Chapter 96: No War in the Imperial Capital 9

“Uncle! Come play with me!” The mammoth spotted Chu Tian in the sky, curling its long trunk and tossing the pitiful Deck into the air.

“Hehe,” Chu Tian smiled. Regardless of why Deck had become the mammoth’s toy, tonight’s mission was successfully accomplished.

Suddenly, Chu Tian’s childlike spirit surged. With both hands pulling on the dragon horn he held, he exclaimed, “NMD!” The half-blood dragon immediately understood his master’s meaning, flicking its long tail. Thud! Deck was struck and sent flying back.

“Haha, thank you, uncle!” The mammoth was delighted as well, waving its trunk from side to side and launching Deck back into the sky.

Thus, Deck, the Ninth-Rank Sword God, tragically became a mere plaything between Chu Tian and the mammoth.

“Ahh!” After several rounds, Deck, who had been unconscious, slowly regained consciousness. However, after a pitiful scream, he soon fainted again from intense dizziness.

“AK, what’s going on?” After playing with the mammoth and indulging in tormenting the Ninth-Rank Sword God, Chu Tian landed on the ground. His first words were directed at the beautiful spider, “How did you capture Deck?” Both the mammoth and AK47 combined did not even reach Ninth Rank power, yet the fact lay before Chu Tian: Deck was captured! He simply couldn’t fathom how they managed it.

“Hehe, boss!” The beautiful spider smiled sweetly and leaned close to Chu Tian. “I really don’t know. Maybe he was mesmerized by my charm!”

Praise the Goddess of Life! Your charm? Chu Tian looked up and examined his magical pet. Undeniably, AK was stunningly beautiful from the chest up, but below the chest, her enormous spider body would make any man lose his wits! Her upper half could incite temptation, while her lower half compelled self-defense—this was Chu Tian’s honest appraisal of his magical pet.

His expression grew serious. “This isn’t the time for jokes. Tell me the truth. What exactly happened? If you’re joking, I’ll deduct your gold coins!” Heh heh, when dealing with a money-loving female magical pet, gold coins were the most effective leverage.

“I’m not joking!” AK pouted, rubbing Chu Tian with one slender spider leg. “Boss, Deck really fainted on his own. Please don’t deduct my gold coins, okay?” Then she gestured toward the mammoth. “See? If you don’t believe me, ask him!”

“Haha, that’s right, uncle! This old grandpa fainted by himself,” the mammoth replied, still tossing Deck up and down, refusing to let go of his new toy. “Uncle, this old grandpa was so fierce at first—he tried to catch us—but while running, he just fainted.”

What was going on? Chu Tian was baffled. The mammoth wouldn’t lie to him. So Deck really fainted on his own? Praise the Goddess of Life—could it be that the goddess sister truly cared for him this much? Damn it, why wasn’t it Andor who fainted? It had taken him so much effort to capture him!

“All right, no more playing!” The situation was settled, but Chu Tian still had to clean up the aftermath. Climbing onto the mammoth’s broad back, he pointed to the battered mercenary headquarters. “Let’s go…”

Chu Tian departed, but a small boy’s head suddenly appeared in the air. It was Morphett.

“So boring!” Morphett shook his head, sniffing the air carefully for a long moment.

“Phew, that guy is finally gone…” As he spoke, more and more of Morphett’s body emerged from the air until a cute, innocent boy with eyes shining in different colors stood fully where Chu Tian had been.

Looking toward Chu Tian’s departing direction, Morphett sighed regretfully, “Sigh! Deck, don’t blame me for not saving you! We’re just partners, after all!” He patted his chest nervously. “Who would’ve thought that guy would show up here and fight desperately for you? Tch! That’s so boring!”

…

The mercenary headquarters of the Earth Dragon Mercenary Group was more like ruins now. Chu Tian counted his subordinates. Aside from a few hundred losses in Peiqi’s Imperial Guards, everyone else remained.

Serena had been taken away to the capital by Anna to recuperate, and Barbosa, who had kept far away from the start, now appeared beside Chu Tian.

Barbosa was Chu Tian’s treasure. Not only had he developed numerous medicines for him, but he also managed the entire pharmaceutical factory’s production. Without Barbosa, Chu Tian wouldn’t know how to keep his operations running. A capable, trustworthy steward who could research and manage production but lacked magic—Chu Tian couldn’t afford to let him take risks.

“Rednor, don’t worry!” Chu Tian comforted Rednor, feeling somewhat guilty for fighting on his turf and destroying his base. “I’ll reimburse you gold coins for rebuilding the mercenary headquarters tomorrow!”

