Chapter 649: The Empire’s Counterattack

“What is that?”

Gilgamesh’s golden-red eyes reflected the burning rope in Jayla’s hand as well as the divine kingdom that descended from the rope. His fingers lightly tapped his face.

As the monarch of the Thorn Empire, he was naturally knowledgeable. He could tell that that rope was not ordinary. The Thorn Empire worshiped the Thorn Goddess, and he would visit her every year. The feeling he felt from that rope was the same as the one he felt from the Goddess’ statue. It was even more intense. It was obvious that that rope was an item of the gods.

At that moment, he was not asking if that rope was a divine artifact, but what kind of divine artifact was it?

Jayla, who was at the bottom rank of the nine divine generals, did not have a weapon of that level. It seemed like Jayla had obtained that item in the Kingdom of Kings. Initially, he had not paid much attention to Jayla’s description of how powerful the Kingdom of Kings was. At that moment, he was a little concerned. It seemed like the Kingdom of Kings still had a little power.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this rope is an ordinary curtain rope in the room where the Kingdom of Kings received us,” Jayla replied to Gilgamesh’s inquiry.

A curtain rope?

Gilgamesh was stunned when he received an unexpected answer. His fingers froze on the side of his face.

“Yes, that is just a curtain rope, but it is a starlight-tier rope! We brought back many things from the Kingdom of Kings. That curtain rope is just one of the very ordinary ones. Other than that, we also have tables, chairs, and sofas—they’re all starlight-tier.”

Jayla indicated the tables, chairs, and sofas on the ground next to her. That furnishings appeared to be average. The power created would be far more than the window rope when engaged. Polo would not have fallen to the ground if she had not used those items. Instead, his body would have been crushed and turned into a pool of flesh and blood by the huge starlight-tier items.

“Are those all at starlight-tier?”

When the ministers heard Jayla’s words, their gazes fell on the furniture beside her. Their expressions changed, one after another. When they saw Jayla and Balroy with the furniture in their hands, they were still mocking them. At that moment, their thoughts changed. No wonder the two divine generals would move so many items back with them—they were all starlight-tier items. That had made sense.

“Other than the starlight-tier furniture, we also brought other specialties from the Kingdom of Kings.”

Jayla was about to say anything when Polo fought to get up from the ground. With a violent grimace, he wiped the blood from his mouth and nose.

“I was defeated? That is impossible.”

His ambition was to become the Thorn Empire’s Sword Saint Reid and beat the current number one divine general, Cecil, in order to succeed him. That dream, however, perished before it could be realized.

“You just defeated me with a starlight-tier weapon. That bet doesn’t count. If you have the ability, don’t use that weapon. Fight me openly. ”

Many people clicked their tongues as Polo’s words spread. A regulation in Thorn Empire duels said that the weapons and techniques employed in duels were unimportant. They were all part of that person’s strength, whether they were weapons or tactics. In a standard nine divine general selection competition, the contender could even use a secret weapon as long as no one else was present.

Polo’s statements made it clear that he could not afford his defeat against Jayla.

‘You’ve lost. Don’t find excuses. Leave, please.’

The ministers just contemplated it in their hearts and did not express it aloud. That was because Polo was Prime Minister Bismarck’s son. However, Bismarck, who was in front of them, spoke coldly.

Polo had a reluctant look on his face and gritted his teeth. “No, Father. I must compete with that Jayla today. ”

“Absolute entanglement! Absolute Growth! ”

Using the diamond-tier rules again, thick vines grew under Jayla’s ground. Some of those vines possessed tougher skin than the toughest ore, while others sprouted barbs. They appeared to be really frightening.

Countless vines rose and crashed down on Jayla, who was in the center. During that time, Polo wiped the blood from his brow and yelled, “Do not use starlight-tier weaponry! Do not be scared to engage in some light play with them.”

Jayla calmly flung the starlight-tier curtain rope in her palm as she faced the approaching vines. Any one of those vines in front of her would be enough to kill a platinum-tier elite, let alone so many of them. Even if she were a diamond-level elite, the vines would still kill her.

“Phoenix Nirvana!” Jayla shouted softly.

