To win the great battle one month later and defeat the hundred and ten thousand Silver Alliance troops, seeking centaur reinforcements became an absolute necessity.
“Master, every race has weaknesses. Their pursuits are their weaknesses.”
Yes, ideals and pursuits were to some extent weaknesses. A person without desires or pursuits had no weaknesses.
“Centaurs are a very contradictory race. They yearn for freedom, yet have distinct social strata. They long for grasslands, yet mostly live in caves. They plunder greedily, yet possess almost nothing material.”
“Centaurs live by plundering. They rob everything, yet discard what they rob at will. They also eat meat, yet greatly detest eating meat.”
“So this race is truly somewhat invulnerable in spirit, because it is genuinely hard to find something they particularly like.”
If a person loved wealth, then use gold and silver treasures to buy him. If a person loved beauty, then use beautiful women to buy him. However, with the centaur race, it was very hard to find anything to buy them with.
“What centaurs love most are divine weapons and sharp arms, especially precious bows. But do not expect them to pay anything for these.”
“Centaurs keep their promises, and to fulfil a promise they can give everything, even their own lives. However, ninety-nine percent of their promises are false. As for which promise belongs to the real one percent, only they themselves know.”
“They are a group without morality, paranoid and conservative, greedy and selfish, with intense desire for battle. They never lie, they simply never take what they have said seriously.”
Lanling listened to the Mirror Demon King describe the centaurs’ personality traits, which made him think of the Yan Pirate warriors.
These two races were very similar.
The Yan Pirate race was similarly greedy, selfish, living by plundering, yet placed no value whatsoever on material possessions. They feared not death, even actively pursued death.
Moreover, Yan Pirate warriors also kept their promises, for which they could even give their lives. But the vast majority of their promises were false, with only one percent being true.
One could say that Lanling had only used familial affection to win over Queen Yan Chuoer. He had never truly won over the Yan Pirate warriors.
Centaurs were the same as Yan Pirates. As long as you were one of their own, then everything was fine. What was yours was mine, and what was mine was yours. Every word spoken was like a nail spat out, every sentence counted.
But if you were not their people, then sorry, they were the most evil, and every word they spoke was incomparably treacherous.
The Mirror Demon King said, “So, the only way to get the centaur tribe to fight for you is to become one of their people.”
“Ah…” Lanling exclaimed. How was this possible.
He was previously human. Now… now he did not know what race he was, but in any case he was absolutely not a centaur.
The centaur form was far too distinctive. It was fundamentally impossible to impersonate or conceal.
The Mirror Demon King said, “No, to be precise… you must become their god.”
The Mirror Demon King grew increasingly mystical as he spoke.
“Centaurs also have faith. They have countless faiths. Almost every centaur tribe believes in a different god. For example, this powerful Xie Li tribe believes in the Moon Demon.”
“Moon Demon?” Lanling said in astonishment. “What does it have to do with the moon?”
The Mirror Demon King said, “In the Xie Li tribe’s legends, their common ancestor was an extremely divine, beautiful, and powerful mare. One night, after it fell asleep, the shadow of the mountains under the moonlight came alive, and took it to the moon. This wooden horse lived carefreely on the moon for a very long time. The next day when this mare woke up, it was pregnant, and then gave birth to a child. Half of it was human, half was horse. It was the first generation Xie Li Khan.”
“Of course, there are many such legends. Almost every centaur tribe has one. And every centaur tribe firmly believes that their ancestor was the first centaur. Centaur tribes believe in countless gods, every tribe believing in one god. But these gods are without exception related to the birth of their race.”
“If someone could unconditionally command these centaur tribes, it would be their god. No words can describe the centaur tribes’ reverence for their gods. Centaur tribes do not like gold, silver, jewels, or fine silks and brocades, yet they still go plundering. This is because they must sacrifice to their gods. Every centaur tribe uses the treasures they plunder to make sacrifices.” The Mirror Demon King said.
Lanling said, “Then what is the reason for the sacrifices?”
“Afterlife…” The Mirror Demon King said, “To let the gods bless them that in their next life they will still be a centaur, and not a horse.”
Immediately, Lanling’s eyes suddenly lit up. The cunning him thought of something.
The Mirror Demon King said, “My master, you are indeed evil and treacherous. You have found a way to impersonate the Moon Demon.”
Lanling said, “We cannot turn a horse into a centaur? Then is there a way to turn a centaur into a horse? This way, it will make them believe this is a divine curse.”
