"I think we aren't enemies."
Seeing Zoran approach, the Snow Empress spoke to him.
An enemy's enemy is a friend. Watching Shendu and Hades tear into each other in a battle to the death, she and Zoran had zero reason to fight. After all, prior to today, they had never met, had no history of dealings, and harbored no grudges.
As Zoran finally hovered into view before everyone and came to a halt, Ghost King, the elder standing beside the Snow Empress, let his eyes roll about with a cunning gleam. In the distance, the shockwaves of Shendu and Hades' battle were utterly earth-shattering, and now another Nebula Body had confronted the Snow Empress.
This was wonderful!
How could they not fight? They absolutely had to!
Otherwise, leaving behind a stranger of unknown alignment alongside a peak-condition Snow Empress was by no means a good thing for him, Ghost King.
That's right.
The elder of the White Tiger Clan, Ghost King, was the true mastermind manipulating everything behind the scenes.
His actions included, but were not limited to: instigating the opposition between the Wolf and White Tiger Tribes, sparking the war, causing the death of Titusz's younger sister, Pamela, and a multitude of other dark plots.
And all of this was for the sake of his own ambition.
He appeared decrepit and full of loyal, burning passion.
In reality, he possessed power close to that of a Nebula Body, which he had been quietly accumulating in secret, keeping it hidden without a display.
Originally, he intended to wait until the resurrected Hades and the Snow Empress fought to the death, grinding each other down to mutual destruction, before he would emerge to pluck the peach.
Yet now, that opportunity had vanished, but another had presented itself right before his eyes.
He would never let this chance slip away.
"Peace talks? Absolutely impossible!" Ghost King suddenly declared in a booming voice.
"Oh?" The Snow Empress glanced sideways toward him. "Elder Ghost King? What do you mean?"
Ghost King stepped forward, pointing at Zoran. "Snow Empress, have you ever considered when such an unfamiliar powerhouse has ever appeared among our Seven Parallel Universes?"
He shifted his finger, pointing onward toward the distant Shendu, his implication self-evident.
"No," the Snow Empress mused.
"Indeed. Any powerhouse possessing a Nebula Body could never possibly appear out of thin air, especially not without your knowledge."
The more Ghost King spoke, the more excited he became, his outstretched finger trembling uncontrollably.
"At first, I was also puzzled as to when these two powerhouses suddenly emerged in the Seven Parallel Universes. It wasn't until I calculated it just now that I realized..."
A dark glint flashed in Ghost King's eyes as he proclaimed, "These two powerhouses are by no means people of our world!"
As soon as these words fell, the world instantly went silent.
"Look at their appearances, you cannot find a corresponding race for them anywhere in the Seven Parallel Universes. And their aura is utterly bizarre and alien!"
"They must have come to subvert our world!"
Ghost King's voice sounded like rolling thunder, every single word exploding in the hearts of everyone in the White Tiger Clan.
It had to be said that his argument carried a fair bit of logic.
Ghost King wasn't merely making wild guesses; in a very short span of time, he had concocted a narrative powerful enough to move the Snow Empress. He didn't care whether it was true or false, he only needed to instill animosity toward Zoran within the Snow Empress, and that would be enough.
War often required nothing more than an extremely simple reason and an attitude.
Ghost King excelled at this sort of thing. Just like one hundred thousand years ago, when he advised the Snow Empress that the Wolf Tribe harbored ambitions of ruling the Seven Parallel Universes.
He understood the Snow Empress far too well, knowing that this was the exact approach she bought into.
Once the stance was established, whether it was true or false no longer mattered so much.
Just as everyone was left in silence by Ghost King's rhetoric, a soft round of applause suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned their gazes toward the source of the sound.
A smile hung on Zoran's face. His secondary arms rested across his chest, while his main hands were gently clapping together.
It was true: this mystical appearance truly had no counterpart to be found within the Seven Parallel Universes.
