Chapter 97: Identity Exposed

Inside the dim Palace, the faint candlelight flickered incessantly, while in the center of the Palace stood two opposing figures.

One of them, a powerful figure clad in armor, radiated fury from head to toe, and said in a low voice: "Gexiusi, do you really intend to rebel?"

It was Mengka; although his heart was blooming with joy at this moment, his face still wore an expression of irrepressible rage and extreme heartache.

"Hehehe~" Gexiusi gave a disdainful laugh, "Mengka, why speak of rebellion? Could it be that you didn't come here with the same purpose as me?"

That mocking tone caused the other's breathing to become disordered, and he suddenly retorted: "How dare you! With death at your doorstep, you actually dare to slander this Commander."

Gexiusi paid no mind to Mengka's rebuttal, merely shifting his gaze to Aluola, who had been acting as a spectator. Sensing Gexiusi's gaze, the latter raised her head and gave him a charming smile, which made everyone present feel nauseated.

"Aluola, it seems I have always underestimated you." Without anger, Gexiusi's gaze held only the calm of one who had seen through everything; having lost to such an opponent, he had no regrets.

Facing Gexiusi's praise, Aluola only gave a wicked smile, then said respectfully to Mengka: "That is also thanks to Lord Mengka's formidable strength, providing me with a good hand to play."

The latter, hearing such sophisticated flattery, felt immensely pleased and could not help but grin.

Gexiusi had no objections; indeed, had it not been for the fear of Mengka's strength, his tactical choices would have been far more abundant.

"Gexiusi, you have already lost; do you have any last words?" Mengka, feeling that victory was within his grasp, said to Gexiusi with great magnanimity—though, of course, if the other party wanted to beg for his life, Mengka would not agree to it.

In fact, Gexiusi would not choose such a cowardly way to survive; he was, after all, a Demon Commander who had shaken a region, and he could not lack the principles he ought to have.

However...

Facing Mengka's charitable words, Gexiusi merely let out a scoff, a sneer appearing on his face, "Do you really think you have already won?"

"Oh?" Mengka quietly raised his vigilance; facing an enemy as cunning as a fox like Gexiusi, he never minded measuring his opponent by the highest standards.

"Then this Commander would like to take a close look at what abilities you still have." Although the danger level in his heart was maxed out, on the surface, Mengka remained completely unguarded, even becoming more arrogant.

"In that case... Lord Palace Master," just as Mengka and the others thought Gexiusi was about to unleash some ultimate move and were secretly circulating their power while focusing on his movements, the latter pulled this on them:

He knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully: "Please, show yourself now!"

Hm?

This left Mengka and the others completely bewildered. Could this guy be trying to get the Palace Master to appear in person to save their miserable lives?

However, unlike Mengka and the others, the "Aluola" at this moment—Yunlei Jingling—felt otherwise.

Ever since entering this Palace today, he had always had an ominous premonition. As the conversation deepened, this feeling had been intensifying, and by now, it had reached its peak.

Yunlei Jingling's body was involuntarily tense, ready at any moment to deal with sudden developments or even escape directly.

"Gexiusi, it seems you are not entirely stupid!" Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, two figures appeared from behind the flimsy curtains, and at the same time, a hoarse voice belonging to a certain old man clearly reached everyone's ears.

How could this be?

Mengka felt a chill in his heart. Was this a trap aimed at him? Feeling slightly uneasy, he involuntarily cast his gaze toward the strategist Aluola.

He was shocked to find that the other party was frowning deeply, staring fixedly at the figure behind the gauze curtain, with even a few beads of cold sweat appearing on their forehead.

Upon seeing that slightly familiar figure, Yunlei Jingling felt a sense of impending doom in his heart.

"What is going on? Isn't Aluola dead? How could she appear here?"

The plan targeting Aluola back then was executed jointly by Yunlei Jingling and Xiao Han, and he had witnessed the other party's death with his own eyes. Yet, she was appearing here now?

Rather than saying it was unexpected, it was more that he was unwilling to believe this accident. Because if this matter were true, it would mean everything had been exposed. Then why had the so-called Palace Master remained indifferent all this time?

Yunlei Jingling did not dare to continue thinking; the consequences were unthinkable. Now, he could only pray in his heart that things would not develop in the direction he feared.

Only... things went against his wishes.

When everyone saw the familiar face behind the Palace Master, everyone except Gexiusi was shocked beyond measure.

Especially Mengka, who followed their gaze; he stared fixedly at the other person, then stiffly turned his head to look at the "Aluola" beside him.

Speechless.

"Palace... Lord Palace Master," Mengka said in a trembling voice, "May I ask what is going on?"

His fingers kept shifting between the two Aluolas, and his eyes held unconcealable horror. His intuition, honed by years of walking on the edge of life and death, told him that the "Aluola" beside him was the one with the problem.

Yet, his heart was equally unwilling to believe that this right-hand man was a person with ulterior motives, and that he and the others had been completely played in the palm of the other's hand.

"What is going on?" Gexiusi did not indulge Mengka's ugly behavior of refusing to give up until he hit a wall, a cold sneer curling his lips: "Of course, it is exactly as Lord Mengka is thinking, isn't it?"

Lord Mengka?

Mengka gave a bitter smile. This form of address, which was originally very pleasing, was now so grating; what a huge mockery!

"Who exactly are you?" Perhaps laughing out of extreme rage, Mengka now laughed out loud, and asked the name of this familiar stranger beside him in a calm tone.

"Your Excellency, please show yourself!" The Palace Master was also in a very good mood, smiling as he said to Yunlei Jingling.

"How did you discover me?" The voice was no longer the bewitching and charming one from before, but had become incomparably cold. The disgusting succubus who had been wearing makeup beside Mengka had become a cold, stern man in white robes.

Yunlei Jingling had more or less guessed the cause and effect; it was likely that the moment he and Xiao Han entered the Sealed World, they had already been under the other party's surveillance.

In other words, he and Xiao Han had been acting like clowns under the nose of this Palace Master. Thinking of this, Yunlei Jingling could not help but clench his fists.

"Guest from the Battle Qi Continent, are you satisfied with this hospitality from this King?" The Palace Master did not answer, but instead showed off his achievements to Yunlei Jingling with a look of joy.

Battle Qi Continent? Everyone looked at Yunlei Jingling in shock. This person was actually from that world outside. Then what was his intention in coming here?

"Hmph!" Yunlei Jingling let out a cold snort and said nothing. But at this moment, he was only tough on the surface; in reality, he was panicking!

He prayed that Xiao Han would not walk right into the trap, and felt immense shame in his heart.

If it hadn't been for his invitation this time, Xiao Han would not have come, let alone stepped into this carefully laid trap.

"Then, Your Excellency, can you show yourself now?" The Palace Master was not very surprised by Yunlei Jingling's reaction, but merely shouted toward a certain space in the Palace.

Hm?

The Demon Commanders, who had just been immersed in the origin of Yunlei Jingling, instantly felt their alarm bells ringing. Following the Palace Master's gaze, they also mobilized the power within their bodies.

Under the pressure of nearly ten Demon Commanders, the objects throughout the Palace instantly turned into powder and scattered across the floor. The surrounding space could not withstand such immense pressure, and streaks of pitch-black cracks appeared.