Chapter 514

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 514: Jade-Faced, Golden-Eyed

Ba Xia has a unique position in the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, often seen as a subordinate of Lord Qiongqi.

Generally speaking, the positions of dukes are ordinary among each other, but Ba Xia is not the first generation of dukes.

He is the subordinate whom Lord Qiongqi supported all the way, even though he now occupies the central territory. He is still regarded as the shield of Lord Qiongqi’s land. All the dirty and tiring work is assigned to Ba Xia, and it willingly accepts this. It has never thought of rebelling, and it manages the territory honestly. Even the direct control over economic taxation is not in Ba Xia’s hands. This duke’s role is not as it appears; it is more like that of a guardian than a duke.

It’s because of this that Ba Xia was able to achieve this position.

Lord Ba Xia followed Lord Qiongqi for many years. He also had ambitions in his heart, but his ambitions were very restrained and self-disciplined.

He wanted to become the king who expands his territory, but it was difficult to achieve it with his own strength. Even if he became a vassal state, it was not stable. The Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom was filled with internal conflicts. Even the vassal states were just in name and had no real power. To truly expand his territory and become a king, Ba Xia needed Qiongqi to become the ruler of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. Only then would he have the opportunity to control a land and be above others. Ba Xia had the patience for this ambition, and Qiongqi also understood it silently. They could be said to use each other or support each other.

As Ba Xia grew older, his ambition remained strong. Qiongqi, as the reigning lord, was willing to be used by the other.

Lord Ba Xia sat in the general’s chair in his residence, looking at a newly delivered secret letter in his hand.

Lord Qiongqi had a government office where civil and military officials had internal conflicts and were divided into different factions. It could be said that it was full of political struggles.

Ba Xia was the head of the military, while Yuan Tianjian was the head of the civil officials. This was the surface arrangement, but in reality, Yuan Tianjian made concessions and lived a secluded life in the mountains, allowing Ba Xia to save face and step down. This gave him the opportunity to bide his time.

The matter of attacking Bai Ze Kingdom had already caused a big commotion. Initially, Ba Xia thought it was a small matter. But with the news of General Ximen Liu’s death, the military factions erupted in chaos. Even though Ba Xia had withdrawn to the second line, he received a direct order from Lord Qiongqi, requiring him to immediately go to the army and calm down the restless soldiers.

In his hand were two letters, the other one from Yuan Tianjian. Ba Xia was loyal to Lord Qiongqi and respectful of Yuan Tianjian. If their orders conflicted, he would consider it and choose Yuan Tianjian, because the latter had almost never made a mistake.

Fortunately, the instructions this time were consistent. They both required him to leave Ba Xia’s territory and go to the army to appease the soldiers, using his prestige to suppress the situation. However, the letter from Yuan Tianjian also mentioned a few other matters, which Ba Xia carefully evaluated and considered.

Instead of making a move, Yuan Tianjian didn’t tell him not to move either. He just mentioned some information he had collected, but without any specific suggestions. It was like letting him use his own judgement. Strategists like to play mind games and be mysterious, but Yuan Tianjian rarely speaks in riddles. His inaction and lack of guidance is actually a form of non-interference, allowing things to naturally take their course, which could potentially make the situation worse.

Ba Xia pondered for a while, then called his own son. Ba Xia’s abilities are well-known, but his son seems to have inherited his talents as well. However, his son lacks the skills to become a great warrior and lacks the education to become a strategist. Ba Xia thought of having his son learn from a mentor, but when he suggested it to Yuan Tianjian, he replied with, "If you want your son to live a long life, don’t come to me." Frustrated, Ba Xia ultimately chose to keep his son by his side and teach him through personal example, but it didn’t have much effect.

It is not easy for top-tier bloodlines to reproduce. Ba Xia has already passed the age for reproduction, and this is true for most exotic and fierce bloodlines. The golden age for reproduction comes only once or twice in a lifetime, and there is no chance to start over.

Ba Xia handed the secret letter to his son and asked, "What do you think?"

The prince carefully read it once and immediately began to flatter, saying, "This is a good thing. Although we lost the Tiger General, we immediately caught the mastermind behind it. Once we have them in our hands, it’s another accomplishment. We can conveniently take them down. What do you think?"

Ba Xia had a cold expression on his face.

The prince realized he made a mistake and quickly corrected himself, "But if you look closely, you’ll find some issues. It’s too coincidental. I’m afraid it might be a trick."

He didn’t come up with the problem on his own, but rather, by familiarizing himself with Ba Xia’s thoughts.

Ba Xia, being a military general, understands the principle that all is fair in war. Naturally, he has some doubts when it comes to a dish served right in front of him, suspecting that it might be poisoned.

His face looked better, and he said softly, "Not too stupid."

"So, we’re rejecting it?"

"This is a strategy, there’s no way to refuse." Ba Xia said calmly, "As for the specifics, I won’t say. I’ll leave it to you to handle."

"Um…" the prince concealed his excitement, "Thank you, father, for your kind gesture."

"It’d be best if you handle it properly. Otherwise, when I come back and see a mess, you won’t have a good outcome."

The urgent secret message mentioned a hundred thousand emergencies. Ba Xia didn’t dare to delay and gave a casual order. With a light tap on his son’s head, he led three hundred guards straight to Lord Qiongqi’s territory. Although he had some doubts, he didn’t worry too much because he had the power of the military. Regardless of the other side’s intentions, he could slowly lure them in and deal with them. As for other uncertainties and worries, he planned to go directly to Yuan Tianjian to find out.

