97 Shifting Targets

"Kneel."

An unimaginably powerful gravitational force suddenly descended on the bodies of everyone there.

Under this omnipresent force, the two Bishops of Nox were slammed down to their knees even with their battle armour.

Terror.

Unprecedented terror filled the hearts of the two Bishops of Nox as they felt the wrath of their King.

Had they done something wrong to offend their King?

If so, that was truly a crime that couldn't be resolved even if they died a thousand times.

Di Tian and the others weren't doing much better of course.

Although they were quite a bit stronger than the two Bishops of Nox, Huang Yu's control over gravity wasn't something any being below the level of Gods could resist.

Di Tian's eyes grew red as he was pushed into the ground.

This was humiliating to him!

He, the strongest Great Beast in existence, the sole Golden Eye Black Dragon remaining in the world, was forced to kneel to this… human…

This human that he had though was at best merely required a slap for him to easily kill for the sake of their King...

The only other time he had ever been this humiliated was when he had that large snake in the oceans a few weeks ago.

It had been chased like a dog after it had been suppressed by that pal—

Wait…

This felt kind of similar to that time…

A look of realisation appeared on Di Tian's face before it shifted into one of object horror.

"You are—"

"Silence."

"I didn't allow you to speak."

As those words were spoken, Di Tian suddenly felt as if his voice was stuck in his throat.

He tried his best to let out even the slightest hint of his voice, but it was to no avail.

The horror in Di Tian's eyes increased as he realised the sheer implications of something like this.

This was the strength of a God!

Just like that day!

But how? The Divine Realm had long gone, and no being should be able to ascend to that level anymore!

At this moment, another question popped into the mind of the three Great Beasts prostrating on the ground.

What about their King?

Although they knew that this boy had a very ambiguous relationship with their King(to their knowledge), from the words of the two Bishops there, this boy was their King?

Among the spirit beasts, the King of Nox was a horrible villain, even slightly above those people from the Sun Moon Federation.

Since this boy was that King, and he apparently had the powers of a God…

He was playing with their King's feelings all al—

"Huang Yu…"

A soft voice resounded before a slender foot stepped through the spatial crack that Huang Yu had created.

A silver-haired woman emerged before she walked up to the side of the King of Nox.

Shock erupted in their minds, but it quickly turned into relief seeing that their King wasn't harmed in the slightest.

In fact, she seemed even more radiant than she had been previously!

Glancing towards Gu Yue, Huang Yu's expression softened slightly.

However, it quickly hardened once more as he shifted his gaze back onto his two Bishops that were in a kowtow on the ground.

"The two of you, tell me..."

"What's going on with Star Dou Forest?"

Hearing these words, Romario and Xiao Chen felt as if the world was collapsing on top of them as their King's imperious might radiated throughout the mountain.

It shook heavily as rocks began crumbling from the rage of the King!

All of a sudden, a figure suddenly popped up.

It was an old man, letting lose the power of a Titled Douluo as nine rings appeared behind him.

"WHO DARES TO INVADE THE TERRITORY OF THE TANG SE—"

The old man never got to finish his words as a giant palm above him before he was swatted to the ground like an insect.

"Insolent fly…"

"You're not worthy of interrupting this King's conversation."

Huang Yu's voice was cold yet imperious, like that of a supreme hegemon looking down upon the world.

He hadn't even deigned to look at the Titled Douluo, showing his blatant disregard for existences of that level.

Di Tian and the others felt a cold sweat pour down their face,

Too strong!

Even though it was a weak Titled Douluo that anyone in this place could easily decimate, none of them could do it with as much ease as Huang Yu just did!

Truly worthy of being called the power of a God.

"So?"

"I'm waiting for you two to speak."

Hearing those words, Xiao Chen and Romario were snapped out of the stupor they had been stuck in.

Xiao Chen was the one to take the initiative as a flurry of words escaped her mouth.

"My King, about the Star Dou Forest, some of the priests that we had delegated some of our responsibilities to, proposed to exploit it to quicken the expansion of Nox in all sectors!��

Romario suddenly cut in as well, knowing that silence may be a death sentence for him.

He wasn't afraid of dying.

It would actually be an honour for him to die for the sake of his King.

However, being branded a traitor was something that he could never wash off even if an eternity had passed.

And naturally, seeing the silver-haired girl who they had blocked standing next to their King, he, much like Xiao Chen, quickly put two and two together.

"My King, to add on to that, we actually hadn't accepted this proposal. We were far too busy with your excellency's orders to care about that…"

"However, some of those idiotic priests took it into their own hands and started the project without informing us."

"They collaborated with the Spirit Pagoda to delve in this endeavour…"

Hearing that last sentence, Gu Yue winced before she clenched her fists in anger.

A cold sneer appeared on Huang Yu's face.

"And they're still alive?"

An expression of panic marred the faces of both Bishops as they noticed their King's mood worsening.

"My King, this was a very recent development. And we believed that the punishment could be delayed since it was beneficial to Nox…"

Seeing their King's eyes continue to narrow, a hint of regret entered the hearts of the two Bishops.

A sense of resolution appeared in both Bishops eyes at this moment.

The two of them used all of their strength as they slowly raised their heads, trying to look at their King.

Seeing this, Huang Yu raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

Soon, with veins bulging on their necks from the sheer amount of strength they were exerting, they succeeded in their endeavour.

