Castle of Black Iron - Chapter 2012

“Lizhou Province and Xianzhou Province have recovered three days ago. Lion Fortress has reentered Military Province. The overall situation facing Taixia Country on the frontline is good. It’s said that demons on the Western Continent have started to return to the underground world. The allied human forces on the Western Continent have started to launch counter-attacks…”

When Zhang Gui, the old slave of Zhang Tie, reported it to Zhang Tie, he bowed with great respect. He dared not even raise his head. When he did not receive any reply from Zhang Tie, Zhang Gui continued, “Emperor Xuanyuan has already sent invitations to the presidents of countries in those continents and sub-continents and prepared to hold a conference in Xuanyuan Hill after recovering Military Province. They want to negotiate about the overall war plan and attempt to drive all the demons back to the underground world. Given the information from Xuanyuan Hill, Taixia Country and Western Continent probably prepare to join forces in the Realm of Disasters in the end…”

“Hmm, not bad!” Zhang Tie who was standing behind Pandora replied as he loosened his grasp. After that, he took one step backward and took a look at the lines and painting scroll that he and Pandora left on the paper and nodded.

It was a brisk and natural landscape map that Zhang Tie and Pandora created together. A slim and graceful maiden was standing in a pavilion on the hillside and watching the valley in the far with a gloomy look. This painting looked such vivid. She looked very similar to Pandora given her back, long hair on her back and her frame.

After they finished this painting, all the other women hurriedly gathered around the table and spoke highly of the painting.

At this moment, besides Bai Suxian, Yan Feiqing, Guo Hongyi, Linda, Beverly, Fiona, Aimei, Aixue and Pandora, Aurola, O’Lina, Sabrina and the six Spencer sisters were all present. All of Zhang Tie’s wives and concubines were here.

Because all the women had taken cross-realm fruits, their faces remained unchanged even after so many years.

They were in one of Zhang Tie’s attics in Xuantian Peak. At this moment, besides Zhang Tie’s beautiful wives and concubines, only Zhang Gui was here and reporting something to Zhang Tie.

It was already March, a few months later after Zhang Tie’s return. Over the past months, too many things had happened in Taixia Country and Western Continent. The overall situation facing Taixia Country in the holy war had long reversed.

Since he returned to Youzhou Province, Zhang Tie had not left Youzhou Province at all over the past months; instead, he always stayed with his family. Besides the first days after he returned when he met Zuoqiu Mingming, Cheng Honglie and the other batches of guests from Heavenly Fortune Sect and Lord Guangnan’s Mansion, Zhang Tie didn’t see anybody else. He just spent all of his time on his family.

Zhang Tie had already got married to Pandora and brought her to Youzhou Province from Demons Slaughter Valley. The news that Zhang Tie picked Pandora in Demons Slaughter Valley had already spread across the country. With a son-in-law like Zhang Tie, Demonic Slaughter Valley’s reputation soared.

After taking Pandora back to Youzhou Province, Zhang Tie took Aurola, O’Lina and the six Spencer sisters back to Youzhou Province from Ice and Snow Wilderness too. As for Zhang Tie, it was like a home-centered man going to the market to buy ingredients for food.

With such a great power, Zhang Tie could safeguard humans by fighting demons; sometimes, he found that he could also protect his family with the same power and enable these women to go back to his side.

Although Zhang Tie had long been a grandpa, the entire Youzhou Province was busy doing one thing——prepare for Zhang Tie’s marriage.

Zhang Tie had already promised these women to hold a grand wedding ceremony for them in Youzhou Province. He wanted them to wear wedding gowns and ceremonial robes again.

Zhang Tie felt as if he owed them something. Since they chose to stay with Zhang Tie, although they had got their status and positions in Zhang family and already bore children, they had not held a wedding ceremony and wore wedding gowns yet, including Beverly, Fiona, Yan Feiqing and Bai Suxian. However, Zhang Tie always felt pitiful about that. Therefore, after coming back, he determined to hold an unprecedented, grand wedding ceremony for those women so as to fix all the regrets.

Zhang Tie still remembered their expressions when he gathered all the women and told them that he wanted to hold a real wedding ceremony for them.

“This painting still lacks a corresponding poem!” Aimei and Aixue suggested in unison as their mind acted upon the mind as twins.

“Of course, the landscape of Taixia Country should match a Taixia poem. I’m not good at Taixia poem; Feiqing, it’s your turn…” Pandora said with a smile as she gave the painting brush to Yan Feiqing.

Yan Feiqing didn’t refuse her; instead, she took the painting brush and left two lines of small graceful words on the painting.

——Rain takes away the clouds with the fresh wind. River accompanies green mountains with flying birds.

——With morning glow, tea culture and night-illuminating glass, we miss you both awake and drunk!

“Nice…” They all acclaimed it in unison. Yan Feiqing’s last words perfectly expressed the mood of those women.

