MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again
Chapter 444 - 198: Cairo’s Mission

Chapter 444: Chapter 198: Cairo’s Mission

Having escaped the tiger’s den only to enter the wolf’s lair, even an iron fortress could not hold out forever. Lu Hong retrieved the holy sword, and before him stood only Konstantin. Those powerful beings had been sent away by the adversary, a scene that indeed earned Lu Hong’s admiration.

"Are you not afraid that I will hold you hostage?" Lu Hong asked with some confusion.

Family Head Konstantin smiled and shook his head, "We are not enemies, and moreover, General Xie’an is currently a guest at my residence. You would not abandon him."

"And you have no plans concerning Lord Star Sea?"

"Consuming Cain’s Divine Soul is enough for the true dragon’s resurrection; it needs no more souls to feed on. More would only make the dragon greedy," Konstantin said. "I sealed the realm because I do not want the empire meddling in this matter. Resurrecting the true dragon is my family’s sole mission for a thousand years. To have it resurrect under my command is the greatest honor as the head of the Konstantin family, and as long as the empire does not object, I do not mind your presence."

"Yet surely the resurrection of the true dragon will bring great destruction to the Star Sea," Lu Hong said. "The empire cannot simply ignore this."

"Who told you that the resurrection of the true dragon must destroy the Star Sea?" Konstantin said. "Have you considered too simply why my family wishes to resurrect the true dragon? Is it to bring chaos and destruction?"

Hearing Konstantin’s retort, Lord Star Sea asked, "Could it be that your family has found a way to control the Dragon Soul?"

"Of course, if we cannot control this divine beast, what use is there in resurrecting it?" Konstantin laughed. "Once the true dragon is resurrected, the Konstantin family will leave the Star Sea for our ancient homeland and will pose no threat to the empire. Meanwhile, the Pasar family, who have stolen the power of the Dragon Soul and created a formidable Dragon Soul army, plan to use this army to overthrow the empire and establish a new order. So, frankly, the Konstantin family is not an enemy to the empire but rather aids it in eliminating a great threat."

Lu Hong nodded, accepting Konstantin’s explanation. Logically, it was unnecessary for Konstantin to lie since he could handle the situation himself. Lord Star Sea was disabled, lacking the enhancement of Bloodthirst, and against purely powerful enemies, Lu Hong would undoubtedly die. Moreover, since Konstantin was close to resurrecting the true dragon, why deceive him?

Originally, the Konstantin family sealed the Dragon Valley to isolate it from the empire without causing ripples. However, if they succeeded, the Pasar family’s plan would be completely thwarted. Hence, Bo Heng managed to bring Xie’an and Lu Hong into the Dragon Valley, partially to draw Konstantin’s attention and partly due to greed over the empire’s realm identity. The empire’s soldiers hailed from the Divine Favor, the highest realm under the Star Sea, and only under this identity could his Iron Soul Army surpass all realms uncontested.

It was only now that Lu Hong fully understood this stratagem within a stratagem; unfortunately, the game had already ended, and in this game, Lu Hong was at most a slightly advanced piece, unable to escape the chessboard.

Realizing this, Lu Hong felt somewhat stifled. Taking a deep breath, he accepted the outcome and also had some insights. Next time, he would not wish to be anyone’s pawn; he wanted to control his own destiny!

"Let’s go. General Xie’an is waiting for you, and I have already sent someone to bring Cain and Lina from the black guard’s post." As the Teleportation Scroll was activated, Konstantin stepped through first.

Lu Hong looked at Lord Star Sea, "Are you coming with us?"

Lord Star Sea nodded, "Certainly, I want to see Cain."

The two then stepped through the teleportation gate together and arrived inside the Konstantin family’s mansion.

Konstantin was a few steps ahead, yet nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, a servant of the Konstantin family approached them and bowed, "Sirs, the Family Head instructed me to take you to the backyard."

Lu Hong nodded, "Thank you."

Resigned to their circumstances, they followed the servant and soon arrived at the backyard, where Xie’an and Cain were found playing chess.

"You’re here?!" Xie’an, looking pleased to see Lu Hong, nevertheless pressed down a chess piece.

Cain’s expression changed slightly, then he looked at the Lord of the Night Extreme Star and laughed heartily, "Haha, Old Blackskin, long time no see," he said, then flipped the chessboard over.

"Hey! Lord Cain, are you afraid of losing? That’s cheating!" Xie’an shouted in dissatisfaction, as he was about to win.

