198: What do you do when faced with an enemy you absolutely cannot defeat?

The Emperor's face was pale, his eyes like a predatory wolf as he slowly spoke.

"For the safety of humanity."

!!!

Xu Le's eyes grew cold. He grabbed the Emperor's left hand again, placing it on the table as he prepared to cut off the middle finger.

The Emperor did not struggle, continuing to speak, "I did it for humanity! That old thief Liu brought disaster to the country and the people; he was a spy for the Human Race. If he hadn't found his conscience at the last moment, this world would have been finished."

Was Liu Rufeng's suicide related to this?

Xu Le's eyes sharpened. The dagger in his hand was close to the other man's finger, but he didn't cut down.

The Emperor continued, "Don't you understand yet? That thief Liu colluded with the Evil God, and the Evil God helped him in Undergoing Tribulation."

"During the later stages of the Lightning Tribulation, he couldn't even keep up the act anymore. Over two hundred bolts of Purple Lightning struck him, yet he only spat out two mouthfuls of blood. Tsk tsk, who couldn't pass a tribulation like that?"

"He even opened up a path to become a god through faith. Heh, in the past, Level 99 was the peak for humans, and experience points would no longer increase. Who could achieve a Breakthrough to Level 100? Wasn't it the external Evil God who paved the way for him?"

The Emperor felt more and more justified as he spoke, even coming to believe that Xu Le was a lackey of the Evil God. Unconsciously, he regained his imperial air and began to act with condescension.

Xu Le shook his head. "That's not right!"

"The one who took your token to the Ninth District to slaughter the commoners, and the ones protecting the Assassin Statue on the outskirts, were your men."

"More importantly, for a Level 99 Dragon-Blood Warrior like you to possess an elite force of eight hundred from a Foreign Race, you look more like the thief colluding with the Evil God!"

The Emperor's pupils constricted. He had originally hidden his strength, preparing to make a desperate gamble when the time came. He hadn't expected to have his secrets exposed before he could even make a move.

His mind was shaken, and he lost his composure for a moment. Hearing himself called a thief, he flew into a rage. "I am the Emperor! The whole world belongs to me! How could I be a thief? Ah—"

The Emperor's middle finger was severed, and he wailed in pain.

Xu Le's voice rang out coldly, "Stop pretending. You have plenty of willpower."

"Speak clearly. You sold out the Ninth City and the Tenth City. What did you get in return?"

"The previously destroyed Eleventh and Twelfth Cities, or even earlier ones—what did you trade them for?"

Xu Le's voice was like a heavy axe, each word striking deep into the Emperor's heart.

The Emperor fell silent. Some things could be said, while others could not. If he truly spoke those words, he would surely be reviled for ten thousand years.

Besides, whether he spoke or not, he was a dead man. What difference did it make?

Mere physical pain could be endured!

If he truly confessed, not only he, but perhaps the entire Wu Family would no longer be able to stand in the Great Zhou.

He didn't realize that sometimes, silence is an admission of guilt.

Xu Le's expression grew even more unsightly. With a little thought, he could roughly guess what had been gained in exchange for the Tenth District.

As for what was gained for the Ninth District, besides obstructing Liu Rufeng's path to godhood, there must have been other benefits.

Realizing he hadn't seen the core members of the Three Great Families in the Ninth District, Xu Le asked again, "How much did the Aristocratic Families participate in the sacrifice of the Ninth District?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Emperor said, his brow furrowed.

"I am the ruler of a nation. Right now, you are not just insulting me alone, but the entire Great Zhou. You will be nailed to a pillar of shame, and your Family will never be able to hold their heads up."

Xu Le took a deep breath. "Talking to old foxes like you is really pointless. You keep talking in circles, and I have to guess half of what you mean. It's so damn boring!"

"Forget it, I'm not a detective! Since you refuse to come clean, I'll just count it all against the Wu Family!"

"I just wonder if seven days from now, your Wu Family will be holding a funeral for the whole household, just like the Tang Family."

The Emperor suddenly jumped up, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "What do you want to do?"