Phoenix wings with flames and feathers sprung from her back. When confronted with the vines’ attack, the Phoenix flames immediately burned more than half of the vines to ashes. Unfortunately, new vines sprouted from the earth as soon as they were burned, encircling Jayla’s body. The knotted vines rubbed together, twisting and tearing her body.

“Look, without the help of her weapon, Jayla is no match for me!”

Polo had an excited look on his face as he was shouting arrogantly. At that moment, he thought Jayla had been killed. Her twisted body parts were burning with the raging flames, turning her body parts into ashes. However, Jayla walked out amid the ashes wearing a fiery feather coat. She looked unharmed, but the vines behind her had turned into ashes.

What was going on?

The smile on Polo’s face froze, and he was speechless. His expression changed a few times as he raised his right hand. He wanted to attack Jayla, but at that moment, a thin palm pressed on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw that the person pressing on his shoulder was his father, Bismarck. He scolded him with a gloomy face, “Enough! You don’t listen to me anymore. When will you end your humiliation in this hall?”

Polo wanted to react, but he did not have anything to say. He could not help but snort coldly. He had not faced Jayla with a weapon yet, so he was unsure. He had not struggled even after Jayla had let go of the weapon in her grasp. That demonstrated that his strength was inferior to Jayla’s.

“Jayla, you can come back from the dead. What’s going on?”

Gilgamesh, who was sitting on the throne, was also very interested in Jayla’s technique of being reborn from the flames. So, he had asked curiously.

“Your Majesty, that is what I wanted to say about the other things I got from the Kingdom of Kings. Unfortunately, Polo did not let me say it! Not only did I get starlight-tier items from the Kingdom of Kings, but I also got Phoenix eggs, water from the Spring of Life, sun fruits, moon fruits, and other items. I can be reborn from the flames because of the effects of the Phoenix eggs. The eggs I brought back were laid by starlight-tier Phoenixes. They can give one the Phoenix bloodline’s ability that includes rebirth from the ashes.”

“A starlight-tier Phoenix?”

“It can let people rise from the ashes. Is that true? ”

The moment Jayla’s words left her mouth, all the ministers cried out in surprise.

“I can prove that what Jayla said is true. In fact, those things are very ordinary in the Kingdom of Kings. We usually eat those, so our strength is dozens of times stronger than before! In addition to that, we also brought back a World Tree seed, some soil, and ores from the Kingdom of Kings. Those are truly precious things. ”

Balroy followed suit and took out a few gifts carefully placed in jars from the package he carried.

The first jar was the World Tree seeds, which were like the crystallization of stars. The soil and ores in the other jars were also starlight-tier.

It was the same with the World Tree seeds. The soil and ores in the Kingdom of Kings were called treasures because the other treasures in the Kingdom of Kings grew based on the soil and ores. As long as they understood the effects of those two things, the Thorn Empire might be able to cultivate countless treasures just like the Kingdom of Kings.

“I did not expect the Kingdom of Kings to be so rich. They usually eat Phoenix eggs and drink water from the Spring of Life. Even the soil is a rare treasure in the world. No wonder they can cultivate the World Tree.”

The ministers discussed it with Balroy. At first, they were full of disdain when they talked about the Kingdom of Kings, but they had restrained their contempt, and their tone was filled with respect.

Gilgamesh’s expression also changed as he sat on the throne. “Jayla, is that why you want the Thorn Empire to submit to the Kingdom of Kings? I’m afraid that reason won’t work. Even if the Kingdom of Kings has extraordinary wealth, we need to fight them for it. As long as we attack and conquer the Kingdom of Kings, won’t those things be ours?”

“That’s right, Jayla. As one of the nine divine generals, you’re really cowardly to speak up for other kingdoms,” Polo shouted from the side. Jayla narrowed her eyes and looked at him coldly. Polo’s voice subconsciously became much softer.

“Your Majesty, I have a reason for that. The Kingdom of Kings has so many resources. How can their strength be weak? When I was in the Kingdom of Kings, I saw their army! The 100,000 soldiers are all starlight-tier elites. In addition, their king, King Watson, also has complete human and elven race chess pieces in his hands. Oh, right, now he has even subdued the Dwarven Kingdom. He even has the dwarven chess piece in his hands.”

