by Dragon King
The entire house was quiet except the noises of the sea waves coming in regularly.
Xie Yujia stretched her body, walked to the door, and opened it quietly.
The couch in the living room was empty.
Xie Yujia was a bit surprised. Then, she walked back to her room quietly and felt a little jealous.
She was worried that Hao Ren would feel cold in the living room, and she wanted to let Hao Ren rest in her room. However…
At the moment, Hao Ren was at the front entrance of the East Ocean Dragon Palace instead of sneakily staying in another girls’ rooms as Xie Yujia suspected.
The defense walls all around the dragon palace were full of arm-sized cracks and big holes.
Even the tiles on top of the gate were slanted and shattered.
Hao Ren could imagine how intense the war was between the East Ocean Dragon Clan and the West Ocean Dragon Clan.
From the bottom of the sea that was a few thousand meters below the surface, a dozen hurricanes were created and even almost struck the coast that was more than a dozen kilometers away. The intensity of the battles must have been insane.
“Who’s there,”
Hao Ren’s appearance had caught the attention of the patrolling soldiers of East Ocean.
“Forgive me for being rude; I didn’t know that it is you, Mr. Fuma!” the leading general cupped his hands in front of his chest as he saw Hao Ren.
“How was the situation last night?” Hao Ren asked.
“Last night, the soldiers of generals of our East Ocean were motivated, and we guarded the palace and fought off all the invading enemies with the help of the grand protection array formations,” the general in golden armor replied.
Hao Ren saw a new scar on this general’s face and thought that East Ocean must have suffered some losses.
However, if East Ocean suffered some losses, West Ocean must have suffered more casualties.
[Kill you while you are weak!] Zhao Haoran’s way of handling things almost drove the West Ocean Dragon Clan up the wall.
“Are the elders alright? Elder Sun, Elder Lu, and Elder Xingyue… Are they okay?” By looking at the soldiers’ expression, Hao Ren guessed that Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu were both fine. Therefore, he directly asked about the elders.
“A few elders were, unfortunately…” The general slightly raised his hands as his eyes got a bit red. Then, he continued, “However, the elders that Fuma mentioned are all in good shape.”
After hearing the second half of the sentence, Hao Ren was a bit relieved.
This time, both dragon clans fought against each other to the death. Both sides had sacrificed elders and had started a deadly feud.
Although Hao Ren wasn’t here on the battlefield, he could sense the intensity of the war by observing the condition of the collapsed gate and defense walls as well as the extreme sea condition.
The elders of West Ocean self-detonated their own dragon core to destroy the grand protection array formation of the East Ocean Dragon Palace. On the other hand, the elders of East Ocean dashed into the army of the West Ocean Dragon Clan and died in battle.
The road of cultivation wasn’t as peaceful as it seemed on the surface; it was filled with danger.
Hao Ren truly understood this at this moment.
He also understood the reason why some elders of East Ocean asked Zhao Guang to sever ties with him.
Even though the West Ocean Dragon Clan faced many setbacks and experienced a drastic decrease in their overall strength in the last several months, this dying beast could still take a massive bite out of the East Ocean Dragon Clan.
“Lead me inside and show me around,” Hao Ren said.
“Yes,” the general turned around and led Hao Ren through the broken gate of the dragon palace.
Most of the buildings were in good shape except for the tiles on top of the palaces. Hao Ren guessed that the residual forces of dharma treasures damaged them.
Judging from this, Hao Ren guessed that West Ocean’s army and elders failed to enter the interior of the East Ocean Dragon Palace, and the main battlefield was located outside the defense walls.
It was important to know that the families of the elders of East Ocean were living inside the dragon palace. If West Ocean’s army broke through, the results would be…
“I can’t go any further inside.” The general who was leading the way suddenly stopped.
Each patrolling general had areas that they were responsible for, and they were only allowed to walk in those areas when they were on duty. This general was responsible for looking after the area around the inside and the outside of the city gate.
