Chapter 1490: The Great Elven King

They were actually doing *that* in the room?

The two women were both shocked and furious, but with so many people present, they couldn't openly express their anger. They could only glare fiercely at Zu An.

Yan Xuehen was even angrier because she had just told Yun Jianyue that he wasn't "that kind of person," only to be proven utterly wrong the next second.

After Zu An emerged, he immediately gathered everyone and briefly explained the agreement he had just made with the Little Demon Empress. "We'll go to the Celestial Prison first to rescue the Great Elf King," he said. "His prestige has always been high, so with him leading, things will be easier."

Qiao Xueying's eyes lit up. She thought, *Ah Zu has always remembered my father's situation; he's so good to me.*

Zu An then approached Lei Xin and Wu Cheng and said coldly, "I'm giving you a choice. Pledge your allegiance now to the Little Demon Empress and the Little Prince, serving them as your masters. Once the Little Prince ascends the throne, you will be his trusted officials."

The two men exchanged glances. The Little Prince as emperor? What a joke! He was still so young; how could he possibly contend with the Crown Prince?

Seeing their silence, Zu An was direct. "If you're unwilling, then just kill them."

"Alright!" Yun Jianyue, already seething with anger, immediately summoned her New Moon Wheel.

Feeling the intense killing intent emanating from it, Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were terrified out of their wits. They thought, *Why isn't he playing by the rules? Shouldn't he be appealing to our emotions and reasoning with us, trying to win us over? Then we could reluctantly consider it, and he would offer even better terms to entice us. Why go straight to killing?*

Sensing the New Moon Wheel was about to strike their necks, neither man dared to hesitate. They immediately knelt down with a thud. "We are willing to serve Your Majesty and the Little Prince as our masters and obey your every command." The situation was beyond their control; they would agree for now and find an opportunity to escape later.

Zu An then continued, "Then let's have a pledge of allegiance. Hmm, there's no time for you to do anything else right now, so just curse the Crown Prince in front of everyone. Curse him to have sons without anuses, and daughters…"

The women nearby felt their cheeks flush. This man was truly despicable; they wondered where he had heard such vulgar and offensive words.

Lei Xin and Wu Cheng were dumbfounded. They wanted to refuse, but seeing the gleaming New Moon Wheel nearby, they chose to follow their instincts for survival.

"I, Lei Xin, wish that the Golden Crow Crown Prince will have sons without anuses, and daughters…"

"I, Wu Cheng, wish…"

The two men could only tremble as they repeated the vile curses.

The surrounding Golden Crow Guards looked at them as if they were already dead men. Cursing the Crown Prince so viciously in front of so many people would certainly not be kept a secret. Even if they claimed Zu An forced them, the Crown Prince would undoubtedly hold a grudge, and there would be no good outcome for them in the future. Lei Xin and Wu Cheng clearly understood this. They secretly mused that having offended the Crown Prince so badly, their only option was to find an opportunity to defect to the Second Prince. As for the Little Prince, such a small child, how could he become the Demon Emperor? They hadn't even considered that possibility.

To their surprise, the next second they heard Zu An say, "Oh, and apply that same curse to the Second Prince, do it again." Lei Xin and Wu Cheng stared, utterly bewildered.

*This guy isn't giving us a way out!* In the end, they reluctantly cursed again. They knew it would be terrible later, but if they didn't do it now, they would die immediately. The choice was not difficult.

With that settled, Zu An and the Little Demon Empress headed towards the Celestial Prison.

Along the way, they questioned Lei Xin and Wu Cheng about the Golden Crow Crown Prince's arrangements. Learning that he had divided his forces into four routes, Zu An couldn't help but sigh, *This guy is truly ruthless; he's not letting any of his brothers off the hook.* Even if the Demon Emperor weren't dead, he would probably die of anger if he learned all this.

The group arrived at the Celestial Prison in force. The guards there immediately became vigilant, clutching their weapons and demanding to know their purpose.

Zu An simply pushed the Little Demon Empress forward, letting her handle the negotiations.

As expected, when the guards saw the Little Demon Empress, their expressions softened. Thanks to her beauty and unique charm, low-ranking soldiers held her in very high regard.

The Little Demon Empress spoke softly, "We've come to bring the Great Elf King out. Could you gentlemen please make an exception for us?"

