Chapter 307 - Ruthless
By the time Hao Xuan exited the dungeon, the fight above had reached a boiling point. The Mei cultivators were at the losing side and the Jia had pushed deep into their territory with the help of the Guardians and the Elder Mammoth.
His brows scrunched up upon seeing the dire situation of his comrades. Half the ground was covered with blood and corpses of cultivators and beasts alike, yet not a single one of them chose to halt for even a second.
They stepped over their brothers and comrades, or whatever was left of them, and moved back.
Hao Xuan couldn't help but turn away from the savageness of the battle.
"Stop, tell them to stop already. There is no reason to fight, I already have the chest. The beast has been beaten and Mei has won this fight," he said to Luke who came running up to him as soon as he came out.
Luke gave a quick military salute and sent a priority voice message to every Mei cultivator. It read: "The dungeon has been cleared, we have won. Retreat now!"
Jia Tu felt like someone was watching him and he turned around to see Cia Kang looking at him from the other side of the temple.
He was standing on the Elder Mammoths' third tusk from the right. His lips moved but no sound came out, yet Jia Tu knew exactly what he said. He turned to Hao Xuan and whispered.
"Master, Cia Kang wishes to say something to you."
Hao Xuan turned around and looked at Jia Tu, who gestured towards Cai Kang. Hao Xuan met his gaze.
There were at least 4 kilometers apart but both of them were cultivators with unique physiques. They understood each other much better than others.
Cia Kang opened his mouth and spoke in such a way that other than Hao Xuan no else here was able to hear him. His words traveled through the spiritual energy in the environment and traveled over to Hao Xuan's ears.
"Mad Saint, you should have known what this battle was for. You taking that chest means there will be no truce, there will be no peace. The war will continue! Make the sensible choice for your self and your people and hand over the treasure chest to me. You can still have all the glory, but that thing isn't meant for someone like you."
Hao Xuan's left eyebrow raised on his own as Baracus's theory was all but confirmed.
When Hao Xuan found out about the Jia crown prince having all the knowledge, Baracus had made a few points.
One, how did the Empire backing Jia know about the treasure locations and items on the Mei side of the border? They were obviously provided by Empire backing Mei so how did such vital information leak out?
Two, the war had already been going on for some months now. Both sides had incurred significant losses so how could they just end it like this? Wouldn't they become the laughing stock of the entire Beast World?
Three, why did the Jia Crown prince suddenly agree when there was nothing in it for him?
And the explanation for all this was quite simple, at least from Baracus's point of view.
He speculated that this entire competition was set up for one reason and one reason only. To placate Jia Heng.
He was hell-bent on conquering at least a few territories of Mei but Mei would never allow that. So to put an end to this war, the Empires backing the two kingdoms came to a resolution.
The golden treasure chest in the 15th dungeon and the Living armor, both of them were basically meant for Jia Heng. That was why all that information was provided to him, so he could plan accordingly.
And if not for Hao Xuan, it would have ended that way. But now he had lost both the armor and the golden chest so there was no reason for him to sit back and let the war end anymore.
Instead, he might even push harder.
Hao Xuan looked back at him with a derisive smirk.
"Do you think I am an idiot? Do you think I don't know the kind of man Jia Heng is? Do you think I don't know that he will never go for peace now that the Mei was come out as the winner?"
Cia Kang's expression turned ugly.
"Well, I tried then..."
Cia Kang patted the Elder Mammoth's tusk and it turned and started retreating.
The other Jia soldiers that were still fighting suddenly stopped and looked at their spirit bands. It seemed like all of them had gotten the same message as well. They slowly backed up and walked back into the jungle, leaving their dead as they were.
Hao Xuan stared at the Elder Mammoth's massive silhouette as it disappeared behind the horizon.
He had been keeping in contact with Jiang Ling and knew a fair bit about the current crown prince. Forgiveness was not in his nature.
Jia Tu walked up to him, "You made the right choice master."
Hao Xuan didn't turn around to face him and continued staring at the several kilometer wide graveyard in front of him.
"And why is that?" he inquired.
Jia Tu looked in the direction where the Elder Mammoth had vanished.
"I have known Jia Heng since we were kids. He was one of hundreds, no thousands of candidates for the seat of the crown prince. Yet he beat them all in every way possible. He rose in the ranks and gained the status he has today."
Hao Xuan frowned, "Wasn't he the King's only son?"
Of course, he knew about Jiang Ling who was Jia Hang's twin brother and stayed in the shadows, but he still asked. And what he said in return proved he knew nothing of Jiang Ling.
Jia Tu nodded once.
"Indeed. He was the only living direct descendant of the old king, but he wasn't the crown prince since birth. He had to fight for it. Anyone could challenge his position and many did. Yet he fought them off, killing, murdering, wiping out entire families so there would be no loose ends. He is...ruthless, and strong."
He met Hao Xuan's eyes, "He will not let you go. For all his achievements, he is still a petty little kid at heart. He will not stand for the events that unfolded here today."
"What about your family? Will they be okay?"
Hao Xuan never thought about what would happen to his loved ones back home.
But Jia Tu smiled in return and gave a slight bow.
"Just you asking that question confirms my beliefs. You are a better person than he will ever be. And as for my family, they have long since left this world."
His answer left Hao Xuan even more shocked.
"What? How?"
"As a warning. I once was a contender for the throne as well. He couldn't do anything to me at the time so he killed my mother, my three younger brothers, my sister, and my father. To "warn" me."
Although Jia Tu was smiling, Hao Xuan could clearly feel the pain and anger that was hiding right behind this mask of his.
"Isn't it funny? He killed everyone I cared about as a warning but left me. For the last 200 years, I have been looking for an opportunity to take him down but it was only until I met you that it seemed like it would be possible."
He got down on knee before Hao Xuan could stop him.
"Regardless of the ability that you have used on me, I pledge my undying allegiance to you for all of eternity. As long as there is a single breath left inside my body, I will follow your order to the last letter. I will do whatever you ask of me, and in return, I only ask that you help me kill Jia Heng."
The massive 5-meter tall Jia warrior was down on the ground kneeling in front of Hao Xuan. It attracted the attention of every other person nearby as they looked at them with curiosity.
"'Rise!'"
Hao Xuan ordered using the constitution's power. Jia Tu's body moved on its own and he stood up, still not believing what he had just happened. Hao Xuan looked up at the dazed giant somberly.
"Don't do that again. Do not kneel in front of me or anyone ever again. I will help you for my own reasons, and in return try to do your best. Simple as that."
Jia Tu was still a little out of it but he nodded nonetheless, making Hao Xuan smile.
"Good.. Now let's go to war."