Chapter 1301: Chapter 1286: Have We Been Sold? Chapter 1301: Chapter 1286: Have We Been Sold? “Candice, how long do you plan to keep this up? Do you think they are Overlords without backing? If you drag this out too long, a great existence comparable to the Progenitors might emerge from behind them, and even you won’t be able to escape.”

A faint dissatisfaction echoed through the mental connection, as Empress Candice, standing in the Void, furrowed her brows slightly and cast a glance at Dream Palace, which was continuously striving to repair its Insect Nest.

“It’s not your place to micromanage how I do things,” Candice retorted sharply. In reality, she wasn’t intentionally dragging things out; she simply couldn’t take down this hybrid Overlord of two powerful bloodlines in a short period of time.

Yes, it was somewhat embarrassing, but the fact remains that although she had an absolute advantage, the Overlord in front of her was exceptionally tenacious. Even if she destroyed his weapon and wreaked havoc on his body, he would rapidly exert every effort to reconstitute himself, stubbornly resisting her.

“Hm? No, that’s not right, Candice. You can’t take down this guy in front of you, can you?”

The spiritual communication between the two empresses laid bare some of their thoughts to one another, and so it didn’t take long for Dream Palace to notice something amiss with Candice, an even more powerful Empress.

“What nonsense are you spouting? I am a whole realm above this hybrid Overlord. How could I not take him down?”

Empress Candice immediately bristled at the insinuation of her weaker kin, “Just stay put over there. I’ll be slaying this puny Overlord soon enough.”

“Don’t do anything rash, Candice.”

Suddenly, within the channel of spiritual connection established by the two empresses, a wave of mental power—more pure and mighty—forcibly interjected.

“Hm? What’s the matter?”

Empress Candice was surprised to receive a message from an ancient relic of their Clan, which usually remained in a sleeping state. Although the Insect Race didn’t observe hereditary hierarchy, they greatly valued strength.

And this was one of the second-generation empresses directly nurtured by the Progenitor herself. By virtue of her early birth and extensive existence, her strength ranked only behind the Progenitor. When this ancient relic spoke, most Insect Race empresses heeded her counsel.

“I’ve communicated with a great existence from the large world that Dream Palace invaded. We’ve reached an agreement.”

“So?” Empress Candice was dissatisfied, sensing that the prey in her grasp was about to slip away, and that the situation was escaping her control.

“You are free to fight any Overlord before you with all your might. Regardless of the losses or gains, you are to bear the responsibility yourself. I won’t intervene. But there’s one thing: you must not harm the life of the Overlord before you.”

“Ha! What are you talking about? What’s the point in fighting if I can’t harm his life?”

Hearing this incomprehensible, perhaps even unreasonable demand from a Clan elder, Empress Candice became infuriated.

If she couldn’t take his life, then what was the point of battling for so long? Did she think the numbers of her Insect Army under her command were too high and needed to be weeded out through battle? She must be out of her mind!

“If you think you’ve lived too long, you are free to do as you please.”

“What do you mean?”

“This battle of yours is now under the scrutiny of a great existence whose strength is no less than mine. I’ve told you what to do.”

“What if I kill him regardless?”

“Then whatever happens to you, the Insect Race won’t interfere or seek retribution.”

“Heh, what kind of agreement did you reach with that so-called great existence?”

“It’s a truce agreement made in the best interest of the Insect Race.”

“On what authority do you speak for the entire Insect Race?”

“With the Progenitor not awakened, I am the strongest existence among the active empresses in the Void. Naturally, I can represent you all. Why, do you object?”

“Fine, I understand. If I can’t kill, then what’s the point of fighting? I’m withdrawing. You continue negotiating.”

“No, you can’t withdraw. According to the agreement I made, you must fight this Overlord with all your might.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t even have the right to decide if I can withdraw, and I still need to fight with all my might, yet can’t harm his life? What kind of ludicrous agreement did you sign?”

“Mind your words, Candice. Do you want to incur my wrath?”

“You’ve betrayed our interests, and now you’re silencing me.”

“This is the choice that’s most beneficial for the Insect Race given the other party’s strength. You must comply.”

“The strength of the other party? Hmm?” Candice sharply picked up on the details, “Well, you are at least a direct descendant of the progenitor, how could you make such a decision? It turns out you were beaten into submission by them. How bad was it? Did you suffer a lot of losses? Do you need me to send you some resources?”

