Chapter 3106: King of Qin
The Qinhuang Kingdom had already become a dominant kingdom on the Tian Yuan Continent even before the events that transpired afterwards. After the Tian Yuan Continent became connected with the World of Forsaken Saints, the Qinhuang Kingdom even used their relationship with the human sovereign, Jian Chen, to achieve rapid development in both their might and influence. They had made great progress.
By now, the Qinhuang Kingdom had become a peak organisation that dominated a region on the Tian Yuan Continent, a terrifying force that no one could simply ignore.
The reason for their status was not just the dozen or so Saint Emperors in the kingdom. Most importantly, there were two existences that had surpassed Saint Emperor in the current Qinhuang Kingdom.
It was exactly because of these two Origin realm experts that the Qinhuang Kingdom became an existence almost on par with the protector clans.
One of these Origin realm experts was the Imperial Protector, Qin Yunlong!
The other was the current king of the kingdom, Qin Ji!
Qin Ji had become a great ruler whose contributions stood out in the history of the Qinhuang Kingdom a long time ago. During the years he spent as the king, he led the Qinhuang Kingdom into a period of unprecedented glory.
In reality, Qin Ji had abdicated from the throne a long time ago when he became a Saint Emperor, passing it onto his descendants and retiring away from the public.
However, with the establishment of the Flame Emperor and the battles that raged through the Tian Yuan Continent, Qin Ji was forced to assume the throne again. He understood the severity of the matter, tending to the situation in person.
Under Qin Ji’s personal watch, the Qinhuang Kingdom had indeed enjoyed several years of peace. Despite the worsening situation across the entire continent, they managed to remain uninvolved, becoming one of the few places where peace still remained.
The Qinhuang Kingdom could not maintain this peace for too long either. Finally, the Qinhuang Kingdom had also come to a critical moment that decided their fate.
At this moment, over a hundred people stood above a fortress on the boundary of the Qinhuang Kingdom. They were divided into two sides.
Even the weakest cultivators hovering in the air was a Saint King, while the strongest had surpassed Sainthood and reached the Origin realm.
In the sky, it was a confrontation between Sainthood and Origin realm experts, while on the ground, there was a great mass of Mortal realm cultivators, amounting into the millions.
One of the sides was obviously the Qinhuang Empire.
The other side was all dressed in fiery-red armour. They seemed like a burning ball of flames.
They were the army of the greatest organisation on the Tian Yuan Continent, the Flame Empire!
“King of Qin, the five decades are up. It’s time for your Qinhuang Kingdom to make a final choice,” an Origin realm expert said sternly from the Flame Empire’s side. His gaze towards the king of Qin was filled with mixed feelings and powerlessness.
The king of Qin, Qin Ji, was extremely stern. He was also slightly sorrowful. “The old captain of your Flame Mercenaries was once a brother of mine. On top of that, he had served as an Imperial Protector of my kingdom. Our relationship with Jian Chen truly spans far and wide, now that you mention it. Yet now, as former subordinates of Jian Chen, you actually want to annex my Qinhuang Kingdom. Is your Flame Empire truly going to be so heartless?”
The Qinhuang Kingdom only had two Receival experts, while the Flame Empire possessed five Origin realm experts and an absolute numerical advantage. Their strongest expert had even surpassed Receival and reached Returnance.
In terms of peak strength alone, the Qinhuang Kingdom was at a complete disadvantage.
“King of Qin, this is her majesty’s orders. We’re merely following orders,” the middle-aged man who had reached Returnance clasped his fist and said from among the five Origin realm experts of the Flame Empire. He was reluctant to do this, but he had no other choice either.
The five Origin realm experts from the Flame Emperor were all members of the Divine Guards of the Flame. They were obviously aware of the relationship between Jian Chen and Qin Ji, as well as the close connection between Jian Chen and the Qinhuang Kingdom. However, the emperor’s order could not be defied. Since their superiors had already issued the order, then all they could do was carry it out as members of the Divine Guard of the Flames.
Otherwise, defiance would be viewed as a form of betrayal!
“If Jian Chen wants to lead our Qinhuang Kingdom, we’ll be more than willing to serve him, and we’ll follow everything he says without any complaints. Not only is Jian Chen an Imperial Protector of our Qinhuang Kingdom, but he’s also a great sovereign that’s saved all the lives of this world. As for the emperor of your Flame Empire, Bi Lian, please forgive us over the fact that we cannot follow her. If your Flame Empire insists on making things difficult, all our Qinhuang Empire can do is put up a struggle to the death!” Qin Ji said firmly. His face was filled with resolve. At that moment, he seemed to have cast death aside. He was ready to sacrifice himself for the kingdom.
“Sigh, then all we can do is cause offence, king of Qin.” The Returnance expert from the Flame Empire let out a gentle sigh before waving his hand suddenly.
Immediately, the four Receival experts beside him took action, lunging towards Qin Ji and Qin Yunlong, outnumbering them two to one.
“Don’t be too heavy-handed. Capturing them is enough. They have close connections with the old captain after all. Once we return, we’ll plead for mercy with the empire. Hopefully, we can protect their lives.” The Returnance expert immediately conveyed to the four Divine Guards of the Flame.
Determination and resolve filled the eyes of Qin Ji and Qin Yunlong. The two of them immediately began to resist them without any hesitation.
However, right when the six Receival experts were about to become locked in battle, the space there suddenly froze. At that moment, time seemed to freeze, and the world descended into silence. The six Receival experts were all frozen in the exact same postures as before.
Even the powerful energy that erupted from them and the powerful battle skills and secret techniques they had cast were frozen by the still space.
The abrupt twist in the situation shocked all of the Origin realm experts present, as only they could sense how tough the frozen space around them had become.
In the frozen space, not only were they immobilised, but they could not even move a finger.
“Who? Who is it? How does the world possess an expert like this?” Apart from Shangguan Aojian, who had already left this world, the strongest experts of this world were all at the Origin realm. As a result, the Origin realm experts were all shocked by this twist.
However, before they could think too much about it, two figures appeared silently between the two armies.
All of the Origin realm experts stared at the two figures immediately. When they recognised who they were, they were all taken aback before being overcome with undisguisable excitement.
It was also at that moment that the frozen space in the surroundings returned to normal. The energy given off by both the four Divine Guards of the Flame and Qin Ji and Qin Yunlong of the Qinhuang Kingdom had vanished. A force of space separated them.
“Old captain. Old captain, is it really you?” The five Divine Guards of the Flame were all emotional. They stared straight at Jian Chen as their surprised and joyous gazes were filled with disbelief. Soon afterwards, the five of them knelt down in the air and said excitedly, “Greetings, old captain!”
“Brother Jian Chen, i- is it really you? Y- you’ve returned from the Saints’ World?” Qin Ji stared at Jian Chen emotionally as well as his voice trembled away.