"..."
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh? No, everything is fine…"
"Is that so? You think that I wouldn't know if my own husband wasn't worried about something?"
"Ah…It's just, Everything is going too well."
"Is that such a problem? Wasn't this what you were fighting for?"
"Well yes but …"
"Think you might be worrying too much? We still have troubles at the sea and then there is still that brother of yours."
Zhang Dong nodded at Liena that was standing right next to him. The two were both in their new house where they could see both their children training their martial arts outside. Ever since the war had started the two had been focusing on getting their skills up, it was as if they wanted to help out their father and mother during this conflict that could last for centuries.
A week had passed since the Emerald Phoenix Emperor had died and his main forces were driven out of the east side of the empire. Just like with the demi-humans, a few stragglers remained here and there. They were now getting hunted down by bounty hunters and people trying to go back to their old cities that had been destroyed.
Where the bridge to the Emerald Phoenix Empire existed a large stronghold was being built. It would have giant spirit cannons and protective formations established to not let another group of them inside. The base they had there could be transformed into something like that so the building process would be rather quick. With this there only existed one obvious bridge that hadn't been closed and that one belonged to Lucius and his forces.
For the time being Zhang Dong decided to let them be. Some people from his side contested this idea as to them it was a bomb that could explode at any moment. He had of course relayed the information he gained from visiting their base and also explained that he believed that their main troops were on standby on the other side. To his people it wasn't a risk worth taking and forcing Lucius and Argus out to their own kingdom was the best idea. They were no match for the current United Elemental Sect's forces.
However, he had promised to cooperate with the golden knights and for the time being, they had proven themselves as good allies. During the Demi-human battle, Argus had helped them hold back the animalistic body refiners. Then they also helped him with the Emerald Phoenix Empire. There was no reason to turn their backs on them; it could backfire. What if they had another way of coming to this place even if the bridge was closed?
Their base looked like it had existed on this side for a while; it was possible for them to have some teleportation relics that could do the job. If Zhang Dong started to drive them out it was also possible for the King to show up. While he might have been weaker than Wang Long or the Emerald Phoenix Emperor, it was always a risk. Thus for now they were free to roam the lands in search of their sacred armor. Unless they started performing some heinous acts against the civilians he couldn't see them becoming a problem in the future.
This only left the Azure Emperor that had somehow vanished and the northern sea that was becoming strangely silent. After the last attack during which he told his army to back off, there was no new news of the Cerulean Empress either. Considering that the clone armies had started to struggle perhaps they finally decided to go with a different approach.
"Yes, the Azure Emperor… he might see this as a challenge to his authority, we can't exclude that he might be planning to attack our forces when we least expect it."
"That is true, perhaps it will be wiser to wait now."
"Wait…"
Liena smiled at him which put his heart at rest for a moment. Yet soon enough he was wondering if waiting would solve anything. What if the Long Clan just used this time to prepare a proper army or if the Cerulean Empress was building up a counter-offensive of immeasurable numbers? Perhaps her tactic didn't change but the scale did, if her armies were depleted of cloned generals and sea creatures now was the time to strike. If he let this drag on for too long the northern battlefront could suffer greatly.
His main goal was to end this conflict as fast as possible before secluding himself and progressing into the immortal stage. It wouldn't be wrong to wait but he had been successful enough by being more aggressive. If he didn't rush to the east side he would not have had such an easy time with the Emerald Phoenix Emperor. None of his own people had to participate which left his army in full power. Without the need to teleport the golden bastion he was now free to invest these points to level it up instead and before going after the sea people, this had to be done.
"I don't think my husband likes listening to his wife…"
"Ouch…"
While he was spacing out he could feel Liena pinching his arm before standing up and walking away. He could only smile while looking at her pouty face but she was right, he was probably not going to listen to her. The war was not yet over and it was unwise to just sit around twiddling his thumbs. Thanks to the quick resolution in the east, he was ready to continue and he would not even need anyone else than his own armies. Previously it was either Lucius or the Heavenly Crane sect but now, he could do all of this himself.
'I'll still have to watch out for the Long Clan, even if Long Qing isn't planning anything all those people around him probably hate me, then there is his wife that is behind it all…'
What was bothering him the most was the overseer. There was a teleportation spot at the Azure Palace that he could use to get more information. Perhaps after the Cerulean Empress was dealt with it would be time to use it. It was too dangerous, the woman could stop time and it was possible that he would be dealt with if he attempted to get there.
Then there was the second option, that nothing would actually happen. After the war between empires was over there would be nothing standing in his way of ascending. The system wanted him to ascend after fainting some trials and tribulations but it didn't really seem like it wanted him to die. It was possible for an inept system user to perish but even Wang Long with his disregard for anyone was able to persist. If Zhang Dong wasn't there, he would have probably conquered the entire empire, eventually.
'I'll never know what this is about until I cross over… but if I do, what will happen to all of them?'
Through the window, he could see his wife slowly walking over to his children. After arriving by their side she started scolding his daughter for not being easy on his son. Little Jun was holding in the tears while holding his nose that was punched by his sister. Before Liena arrived Xiu was making fun of him for being so slow. Now she was almost ready to run after seeing the stern face of her mother.
He wanted these days to continue, it wasn't that long since he had become a father and by losing five years in the other dimension he was even more behind. There was a real chance that if he advanced to the next cultivation level he would be forced to leave this place. It was also possible that where he went to could have another time variation like before or even worse, he could not be able to ever return. This world gave him a long life and at least before making the attempt he wished to see his children grow up and find their own paths just like he did.
'But it shouldn't force me out, that guy that came before me was able to postpone leaving until he was more than a thousand years old, I should be able to do the same. After I clear things up in the north and then settle things with my dear 'brother' I should be able to relax for a couple of hundred years…'
This was his current plan. First, he wanted to clear up the disturbances in these lands before going into a retirement phase. Perhaps this wasn't feasible but he wanted to at least enjoy a few years with his family before he tackled the problem with the system. If it was possible he would not interact with the scary overseer and slowly gather more power.
There were still some truths that he might be able to unearth in his predecessor's old home. While most of those tapes there had turned to dust Bob was working on restoring some of the lost materials. However with the main version used for other purposes that part was being stalled.
'I'll have to consider that the Azure Dragon and Golden Dragon might not be able to coexist with each other. The story that he told me might have been a lie and the moment the issue with the Cerulean Empress is done, they might strike… though with Lucius around, they might not act…'
He started seeing Lucius and Argus as a possible buffer between him and the end of the scenario. Normally a game would only move to the last stage after all of the main story events were finished. If the golden knights are never defeated and just stay around searching for their holy armor, it could give him time to prepare. It might be even better to hide the armor if he finds it to prolong their stay in this empire.
'But where could that armor be? It wouldn't be strange if it was somewhere at sea, I already found the sword at the Golden Dong Palace so there shouldn't be another one there… unless they hid it away in their treasury or something… It wouldn't be strange if that Overseer lady placed it there…'
There was a possibility of his enemies playing around with the settings. He did not trouly know what these moderators were tasked with besides hard resting the setting if a strange bug appeared. This happened in the other world that he visited and could happen here if they find that his cultivation was different.
'I guess I'll have to take that into consideration, for now It's time to pay those fish a visit and upgrade the palace, maybe it would be wise to make it waterproof…'