"My King, this was our fault."

Xiao Chen began.

"We shouldn't have swept this aside like a rug, believing this to be nothing of importance…"

Romario continued.

There was a brief pause for a moment as the two Bishops let out a deep breath.

"To repay for our sins, we shall take our own lives." they said at the same time whilst they dropped into a final kowtow.

Before anyone could react, the two Bishops began igniting all of the spiritual energy in their meridians to rupture their own heart veins.

As they were about to accept their death for their crimes, they heard a sigh.

"You guys… you always take things too far."

Instantly, all the spiritual energy in their meridians stopped, unable to even make the slightest movement.

The pressure around them disappeared at this moment, allowing the two of them to raise their heads up in surprise to look at their King.

On his face, was an exasperated look.

"All I wanted to hear was an explanation from the two of you. I wasn't asking for any of your lives."

"Jeez, can't you guys listen before you overreact? Everything would really be easier if everyone in the world just did that."

Strangely, Huang Yu felt a pinch on his hips from the girl next to him the moment he spoke those words.

A stunned look appeared on the faces of both Bishops.

"But my King, our crimes!"

"You haven't committed anything that would call for your deaths. You guys were only thinking about the organisation as a whole."

The two Bishops were speechless as they heard those words.

So they weren't going to die?

So they weren't going to be branded as traitors?

Another sigh entered their ears at this time.

"To be honest, even though you Bishops each have your own faults, I wouldn't replace you for anyone else."

"You are the most loyal followers that I could ask for."

When Huang Yu's voice entered their ears, the eyes of the two Bishops couldn't help but moisten.

All this time that they had served their King, they had never received a praise from him as heartfelt as the one they had gotten from King.

Huang Yu had most of the time kept up an arrogant and cold facade in order to keep up his image in front of his followers.

However, how could that be Huang Yu's true thoughts about them?

His heart wasn't made out of stone!

Seeing them try their hardest to obtain his praise and work for him, even the coldest hearts would melt.

He could get exasperated with them at times, but wasn't that how it was with even the best of friends?

Even if all the Limit Douluos in the world were to become his men now, their importance in Huang Yu's heart wouldn't be anywhere close to even one of his Bishops.

At this moment, the two Bishops dropped down into another kowtow despite the tears and snot streaming down their faces.

"Thank you for your mercy, my King!"

A smile graced Huang Yu's face.

"You may rise."

As the two of them slowly got up, Gu Yue watched all of this with a strange look in her amethyst eyes.

She had a grudge with these Bishops of Nox, that was true.

However, seeing their genuine loyalty towards Huang Yu, her hate couldn't help but fade away.

Nonetheless, there was a hint of bitterness in her eyes as well as she glanced towards Di Tian and the others.

None of her subordinates had ever been as loyal or as caring as the ones that Huang Yu had in front of him.

They would constantly try and guilt trip her into making decisions that she didn't necessarily want to make.

Also, they constantly acted behind her back, even blatantly disregarding her wishes at times,

If it was before she met Huang Yu, she probably wouldn't have noticed this.

But now that she had, all of this was as clear as day.

Perhaps like Huang Yu, she would really need to show them the pecking order soon enough.

She may not be strong enough at the moment, but the person beside her was definitely enough to push the faces of those stupid fools into the mud.

At this moment, Huang Yu let out a deep breath before his expression turned cold once more.

"You won't be punished, but for the priests…"

"I shall have to administer the punishment personally."

The two Bishops nearly shouted in surprise.

"My King, you're revealing yourself to them?"

A snort left Huang Yu's throat before he closed all his eyes.

"If I don't, won't these fools continue to run all over my head?"

"To not inform the higher-ups before starting something this important…"

"They must surely think that all the rules that had been set in place were a joke…"

"These priests will be the first of those to be punished, for they will serve as an example of what happens…"

"When you disobey your one, true King."

Huang Yu's eyes burst open at this moment, all beings in the surrounding area being forced to prostrate themselves in the process.

— — — —

At the Nox Headquarters.

Guang Biao was just having a nice day, sipping a nice cup of hot chamomile tea.

If anyone were to look at him now, they would find this scene completely contradictory with how Guang Biao normally worked.

Just as he was about to get up and get a book to read…

The entire world seemed to shake.

His eyes widened in horror as he donned his four-word battle armour.

He burst out the room he was in. arriving at the outside in an instant.

Appearing beside him, was another Bishop that had been promoted recently.

It was Byron, a battle-maniac who had only reached the Titled Douluo level that had only managed to breakthrough recently.

However, don't just look at his cultivation as a reference for his battle power.

Byron was definitely capable of fighting quite a few ranks beyond his own level.

Below the two of them, many priests and acolytes of Nox gathered below the two Bishops. They were all confused about what was going on.

However, the two of them ignored these people as they nodded to one another before they looked up into the skies.

At this moment, the clouds were akin to a whirlpool as they circled towards a centre above the entire city.

Strange jade and red thunder crackled in the skies as hurricane-like winds continued to move the clouds in a circular motion.

Suddenly, the circling motion stopped.

The clouds suddenly burst open as a look of terrible horror emerged on the faces of every being in the city.

In the skies, was a massive red eye glowing with a scarlet brilliance.