Ba Xia walked out of the door and glanced at the thin book boy sweeping leaves in the courtyard. He had saved this boy on a whim and had him stay in the mansion for some time. Although he was meant to be a companion for studying, he was much more capable than the prince. Ba Xia thought about taking him to see Yuan Tianjian when he grew a bit older. Perhaps it was better to do it now…

"Father." The prince quickly followed and interrupted Ba Xia’s thoughts.

Lord Ba Xia glanced at his son, accepted the cloak handed to him, nodded, and turned away.

The prince bowed to Lord Ba Xia as they left together. He then stood up straight and looked at the servant boy with disdain and a fierce expression in his eyes.

The servant boy looked down, sweeping fallen leaves, seeming fragile and fixated on the gaps between the floor tiles.

The prince sneered a few times, turned around and walked away. He held a secret letter, his eyes burning with ambition. Compared to the servant boy’s trivial matters, he wanted to make a name for himself and seize this excellent opportunity. He couldn’t let anyone else take credit for it!

After Prince Ba Xia left, the servant boy bent down and picked up a piece of paper from the dry leaves. He opened it and looked thoughtful, then sighed with a bitter smile.

"If one only seeks to preserve their own life in chaotic times, without aspiring to be renowned among the lords… Is that truly impossible to attain?"

…

The Imperial Court of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom.

The Imperial Court is the city where the royal family has lived throughout the ages and is also the capital of the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. Despite the troubled times, the Imperial Court still maintains stability and public order.

Its location, however, is not particularly favorable. It’s not in the center of the entire Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom but rather in the west. If we compare the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom to humans, the Imperial Court is on the right side. This was actually a well-considered decision.

Because the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom is a feudal system where lords are given territories, the top priority for the imperial court is safety. Ruling comes after ensuring safety. In chaotic times, the imperial court needs the ability to defend itself rather than becoming a miserable pawn squeezed between other lords.

The fact proves that it has indeed been effective. Under the rule of the Third Princess, the imperial court, as the legitimate power, governs a huge population of Demon Kingdom citizens from various races. The management is quite meticulous, resembling the early stages of the Europa Empire. Similarly, it is a multi-ethnic governance using a feudal system for top-down administration. This is the optimal solution in line with historical progress.

Its comprehensive national strength is absolutely comparable to that of the Qiongqi and Xiangliu clans. What’s more important is its strong cohesion and legitimate ruling authority. Unlike the feudal states, its reign is highly stable with minimal internal power struggles. Instead, most of the time is spent on strengthening domestic policies. This means that its development is a virtuous cycle, much like the Great Qin Dynasty, which was able to cultivate its land and prosper for generations in one corner. Even though it has not expanded eastward yet, people know that it already has the ability and foundation to unify the world.

What’s more, the longevity of the demon race is long enough to wait and wear down time.

This steadily developing imperial court may very well have the ability to sweep away the feudal lords and unify the world.

All of the above conclusions were witnessed and concluded by Demon Cat Yumeko during these days.

Next, it is going to make its 17th attempt to sneak into the deepest part of the imperial palace to meet with the Third Princess.

Having lost its life continuously seventeen times, little kitty has gradually become familiar with the map and paths of the entire imperial palace.

A cat’s life is also a life, and wasting it is shameful… Although there are many hardships in the life of a stray cat.

The cat, familiar with the way, bypassed numerous guards and patrols as it entered the second half of the palace. Suddenly, this place became empty and quiet in an instant. Stand up.

The palace was always empty, especially the back palace. There weren’t many people there. The previous Demon Emperor only had two descendants, and there were only two empresses. They all passed away early, so the large back palace only had the Third Princess, and not many maids.

The cat cautiously moved forward, expecting to see a huge group of buildings. However, most of the palace had been demolished, and only a few houses remained. The only scenery left was a large artificial lake inside the palace.

The lake water was a faint green color. Usually, if water is not flowing, it would become rotten and stinky quickly. But this artificial lake in the palace was clearly made by humans and there was no natural water flow. However, the water still appeared very clean.

In a pavilion at the center of the lake, a woman in a palace dress was sprinkling fish bait. As the bait fell, hundreds of red carps in the lake flipped their tails, creating splashes of red in the green water.

The cat hid behind a potted plant, concealing its body. It relied on its night vision and the moonlight reflected on the water to look towards the center of the lake.

It thought that the woman feeding the fish must be the Third Princess. It quietly stuck out half of its body from behind the plant, but couldn’t find a way to the center of the lake. There was no path at all. The structure seemed like a raft floating on the water. For supernatural beings, walking on water was not difficult, but for the cat, swimming was not easy. If it swam over, it would surely be discovered. While hesitating, it saw her walking out of the pavilion and stepping on the water’s surface.

She walked barefoot, stepping on the lake water, which barely covered her ankles. It seemed as if there was a transparent path.

The cat stared and almost had its fur stand on end.

She was not standing on glass at all, it wasn’t a magic performance either. Instead, it was a huge and very red-scaled creature lurking beneath the lake. Its long body lay below the water’s surface, creating a path for her to walk on. She stepped on the red scales and walked as if on solid ground. However, the body was too enormous to be fully revealed and remained hidden in the lake.

The cat dared not come out and waited for her to leave the shore.

Barefoot, the Third Princess stepped onto the shore and walked towards the direction of the palace. Just before she was about to leave, she turned her head slightly, revealing only a glimpse of her side face, covered with a face of white jade. Her gaze crossed a far distance, looking towards where the cat was.

The surface of the lake broke open, and a large red-scaled serpent opened its mouth wide and lunged forward to bite.

Before its life came to an end, what the underworld feared the most was not this red-scaled monstrous beast, but the eyes with a white jade face, especially the left eye that was golden in color.