“If you continue spouting nonsense, once this matter is over, I’ll make you pay,” the informer, who was a second-generation empress, suddenly became much more stern, as if a sore spot had been hit.

“Tsk!”

From the short conversation, Candice, who had realized something had happened without her knowledge, snorted, but didn’t continue with her scornful remarks.

“So, we were defeated in a higher-level exchange?”

The Dream Palace Empress, who had remained silent during this exchange between the second-generation Empress and Candice, finally asked cautiously. The things she just heard had indeed shattered her worldview.

In her mind, the Insect Race had always stood as one of the greatest overlords of the Void. Even if there were regions that gave them pause, it was only because the cost of flattening them did not justify the profits, not because there were forces capable of making the Insect Race bow down. But now, her perspective was shifting.

“It should be so, otherwise, why would such absurd demands have been made?” The mood of Empress Candice turned somewhat gloomy as she replied.

“Impossible? How could our Insect Race be defeated? We still have the progenitor!”

Hearing the confirmation of this event from an empress stronger than herself, the Dream Palace couldn’t help feeling dazed.

The growth of each Insect Empress naturally wasn’t always smooth sailing; they would encounter numerous setbacks and sometimes even had to cast aside all dignity and flee in a deplorable state.

But these things weren’t significant; they were just temporary submissions, not affecting the face of the entire Insect Race. However, this time was entirely different. According to the second-generation Empress, their race had bowed to another power. This made the Dream Palace Empress feel disillusioned.

“Do you take those ancient beings for fools? The opponent must possess a being that corresponds to our progenitor, or even stronger, otherwise, they wouldn’t have signed such a humiliating agreement.”

“So that’s how it is.” The Dream Palace Empress felt dazed again, realizing that this time the Insect Race’s defeat wasn’t so simple. The whole clan had been irreversibly stained with a mark of disgrace.

“This time, I have suffered a great loss. Dream Palace, this whole incident was provoked by you. You will bear all the responsibility, you will compensate me for all my losses.”

“I…” Overwhelmed by the bitterness in her heart, the Dream Palace Empress wanted to retort, but considering the situation, she stayed silent. After all, her daughter had not yet been recaptured.

…

“Hybrid, just who are you? Hmm?”

Ignoring the Old Dragon King, who had an almost nonexistent presence and appeared to be slacking at her side, the undefeated Empress grabbed the throat of the golden Dragon King before her, staring into Muria’s golden pupils with extreme curiosity.

She was eager to know what kind of existence stood behind this individual, able to suppress her side’s ancient beings, forcing her to go from being a hunter to a sparring partner.

Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire sparkled within the Void, as if in creation itself, but this creative force instantly transformed into the destructive laws of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, striking the Empress.

However, this formidable power, capable of deciding the rise and fall of worlds, dispersed the moment it hit the body of the Empress, not causing her any substantial harm.

“Stop wasting your efforts on such meaningless gestures. After fighting with me for so long, you should understand the gap between us,” the Empress said, seemingly easily deflecting the attack, but actually having exhausted no small amount of effort.

In truth, the Empress had lost much of her fighting spirit, especially since the ancient being had already informed her that she mustn’t deal a killing blow to her opponents before her, or else she would bear all the consequences. Given such conditions, she saw no need to seek death by challenging the authority of those ancient beings.

What was even more frustrating was that the ancient being clearly stated she could not retreat. She wasn’t allowed to fight nor flee, but rather had to dutifully serve as a sparring partner. With that in mind, she might as well satisfy her curiosity.

Muria remained silent, a greatsword engraved with Ancient Divine Text appeared in the Dragon Claw, which he wielded as he thrust it towards the Empress.

The battle hadn’t lasted long thus far, but he had been utterly ravaged, beaten from start to finish. He lost count of how many times he’d had to reconstruct his body, and his weapons had been shattered several times.

Yet despite this, he had not achieved his intended result — to land a few blows on the Empress.

This left him feeling both frustrated and helpless. Compared to the ancient Epics, his mere thousand years of existence from birth to present made his depth tragically shallow. Being able to battle against them was already very impressive.

To inflict harm on the Empress would require at least a few thousand years of accumulated time. To defeat her completely in direct combat was incalculable; after all, as he advanced, the others wouldn’t stand still waiting for him.

“You, do you think I won’t lay a hand on you knowing that I can’t kill you? So brazen?”

Candice simply used two fingers to nonchalantly catch the sword thrust by Muria.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read