Chapter 785: The Best Actor
Sun Xiaowu hadn't expected to see a greenskin even more powerful and charismatic than the greenskin marshal, only to be proved completely wrong the very next moment.
The greenskin in front of him was far stronger than even the marshal, like a mountain that could never be overcome. Sun Xiaowu found it growing progressively harder to breathe as the greenskin fighters all began to cheer.
"The king of the greenskins!"
"It, it really is the king!"
The greenskins were more excited than they had ever been. Even though the marshal had fallen, even though Sun Xiaowu's golden waves had killed thousands of greenskins, the greenskins' morale rose sharply upon seeing their ruler in the flesh.
Their eyes were fiery with ardor, as though they were seeing a god of their kind descend on the earth...
"The king of the greenskins is here! This human's done for!"
Sun Xiaowu swallowed a gulp of saliva. If this greenskin was the king, then he was currently about to face the boss of this expedition, the strong and mysterious king that the human and draconian guards had warned him about. Allegedly, all those who had seen him fight were dead.
From his experience, however, Sun Xiaowu was certain that the guards had exaggerated the greenskins' strength. After all, the greenskin marshal he had just fought certainly wasn't on the level of a high-rank warlord.
Even though Sun Xiaowu hadn't fought against such a warlord before, the greenskin marshal simply wasn't all that strong. Comparatively speaking, the guards were certain that the king of the greenskins was stronger than the greenskin marshal, which suggested that the king was the one who was truly comparable to a high-rank warlord.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIn that case, Sun Xiaowu had to focus. From the fact that the king of the greenskins had emerged out of the void alone, Sun Xiaowu knew that the king was a foe he would have to take seriously.
"He's the strongest greenskin king in history. His birth was heralded by the world itself—the skies turned purple for thousands of miles! The shamans of the greenskins hailed the unusual phenomenon as a portent of great strength."
"My uncle's second aunt's great-aunt's cousin was born in the same village as the greenskin king. He witnessed the purple skies himself on the day the king was born! It spread for thousands of miles, and almost everyone in the greenskin world was able to see it. He's a natural-born ruler, I say!"
"I remember that too! My parents told me that all the shamans witnessing the sight prostrated themselves on the ground, hailing the supreme king of the greenskins, the ruler who would elevate the greenskins to glory, to denizens of a large rather than a medium-sized world!"
Sun Xiaowu couldn't help but feel as though the king that these greenskins were describing sounded like a protagonist of a .
The greenskin king wrapped his hands around the lower half of the marshal's body. "What happened to you, marshal? Don't die! We were separated for only a moment—how could this have happened?!"
"I-I'm right here, your majesty!"
The greenskin marshal was surprisingly hardy. Sun Xiaowu's blow had penetrated his chest, and the king of the greenskins' axe strike had accidentally struck the marshal and split his body into two. Even so, he hadn't yet died.
The king tossed the lower half of the marshal's body aside and instead grabbed ahold of his upper half.
"Don't die, marshal! Who did this to you?!"
The marshal spat out huge mouthfuls of blood. "Your majesty... I'm afraid I... I won't be able to serve you any... any longer!"
"No! No, marshal! Without you, who would lead my army?" the king shouted gravely. "Without you, who would command my forces? Marshal, you can't die! I don't know what I would do without you!"
The marshal raised his head to the skies. "I underestimated my opponent."
The king roared in outrage, "Who did this to you? I'll seek revenge for you immediately!"
The marshal glanced up at the purple skies, his eyes turning glassy. "To have been able to serve you, my liege, has been the... the greatest of honors—! If an afterlife exists, my king, I would become your marshal again in a heartbeat!"
The king shouted back, "No, I won't allow it! I don't want you to be my marshal in an afterlife—I want you to remain my marshal now!"
The marshal sighed. "Dying is a natural part of life, your majesty."
The king of the greenskins was crying like a child who had lost a beloved pet. No! I'm the king of the realm. If I forbid you from dying, you won't die!"
The marshal gasped for breath. His voice grew softer and weaker. "I'm tired, your majesty. I see the three greenskin generals coming toward me..."
The king commanded forcefully, "Shut your mouth! I won't allow you to die!"
Sun Xiaowu didn't know what was going on, but this was an excellent opportunity to strike.
"[Blinding Flash: Thousandfold Echo]!" Sun Xiaowu's body suddenly split into dozens of clones, each simultaneously real and illusory.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"[Goldenscale Palm: Qilin]!" Sun Xiaowu and all his clones leapt up into the air, performing exactly the same action. They cocked their arms. A golden glow radiated from all their bodies, basking the world in light.
Thousands of clones merged into Sun Xiaowu's main body, and the countless activated copies of the technique merged into one.
Better to strike while the king of the greenskins wasn't paying attention. The king might have been having a private moment with his marshal, but they were still on a battlefield. Sun Xiaowu was perfectly within reason to strike, underhanded though it might be.
Golden scales covered up Sun Xiaowu's arm as it grew thicker and thicker, and the image of a golden qilin appeared behind him.
As Sun Xiaowu punched forward, a golden qilin materialized out of nowhere and rushed toward the invaders. The king tossed the marshal's body toward the attack, which exploded as it struck the golden qilin. A mist of blood filled the air.
The king picked up the axe he had thrown down, which was three meters long. As the king of the greenskins hefted the axe, a wave of purple light shot out of the blade.
Sun Xiaowu felt as though his golden qilin had smashed against an impenetrable barrier.
.
The king of the greenskins harshly criticized Sun Xiaowu, "You cold-blooded fellow! I was putting on an act with the marshal. It was an opportunity for me to raise my standing among the greenskins, to capture the hearts of my soldiers, but you had to interrupt it! How will you compensate me?!"
Sun Xiaowu hardly knew what to say.
Was the king of the greenskins instead a petty, calculating monarch?
The king of the greenskins continued, "I was just about to reach the crescendo of the act! It's rare for there to be such opportune scenarios for me to show myself off at my best. I was waiting for the greenskin bards to make this moment into a story and legend to be passed down the greenskin race!"
Sun Xiaowu shook his head. "You're too poor an actor. I couldn't watch anymore."
The king of the greenskins thundered, "Ridiculous! I'm the best actor among all the greenskins. Otherwise, how could I have become king?"