Chapter 1498: Stopped The Second Empress was shocked. She hadn’t expected Shang Liuyu to be so ruthless. She laughed inwardly in self-ridicule. She had been the glorious Fiend Empress, and yet now that the Fiend Emperor had died, she had nothing left. Of course, that was just a thought. She quickly recognized the reality of the situation and didn’t continue to throw around her weight as the empress. After all, she was the one who had come to ask for help today. Furthermore, Shang Liuyu’s willingness to meet them because of Zu An was already a good start. However, now that she thought about it, Zu An really was close to a lot of people. Shang Liuyu had clearly said that so she would recognize the need to be grateful to Zu An. Just what kind of relationship did he have with this mermaid princess, that she was willing to go so far? The Second Empress sorted out her thoughts, then told Shang Liuyu about the reason behind her visit. Before the princess could refuse, she took the initiative to propose some favorable conditions. Sure enough, Shang Liuyu didn’t immediately refuse; instead, she merely pretended to be concerned, using it as a pretext to ask for more benefits for the Ocean races. However, the Second Empress was no pushover either, so there was no way she would yield blindly. Zu An was stupefied as he watched them. These two delicate and pretty women were actually so fierce in their war of words! Their way of speaking really was fierce and direct. They even proposed conditions that couldn’t possibly be acceptable to the other. He thought one side would just storm off in anger, but instead, they slowly negotiated and gradually showed signs of reaching an agreement. Chi Wen was eager to give it a try too. His eyes continued to wander across the Second Empress’ stunning face and figure. In the end, he couldn't help but say, “I want to raise a condition! I want…” Before he could even finish his sentence, Shang Liuyu shot him a look and snapped “Get out!” “Oh…” Chi Wen moved quietly and dejectedly toward a corner, pretending to be invisible again. He had been scared of his little aunt ever since he was little. Even though she was ridiculously beautiful, she never hesitated to actually beat him up, leaving him deeply traumatized. Yu Yanluo was a bit worried to see what was happening. None of the beauties around Ah Zu’s side were easy to deal with! What were they supposed to do if they didn’t get along and fought with each other? Hmph, I can seek out Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue for help in the future. We’ve all gone through so much in the Unknown Region and are already really close. If Shang Liuyu wanted to pressure her with the Ocean races’ power, she would be more inclined to seek out Yan Xuehen. After all, Yun Jianyue was a bit too violent. With the friendship we developed along the way, she should help me, right? Shang Liuyu and the Second Empress’ negotiation eventually reached a conclusion. The Second Empress granted the Ocean races all sorts of favorable conditions in return for the Ocean races’ support of the youngest prince ascending to the throne. Shang Liuyu was very satisfied. She had obtained many benefits that would normally be impossible for the Ocean races to gain. Meanwhile, the Second Empress was also satisfied. Even though the Ocean races’ forces in the Fiend King Court weren’t too powerful, their strength among the Fiend races overall couldn’t be overlooked. Things would become much less difficult now that she had their support. As for all the things she had to give up, it was just an empty check for now. After all, her son still hadn’t obtained the throne yet, and none of those things were theirs to begin with. They couldn’t consider public assets their own property, could they? If she could gain the imperial throne, she felt the price would be worth it. Then, Shang Liuyu expressed her sincerity and had Chi Wen gather the Ocean races’ forces in the Fiend King Court so they could lend the Second Empress a helping hand. As for herself, she wouldn’t personally make an appearance. The first reason was that she had always preferred peace and quiet. She didn’t like to participate in such matters. The second reason was to ensure her own safety. If the youngest prince’s side lost tonight, she could still push the blame onto Chi Wen. After all, he was known to be a famous hedonistic son and it wouldn’t be strange for him to do something like that. That way, if another prince rose to the throne, it couldn't be blamed on the Ocean races. Of course, Chi Wen had absolutely no idea that he was being used as a scapegoat like that. When he heard that he was tasked to help the Second Empress, he happily left to gather their men. … Zu An then took the Second Empress and Yu Yanluo to the Demon race’s residence. With Princess Suolun as their mediator, they were able to smoothly meet with the Demon race’s representative in the Fiend King Court. Similar to the Ocean race encounter, the Second Empress and the Demon race’s people haggled back and forth. It was clear that the Demon race wasn’t willing to join their side, and they didn’t want to support the youngest prince. However, they really couldn't withstand the sheer amount of benefits the Second Empress was offering them… In the end, after giving them a ton of benefits, the