Being addressed so gently by the empress herself, the soldiers felt weak in the knees. However, they were still quite hesitant. "Your Majesty, His Majesty issued a decree that the Great Elf King cannot be released from here unless he personally orders it."

The Little Demon Empress replied, "It is precisely the Demon Emperor who sent me to release the Great Elf King."

The soldiers were startled. "Your Majesty, could you please present the imperial decree?"

The Little Demon Empress frowned. "Do you truly believe I would deceive you? Who in this world would dare to falsely transmit an imperial decree? If anything goes wrong, I will bear full responsibility."

Seeing her displeasure, the guards dared not say more and quickly moved aside, clearing the path.

Qiao Xueying could no longer hold back and rushed in first. Zu An, worried for her safety, followed her.

The Little Demon Empress, intending to win over the Great Elf King, naturally followed as well.

Yu Yanluo hesitated for a moment before also entering the Celestial Prison. Regardless of his identity as the Elf King or as Qiao Xueying's father, she still felt compelled to meet him.

Yan Xuehen and her companion remained outside, guarding against any potential moves from Lei Xin and the others.

The Great Elf King was imprisoned in the deepest part of the Celestial Prison. Upon seeing him, Zu An couldn't help but exclaim, *He's incredibly handsome, almost as handsome as me!*

He strongly resembled the Elf Prince from *The Lord of the Rings*, though he appeared much more mature.

However, at that moment, several thick, large wedges were impaled in his back, with chains attached that bound him to all four walls.

"Father!" Qiao Xueying rushed towards him.

The Great Elf King was visibly emotional upon seeing her, but he couldn't move his body to embrace his daughter.

Tears welled in Qiao Xueying's eyes. "The Demon Emperor actually laid such a cruel hand on you!"

Seeing this, Zu An took out his Dagger of Poison and directly cut the chains. Just as he was about to remove the wedges from the Great Elf King's back, the Little Demon Empress stopped him.

"These are Dragon-Binding Nails," the Little Demon Empress explained. "They can even shackle the immense physical strength of a dragon. They must be removed using a special technique." As she spoke, her delicate fingers rapidly tapped, systematically pulling out each Dragon-Binding Nail.

However, she was injured, and removing these required great exertion. She quickly began to falter.

At this point, the Great Elf King said, "The Dragon-Binding formation has been broken. There's no need to trouble Your Majesty further."

With that, he began to circulate his energy. His robes instantly billowed, and the remaining three Dragon-Binding Nails shot out from his body with rapid thuds, embedding themselves into the adjacent wall.

The long Dragon-Binding Nails were fully embedded, root and all, into the hard wall, demonstrating the immense force of their expulsion.

Immediately afterward, a majestic aura began to emanate from him. Zu An secretly marveled, *He truly is one of the three great masters of the Demon Race. This aura suggests at least a Grandmaster level.*

The Great Elf King bowed to the Little Demon Empress. "Greetings, Your Majesty. Has the Emperor sent you to release me?"

The Little Demon Empress shook her head. From the side, Qiao Xueying blurted out, "It's a miracle if the Demon Emperor would ever agree to let you go. He's dead!"

"The Demon Emperor is dead?" The Great Elf King's body trembled violently. He clearly couldn't immediately process such shocking news.

Zu An then confirmed, "That's right. The Demon Emperor died in the Unknown Land within the Imperial Mausoleum. I witnessed it myself."

The Great Elf King looked at him with surprise. "And you are, young man?"

The other party had effortlessly cut through the cold iron chains binding him, clearly demonstrating extraordinary skill.

Qiao Xueying's cheeks flushed slightly. "Father, he's Zu An, the one I mentioned to you before."

"It's you?" The Great Elf King's expression instantly became very peculiar and complicated. He looked at Zu An as if he were a pig that had just trampled his prized cabbage.

"Greetings, Uncle." Zu An felt a bit awkward too; after all, he had 'stolen' the man's daughter, so he naturally felt a little guilty.

At this point, the Little Demon Empress interjected, "You two can catch up later. Ah Zu, tell the Elf King about the most important matter."

The Great Elf King was somewhat surprised. The Little Demon Empress's tone seemed to indicate she held Zu An in extremely high regard. But these two seemed to have no connection whatsoever.