Chapter 346: An Unexpected Turn of Events

Chapter 346: Chapter 346: An Unexpected Turn of Events

After the court session, Enke returned to his mansion and smashed everything breakable in the main hall to smithereens.

The male servants and maids in the mansion were all scared into silence, trembling in fear.

"A total disgrace! An absolute disgrace! They’ve pushed it too far! Simply pushed it too far!"

After Enke had vented his fury, Moqish, having just received his caning, returned and came straight to the main hall.

Enke asked Moqish, "Tell me the truth. Have you offended someone from the Hanmo Clan recently?"

"Grandfather, other than what happened at Tayun Building two days ago, I haven’t had any arguments with anyone from the Hanmo Clan, let alone offended them. At Tayun Building, my guard did fight Jisierk’s guard, but Jisierk’s side wasn’t harmed in the slightest! On the contrary, I was the one who was humiliated that night! If anyone should be seeking revenge, it’s me who should be getting revenge on them!"

Moqish hastily explained.

"Tell me everything that happened at Tayun Building two days ago, in perfect detail. Don’t you dare leave out a single word."

Moqish was arrogant and domineering outside, but in front of Enke, he was as docile as a lamb.

With his grandfather questioning him, and seeing the wreckage all over the floor, he of course didn’t dare to hide anything. He even recounted in detail what every person said after he entered the Tayun Building.

As Enke listened, his brows furrowed tightly.

’None of this makes any sense!’

’Zerkar is no brute. If he were, how could he possibly lead a Golden Clan?’

"Could there be something I don’t know?"

’The argument from two nights ago was, at best, just a couple of juniors fighting out of jealousy.’

’As the Clan Leader of a Golden Clan, why would Zerkar go to such lengths over a squabble between juniors?’

’As members of the Golden Clans, even when we have conflicts with other Golden Clans, we resolve them privately.’

’For him and Yilode to run to the Khan King for judgment yesterday was already crossing a line. And today, they were still at each other’s throats in court.’

’First and foremost, the Khan King’s opinion of our Cage Race has surely taken a nosedive.’

"Gajov, get in here!" Enke yelled toward the doorway.

An old man seemed to fly in from nowhere, landing in the courtyard before walking into the main hall.

"Tonight, I want you to go to Hanmo Mansion and find out why that old bastard Zerkar filed a complaint against one of our Cage Race juniors at court today."

The old man acknowledged the order, and after walking out of the main hall, he vanished without a trace.

...

The Grassland night was deathly still, save for the occasional wolf howl that carried for miles on the wind.

Several Wind Chasing Beasts, carrying exhausted Martial Artists, galloped towards Ukolok City from several directions.

As fate would have it, all four Wind Chasing Beasts, despite coming from different directions, arrived at Ukolok City at the exact same time.

After the Wind Chasing Beasts passed the Inner City’s inspection, the riders didn’t dismount but instead raced directly towards their respective destinations.

One of the Wind Chasing Beasts, having come from the South Garden Royal Court, galloped straight for the Palace City.

"There’s been a disaster at the South Garden Royal Court! I have an urgent report and must see the Khan King!"

The man was stopped by the guards outside the Palace City. Holding a letter written in blood high with both hands, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The Khan King, Niu Guli, was startled from his sleep. After dressing, he received the man from the South Garden Royal Court in a side hall.

"You’re... you’re Goyerno’s aide, Carl?" Niu Guli recognized the man.

Niu Guli and Goyerno were half-brothers, sharing the same father. Their relationship was decent enough, so Niu Guli recognized a few of Goyerno’s confidants.

"I am Carl, and I pay my respects to the greatest Khan of the Grassland."

"Rise. You said there was a disaster at the South Garden Royal Court. What happened, exactly?"

Carl suddenly broke down, wailing.

He said, choking on his sobs, "The Southern Garden King, Goyerno, and Prince Goyelda... are both dead!"

