[This dumbfuck thinks he's all that just because we talked to him. If you would just let me 'take care' of them we could be on our way] the scarred man offered to which the teenager vigorously shook his head.

[Absolutely not! We need to create a good relationship with them otherwise it will end the same way too.]

The young Jin Wang who was watching from a nearby rooftop jumped down at this point, landing near the duo.

The platoon commander jerked his head to the side but as soon as he saw who it was his behavior took a 180-degree turn.

[Young master!] he shouted before lowering his head, causing all the others to do the same.

Jin Wang gave them a nod but went straight towards the teenager, smiling as he strode forward.

[Good evening,] he greeted.

The scarred man on the side looked up at the sky, [Is it? How can you even tell? There is no fucking sunlight at all.]

The teenager threw a sharp glare at him, [Shush] before looking back towards Jin Wang, [Good evening. Are you the city lord's son? We need to talk to him urgently. Could you please arrange a meeting?]

Jin Wang speechlessly stared at him and was even more shocked when it turned out he was being serious.

This random no-name vagrant cultivator wanted a meeting with the City Lord who was a half-step Sage Emperor?! To even call it a joke would be giving it too much face. This was nothing short of madness.

But Jin Wang kept his calm and instead of getting mad like the Platoon commander and other guards, he inquired a bit more.

[May I ask why you need to see him?]

The teenager looked at the scarred young man for confirmation who just looked away.

[I-No, we believe that the city lord's life might be in danger. We need to warn him and talk about a few other things. If you could pl-]

[I'm afraid that won't be possible today. The 'Blessed Envoys' should be arriving any minute so father will be busy tending to them.]

[Blessed Envoys?! Here?!]

The teenager's expression turned grim. He let out a sigh before hesitantly taking a step back.

[Fine. You win this time.]

[Huh? I'm sorry I don't quite understa-] Jin Wang was confused by both his words and actions but the events of the next few seconds would clear it up.

The scarred young man that was standing to the side suddenly reappeared in front of Jin Wang. His left hand shot forward and grabbed a hold of his face before he could even register what was happening.

[You're coming with us,] he muttered in a low voice.

The platoon commander was the only one that managed to react properly. He unsheathed the greatsword hanging from his back and leaped towards the scarred man but was frozen mid-stride by a single finger that was holding the 2-meter long greatsword in place.

The teenager had appeared in front of him at some point without even making a sound.

[I'm sorry for all this, but we are short on time.]

He gently tapped the greatsword. The platoon commander was frozen stiff. He couldn't even loosen the grip around the greatsword, it was like IT was holding onto him instead of the other way around.

[You have a good blade. She likes you very much,] the teenager smiled before taking a step back and putting a hand on the scarred man's shoulder.

[Let's go.]

Jin Wang couldn't move a muscle throughout, and neither could anyone else. When the teenager gave the go-ahead, the scarred man tightened his grip around Jin Wang's face, smirking as he did so.

[Take a deep breath 'Young Master'. And hold onto your dinner.]

Jin Wang wanted to ask more but it was already too late. His body hair were curling back into his skin, scared to even come out. His eyes swiveled left and right, trying to catch a glimpse from the gaps in between the scarred man's fingers.

He saw the dirt and rubble on the ground shake loose from the clutches of gravity and rise into the air. The atmosphere became heavy and deadly silent.

For some reason his gaze was attracted towards the sky and when he looked up, he witnessed a lightning bolt tear through all the defensive barriers like they weren't even there.

They were put in place by a council of elders led by his own father who was two full realms higher than the Profound Realm platoon commander here, someone on the verge of becoming a divine-level being himself. And yet in front of this one lightning bolt, none of the barriers were able to put up any resistance whatsoever.

The lightning struck and when it disappeared, the young master and the two vagrants were gone. Some 170 kilometers away another flash of lightning hit the largest domed building in the center of the city and the trio reappeared within.

Jin Wang's vision became blurry and he fell to his knees, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the marble floor.

He looked up and saw the figure of his father, bloody and in chains. Three men in black and red armors held each of the chains, or at least they were supposed to.

By the time Jin Wang came to, one of those three was already decapitated with the teenager standing over his body and the other two were on their knees. Their throats were in the scarred man's hands.

They were trying to struggle free but couldn't budge an inch.

The scarred man raised his right hand, and one of the men with it. The man tried to speak up but when he opened his mouth only white light came out. It got brighter and brighter until his entire body was engulfed by it.

When the light disappeared, only ash was left in its place. He then raised the other hand as the man's eyes threatened to pop.

[N-NO! I AM THE ENVO-] he managed to garble out a few words of warning before the grip tightened around his neck.

The scarred young man brought him close, his gaze reaching the struggling envoy's very soul, inscribing the message into every fiber of his being.

[Do not fret, your soul is safe for now. In exchange, when you return, tell your masters the Emperor has taken this city under his wings. If I see any of their flies down here again, I will do to them what I did to their forebearers.]

And with that, the man's head popped from the continuously increasing pressure just before his soul swiftly escaped to the ether.

***

Authors Notes:

All images are posted in the Official Discord.

Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ

___

Reference Image Link for the city: https://i.pinimg.com/236x/e1/df/78/e1df7869e5636c0bd3c95c5d13d7399d.jpg

Shortened Image Link (case sensitive) : https://urlzs.com/NQEdQ

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