Chương 737: Chapter 736: The Returning Emperor

Emperor Xerxis arrived with a terrifying amount of fanfare. This was a Domain King who loved to show off his supreme wealth and power. He descended from the heavy clouds aboard a colossal sky warship that was easily the size of a mountain peak. The warship was crafted from glowing amber and dark spiked chitin. Pulling the massive warship through the sky were two huge creatures that looked exactly like ancient dragonflies.

They each possessed four wings that crackled with chaotic storm energy and their multifaceted eyes burned like localized suns. They were not actually there to pull the ship. The ship's internal formations provided the propulsion. They were there purely to act as terrifying guardians and to make the Emperor's arrival anywhere look as grand as possible. The sky warship hovered above the arena. A platform of solid golden light extended downward, stopping directly in front of the luxurious guest estate.

Xerxis walked down the platform. As soon as his boots touched the stone courtyard, Xerxis dropped his imposing Domain King aura entirely. He rushed forward with a wide and incredibly fake smile plastered across his insectoid face.

"Young Master!" Xerxis greeted Li Yu warmly, throwing his single remaining arm wide.

"Welcome to my humble empire! It is an absolute honor to have you here! Please, anything that you need just let me know and it will be done instantly!" Li Yu stood in the courtyard and offered a polite and respectful bow, maintaining the facade that he was a highly connected VIP.

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Emperor Xerxis" Li Yu replied smoothly.

"I must go out of my way to tell you that General Varak and everyone else here treated us incredibly well during our stay. Their hospitality was flawless. They should be deeply rewarded if possible." Xerxis clicked his mandibles in agreement, entirely relieved that the military city had not offended his terrifying guest.

"Of course, young master!" Xerxis nodded eagerly.

"My empire is one based entirely on strict merit. When you serve the throne and do your tasks perfectly, you are rewarded perfectly. General Varak and the others will be rewarded." Xerxis gestured grandly toward the golden light platform. Whether or not this was actually done, Li Yu didn't know. He thinks that it will be though, it was easy enough for the Emperor to do so.

"Please." Xerxis offered.

"Come aboard my personal warship. We will travel to the grand capital in absolute comfort." Li Yu and Garrick walked up the light ramp and was followed closely by the fawning Emperor. The interior of the warship was even more lavish than the guest estate, completely lined with soft silks, other soft materials Li Yu didn't recognize and ambient spiritual arrays that kept the air perfectly fresh. They sat down in a luxurious private lounge that offered a panoramic view of the passing lands below.

Servants immediately brought in fresh steaming teas and platters of the roasted grubs that Li Yu had come to actually enjoy. Xerxis sat across from them and was looking at Li Yu with nervous curiosity.

"If I may be so bold, young master." Xerxis started carefully as he was pouring the tea himself.

"What exactly brings you to my humble realm? The last time we met... things were quite chaotic." Li Yu took a sip of the sweet tea and decided to stick as close to the truth as possible without revealing the misunderstanding between them.

"It was an accident," Li Yu explained while setting his cup down.

"We were traveling through a spatial rift that we thought would take us back to a familiar realm. But the passage collapsed. We ended up somewhere else completely." Li Yu left out the part about the Void Shell Citadel entirely.

"After being aggressively rejected by the foundational laws of that realm, we were cast out into the twisting void." Li Yu continued.

"We wandered through the space between realms for a while and eventually ended up crashing through your arena." Xerxis listened intently, his compound eyes widening as he shifted his gaze to Garrick. The Emperor noted Garrick's physical build. To punch a hole through a dimensional boundary from the space between realms required unthinkable brute strength.

"Your companion must possess incredible physical power to achieve such a feat." Xerxis noted, his voice laced with genuine awe. Xerxis rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Now that he actually stopped to think about it, Garrick had not seemed nearly this strong when they first met back in that demonic realm. Garrick had seemed tough but not dimension shattering tough.

But sitting across from him now, Xerxis could feel that Garrick's suppressed power was roughly equal to his own Domain King foundation which was absolutely terrifying. Then a sudden and horrific thought struck the Emperor. Xerxis mentally slapped himself. He had nearly forgotten exactly who Li Yu was. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

'Of course his bodyguard is a supreme expert hiding his true depth! This is probably not even his true strength!' Xerxis thought to himself.

'And there are probably several other hidden ancient experts hovering around this warship right now! Just waiting in the void to completely erase my empire if I displease the young master!' As if the universe itself was actively trying to confirm Xerxis's deepest paranoias, something miraculous happened. Deep within Li Yu's Koi Sanctuary, Khaos was sitting quietly in his human form. The ancient warrior had been listening to the conversation.

Seeing as how Xerxis would play host to Li Yu now, Khaos reached out with a tiny fraction of his will. He targeted the jagged scarred stump on Xerxis and completely removed the lingering Void Qi residue that he had left there. Khaos had his own thoughts and potential future uses for the Hive Emperor. Keeping him crippled was no longer necessary. Sitting in the lounge, Xerxis suddenly gasped out loud. The agonizing pain in his shoulder vanished entirely.

