Lord of the Earth

"Captain Zheng, it seems you've arrived just in time..."

A deep and powerful voice came from above the "Mirage".

Immediately, the figure of a general appeared, dressed in black mountain-patterned armor, with a long sword at his waist, a resolute face, and eyes like lightning.

He did not deliberately release his aura, but the murderous aura he had honed through countless battles and countless deaths naturally made many people in the pirate fleet ahead feel their breath catch in their throats!
"His Majesty is on this ship. Please come aboard and join us!"

This Yan Ming general clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice echoing across the sea, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Upon seeing this person, Zheng Zhilong's deep apprehension, which had been evident in his face in the face of the colossal "mirage," eased slightly, replaced by a complex and enigmatic expression.

He returned the greeting with a cupped hand, his voice booming: "General Li, how have you been! I never expected that you would personally escort His Majesty the Yan Emperor to this perilous place."

As the "Emperor Taizong of Ming," Zhu Di's influence in the entire Ming Dynasty system was second only to that of the founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang. Indeed, he gathered many outstanding figures who transcended time and space under his command.

For example, the one who served as its prime minister and oversaw all domestic affairs was Yu Qian, the Duke of Zhongsu, who became famous in history for his saying, "I am not afraid of being crushed to pieces, but only want to leave my integrity in the world"; and the one who commanded its core land forces and fought in the north and south was the Prince of Jin, Li Dingguo, who was a pillar of the Southern Ming in the late period and made the Qing army tremble with fear!

Li Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong can both be considered pillars of the Ming Dynasty who turned the tide in the late Ming period.

Clearly, Li Dingguo chose to remain loyal to the Ming Dynasty he recognized, while Zheng Chenggong, due to the vast foundation laid by his father Zheng Zhilong and his own unique circumstances, embarked on a path of being both a merchant and a pirate, carving out his own maritime territory—though describing it as "becoming an outlaw" might be an inaccurate assessment.

In the Eternal Land, Zheng Zhilong and his son Zheng Chenggong, as leaders of forces with independent territories, a large fleet, and numerous followers, are more akin to special human lords!
Zheng Zhilong's gaze involuntarily swept over the towering "mirage" again, his eyes filled with a mixture of amazement, greed, and a hint of barely perceptible fear. He turned to Li Dingguo and asked tentatively.

"General Li, this warship is truly... magnificent and extraordinary. I wonder... where His Majesty the Emperor of Yan obtained such a divine object? And who is this general...?"

His gaze fell on another general beside Li Dingguo, a man of dignified bearing, dressed in the standard armor of the Qianxia army, and he clearly mistook him for one of Yan Ming's men.

Li Dingguo naturally understood his thoughts, laughed heartily, and corrected him.

"Mr. Zheng, you misunderstand. This 'mirage' does not belong to my Yanming Dynasty, but comes from our ally—the Qianxia Dynasty! This is General Qi Jiguang of the Qianxia Dynasty, whom you must have heard of."

"What? Qi Jiguang? Could it be the once-famous Qi Shaobao?!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's tiger-like eyes widened suddenly, and a look of genuine shock appeared on his face.

Even he, a "sea king" who had traveled the world and seen a lot, had heard of Qi Jiguang, a famous anti-Japanese general who lived decades earlier than him!
He was a legendary figure who truly believed that "I do not desire to be ennobled, but only wish for peace on the seas." The "Qi Family Army" he created was a force to be reckoned with in the southeast, striking fear into the hearts of countless Japanese pirates!

"So, this terrifyingly huge warship, whose size probably exceeds the combined tonnage of all the ships in our entire 'Pirate Alliance', belongs to... a Dynasty of Destiny?"

However, what surprised the pirates even more was the power behind the mirage.

"The Qianxia Dynasty? I seem to have heard of it... It seems that many of the sought-after goods and even some powerful war machines that circulated in the Yanming Dynasty before came from this force..."

Beside Zheng Zhilong, a strategist uttered a low gasp, expressing the sentiments of many pirate leaders present.

The Eternal Land is vast and boundless. Even though Qianxia possesses a wonder like the "City of Saints," not every place has a stable "descent passage." In addition, the Zheng family father and son have long been active in the "Devil Sea," which is far from the core area of ​​the human race, and their understanding of the specific situation in Qianxia is not in-depth.

"A true imperial dynasty... has actually gotten involved in the murky waters of this 'Devil's Sea'..."

However, the mere mention of the words "imperial dynasty" instilled unprecedented pressure in Zheng Zhilong.

He was well aware that, with his own strength and methods, he could navigate between Zhu Di's "Yanming Dynasty" and Oda Nobunaga's "Tenmo Dynasty," these two "quasi-imperial dynasties," with ease and influence, thus securing the greatest possible benefit for himself.