“Uh, please continue with your job,” Hao Ren cupped his hands in front of his chest respectfully as he said to that general. Then, he walked toward the main palace with heavy steps as he tried to find Zhao Guang.
The East Ocean Dragon Clan and the West Ocean Dragon Clan opposed each other due to the power struggle between them. However, there was a subtle balance between them, and nothing overboard occurred. The fact that Hao Ren destroyed half of the West Ocean Dragon Palace pushed them over the line and triggered them, causing a full-on battle between the two dragon clans.
If they sacrificed Hao Ren, the whole situation would have been solved more peacefully. However, with Zhao Haoran’s return, he firmly decided to clear the situation in the toughest way possible. The West Ocean Dragon Palace fell in the process, and their army was almost completely wiped out. The East Ocean Dragon Palace, on the other hand, also lost a lot of soldiers and elders.
“This isn’t your fault.”
A loud voice sounded behind Hao Ren.
Hao Ren turned around and saw Zhao Haoran, who was dressed in a clean suit, walking toward him.
“Sir.” Hao Ren saluted.
“In this world, war is the last resort, but it is also a tool that is necessary to restore order. We must always be prepared for it,” Zhao Haoran said as he stood in front of Hao Ren and raised his thick white brows.
Hao Ren forced a smile and nodded at him.
Zhao Haoran grabbed Hao Ren’s shoulder with his steady hand and looked at latter approvingly. “When we were fighting against them in front of the dragon palace, you attacked their home base. That was great.”
“Huh?” Hao Ren was confused.
“Zeng Xin took his entire army out and left his dragon palace empty back in West Ocean, and you took the opportunity and razed the West Ocean Dragon Palace to the ground. I like your style of doing things and your thinking.”
Zhao Haoran patted Hao Ren’s shoulder forcefully.
During the intense war between the East Ocean Dragon Clan and the West Ocean Dragon Clan last night, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili went to West Ocean to vent their anger because of what had happened to Hao Ren. They obliterated the West Ocean Dragon Palace.
A day after, the news was passed to Zhao Haoran. He couldn’t think of anyone who would have done that until he remembered that Hao Ren once destroyed half of the West Ocean Dragon Palace. Therefore, he automatically assumed that it was Hao Ren’s doing and was greatly pleased.
What would Oldman Zeng’s expression be like when he led his defeated army back to West Ocean and saw the ruins of the dragon palace?
With great joy, Zhao Haoran thought that Hao Ren was reliable, ruthless, and was well aware of the art of war.
Crossing the sea under camouflage; signaling the east but attacking the west; luring the tiger from the mountain…
Zhao Haoran was impressed by Hao Ren.
He never paid much attention to Hao Ren in the past. Now, Zhao Haoran started to observe Hao Ren carefully.
With his careful observation, he was surprised to find that Hao Ren leveled up to Gen-level within a day. The glow of Zhen-level was completely different from the glow of Gen-level.
Hao Ren had, indeed, reached Gen-level.
“Good, good, good.”
Zhao Haoran said ‘good’ three times.
“Zhao Guang is
not good at other things, but he is good at picking people.” Zhao Haoran grabbed Han Ren’s shoulder firmly.
Since Zhao Haoran was at top-tier Qian-level, Hao Ren, who had just reached Gen-level, could not possibly break loose from Zhao Haoran’s hand. With such power, Hao Ren’s shoulder bone was almost crushed.
Zhao Haoran suddenly changed his position. His hand was still grabbing onto Hao Ren’s shoulder, but his arm was now wrapped around Hao Ren’s neck. Then, he pushed Hao Ren toward the main palace.
The elders and soldiers, who were patrolling inside the dragon palace, looked at Hao Ren and Zhao Haoran in shock.
“How come the overlord of the dragon palace, who is extremely majestic, is walking with the Fuma this intimately?” they thought.
“Even when the war between East Ocean and West Ocean got so intense, Zhao Kuo still didn’t come back. From now on, the 100,000 elite soldiers and 800,000 marine soldiers are yours to command,” Zhao Haoran said.
