426: There is no such thing as a free lunch

Floating Ghost Island.

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the purple lightning vanished.

The Dark Night Evil God looked in the direction of Dragonfall Canyon, a smirk playing on his lips:

"Do you think you can rest easy by hiding in the Life Forbidden Zone?

Naive!

It's time to reclaim the Dark Energy mineral vein.

And also,

Jiang Fan, that leek, it's time to harvest him!"

Immediately, he waved his large sleeve, conjuring a bloody cloud that enveloped four ferocious crimson skulls, and flew towards Dragonfall Canyon.

Along the way, whenever they passed a human city, the four skulls would devour all life within it.

Lighthouse Country was the first to bear the brunt; the entire nation was filled with wails of sorrow, and over two-thirds of its population perished, with only those in remote cities fortunately escaping.

Wherever the Dark Night Evil God passed, it was like a locust plague; virtually no living beings were left in the cities, with only a few people hiding in air raid shelters surviving.

Despair spread throughout Lighthouse Country…

Everyone prayed for the appearance of superheroes and the coming of God.

Unfortunately, there was none.

Thus, the bloody cloud, like a cloud of tribulation, advanced majestically, gradually approaching Black Gold Strait.

During this process, the skulls gradually grew larger, and their aura became increasingly terrifying.

Countries across the Blue Star also noticed the anomaly; all nations were using satellites to track the movement of this bloody cloud.

Each country feared that this bloody cloud would enter its borders, and facing such a terrifying existence that surpassed a Martial God, all parties felt powerless, with no ability to resist except to evacuate in advance.

In the Martial God Hall conference room.

Martial Gods from various Blue Star countries gathered in this virtual space, nervously discussing countermeasures.

On the conference room screen, a red dot was slowly moving on the Blue Star map, now almost at the location of Black Gold Strait.

Samir, the Martial God of India, his eyes bloodshot, slammed his fist onto the conference table:

"The Dark Night Evil God is truly excessive, doing such horrific things. If he's not stopped soon, I fear the Blue Star will be destroyed by his hand."

Samir was agitated, his messy curly hair on his head constantly trembling.

Fortunately, that day, the people of Dragon Country had transferred him from the Taromon Islands on the pretext of a border crisis.

Otherwise, one of those ferocious skulls might have been his true form.

Thinking of this, Samir felt fortunate for his good luck.

"Everyone, three Martial Gods have already fallen. We must come up with a plan as soon as possible; if we delay, I fear it will be a catastrophe!"

Rosalie, the female Martial God of Europe, looked at the three Martial Gods of Dragon Country, her eyes full of pleading,

"Three sirs from Dragon Country, please make a decision on this matter. Currently, throughout the Blue Star, only your Dragon Country has this capability."

Rosalie was extremely nervous; looking at the Dark Night Evil God's direction of advance, he was very likely to pass through Black Gold Strait, cross Snow Country, and enter Europe.

If that happened, the entire Europe would be devastated.

"Exactly…"

"It all depends on the three sirs from Dragon Country!"

"Hurry and make a decision…"

…

The Martial Gods discussed animatedly.

On the surface, everyone looked to Dragon Country for leadership, but in reality, they also hoped Dragon Country would take on this hot potato.

Better a Fellow Daoist dies than me; the Martial Gods understood this Dao well.

Currently, Lighthouse Country had lost two Martial Gods, and with too many casualties among its citizens, it had completely fallen into the status of a weak nation.

At this moment, the only one capable of holding the situation together was Dragon Country.

Yan Qiushui frowned slightly; these petty people who snatched benefits and shirked responsibility were truly annoying.

She was about to lash out, but Hilkin, who was beside her, spoke first:

"This is a crisis for the entire Blue Star, requiring everyone to work together. How can it be something to push onto Dragon Country?"

As soon as these words were spoken, some Martial Gods with ulterior motives secretly cursed.

"The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, right? It's not that we don't have this ability…"

Tuanzang, the Martial God of Wa Country, who had two mustaches, said shamelessly.

"Exactly, now Dragon Country's strength is unmatched on Blue Star; no one can deal with the Dark Night Evil God except Dragon Country!"

Rosalie, the female Martial God of Europe, echoed.

Immediately, everyone shifted the responsibility back to Dragon Country, and all eyes were fixed on the three from Dragon Country.

The Martial God of the Vast Sea calmly surveyed the room, then said with a smile:

"Since everyone's opinion is so unified, my Dragon Country will not back down. Although annihilating the Dark Night Evil God is dangerous, my Dragon Country is duty-bound and should lead the charge!"

Upon hearing this, the Martial Gods secretly breathed a sigh of relief and began showering them with flattery.

"Martial God of the Vast Sea is righteous; we all admire him!"

"Dragon Country is indeed the strongest nation on Blue Star; such courage is admirable!"

"We are ashamed of ourselves!"

…

Compliments flowed out like they cost nothing.

A problem that could be solved by just moving one's lips was no problem at all.

Tuanzang was even more smug:

"Dragon Country people are just fond of these empty reputations; a few compliments and they fall for it. This Martial God of the Vast Sea is nothing special."

The rest of the people shared similar thoughts.

As long as Dragon Country led the charge, and both sides ended up wounded, both major hidden dangers would be eliminated. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

"Old Brother Nie, these people want us to be cannon fodder; don't fall for their trick!"

Seeing this, Yan Qiushui anxiously sent a sound transmission to the Martial God of the Vast Sea.

"Don't worry, little sister, this old Daoist has eaten more salt than they have drunk water. They are not worthy of playing mind games with me!"

The Martial God of the Vast Sea comforted her.

Upon hearing this, Yan Qiushui's heart settled slightly.

Seeing that the compliments had come to an end, the Martial God of the Vast Sea changed the subject:

"Since everyone holds us in such high regard, then our Dragon Country also has some requests for everyone…"

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room fell silent.

Everyone exchanged glances, their faces a little unnatural.

"May I ask, what does the Martial God of the Vast Sea mean?"

Tuanzang probed.

The Martial God of the Vast Sea smiled slightly, scanned everyone present, and then spoke calmly:

"If you want my Dragon Country to provide people and effort, then you must provide money. Otherwise, my Dragon Country will be unable to help."

Rosalie spoke first:

"May I ask how much military expenditure the Martial God of the Vast Sea needs? The rest of us countries can chip in."

Strong nations show their might, weak nations pay the bill; this was a traditional art form on the Blue Star, and all countries were well aware of it.

Therefore, although the Martial Gods were unwilling to accept Dragon Country's demand, they could understand it.

After all, there was no free lunch.

If they could spend some money to resolve such a nation-destroying crisis, anyone would accept it.

The Martial God of the Vast Sea said with a smile:

"Each Martial God must offer a Law Crystal from their own comprehension of Law! The Law cannot be lower than fifty percent!"

Boom!

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference immediately erupted.

"You… you are blackmailing us!"

"Dream on! How is this any different from killing us!"

"This is too much; impossible, absolutely impossible!"

…

The Martial Gods were filled with righteous indignation, expressing their dissatisfaction.

Law Crystals contained each Martial God's understanding of the Law they had comprehended; they could be said to be each Martial God's trump card.

How could such a secret be easily taught to others?

They had originally thought that a few compliments would make the Martial God of the Vast Sea yield, but they never expected him to come up with such a big one.