“It’s my honor to serve His Majesty and you!” Despite suffering losses, Rednor was excited. He had learned during the battle what Chu Tian was doing—helping the Holy Priest eliminate a spy who had hidden for thirty years, maintaining the empire’s stability, and solving a long-standing problem for the emperor. What a great achievement! Perhaps he would be ennobled, and his mercenary group would become the empire’s top band!

Though his role was minimal, having fought against the undead mage god was enough for Rednor to feel proud—it was as glorious as being a Dragon Slayer! Yet he remained composed, knowing what he should and shouldn’t know. “Your Highness, I will order all mercenaries to forget tonight’s events!” He understood that what happened was beyond his rank and knowledge, and forgetting was essential to avoid severe consequences.

“Good,” Chu Tian narrowed his eyes, approvingly patting Rednor’s shoulder. Praise the Goddess of Life! Now the group leader had a weakness in Chu Tian’s hands, and the mercenary headquarters was rebuilt with his money. Could Rednor and his men still escape his control?

Having reassured Rednor, Chu Tian approached the still-paralyzed Andor. “Mr. Andor, your old friend is here!” He gestured to the mammoth, and with a thud, Deck, rolled into a ball, was tossed beside Andor.

“Impossible!” Andor had endured too many blows tonight. First, he was restrained by a Holy Priest who could not cast magic, using only a few needles. Then his proud Bone Dragon was defeated by the weakened Scarlet Flame. Finally, the Ninth-Rank Sword God was turned into a toy by an Eighth-Rank Mammoth! “How did you capture Deck?”

Praise the Goddess of Life! Chu Tian rolled his eyes, ignoring Andor—or rather, he didn’t know how to answer.

“Focus on yourself!” Scarlet Flame said coldly. She had recovered human form but was covered in wounds. Behind her, the Bone Dragon lay quietly on the ground, twitching occasionally. “The Dragon Emperor will not spare you! Nor will he spare Lais!”

“Hahaha…” Andor laughed wildly. “Why wouldn’t the Dragon Emperor spare me? What proof do you have that I forged the Bone Dragon?”

Bad news! Andor’s arrogance reminded Chu Tian that the undead mage god was still the continent’s ultimate powerhouse. Though paralyzed, he still had his magical pets! Though the Bone Dragon was subdued by Scarlet Flame, it had another use. “Get out of the way!”

“Self-destruct!” As Chu Tian shouted, Andor ordered his magical pet. Though he couldn’t cast magic himself, he could still command his pet.

Boom! The Bone Dragon exploded. Chu Tian’s call was timely, and Scarlet Flame and NMD reacted quickly. In the blink of an eye, a huge red shield shimmered around Scarlet Flame, protecting Peiqi and the Imperial Guards, while NMD formed a protective circle around Chu Tian, Barbosa, and Rednor.

The self-destruct power of a Ninth-Rank Bone Dragon was formidable—though not as strong as a Tenth-Rank Forbidden Spell, it surpassed ordinary Ninth-Rank magic.

“Cough, cough!” Scarlet Flame spat blood, clearly gravely injured. The red shield had notably shrunk. NMD also blocked the blast but collapsed weakly to the ground.

“Damn it! Andor, you’re courting death!” Chu Tian was furious, drawing the Fury of Dracula. Without his quick reflexes, no one would have survived tonight. Yet he quickly sheathed his blade, understanding that Andor was seeking death!

Deck truly deserved his title as Ninth-Rank Sword God—even unconscious, his protective fighting energy automatically blocked most damage. But Andor was less fortunate. A mage’s body was inherently fragile, and without magic defense, his body was nearly shattered. Though the magical needles restraining him were blasted away, he no longer had strength to fight back.

“Kill… kill me then!” Andor’s body was almost in pieces.

Though Chu Tian wanted to, he couldn’t kill Andor. With the Bone Dragon gone, there was no evidence to explain to the Dragon Emperor that Andor had violated the dragon clan’s forbidden laws. Scarlet Flame could testify, but as a guardian beast of the Caesar Empire, her words wouldn’t be credible. Therefore, Andor had to live.

Chu Tian believed that as long as Andor lived, with the intelligence bureau chief Barry’s methods, the Dragon Emperor would learn everything. Lais would then face the dragon army! And Andor knew this, which was why he sought death!

“Ah!” The scream came from Anderson, who had been overlooked from the start. Though he was far from the Bone Dragon’s explosion, the violent force still shattered his body, waking him from unconsciousness.

Trembling, he stood using his knight’s sword, looking bewildered at everything. Then he saw his body, reduced almost to a skeleton…

…Chapter Ninety-Six: The Capital Without War 9—Fastest Updates at Jiuku Literature…