As the Azure Ox Emperor and the Cold Martial Emperor entered the battlefield, Bai Ye's duel with Vangatos transformed into their confrontation.
Vangatos withdrew from his fusion with the demonic artifact. The moment he regained his form, he spat out several large mouthfuls of blood. His body was covered in injuries, two of his six legs were broken, and even the twin swords in his hands were damaged, bearing numerous cracks.
Although he managed to save his life in this battle, he had also suffered a severe blow. What was most horrifying was the ravaged battlefield; the energy shockwave had carved out a colossal crater with a radius of over ten kilometers.
The deep pit was still filled with residual forces of lightning and wind rule. For a very long time to come, it would remain a wasteland.
"Huh? Did the Lord of Bright City win? But what's going on now?"
"The atmosphere feels off. Are the two Emperor-level Lords about to go to war?"
"Let them fight if they want to. A few hundred years of peace has given these half-demons too much face!"
"Heh! Arrogant and conceited foolish demons. You truly haven't changed at all in a few hundred years! If you want to fight, then come on, who's afraid of whom?"
...
The signal released from the top layer suppressed the clamoring demonic and half-demon armies. The deep-seated enmity within their bloodlines was slowly unleashed, and both sides began to draw their blades.
"Hmph!" After exchanging glances, the Cold Martial Emperor and the Azure Ox Emperor eventually retracted their imposing auras. Vangatos was his confidant, and the fact that he was defeated and nearly killed by this suddenly appearing Lord of Bright City was something the Cold Martial Emperor had never anticipated.
The Azure Ox Emperor stated, "As per our agreement, the winning side has the right to control the dwarf slaves."
"Now, the dwarf slaves in the city belong to you entirely, the newly promoted Quasi-Emperor demon, Ye Ge!"
Bai Ye's strength, along with his recent transformation into his true form, the Black Dragon, dispelled some of the Azure Ox Emperor's lingering concerns.
However, the Cold Martial Emperor's piercing gaze swept towards Bai Ye.
"Although he won, there is a very suspicious point. According to the reports from my people, the Lord of Bright City, Ye Ge, is suspected of having close ties and even cooperating with entities from another realm. You demons would not be unaware of this, would you?"
"Therefore, next, Azure Ox Emperor, let us bring this matter to judgment!"
"Oh? Is that so? How come I don't know about this?" The Azure Ox Emperor smiled quizzically.
As the Cold Martial Emperor had predicted, he smiled and raised an eyebrow. Adof, not far away, immediately brought two individuals over.
"Lord Cold Martial Emperor, the people are here!" Adof glared at Bai Ye with hatred. The people he brought were the former Grand Chief and Grand Elder of the dwarf race.
"Esteemed Lord Cold Martial Emperor!" The former Grand Chief and Grand Elder immediately knelt and paid obeisance before the Cold Martial Emperor, not daring to raise their eyes.
"Damn it!"
"They truly are traitors!" On the city wall, Qi Te and other dwarves, witnessing their pathetic demeanor, felt their hearts ache with anger, their faces flushed red.
"Tell us how the enemies from the other realm contacted you, and how they cooperated with you. Reveal everything!" Adof said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, Lord Adof." The former Grand Chief and Grand Elder nodded repeatedly.
"It's like this: on the day the strong forces from another realm raided our Great City of Elias, we were managing our kin as per your instructions. After the raid ended, an ordinary clansman from the tribe quietly found us, saying there was a mysterious lord who could overthrow the demonic rule and restore freedom to us dwarves. He even explicitly told us to flee here, to Bright City, saying that the city lord here would shelter us and escort us safely all the way..."
"My Lord, we never intended to betray the demons! During our time serving the demons, we worked diligently and focused on the development of demonic artifacts, achieving unprecedented improvements in our skills..."
"Enough!" The Cold Martial Emperor interrupted the former Grand Chief and Grand Elder's vows of loyalty.
Adof questioned loudly, "Lord of Bright City, Ye Ge, when Madam Margaret brought several Saint Kings to Bright City for an investigation, why were you conveniently absent? And just as the Great City of Elias suffered its incident, you happened to be nearby to receive the dwarf race?"
"If you hadn't known the news in advance, how could you have been so timely? Hmph! Cooperating with enemies from another realm is treason against the Tethys world, and that is a capital offense!!!"