However, the intervention of a true human imperial dynasty, with its size, strength, and influence, is nothing short of a "dimensional reduction attack" for itself and for all forces in the entire "Devil Sea"!
This completely disrupted his previous plans and expectations.

It should be noted that his original intention in coming here was to cooperate with the "Yanming Dynasty" to a limited extent, using their strength to "work together from within and without" to eliminate those disobedient troublemakers and enemies in the pirate alliance, and then to take sole control of this golden shipping route and become a "middleman" who sits back and relaxes.

But Yan Ming quietly introduced a human dynasty!
Zhu Di's intentions were probably far more complex than simply clearing a safe waterway!

This made him feel extremely uneasy.

Just then, Zheng Chenggong, standing behind him, looked intently in the direction of Xia Tian, ​​his face showing the excitement typical of young people, and whispered.

"Father, I seem to have heard of the Qianxia Dynasty as well... The 'Tianyuan Coins' containing strange merit power that we saw from the Yanming caravan and the 'Tianmo Dynasty' supplies that we intercepted were said to be produced by the Qianxia Dynasty! And the legendary 'Spirit Realm·Sky Net'... It is said that behind it is a 'Merchant Alliance' that extends its tentacles to the entire Eternal Land..."

"Oh? So you're the one in charge of that 'Merchant Alliance'?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

As someone who is essentially still a "merchant," he naturally had heard of and longed for the Qianxia "Merchant Alliance," the largest and wealthiest commercial alliance in the entire human region.

He immediately realized that even the slightest business cooperation opportunity slipping through the fingers of this "Qianxia Dynasty" would probably be enough for his Zheng family fleet to make a fortune!

"Hmph! Yanming Dynasty, what do you mean by this?!"

A rude and violent voice suddenly rang out, shattering Zheng Zhilong's internal deliberations.

"Bringing in outsiders, or some damn imperial dynasty... Is this a trap deliberately set for us?"

The speaker was one of the leaders of the "Eighteen Zhi" pirates under Zheng Zhilong, nicknamed "Flipping River Dragon," a burly man with a hideous scar on his face and blind in one eye.

His body was bulging with muscles, and his bare arms were covered with tattoos of various venomous snakes and sea monsters, exuding a fierce aura.

At this moment, a violent water-based divine power was gathering above his head, forming a distorted vortex-shaped "divine kingdom" phantom, which was clearly the work of a top-level god-level bandit!

Not all pirates were as shrewd and as adept at judging situations as Zheng Zhilong.

Upon realizing that the Yanming Dynasty had introduced an unexpected and powerful force, many pirate leaders who were used to risking their lives and believed in the supremacy of force immediately felt threatened and angry, feeling betrayed.

In an instant, several powerful divine mights rose from the pirate fleet, carrying undisguised hostility, and the scene instantly became tense.

It should be understood that, theoretically, a deity is even qualified to establish a "dynasty of destiny" on its own.

Besides Zheng Zhilong himself being a supreme deity and Zheng Chenggong being at the pinnacle of supreme deities, Zheng Zhilong had more than fifty leaders of various deity levels under his command!

This force, placed in the Eternal Land, would be enough to sweep away most forces below the "quasi-imperial dynasty".

Even for the Zheng family father and son, it would be difficult to completely subdue these unruly individuals through force alone; they relied more on shared interests and the need to jointly defend against external enemies.

Now that a powerful external force has appeared, these pirates instinctively feel uneasy and resistant. "Anyone not involved should leave this place immediately... otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Flipping River Dragon" grinned maliciously, licking his lips, his threat evident in his words.

Behind him, the pirate leaders also began to clamor, and the sound of weapons being drawn was incessant...

Above the sky, divine kingdoms appeared one after another, causing the void to tremble!
On this "Devil's Sea," they were lawless and unruly. Even when faced with the name of the imperial dynasty, their ferocity was unleashed, and they dared to take action!

"Otherwise, what?"

A calm yet supremely authoritative voice rang out, not from Li Dingguo, but from Qi Jiguang, who had been standing quietly by the sidelines.

He didn't even make any extra movements, just slightly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the noisy group of pirates like cold lightning.

"boom!"

In an instant, a terrifying pressure, far more powerful and profound than Li Dingguo's, seemingly originating from the deepest hell, descended upon this sea area like an invisible mountain!
The air seemed to freeze instantly, the waves subsided, and all the clamor came to an abrupt halt.

Those pirate leaders who had just been so aggressive, including the top deity "Flipping River Dragon," were all deathly pale, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats, their eyes filled with unbelievable horror!

"This...this is...a quasi-true god?!"

