Chapter Fifty-Five: Ask My Blade!

Inside the hall, an oppressive silence reigned.

Cold sweat poured from Jill’s brow, but he dared not make the slightest movement. The icy touch at his throat left him in no doubt—the young man before him truly had the courage to kill!

The ambassadors from the various nations and the armed soldiers were all frozen in place; none had seen how this youth appeared. He seemed to materialize like a phantom.

For a moment, everyone swallowed hard. The power this youth displayed was beyond comprehension.

There was no question—this youth was the sole king here.

Before Jill could utter a word, the quicker-thinking ambassadors were already crowding around Shang Weitian, their faces plastered with ingratiating smiles, fussily dabbing at his bruised and battered face with handkerchiefs.

“Mr. Shang, are you alright?”

“Mr. Shang, please don’t hold a grudge against us. We’ve always been on your side, really. Everything before... that was Jill, coercing us with sweet words and threats to make us stand with him!”

“We are the most steadfast allies of the Great Xia!”

“Mr. Shang, to be honest, I have an eighth of Great Xia blood in my veins... we are kin!”

“That damn Jill, ordering soldiers to attack you—he should have died long ago!”

“That’s right, Jill even tried to have you sign a treaty ceding territory, humiliating Great Xia. I couldn’t stand it!”

“Mr. Shang, you mustn’t misunderstand. We at Britannia never wanted to lease Port City. It was Jill, wielding the power of the Free Nation, who forced us!”

“Yes, Mr. Shang, as for our proposal to lease the Island of Tai, it was actually to help preserve the flame of Great Xia...”

“Mr. Shang... damn it, who arranged such a small table for you? Bring out the big table, and my treasured leather sofa—bring it for Mr. Shang! Only then will it match the status of Great Xia’s representative!”

With the most earnest tones, the ambassadors spoke the most insincere words.

Shang Weitian looked coldly at the representatives, unmoved, almost amused.

He remembered clearly—just moments ago, before Lin Fan appeared, these same people had stood with Jill of the Free Nation, their eyes cold, forcing him to sign the humiliating treaty. They had even ordered soldiers to beat him.

But now, with Lin Fan’s extraordinary power on display, the ambassadors had instantly become Great Xia’s most steadfast allies, cursing Jill and claiming coercion.

The overturned table at Shang Weitian’s feet was quickly replaced by a spacious desk, and a wide, comfortable sofa was set before him.

Yet Shang Weitian had no desire to sit.

“As expected, there is no diplomacy for the weak,” he sneered at the ingratiating ambassadors. “All those tales of cunning and international intrigue—when all is said and done, it simply comes down to who holds the power.”

“But today, I will tell you—Great Xia is no longer the Great Xia of a century ago.”

“When you realize Great Xia has risen, when it displays its strength, it is already too late to curry favor.”

With a look of disgust, Shang Weitian pushed aside the fawning ambassadors and walked to Lin Fan’s side.

“You’ve worked hard,” Lin Fan murmured.

“You finally came,” Shang Weitian replied bitterly. “Had you been any later, I might have been beaten to death right here.”

Lin Fan felt a pang of sorrow.

He had not misjudged this man! Shang Weitian had almost been beaten to death, yet refused to sign the humiliating treaty, even going so far as to nearly break his own right arm to avoid it.

“But it’s good you arrived a little late,” Shang Weitian’s face was cold. “Now, Great Xia knows exactly where these nations stand.”

“In the coming crisis, they are unworthy to be our allies.”

“Great Xia stands alone!”

This was the plan he and Lin Fan had agreed upon—to use this opportunity to gauge the nations’ attitudes toward Great Xia.

If genuine goodwill was shown, Great Xia would not hesitate to help its allies in the coming crisis of the gods’ descent.

After all, all are humans; it is right to help one another when possible.

But these nations, by their own conduct, had forfeited Great Xia’s future aid.

And Great Xia now knew, in the crisis to come, it would stand isolated.

“We’ll discuss this later,” Lin Fan’s voice was icy, his dagger pressing harder. “Repeat your last words.”

“Forgotten? Let me remind you.”

“You just said you wanted to bombard what?”

Jill’s throat was parched.

He hadn’t forgotten! He had just threatened to bombard Great Xia!

But... to say it now—Jill had no doubt the youth could kill him.

Where had this youth come from, and how could he possess such unfathomable power?

A blade that could split the earth!

Suddenly, Jill gritted his teeth. Instead of answering Lin Fan, he turned and knelt before him.

“Spare me!” Jill stammered, his voice trembling, using awkward Xia language.

Lin Fan looked expressionlessly at Jill, ready to strike.

But—

“Wait!” Shang Weitian grabbed Lin Fan, speaking quietly, “He is, after all, the ambassador of the Free Nation. We must consider our international image.”

Jill’s eyes brightened, his face less tense, and he declared loudly, “Yes, I am the ambassador of the Free Nation, backed by my country. If you Great Xia dare to kill me—”

“Swish!”

A terrifying power erupted like a volcano. Lin Fan broke free from Shang Weitian’s grasp, and his blade fell with thunderous force!

A flash of steel!

Blood sprayed!

Jill’s arrogant smile had not yet faded before his head was severed.

Thud!

The headless corpse collapsed, blood gushing, Jill’s head rolling across the floor, his face still bearing a look of bewilderment—as if still wondering why he was spinning across the ground.

“Dare to kill you. And then?” Lin Fan spoke coolly.

“It’s over.” Shang Weitian stared, mouth twitching. “Do you realize what international repercussions your action will have...”

“I don’t,” Lin Fan replied, expressionless, turning to the stunned ambassadors. “I only know one thing.”

“Those who offend Great Xia, no matter how far, will be punished!”

“Today, Jill has died.”

“In the future, if anyone dares offend Great Xia again—”

Swish!

Lin Fan raised his blade, its edge quivering.

Behind its dripping blood, his eyes shone with a chilling intensity.

“Ask my blade first!”

Lin Fan pronounced each word with deliberate weight.

His eyes were sharper than the blade’s gleam.

I stand guard at the gates of Great Xia!

At that moment, gazing at the youth with the blade, then at the once arrogant, now decapitated Jill, all the ambassadors turned pale.

A chill from the depths of their bones gripped their hearts.

Great Xia, like this youth, was not to be trifled with!