The Mirror Demon King said, “Evil people always have the same ideas. Several hundred years ago, someone wanted to subjugate the centaur tribes and wanted to impersonate their god. So he desperately tried to research centaurs, and found the reason for their half human, half horse form.”
Lanling said, “Naturally it is demon blood, the demon blood in their bodies.”
The Mirror Demon King said, “Correct. But making a verbal judgment is simple, yet truly verifying it is very difficult. This person accomplished it. And after several decades of research, he found a method that could eliminate the demon blood within centaurs without harming their lives, only making them turn back into a horse. This is the Demon Expelling Return Pill.”
Lanling said, “The Pill King again?”
The Mirror Demon King said, “Yes, the Pill King again.”
Lanling said, “He was once your spiritual slave?”
“No, he was my friend, the prime minister of my Mirror Empire.” The Mirror Demon King sighed. “He was incomparably ugly. To obtain the woman he loved, he gave her the Cursed Misfortune Pill. As long as she did not take the antidote in time every year, she would rapidly grow ugly, grow old, and then die in the most painful manner. Although he doted on his wife extremely, his wife felt that every day with him was torture, so she committed suicide. The Pill King, alone, was in extreme pain. He wanted to find a method where he would not forget his wife, yet not suffer so much pain. So he travelled all over the world, and ended up coming to my domain.”
Lanling said, “Did he fall into your spiritual trap?”
“No.” The Mirror Demon King said, “He saw through my spiritual trap at one glance. Then he asked me to help, to let me lessen the pain in his heart, yet not let him forget his wife. So he stayed behind, becoming the prime minister of my Mirror Empire.”
Lanling said, “Did you lessen his pain?”
“No.” The Mirror Demon King said, “People who are too clever simply cannot deceive themselves. In the end, he still committed suicide. He committed suicide in my domain, leaving behind his pills, his memories.”
Lanling was silent for quite a while, then said, “Mirror, you planned for me to find the centaur tribes very early on, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” The Mirror Demon King said, “You need an incomparably powerful cavalry.”
“I should be grateful to you, but my heart likes you even less.” Lanling said.
The Mirror Demon King said, “I know. Because you do not want to be manipulated by anyone. Even if I am your shadow, a part of you, an insignificant and utterly humble part. Master, anyone in this world may betray you, except me. Because I am fundamentally a part of you. I am your shadow.”
Lanling was silent for a while, then said, “What about the Demon Expelling Return Pill?”
The Mirror Demon King said, “It is still in the treasure at the bottom of the lake.”
…
Lanling found the Demon Expelling Return Pill.
Before leaving the Flame Demon Tribe, he met one person, Du Yan.
“The Flame Demon Tribe is once again in imminent danger. If you want to leave, I will not stop you.” Lanling said.
If Du Yan truly chose to leave, would Lanling stop him?
He would not stop him, only cut off his head.
Du Yan knelt down and said, “Chief, I… I am actually not afraid of death. I only long for recognition, long for glory, long for other people’s gazes.”
This sentence was very true.
Actually, Ling Ao was also not afraid of death.
He longed to rise above others, longed for wealth and honour, longed for women’s admiring gazes, longed for the reverence of ten thousand people.
The reason he bowed and scraped to Zhili, even willing to offer up his own woman, was because he felt Zhili could give him such opportunities.
In his heart, establishing merit and building a career was more important than women.
Later, the reason he was unwilling to kneel before Lanling and pledge allegiance was that he could not overcome the demon in his heart, the demon of jealousy.
And Du Yan had actually overcome this demon.
After Lanling defeated Constantine, he overcame this demon.
This demon was: I, Du Yan, revered Chief Constantine, but Lanling even destroyed Constantine, so it was fine for me to revere Lanling.
This was like, South Korea and Japan looked down on China, feeling China was backward. If one day, China could truly defeat America. Then their psychological demon would also be gone, and they could serve with a clear conscience. Before this, the disdainful gazes of these two countries towards China from the bottom of their hearts would absolutely not change.
Lanling nodded and said, “Fine, I understand.”
Then, Lanling bid farewell to Suomo, Dina, Duoduo, Duolong, Gangtuo, and the others.
“I will definitely return within one month. During this time, the Flame Demon Tribe is entrusted to you.”
“Remember four points: morale, giant trebuchets, giant heavy crossbows, and the city wall.”
For the Flame Demon Tribe, right now the strongest defence was morale.
