Receive an arrow...?
Considering the Divine Emperor of Death's power, wouldn't that result in absolute death?
Yughen's wives trembled, but Davis continued, "Don't worry. The arrow will be adjusted to your cultivation bases, but it will still be strong enough to kill."
"Third, your clan has essentially betrayed you by sending no Grand Elders to negotiate and leave your fates entirely for me to decide. Show me you have the will to live and not be screwed over by poisoning a Grand Elder after you return. Otherwise, I'll send my forces to take the life of your husband without fail."
"..." Yughen's wives were dumbfounded.
"What...?" The first wife confusedly shook her head, appearing not able to understand his intentions.
"Hmm. I see." Davis nodded, his gaze abruptly turning cold, "Cowards who do not have the ability to even try to defend themselves shouldn't have the gall to ask me to spare their loved one who is a criminal on execution row. I see you all want your husband dead."
"No!- wait...!"
The first wife stretched out her hand, "I... I will do it. We will prove that we will not just sit back and watch them betray us when we need their help the most..."
Davis raised his brows, "Are you lying?"
"No... I will really poison a Grand Elder, even cause him to die!"
"..." Hearing her determined answer, Davis's lips curled, "It seems like you already have someone in mind."
The first wife didn't reply. The others clenched their fists, all thinking of the same person because it was because of that person they were here without any support. "Wait..."
"Alright, we'll start with the second condition."
Yughen wanted to say something, but Davis continued. He flew off to the skies and conjured a bow and arrow.
"Any of you can choose to step forward but I would prefer if it's the first wife. If you do not step up, then one of you will be chosen at random."
Davis's voice echoed throughout heaven and earth, his tone holding immense authority as though imposing fair judgment on them.
"I'll go."
The second wife, the one clad in black armor, stepped forward, but instantly, the first wife rushed to the front.
"You-"
"Stay back!" The first wife's voice echoed, "As the one who led you all here, I will be the one to face this judgment. Besides, if it isn't me, then the Divine Emperor of Death might change his mind."
She gained enough distance and stopped.
"You are free to dodge, you know..."
Davis's voice echoed as he emerged high above. He was not even a silhouette in the radiant sky. He was completely hidden. A dark bow made up of darkness energy appeared in his hand. The arrow was also the same.
The arrow he nocked crackled with condensed wind energy, the very air warping around it with a pressure that caused the others on the ground to instinctively shrink back. They couldn't sense where he was, but the wind picked up, and the pressure intensified everywhere.
Davis aimed at Yughen's first wife. He liked the look of determination on her face, fearless and stubborn. He could hear the Ghostly Crow Realm Master screaming at the top of his lungs, probably even crying as he saw his first wife was going to take an arrow for him, suffering for the mistakes he had made.
It made him feel like they could be switched one day, with him caught and Evelynn trying to sacrifice herself for him. He never wanted to see such a scene.
However, the difference was that he was trying to give them a way out.
He frowned since he knew the hit rate was ninety-nine point nine percent with his accuracy in using bows. In the Loret Empire, he had dabbled with all the major weapons since he had to learn many things as a crown prince as a part of his education, so he was fairly skilled in the bow and arrow. Later, he also practiced with Fiora a lot when he accompanied her.
At this rate, he knew his arrow would pierce the first wife and cause her to die.
He inwardly grumbled and did something to the arrow tip.
Nonetheless, his expression remained inscrutable before he turned the bow skyward- towards the blazing sun and imagined her general direction in an arc.
"You stand there willingly," his voice thundered from above, "But life, like death, can be capricious. Let the fickle fate decide if you live or die today."
With that, he let loose.
The arrow shot into the sky, a dazzling streak of darkness ascending until it vanished into the blinding light of the sun. For a breathless moment, nothing happened. Then- the arrow reappeared, falling.
Faster and faster, it plummeted from the sky like divine judgment descending from above. Its trajectory was unpredictable, not directed by Davis's soul force.
