"Because I'm the boss here!"
Ivy burst out laughing, then rolled her eyes. "So what? You being king means nothing to me! Listen up—if anything happens to my guys, I’ll drop-kick you to the next life and go haunt you with them!" Every word was ice-cold, no mercy.
Xiska Mon’s temper shot through the roof, fists clenched so hard you’d think he was gonna snap. But he managed to swallow it down. "Great. Just great!" This woman could flip his mood with a single line—no way she was ordinary.
"Hey, chop-chop with my sword, okay? I’ve got a million things way more important than this!" She’d already filled him in on why she came here during all those hours away from her guys.
"Forge your sword? Sure, I can!" Xiska Mon nodded, pretending to agree. But just as Ivy lit up with hope, he suddenly clutched his chest. "No can do. You just pissed me off so bad I think I died—my heart hurts, hurts so much I can't even lift Ten-Thousand-Year Iron. Tragic, right?"
Ivy's eyebrows knitted together. Seeing his next-level smugness, she couldn't help but grab his collar and snap, "That was next-level shameless! You really know how to play dirty!" Honestly, she was dying to slap him into another dimension.
Ivy, who’d been walking in front, spun around as soon as she heard the commotion, ready to dash back—only to hear his devilish voice ring out: "They won’t die, but if you go now, you definitely will!"
"Seriously, is there a world record for shamelessness? Because you just broke it!" Ivy clenched her fists, itching to deck him again.
"Your Majesty...!" Fire God, Ice God, and the three Spirit Elders all gasped in horror beside him, looking like they'd just seen a ghost!
But Xiska Mon just waved them off, calmly wiped the blood from his mouth, and let a faint smile slip out. "I’ve lived this long, and that’s the first time a woman’s ever hit me. You’ll pay for that."
"A price? Well, that depends on whether you're even capable of collecting it!" Ivy glanced around, not spotting any hidden mechanisms. She figured this guy probably wouldn't actually let anything happen to her men, so she just turned away and walked forward, completely ignoring him.
Fire God frowned so hard his eyebrows nearly touched. "My king, she... she's just too much! Sure, she's got skills, but that's no excuse to disrespect you like this!"
"Yeah, way too much!" Ice God muttered, clearly annoyed. Honestly, if she'd just listen to the king for once, she might not be so irritating.
"Too much?" Xiska Mon murmured, then suddenly laughed. "Don’t you think she’s kind of cute?"
"I want to see them. Now. Immediately!" Ivy yelled, getting more annoyed as he clearly had zero intention of letting her see her men.
"You really miss them that much?" Seeing how she talked and thought about her men, Xiska Mon got even grumpier.
Ivy shot him a look, making it very clear just how pointless and redundant his question was.
"No." Seeing her expression, Xiska Mon suddenly snapped, sounding extremely annoyed.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm the king here!"
Ivy burst out laughing, then scoffed, "So what? You being king has nothing to do with me! Listen up—if anything happens to them, I swear I'll kill you and go die with them." She spat out each word, icy cold.
Xiska Mon was instantly furious at her words, anger flaring up again as he clenched his fists—though he managed to suppress it. "Fine. Fine!" he snapped. This woman could rile him up so easily; she was definitely no ordinary person!
"What?" He’d expected her to be wowed or maybe say something like, 'Respect!' but… she actually hit him with that?
"Dang, that’s a lotta ladies... Aren’t you worried your kidneys are gonna give out?" Ivy muttered, just loud enough for the universe to hear.
Ivy's eyebrows scrunched up even tighter. Seeing his smug expression, she couldn’t help but grab his collar and snap, "You’re shameless! You’re cheating!" Honestly, she wanted to slap him into next week.
"Nothing. Seriously, best wishes for you and your harem—may you spawn a whole soccer team."
"Seriously, do you have to be this shameless?" Ivy clenched her fists, itching to punch his face again.