"What win or lose? Didn’t you see that I was letting you win?" Cain glanced at Xie’an, then said, "Hurry up and brew me some tea, I want to have a good chat with Old Blackskin."

Xie’an shook his head helplessly; there was nothing he could do about the old man’s shameless behavior.

Lu Hong chuckled and walked beside Xie’an, "This old guy is always like this, I’m used to it by now. How have you been?"

Xie’an nodded, "Not too bad. If it weren’t for the timely support of the Cairo family, I’m afraid my brothers and I would have perished in the Dreamy Soul Swamp."

"Lord Cain, did that despicable Bastard die?" Hearing what Xie’an said, Lu Hong relaxed, then turned to look at Cain.

Cain shook his head, "The Cairo family sent people to attack the Black Guard outpost, forcing Bastard to hand over Lina and me before taking us away. Bastard has been operating the Dragon Pool for many years, and although he isn’t very strong, he has many means to save his life. The Cairo family’s powerful members didn’t entangle with her too much."

"Very good." Lu Hong nodded with satisfaction. Regarding the woman who toyed... played with him, Lu Hong still hoped that he could kill her personally. Of course, he remembered the vengeance against Bo Heng; the Passa family had many powerful members. It could wait until he reached the Third Transition to seek revenge.

"Never mind." Xie’an shook his head and said, "Now that we’re exposed, Bastard must have taken refuge with Bo Heng. It’s going to be very difficult to kill her, and Wes previously told me that he would arrange for us to leave Dragon Pool tomorrow. Let’s not complicate things any further."

Dragon Pool’s waters ran deep, and Xie’an had learned this much. Not only were there local strongmen, but many from other planes as well, hidden behind the scenes. Only in these last moments of negotiation had both sides come forward.

Clearly, this power was beyond what Xie’an and Lu Hong could contend with. Behind this group of elite, there might be the shadows of dozens or even nearly a hundred families.

"Were you also persuaded by Wes?"

Xie’an gave a bitter smile, "Haven’t you been? I even think Bo Heng has the backing of the Military Department of the Empire."

"What do you mean?" Lu Hong furrowed his brows.

Xie’an sighed, "The empire is currently in crisis. Although internal factional strife has temporarily subsided, two clear leanings have emerged: one is a conservative faction led by His Majesty, and the other is the destructive faction, advocating for fully unleashing the Extreme Demon Abyss to strengthen themselves with its powers and create an unbeatable army that would conquer everything within the Star Sea."

"Extreme Demon Abyss? What place is that?" This was the first time Lu Hong had heard of it.

"It’s the homeland of the revival of demon beasts. Every strand of Demonic Qi in the Extreme Demon Abyss contains the mysterious power to awaken the ancient legacy of demon beasts, and it greatly enhances the physique and Demon Core of the demon beasts. One could say that once the Extreme Demon Abyss is fully opened, the strength of the demon beasts beneath the Star Sea would surge qualitatively; jumping a level is the most conservative estimate." Xie’an continued without minding the attentive listening of Cain and the Lord of the Night Extreme Star, "The Military Department of the Empire had long started researching the Demonic Qi of the Extreme Demon Abyss and achieved significant results, even conducting specific experiments five hundred years ago. After transformation, those soldiers could greatly enhance their physique and magic power through Demonic Qi, but these transformed soldiers could no longer be called Human Race, having turned into terrifying monsters. The Great Emperor at the time felt this was inhumane and thus had the research completely sealed. Following a massive assault by the sea people on the empire, some within the Military Department resurrected this research, hoping the current emperor would approve and put the research into practice, creating a force of bloodthirsty monsters. This move would not only help the empire counter the threat from the sea people but also make the empire the sole ruler of the Star Sea."

"Is it really that terrible?" Despite saying this, Lu Hong was skeptical.

"Yes, this is what my father told me. I’ve encountered the Iron Soul Army built by the Passa family, and some of their attributes are somewhat similar to the initial research results of the empire. Perhaps the Passa family has the covert support of high-level officials in the Military Department."

Unable to create the army from the Extreme Demon Abyss, were those chiefs from the Military Department interested in Bo Heng’s Iron Soul Army?

Xie’an might be right; this was a real possibility.

"Let’s leave it at that. The internal affairs of the empire should be handled by Konstantin. Once we leave Dragon Pool, we’ll report all that happened here. Don’t worry about it." Lu Hong patted Xie’an’s shoulder; it wasn’t that he didn’t want to care, but his energy was limited. The外部 threats confronting the empire urgently needed resolution, and he was too busy to manage everything.