement. A strong aura erupted from his body, shattering the hall’s dome. Thick vines pierced out of the ground, wrapping around his torso and transforming into green tree armor. Some even spanned his body and condensed over his head, transforming him into a tree-clad behemoth with a thousand arms.

“Diamond-tier rules, absolute binding! Absolute regeneration!”

The thousand-armed tree monster behind Polo quickly bowed when he extended his right hand toward Jayla. Its arms wrapped around Jayla from all sides like thick pythons. Jayla did not have much room to maneuver, and she was soon trapped by those tree arms and dragged into the air. Breathing through the crevices between the dense trees was tough for her.

“I can’t take a single blow.”

Polo’s eyes flickered. He had used two kinds of rules in his attack just now. Rules were an ability that only diamond-tier elites could master. The power of the two rules proved that he was an outstanding diamond-tier elite; even Sword Saint Reid, the strongest elite of the Holy Dragon Kingdom, was only average when faced with his skills.

Sword Saint Reid had been so powerful that the other kingdoms dared not challenge him. They agreed to sign the armistice. That matter had become a thing of the past after decades of hard effort by the Thorn Empire; the present Thorn empire was more powerful than the Holy Dragon Kingdom or the Kingdom of Kings, and Polo was the new era’s Sword Saint Reid.

“Die!”

He clenched his fists silently. The tens of thousands of arms wrapped around Jayla in the air suddenly contracted. Many of the ministers there could not face the thought of Jayla being crushed into a bloody mist. Some of them were happy since they had won the wager.

A muffled sound was detected at the vital moment. Jayla’s curtain rope, which she had been holding all that time, broke forth with a blinding light. Under the bright light, the curtain rope flew into mid-air and formed a circle, burning all the emerald green vines that Polo had called. A beautiful divine kingdom appeared in the loop. The walls around that divine kingdom were engulfed in flames, and the moment it appeared, it shattered the dome of the entire gathering hall, as well as the walls surrounding it. It slammed down hard on Polo.

Polo, who was only a diamond-tier elite, did not even have the strength to oppose the divine kingdom that was engulfed in flames. He was propelled dozens of meters away with a muffled bang, heavily smashing a massive pit on the ground. It was unclear if he was still alive or dead.

The ministers around Jayla, including Gilgamesh, were all staring blankly at the curtain rope in front of her, which was generating a star-like glow. They all appeared to be dreaming.

“What is that thing?”