MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again-Chapter 1263 - 241: Probing

In the end, it was the Imperial Decree Officer who first admitted defeat.

The Imperial Decree Officer chuckled lightly, breaking the heavy and oppressive atmosphere, and said, "Lord Lu Hong, you truly have remarkable self-restraint. I have experienced it firsthand."

Although these words seemed to praise Lu Hong, they were actually a veiled criticism of Lu Hong’s disloyalty to the realm’s master. But Lu Hong wasn’t from the Dark Continent, so why should he regard Rongtian’s Master as his sovereign and father?

Lu Hong also laughed heartily in response: "Your insight is admirable, esteemed sir. I, Lu, have always dealt with others politely. Your task of delivering the decree must have been tiresome. Why not enter Photon City to rest for a while before making further arrangements?"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Decree Officer waved his hand, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Lu Hong. However, I came in a hurry this time, and there are many decrees from Emperor Wu that I need to oversee, so there’s no need to enter the city."

As he spoke, the Imperial Decree Officer opened the golden scroll and loudly proclaimed, "Lu Wuxi has risen forcefully from humble beginnings, demonstrating outstanding ability, hence he is specially appointed as the Photon City Lord. From the day you receive this decree, you are to proceed to Rongtian Main City to accept the formal appointment without error!"

The meaning was quite clear: Lu Hong needed to proceed to Rongtian Main City. By doing so, Rongtian Domain would officially recognize Lu Hong as the City Lord. If he did not go, he would not be officially acknowledged.

One must understand, without official acknowledgment, it would be like being an enemy of Rongtian Domain. Just this alone would compel Lu Hong to proceed to Rongtian Main City if he still wished to continue in Rongtian Domain.

You might decide not to go, but what about your family and the people under you? Would they be willing to follow a City Lord not recognized by Rongtian Domain?

This is no joke. Everyone prides themselves on being part of Rongtian Domain. To follow a City Lord unrecognized by Rongtian Domain would be akin to rebellion.

Therefore, Lu Hong had to make this journey.

Subsequently, Lu Hong raised his hand and took the scroll from the Imperial Decree Officer: "I, Lu, will commence my journey today."

The Imperial Decree Officer smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this: "If that’s the case, I shall await Lord Lu’s arrival in Rongtian City."

After speaking, he turned the team around and left.

Once the decree party departed, Lu Hong first inquired about Qin Hong’s progress. It would take about two more days for the complete transition to become a Second Transformation Great Warrior. So Lu Hong wasn’t in a rush to head to Rongtian Main City, even though the decree stated to depart immediately, nothing mentioned that he must obey immediately.

After Qin Hong exited seclusion and successfully transitioned, Lu Hong taught Qin Hong two Grand Master skills before departing with satisfaction.

Before leaving, Lu Hong officially drew the Su Family, the closest allies to the City Lord’s Mansion, into its fold, appointing Su Qingyao as the Chief Steward of the City Lord’s Mansion to assist Qin Hong with all affairs of the City Lord’s Mansion. Additionally, Old General Su was reappointed as the new Great General of the City Lord’s Mansion, overseeing the City Guard Army of Photon City, the garrison army within the city, the house soldiers of the City Lord’s Mansion, and all military forces of the three major camps outside the city.

The issuance of these two directives effectively branded the Su Family with the label of the City Lord’s Mansion, making it almost impossible for them to disassociate in the future.

However, the Su Family was willing to gamble this time. If they won, the Su Family was bound to prosper; if they lost, well... extermination.

Other families in Photon City, some were envious, while others waited to see them fail.

A month later, Lu Hong finally left Photon City, embarking on the journey to Rongtian Main City.

Accompanying Lu Hong were two Clan Elders from the Ao Family, whose strength had recovered to eighty percent.

Three Martial Kings dashed across the wilderness, and there was basically nothing foolish enough to attack them.

Truth be told, the distance between Photon City and Rongtian Main City was quite far. In fact, the distance between any two cities was considerable. Without sufficient strength, no one would contemplate merging two cities.

Even though the Ao Family had taken over several cities, these were only entrusted to branch lineages for independent management. Typically, one wouldn’t expect support from the main family due to the great distance.

It’s not only troublesome to travel back and forth, but passing messages is also a hassle.