Zoran ceased his applause and pointed smilingly at Ghost King. "Though it's merely guesswork, you got it right."
At these words, even Ghost King himself was momentarily stunned.
The half-true, half-false inflammatory theory he had just spewed... actually turned out to be correct?
"An otherworldly visitor, that is indeed my identity, and as for subverting this world, that is precisely what I am doing." Zoran spoke calmly, making no attempt to conceal his identity or his purpose.
If anything, Ghost King had actually used a flawed line of reasoning to stumble into a correct conclusion through pure speculation.
As expected, anyone who attained the Nebula Body possessed at least a measure of genuine competence.
Zoran's confirmation caused the Snow Empress's brow to furrow.
If her past decision to launch a war and purge the Wolf Tribe stemmed from wariness toward the Wolf Tribe's ambition...
Then an otherworldly visitor who craved the subversion of the world was undoubtedly a far greater threat.
Zoran's corroboration added yet another layer to the trust she placed in Ghost King.
With a gentle sweep of her delicate hand, she sighed, "Elder Ghost King, step back."
Ghost King hurriedly stepped back with undisguised eagerness, a trace of an imperceptible smile flashing across his face.
When the snipe and the clam grapple, it's the fisherman who profits.
If they didn't start fighting, how could he, Ghost King, fish in troubled waters and realize his own ambitions?
"My friend, I originally had no intention of raising arms against you. But since you have admitted your identity and your purpose, a war between us is unavoidable."
The Snow Empress sighed, her tone gentle, yet the words she uttered the next second were utterly resolute.
"Holy Radiance Nebula!" she proclaimed aloud.
A majestic Nebula Body soared straight into the firmament, as the Snow Empress chose to step directly into her ultimate state.
Facing Zoran, she spoke no words of love, confronting him solely with her Nebula Body.
"Very well." Zoran nodded silently.
Even if the Snow Empress hadn't been swayed by Ghost King's words, he had no intention of altering his own resolve to strike.
How could a cycle involving the strong omit Hades and the Snow Empress, the two preeminent powerhouses of the original Seven Parallel Universes?
Ghost King's words merely served to firm up the Snow Empress's resolve, pushing the outcome precisely in the direction Zoran desired.
"In the final analysis, this world still belongs to those with power. So-called speeches of love and hatred are merely the biased beliefs of each side. Whether they are right or wrong ultimately comes down to nothing more than the victory of might."
Zoran chuckled softly as his Nebula Body separated from his physical form, standing tall in the firmament in the true avatar of the Moon Demon to confront the Snow Empress.
"Otherworldly visitor, words of love are unnecessary," the Snow Empress whispered low. "Snow White Radiance!"
Her Nebula Body extended both hands, the impact of her hetero-energy surging to the brim and transforming into a beam of pure power that rushed toward Zoran.
As the destructive force of the Snow White Radiance approached, it was blocked by an invisible barrier, causing ripples to spread across space.
Zoran's Nebula Body reached out, gathering purple-black demonic energy into a concentrated beam that pushed back against the Snow White Radiance, launching a ferocious counter-offensive straight toward the Snow Empress.
Unlike the battle between Shendu and Hades, the conflict on this battlefield instantly escalated into a white-hot phase.
"Impossible! The Snow Empress's power is actually losing an edge compared to this guy?!"
Titusz stared in shock as the Moon Demon Chi forcibly pushed the Snow White Radiance back.
In a pure test of strength between powerhouses, the Snow Empress was actually a notch weaker than this strange fellow.
How could this be?!
His gaze dropped downward from the focal point of the clash, landing on the physical body of Zoran, which hovered serenely beneath his Nebula Body.
Once a Nebula Body erupted, it was simultaneously the moment of greatest strength and the moment of greatest vulnerability.
The fragility of the physical body was common knowledge to all.
Titusz abruptly clenched his fists, his eyes locked without a single blink.
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