The main gates of the Fire Dragon Palace, once a magnificent and imposing structure, had been reduced into a mere heap of rubbles. Pits and hollows strewed everywhere around the compound, demonstrating the damages caused by the steely feathers iconic only to Winged warriors.
If Emperor Ao had not intervened to intimidate the Wingeds, the Palace would have long been reduced into nothing but a speck of dirt in history.
The Wingeds, upon realizing that an incredible entity was guarding the Palace, decided not to launch an all-out assault and chose instead to surround and besiege the Palace.
If they could not risk an assault on the Palace that could alternatively spell their downfall, the Wingeds opted to deprive everyone inside the Palace of sustenance, hoping that this might force them to give up and surrender Maple Canyon.
And the uneasy stalemate had endured as tensely as a taut bowstring.
Life went on as usual inside the walls of the Palace. At Long Ao’s supervision, acolytes of the Palace scurried about as busy as mice, working to repair the fallen entrance while another band of them devoted themselves to the charge of replacing any damaged flagstones.
Not far away, the Wingeds invaders watched with unfriendly eyes.
They could not risk attacking – not after Emperor Ao sent a thunderous roar that came crashing down on the Fire Dragon Palace with such power and force that pummeled the Wingeds invaders when they first began launching attacks on the Palace, causing many of the Wingeds to crash to the ground with heavy internal injuries.
Naturally, Long Ao knew who it was who had saved them. Yet why did Emperor Ao not just decimate the Wingeds even though he obviously wielded such power, he did not yet know why.
The leader leading the invasion force, the Ninth Presbyter of the Winged race, was a powerful Ninth-grade Winged King. Hovering in mid-air, his wings fluttering heavily and loudly, he stared as Long Ao and his men worked with brimming malice and resentment.
But he knew better than to lose control of his temper and let his bloodlust go unbridled. So far, his invasion force had succeeded in keeping every member of the Palace inside and he did not want to risk provoking that mysterious and powerful entity that kept the Palace safe.
Somehow, he knew that so long as he refrained from spilling any blood, that mysterious being would refrain from doing anything. Even so, he could not just turn away and withdraw his forces lest his reputation should suffer.
With the water source and transportation of food into the Palace all cut off, he was sure that he would prevail.
Not long later, Yan Chong and Lei Bao came strolling out. They cast a long look at the Ninth Presbyter before averting their gazes as if he was just as interesting as a little bug.
That only filled the Ninth Presbyter with rage. “How dare these lowly vermin underestimate me! Damn them all!”
“Give up, worthless scum. How long do you think you can sustain without food and water?” cried one of the elderly Wingeds that formed the ranks of lesser chieftains serving as officers of the Legion.
Yan Chong and his comrades shared quick looks and giggled. Food and water might be crucial to anyone else, but not to members of the Fire Dragon Palace.
Having plundered and hoarded huge amounts of magical herbs and plants as well as strange and magical fruits and flowers, Chu Xun had amassed just enough food that could last them for even a decade. A single low-grade magical herb could just as easily help sustain a normal acolyte for more than ten days if it did not increase his powers.
With a derisive look at the lesser chieftain who cried, Lei Bao produced a juicy, red fruit for his benefit and took a huge bite off it. At the first crunch, the sweet aroma of the enchanted fruit wafted into the air.
“Heavens, you’re making me hungry,” remarked Yan Chong dryly who took out another fruit of his own and began munching on it.
Seeing this, Long Ao waved to his men and asked them all to take a break.
“Let’s take a break. Eat something and rest before we continue.”
The acolytes took out magical fruits and even herbs and they began munching.
The Wingeds who were ordered to keep a close watch on them could not believe their eyes. What a bloody waste! How could they use magical herbs and fruits to satiate hunger?!
“Don’t you get tired watching us?!” cried Long Ao at the Wingeds, feigning a pensive look, “It’s already lunchtime! Aren’t you getting something to eat?”
That infuriated the Wingeds enough that many began fuming with anger while some swallowed their saliva hungrily.
“It’s a complete waste! What reckless profligacy!”