Upon hearing this, Niu Guli shot up from the Throne in shock. "What did you say? How is that possible?"

"It was the Eastern Domain... The Southern Garden King sent an army of over four hundred thousand, personally led by Prince Goyelda, along with twelve Void Realm Martial Artists and over a thousand Cultivators of various Realms... The entire army was annihilated..."

Carl tearfully recounted the course of events. He didn’t embellish the story, only adding some of his own speculation about the person who had slaughtered his way into the Royal Court.

Niu Guli was stunned into a long silence after hearing this, lost in thought.

’The South Garden lost four hundred thousand soldiers. Over a thousand Cultivators were either dead in the Eastern Domain or had fled and scattered, unable to be reassembled.’

’For the Dahar Khan Khanate, this was a devastating blow.’

’He had been on the throne for three years, but his position was far from secure. Plenty of people were still eyeing his seat like hungry tigers.’

After a long pause, Niu Guli shook his head.

"The Eastern Domain is a barren land. Why would Goyerno want to launch a campaign against it?" Niu Guli asked.

"Seven years ago, Your Majesty, the brother you lost in the Miracle Secret Realm was killed by people from the Eastern Domain. When the Southern Garden King heard this news, he claimed he was avenging the prince, but in truth, he just wanted to plunder the Eastern Domain. He never expected it to be such a quagmire. Not only were four hundred thousand soldiers sacrificed for nothing, but the two royals themselves lost their lives..." Here, Carl broke down and began to wail again.

"Where did Goyerno get this information?"

"The news was delivered by men sent from Prince Fuling of Hua Xu."

Hearing that the news came from a mere Commandery Prince of Hua Xu, veins bulged on Niu Guli’s neck.

"Stupid pig! Goyerno was a goddamn stupid pig! How could he not see such an obvious attempt to sow discord?" Niu Guli snatched the inkstone from the desk before him and violently smashed it on the ground.

’The South Garden Royal Court and the North Garden Royal Court are the two drawn swords with which the Dahar Khan Kingdom rules the Northern Domain. They are armies absolutely loyal to the Khan King, armies that cannot be infiltrated by other individuals or clans.’

’They are the guarantee of my power.’

’Now that Goyerno is dead, who to put in command of the South Garden Royal Court is a massive headache.’

’And for the insignificant Eastern Domain to dare treat Dahar this way... this is utterly intolerable.’

’If I don’t teach the Eastern Domain a painful lesson, they’ll only get more audacious in the future. What would become of Dahar’s authority?’

’And that Prince Fuling of Hua Xu... an excellent ’kill with a borrowed knife’ scheme.’

"The autumn winds are rising, and it is time for the warhorses of the Grassland to fatten up. Before the first snow falls, order the Casque Clan to assemble their forces and raid the border towns of Hua Xu. The Hua Xu People butchered four hundred thousand of Dahar’s warriors, so Dahar will slaughter four million of their civilians to sate this burning hatred!"

Endless killing intent flashed in Niu Guli’s eyes, as if the lives of four million people were no different from a nest of ants to him.

The Imperial Eunuch standing to the side immediately began to draft the decree.

"Mo Tuo, Zeduo!" Niu Guli called out.

Two figures walked out from the darkness of the hall.

"I need you two elders to make a trip to the Eastern Domain. Find out exactly who attacked the South Garden Royal Court. Once you do, I want their heads. In the barren Eastern Domain, the Void Realm is the peak of power. The two of you, as Half-Saints, are more than enough to sweep through all opposition. I also order you to pay a visit to the Six Sects and Eight Gates of the Eastern Domain. Make them understand the price of offending Dahar."

"As you command!" the two figures in black replied with a bow.

Just then, a report came from outside the hall: the Clan Leaders of three Golden Clans wished to have an audience with the Khan King.

’The three Clan Leaders, arriving together this late at night... what could have happened?’ Niu Guli had a bad feeling.

He waved his hand. "Send them in!"