And giant trebuchets, giant heavy crossbows, could play the role of secret weapons one month later, killing the enemy on a large scale as much as possible. The high city wall could protect the subjects behind it.
“Understood.” Suomo and the others said.
Lanling caressed Dina’s face, then touched her belly, and cast a glance at her.
“I understand, husband.” Dina said.
She truly understood. Lanling’s meaning was that if Gouli showed any hidden danger, kill her immediately.
That night, Lanling took advantage of the darkness, riding the golden griffin, flying towards the centaur tribe nearly five thousand li to the southwest.
…
Time returned to two years ago.
The Headless Knight poured the ancient Demon King’s blood into Crown Prince Lan Tu’s body.
Immediately, this demon blood energy flowed into his heart.
The desert was extremely dry, so the Yelan Duchy Crown Prince Lan Tu’s corpse had not rotted, only dried out. So his heart had also long since dried and shrivelled.
After the demon blood energy entered, this heart began to expand, to demonically transform, to revive.
In the end, a massive green heart, a pure energy body heart, began to beat, outputting ancient demon energy.
Crown Prince Lan Tu’s meridians began to revive, his bones began to revive, his strength began to revive.
Finally…
He suddenly opened his eyes, green as fire.
It was just that his body was still a mummy, looking incomparably terrifying.
“Father, mother, younger sister…” Lan Tu suddenly let out a roar.
“My brother, you have awakened.” The Headless Knight said.
Crown Prince Lan Tu looked towards the Headless Knight and said in astonishment, “Elder brother…”
Then, he suddenly slapped his own head and said, “How strange. I feel like there are two memories in my brain, one clear, one fuzzy.”
The Headless Knight said, “Haha, as expected of our wisest brother. You actually still have impressions of the ancient memories. Zhili forgot them completely long ago.”
The clear one was Lan Tu’s current life memory. The fuzzy one was the ancient Hell Knight memory.
The Headless Knight said, “My brother, His Majesty the Demon King summons us. The world destruction delayed for countless years is about to begin anew.”
“Master?” Lan Tu desperately tried to recall. He only had a very hazy impression of His Majesty the Demon King, but the loyalty contract was engraved deep in the soul, deep in the energy.
The Headless Knight said, “When I speak His Majesty the Demon King’s identity, you must be mentally prepared. He is… Solun.”
“Fuck…” Crown Prince Lan Tu cursed loudly. “It is this bastard. He not only married the woman I loved, but also killed my birth parents?”
The Headless Knight said, “Our other Hell Knight brother Zhili said that after seeing His Majesty the Demon King, first beat him up, then kneel and pledge loyalty. You might consider it.”
“Fine. When the time comes, count me in.” Crown Prince Lan Tu said resentfully.
The Headless Knight said, “Brother, after becoming a Hell Knight, we completely bid farewell to the past. All hatred, all emotions, all unwillingness must be put down. But before that, you can complete your heart’s wish. Shall we go kill the Yelan Duchy’s ruler Xue Ye, and his mother Ji Hui?”
At that time, it was his younger brother Xue Ye who had usurped Lan Tu’s ruler position, and used despicable means to defeat Lan Tu’s army.
Using his wife and children as hostages, using the families of Lan Tu’s army as hostages. Otherwise, ten Lan Yes would have been slaughtered.
Crown Prince Lan Tu sighed and said, “Forget it. If I kill him, the Yelan Duchy will lose another ruler, and will truly fall apart. Since the Yelan Duchy Crown Prince Lan Tu is already dead, then let him be thoroughly dead.”
The Headless Knight said, “Fine, then follow me to summon our other brother, the fourth Hell Knight.”
He led over a war horse, a true war horse, divine and full.
The mummy-like Hell Knight Lan Tu gripped the sword by his side.
Immediately, the precious sword burned with green flames. The sword began to decay, yet emanated incomparably powerful energy.
Then, he mounted the war horse.
The war horse began to neigh. All the muscles on its body were corroded, transforming into a powerful skeleton war horse.
Two Hell Knights galloped towards the Eastern Sea.
Seven days later, they reached the Eastern Sea.
The skeleton war horse leapt into the sea, continuing to gallop northward in the sea.
Their destination was the former Thunder Archipelago, later leased to the Yan Clan, becoming the new Yan Island.
They went to summon and revive the new Hell Knight, the fourth Hell Knight.
He was similarly a life and death enemy of Solun.
So this truly was the irony of fate.
Up to now, including Ashi Luo, the four Hell Knights were all life and death enemies of Solun.