“The Devil must have left many supplies for you all in his years of marauding and plundering,” observed the Ninth Presbyter, his eyes gleaming with greed. Their only-recent emergence meant that they needed supplies to start building a power base of their own and they could ill suffer squandering off their remaining stores of magical herbs and fruits.
What was more, they were in dire need of resources. To rebuild the glory of the Winged race and extricate the remaining of their kin from the lair where they had been sealed for so long would require extensive supplies and resources and it was exactly for this reason that they had set their sights upon the Fire Dragon Palace in the first place.
They had found out about how notorious the Devil had been in recent years and how many sects and organizations had been left in ruins in his wake and in that course, how many resources and treasures he had looted. This drove them to hatch the idea that by taking the Fire Dragon Palace, they would be able to tap into enough resources to restore the Winged race to its former position of power and dignity.
Yan Chong cried to the Ninth Presbyter from below, “Listen up! With the anomalies taking place all around Earth, more hallowed grounds have appeared everywhere and rich resources abound in every corner of the world. If you really need to rob and plunder, you should aim towards organizations and factions that have existed for millennia such as the Broken Souls Cult and the Sifang Sword Sect. I’m sure they’ll have the rich resources that you seek.”
All he ever wanted was to ward off the Wingeds. Yet he needed to prevent the Wingeds from coveting the Palace’s own stockpiles of magical herbs and fruits and hence he tried to divert their attention to their enemies.
The Ninth Presbyter did not answer, but the gleam in his eyes showed that he had to agree. For more than ten days since the siege began, both sides have been locked in a fruitless stalemate – the Wingeds showed no signs of lifting the siege although they could not launch an assault without risk angering that unknown entity who guarded the Palace and the clock was ticking.
But if they were to end the siege and retreat, they would lose face.
The Ninth Presbyter found himself in a difficult impasse. “If only I had not chosen to attack here,” he mused quietly with regret. “What a bloody kettle of fish! If anything, the chances that we might fail only seem to grow by the day!”
“The anomalies happening everywhere have made magical fruits and herbs common things in today’s world. I know you’re here because you’re after the resources we amassed. But you might have overlooked other places or organizations which might offer better prizes and greater possibilities of success. I daresay even the rest of the Chu Mansion – the Tianwu Sect, the Rock Sect, and Qianlong Mountain – have more valuables than what we have here. To say nothing about the fact that, our Master had only begun hoarding treasures and resources recently. Surely factions and organizations more than a thousand years old are more appealing a prey than we are?” explained Yan Chong patiently.
“Truth be told,” added Long Ao, speaking objectively, “What we have here is only the tip of others’ icebergs. We’ve heard stories about the towering mounds of treasures and magical herbs and fruits that filled those vaults of theirs. Inexhaustible and valuable resources amassed through millennia. You should not have chosen us. We’re like a barren desert compared to their lush verdant meadows.”
The Ninth Presbyter did his best to prevent showing his thoughts, but deep inside, he began to wonder if he had erred by choosing the Fire Dragon Palace as a target.
Various reasons had first driven him to this decision. He coveted the riches of the Palace and the rich natural energies in the surroundings of Maple Canyon. Thirdly, he aimed to defeat Chu Xun. After all, the Devil was the one notoriously known to be indomitable and undefeatable, and conquering the Devil could well springboard himself and the Winged race into prominence.
But in retrospect, all that planning had been for naught. Everything was nothing but a big mistake.
“Think about what we said. Your lot’s not the only one who had emerged; let’s not forget the races of Macroprimates and Peacocks. If we really have hoarded as much treasure as you have imagined, why do you think they are not here to plunder us too?” said Yan Chong.
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None of the Wingeds could proffer any objections.
But the Ninth Presbyter broke into a sly smile suddenly. With a glare as keen as a knife, he smirked, “And do you think those crooked words of yours would make us leave? A whimsical wish, I must say.”
Yan Chong, Lei Bao, and Long Ao shared quick looks as the same thought shot through their minds. Heavens, did he notice anything?!
“We’ve been here for more than a week. I will not withdraw empty-handed!” The Ninth Presbyter sneered.
Instead, Yan Chong broke into a gleeful grin.
“How about this: we surrender to you the riches of the Palace and we’ll tell everyone that we were defeated by you. Do we have a deal?”