The first wife remained rooted in place. Her eyes tried to find the arrow, but she couldn't. Her heart sank, and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact. Some of the wives gasped. One of them whimpered, turning her head away.
But the first wife... didn't move.
*Thud!*
The arrow struck the earth barely centimeters away from her, embedding itself deep into the sand and kicking up a storm of dust and splintered rock.
She didn't flinch.
When the dust cleared, Davis descended from the sky, gazing down with narrowed
eyes. A small smile ran across his lips.
"You didn't run nor dodge. Is there something wrong with you?"
Davis asked with some amusement. He didn't hold back at all with the accuracy, so she
could indeed be pierced to death.
The first wife exhaled slowly, her voice hoarse but steady, "I said I would prove it."
...Very well." Davis waved his hand. The arrow crumbled into dust, dissolving into tiny motes of dark light, "You passed the second condition."
"Big sister!" Yughen's wives ran towards the first wife and inspected her.
They saw that she had a scratch on the back of her shoulder. The arrow barely missed, making their hearts shaken. Otherwise, the power of the arrow alone would've ripped her body apart into two, leaving a gruesome and bloody scene that they didn't dare to
imagine.
"Divine Emperor of Death!!! Why are you doing this!? They haven't done anything wrong! Let them go!!!"
Davis heard the Ghostly Crow Realm Master roar into the winds. He seemed to be at
the end of the rope, his heart having gone a tumultuous episode have nearly watching
his wife die.
"Now you know what I felt like when I heard your arrow almost pierced my Myria.
Now we're finally even, don't you think?"
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master, Yughen, glared at Davis with a searing hate.
This hate only made Davis smile. The broken person finally had some Will to fight back. It seems like he had touched his reverse scale.
"Well, the worst has passed. If you hate me, I welcome you to battle to the death anytime. However, know that I said this to quite a few opponents I had spared, and none of them managed to reach my level because I have left them in the dust. You will also be the same, poor and miserable crow." Davis's expression was full of confidence and belief that he was unbeatable in the same realm.
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master shuddered, the hatred in his eyes quickly being snuffed out as he recalled who he was dealing with. For a moment, he had forgotten
the other party was the Divine Emperor of Death.
"Realm Master, don't. We're almost near...!"
The first wife knelt and smashed her head against the ground, "The Ghostly Crow Clan deeply apologizes to Saintess Myria for our thoughtless actions. Please forgive us!"
The others also fell and kowtowed.
They repeated this three times, finally relieving Davis' heart of the final bit of hatred
he had against these crows. He confirmed that they were regretful for even offending him in the first place through Heart Intent, so all was fine.
Even the smoldering wisp of hatred that abruptly grew inside the Ghostly Crow Realm
Master had died.
Davis supposed they understood that they simply couldn't go against him after the
battle with the Venerable Knights. He was so glad that people actually had a brain to understand instead of fighting to the death. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to kill this sweet family.
The Ghostly Crow Realm Master was released without any restraints, and his wives took him back to the battleship and left. Their expressions were complicated, as though they didn't expect to leave alive. They cupped their hands before they left.
"You let them go just like that?" Mingzhi appeared beside him, "What about the Ghostly Crow Realm Core? You didn't negotiate for it?"
"The Ghostly Crow Realm Core could be obtained in many other ways. I just left a seed
anyway. It could sprout into an opportunity."
"You mean the one where you wanted them to poison a Grand Elder and cause an internal feud. Are you trying to make them lean on you?"
Davis turned to look at her with a deep smile, "I can't hide my intentions from you!"
Mingzhi hid her smile as she looked away, her gaze prideful, "But that alone isn't
enough."
"Yeah, so I did something that might force the Ghostly Crow Realm Master's hand." Davis raised his hand and rubbed his chin with a wicked look, "I tested their loyalty, but let's see his lovalty towards his wives, especially his first."
Mingzhi and the others raised their brows. What exactly did he plan?