Chapter 135
After waiting for several minutes, the Wolf Lord Zaro still hadn't appeared, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
Unsure of the specific operating principle of the Bone Whistle, Shi Lei tentatively removed the surrounding rock pillars:
"Try blowing it again."
Bernardo blew his Bone Whistle again, but after five minutes he still hadn't seen Zaro. This made him feel embarrassed, as if he were sitting on pins and needles, with a fishbone stuck in his throat and thorns in his back.
Normally, if you blow the Bone Whistle, Zaro will arrive within a minute or two. Today, it's been over ten minutes and he still hasn't appeared. Could something have happened to him?
"Mister Zhongli, I heard you have another gathering. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. I'll let you know as soon as there's any further news about the Wolf Lord."
"Okay, no problem."
Bernardo apologized repeatedly and left the scene.
He took the elevator downstairs and saw Madam Sicily and Father Agnil in the lobby. The two were whispering to each other, seemingly discussing something.
Suddenly, Father Agnil's eyes widened. He looked up at the top of the hotel, as if sensing a terrifyingly powerful force approaching.
Shi Lei glanced at the wall clock, preparing to go to Exusiai's room for dinner, drinks, and a party. But just as he stood up, the light in the room suddenly changed.
From the shadows, a creature seemed to slowly emerge with the dissipating smoke. As the smoke gathered, it finally coalesced into a large wolf with blood-red eyes. Unsurprisingly, this was Wolf Lord Zaro.
"Your power doesn't belong to this wasteland, or even to this land. Who are you?!"
Zaro, relying on his immortality, acted extremely arrogantly in front of humans who were as fragile as ants.
But when it faced Shi Lei, it had to abandon its arrogant demeanor. This masked stranger made Zaro feel extremely wary.
"Where my power lies is none of your business. If I wanted to, I could smash your carefully crafted power game to pieces."
Zaro bared his sharp teeth and let out a low, beast-like growl.
"Click".
Just then, there was a noise outside. Shi Lei hadn't locked the door, and it opened easily with a gentle push.
The boss of Penguin Logistics, the Emperor, walked into the room.
It had some other commitments that delayed its entry into Syracuse by a week, arriving a week later than Texas and the others.
Upon arriving in Lakmawati City this morning, I sensed a powerful energy fluctuation coming from the southwest.
The Emperor, concerned for the safety of its employees, tirelessly traversed the city. It didn't rest at all, driving from Palermo all the way to Volcini.
Through text message exchanges with Exusiai and Croissant, the Emperor gradually realized that the morning's energy fluctuations were caused by Shi Lei alone. Strangely, Exusiai was completely unaware of the energy fluctuations. Perhaps only a powerful being of its level could sense them?
Who would have thought that the homeless man who lived under the bridge would bring it such a big surprise?
With directions from his own staff, the Emperor headed straight for the Volcini Grand Hotel after entering the city. He encountered no obstacles upon arrival and easily pushed open the door to his room.
It glanced at Shi Lei, who was wearing Rock mask, then turned its gaze to Wolf Lord Zaro, and sneered:
"Ha, Zaro, I've finally found you. I hope your poor brain isn't filled with weeds and thorns. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, you don't have an organ called a 'brain'."
Zaro may be very wary of Shi Lei, but he won't hold back when facing his own kind:
"Oh, Your Emperor, my wretched compatriot. How long has it been since we last met, two hundred years or three hundred? You possess the coldest winds, yet you always dabble in meaningless music. Where are your scores? Where is your baton? Look at yourself now, a hodgepodge. Are you tired of those days spent repeatedly striking the black and white keys atop the Tower of Sargon?"
The Emperor was no pushover and immediately retorted:
"Little Wolf, my affairs are none of your business. And I have no interest in keeping track of how long I've been seeing you, you idiot. I just want to finish what I need to do here as soon as possible and forget about our meeting."
Three years ago, you made a deal with Texas behind the scenes. I believe this deal was extremely unfair, and I demand that you cancel it immediately. All debts between you are wiped clean, effective today. I will also leave immediately and not pursue your childish game any further.
Zaro bared his teeth again, revealing his sharp wolf fangs:
"The Wilderness is always fair, Your Emperor. That matter was entirely of her own volition. In principle, I can make Texas do anything if I want to."
"Little wolf, I need to warn you. There are other Wolf Lord nearby, lurking in the shadows. Don't force me to take action, or you'll die a very undignified death."
The Beast Lord is immortal and indestructible; the concept of death does not exist for it. The death it speaks of likely refers to the seal.
And the Emperor possesses such an ability.
"..."
Zaro remained silent for a moment, his overall momentum weakening:
"Your Emperor, there is no benefit or result in us fighting each other. As a creditor, I have the right to reclaim what is rightfully mine, even if it means that bastard Texas has to give up her life."
Calling someone a wolf cub might be fine. But calling them a cub sounds like an insult. And that last sentence really annoyed Shi Lei.
In an instant, his aura surged. The boundless aura of the Archon Realm, like a monstrous wave, violently radiated outwards from Shi Lei as the center.
This kind of energy, invisible to the naked eye, can only be sensed by experts at the Immortal Realm or above.
Father Agnil downstairs was completely numb. He was facing the intense pressure exerted by the Archon Realm at such close range. Ignoring the gazes of many family patriarchs, he lay prostrate on the ground, letting cold sweat soak his back.
Even the Emperor, who hailed from a glacier that had never melted in millennia, trembled in the face of the impact. He had never imagined that Shi Lei would be this powerful.
Is this even human?
Shi Lei wore Rock mask, so his expression couldn't be seen. But his emotion at that moment was one of extreme anger:
"Take back what you just said, Zaro. Otherwise, I'll make you kneel down in front of Texas and apologize, then twist your head off and kick it like a football!"