Xu Le shrugged. "I'm not an old fox like you. Since you don't understand, I'll be a bit more concise and direct—I. Will. Exterminate. Your. Entire. Wu. Family!"

Boom!

Xu Le's words, spoken one by one, completely shattered the Emperor's defenses.

He began to curse loudly, "You shameless traitor to humanity! How many pillars of the nation were lost when you destroyed the Tang Family? Then you destroyed my Hidden Dragon Army, and now you want to destroy my Wu Family. How many benefits did the Evil God give you for you to betray the entire Human Race?"

Xu Le remained unmoved. "Are those your last words?"

The Emperor was so angry he spat blood. He wished he could slap Xu Le into a pulp. The Dragon Flame in his throat had been brewing for a long, long time, but in the end, he didn't dare to spit it out.

Once his courage failed, the strength in his body was drained, and he slumped back onto the dragon throne.

"I did everything. It has nothing to do with the Wu Family members."

"The lineage of Imperial Uncle Zheyuan, who exiled you to the Void Realm, can also be handed over to you. I only ask that you spare my Wu Family. My Wu Family has performed great services for the state."

The Emperor's spirit was gone. He even dropped his habit of referring to himself with imperial pronouns, looking like a tamed, lazy sheep.

"Your Wu Family sacrificed the two great cities of the Tenth and Ninth. Heaven knows how many more you've sacrificed."

"Even if I were willing to spare the Wu Family, would the people of the world be willing?"

The Emperor was silent for a long while before finally speaking, "There were also the Eleventh, Twelfth... up to the Sixteenth... six giant cities in total. We have always been accumulating strength."

"The Ninth City was traded for three hundred SS-rank or higher Geniuses to be born into the Wu Family, along with a promise not to invade the Human Race for thirty years;"

"The Tenth City was traded for a Ghost Shadow Army of eight hundred, transformed from the most loyal people in my palace, along with a promise not to invade the Human Race for thirty years;"

"The Eleventh City..."

The history of the last two hundred years or so had been built entirely on countless bones.

Xu Le realized that in the last two hundred years, Demonic Creatures rarely attacked cities, yet every time they did, they could easily take down a giant city.

The Emperor continued, "The Demonic Creatures are too strong, far too strong. We were destined to lose."

"Even excluding the over three billion people and vast lands slaughtered by Demonic Creatures and Devilish Qi at the very beginning, in the nearly one hundred years of fighting that followed, the Great Zhou lost over 60 million elite soldiers."

"We couldn't fight anymore!"

"Do you know what 60 million elite soldiers means?"

"It means almost all of the Great Zhou's strength at the time was exhausted. In the entire country, only about four thousand Heaven Patrol Guards and eight hundred Imperial Guards remained. The elites of the other Aristocratic Families combined probably numbered less than two thousand."

"Historical records show that even B-rank classes at Level 60 were recruited into the Heaven Patrol Guard. You tell me, how was that war supposed to be fought?"

Xu Le shook his head. He had heard this kind of rhetoric many times.

Facing a powerful enemy you absolutely cannot beat, what should you do?

Does this question even need an answer?

Just "fight" and be done with it.

Never yield, never surrender!

If you can't hold sixteen cities, you can hold ten, five, or even just one.

You must carve the battle into your blood, into your Soul, until death!

Seeing Xu Le's dismissive expression, the Emperor's eyes turned bloodshot. "You tell me, what would you do facing Demonic Creatures you absolutely cannot beat?"

Xu Le's gaze was resolute. "I would never even ask that question. The moment you ask it, your subconscious has already thought of compromise, of surrender."

"If a bone is broken, it can heal. If the spine is broken, the whole house collapses!"

"You ask me what to do?"

"I have only one word—Fight!"

"Fight until the last moment, the last second, the last drop of blood. As long as life remains, the battle never ends!"

"If you had only thought of compromising and were the first to step out and sacrifice yourselves, I wouldn't understand, but I would respect you!"

"But not only did you hide in the back, not only did you fail to tell the people you sacrificed, but you also stabbed them in the back. You and your supposedly noble ancestors are, in my eyes, the most base and shameless of villains!"