380 The Commanding General of East Ocean!
Zhao Haoran and Hao Ren entered the main palace right after Zhao Haoran’s remark.
Zhao Guang was sitting in the center of the main palace, listening to the core elders’ reports. Zhao Hongyu was beside Zhao Guang, and she looked as tired as him.
They all turned to Zhao Haoran and bowed respectfully when he walked in.
Zhao Haoran waved his hand casually, signaling them to sit down.
“Father!” Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu immediately stood up and bow at Zhao Haoran after the elders.
“Um.” Zhao Haoran nodded calmly. “I ran into Hao Ren when he came over to check on the dragon palace.”
Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu looked at Hao Ren and felt warm-hearted.
No matter how the East Ocean Dragon Clan treated Hao Ren, he still worried about them.
“I want to make an announcement.” Zhao Haoran turned to more than a dozen core elders.
They all looked at Zhao Haoran with a serious expression.
Every new king should bring his own ministers.
However, the dragon cultivators could live for hundreds of years to thousands of years. These Qian-level and Kun-level core elders all followed Zhao Haoran in conquering the territory hundreds of years ago. Even Zhao Guang couldn’t really command them.
However, these elders didn’t dare to miss a single word from the old dragon king, Zhao Haoran.
Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu looked at Zhao Haoran’s broad shoulders nervously.
The old dragon king had just returned to the country, and he immediately took control of the East Ocean Dragon Palace. He started the war between the East Ocean Dragon Palace and West Ocean Dragon Palace right away, and he wanted to make another announcement now…
Hao Ren looked at Zhao Haoran as well; he could almost guess what this announcement was going to be.
The main palace became utterly silent.
“Hao Ren will take over Zhao Kuo’s position and become the commanding general of the 100,000 imperial guards and 800,000 marine soldiers,” Zhao Haoran said word by word as his eyes shone brightly.
All the elders’ eyes opened wide as they gaped.
Zhao Haoran was giving all the military commanding power of the East Ocean Dragon Clan to Hao Ren!
In the past, the one who had such supreme military power was the third son of Zhao Haoran, Zhao Kuo. He was Zhao Haoran’s favorite son as well as the strongest cultivator of the East Ocean Dragon Clan.
Elder Lu and Elder Sun looked at each other in shock; they wondered if they had heard it wrong.
Everybody knew the person who controlled the 900,000 soldiers of the East Ocean Dragon Clan, especially the 100,000 imperial guards who were the elite soldiers, could determine the fate of the East Ocean Dragon Clan!
Hao Ren noticed the hints of hate on the core elders’ faces when he walked into the main palace with Zhao Haoran.
In their opinion, if it weren’t for Zhao Guang, who insisted on protecting Hao Ren, there wouldn’t be this fierce war between the East Ocean Dragon Clan and West Ocean Dragon Clan. This was a war that had caused the East Ocean Dragon Clan tremendous damage over one night.
They were able to understand Zhao Haoran’s action of pushing the West Ocean Dragon Clan into the war with a fierce attitude since the dignity and honor of the East Ocean Dragon Clan had to be protected. However, these core elders couldn’t understand why Zhao Haoran was giving the supreme military power to the ‘outsider’, Hao Ren.
“Compared with Zhao Kuo, this Hao Ren doesn’t have the ability or the strength. How on earth could he lead the army of East Ocean which has nearly 1,000,000 soldiers!?” All sorts of thoughts appeared in the elders’ minds.
However, no one dared to question Zhao Haoran.
These core elders could go against Zhao Guang on some significant issues, but they would abide by anything Zhao Haoran said.
“I hereby give him the title as the Commanding General of West Peace!” Zhao Haoran said.
Zhao Haoran’s announcement completely disregarded what Zhao Guang thought. Zhao Guang became an administrator instead of the decision maker as soon as Zhao Haoran came back to the East Ocean Dragon Palace!
“Award him the Commanding General Purple Gold Token,” Zhao Haoran said loud and clear.
Premier Xie was stunned for a second before rushing out of the main palace.
Hao Ren stood where he was.
He was wondering if he should accept or reject this offer.
