The Thunder Emperor felt like he had gone mad.
Initially, when the Wise King found him and entrusted him with such a task—as a citizen of the Human Central Empire, he really had no reason to refuse. But then again, the task of subjugating the Ice and Snow Kingdom wasn’t necessarily meant for the Thunder Emperor alone; there were other strong individuals who could take action. If he were unwilling to step in, the Wise King likely wouldn’t blame him.
However, the Wise King’s constant praise, saying "You are indeed the most powerful mage of our Human Central Empire, master of thunder and lightning, who can stop you" and such flattery made the Thunder Emperor, already feeling invincible, slightly floaty. Indeed, if talking solely about magical prowess, he might not be as good as Adriana, but when it comes to lightning, in his lifetime, the Thunder Emperor had never been surpassed.
Even Adriana, if confronted with his thunder magic, would definitely be no match.
So, wasn’t conquering an Ice and Snow Kingdom just a trivial task?
Then, both the Hero and the Demon King appeared simultaneously at this location.
To be honest, when he learned of this situation, he wanted to take his army and run away—but then again, the Thunder Emperor was a figure of significance in the Human Central Empire. How could he just run upon seeing the Demon King and Hero? How would he face others when he returned? How could he hold his head high among numerous nobles? How could he have the face to instruct the disciples who sought refuge under him?
Simply from the perspective of interests, he couldn’t easily retreat his troops.
So, he had to stage a fake battle.
Pretending to fight but actually doing nothing, he sharply realized he was likely experiencing something very ominous, and at this time, a slight lack of caution could lead to trouble.
And indeed!
The imposing presence of the Hero A·Gedora in anger absolutely obliterated any notion of resistance; anyone who blocked his path would die.
The entire army’s morale suffered a huge blow, and even trying to restore the warriors’ resolve wasn’t an easy task, especially since... this army wasn’t an ordinary one; they all had ties to the "nobles" of the Human Central Empire.
Of course, the kinship might be distant—but before the war, everyone was thinking of obtaining glory. You think you could enter this expeditionary force without any connections? It’s very difficult. Although they might not be direct noble descendents, it couldn’t be allowed for all to perish here. The Thunder Emperor himself was among the nobles, and many distant relatives of his were here, many whose names he couldn’t even recall.
That’s why this was indeed an advantageous opportunity. The morale of the troops had collapsed. You want me to fight? That’s illogical!
Do you really think I’m a pushover?
He was quite dissatisfied with the current situation, feeling as though he’d been schemed by the Wise King and Adriana, yet, on the other hand... he indeed hadn’t considered much, theoretically, this war had to be fought. Only, truly no one had expected the Hero to intervene.
Of course, according to the current situation, Adriana’s target should be the Hero, but what does this have to do with him?
He had already led the army to retreat a great distance.
But...
"Demon King, are you set on a fight to the death with me?"
The Thunder Emperor knew he had been targeted; he had no choice but to order others to retreat the army, as he was very aware the Demon King’s objective was him.
Long black hair, haunting black eyes, seemingly possessing demonic charm—the girl stood right before him.
Despite the necromancer, the sword saint, and an undead accompanying her, the sight was wholly distorted, forcing focus solely on the Demon King... No, more precisely, his gaze dared not shift from the Demon King’s before him.
That’s the Demon King...
"The weakling who once knelt before me, begging for a chance to live, now claims to be the Thunder Emperor and dares to speak of symbolism. Humans, as creatures, truly grow swiftly!"
Yes, the Thunder Emperor had encountered the Demon King.
When the Hero hadn’t yet emerged, and the Thunder Emperor was still a child, he had met the Demon King.
At that time, although the various races had secretly begun to unite, outwardly, they still displayed reverence and fear toward the Demon King—they awaited, awaited the gods’ will... until the Hero A·Gedora appeared, and the wars against the Demon Race, against the Demon King’s rule finally erupted.
Prior to that—the Thunder Emperor, once recognized as a human genius, had been offered as tribute to the Demon King.
The Demon King wasn’t interested in the so-called talents; such gifted tributes were often bestowed upon the Four Kings or other Demon Race generals. For instance, the Vampire Lisidorwei had, in earlier years, shown deep interest in the blood of talented individuals from various races. Regardless, being rewarded to the Four Kings usually wasn’t a good thing; even if one survived, staying loyal to humanity was nearly impossible.