“Dwarven race chess piece? The Kingdom of Kings has already annexed the Dwarven Kingdom. Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Gilgamesh’s expression became even uglier: “There are only five kingdoms on that continent. Now that the Kingdom of Kings has annexed four, only our last Thorn Empire is left. Sooner or later, it will attack us! ” “Bismarck, what do you think of that matter? Should we fight or surrender? ”

Gilgamesh’s visage darkened even more. “There are only five kingdoms on this continent. Now that the Kingdom of Kings has annexed four kingdoms, only our empire remains. They will hit us sooner or later! Bismarck, what are your thoughts on the matter? Should we fight, or should we give up?”

“Your Majesty, I think we should fight a decisive battle with the Kingdom of Kings. As the last kingdom to be conquered, the Thorn Empire will definitely not be treated as well as the kingdoms that have long submitted to the Kingdom of Kings. Furthermore, we have been conserving our strength for so many years. Isn’t it for the sake of increasing our strength and unifying the world as soon as possible? Now is a good opportunity.”

“How do you explain that?”

“The Kingdom of Kings is now a combination of four kingdoms. It looks solid, but the kingdoms that have just merged will inevitably have differences. In addition, the King of the Kingdom of Kings has forcefully controlled the chess pieces of the other races. How can the other races not have any complaints? We want to deal with the Kingdom of Kings. It may seem like we want to deal with four kingdoms, but in fact, dealing with the Kingdom of Kings is enough. As long as the Kingdom of Kings is defeated, the other kingdoms they annexed will naturally fall apart.”

Bismarck’s eyes opened and closed, and light burst forth. The beard on his face trembled slightly as he spoke. Even though his expression was calm, it gave off a feeling of authority without anger. In the Thorn Empire, Bismarck had the title of Prime Minister of Iron Blood. It was not only because of his cruel personality but also because his policies were bold and decisive, and he would not back down.

“Prime Minister, you can make such a judgment because you don’t understand the power of the Kingdom of Kings. I have just said that the Kingdom of Kings has an army of 100,000, and they’re all starlight-tier elites. That army is enough to destroy the Thorn Empire,” Jayla said anxiously, only to receive a cold glance from Bismarck.

“Have you counted them yourself? Perhaps you have only seen an army of 10,000 or even less. If I were the King of the Kingdom of Kings, I would also use a similar trick to show my strength in front of the envoys of foreign kingdoms. In fact, to create the illusion of an army of 100,000 people, you only need to ask 10,000 people to constantly replace the line, replacing the people in the front to the back so that you will always see unfamiliar faces.”

“It doesn’t matter even if the Holy Dragon Kingdom really has an army of 100,000 gods. Our empire is not that powerful, but we can seek the Thorn Goddess’ help! Don’t forget the treasure Thorn Goddess bestowed upon our kingdom, which has been worshiped by wise kings of past generations—the Divine World Tree, which can break through the world barrier and connect to the divine realm. With that divine object, we can connect with the gods and ask them to help us destroy the Kingdom of Kings.”

The Divine World Tree, also known as the gods’ twilight tree, was distinct from the World Tree. That tree was born tens of thousands of years ago during the gods’ battle. It was a tree with the gods’ blood. The unusual tree that grew in the gods’ twilight had the effect of perpetually growing once gods’ blood nourished it. It also disregarded any energy obstacles, including the world barrier.

Strictly speaking, the Divine World Tree was a living entity that contained divinity after absorbing the gods’ blood. It was not a pure god, so it did not enjoy the same restrictions as the gods.

The Divine World Tree was a foreboding sign in the divine realm. The gods had destroyed much of it, and the purposeful gods had left behind just a little fraction. One of them was the Divine World Tree in the Thorn Goddess’ hands. That tree had been placed at the Thorn Empire, allowing them to summon her to assist in times of need.

Gilgamesh sat on the throne, tapping his fingers softly on the chair’s legs and nodding. “That is right. I have the same idea. Our empire is the most powerful of the continent’s five kingdoms. Why should we kowtow to other kingdoms? The Kingdom of Kings would submit to us! I will contact the Thorn Goddess and use the Divine World Tree to open a portal to the divine realm. I will also request that she summon as many gods as she can. The Thorn Empire will summon a million gods if the Kingdom of Kings possesses an army of 100,000 gods.”

