Chapter 411

Jian Chen didn't hold back at all. With a flick of his finger, a ray of azure and violet Sword Qi shot out from his fingertips and killed every single one of the Great Saint Master guards. Under this wave of attacks, only three Earth Saint Master guards had managed to survive.

"Your Majesty, hurry up and run, we'll stall him!" The three Earth Saint Master guards didn't cower in the slightest and immediately leapt at Jian Chen to use their bodies to block him so that the king could escape.

The king of the Pingyang Kingdom looked at his dead guards with a pained expression. He didn't choose to run away because he knew that he wouldn't be able to escape and that it would only be a waste of energy.

"Stop!" The king of the Pingyang Kingdom suddenly spoke up to stop the three guards. His voice was weak and lacking in energy. Looking at Jian Chen, he spoke, "This king has been forced into a corner by you. There is no hope for me to escape, could you please tell me who you are? Even if I die, I will die in peace."

Jian Chen looked emotionlessly at the king of the Pingyang Kingdom, "Who I am is not important. All you need to know is that I am a citizen of the Gesun Kingdom."

"Just as I thought, you really are from the Gesun Kingdom." The king of the Pingyang Kingdom let out a long sigh as he looked at Jian Chen. "It would appear that this king's decision to ally with the other three kingdoms to attack the Gesun Kingdom was a mistake. I had thought this would be a sure win, but who would have thought that the Gesun Kingdom would have such a strong expert hidden within. To think that one person would be able to break into the imperial palace of my Pingyang Kingdom and force this king to this point, ai ~ ~ ~" The king of the Pingyang Kingdom grew even more depressed. In that moment, it seemed as if he had aged a lot and his entire person had become listless.

"This king has already become your prisoner. This king is willing to cooperate with you in any decision you make. If you wish to kill me, I will do as you please. However, this king begs you to forgive my guards, they are all innocent." The king pleaded with Jian Chen.

"Your Majesty, this servant's mission is to protect your Majesty. The three of us do not fear death." The three guards were moved by His Majesty's words. They all knelt down on one knee and spoke passionately. They had already disregarded their own lives.

The king shook his head, "This war is all on this king's shoulders. The consequences should be borne by this king, it has nothing to do with you. Besides, you have your own families and children to take care of."

At the mention of family and children, the three guards had a complicated look on their faces as tears began to well up in their eyes.

Jian Chen's eyes grew even more complicated as well. The king's words of family and children caused Jian Chen to think about them.

Jian Chen couldn't help but think about his family back in the Changyang clan.

The king looked at Jian Chen with a pleading look, "This is all my fault. This king will immediately order my Pingyang Kingdom to retreat. I only hope that you will forgive my three guards."

Jian Chen looked at the three guards and saw that they were all pale in the face. When they had tried to block Jian Chen's azure and violet Sword Qi, they had suffered some injuries. Jian Chen hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing to the king's proposal, "I can forgive them, but if the three of them dare to do anything to harm the Gesun Kingdom in the future, then they will have to blame me for being ruthless."

The king let out a sigh of relief. These thirty guards had already followed him for twenty years and had always protected him in silence.

Although they were master and servant, their relationship was very deep. The king didn't want to see these guards who had once protected him die in front of his eyes. He knew just how strong Jian Chen was, and if even a Heaven Saint Master couldn't stop him, then how could these three Earth Saint Master guards stop him? They would only be sending themselves to their deaths.

Jian Chen didn't kill the king of the Pingyang Kingdom. Instead, he grabbed the king's shoulder and left the area, leaving behind the three guards who were lucky enough to survive.

"Your Majesty!" The three guards had hot tears in their eyes as they watched the king leave. Although they wanted to rush forward and save the king, they didn't have the ability to do so.

Jian Chen grabbed the king of the Pingyang Kingdom and quickly left the underground labyrinth. Reappearing in front of the grand hall, the hall was already filled with armored men. Every single one of them was a commander with a high status, and there were even a few elders that were high ranking generals.

Seeing Jian Chen emerge from the hole, all the generals in the hall immediately grew nervous. Many of them had already pulled out their Saint Weapons, planning to stop Jian Chen even if they had to risk their lives. They had already sent word that the experts stationed at the border of the stronghold would return soon.

However, when an old man in a purplish-gold dragon robe walked out of the hole, everyone's expressions changed drastically. With their intelligence, they knew without even thinking that the king had been captured by the old man.

Seeing the entire hall filled with officials and elite soldiers, the captured king let out a long sigh. Quickly giving the order for all of the soldiers to retreat, the king immediately issued an imperial decree to recall all of the soldiers that were gathered at the northern border of the Gesun Kingdom.

