Ultragenic Warlord

Chapter 955: Unknown Machinations

The decaying king told Li Zongming, "We're fighting no less than the death spirits, and you'll need a sufficiently strong force to be of any use."

The solar king mocked, "As a new superior king, you likely don't even know anything about the death spirits, do you?"

The decaying king jumped back in. "The death spirit king is an immensely strong existence who's trying to swallow up the entirety of the third realm. He, like us, was once a superior king, but he subsequently went mad for some reason or another. He consumed the will of his own world, then began furiously devouring the wills of the worlds around him."

The solar king nodded intently. "I don't want to admit it, but even though the rest of us managed to barricade the death spirits, we don't have the ability to destroy them all. The death spirit king is exceptionally strong, more so than most of the superior kings gathered here—of course, excluding me."

Zhang Lie sniggered to himself. The death spirit king might not be stronger than the strongest king present, the king of chaos, or the most ancient king, the king of keys—but he was far stronger than the solar king.

"I am aware, thank you," Li Zongming replied, glancing at Zhang Lie.

If Zhang Lie hadn't told him about the death spirits, he would likely have made a fool of himself during the meeting.

The solar king raised an eyebrow at the envoy, thinking that he had informed Li Zongming about the death spirits.

The decaying king continued, "To be frank, as the king of a newly evolved superior world, I find it very doubtful that you'd have access to a sufficiently strong force. War is no joke, and we don't want to bring someone who will just drag us down."

The solar king and the decaying king took turns speaking to Li Zongming, as though lining up to pummel him. "You don't have any strength amassed after the evolution of your world and the fight against the xuluo world, do you? Even if you won, it must have been a Pyrrhic victory. Can you really do anything against the death spirits?"

The decaying king emphasized, "The death spirits are extremely strong, and I don't want you to be the weak link in our offense."

The solar king took the same position. "We'll all need to bring out our trump cards to defeat the death spirits. Can you handle that?"

Li Zongming replied in the affirmative. "I do have sufficient forces for the offense, yes."

The decaying king sneered. "There's no need to put up false pretenses. Don't you think we're aware of your situation?"

The superior kings had clearly investigated the Zongming world. "If you're lacking forces, we could be convinced to loan you ours."

Zhang Lie swept his gaze over the gathered kings, who clearly hadn't given up on trying to pilfer the Zongming world's energy.

He smirked. These kings might have investigated the Zongming world, but they couldn't have expected that the larger part of Li Zongming's forces came not from the Zongming world, but instead from a peak large world whose name they didn't know.

Neither could they have expected that that peak large world would contain enough strength to destroy an ancient superior world—and perhaps even two or three of them.

The decaying king continued, "We kings have been in our positions since antiquity, and we've accumulated a number of forces of our own. We're happy to trade them to you for some world's energy."

Li Zongming shook his head. "Thank you, seniors, but it's not necessary. The Zongming world possesses enough strength to counter the death spirits' incursion, and it won't be the weak link in our combined offensive."

The decaying king sneered again. "You're still refusing to give up? You..."

The solar king asked, "Is this strength you're referring to the aliens standing behind you?"

The superior kings had to admit that Li Zongming had to have some unique talent of his own if he were able to destroy the xuluo world. If he didn't have enough strength, he could indeed enlist the aid of various alien species of the third realm.

"In that case, I'll test the strength of these aliens to see if they're worthy of participating in the offense."

The solar king snapped his fingers. A golden chain appeared behind him, engraved with runes. A hundred suns appeared in the air. As the links of the chain began to snap, fifty of the suns dropped down where he stood.

The solar king explained, "These are half my forces. I expect them to be a decent opponent for you, don't you think?"

"Let me join in too." The decaying king motioned. The sea of bones swelled, and countless bones joined together to form a monster tens of thousands of meters tall.

The king of evil didn't speak, but within its body of gray fluid grew hundreds of monstrosities, limbs without bodies, rolling heads, and struggling kidney-shaped objects with gills.

"I don't much like the solar king, but it is important to get a sense of the strength of your forces." The ice queen motioned for half her ghouls and spirits to step aside.

Of the seven other superior kings, four expressed a desire to test Li Zongming.

Li Zongming gritted his teeth, doing his best to quell his rage. These kings weren't trying to do anything as harmless as "test" Li Zongming—they wanted to slaughter his forces so that Li Zongming had no choice but to borrow troops from them.

If Li Zongming were to surrender, it would indicate that his forces would be insufficient to combat the death spirits, and he would have to borrow more with his world's energy.

Even if he were to win, he would likely lose the majority of his forces in the process, and he would still be forced to borrow more troops.

The superior kings forced Li Zongming into a corner, and there was nothing he could do about it. They turned a blind eye to his anger.

The king of keys suggested, "A bet, perhaps? To see whose forces can survive the longest."

"Of course!" The superior kings all agreed.

To their eyes, Li Zongming was no more than a plaything.

Even the usually calm Li Zongming couldn't hide his rage any longer. He raged at the treatment he was receiving at the hands of the superior kings, but more so at his own weakness, at his inability to counter the other kings. He wanted to stand up, but Zhang Lie pressed him down, a smile on his face. Li Zongming tried to struggle, but Zhang Lie wouldn't relent.

The king of keys turned toward Li Zongming. "Do you have something you wish to add, king of the Zongming world?"

Zhang Lie smiled. "His majesty would like to participate in the bet as well."

The other superior kings froze in surprise.

Li Zongming's anger was within their expectations, but for him to be participating in the bet as well...? Li Zongming was meant to be a pig dressed for slaughter, but no pig would be participating in the bet. It was as though the superior kings were getting ready to divide up the meal when the meal suddenly said, "I want a portion, too."