"I told you, you’ll pay the price for this." His voice suddenly turned serious.
Seeing this, Ivy let go of his collar and said coldly, "A price? What do you want?"
"Them? Trust me, you’re dreaming. My guys would rather fight a thousand monsters than drool over your harem," Ivy said, not even hesitating.
Xiska Mon snorted, totally not buying it. "Yeah, right. No guy can hold out against that many women. Your crew’s no exception!"
"What did you do now?" Ivy shot him a look, and right away her bad-premonition radar went off.
"Oh, nothing. Just dropped them into a pit full of naked women, no big deal."
Ivy frowned slightly and walked toward the north window. The Flame Valley palace looked nothing like the ones outside—no fancy decorations or gold, but it was solid and strangely awe-inspiring. Actually, it was kind of a mash-up of Egypt and Thailand.
"Don’t—don’t come over here... Ahh, help!" Liam Willow yelled, nearly pounced on by a woman before Colin Kerr yanked him away and took off running with him—full-on panic mode.
"Don’t run! Come back, my lords—" The whole place was wall-to-wall naked women, and the second they saw all those drop-dead gorgeous guys fall from the sky, they lost their minds and started chasing them like it was Black Friday at the mall.
"Oh my god, why are there so many women?!" For the first time ever, her seven husbands were running for their lives. When they first dropped in, they thought it was just a forest—until they realized it was absolutely crawling with naked women, all circling up together.
The women’s eyes sparkled when they saw fresh meat, and right away, the guys realized all those women were crowding around one poor soul—some dude lying on the ground, so skinny he looked straight-up mummified, obviously drained dry. He spotted them, wiggled a bony finger, and flashed a cracked, relieved grin. "Finally, finally someone’s come to take my place… I can finally escape this nightmare…"
Ivy looked out at the long, grand buildings to the north. Each one had its own little courtyard, and in every courtyard, a dozen or so women were laughing and playing around. Just eyeballing it, there had to be over a hundred women out there. Not quite as many as some ancient emperors, but seriously, a hundred was still a lot.
"What’s wrong? Surprised?" Xiska Mon smiled, basking in his own pride.
Ivy gave him a skeptical look. "You really think you can handle that many women by yourself?"
"What?" He’d expected her to be impressed or say something admiring, but… she actually said that?!
"Wow, that many women... Aren’t you worried about kidney failure?" Ivy muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" He hadn’t caught what she said, but his gut told him it definitely wasn’t anything nice!
"Nothing. Oh, I hope you and your ladies have lots of healthy babies together."
Xiska Mon frowned. "You’re not jealous?"
"Jealous? Jealous of what?"
"Heh." Xiska Mon smiled. "Right, you’re a woman, so of course you wouldn’t be jealous. But I bet your men are."
"Them? Let me tell you, you're way off. They definitely wouldn't be jealous," Ivy said with total confidence.
Xiska Mon sneered, clearly not believing her. "Really? No man can resist that many women. Your guys are no different!"
"What did you do?" Suddenly, seeing his sly smile, Ivy had a bad feeling.
"Nothing much. Just dropped them into a place full of naked women, that's all."
"What?!"
"Don’t—don’t come any closer... Ahh, save me!" Liu Qingyan shouted, nearly tackled by a woman before Ke Liang grabbed him and dragged him off at a run.
"Don’t run! Wait for us, darling..." The whole forest was full of naked women. Seeing all these handsome men drop in, they broke into smiles and rushed toward them.
"Holy crap, why are there so many women?!" For the first time, Qi Fu was running for his life. When they first landed, he thought maybe it was just a forest—until he noticed all the naked women gathered together.
The women’s eyes lit up when they saw them, and right then, the men noticed all those women were gathered around a single man. He was lying on the ground, so thin he was just skin and bones—clearly drained dry. When he saw them, he stretched out a skeletal finger and gave a cracked smile. "Finally, finally someone’s come to take my place… I can finally be free…"