While it was true that there were many similarities in the manner in which both Xie Feng and Shen Xinya had acquired possession over a powerful item, it was also true that there were differences too glaring between them.
The most remarkable would be that while Shen Xinya obtained the Absolute Control Scepter silently and she only noticed it after opening her inventory, Xie Feng obtained his Ring of the God of Destruction after receiving an announcement from the system. It was only after receiving that announcement that the ring suddenly appeared in his inventory.
As Xie Feng had his head down and was immersed in his own inner thoughts, Shen Xinya's soft voice ringed beside him, "So what about you then? How did your appearance change?"
Xie Feng sighed and looked at her with a forced smile before pointing to the ring on his right hand.
Gu Qianxue and Xie Yao had already heard from him the reason behind his change in physical appearance, however, the rest of the girls present had no idea so several pairs of eyes automatically turned towards the ring.
The outline of the ring was completely black like the cloak of night and three blue seals were like the stars in the sky surrounding it. Its appearance was much simpler than the Absolute Control Scepter in Shen Xinya's hands, however, its elegance was by no means lost.
But unlike the Absolute Control Scepter, the Ring of the God of Destruction exuded a much heavier and extravagant aura; it was as if it wanted to announce to the entire world about its presence. Another conspicuous difference was that unlike the gentle feeling of the Absolute Control Scepter, the Ring of the God of Destruction conveyed a slightly evil feeling.
"That ring...?" Shen Xinya muttered softly as she blinked towards the ring and a feeling of confusion flashed through her.
Having no idea of the thoughts of the woman beside him, Xie Feng began to narrate his own story slowly.
Except for Xie Yao and Gu Qianxue, all the girls present listened and marveled as they learned of all the strange things that happened to Xie Feng before and after acquiring the ring.
Even the indifferent and casual Yao Mei sat next to Shui Wuhen listening carefully. The two girls' eyes sparkled with naked interest and when Xie Feng got to the part where he met the Light Saint Dragon the interest of both of them increased even more and they even leaned forward to listen better.
Xie Feng could not help but smile slightly at the sight.
Although Yao Mei's body was a world apart compared to Shui Wuhen's small body, the age difference between the two girls was only about four years. Although Yao Mei was clearly more mentally mature due to her life experiences, Xie Feng liked more to see her act like a little girl enjoying every little detail life had to offer rather than behaving like a grown woman with a thousand worries.
As the group chatted happily, suddenly a large army came out of the city gates attracting everyone's attention.
There were soldiers mounted on horseback, others simply walking, and others dragging some sort of heavy-looking catapults. The army came out in an orderly fashion as they began to take up different positions in defensive formation under the guidance of one man.
Xie Feng's face changed and he slowly stood up while focusing his gaze to the front. The girls also noticed that the atmosphere of the place had suddenly become much heavier than before and looked toward the large army cautiously.
The army that left the city numbered about fifty thousand soldiers. Among them were twenty thousand especially striking men with deep golden colored armor and extremely powerful looking weapons or shields and they definitely did not look like a casual group that had been formed a year or two ago.
Xie Feng felt great pressure coming from each of these men and knew that even the weakest of them was not someone to be underestimated. Even he himself would have to make an effort and be careful or he would easily be killed by these soldiers.
The other thirty thousand soldiers, although not as extravagant as the twenty thousand golden-armored soldiers, all of them also possessed powerful auras; however, the fear on their faces made evident the difference in training between the two sides.
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"Those are the soldiers of Eternal Wind City." Shui Wuhen pointed out, easily recognizing the thirty thousand soldiers. She stood next to Xie Feng as she looked in all directions with elusive eyes.
"Let's go there." Xie Feng said in a deep voice as he walked towards the man leading the soldiers.
He had already seen from afar that this man was indeed the King of the North. However, he had no idea why even the king himself had appeared in person in Eternal Wind City and, judging from the formation of soldiers, the problem was not simple at all.
The girls quickly followed close behind him cautiously. Each of them held on to their respective weapons in case they were suddenly attacked. Although the probability of such an occurrence was almost nil, it was not impossible. After all, there have already been cases where players were slaughtered by NPCs for no apparent reason.
The soldiers were clearly under stress as they noticed the group of seven slowly approaching. Several of them drew their swords from their sheaths while another silver-armored soldier shouted loudly, "To the group over there, stop right now!"
Xie Feng simply nodded and stopped, understanding the situation. Fortunately, the previous soldier's shout attracted the attention of the real commander and leader, who approached the place to check what was going on.
When King Hu Yi saw Xie Feng, his eyes suddenly lit up and he approached him with new vigor that confused all the soldiers in the army.
"Shiva! What a coincidence that you are here!"
"It's been a while since the last time, King Hu Yi. I hope you've been well." Xie Feng smiled slightly and nodded.
The girls' jaws almost dropped to the floor at the sight of the king's apparent friendliness and warm welcome towards Xie Feng.
This was a true king! Someone with absolute control and unsurpassed status in his region! In the real world, his status would be even higher than that of the presidents of the most powerful nations... A president needed to ask for advice from the government cabinet before making important decisions, but a king only needed to order!
However, such a person was actually welcoming Xie Feng so warmly, even showing him respect! Xie Yao, Gu Qianxue, and Shen Xinya suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable pride welling up inside them; even little Shui Wuhen suddenly felt happy!
"It's been more than a week since I last saw you but I see you're having fun." King Hu Yi looked at the beauties surrounding Xie Feng and could not help but let his eyes light up. He had his own imperial harem, but even his most beautiful concubine could not surpass the most beautiful woman in this group and was barely comparable to the others.
"I on the other hand...Sigh... Things couldn't get any worse to me." King Hu Yi shook his head and sighed as his face darkened at the thought of the current situation.
"What happened?" Xie Feng also became serious as he noticed the ashen expression on the face of the man in front of him.
King Hu Yi had not put on such an expression even when his son was in mortal danger. Back then, his emotions were grief and anger. However, his current emotions were practically all close to despair.
Xie Feng could not help but feel curious and apprehensive.
King Hu Yi took a deep breath and slowly began to explain the situation with a grim face.
"The current situation couldn't be worse." The king pointed out after finishing his explanation. "Not only are we about to be attacked by an unknown creature with the power of a Saint, but we don't even know the motive behind its attack."
Saint!
The absolute pinnacle of power in this world! An existence that was equally as powerful as the Light Saint Dragon!
Xie Feng couldn't help but gasp when he heard how dreadful the situation was. Just remembering that overwhelming pressure he felt when he met the Light Saint Dragon back then reminded Xie Feng how small and insignificant he was in front of such creatures!
The girls had a look of horror when they heard that a Saint grade powerhouse was about to unleash an attack on the city.
"What... What about the citizens? "Xie Yao couldn't help but ask. Her kindness was shown immediately, her first concern being the innocent and unable to defend themselves... Because she knew that one death for them meant eternal demise.
"The citizens were temporarily sent to Eminentis City using the long-distance teleportation array. Some of them cried and resisted since their roots and belongings were here, so we had no choice but to use some force." King Hu Yi sighed in exhaustion.
The cost of using the long-distance teleportation array was extremely shocking and each use was equivalent to five years' worth of energy consumption! Such a loss was simply too great to bear with a smile!
"King Hu Yi, do we know the time the attack will be launched?" Xie Feng asked with a bit of hope.
However, his hopes died when King Hu Yi shook his head softly, "It's not possible... It could be the next instant or in the next few hours... But it will definitely be today!"