"So, this whole affair was merely a quarrel born of jealousy, resulting in casualties. Such things must happen daily in the Earth Alliance, I imagine they are perfectly normal, wouldn't you agree?"

"Mmm…" Miao nodded again. What Ye Jingyu said was entirely correct. In the Earth Alliance, conflicts sparked by jealousy were all too common, occurring almost every moment. After all, such incidents even transpired in the Heaven Alliance, let alone among these savagely tempered, enraged demons. However, this time, it was his own son who died.

"Of course, I know you mean that your son died this time, but this incident absolutely cannot be blamed on General Kuang!"

"He killed my son, and I shouldn't blame him? Who then should I blame?" Miao nearly roared the question, forcing down his fury.

"Blame you…"

"Blame me?" The veins on Miao’s forehead stood out one by one. How could he possibly blame himself? If not for respecting Ye Jingyu’s actual strength, and the fact that he was a pawn painstakingly cultivated by Yuan, he would have already ordered an attack.

"Precisely. Think about it. Your esteemed son, holding such a noble status, what kind of bodyguards did you assign him when he traveled? A dozen Heaven-rank experts, two Desolation-rank, not even a single Flood-rank. Tell me, with such meager fanfare, how was General Kuang supposed to recognize him when they met at the Sky Fragrance Tower? General Kuang is, after all, a Cosmos-rank expert. Not knowing your son's identity, he naturally assumed a mere Desolation-rank underling was trying to provoke him, and thus decided to teach him a lesson. You know the gap between a Cosmos-rank expert and a Desolation-rank expert; with just a careless slip, a Desolation-rank expert can easily lose his life, right? If you had sent more bodyguards to protect the Young City Lord back then, even if they couldn't match General Kuang in strength, a larger entourage might have allowed General Kuang to guess his identity, wouldn't it? If General Kuang had discerned his identity, how could he have possibly dared to kill him? Is this not your fault?" Ye Jingyu maintained a righteous and solemn demeanor.

Kuang, listening to this lengthy discourse from behind, slapped his own thigh hard and shouted, "Exactly! If the Young City Lord had been followed by a large retinue, even an idiot like me could have guessed his identity! But he was alone, accompanied by nothing but a couple of small cats, male and female. I just thought he was the son of some insignificant nobody who didn't know his place, so I taught him a lesson. Who knew I misjudged my strength and accidentally killed him? These things happen every day, and it certainly wasn't intentional…" Kuang even managed to put on a rare expression of grievance on his face…

Miao was so infuriated he nearly vomited blood. What did he mean by not sending enough people? This Blazing Extinction City was his territory! Did he need to bring a large escort just to walk around his own domain? It was like needing to be fully armed just to stroll in your own backyard!

And what were those words coming from Kuang? What was this nonsense about misjudging his strength and accidentally killing him? Such accidents happen daily, yes, but his son was the one who died!

Miao trembled violently with rage, the hair on his head standing on end. But what truly depressed him was that faced with Ye Jingyu’s arguments, he couldn't find a single word to refute them.

"So, in the end, General Kuang merely killed the Young City Lord by mistake. Since it was a misunderstanding, it should just be considered a settled matter. Now that the City Lord has killed so many of our men, he has already avenged the Young City Lord. Why don't we just let this pass?" Seeing Miao shaking with anger, Ye Jingyu smiled again and suggested.

Misguided killing? A misunderstanding? Let it pass? Upon hearing that Ye Jingyu's long-winded talk led to this conclusion, Miao was almost utterly enraged. His son was dead, his most talented son was dead, his only son was dead! The other side had only lost a few thousand soldiers, and he had lost several thousand as well. And now they expected him to just drop it? Was there such a cheap deal under heaven?

"General Jing, you need to be aware of your status. I am only refraining from making trouble for you out of consideration for Lord Yuan. Him, I must kill; you best not interfere in this matter!" Miao said coldly.

"Alas, Lord Miao, we are all civilized people, why resort to fighting and killing? I’ve laid out so many logical points just now, why can't you understand? Must it truly come to a life-or-death struggle?" Ye Jingyu adopted an expression of sorrowful compassion; anyone else might have mistaken him for some venerable high monk.

"Indeed, no matter how much you say, I must kill him today!" Miao’s stance was resolute.

"So you mean there's no room for discussion?" Ye Jingyu’s expression turned very serious.

"No discussion…" Miao’s attitude remained firm.

"Very well. Everyone has seen it; it is not I who is being unreasonable, but City Lord Miao. If Lord Yuan inquires about this later, everyone must bear witness for me!" Ye Jingyu spread his hands, adopting a guise of utter innocence.

"Hmph? Are you truly intending to obstruct me?" Seeing Ye Jingyu’s posture, Miao let out a cold snort.

"Obstruct you? I never said I would obstruct you!" Ye Jingyu shook his head.

"Then get out of the way quickly; I won't pursue this with you!" Miao assumed Ye Jingyu was backing down and became even more arrogant.

"Hahaha… Hahahahahaha…" Ye Jingyu laughed. It started as a few soft chuckles, but soon he was laughing uncontrollably, bending forward and backward, shaking his body, his face practically splitting with mirth, as if he had just heard the most hilarious joke in the world.

"What are you laughing at?" Seeing Ye Jingyu's loud laughter, a flicker of unease crossed Miao's heart. At that moment, he suddenly noticed a vast cloud of dust appearing on the horizon, and a tremendous roar echoed closer and closer. Within mere breaths, nearly a hundred thousand troops, an army of demons riding all manner of bizarre beasts, had completely surrounded Miao’s infantry.

Watching the soldiers, their eyes burning with murderous intent, and looking at Ye Jingyu, laughing wildly atop Ni Bo, the unease in Miao's heart grew stronger and stronger…

"You… you… what do you want to do?" Miao's voice actually carried a tremor. Only now did he realize that Ye Jingyu hadn't been reasoning with him earlier; he had been stalling for time…

"What do I want to do? Hahaha… You killed my subordinates, what do you think I can do? I said I wouldn't stop you, but I didn't say I wouldn't stop you from coming to your own death! All troops, heed my command! Blazing Extinction City Lord Miao harbors sinister intentions and attempts to murder a General of our Earth Alliance. Persuasion has failed today. By the order of Lord Yuan, kill—with—no—mercy!" Ye Jingyu’s laughter abruptly ceased, and an icy voice issued from his lips, accompanied by a towering surge of killing intent that shot straight into the heavens…

(Thank you, brothers and sisters, for the birthday wishes. Thank you, thank you all, thank you!)D