542: Territory and King

Lin Jie quickly stood up, but at that moment, Chen De's ten thousand beast saber descended from the sky.

It carried an unparalleled power, hacking down fiercely.

Facing this heavy and powerful strike, Lin Jie could only raise his spear with both hands to block.

Crack!

A terrifying force poured out, and the crisp sound of bone shattering could actually be heard.

It wasn't Chen De's, but Lin Jie's.

While he was struggling to hold on, Chen De took the opportunity to land a heavy kick on his chest.

Another mouthful of blood sprayed out, and the force from the kick sent him tumbling backward, repeatedly impacting the ground.

He finally managed to stop himself in a large wheat field.

"Cough, cough... I didn't expect that I, the Grand General, who has been majestic for a lifetime, would actually die here today in such a miserable state."

After lying on the ground, the Grand General struggled to stand up, using his spear planted in the earth to support his body.

"However, I am not someone who accepts fate so easily."

It was obvious that the Grand General still had some sort of desperate ultimate move that he was about to unleash.

"Father!"

"Grandfather!"

"Jiang'er, Xiao Jie, why did you come out? Didn't I say not to show yourselves without my command?"

"Grandfather, how could Father and I just watch you die?"

"Yes, Father, even if we die, we should die together."

Lin Jie smiled bitterly upon hearing this, "Foolish children, foolish children."

"You didn't have to die with this old man today. Blame your father for being useless, blame your grandfather for being useless!"

"Father..."

"Grandfather..."

"Child..."

While the three were still being sentimental, a gentle voice rang out in the field.

"What touching sentiment!"

The three of them turned to look together.

They saw Chen De walking slowly toward them, pointing his saber forward, "Are you prepared for how you're going to die?"

"Or, the three of you can discuss who should die first."

Facing the great terror between life and death, not one of the three was afraid.

"Our contest isn't over yet; victory or defeat is still uncertain." The Grand General took a step forward, shielding Lin Jiang and Lin Jie behind him.

Then, without looking back, he sent a voice transmission to the two: "I will risk my life to block and delay him later. You two find an opportunity to leave quickly and go straight to the Imperial Palace."

"Although I'll be gone and a King Level will be lost, the Grand Generals Estate's prestige will surely plummet."

"Former enemies, people I've offended, or any other wolves and tigers might take the chance to kick us while we're down."

"But the Grand Generals Estate and the Regent King are related by marriage; on the surface, he will definitely not sit idly by."

"There must be an account for my death. After all, I am still the Grand General of the imperial court; I cannot die without a clear explanation."

"It might even be that this matter will draw the Emperor's personal appearance."

"And Xiao Jie, you are the last hope of my Lin family and the son-in-law of the Regent King. The future of our Lin family is in your hands."

"Also, my Lin family's secret treasury..." He quickly finished giving his last words, then stared intently at Chen De.

"Come on, I want to see whether you die or I perish today... Ah!"

At this moment, the Grand General had a look of utter disbelief. He turned his head blankly to look at his son.

"Why!"

Lin Jiang held a blade in his hand, which was plunged deep into the crack in the magic armor left from the Grand General's previous exchange with Chen De.

The blade seemed to be coated with some kind of liquid, as not a single drop of the Grand General's blood flowed out.

Not only that, but he also felt a piercing pain, hundreds of times more agonizing than a simple stabbing.

But this pain was completely insignificant compared to the pain in his heart at this moment.

He truly never imagined in his wildest dreams that his own son would betray him, especially at a time like this.

While he was dazed, another blade was thrust in through another crack.

The one who struck this time was not his son, but his most beloved grandson, the one he had the highest hopes for—Lin Jie!

The Grand General did not strike back at them, nor did he offer any resistance.

He could be said to have been careless regarding his son's strike, but he could have dodged his grandson's.

But the Grand General didn't; he took the strike squarely.

He simply asked once more, "Why?"

To the Grand General's question, Lin Jiang and Lin Jie replied, "Father (Grandfather), am I filial?"

Their expressions were sincere and their tones earnest, yet their eyes revealed a discordant sense of numbness.

As they spoke, they even twisted the blades inside the Grand General's body.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Chen De also clicked his tongue from the side, "Deserted by everyone... that's not a pleasant feeling."

By now, the Grand General had realized that something was wrong with the state of his son and grandson.

He questioned Chen De, "When did you tamper with them? Could it be the fragrance here?"

If even he could fall victim to the fragrance in the fields, how much more so for the two of them.

"The thing I hate most in my life is people who betray others."

Chen De also didn't answer the Grand General's question.

Instead, he swung the ten thousand beast saber, and the heads of Lin Jie and Lin Jiang went flying.

Their necks were left empty and smooth as mirrors, and the blood in their vessels erupted like fountains.

The blood of the father and son splashed onto the Grand General's face at the same time.

The two heads landed on the ground and rolled a long distance before finally stopping.

The scene before him caused the Grand General's eyes to nearly burst from their sockets, glaring so hard they seemed about to bleed.

"Aaaah..."

To the Grand General's final roar, Chen De responded with the ten thousand beast saber as well.

He swung the saber... striking the Grand General's neck fiercely. After a crisp sound, the Grand General fell to the ground.

Some might wonder if blood would spill everywhere after Chen De's strike.

Wouldn't it be very inconvenient for whatever he wanted to do next?

To this, Chen De's answer was:

"Sorry, I just used the back of the blade..." Then, Chen De inadvertently saw blood oozing from the Grand General's neck.

"Holy shit!"

At this moment, he didn't care about much else. He rushed forward and began gulping from the neck, even the blood that accidentally spilled on the ground... Meanwhile, Chen De's own aura was climbing.

Although his realm hadn't changed, his aura alone was several times stronger than before.

Finally, after climbing to a certain threshold, the aura stopped changing.

But Chen De didn't stop his actions because of this; everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

After persisting like this for a short while, the aura on his body suddenly surged significantly.

Earth Realm, achieved!

King Level Stage One, achieved!

Even after the breakthrough, Chen De still didn't stop. He only stood up after taking the final gulp.

Ignoring the dried corpse at his feet, with this matter concluded, he continued walking toward the Imperial City.