Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 323 War begins

—What just happened?
—What's going on here?

It happened so suddenly that most people didn't have time to react and could only watch helplessly as the person melted away bit by bit, from skin to fat, from fat to muscle, and finally even the bone marrow turned into a pool of pus and blood, flowing down the trench in the ground toward the coffin.

then.

The coffin, like a greedy mouth, drank up all the liquid—then, a surge of energy appeared on the outermost layer of black wood, revealing a terrified human face.

It was that person's face, and at that moment, their mouth was wide open, silently pleading for help from others.

However, there was no one who could help him.

Looking at those stunned, even horrified faces, the Hidden King revealed the most benevolent smile he had ever shown.

"I'm so sorry, but I forgot to tell you all that there's one more gift that needs to be presented at this birthday banquet."

His tone rose slightly, as if he were very happy.

"Your lives—you keep saying you'll give me everything, so you certainly wouldn't mind giving up your own lives, would you?"

As soon as those words fell, another scream rang out.

Meanwhile, another person began to melt.

Although they didn't know what had happened, everyone knew that staying there meant certain death. One person was the first to flee outside, followed by a second, then a third. In the blink of an eye, the crowd surged outwards like a tidal wave.

But they were quickly forced back.

The first person who tried to escape was riddled with arrows—but all the arrows were aimed at his hands and feet. He lay on the ground, weeping and wailing, but could not die immediately—and then soon, he too turned into a pool of pus and blood, flowing toward the coffin, adding a new face to it.

Hundreds of longbows stood at the entrance, the longswords on them gleaming with a chilling light. The soldiers holding the bows were expressionless—but if anyone dared to take a step, they would be shot into the same state as before.

At this moment, someone finally recognized the military formation.

"The Shooting Army, this is the most elite of the imperial guards. But why are they here!"

But still, no one could answer him.

More screams could be heard from nearby, as if a massacre was taking place all over the mountain.

However, the music never stopped.

The screams mixed with the melodious music created a strange and beautiful effect.

The Hidden King shook his head and admired it, then suddenly laughed.

"As for me, I know what you're thinking. Whether you're celebrating or trying to curry favor, in the end, you're just like weather vanes, thinking that after being away from the court for so many years, my power has diminished considerably, and I can't even control my own troops. So you want to wait and see, and if things really don't work out, you'll sell me for a good price."

"Your Highness, we absolutely have no such intentions."

But before he could finish complaining, the little old man in the wheelchair laughed.

"—Of course, you're all right."

"I've lived for far too long, long enough that all the elite soldiers under my command have turned to dust, and their descendants have become mostly useless over the generations. I can't be as powerful as before, to the point that even those little things dare to bare their teeth at me now. But the problem is, I'm just old, not stupid. How can I really hand over power to those useless people?"

After saying that, the Hidden King smiled at Xie Anming beside him.

"Soldiers, you know, it's better if they don't have brains, don't you think?"

However, unlike before, Xie Anming did not answer directly. His gaze remained fixed on Zhou You until the Hidden King repeated himself. Only then did he realize what was happening and respectfully bow his head to answer.

"Your Highness, you are right, but delay may lead to unforeseen changes. Do you think we should proceed to the next step?"

"Is that so?" The Hidden King frowned, but still said softly, "I'd like to enjoy this drama for a while. Fine, I'll go with your word."

The Hidden King gently tapped a ring on his palm.

In an instant, the music stopped, and it was replaced by a chorus of praise.

The sound didn't come from the hall, but from a place far away—yet somehow it was right in front of everyone, and then everyone saw a scene.

Outside the door, amidst the corpses strewn across the banquet floor, all the beautiful dancers knelt in pools of blood, murmuring incomprehensible words.

In the fields, the followers of the Thick Earth Cult lay prostrate on the ground, each with a fervent smile, loudly praising the achievements of the Thick Earth Goddess.