This
I'm not kidding.
This is a threat from the naked scoundrel.
Zaro remained silent, seemingly examining the situation and assessing the current circumstances.
If it only encountered the Emperor, it could easily handle the situation. They were all Beast Lord, immortal and indestructible. Even if there were differences in strength, overall they were roughly equal.
But now, a human has been added.
This human, possessing a unique source of power, is even more powerful than himself combined with the Emperor. If he were captured and sealed away, the consequences could be far more severe.
Zaro made no mention of kneeling and apologizing, but his attitude softened noticeably.
"Okay, I take back what I just said. Can we go somewhere else? I'd like to talk to you alone."
Shi Lei didn't care, but his voice grew colder:
"No problem, you choose the location."
Zaro estimated that his opponent did not have the ability to teleport, so he leaped through the window like a wisp of smoke.
Seeing that he was preparing to go alone, the Emperor reminded him:
"Child, be careful. These foolish creatures have learned nothing in thousands of years, but they have learned most of humanity's cunning and Qiqi."
Shi Lei smiled behind the mask, knowing that his boss was concerned about him, and replied:
"It's okay, I know what I'm doing."
After saying that, he opened the window and jumped, soaring into the air and disappearing into the night with Zaro.
Just after the two left, Texas opened the door a dozen seconds later, wanting to call Shi Lei over for dinner.
But when they opened the door, they saw the Emperor:
"Hey, boss? When did you get here?"
During this time, the Emperor only communicated with Exusiai and Croissant via text message and did not disturb Texas. Therefore, she did not know that the boss had arrived, hence her slight surprise.
"And where are the others?"
"Don't worry, kid. He's just gone out to run some errands and will be back soon. Are you guys getting ready to throw a party? Can I join?"
Texas looked up into the pitch-black night and thought that Shi Lei should be able to take care of himself. She quickly looked away and gave her boss a knowing smile.
"OK."
Zaro transformed into a black wolf shadow, performing short-distance spatial jumps on the rooftop.
Since Shi Lei's advancement, his strength has greatly improved. Before, he always felt limited by his stamina bar when flying, and even when running or climbing stairs, he had to rest every few minutes. Now, he feels no fatigue at all when flying; he is a true Archon Realm.
Perhaps it was because the Emperor had just mentioned the presence of other Wolf Lord nearby. Not wanting to be disturbed by his own kind, Zaro gradually ran out of the Mobile Cities's area.
Shi Lei followed for a few minutes before finally landing in a desolate area. The view was expansive, allowing him to clearly see if anyone else was around.
"Okay, this is fine."
After confirming that no other wolf was following it, Zaro suddenly changed its previously aggressive stance. It crouched down, its massive tail drooping.
"Friend, the restaurant was too crowded just now, it was my fault, I'll kneel down and apologize to you."
200 Mr. Zha, well done! (4K)
"Ah?"
Shi Lei thought that the Wolf Lord Zaro wanted a one-on-one fight, so he ran out of Volcini's territory and came to the wasteland.
After all, this place is sparsely populated, making it an ideal location for a duel. If the battle were to take place in the city, so many innocent civilians would feel restricted and unable to fight freely.
But the reality was exactly the opposite of what he had expected. Zaro, being very sensible, immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
Are you Mr. Zha?
Zaro bowed its head, its attitude devout. This subservient posture made it feel extremely humiliated.
But so be it, kneeling before someone stronger isn't shameful. As long as other fellow human beings don't see it, it can be pretended nothing happened.
Beast Lord possess an inexhaustible and vigorous life force, are generally unafraid of death, and even lack the concept of life and death.
However, they are terrified of being sealed.
The so-called sealing is to use various means to imprison the Beast Lord's body within a designated area.
They won't die, but their ability to travel through time and space will be blocked. They may face the same scenery for thousands of years, completely losing communication with the outside world.
The long period of solitude is too boring.
Like the Emperor, who could use the coldest winds to freeze it for many years. And that masked man, perhaps, possesses sealing techniques not belonging to this land.
Zaro can gamble, but it won't gamble. So it calls people out, makes them kneel down and apologize:
"Friend, we have no conflict, and it shouldn't escalate to the point of fighting. Did you come to me this time because of the Last Wolf of the Texas family?"
This contrast in attitude amused Shi Lei.
Originally, he wanted to teach Zaro a lesson because Zaro had a foul mouth and wanted Texas dead. Since the other party's attitude is so sincere, he'll give him a chance.
"That's right, that's exactly why I came here."
"I will personally find her to explain that matter later and complete the previously agreed-upon deal as soon as possible."
When Zaro saved Texas, he didn't expect her, a mere Lupo, to be of much help.
Among the wolf lords, there was a tacit agreement not to easily withdraw from the fray. Perhaps in the future, if its own Fangs encountered a crisis, it could call Texas back for help. Aside from that, it couldn't think of any other better use.
Bernardo Bellone is the finest Fangs ever cultivated by Zaro.
He is one of the top performers in the Twelve Families. He has already reached an upper-middle position and has performed well enough that he does not need any additional help.
Shi Lei nodded, and his right hand naturally took out his phone from his pocket, pointing the camera at the kneeling Wolf Lord.
"Click".
Zaro was stunned by the flash of the camera and quickly got up:
"You, what is this...?"
"What, can't I take pictures?"
As he watched the other person put the phone back in their pocket, Zaro desperately wanted to snatch it. But to act now would be tantamount to declaring war.
"No, nothing like that..."
Seeing its timid and hesitant manner, Shi Lei laughed:
"Don't worry, I won't leak it easily. I took this photo as an extra layer of security. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I probably won't be coming to Syracuse again. You don't want the other Beast Lord to know about this photo, do you?"