Qi Jiguang, as one of the veteran army commanders of the Qianlong era, had long since inherited the title of "True Martial Emperor".

Zhenwu the Great, also known as "Dangmo Tianzun", is the supreme being who governs the North and is responsible for slaying demons and monsters.

The aura emanating from Qi Jiguang was that of a magnificent divine power that could cleanse demons and suppress evil spirits!

At this moment, even if he only released a few traces of killing intent containing the true meaning of "demon slaying," it would be far beyond what these ordinary pirate gods, who accumulated power through plunder and slaughter, could withstand.

"General Qi, please show mercy!"

A clear and melodious voice rang out, accompanied by a gentle yet resilient golden light that spread out, barely managing to create an area amidst Qi Jiguang's terrifying pressure.

It was Zheng Chenggong who made the move!

He held an ancient seal in his hand, inscribed with six seal characters: "Seal of the Great General Who Conquers the Enemy." It exuded a majestic and righteous aura, a power that protected the territory. Although it could not completely counteract the pressure of a quasi-god, it did allow the pirate leaders behind him to catch their breath.

"Indeed, Zheng Chenggong is quite capable. He deserves to be called a 'prodigy of the Zheng family' in history."

Xia Tian watched this clearly from the side and nodded inwardly.

Being able to directly confront Qi Jiguang's intimidation, even if he could only barely hold on, is enough to prove Zheng Chenggong's strength!
Seeing the tense situation, Xia Tian spoke up at the right time, his voice calm.

"Gentlemen, you are guests from afar. It would be unkind to resort to violence. I believe that with your abilities to roam the world, you can shine anywhere in this eternal land. Since you still have doubts, how about we try a different approach, one that determines both superiority and benefit?"

His gaze swept over the still-shaken pirates, finally settling on Zheng Zhilong and his son, and he made a seemingly fair proposal.

"I have heard that pirates are as numerous as hairs on a cow on this 'Grand Line,' including many powerful 'Pirate Kings' who wreak havoc on their territory. Let's use this as a wager: on this voyage to our destination, whoever captures, subdues, or eliminates the most well-known pirates of the highest quality will be the winner."

"The winner will naturally have more say in the subsequent distribution of profits. How about that?"

"Hmm? Are they trying to incite us to fight amongst ourselves and clear obstacles in his path?"

The thought flashed through Zheng Zhilong's mind, and he exchanged a glance with Zheng Chenggong beside him.

"The strategy that Mr. Qing Teng set for us was to use Yan Ming's power to eliminate those pirate kings who believed in foreign gods and were difficult to tame, annex their territories and fleets, and eventually form a three-way balance of power with Yan Ming and Tian Mo, and then slowly conquer the world... Although the intervention of the Qianxia Dynasty is a variable, this method is in line with our strategy of 'using the enemy's strength against them and taking advantage of the situation'."

Zheng Zhilong quickly made a mental calculation.

“Father, even if they are an imperial dynasty with quasi-true gods, this vast ocean is our home ground! We might just be able to compete with them!”

Zheng Chenggong, on the other hand, was young and ambitious, with fighting spirit burning in his eyes.

Even now, with the "shackles" of heaven and earth still in place, quasi-gods cannot unleash their full power. In the complex environment of the ocean, supreme deities are not without the ability to maneuver due to the advantageous terrain.

Moreover, these fearless and ruthless pirate leaders, who had fought countless battles, all possessed an indomitable and valiant spirit.

"Very well! Since you are so interested, my Zheng family fleet will accept this bet!"

After weighing the pros and cons, Zheng Zhilong finally made up his mind, responded loudly, and his face regained the heroic air of a maritime overlord.

"I also want to show you all the methods I've cultivated over the years in this 'Devil's Sea'!"

"readily!"

Summer smiled slightly.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Chenggong stepped forward and took out a stack of finely drawn papers from his pocket. On them were various distinctive pirate portraits and brief information.

"On this 'Grand Line,' there are 108 notable pirate captains of god-like rank or above, according to our statistics!"

These are their infographics; please take a look, General Qi.

"Hmm, these pirates... they're quite interesting?"

The portraits above are lifelike, with exquisite and expressive brushwork, clearly the work of a master.

Summer browsed with great interest using her divine sense, and noticed several familiar yet strange names.

Characters like Jack Sparrow, who acts strangely but has incredible luck; Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, who claim to be the Pirate King and possess rubber-like abilities; and the aloof world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk...

"This painting... the brushstrokes are vigorous, the figures are lifelike, and the composition is novel... I wonder who the artist is?"

Just then, Qi Jiguang's gaze suddenly sharpened, staring intently at the handwriting and style of the drawing on the blueprint, his tone filled with barely suppressed excitement! (End of Chapter)