"Hello, it's me," the Emperor said grimly.
"Yoshi, a rare guest indeed. My friend from across the ocean calling me, what is it? Have you run into some trouble?"
"I've heard that your territory has descended into chaos, with many people not submitting to you, haha."
As soon as the call connected, mocking laughter erupted from the other end.
"Enough nonsense. Haven't you always wanted Central Island? I agree, you can make your move now, and I promise I won't interfere," the Emperor said with a somber expression.
"Haha, Central Island? Perhaps I wanted it before, but not anymore. I've heard it's been quite restless there lately, and I don't want to get involved in such a mess," the voice on the phone chuckled wickedly.
This only made the Emperor's expression darken further.
"What do you mean by that? I'm giving you an opportunity now, and you don't want it?" the Emperor asked.
"Heh, before is before, and now is now. You can give me Central Island now, but Central Island alone isn't enough," the voice on the phone bargained.
As soon as these words were spoken.
The Emperor almost crushed his phone.
The other party was clearly looking to inflate the price.
"What else do you want?" the Emperor asked.
"Besides Central Island, I want Linhai City too. And on top of that, all the docks and ports must be mine," the voice on the phone said, stroking his mustache with a sinister grin.
He looked as if he had the Emperor cornered and victory was assured.
"You!"
The Emperor took a deep breath.
"Linhai City can be yours, but you can forget about the other docks. This is my biggest concession!" the Emperor said darkly.
"And what if I insist? If you don't give it to me, I won't make a move, and it would be better to just watch you fight amongst yourselves, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph! You won't make a move? Then so be it, consider it as if I never called you tonight!"
"..."
A dispute ensued between the two parties.
Finally, the voice on the phone fell silent.
The man with the mustache narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and finally agreed.
"Alright, then Central Island and Linhai City are mine, but you can't cross the river and tear down the bridge afterward!" the voice on the phone said.
"Agreed. I can promise you that much. When can you make your move?" the Emperor asked.
"Within these two days. Wait for my news."
After hanging up the phone, the Emperor's expression was extremely grim.
"Zhang Yang, you've all forced my hand. Let's see how much longer you can jump around!"
"And that insignificant little country. Once you've dealt with Zhang Yang and the others, what can you do if I go back on my word?"
The Emperor sneered.
After hanging up, the Emperor left the Imperial City directly.
No one knew where he went.
But that night, strange noises were heard from many places in the capital.
Many people found it strange, and some went out to investigate the source of the noise, but none found it.
The next morning.
When the Emperor returned to the Imperial City, his face was pale and weak, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
At the same time.
A terrifying figure directly departed from the Imperial City.
They carried long swords, pointing towards Linhai City!
...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these two days, Linhai City was eerily quiet.
But everyone understood one thing: the calm before the storm.
Behind this silence, a terrible storm was brewing.
Zhu Zhi also received a piece of news.
He directly bid farewell to Zhang Yang and the others, returned to Central Island, and began to make arrangements.
"Have you all heard? Elder Zhu is in trouble."
Zhang Yang looked at the Zhenxi Beast King, Huo Zhu, and the six Old Ancestors in front of him.
The few nodded.
When Zhu Zhi left, he had told them that the Sakura Country across the sea was restless.
They were gathering a large number of troops and sailing towards Linhai City.
"Zhang Yang, what do you think? What's your plan?" The Zhenxi Beast King, not understanding the intricacies, asked directly.
The others also looked at Zhang Yang, wanting to know his thoughts.
"Now that the Sakura Country is targeting Central Island, we cannot sit idly by. Elder Zhu has helped us a lot, and when Central Island is in danger, we should naturally step in to help."
Zhang Yang said.
The others immediately nodded upon hearing this.
"Alright, I have no objections."
"I don't either. Let's take our people to Central Island to help right away."
"Although our Beast King Army is not skilled in naval warfare, when the enemy invades, we should annihilate them all!"
When Zhang Yang finished speaking, everyone agreed.
They could resolve their internal matters internally.
But if foreign enemies wanted to take advantage of the situation.
They would not agree!
Although this matter should have been handled by the Emperor.
But for many years, Zhu Zhi had led his men to defend Central Island and Linhai City, often clashing with the Sakura Country.
Therefore, even if Zhu Zhi and his men hadn't helped Zhang Yang, Zhang Yang and his men should have helped them without hesitation.
With the opinions unified, the Zhenxi Beast King suddenly speculated.
"Do you think the Sakura Country was also summoned by the Emperor?"
When the Zhenxi Beast King was in Xijiang, he encountered the Ancient Horse Country, so he quickly connected this matter.
Zhang Yang couldn't be 100% sure about this.
"The possibility is unlikely. If the Emperor were truly an enemy of the country, he would only belong to one faction. He wouldn't have sought people from the Ancient Horse Country and then people from the Sakura Country," Zhang Yang shook his head.
"I think the Sakura Country heard about our situation and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to make a profit," Huo Zhu guessed.
"If the Emperor has a relationship with the Ancient Horse Country, he definitely wouldn't have a relationship with the Sakura Country. Regardless, we should first help Elder Zhu solve the problem," said Old Ancestor Shangguan.
"Indeed, we'll block the soldiers as they come and the water as it flows. With our strong forces, it will be very difficult for the Emperor to take us down without much effort," said Old Ancestor Huangfu.
"..."
Everyone expressed their opinions.
They all felt that the Emperor couldn't possibly be involved with two enemy countries.
Zhang Yang fell silent upon hearing this.
The Zhenxi Beast King's words had indirectly reminded him.
If they all went to Central Island, Linhai City would be left vulnerable.
And the Emperor's side must have received the news of the Sakura Country's invasion.
Therefore, Linhai City had to be guarded.
"We still need to leave some people in Linhai City. Beast King, your Beast King Army is not familiar with water combat, perhaps you should stay behind?" Zhang Yang said.
The Zhenxi Beast King frowned slightly.
To be honest, having finally had the opportunity to help Zhu Zhi, he was reluctant to be asked to stay by Zhang Yang.
But compared to the others, it was best for the Beast King Army to stay.
Xijiang was desolate, without even a river, unlike the Five Dragons of Huaxia or the Six Great Imperial Uncle families.
After thinking about it.
The Zhenxi Beast King also nodded.
"Alright, but if your side can't hold on, notify me immediately, and I'll rush over to support you." The Zhenxi Beast King said.
"Okay, then it's settled," Zhang Yang immediately decided.
Then.
He directly contacted Zhu Zhi, telling him about their desire to go to Central Island to help.
Zhu Zhi was very grateful upon hearing this, but he also tried to decline Zhang Yang, thinking it was unnecessary.
But in the end, he compromised under Zhang Yang's insistence.
"Alright, I'll send someone to pick you up. The people from the Sakura Country should arrive around dusk."