— — — — — —
Rome Airport
Just before takeoff, Ryo was still on the phone with Erica.
"Keep an eye on the reconstruction of the Papal State. The religious factions have to be strictly controlled —and yes, make sure they don't get the chance to rise again."
"And Madame Aisha was spotted in Vienna recently. Send people to look for her."
"As for Britain, let Alice handle things there and keep Alec in check. She's experienced enough. And if there's any news about the Holy Grail, inform me immediately."
Once he finished giving orders, Ryo put his phone away with a soft sigh.
The plane engines began to hum.
As the jet started taxiing, Liliana, sitting nervously across from him, spoke up: "My King… isn't it too dangerous to go to China with just me by your side?"
Ryo casually took the fruit Athena passed him, took a slow sip of juice, and gave Liliana a strange look.
"Dangerous? What makes you think that?"
"Because…"
Liliana hesitated, clearly torn, then bit her lip and said quietly: "That will definitely draw the attention of China's Freakishly Strong Girl, the Advocate of Ultimate Brute Force, Luo Hao."
A two-Campiones meeting was never a good thing.
In fact, it was usually the prelude to disaster.
God-slayers were famously willful — it was rare for them to coexist peacefully.
And as the second-oldest Campione and founder of Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, Luo Hao was definitely not someone who would chat.
In Liliana's mind, conflict was inevitable.
"My King, forgive my bluntness, but if you and the Cult Leader end up fighting, my strength won't be enough to aid you. If you'd at least brought Princess Alice—"
Ryo calmly interrupted her, still sipping juice. "Lily, did you notice our destination?"
"Huh? I think it said… Jiujiang Airport?" Liliana replied, stumbling a bit over the Chinese words.
Ryo chuckled softly, then looked at her amused face. "Mount Lu, where Luo Hao lives in seclusion, is just a short distance from Jiujiang."
Liliana blinked, then her eyes went wide. "You're kidding!"
This flight was headed straight for Luo Hao's doorstep? If that was the case, then Holy Cult would definitely have already passed word to her by now.
Gods above, that meant there wouldn't even be time to turn back and fetch Alice.
If they turned the plane around now, every magic society in the world would assume Ryo was scared of Luo Hao.
That would be a complete disaster.
"Why do you think I'm going to China in the first place?" Ryo grinned, setting the juice down and signaling the flight attendant to bring them a late-night snack.
"Meeting Luo Hao was my plan from the start. So stop worrying about whether you're strong enough."
Liliana inhaled deeply, then clenched her fists and declared firmly: "I understand, my King. Even if I'm not strong enough, I will stop the Holy Cult's assassins and make sure you can face their leader without interference!"
"..."
"If that was really what I wanted you to do, I wouldn't have just brought you. I'd have called Erica and Alice too, gathered all the best fighters from England and Italy, and flown in with a full team."
Ryo rolled his eyes, reached over, and jabbed Liliana on the head with a laugh. "Seriously? You think those skinny arms and legs of yours could hold back the Holy Cult's ten great elders?"
Liliana blushed, rubbing her head.
"I know I can't…"
She just wanted to do her duty as a knight — not sit there like a useless decoration.
Then something struck her, and she asked suspiciously: "Wait a second… does the Holy Cult even have only ten elders?"
Ryo's smile turned teasing. "They don't? Don't tell me a group as big as the Holy Cult can't even gather ten elders together."
"They can…" Liliana's expression turned very complicated.
"There are actually one hundred and eight elders in total. Their hierarchy is purely based on strength, and supposedly every single one of them is at least at the level of a Great Knight."
Ryo's eyebrows rose. "One hundred and eight? Luo Hao's really putting together her own Water Margin? That's just so Chinese."
"And..." Liliana's voice was a little shaky now. "Even if we added all the English and Italian societies together, we still couldn't field enough people to match them. If you really wanted a war, you'd have to rally all of Europe."
Ryo arched a brow. "Oh? So that's what happens when you've got a country with 1.4 billion people in the magical world. Funny thing is, India's got even more—yet no Luo Hao, no Campione willing to stick around and build anything there..."
"So, Liliana." Ryo didn't let his thoughts wander for long.
"And you still think I came here to start a war?"
"N-no, of course not." Liliana immediately lowered her head like a scolded wife.
Ryo chuckled. "Relax. I just want to meet her. There won't be a fight."
"Really?"
Liliana exhaled in relief. She had never doubted that Ryo could defeat Luo Hao — what worried her was whether she could hold off the Cult's army while he did it.
Against 108 elders, even a genius like her would panic.
But if Ryo said there wouldn't be a fight, she could finally breathe easier.
Until…
After a good night's sleep, they landed at Jiujiang Airport and disembarked. Liliana froze.
Below the plane stood over a hundred black-clad elders, each in martial attire, the character "Luo" emblazoned on their chests.
Her face twisted.
This was supposed to be "no conflict"? Because to her, it looked like the entire cult had mobilized.
Ryo stepped out of the cabin and paused at the top of the stairs, looking down at the sea of black. His lips curled slightly.
"Well now… are they here to welcome me?"
From the crowd, a young man in black martial uniform stepped forward, clasped his fists, and bowed.
"The entire Holy Cult of the Five Mountains greets King Ryo!"
"The entire Holy Cult of the Five Mountains greets King Ryo—!!" xN
Over a hundred elders shouted in unison, voices shaking the ground.
A strange formation activated, linking them all together. In the sky above, a massive spectral white tiger with black stripes appeared, roaring thunderously.
A faint divine pressure filled the air.
Athena, appearing silently at Ryo's side, murmured in quiet admiration: "A battle formation of the East… I never thought I'd see one again after the age of Chi You. How nostalgic."
"Oh?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, then narrowed his eyes at the young man below.
"Interesting."
"So this is your way of giving me a warning?"
Lu Yinghua, still bowing, kept his tone respectful. "I wouldn't dare. But if King Ryo wishes to challenge my Master, then as her disciple, I must take her place first."
In China's martial world, any challenger had to first defeat the disciple before facing the master.
It was an old rule to keep aging masters from being humiliated by strong young upstarts.
If Ryo wanted to face Luo Hao properly, he had to defeat Lu Yinghua first.
"How amusing."
Ryo's smile widened slightly as he glanced away from Yinghua — and looked up at the eagle circling high in the sky. "So this is your idea too, Luo Hao?"
Down below, Yinghua's legs shifted nervously at the name.
Then, without warning, the eagle stopped flapping its wings and dove straight down, slamming a talon onto Yinghua and pinning him deep into the concrete.
The entire place went silent.
And then, as one, the black-clad elders dropped to one knee.
The eagle flapped its wings once, then spoke in a cold, clear voice: "Impressive. You saw through my transformation technique. Seems you're no ordinary man — no wonder you have the courage to challenge me."
In an instant, the eagle's body blurred and reshaped, turning into a breathtaking woman in white hanfu, her long hair braided into three elegant strands.
Her brows arched sharply as she looked down on him, her tone imperious: "Name yourself, new King. I, Luo Hao, do not kill nameless rats."
"Ryo Yagami."
The name was spoken right at her ear.
Luo Hao's pupils shrank as she turned her head — and found Ryo's face inches from her own, smiling faintly against her shoulder.
Her aura, so perfectly controlled a moment ago, shattered like glass.
Ryo's lips curled slowly upward. "That's my name."
"What's yours again?"
The air itself seemed to freeze.
.
.
.