The thick scent of blood overpowered every other scent in the air, causing waves of fear to spread among the people people that were on the beach.
"What is it?" one of the elders asked in a hurry, walking forward to check on the chest. Even as he did so, Liang Shufen had already opened the chest fully, revealing the contents for everyone to see.
Multiple gasps of horror ran through the small group when they saw the content. Liang Shufen stepped back in both stunned horror and anger. She turned around to say something but stopped as Alex walked up to the chest.
Alex stood before the wooden box, looking into it. Inside the chest were cut-off heads of about 2 dozen individuals.
He struggled to keep his anger in check and trembled where he stood, his hand wanting to find the Dragon Emperor and kill him right then.
"Who are they?" Zhou Linfan asked after coming to the front. He looked inside the chest and shook his head.
"Our soldiers," Alex said. "They served as guards for the Alchemists that were taken to the Eastern Continent for the Exchange event. If I'm not wrong, all of them were killed."
"Dear god…" Hannah reacted when she heard the news. She looked into the chest just once and turned away. She couldn't bring herself to stare into it more than just that once.
"Your Majesty," Liang Shufen called for him in a hurry. "What about our Alchemists? I don't see their corpse in there."
"They should be safe," Alex said. "For now."
He handed the talisman over to the elders to read, and each one of them slowly went through it to see what it said.
"Gift?" Qiu Jianhong's face twisted in anger. "That bastard! I knew he was a horrible human the first time I saw him. To think he would do something like this."
"Is this in retaliation for what you did to his soldiers, your Majesty?" Ren Guanting asked.
"I don't think so," Alex said. "He just did that to convince me to bring back the sword."
Alex turned toward Long Huan who had at some point arrived to see the horrible display of death crammed in the small wooden box.
His eyes were wide in terror as well, finding it impossible to believe that his father would stoop so low.
"What did your talisman say?" Alex asked the man.
"He wants me to return and bring the sword along with him," Long Huan said.
"That's it?" Alex asked.
"In essence, yes," Long Huan said. "But he also says that if I do as he asks, he will heal Hannah of her injuries, and subsequently… make me the Emperor when he finally leaves."
Alex's eyes sharpened at the last bit of information. "What do you want to do?" he asked.
"I don't understand why he would say that to me," Long Huan said. "My older brother is the Crown Prince. He will be the Emperor in the end. Or is my father willing to discard brother just to get his hands on the sword?"
Long Huan looked conflicted.
Hannah arrived by his side and took Long Huan's hand into her own, helping him calm down.
Alex took a long breath and turned toward the elders. "Take that away and give them all a proper funeral," he ordered. "Find their families and compensate them fairly."
"What should we tell them?" one of the elders asked. "I do not think it is a good idea to tell them that the Emperor of the Eastern Continent killed them."
Alex shook his head. "There is no point in hiding it anymore. Rumors will have already spread. I returned earlier than I should have. We held a funeral for Yao Ning. There is no stopping the rumors. Instead, just let everyone find out the truth."
"Let them know that the Dragon Emperor is a heinous man who has done heinous crimes. For that, the Southern Continent will go to war against him."
The elders started at the order. "Your Majesty, do we really…"
"Do it," Alex said. "Announce it. We're declaring war against the Eastern Continent. Prepare for it. I do not know when it will be, but it will be soon."
The rest of the people felt agitated, not knowing what they should do. Still, the elders nodded and promised to do as Alex told them.
Alex then turned toward Long Huan and Zhou Linfan.
"If the Southern Continent fights the Eastern Continent, who will you fight for?" Alex asked them.
Zhou Linfan stroked his long beard. "I do not know who I will fight for, just who I will fight against," he said. "No matter who fights in this war, I will fight the Dragon Emperor himself."
Alex smiled and nodded before turning to Long Huan, waiting for his answer.
"I… I would rather not have either side fight," Long Huan said. "I'm not for or against either side in this war."
Alex stared at him for a long second before asking a question. "So would you do anything you can to stop this war?"
"I would," Long Huan said.
"I see," Alex said. "Then please hand over the Ivory Sword."
Long Huan froze. "What?"
"The sword, please give it to me," Alex asked.
Long Huan looked confused, and so did everyone else on the beach. "How… will that help stop the war?" he asked.
"I'm not trying to stop the war," Alex said. "I'm trying to stop you from potentially stopping it. If you take that sword to your father, he will have no reason to entertain the war. He will instead simply get what he needs and leave this world. I cannot let him do that."
"I won't give it to him," Long Huan said.
"I want to trust you," Alex said. "But I would rather not have to for something so crucial and then have you betray my trust."
"Alex!" Hannah tried to speak.
"Please don't interfere in this, sister. The Dragon Emperor has nearly 2 dozen of my Alchemists hostage, and he says that he will kill them unless I bring the sword to him."
"What?" Long Huan's eyes went wide. "You want to take the sword to him?"
"I'll bring it to him along with the war," Alex said. "I will see to it that my alchemists are safe, and then kill him. Now please, the sword."
Long Huan seemed conflicted at the choice he had been given. He didn't want to hand his sword back to his father either through him or through Alex, but with Alex's alchemists on the line, he wasn't sure.
Long Huan pulled out the silver sword and held it tightly. "This sword… it's my only remaining connection to my family, to my blood. I…"
Alex sighed and pulled out a blade.
Hannah immediately stepped in front of Long Huan to protect him and brought out a sword of her own to stop Alex.
Alex gave her a weird look. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"No, what are you doing?" she asked. "Are you trying to threaten—"
"That sword!" Long Huan suddenly cried out and pushed Hannah out of the way before walking up to it.
"How… how do you have it?" he asked with his eyes as wide as saucers. "How do you have the Ebony sword?"