If the Thorn Empire surrendered, there was a high chance that they would become the weakest of the five kingdoms on the continent. If they did not submit, there was still a chance for them to turn the tables. It was not good to lure the gods from the outside world into the world. Those gods might threaten them, but it was worth a gamble.

After all, the gods were high and mighty. They might not be interested in the treasures that mortals possess. In addition, the gods needed them to offer their faith, so they would not go too far. In comparison, the Kingdom of Kings, which was expanding at an alarming rate, posed a greater threat to them.

Gilgamesh stood up from his seat and looked around after making his decision. “The Kingdom of Kings has long expressed its desire to acquire our empire. It is just that I was not aware of it at the time. I am unsure whether you recall when the Death Dragon King Nidhogg always ran to the Holy Dragon Kingdom. When the new source of magic arose in the world, the zombie skeletons that crawled out from all over the Thorn Empire—those are the signals that the Kingdom of Kings is testing us.

“Now that the Death Dragon King Nidhogg and many other dragons have disappeared from the Thorn Empire, we have lost a lot of our combat power. If we don’t seize the opportunity to resist, we will only lose more! When faced with the enemy’s slaughter, are you going to give up? Are you going to kneel and beg for mercy in front of a powerful enemy?”

Gilgamesh’s voice was clear and loud. When he asked his question, everyone in the room roared eagerly.

“We don’t want it!”

“What are you going to do?”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Very good. From now on, I order Bismarck to draw up a strategic plan. After I summon the gods, mobilize the army. The other generals, please tell all the soldiers in the empire about this matter and get them ready to fight.”

Gilgamesh gave the orders one at a time. He cut his wrist by stretching his right hand. Bright red blood spilled from his wrist and formed a magnificent pattern on the ground. The tree branches extend out in all directions, forming a blood-red thorny pattern. Vines with bright red thorns wriggled and rose from the ground. They were just half a meter long at the start, but they swiftly grew to several meters, dozens of meters. They penetrated through the shattered hall’s dome and extended into the unknown sky.

The Divine World Tree, with blood that symbolized the dusk of the gods, was not confined to the impenetrable treasure room. Instead, it was contained within his body.

Gilgamesh knew the meaning of the Child of God and man, a saying in the Thorn Empire.

The Thorn Goddess that the Thorn Empire worshiped had given birth to a son with a certain human in that world. The boy was born with the divine power to establish the Thorn Empire. The Thorn Empire’s first king was the Thorn Goddess’ son, and her blood flowed in the bodies of his descendants.

Since it contained the blood of both gods and humans, Gilgamesh was able to open the door between the world of gods and mortals.

“Your Majesty, you must not. That will destroy the Thorn Empire.”

The ministers’ faces were flushed as they gazed in awe at Gilgamesh. On the other hand, Jayla was afraid and wanted to stop him. Polo, who was by her side, had scoffed and used an even louder voice to cover his comments before she could finish them. “If you are a coward, you can’t be a divine general. If you are terrified of the Kingdom of Kings, you can hide here when the Thorn Empire strikes them later. Do not even think about going.”

The blood-colored thorns had already grown to a very high position in the sky. They formed a connection with the emptiness and eventually stretched out. The dense, blood-colored clouds had been tinted red. Various enigmatic symbols formed on the clouds and converged to form a round entryway. It slowly opened as it rotated, as though a dreadful wind from another world was blowing through the gap in the door.

“Ancient ancestor, I have called for your descent in the name of your son, Gilgamesh. Please bring the power of the gods and use your brilliance that the mortals can’t see to help us defeat the Kingdom of Kings and capture their king—King Watson.”

Gilgamesh stretched his arms and cried to the sky. His voice rolled and transformed into godly whispers that could not be clearly heard. The blood-dyed clouds and doorways in the sky were becoming transparent. The vast and boundless black nothingness of the holy realm and the bright stars in the abyss could be seen clearly behind the transparent doors.

Suddenly, one of the stars shone brightly and flew down, accompanied by a majestic heavenly voice completely different from that of humans.

“I will fulfill your wish.”

The star drilled through the translucent barrier and out the blood-red door. It transformed into a lovely god in midair, his entire body enveloped in light, with huge and little gears whirling around his back.

“Hmm?”

Gilgamesh was about to finish his song when he abruptly closed his mouth.. He had summoned the Thorn Goddess; why would he summon other gods? Who was that?