If someone attacked you, a message for help would take at least a month or two to deliver, and by the time support arrived, four or five months might already have passed, and things might have turned sour. Of course, if a Martial King-level expert were the messenger, the delivery would be much faster, but how many Martial Kings would take on such a task?

The powerful aura of the three allowed them to effectively avoid mutated beasts, mountain bandits, and even enemy forces dispatched from other major cities.

When Lu Hong arrived at Rongtian Main City, the gate was already lined with burly soldiers in heavy armor.

A soldier clad in gold armor took a step forward, revealing his Martial King strength, and bowed toward the arriving Lu Hong: "Are you Lord Lu Hong? Our emperor has been awaiting your arrival for some time!"

Seeing such a reception, Lu Hong was slightly surprised. Logically, they traveled swiftly, so how did Rongtian Main City know of their arrival? They couldn’t have been lined up since a month ago awaiting him, could they?

Despite this doubt, Lu Hong didn’t inquire further. Questioning would only diminish his own aura, so he nodded: "Lead the way, General."

"Please!" the Golden Armored Martial King gestured and led Lu Hong into the vast Rongtian Main City.

Walking along the broad central avenue, Lu Hong arrived at the majestic gates of Rongtian Main City’s Imperial Palace.

Upon seeing Lu Hong’s arrival, the palace guards, already informed, began loudly announcing: "Photon City’s Lu Hong, here to see Emperor Wu!"

"Photon City’s Lu Hong, here to see Emperor Wu!"

"Photon City’s Lu Hong, here to see Emperor Wu!"

...

The calls echoed into the depths of the palace.

Soon after, a powerful voice resonated above the palace: "Granted!"

Though it was a simple word, it made Lu Hong narrow his eyes slightly, detecting a deeply hidden murderous intent. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

So, should he enter the palace or not?

In an instant, Lu Hong stepped into the palace.

Following the Golden Armored General, he arrived at Rongtian Hall.

Within Rongtian Hall, stood proud, many Martial King experts on each side, and at the end of the hall on a golden throne sat an older man appearing in his fifties.

Emitting a faint oppressive air, it was undoubtedly the true Rongtian’s Master.

Seeing Lu Hong approach, Rongtian’s Master said faintly, "So you are Lu Hong?"

Lu Hong bowed: "I, Lu, have met Rongtian’s Master!"

As Lu Hong’s words landed, a voice immediately bellowed from the side: "Insolent! Upon meeting Rongtian’s Master, why do you not kneel?!"

Lu Hong glanced indifferently at the Martial King speaking beside him and replied, "I, Lu, am not accustomed to kneeling."

"Is that so, you are not accustomed to kneeling, or is it because... you kneel only to your master?!" A Martial King interjected, a cold murderous intent emanating, clearly a presence akin to a god of war in the army.

To this, Lu Hong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why do you say this, sir?"

At this moment, a Martial King standing foremost on the left stepped out of the line, turned to face Lu Hong, and stated indifferently, "So you’re Lu Hong, yet all information about your birth, background, and origin is unverifiable in Rongtian Domain. Even your cultivation technique greatly differs from our martial arts in Rongtian Domain. We have reason to suspect you’re a spy sent by an enemy city!"

"Tell us, which main city are you from? How dare you enter Rongtian Domain alone? Speak truthfully, and I might consider leaving you a complete corpse!" Again, that army god of war exerted pressure on Lu Hong.

Strong Martial King auras began pressing toward Lu Hong, trying to force him to kneel.

Yet, bearing the weight like a mountain, Lu Hong stood there unwavering.

Lu Hong wasn’t concerned with these tests. He realized that Rongtian’s Master clearly didn’t summon him here to kill him, otherwise, they wouldn’t have let him enter the city. A battle involving a Martial King could cause too much devastation. A fight within Rongtian City would result in significant losses.

The greatest likelihood was that they were probing because they couldn’t find any information about Lu Hong.

Viewing the scene, there were quite a few Martial King experts within Rongtian Domain, at least sixty present, and surely more who were absent. But having an additional one wouldn’t hurt, right?

If you refuse and kill a Martial King-level existence today, the next time others break through to Martial King, no matter the reason for executing that Martial King previously, they might reconsider which faction to join for better safety.