Chapter 424: A Clean Sweep

"Everyone, I called you all here today to discuss a strategy for dealing with Wrath," the Dragon King said in a deep voice.

The other six kings remained silent. They had no strategy either. With even the strongest among them, the Dragon King, having suffered defeat, it was clear that none of them were a match for Wrath in a one-on-one fight. Their only option was to gang up on him.

But they could not even find Wrath to do so.

"Perhaps we could try contacting Sanctuary for help!" the Undead King suggested.

"Contact Sanctuary? Hmph. It's not like we haven't tried recently. How are we supposed to contact Sanctuary in the Nightmare World? Besides, can't you see their attitude toward us?

"Whether it's the Seven Deadly Sins or Sanctuary, they all act so high and mighty. They cannot even be bothered to speak with us."

The Heavenly King's words made everyone's hearts sink. Since Sanctuary opposed the Seven Deadly Sins, the kings had long wanted to win them over. But Sanctuary was just as elusive as the Seven Deadly Sins, never giving them the chance.

King Chi, who had remained silent the entire time, felt a strange sense of superiority, as if everyone else were drunk while she alone was sober. Still trying to find Sanctuary? she thought. Sanctuary and the Seven Deadly Sins belong to the same family.

Seeing that no one could come up with a strategy, the Dragon King sighed. "Our only option now is to stay together. We absolutely cannot act alone, lest we give Wrath an opportunity to strike."

Although the others were reluctant, they lacked a better plan. Separating meant waiting to be picked off one by one. They had to stick together.

"A good suggestion. It saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one," an icy voice suddenly rang out across the room.

The expressions of the six kings changed instantly. Only King Chi's eyes lit up. Looking at that dark red tailcoat, she felt an urge to tear the Silver-White Mask right off his face.

Fortunately, the other six kings were entirely focused on Wrath, so no one noticed her unusual reaction.

"Wrath!" The Dragon King shot to his feet. Fine golden dragon scales instantly covered his entire body, and his short stature expanded into a towering figure.

The other kings immediately drew their Royal Power Artifacts and aimed them dead at Wrath. The atmosphere instantly grew fraught with explosive tension.

"Where is my Sword of Royal Power?! Hand it over—"

Whoosh!

An ancient-looking scabbard flew through the air in a neat arc and landed right in front of the Dragon King.

The Dragon King stared at the scabbard in his hands, completely stunned.

No, this scabbard... how... I...

His brain could not process it for a moment. The scabbard for the Sword of Royal Power had been returned just like that? Was it a fake?

He carefully inspected the scabbard, but no matter how he looked at it, he could not find a single flaw. Without a doubt, this was the true scabbard of the Sword of Royal Power.

The Dragon King looked up at Wrath, then back down at the scabbard. He repeated this a few times, opening his mouth but finding himself completely at a loss for words.

"Dragon King, is that truly the scabbard of the Sword of Royal Power?!" the Saint King asked in disbelief.

The Dragon King gave a stiff nod. "It's real."

Everyone was dumbfounded. What was going on? He had actually just given it back?

"Has it been tampered with?"

"No."

The group became even more bewildered. They had no idea what Wrath was trying to do.

The Undead King hesitated before finally speaking up. "Um... what about my Scarlet Moon... can you..."

"No," Su Mu said calmly.

The Undead King fell silent. "..."

Rage instantly boiled over in him. Was Wrath playing favorites now?

"Wrath, what exactly are you trying to do?" the Dragon King demanded, gripping the scabbard tightly, not daring to relax in the slightest.

"Nothing. I just don't want you all to die just like this."

Die??

Before anyone could ask, Su Mu spoke again. "I'll let you borrow the Sword of Royal Power for now. I'll come back for it later."

With that, the space around Su Mu twisted slightly, and his figure instantly vanished.

In the exact spot where he had just been standing, the void tore open like a piece of paper, and a massive, bottomless Abyss rift abruptly appeared.

Seeing this familiar sight, the expressions of the Seven Kings drastically changed. They had seen this kind of Abyss rift many times before; it had even left them with lingering trauma.

They knew all too well what the appearance of an Abyss rift meant.

The next moment, under everyone's watchful eyes, a colossal nightmare monster slowly emerged. Its skin was an intense crimson, looking as if it had been scorched by roaring flames for ages, and it carried a bizarre, greasy sheen.

Its head was massive and deformed, with a forehead covered in deep wrinkles. Its two giant eyes, like brass bells, radiated a spectral green light, and thick white steam jetted from its nostrils.

The most striking feature was its muscles. Bulging high like the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, they looked utterly exaggerated.

"This is... a Saint Grade nightmare, a Giant Demon!" King Chi gasped in feigned shock, deliberately shouting to warn the others.

"The Faceless Angel and the Nine-Headed Human-Faced Serpent we encountered before were both Saint Grade nightmares, and this Giant Demon is one too!"

With a Giant Demon right in front of them, the group had no time to question how King Chi knew this. Instead, they asked the crucial question: "It is a Giant Demon? Does it have something to do with the Gold Law, Giant Demon?"

"Exactly! It is the endpoint of the Giant Demon path!"

Instantly, everyone formed a rough estimate of the Giant Demon's strength. While they had never seen a Saint Grade Giant Demon, they had encountered Gold-tier Transcendents on the Giant Demon path. They figured the monster's abilities would be fairly similar.

Judging by its sheer size and bulging muscles, they could also tell that this Giant Demon specialized in strength and defense.

They all breathed a small sigh of relief. At the very least, the Giant Demon looked somewhat easier to deal with than the Faceless Angel and the Nine-Headed Human-Faced Serpent.

Having just arrived in the Real World, the Giant Demon still seemed somewhat disoriented. It constantly scanned its surroundings, sniffing the air with its massive nose.

"Don't you find this strange? Why did Wrath release a Giant Demon and then return the Sword of Royal Power to the Dragon King? It seems like he is deliberately helping us kill this Giant Demon. Why would he do that?" the Saint King asked in confusion.

"Why?" the Dragon King's furious voice rang out. "I'll tell you why! Because Wrath doesn't take us seriously at all! It was the exact same when he snatched the Sword of Royal Power! He didn't kill me because he thinks I am not even worthy of dying by his hand!"

Everyone fell silent. So they were nothing in Wrath's eyes. They were just toys to him, and he was even worried about accidentally playing them to death.

Alongside their fury, a faint sense of powerlessness welled up in their hearts—in short, impotent rage.

King Chi silently gave the Dragon King a thumbs-up in her mind. As expected of you.

She knew the truth, so she naturally understood why Su Mu had temporarily returned the Sword of Royal Power. He was simply afraid they would not be able to defeat the Giant Demon and would get wiped out.

Before this operation, Su Mu had already explained the plan to her.

And that was the truth. Su Mu was well aware of the Sword of Royal Power's importance. The Seven Kings had only managed to slay two Saint Grade nightmares primarily by relying on the sword's immense attack power. Without the Sword of Royal Power, it was uncertain whether the seven of them could kill the Giant Demon at all.

He had also specifically sought out this Giant Demon. Since he needed to advance to Gold King, he naturally could not do without the essence blood of a Giant Demon.

It just so happened that the Seven Kings were gathered together. He could use them to slay the Giant Demon and then swoop in at the end to reap the spoils.