WHOOSH—

A sharp wind swept between the walls of the valley as if it were howling.

The Beast Palace Lord, who had been looking up at the Shadowless Demon God standing atop the cliff, slowly lowered his gaze and looked around.

There was not the slightest hint of any other presence around him.

Aside from the Shadowless Demon God, he could not sense even the presence of an ant.

A trap?

Just as the Beast Palace Lord was glaring suspiciously at the Shadowless Demon God—

VMMMM—

The Shadowless Demon God leaped down from the cliff.

The wind whipped at his black long coat and hair, and the black aura surrounding him surged violently.

The warriors of the Southern Wilds, including the Beast Palace Lord, stared blankly, feeling as though a gigantic darkness were descending upon them.

Then the Beast Palace Lord, the first to come to his senses, furrowed his brow.

The fact that he had just been staring blankly at someone like the Shadowless Demon God displeased him.

TAK!

The Beast Palace Lord jumped down from his palanquin and landed at the very front of the column.

The warriors who had been staring at the Shadowless Demon God flinched and trembled, then bowed their heads toward him.

“Shadowless Demon God.”

STEP, STEP—

The Beast Palace Lord came to stand before the Shadowless Demon God.

It was the first time the two had faced each other since their clash at Mount Changam in days past.

“You dare step out alone without fear in front of the warriors of the Southern Wilds?”

A thin, twisted smile curled on the Beast Palace Lord’s lips.

“Your nerve is impressive. Or you’re just a fool who doesn’t know his place.”

At the Beast Palace Lord’s mocking words, the Imoogi sitting on Seolhwa’s shoulder hissed threateningly.

[Are these ones all feeding on Control Poison as well?]

“The chances are high.”

Seolhwa slowly swept her gaze over the Beast Palace’s warriors.

The reason the warriors of the Southern Wilds were so notorious on the battlefield was because they charged even after death.

Gu birthed from the venomous insects and sorcery of the Southern Wilds.

Those who consumed it, once dead, became jiangshi that moved according to the will of the gu’s master.

Back then at Mount Changam, too, they had struggled to deal with the Fourth Blood Lord because of the awakened jiangshi.

[So that’s why you pulled all your subordinates back.]

Seolhwa had withdrawn the Sado Union in step with the Beast Palace’s approach.

So long as the Fourth Blood Lord handled jiangshi, numbers would only make matters more troublesome.

“I heard the Sado Union has become the Martial Alliance’s lackeys. It seems that rumor is true. Are you here to block my way on the Alliance Lord’s orders?”

The Beast Palace Lord let out a cackling laugh as he jeered, but Seolhwa’s gaze upon him did not waver.

“Why don’t you answer?”

The Beast Palace Lord flung his arms wide and shouted.

“Are you trembling in fear before the might of the warriors you’ve come face-to-face with?”

KHAHAHAHAHA!

As he burst into laughter, the Beast Palace’s warriors followed their lord and chuckled low, heh-heh.

The ravine was filled only with their derisive laughter—

—and then, a quiet voice spread out, suppressing all of it.

“I came to make you a proposal.”

In that instant, the laughter of the Beast Palace died cleanly away.

The smile slowly faded from the Beast Palace Lord’s face, and he arched a brow.

“A proposal? You, to me, dare speak of a proposal?”

“It will not be a bad one.”

The Beast Palace Lord snorted a laugh.

“Let’s hear it. Since you’ve even come out to greet me like this, it must be quite the grand proposal. Keep in mind: if it fails to rouse my interest, I will kill you first of all and make you my hands and feet.”

A damp air, mixed with killing intent, rippled around the Beast Palace Lord.

Facing that clear hostility, Seolhwa opened her mouth.

“Your Blood Cult is backed not only by the Southern Wilds but by another foreign power as well.”

At her indirect mention of the North Sea Ice Palace, the Beast Palace Lord’s expression twisted with displeasure.

“There is that accursed woman, yes.”

“I heard she is a princess of the North Sea Ice Palace.”

“The intelligence network of the Central Plains isn’t half useless. Yes. So what of it?”

“By now they should be facing the Martial Alliance Lord.”

“!”

The Beast Palace Lord’s face hardened as if something had occurred to him.

“The Martial Alliance Lord... you mean the Sky-Dragon Sword Emperor?”

“Yes. The Sword Emperor said so himself. That he would block the foreign threat from the North Sea, and asked that I take charge of the foreign threat from the Southern Wilds.”

“KHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

The Beast Palace Lord exploded into laughter.

The Martial Alliance Lord? The Sky-Dragon Sword Emperor?

“So that woman of the North Sea has reached her end as well!”

If the North Sea Ice Palace and the Martial Alliance Lord had clashed, one of the two would surely be annihilated.

No, even if either the Ice Palace or the Martial Alliance survived, they would not come out unscathed.

It would be no trouble at all to topple a weakened Ice Palace or Martial Alliance.

The Blood Demon’s existence was a concern, but the Blood Demon had surely promised to hand over the hegemony of the Central Plains.

“So you’re saying that if I simply kill you, the whole Central Plains will fall into my hands!”

VOOOOOOM—

The Beast Palace Lord’s aura suddenly began to rampage. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The North Sea Ice Palace, the most troublesome obstacle in his conquest of the Central Plains, was being taken care of without him having to lay a finger on it; his excitement could not help but surge.

But—

“I believe I said I came to make you a proposal.”

THUD—

At that moment, darkness spread out around the Shadowless Demon God as his center.

No—such was the illusion that seized them.

“!”

The Beast Palace Lord instantly dropped into a battle stance.

The aura the Shadowless Demon God had revealed for a brief moment was that threatening.