Zhang Tie burst out laughing as he put his arms around Yan Feiqing and kissed her face like a playboy. After that, he turned around and asked Zhang Gui as if he was asking something trivial, “How’s Gobbling Party recently?”

“The forces of Gobbling Party across the country have almost been exterminated. Most of members of Morality Agencies have already exited those agencies. Besides Northeastern Military Region, former members of Morality Agencies are exposing the dirty things about Morality Agencies to the public everywhere across the country. As local authorities showed mercy on those who admitted their mistakes sincerely, few people were sent into the jails. Almost everyone is speaking highly of His Majesty’s kindness and Your Honor’s righteous deed of killing Meng Shidao the great evil force in Taixia Country…”

As for an organization like Gobbling Party, after Meng Shidao was killed, the Far-Ancient Morality Stele which was taken as the spiritual ballast of many die-hard fans of Gobbling Party was broken up, Emperor Xuanyuan returned to Taixia Country and that Meng Shidao framed Emperor Xuanyuan was exposed to the public, it was doomed to fall in an instant. Nobody would like to be involved with it.

Zhang Tie was very gratified by Xuanyuan Hill’s deed. It was indeed boundless beneficence for them to eliminate hidden threats and reduce turmoils across the country at the minimal cost. To the final analysis, the reason that many commoners joined Gobbling Party lay in that they wanted to gain extra benefits from doing that; instead of their belief or high requirement on their own ethics. Even though many people of major clans and officials joined Gobbling Party with no nobler motive and purpose.

“Aw, there’s one more thing…”

“Go ahead!”

“I heard some gossip in Xuanyuan Hill that when humans on Eastern Continent and Western Continent drive demons back to the underground space, they will establish allied human forces of 300,000 human knights. Those people in Xuanyuan Hill and those ambassadors of countries on the Western Continent in Xuanyuan Hill have already secretly released the news that they would like to recommend you as the commander-in-chief of allied human forces. They hope that the allied human forces could enter the underground world and wipe out all the demons under the leadership of Your Honor…”

Closely after hearing Zhang Gui’s words, none of those women in the room commented on that painting and poem any longer; instead, they all watched Zhang Tie with wide eyes.

Zhang Tie then replied which nobody else could understand as he shook his head, “Demons couldn’t only be wiped out through wars or massacres!”

Those people had such a simple idea. On the way back to Taixia Country from Motian Realm, Zhang Tie had already traveled across demons’ nest in the underground abyss of Earth-Element Realm, they all thought that demons came from the underground abyss. Actually it was not absolutely right. In fact, under the underground abyss in Earth-Element Realm, there was an odd black ocean in the core of this planet. That place is linked with the world where Demon Overlord is in. Although Demon Overlord couldn’t come to this world from there, the powerful demonic qi and energy could peep into the black demon ocean and breed demons one after another over there. Even though allied human forces could reach there and wipe out all the demons over there, they would find that new demons came into being from there.

If they wanted to eliminate demons; they must kill the Demon Overlord. If they wanted to kill the Demon Overlord, they must eliminate the greed, envy, animosity, fool and stupidity in their hearts. Only these negative moods and behaviors of humans which could hurt themselves were the source of the power of Demon Overlord.

Real demons were neither in abyss nor in hell, but in the grimmest and grinnest place in people’s heart.

Unless their hearts were filled with light, the wars between humans and demons would never cease.

The real holy war was not the battle between human and demons; but between people and the dark and grimness deep in everyone’s heart.

They might not understand it for the time being; neither did Zhang Tie want to explain about it.

Perhaps it was not bad for them to maintain the current situation. From then on, humans would live above earth; demons would live underground. The two species just did whatever they wanted in their own territory. Without demons, humans would also be troubled with wars, killings, turmoils and oppressions. With the help of such a terrifying species which always cast covetous eyes on humans, there might be fewer killings and wars between humans and the order above earth might be more harmonious.

Their holy war might not have come to an end yet; however, it had already almost come to an end for Zhang Tie.

Over these days, through that heart that was suppressed in the Infinite Immortal Prison, Zhang Tie had reached a secret agreement with the Demon Overlord. After the agreement was reached, Zhang Tie would not fight demons who had returned to the underground world any longer; neither would Demon Overlord allow its demon army to appear above earth. None of the human cities would be collapsed by demons anymore. Additionally, all the remaining demon forces would evacuate back to the underground world. As long as Zhang Tie was alive, this agreement would remain valid and all the humans and human cities above the earth would be under Zhang Tie’s protection.

This agreement meant that the vast Earth-Element Realm between earth and the abyss where demons lived in would be the real battlefield between humans and demons in the future.

When they were all pondering Zhang Tie’s words, they suddenly heard an urgent voice from outside the attic.

“I’ve got something important to report to Elder Mushen…”

Zhang Tie realized that it was Elder Muen’s voice…