After the imperial decree was given, the king turned to look at Jian Chen, "What do you want me to do now?" Jian Chen's display of strength had already caused the king to admit defeat. The king knew that if he didn't cooperate, then even more people would be implicated. Perhaps even the imperial palace would be bathed in blood, because there were far too many examples of this happening on the Tian Yuan Continent.

"Take me to the imperial treasury!" Jian Chen spoke.

Hearing this, everyone's faces blanched. Immediately, a scholarly looking elder spoke up, "No, the imperial treasury is the source of our kingdom's wealth. If the imperial treasury is robbed, then we …"

"Pcht!"

Before the elder could finish speaking, Jian Chen had already shot out a beam of azure and violet Sword Qi that pierced through his head, killing him on the spot.

"Prime minister …"

Many of the officials and generals cried out sorrowfully as they looked at Jian Chen with eyes filled with anger.

"Grandfather!" Several of the younger generals cried out in grief as they drew out their Saint Weapons. Their eyes flashed with hatred as they roared out, "We'll fight you to the death!" With that, the generals charged at Jian Chen.

"You can't, everyone stand down!" The king cried out, but it was too late. Jian Chen didn't hold back at all. Pointing out with his finger, several beams of azure and violet Sword Qi shot out and pierced through the throats of the generals, staining the entire hall with blood.

"Stand down, everyone stand down. No one is to act blindly without thinking." The king cried out anxiously. The people in the hall were all high ranking members of the Pingyang Kingdom and were the pillars of the kingdom. If they were to be lost, then the Pingyang Kingdom would only exist in name. Afraid that Jian Chen would kill everyone in the hall in a fit of rage, he hurriedly replied, "This king will take you to the treasury. No one is to stop us, anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Afterward, the king of the Pingyang Kingdom led Jian Chen to the treasury. Behind the two of them, a large group of soldiers followed closely behind them with nervous expressions on their faces.

Very quickly, Jian Chen was led by the king to the treasury. The king commanded the guards to open the gates and walk in with Jian Chen.

The treasury of the Pingyang Kingdom was located within the royal palace. It was an extremely large underground space with several different areas where all sorts of resources were stored.

Jian Chen brought the king to the area where the monster cores were stored. This was an extremely large room with several large wooden boxes that were at least a meter tall. Each box was emitting a large amount of energy, and at the very center, several Space Belts were hung on a metal rack.

Jian Chen swept out his presence to look at the monster cores within the boxes. He could see that all of the monster cores in the boxes were Class 1 and Class 2 Monster Cores, and there were so many of them that it was impossible to count.

Jian Chen walked up to the innermost shelf that had several dozen Space Belts hanging on it. Noticing that each Space Belt had a note attached to it that stated the item's name and quantity.

"There are a total of 500 Class 3 Monster Cores."

"There are a total of 621 Class 3 Monster Cores."

"There are a total of 1000 Class 3 Monster Cores."

"There are a total of 700 Class 4 Monster Cores."

"There are a total of 530 Class 4 Monster Cores."

… …

Within the dozens of Space Belts, there were Class 3, Class 4, and Class 5 Monster Cores. Each Space Belt had at least 500 Monster Cores, with the most Class 3 Monster Cores being around sixty to seventy thousand. The Class 4 Monster Cores were relatively few at around ten thousand, and the Class 5 Monster Cores were the least at a mere four hundred.

Seeing the number of monster cores on the Space Belts, Jian Chen couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. The amount of monster cores here had reached a frightening level, causing Jian Chen to feel tongue-tied.

However, when he thought about how the Pingyang Kingdom had a population of 700 million, he felt at ease. This was the treasury of the Pingyang Kingdom, and with the population of the Pingyang Kingdom, there wouldn't be a single ripple in the treasury. Perhaps this was the result of the Pingyang Kingdom's ten or even a hundred years of accumulation.

Jian Chen stored all of the Space Belts into his Space Ring. Even the wooden boxes with the Class 1 and Class 2 Monster Cores were not spared. It was a good thing that he had several Space Rings on him, so there was enough space to store all of these items.

Seeing the monster cores being taken away by Jian Chen, the king couldn't help but feel like crying. After this calamity, even if the Pingyang Kingdom wasn't destroyed, it would be a long time before the kingdom's strength would be at an all-time low.

Afterward, Jian Chen went to the treasury and took away all of the Space Belts. With a large amount of purple coins, he estimated that there were at least a hundred million purple coins. This was practically the entire wealth of the Pingyang Kingdom.