Neither option seemed to be appropriate.
So, he decided to keep quiet for now.
Premier Xie ran back into the main palace with his back hunched.
Above his head, he held a dark gold square token with both of his hands.
Zhao Haoran picked the token up and put it on Hao Ren’s hand.
This token was left in the East Ocean Dragon Palace by Zhao Kuo before he went on his journey.
By handing the token to Hao Ren in person, Zhao Haoran took the military power of the East Ocean Dragon Palace from Zhao Kuo and gave it to Hao Ren.
It symbolized that he was offering Hao Ren the position of Commanding General!
All the purple-robed elders were so surprised that their eyes almost popped out.
If it were Zhao Guang who handed Hao Ren the military power, these elders would have flipped the table.
However, this was Zhao Haoran’s decision, so no one dared to oppose it!
Hao Ren took a deep breath and looked at Zhao Haoran with the heavy token in his hand, confused.
Premier was in charge of the affairs inside the dragon palace. Since Zhao Guang didn’t have any concubine and Zhao Yanzi was his only child, Premier Xia barely had any influences.
The purple-robed elders were the highest-leveled elders, but they functioned as cabinet members and provided the dragon king with suggestions and advice and assisted with the external. However, didn’t matter how senior they were, one person’s power was still limited.
However, the commanding general was in charge of almost 1,000,000 soldiers and the head of all military members!
With the military power, Hao Ren had suddenly become the second person in charge under the dragon king.
He had truly become the second-in-command at East Ocean!
“Announce the order!” Zhao Haoran said coldly.
“As you wish!” Premier Xia walked out of the main palace hastily to gather a few key generals for the announcement.
Usually, Zhao Haoran would need to pick a special day to promote Hao Ren to the commanding general position. Also, all the generals needed to be present for the ceremony.
However, since there had just been a war between the East Ocean Dragon Clan and West Ocean Dragon Clan, all the generals were busy patrolling their designated areas. Therefore, an official ceremony couldn’t be planned.
All the purple-robed elders in the main palace were witnesses, and the token symbolized the credential. Soon, the news of Hao Ren becoming the commanding general would be delive
red to every single corner of East Ocean’s territory.
Since Zhao Haoran made the order, the purple-robed elders in the main palace didn’t dare to show any disapproval. However, they weren’t convinced.
No matter what, Hao Ren couldn’t be compared to Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo went through real battles to build up his name. He battled around the area of Demon Sea and gained the East Ocean Dragon Palace a lot of territories. He made significant contributions in expanding East Ocean, and almost everyone at East Ocean had respect for him.
How on Earth could Hao Ren lead close to 1,000,000 soldiers of East Ocean?
In addition, the purple-robed elders fought against the West Ocean Dragon Clan with Zhao Haoran who was like a god of slaughter last night, and they held against their enemies’ fierce attacks and defended the East Ocean Dragon Palace. They fought with the last drop of their blood so that the East Ocean Dragon Palace could win the war, but they still suffered a tremendous amount of damage.
“Where was Hao Ren at the time of the battle?” they thought.
However, no one could say that they were against this decision when looking at Zhao Haoran’s bright eyes.
Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu glimpsed at each other, confused as well. Elder Xingyue clenched her fists tightly and frowned; she couldn’t see through Zhao Haoran’s intention.
“Carry on.” Zhao Haoran waved again and walked toward the door.
He patted Hao Ren’s shoulder as he walked by him.
A strong power entered Hao Ren’s shoulder, and he was forced to dash a few steps ahead and sprang out of the main palace.
“Come with me.”
Hao Ren heard Zhao Haoran’s calm and cold voice by his ear.This is an old military title in China; it means that this general was in charge of keeping the west-side of the kingdom peaceful. In this case, we think that the commanding general of East Ocean is named this because West Ocean is their biggest rival.
381 I Trust You!!
Silently, Hao Ren followed Zhao Haoran to the back of the palace.
As the overlord of the East Ocean Dragon Clan, Zhao Haoran lived in a fancy palace.