201: Chapter 201 The King's Hunting Ground
Ice Phoenix Palace, Main Hall.
Lin Qingzhi and I stood side by side before a massive sand table carved from ice crystals. Upon the table was no mere model of mountains and rivers, but a giant, real-time holographic map of Huaxia composed of spiritual light.
Across the map, hundreds of blood-red dots of varying sizes flickered densely.
Each dot represented a living hell currently being eroded by otherworldly demons or occupied by scum from the Xuan Realm!
Each dot represented a "Supreme Commission" from the Dragon Soul Bureau—a heavy request filled with both "helplessness" and "hope"!
This was no simple plea for help.
This was a heavy entrustment that placed the future fate of all Huaxia upon our shoulders!
Looking at that shocking "disaster map," my brow furrowed deeply of its own accord.
"So many?"
"It seems that during our time in 'seclusion,' the outside world has become even more 'exciting' than we imagined."
Lin Qingzhi did not speak.
Her cold phoenix eyes quietly swept over the blood-red dots representing "death" and "wailing." Within those eyes, which had always been as calm as an ancient well, a trace of icy killing intent belonging to an "Emperor" surfaced for the first time.
"We cannot fight like this," she finally spoke, her voice as cold as frost.
"These 'contaminated zones' and 'descent points' are spread across the country. If we rush around like headless flies trying to put out every fire, we will only exhaust ourselves and eventually be worn down to death."
I nodded, signaling for her to continue.
"Therefore..." Lin Qingzhi extended her slender, jade-like finger and tapped lightly in the air!
The massive holographic map instantly began to filter and screen at high speed!
Countless dots with lower threat levels, "C-rank" and "B-rank," began to dim.
Finally, only a dozen or so spots remained, flickering with the deepest, most evil "S-rank" blood-red light!
"Establish authority!"
"And deterrence!"
Lin Qingzhi's "Emperor's voice," filled with supreme majesty, echoed through the empty hall for a long time!
"The first battle shall be the decisive battle!"
"We must choose the most heinous 'S-rank' Forbidden Land—one of the toughest nuts to crack, which even the Dragon Soul Bureau is helpless against!"
"Then, with thunderous momentum, we shall crush it completely!"
"Only then can we establish the illustrious reputation of our 'King and Emperor' alliance in a single battle!"
"Only then can we deter all those lowlifes still lurking in the shadows!"
Good grief!
Kill the chicken to warn the monkey?
No, she wants to kill the monkey to show the chickens!
Looking at her beautiful face, which was full of "strategic planning" and "absolute confidence," a surge of unprecedented heroic pride rose in my heart!
With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?!
"Good!"
I nodded heavily, then sank my will into the Swarm Network that had long since merged with me!
"Rat King!"
"Send me all the real-time intelligence on these dozen or so 'S-rank' targets immediately!"
"Yes! My supreme... King!"
The Rat King's shrill voice, filled with "excitement" and "honor," boomed in my mind!
In the next second, a massive stream of information, large enough to crash any supercomputer on the spot, flooded into my sea of consciousness!
Everything happening every minute and every second within those dozen or so "S-rank" forbidden zones!
From the crawling of an ant to the breathing of a Demon King!
Everything was laid bare under my "Skynet"!
Lin Qingzhi and I stood side by side before the giant light screen, rapidly screening for our first "prey"!
[Ghostly Spirit Forest], Occupant: Thousand-Year Tree Demon, King Rank Fifth Grade. Threat Level: S... Excluded! This guy is too cautious; its roots spread throughout the entire mountain range. Fighting it would be too troublesome and not cost-effective for "establishing authority."
[Blood-Colored Purgatory], Occupants: Remnants of the Blood Demon Cult, one King Rank Third Grade Cult Leader, and over a dozen Essence Rank Protectors. Threat Level: S... Excluded! This group of cultists is best at "Blood Escape." If we fail to kill them in one hit, the future trouble will be endless.
...
Finally, our gaze fixed upon a massive blood-red glow flickering with the deepest evil, located in the heart of "Zhongzhou"!
[Wailing Ghost Marsh]!
[Geographic Location: Zhongzhou, site of the former Yunmeng Great Marsh]
[Source of Contamination: Xuan Realm, Nether Sect, 'Soul-Suppressing Banner' fragment]
[Core Monster: Marsh Corpse Dragon (mutated from a flood dragon's corpse), King Rank Fourth Grade]
[Major Crimes: Contaminated thousands of miles of fertile land and devoured countless living beings. The Dragon Soul Bureau previously dispatched three elite teams led by King Rank experts to investigate, but all were wiped out with no survivors!]
[Overall Evaluation: S+! Extremely dangerous! Has been listed as Huaxia's highest-level 'Death Forbidden Zone'!]
This is the one!
Lin Qingzhi and I looked at each other simultaneously, seeing the same coldness and determination in each other's eyes!
"Pass down my orders!" Lin Qingzhi turned and issued her first official combat order as the Palace Master to the hundred core disciples of the Ice Phoenix Palace who had already assembled outside the hall!
"All members, deploy!"
"The target—"
"Zhongzhou, Wailing Ghost Marsh!"
"Yes, Palace Master!"
Led by Li Xun and Cold Moon, the hundred disciples dropped to one knee in unison, their shouts filled with "fanaticism" and "excitement" soaring into the clouds!
I also transmitted my cold will as a Demon King through the Swarm Network to every corner of this world!
"Members of the Myriad Demon Palace, hear my command!"
"Four Great Generals, lead your legions and assemble at the Wailing Ghost Marsh in Zhongzhou immediately!"
"Roar—!"
"Screech—!"
"Hiss—!"
The peaks of Kunlun, the shores of the East Sea, the Black Water Deep Pool...
Countless roars filled with "bloodlust" and "madness" resounded throughout all of Huaxia at the same time!
A great web of war, woven together by "demons" and "humans" and capable of making the entire world tremble, finally revealed its hideous fangs at this moment!
Lin Qingzhi looked at the Wailing Ghost Marsh flickering with an eerie blood-red light on the map, a cold glint flashing in her phoenix eyes.
She turned her head and said slowly to me:
"The first battle shall be the decisive battle."
"I want the whole world to see when the King and Emperor's hunting ground opens..."
"...how the prey shall tremble."