Bai Ye's expression remained unchanged as he said, "I merely happened to be passing by."
"Cooperate? As a Quasi-Emperor level demon, what benefit would I gain from cooperating with them? Furthermore, I am confident that within a few years, I can fully reach the Emperor level. What qualifications do they have to cooperate with me?" As a magician of Oscar-winning caliber, Bai Ye spoke these words with a straight face, his heart beating no faster.
"Are you going to slander a Quasi-Emperor based on the one-sided testimony of slaves?" Bai Ye's face showed a hint of anger, and his imposing aura was released once more.
"I suspect you are trying to sow discord, defame us demons, and deplete our strength!!!"
Adof couldn't help but tremble. Vangatos was filled with apprehension. From this day forward, the Lord of Bright City, Ye Ge, would become a demon in his heart. The former Grand Chief and Grand Elder of the dwarf race prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to breathe.
Although they all knew in their hearts that Ye Ge was up to something, there was no concrete evidence, and with Ye Ge's strength and status, their doubts seemed insignificant and powerless.
Margaret, who had been frowning, no longer pondered the truthfulness of Bai Ye's words. Instead, she was stunned by one of Bai Ye's statements: reaching the Emperor level completely within a few years!!!
"Hahaha!" The Azure Ox Emperor burst into laughter, then his gaze suddenly turned cold. "Slandering our demon race's Quasi-Emperor expert is a capital offense!"
As soon as the words fell, the Azure Ox Emperor waved his hand, and the dwarf race's former Grand Chief and Grand Elder were instantly swallowed by the earth beneath them.
"Lord Cold Martial Emperor, Lord Adof, save me..."
"Ah! No..."
The dwarf race's former Grand Chief and Grand Elder vanished into the earth in the blink of an eye.
"Azure Ox Emperor, you!!" Seeing the Azure Ox Emperor's extreme protectiveness, the Cold Martial Emperor's eyes burned with rage. He wanted to intervene, but it was too late to save the two.
The Azure Ox Emperor smiled playfully. "Cold Martial Emperor, calm yourself! The matter is not as complicated as you think. The Lord of Bright City, Ye Ge, defeated Vangatos and won the wager for the dwarf tribes of the passage world. Moreover, he has absolutely no connection with the enemies from another realm; those are all rumors."
"Lord Cold Martial Emperor, I... I am sorry~" Vangatos lowered his head.
The Cold Martial Emperor's face darkened. The half-demons also fell into silence, while the demons on the other side grinned silently.
"There's nothing else, you may disperse. Bright City is our demonic territory." The Azure Ox Emperor waved his hand, and it must be said, his mood was quite pleasant at the moment.
Saying this, he flipped his hand and produced a transparent crystal flashing with lightning, tossing it to Bai Ye. "Take this."
Bai Ye accepted it, his heart startled. It felt somewhat like a lightning spirit stone that could activate lightning power, obtained through a lucky draw! However, after examining it, he realized he was overthinking. These were merely peculiar magic crystals. Ordinary magic crystals contained a large amount of elemental energy, while this crystal contained a large amount of lightning-infused elemental energy.
The rare treasures of the Tethys world seemed to be quite numerous! Bai Ye, who had long been indifferent to treasures, felt a flicker of desire once again.
The Cold Martial Emperor cast an icy glance at Bai Ye. Not only had Bai Ye embarrassed him today, but he also felt that Bai Ye had the potential to become a formidable rival to the half-demons in the future!
"Lord Adof, this is bad!" Just as the Cold Martial Emperor was about to lead the half-demon army to retreat, a half-demon squad from afar suddenly rushed over at great speed.
"What is it?" Adof hurried over to inquire. Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, his expression changed slightly. He quickly approached the Cold Martial Emperor and whispered something. The Cold Martial Emperor frowned.
"This matter will be put aside for now, but it is not over!" The Cold Martial Emperor left this statement for the Azure Ox Emperor and Bai Ye before leading the half-demon army away in a grand procession.
"We won?"
"Are we truly free again?" On the city wall, the dwarves let out bursts of cheers. The dwarves within the city, upon hearing the news, erupted in deafening cheers that echoed through the heavens.
"Lord Azure Ox Emperor." Margaret stepped forward and reported, "Lord Rachel is currently leading the elven warriors to slaughter a group of intruders from another realm who have broken through the passage. It is said that those intruders have already surrendered to the half-demons..."