The Real Showdown

Five minutes later.

Xie Bai sat at the table, holding a cup of freshly steamed milk in her small hands.

"Yeah, it's definitely more comfortable staying indoors."

After taking a sip of milk, Xie Bai pressed his palm against the inside of the cup to warm his hands.

"By the way, how much is this hot milk?"

Upon hearing Xie Bai ask the price, the bartender reached out to the table, picked up a menu, and covered his face with it.

"Um... let me see. Cold milk is only two gold coins here. As for hot milk... sorry, we don't have a price for hot milk."

"so…?"

"So this cup of hot milk is free, please enjoy it."

After saying that, the bartender immediately turned around and wiped the other side of the table.

Seeing that the other party was avoiding the topic, Xie Bai chuckled and did not press the matter further.

Time passed by, and Xie Bai finally put down the cup when a loud bang suddenly came from outside.

"It seems to be over."

With that, Xie Bai left the tavern and went out onto the noisy street.

Because the commotion was so loud, almost the entire city's residents ran out of their houses, trying to figure out what had just happened.

The snow outside the city was still falling heavily, and ordinary people could not see the scenery in the snow at all. In addition, they had to continue to work after the snow stopped, so after a moment of panic, people returned to their houses one after another. Only Xie Bai remained on the street.

In the wind and snow, a majestic figure, as tall as a mountain, flashed by.

Although the outline was blurry, Xie Bai recognized it as a thousand-meter-long dragon.

"A fully-formed dragon? It seems this Northern King is indeed quite powerful, actually forcing Nereus to reveal his fully-formed form."

"Now that we have a powerful dragon body, all that's missing is the ability to control water. I wonder if we can achieve that after challenging the Mountain Lord."

As Xie Bai was thinking this, the next second, a streak of fire flashed across the sky, scattering the wind and snow on the original city.

Amidst the blazing firelight, figures hidden in the shadows suddenly emerged.

"The Northern King is dead! All those who are resisting, take up arms and overthrow the remnants of the Northern King!"

At a single command, more and more people poured into and around the city, surrounding the Northern King's Palace in just a short time.

Upon seeing the group of armed personnel who had suddenly appeared, Xie Bai immediately recognized their identities.

"Have they sided with the underground resistance forces in the western border? And they just happened to prepare an ambush at this time."

In the eyes of these people, the death of the Northern King was completely unexpected. They had already been prepared to die, thinking that even if it was all in vain, they would still take the first step in their rebellion.

As a result, some of them discovered the death of the Northern King, which instantly transformed their initial resolve to die into an unwavering fighting spirit to win.

However, the Northern King did not leave no contingency plans.

Under his oppressive rule, the interests in the North were quite complex, but they were largely based on the systems he left behind.

This means that if anyone tries to overthrow the existing system, these interest groups that control most of the power in the North will be the first to step in and suppress them.

Among them, the Northern King's Palace, which directly pledges allegiance to the Northern King, is the ruling force with the most power and the highest degree of shared interests.

Even though the news of the Northern King's death had been confirmed within the Northern King's palace, they would still risk their lives to prevent the system from being overthrown.

Northgard quickly became the first battleground for the Northern Rebels, and similar events were unfolding in other towns across the North.

In the outlying towns far from Northgard, where development was lagging and the protective forces were much weaker, the Northern Rebels were the first to occupy and establish strongholds in those places.

Looking at the lingering flames of Northgard, Xie Bai shook his head.

"Never mind, after all, this is a change in the North itself, and there's no point in me interfering."

"As for Nereus... well, she's already in the Western Territory. She'll probably see the Mountain Lord soon."

"Speaking of which, can the Water Dragon defeat the World Bearer?"

Thinking of this, Xie Bai glanced again in the direction of the western border.

In the original, old era, the Lord of the Mountain was a complete tyrant, and also the final boss Nereus faced.

Once the opponent is defeated, the great chaos will be nearing its end.

However, the key point is that we are now in a new era, and many issues have changed compared to before.

The most obvious one is the Lord of the Mountain and the Marsh.

The lord of the mountain and marshland has long since changed from his former tyranny to a wise and virtuous ruler.

If one insists on finding a reason for Nereus to continue his campaign against the Lord of the Mountains and Lakes, then aside from the old grudges from two thousand years ago, it would probably be the fact that the other party instigated a great upheaval.

The problem is that the other side is stirring up chaos in order to eliminate the other three kings so that other places can develop like their Western Territory.

Now that Nereus has dealt with the three kings for him, it's hard to say whether they'll fight when they meet again.

In this situation, it depends on whether the Mountain Lord is a reasonable person.

……

Meanwhile, in the western border region.

Inside the royal capital, the Lord of the Mountain Marsh is recovering from the injuries sustained during the last great battle.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he slightly opened his tightly closed eyes.

"The other three kings are dead, all by the same person. Not only that, but the enemy is on their way to me."

"It seems that man has a great grudge against the four kings and is determined to eliminate them all."

Realizing this, the Lord of the Mountain and Lake rose from his throne and stretched his limbs slightly.

"That's enough. This land doesn't need my witness. As long as it is indeed getting better, that's enough."

"As for that guest, let me give him a proper welcome."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure descended from the sky, crashing through the palace and landing directly in front of him.

[Water Dragon - Nereus lv.300]

Upon meeting him, Nereus raised his sword and pointed it at him.

"Go ahead and say it. Is there anything you'd like to say before you die? I'm still willing to listen."

Faced with Nereus's dying question, the Lord of the Mountain suddenly laughed.

"Last words? I doubt I can make any last words. After all, as the Lord of the Mountains and Rivers, I am the embodiment of this very landscape beneath my feet. If you truly kill me, this landscape will inevitably collapse."

Upon hearing this, Nereus's hand, which was holding a sword, suddenly paused.

Seeing this, the Mountain Lord continued.

"See, you hesitated."

"Even if the mountains and rivers don't collapse after I die, I will still have the identity of the bearer of the world, although it is only temporary, but that does not prevent my life from being guaranteed by the world."

"So, you're now in a situation where you can neither kill me nor accept the consequences of my death."

As he spoke, the Mountain Lord reached out and grasped, and a long spear, symbolizing the origin of the world, appeared in his hand.

Just when Nereus thought that the mountain lord was taking advantage of his fear to make a move, the other party suddenly pointed the spear at his forehead and pulled out a golden light from it.

"Therefore, I will consume all the remaining permissions of the bearer to completely erase the connection between myself and the mountains and rivers, so as to have a... real showdown with you."

……