Humans were merely toys for the Demon Race—
Such was the common understanding of the time.
At that time, the Thunder Emperor knelt before the Demon King, in utmost humility, pleading for mercy, begging not to be bestowed upon anyone.
The Demon King agreed.
For the Demon King at that time, it was probably just a whim. People had heard of such things as well—if you sincerely plead with the Demon King, perhaps... perhaps there might be a glimmer of hope.
In fact, the Demon King back then was probably in a pretty good mood.
"Do you know why I spared your life back then?"
Mohe seemed in a very good mood, showing a human-like sense of "nostalgia."
The Thunder Emperor did not answer.
"When many people plead for my forgiveness, they are always eager to show their value—such as, if you spare me, I will repay your kindness a hundredfold, if you help me, I will make it worth your while. Generally speaking, I do not spare such people, after all, the world is my possession. Repay me? It was mine to begin with, how could you repay me?"
She wore an inexplicable smile: "You were quite smart back then. You just knelt before me and simply said, ’I beg you to spare me.’ I have always liked smart people, so I let you go—yet who would have guessed that such a smart person as you could now be so arrogant and offensive?"
"To dare to speak symbolically with such power, is it that the strong power has clouded your mind, that you have lost your awe of the world?"
Hearing Mohe’s words, the Thunder Emperor slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "So this time, no matter what, you will not spare me, right?"
"How should one not handle a being who has lost awe for what should be revered?"
The Thunder Emperor’s eyes suddenly opened, lightning flickered within them: "The fears and shadows of youth often take a lifetime to heal! After meeting you that time, after abandoning all dignity and honor, kneeling and begging you for mercy... my life has been... destined to live to overcome the shadows you brought!"
The Thunder Emperor, who appeared like a frail youth, was now surrounded by lightning: "If I cannot become a symbol! Then I can never overcome you! If I don’t do this! I can never rest in peace!"
"All of you stand back." Mohe instructed the others, "I don’t like those actively seeking death, but I do like watching those who knowingly court death for a different purpose. To overcome the shadows I brought, an excellent reason. I accept this challenge."
When Mohe accepted this challenge, the Thunder Emperor was somewhat dazed.
He recalled all the love and praise he’d received from everyone from birth to nine years old; everyone said, "This child will become the light of humanity, guiding humanity forward."
However, on his ninth birthday, everything changed.
He was defiant.
He was resentful; what a laughable matter that a genius like him was to be sacrificed to the Demon King? Humanity would lose its future, humanity could never rise beside the Demon Race... yet on the other hand, he was proud—he thought it was because his talent had alarmed the Demon King, that the Demon King feared his abilities, so he was offered to the Demon King.
But at the moment he saw the Demon King, he knew his thoughts were wrong.
Because the Demon King’s expression was momentarily puzzled, then he directly asked the person beside him: "What’s the situation with this human?"
"The genius offered to you by the humans this year."
"Do humans have some misunderstanding about me?" The Demon King looked at the Vampire Lisidorwei, "Do you want him?"
The Vampire shook her head: "The blood of a genius and ordinary people is no different—in truth, if we talk about blood taste, perhaps the fleshier ones are better, but this kid, with his delicate skin, the blood quality might be average. Also, he seems to know Thunder Magic, so there might be some electricity in his blood, which gives a slight tingling sensation... it’s hard to call it a feast, at most a snack. I’m not very interested." Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveIＦire.net
"Then dispose of him as you like? And kindly inform the humans not to send such useless things to me again. Anyway, they send them merely to show their submission to me—I have nothing that needs them sent."
The Demon King was so disdainful.
It wasn’t because the Demon King feared his talent, but because of humanity’s own fear, they presented him to the Demon King.
How laughable was that?
In that moment, the youth’s pride, arrogance—all sorts of things—shattered completely.
His knees touched the ground, his head deeply bowed.
"I beg you... spare my life... give me a way out..."
No extraneous words, just such humble pleas.
He could not see the Demon King’s expression.
Only heard "Alright, throw him out."
So the youth survived.