The suffocating suppression that had prevented his incredible natural regeneration from working simply evaporated into thin air. Xerxis was more terrified then relieved.

'It was completely true! There were unseen supreme experts all around me and they seemed to literally be able to read my private thoughts! I had just been thinking about them and they instantly removed the left over Qi from my arm to prove they were listening! This was their warning to me!' Xerxis made a frantic and ironclad mental note right then and there. He would only ever allow good, positive and deeply subservient thoughts regarding Li Yu into his mind.

A single stray thought of malice or disrespect could lead to his instant death at any moment.

"Thank you!" Xerxis suddenly blurted out while dropping to his knees right in the middle of the luxurious lounge. He bowed his head deeply toward Li Yu.

"Thank you for your immense generosity in allowing me to have my arm back young master! I am eternally grateful!" Li Yu was completely confused but he maintained his calm facade.

"You can regrow your arm now?"

"Yes!" Xerxis cheered while standing back up. His face practically glowing with relief. The young master is subtly hinting at him to regrow it for him to watch. The Hive Emperor channeled a massive surge of his Domain King Qi directly into his shoulder. The flesh bubbled and twisted violently. Bone, muscle and thick dark purple chitin rapidly expanded outward from the scarred stump. Within seconds, a brand new and perfectly functional arm had completely regrown.

Li Yu watched the rapid cellular regeneration in genuine amazement.

"That is incredible."

"My kind can regrow lost limbs and body parts very easily," Xerxis explained and was flexing his brand new hand.

"It is one of our greatest biological strengths. It takes a massive amount of Qi and it severely drains the foundational body for a while but as long as we have enough raw Qi and natural treasures to consume, we can keep doing it without any permanent negative drawbacks." Xerxis suddenly threw his head back and let out a booming roaring laugh that shook the teacups on the table.

"Now that I have both of my arms back I can finally beat back that absolute moth bitch!" Xerxis roared, his combat pride completely returning. He slammed his new fist into his palm.

"I will crush the Eclipse Court and take my rightful first spot in the realm rankings!" Li Yu had no idea what Khaos had just done or what hidden powers Xerxis was referencing but he sincerely hoped that whatever it was, it did not blow his cover. He needed Xerxis to continue believing that he was a supremely untouchable young master to safely get out of the Hive Empire.

"I promise you, young master!" Xerxis declared loudly and pointed out the window toward the distant horizon.

"When I conquer the Eclipse Court, I will personally bring the Moth Queen here to serve as your personal maid! It will be a glorious victory!" Li Yu raised an eyebrow and was entirely skeptical of the grand boast. He had heard from the general earlier about the power dynamics in this realm.

"Can you actually do such a thing Emperor? General Varak told me her empire is usually ranked first or second. She must not be a simple opponent." Xerxis's over-excitement died down almost instantly. The Domain King cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He was acknowledging the brutal reality of their endless war.

"She is... incredibly skilled and vastly powerful, yes" Xerxis admitted, his tone dropping significantly.

"But that is only because of her guardian beast! The Nine Paths Moth is an absolute nightmare to fight. It is a supreme master of lethal poisons and hallucinogenic dust. It is extremely difficult to deal with even for me." The conversation shifted to less violent topics as the massive sky warship tore through the clouds and was heading deep into the heart of the empire. They eventually arrived at the grand capital. The city was a sprawling metropolis built entirely around the palace.

The palace itself was not a traditional castle but a colossal bee hive constructed from golden amber and dark stone. There were several large towering hive structures but the central one was impossibly massive and served as the main royal residence. The sky warship docked near the top of the central hive. Xerxis personally escorted Li Yu and Garrick through the grand amber halls and showed them to their respective luxurious quarters.

"I have arranged everything to your exact specifications, young master." Xerxis bowed deeply while stopping outside Li Yu's room. Garrick was already walking down a side corridor and was completely surrounded by a new group of beautiful women that Xerxis had specifically brought for him. Xerxis had heard detailed reports from General Varak noting that the massive brute truly loved the company of women, especially those with beetle-like features.

Xerxis also noted from the reports that Li Yu was vastly more curious about the local foods, drinks and cultural sights. He mostly ignored the women offered to him and never took any to bed.

"All men like women, you fool." Xerxis noted while internally dismissing Li Yu's modesty.

"Perhaps he just did not find any that perfectly matched his specific tastes yet. He told me himself that a girl caught his eye in the human domain and she was killed during my invasion there. It cost me a ton of resources!" Xerxis turned to his elite guards who were assigned to follow Li Yu.

"Continue to probe his interests!" Xerxis ordered them via a silent Qi transmission.

"Pay very close attention to exactly what kind of things catch his eye during his stay. Whatever he looks at twice, buy it for him immediately. Treasures, buildings, people, whatever!"