In the city, all the celestial masters and terrestrial masters had completed the final steps of the ritual. They all slit their throats and poured their blood into the cauldron in front of them.

In the ghost village, countless monsters looked up at the blood moon in the sky and began to chant in unison.

"I've heard that the law has been issued, but the prisoner is still alive. I ...

The language was distorted and bizarre, just like the one we had heard before, beyond human comprehension.

But amidst this eulogy, the blood moon gradually transformed, dissolved, and reshaped, until finally...
It turned into the shape of an embryo.

—The sound of weeping arose, and all the worshippers melted away at once.

Everyone simultaneously awoke from the illusion, with Zhou You's expression being the most interesting.

"Damn it, I really have a jinx! Is this bastard really going to create a transmutation array?"

He instinctively gripped the Broken Blade tightly, wanting to interrupt the ritual no matter what—but was immediately stopped by a look.

—Please wait a moment, it's not time yet.

Zhou You frowned, but still sat back down next to Headmaster He, who was also motionless.

But while they remained still, the rest of the group had completely collapsed.

Among them, the official who had just been granted the title of one of the Three Dukes, and had not even had a day to enjoy it, knelt on the ground, crying and shouting.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! I am truly loyal, unlike these fellows. I am only loyal to you, Your Highness! You can make me work like a slave, just please don't make me..."

Before his lamentation was finished, it turned into muffled murmurs. The clever fellow watched helplessly as his tongue melted away, his whole body turned into a pile of mud, and finally became a wailing face on the coffin.

At this moment, the Hidden King finally spoke with great interest.

"All seven emotions and six desires—ignorance, greed, jealousy, and lust—are contained within this, and all can be transformed into elixirs. It's a pity my Zuo Lianshan isn't here, otherwise we would have a complete set."

At this point, he seemed to remember something and turned to look at Zhou You.

"Say, Taoist priest, what do you think of this elixir-offering ceremony?"

Zhou You held Duan Xie by the hand and said coldly.

Why are you asking me?

The Hidden King didn't seem to care; his aged, bark-like face was still smiling.

"Don't be so nervous, I just suddenly had the idea to ask you, an outsider."

Zhou You, however, showed no mercy and answered directly.

"If you insist on asking me, then I can only say... disgusting, extremely disgusting."

Unexpectedly, the Hidden King suddenly burst into laughter.

The laughter was so intense that even the aging, dying body could hardly bear it. Soon, the laughter turned into violent coughing, as if he were coughing up his internal organs. Xie Anming, who was standing nearby, did not help, so it took the Hidden King a long time to recover from the coughing. But when he raised his head again, he still had a smiling face.

"Yes, that's right, you're absolutely right. Even I find this thing incredibly disgusting. So, tell me, would you be willing to help me?"

How are these connected?

Zhou You glanced at it, then asked in a low voice.

"What does Your Highness mean?"

"Actually, it doesn't mean much. I know your title as the chosen one, and I know you came here bearing karma to correct everything. But I also know that if you want, you can also reverse karma and turn death into life. So I hope you can help me. The elixir from the Thick Earth Sect can only prolong life, but if you help me, I can truly live forever!"

Now Zhou You finally understood why he was treated with such courtesy even after killing this man's confidant.

But here's the problem: how come I didn't know I had this ability?

Zhou You sighed softly, then clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"I'm sorry, I don't have that ability—I couldn't even save my uncle when he sacrificed himself right before my eyes, so are you sure you've got something wrong?"

"That's just because you don't know it yet, but that's okay. As long as you pledge allegiance to me, I will give you the way to use this ability—and whatever you want, I can give you the same."

Zhou You immediately burst into laughter.

"Look at what you're saying. What if I wanted the throne in the capital?"

Unexpectedly, the Hidden King readily agreed to this clearly sarcastic remark.

"No problem. If you want, this emperor will die suddenly in less than half a month. Then I will help you get into my family genealogy, and you will be welcomed into the palace and become emperor."

This person is serious.

