Lang Dan coughed softly, his wolfish face full of embarrassment. Xiong Bei and Xiang Ba looked ashamed as well, glancing around, too embarrassed to answer.
"Here's what happened," Lang Dan said. "We heard voices being transmitted inside Pearl City and feared a surprise attack from the other two Grand Academicians, so we held our position to avoid being killed by those two reinforcements when our blood qi ran dry. We had no choice. But now that the three of you are here, capturing those two and wiping out their army of four hundred thousand will be child's play. Isn't that right, Chanyu Hu Ding?"
The Barbarian King Hu Ding nodded slightly when he heard Lang Dan address him as Chanyu.
In the Demon Realm, Chanyu was a title bestowed on Great Barbarian Kings or Great Demon Kings. Addressing a Barbarian King as Chanyu meant that his power and influence rivaled those of a Great Barbarian King, making it praise of the highest order.
"Then let's attack together." As Hu Ding spoke, he looked toward Xun Tianling and the Deer Gate Marquis.
Whoosh...
A powerful current of air erupted from Hu Ding's body. The grass beneath his feet flattened in every direction, and dust scattered.
Red liquid appeared over his feet and surged rapidly upward. Wherever it passed, it instantly hardened into plates of armor.
Within a few breaths, blood qi enveloped Hu Ding's entire body and solidified into blood-red armor, leaving only his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth uncovered by the Blood-Qi Armor.
Then dark-red flames suddenly appeared on his body, rising two inches thick and surrounding him completely.
Hu Ding drew a deep breath, and his body slowly swelled. Thick, long cords of sinew bulged, pushing against the Blood-Qi Armor and leaving clearly defined ridges.
As a Barbarian King,