Second Empress was able to successfully recruit them. Just like the Ocean races, the agreement was only to allow Princess Suolun to bring some of her subordinates with her. That way, even if something happened, the blame would just fall on Princess Suolun, and they could claim it was because she and Zu An had a deep personal friendship. That would be her own personal action, unrelated to the Demon race. The Second Empress cursed them for being wily old foxes, but she knew that the fact that they could reach such an agreement was already quite good. When they emerged from the Demon race’s residence, the Second Empress looked at Zu An with a smile, asking, “Are there any other little sisters you are close to? Should we make another trip?” Zu An’s expression darkened. He replied, “What in the world are you saying? There aren’t that many of them.” The Second Empress said, “I am not teasing you. I am being serious. I realized that as long as there is a woman you are close to, that faction will basically agree.” She then gave Yu Yanluo a look. Yu Yanluo thought, What are you looking at me for? The Second Empress said with a smile, “Little sister Yu, we were in such a rush that I have not had time to talk to you yet. I am grateful for your support in this situation too. If we succeed, I will definitely help you restore the Snake race to its former glory.” In the past, the Snake race had been a powerful clan among the Fiend races. Unfortunately, after the Medusa Queen disappeared, the entire Snake race had ended up in a poor situation. Yu Yanluo’s eyes lit up. Even though she knew the Second Empress was just trying to buy her good intentions, she still couldn't help but feel happy. After all, the Snake race’s power among the King races was already negligible. She was the only one who could pull weight. The Second Empress’ promise was already extremely generous. Even though she knew the empress was only doing it to rope in Zu An, she still expressed her thanks. The two of them immediately started acting more familiar. They even began to chat while holding hands as if they had already been close friends for many years. Zu An clicked his tongue distastefully. Women always became friends quickly, but didn’t they also leave each other quickly? … Then, the group joined up with other forces. The Elf King had also gathered his forces, but the ones who led the troops were Qiao Xueying and Qiao Heng, whom Zu An was close to. The Great Elf King didn’t show himself. After they returned and talked things over, the Elf race’s elders hadn’t agreed to that risk. Their line of thinking was similar to that of the Ocean races. The Demon race was the same and adopted similar plans of action. The Second Empress couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when she saw that the Great Elf King hadn’t arrived. After all, this was a crucial moment. Having someone powerful on their side could be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. When he saw her concern, Zu An consoled her, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m here.” The Second Empress forced a smile. She was confused about why he had so much confidence; he was just a master rank cultivator. He wouldn’t necessarily be able to affect the situation much. The Second Empress’ Xiao clan had also rushed over when they received the news. Together with the Demon race and Ocean races’ troops, as well as the Golden Crow Guards led by Lei Xin and Wu Cheng, they marched straight toward the Imperial Palace. Regardless of the dynasty, the Imperial Palace would always be a powerful symbol of political significance. As long as one controlled the Imperial Palace, one would practically have won half the war already. With the Second Empress’ identity, they had a justification to carry out their plan. Thus, the group slaughtered their way up to the Imperial Palace’s gates. However, they were quickly stopped by a group of soldiers. The Imperial Palace was the crown prince’s territory. How could they let others defile this place? The Second Empress walked forward and called out, “Am I not allowed to return to the Imperial Palace either?” “The crown prince has ordered that no individuals without assigned tasks are to enter the palace,” a soldier refused in a robotic tone. “What crown prince? You need to call him his majesty now,” a loud and clear voice called out. Zu An frowned. The voice was a bit familiar. A tall and sturdy figure appeared at the top of the wall, and behind him were some familiar people. The ones behind him were the Lion race’s princes, Shi Min, Shi Gong, and Shi Rong; the man in front was naturally the Lion King Shi Zhentian. A large group of Lion race warriors followed behind them, aiming their crossbows at the group and the Golden Crow Guards outside. The Second Empress’ expression changed. She exclaimed, “Shi Zhentian, are you rebelling against the nation?” “The one who is rebelling is you!” Shi Zhentian sneered. “The new Fiend Emperor has already nominated and appointed me to the Imperial Palace defenses. Did you lead all these people here to start a rebellion?” As they looked at Zu An, Shi Min and the other princes’ eyes were filled with cold smiles. Who cares if you win in the beginning? Aren’t we the ones who will have the last laugh? Just wait and see how we’ll deal with you!