Zhou You drew this conclusion simply from that look in his eyes.

This old man has indeed gone to great lengths to achieve immortality.

Just...
Zhou You shook his head in the end, then smiled.

"A good suggestion, but..."

"I refuse!"

The Hidden King's expression was cold.

".Why?"

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but why do you all always ask this question? The reason is still the same: I don't like you."

"Is that why?"

"Because of this."

The Hidden King looked at Zhou You as if he were a lunatic, but in the end he waved his hand and delivered Xie Anming's long-awaited words.

"Alright, just as you predicted. From now on, do as you said. But remember to capture this guy alive. I brought out a few master chefs from the palace a while ago; their skills are top-notch. Sooner or later, they'll be able to get him to talk."

But this time, he didn't finish his sentence.

Unbeknownst to them, a talisman had quietly landed in front of the palace gate.

Then, with a low growl.

"now!"

In the blink of an eye, the talisman exploded and scattered!
"What--"

Before he could finish speaking, a blinding golden light had already enveloped everything.

In the blink of an eye, the entire palace was bathed in a golden glow—including the gate and the coffin.

At this moment, this place has been transformed into a sealed-off secret chamber.

"The Demon Suppression Division's 'drawing a circle on the ground to imprison' technique..." Xie Anming's face instantly turned extremely ugly. "No, this is something only those of the rank of Cavalry Commander or higher can use, and all those in that position in the state are either dead or have fled. To prevent any accidents, I even specially set up a magic array to see through illusions. How did you get in!"

The dancer who had just cast the spell raised her face and revealed a charming smile.

"It's very simple. I didn't use any illusion magic. I just put on some makeup and came in like this. That's all."

It was Tao Le'an, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.

Then came a loud shout.

"Do it!"

However, it wasn't Zhou You who made the move this time.

The leader of Maoshan Sect stood up and laughed loudly.

"Commander Tao, we've been waiting for you to say that!"

Headmaster He clapped the magic sword in his palm, but did not draw it. Instead, he simply activated the power within it, causing fierce energy to swirl around his fists. With a few steps, he prepared to smash it down on the Hidden King's head.

—This leader of Maoshan is actually a melee fighter!
Xie Anming cast several spells with a grim expression, but they all bounced off his opponent. The fierce aura seemed to inherently repel all magic. With a furious and unwilling roar from the sword, the burly figure of Sect Leader He was only slightly hindered before continuing its rampage like a chariot—

Although Xie Anming was the leader of the Thick Earth Sect, his combat strength did not seem to be very strong, much weaker than the former Earth Master Wang. Seeing this, he could only look to the Hidden King for help.

But all I saw was a calm face.

"Don't panic. Since I agreed to your initial proposal, I anticipated this situation. Continue the ritual. Right now, the elixir of immortality is the most important thing. As for them..."

"It doesn't matter if the army is gone, I can handle it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sect Leader He suddenly stopped.

—No, not just him, everything around them, including Tao Le'an who was about to cast another talisman, Zhou You who drew his sword, and the Maoshan disciples, all stopped at the same time.

Then, the Hidden King spoke slowly and deliberately.

"People think that I have dominated the court and stood firm for more than two hundred years, killing emperors and high officials as easily as slaughtering chickens and cattle, because I have lived long enough. But these people have basically forgotten that I started cultivating myself when I was in my twenties and have continued to do so until now."

"Even if I am dull-witted, time is enough to make up for everything. In my eyes, you are all just mere brats. How dare you lay a hand on me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire palace transformed into a snow country.

Frost covered everything, and the biting cold penetrated to the bone marrow—then, a cold light, barely visible to the naked eye, sliced ​​through.

A line of blood suddenly appeared on the face of Master He, who had been unstoppable just moments before. However, before he could even make a sound, his body was sent flying backward as if he had charged forward.

Only then was the murder weapon revealed to everyone.

That was a thread.

A slender, yet incredibly sharp silver line!

(End of this chapter)