“It seems you thought I was offering idle wordplay because I was afraid of you.”

RRRRRUMBLE—

The ground shuddered, and from the cliffs encircling the ravine came the sound of DRRRRK-CRACK as they split.

“...!”

What kind of cultivation is this...!

The Beast Palace Lord was rattled.

Was the Shadowless Demon God always this strong...?!

This aura was on a completely different level from what he had seen back at Mount Changam.

RRRRRUMBLE...

The Shadowless Demon God’s aura blanketed the earth, and the earth, as if answering him, let out a groaning roar.

It was an oppressive force that made it feel as though he were ruling over the whole surrounding area.

The Beast Palace Lord’s face, which had been relaxed as he recalled the Shadowless Demon God he had fought at Mount Changam, darkened in an instant.

Has he surpassed his former Realm!

Then what Realm was he in now?

The very peak of the Fire Realm? No, the Heaven-Beyond-Heaven?

If I use Blood Arts, can I win?

What if every warrior of the Beast Palace charged at him at once?

If the jiangshi struck at his back...?

...I cannot guarantee victory.

GRIND.

The Beast Palace Lord clenched his teeth hard.

The hand gripping the weapon he had drawn at some point trembled, unable to bridge the gap in level.

In this, it’s no different from the situation with the North Sea Ice Palace.

If he clashed with the Shadowless Demon God as things stood, the Beast ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Palace would most certainly not come away unscathed.

“...What is it you want.”

“Only now do you seem inclined to talk.”

“I’ve only yet to hear your proposal.”

Seeing the palace lord now utterly tense, unlike before, Seolhwa let out a quiet, derisive breath.

“Turn back.”

“...What?”

“If you obediently turn back here, I will likewise not pursue your rear.”

“Not... pursue us...?”

In other words, she would not fight them?

She would simply let them go?

“What do you gain from that?”

“The same thing you desire.”

“The same thing I... desire?”

The hegemony... of the Central Plains...?

“Why do you think the Sado Union has been complying with the Martial Alliance’s every demand just because we are ‘allies’?”

“!”

The Beast Palace Lord’s eyes flew wide.

“You, you...! Don’t tell me...!”

You intend to deceive the Martial Alliance and swallow the Central Plains...!

At present, the leading body of the Martial Alliance–Sado Union alliance was the Martial Alliance.

It was the Alliance that stepped to the front and ruled the martial world, and so it was also the Alliance that would collide with the Blood Cult most often.

In other words, once the war with the Blood Cult ended, the Martial Alliance’s losses would be great.

“Why such surprise? Under the name of the Blood Cult, you too harbor another intent. Your situation is not so different.”

“...!”

Though they were all under the Blood Cult’s banner, the North Sea and the Southern Wilds watched each other warily over the hegemony of the Central Plains.

In the same way, the Sado Union, though it appeared to have joined its will with the Martial Alliance, in truth harbored its own hidden schemes.

“Ha... haha... hahaha...!”

Yes, of course! That makes sense! No wonder!

There was no way those vile, vicious Black-Path scum would meekly play the White Path’s underlings!

Though they called it the united front of the Central Plains martial world, every power that had gathered its strength would, in the end, have its own desires!

“So then, you mean to sit back and wait while the North Sea Ice Palace and the Martial Alliance tear each other apart and collapse?”

“There would be nothing bad about postponing our fight until afterward.”

“KHAHAHAHAHA!!”

The North Sea Ice Palace and the Martial Alliance were both forces that were nothing if not troublesome in their strength.

The two had collided; if he waited for those two powers to topple each other, the only ones left would be the Sado Union and the Beast Palace.

“Even if, contrary to our expectations, the North Sea Ice Palace and the Martial Alliance do not suffer great losses, it wouldn’t be any particular loss to you.”

The Beast Palace would take no damage at all.

“Yes. I will admit, it is a very interesting proposal.”

The Beast Palace Lord nodded.

It was regrettable that he had to turn back with the Central Plains right before his eyes.

But clashing with the Shadowless Demon God here is not a wise choice either.

He himself aside, the thousands of warriors of the Beast Palace would certainly not come away intact.

It would not be bad to return and thoroughly prepare for a war with the Sado Union instead.

“I will accept your proposal.”

At the sight of him accepting the offer as if at his leisure, the corner of Seolhwa’s lips curved faintly beneath her mask.

Compared to the First Blood Lord, she had expected that the Fourth Blood Lord, more impulsive and simple, would take the bait.

“Only, do not forget that the day we meet again will surely be a life-or-death duel.”

Leaving that calm provocation toward the Shadowless Demon God as his last words, the Beast Palace Lord turned and shouted something in the tongue of the Southern Wilds to his subordinates.

The warriors of the Southern Wilds, looking somewhat bewildered by their lord’s command, soon turned the direction of the column in perfect order.

Seolhwa remained where she was, standing in place until the Beast Palace’s column, returning as noisily as they had come, vanished from her line of sight.

The Imoogi, which had watched the entire situation from Seolhwa’s shoulder, snorted.

[That man who calls himself king of the Southern Wilds is unexpectedly stupid.]

“Rather than stupid, he is wise.”

Just by seeing a portion of the power she had revealed, he had realized that this was a battle destined for certain defeat.

[Then he is a coward.]

“There is a reason he is the Fourth Blood Lord.”

Even bearing the enormous power of the Southern Wilds, he was still only the fourth Blood Lord.

[Do you think the North Sea side will be settled by now?]

“Who knows.”

Seolhwa lifted her gaze to the wide sky spread out over the gorge.

It was a blue sky that naturally brought the name “Namgoong” to mind.