The Ninth Presbyter hovered in mid-air, his eyes unsteady with uncertainty. A handful of elderly Wingeds flew up to him and they talked.
One of them turned around and said to Yan Chong. “Very well, we agree to your terms.”
“All right then. We’ll make the arrangements for the transaction,” said Yan Chong, waving everyone back into the Palace.
“Quick, cough up whatever you have – magical fruits, magical herbs, whatever!” he said loudly to the acolytes.
“I’m calling the rest of the acolytes and gather whatever they have,” said Lei Bao, hurrying away.
“I’ll go to the vault then, to gather everything inside,” said Long Ao, scurrying off as well.
Wingeds were born with an acute sense of hearing.
The band of Wingeds watched as Yan Chong and his companions rushed off, listening to their conversation as their lips twisted with disdain.
“Wretched ants. How submissive they are,” remarked one of the elderly Wingeds.
“I would have relished the chance to reduce them into dust, if not for the unknown entity that keeps this place,” quipped another.
“Look at them. How worthless and obsequious.”
“Forget about them and the unknown entity. The treasures and valuables are all the reasons we’re here and we don’t want to waste more time on scums like these. We can easily kill them next time,” smirked the Ninth Presbyter.
Yan Chong made his way into the bowls of the Palace, not to collect and gather any magical fruits, herbs, or any other resources, but to regroup with Lei Bao and Long Ao, where all three of them slipped quietly to a field at the back of the Palace.
Yu Cheng was there. Before him sat more than two dozen chests and each was bewitched to have one square meter of space. These chests were all filled with magical herbs, fruits, and the like.
Yan Chong, Lei Bao, and Long Ao drew nearer.
“Are you ready?” asked Yan Chong.
Yu Cheng nodded.
Lei Bao peered at the chest filled with valuables and muttered, “You’re sure this will work?”
“You can check it yourself,” grinned Yu Cheng confidently.
Yan Chong and his companions each opened one chest and they inspected the magical herbs inside, looking pleased and satisfied.
“Wow, you might have some attitude problem, crackpot healer, but this is really good, I must say,” said Lei Bao, twirling a low-grade magical herb between his fingers before absorbing it. With a white flash on his palm, he consumed its nourishment, and the herb dissolved into dust. “Wow, it really feels like real,” he gasped, visibly impressed.
That earned him a glare from Yu Cheng, who scowled at him, “That’s because that one is real, you moron.”
“What?!” yelped Lei Bao sheepishly.
“I placed some real ones on top. Or else, once they consume a few to try out, they’ll find out how they’re all fakes,” muttered an irate Yu Cheng.
Yan Chong and Long Ao grinned like a pair of silly boys too. The ones they have inspected were all real magical herbs.
“The fake ones are all below,” said Yu Cheng.
Yan Chong stuck an arm deep inside and pulled out another herb. He studied it closely for seconds before beaming, “It looks really like a real one. You can practically feel its magical energy.”
“Try consuming it,” said Yu Cheng.
Yan Chong’s palm glowed a white ball of light and the pseudo-magical herb was absorbed. “Ah, I see,” he said, “You applied magical energy only to its surface. Other than that, it’s nothing but a common weed.”
“But it looks really real. Good enough for this hoax,” said Long Ao, examining another fake magical herb himself, “Unless they really consume it now, no one will really find out.”
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“Of course. Why else have I forfeited weeks of sleep? It’s all to create all these fakes. I’ve taken great effort to make sure they look the part before soaking them in a concoction I brewed using magical herbs for three days. No doubt they’ll work,” grumbled Yu Cheng. One could almost make out the tiny veins in his sclera that indicated he had really toiled long and hard in the past weeks.
“I’m glad we have you here, Yu Cheng,” said Yan Chong earnestly.
“Come on,” Yu Cheng scowled at him, “I’m also a member of the Chu Mansion. I’m only doing what I should be doing. Quit making me embarrassed.”
That left Yan Chong stunned for a beat before he finally broke into a smile, shaking his head, “My apologies then for being presumptuous.”
“All right. Enough talk. Send all these goodies to those birdbrains and send them on their way. I’m so tired I can sleep for days,” scowled Yu Cheng again in jest.