Chapter 476: Greetings...

With the tacit approval that was given by Bai Huangdi, all of the Heroes decided to follow the horde of the shadow demons back to the capital of the Ebony River Kingdom.

The Great General, who saw what was happening, could not help but cast a pleading look to Bai Huangdi.

After seeing this, Bai Huangdi's only reply was,

"I have already decided to join these two vixens towards the capital of the Ebony River Kingdom... No amount of persuasion from you will work."

"But those Demon Kings could have been planning to ambush you three!" The Great General shouted hoarsely as he approached Bai Huangdi.

He then prostrated in front of him as he said,

"Hero, please do not go!"

"Please Hero, do not go!" This time, every soldier in prostrated in front of Bai Huangdi, as they all pleaded him to not go.

"You have no way to change my mind now!" Bai Huangdi shouted as his eyes narrowed. "If you will still try stopping me now, then I will have no choice but to be a little... harsh."

"...." The eyes of the Great General dimmed after he heard what Bai Huangdi said. At this point, the Great General knew that there is no way for him to stop Bai Huangdi from leaving!

"Well, if you really want to protect me, then you can join me." Bai Huangdi said as he turned around. "Just be sure to keep up with us."

"Thank you for the permission, Hero!" Once they heard these words, everyone started to fix their tents and items and lightning speeds.

They then hastily followed the Heroes, who were now starting to leave with the Shadow Demon Horde.

As for Fang Lin, he was currently beside Veronica, who was bringing him along cheerfully.

"Hm, hm hm..." Veronica started to hum a jolly tone, as if she was extremely excited about this meeting.

Well, Veronica is bound to be excited, as she's about to meet Jieshu again! For her to be happy is already expected.

As for Fang Lin, he was also interested in meeting Wang Hao, as he wanted answers to his questions already.

Only Bai Huangdi looked tense, which is to be expected as he was the only one who will not meet an ally.

*********************

After an hour of walking and running.

"Hmm?" Veronica suddenly narrowed her eyes as she looked at the sudden change in surroundings.

She could not help but purse her nose as she muttered,

"Well, well, well, the smell of civilization in here is really strong. All these factories that I see... they must have been an integral part of this Kingdom's economy, right?"

"That's right, filthy Hero." The leader of the Shadow Demons replied as he led the Heroes to a street that was lined with tall, soot-covered buildings.

Just one look at the place will make anyone sure that this place is reserved for industrial purposes.

"The lands of the Ebony River Kingdom might be lacking for agriculture, but in the mineral aspect, it is highly rich." The leader of the Shadow Demons said as he pointed to one of the buildings.

"From what I know, the Ebony River Kingdom will use these buildings to process the raw materials into something usable and precious, just like my sword." The leader of the Shadow Demons then caressed his sword as he continued talking.

"The Ebony River Kingdom will then trade these precious metals for food and other basic necessities. That is the only reason that everyone in this Kingdom are still surviving until now."

"That really... sounds bleak for some reason to me..." Illusion Fang Yu as she looked at the buildings chugging out black smoke into the sky.

And the sight of the soil being covered with black dirt is not helping at all.

"Well, why do you even care about things like this?" The leader of the Shadow Demons sarcastically said as he gave them a derisive look.

"Aren't you itching to attack this place earlier? But now that you see the poor conditions in here, you have the gall to pity them? Hypocrites!"

Bai Huangdi frowned at the sharp words that were uttered by the leader of the Shadow Demons, but deep inside, he knew that what he said was right.

After all, Bai Huangdi and the others were only here in order to finish the Final Trial. They should not be interested on the mortal matters in here, as they will all leave at the end of the Final Trial.

So for them to act concerned right now is quite out of character.

"Can you just zip your mouth for now?" Illusion Fang Yu muttered angrily as she flicked of the dirt that got stuck on her shoes. "Just lead us to our destination, ok?"

"...."

An uncomfortable silence was the one that accompanied the visitors as they approached the Palace on where Wang Hao was currently residing.

"Tsk, seeing this palace after I just passed through those slums is making me so pissed off." Illusion Fang Yu muttered as she let out a sigh.

"Seriously. Why would the leader of a struggling kingdom be living in a place as luxurious this? For God's sake, he should be using that wasted money for the hungry and the poor!"

But little did Illusion Fang Yu knew that no matter where the place is, there will be always some people in position of power that will enjoy riches and luxury while the other people are suffering.

****************

The leader of the Shadow Demons, who just wore a cold look, started to show signs of slight anger as he looked at Wang Hao's luxurious palace.

By just looking at the appearance of the palace, he knew that a lot of money was wasted to make it look as beautiful as possible.

Even if the leader of the Shadow Demons came from a different kingdom, he could not help but sympathize with the poor citizens in this place.

As for Fang Lin, his mood was also sour as he saw the poor conditions around him.

He shook his head as he thought to himself.

"Wang Hao is clearly not suited for Kingdom-Building..."

"Halt!" The leader of the shadow demons shouted, which prompted the other shadows demons to stop on their tracks.

As for the soldiers following the Heroes, they stopped too as they knew that was about to happen next.

Right now, a massive golden gate was in front of the three Heroes. They looked at it with interest as the leader of the shadow demons gave them an imploring look.

"At this point, none of us are allowed to proceed, except for you three Heroes. Just open these Golden Gate, and you can go in."

The three heroes gave the leader a nod, showing that they understood what he said.

"Hmm.." Bai Huangdi, who seemed to be the type to brashly attack, was somehow not attacking, as he said,

"I do not want to open these gates first. I feel like something will happen to the first one that will open these gates. As for the reward for opening these gates, I do not know and I am not sure if I even can get it."

Even Veronica had the same inkling as Bai Huangdi, as she was glaring at the gates with slight hints of distrust.

Upon seeing this, Illusion Fang Yu started to approach the Golden Gates as she said,

"Since both of you are afraid on making a move on it, then I guess it will be my time to shine!"

"Nope, hold on." Bai Huangdi said as he raised both of his hands. "Since you seem to be eager to open these gates, then you must know something that will happen with these gates, right?"

"Huh? Of course I know nothing!" Illusion Fang Yu blurted out as she glared at Bai Huangdi.

"Well, if you say so..." Bai Huangdi muttered as he let out a sigh.

"Since none of us wants to open the gate alone, then let's just open it altogether at the same time."

"Well, that sounds way better rather than opening it alone." Veronica muttered in agreement as she and Bai Huangdi placed their hands along the gate.

Illusion Fang Yu then followed suit, as she placed her palms along the gate too.

But before any of them could start to push, the gate suddenly swung open inwardly, which made the Heroes slightly off-balanced.

Two figures then appeared in front of the heroes as they recovered their stances.

"Impressive... You really accepted our invitation to come here." One of the newcomers said as his eyes roved at the three heroes in front of him.

His demeanor was like of a mortal's, though Bai Huangdi and Veronica could feel boundless amounts of power hiding within this man's body.

"This guy is Wang Hao..." Bai Huangdi muttered to himself. Bai Huangdi then looked at the person beside Wang Hao, and what he saw made him slump his shoulders in defeat.

The person beside Wang Hao was a masked female. Even if her appearance was unseen, Bai Huangdi could still feel his body slightly rattling with that gaze.

"There is no doubt about it, this woman is Jieshu!"

The sight of these two Demon Kings together confirms the fact that they are really allied!

While Bai Huangdi was feeling disgruntled with what he saw, Veronica was more pleased than mad as she saw her beloved master.

As for Illusion Fang Yu, she did not say any words to Wang Hao. She only stuck out her tongue to him as she said,

"What a weird way of greeting us, Demon King Seigneur."