The Holy Angel knew full well.
To kill Lu Yuan, unconventional measures were required.
And when supernatural power proved futile, only thermonuclear weapons remained.
As the most lethal instruments of destruction in human history, their devastating power was unimaginable.
The death of the Twelve Apostles had already infuriated him, not to mention he was keenly aware that Lu Yuan harbored killing intent toward him as well.
Faced with the current situation, striking first was the only choice.
At that moment, the Holy Angel looked at the Divine Knight.
The man was even more ruthless than himself.
"Since you agree, the plan can be set into motion. I will announce that the two of us shall await Lu Yuan's arrival in the Holy City at the foot of Mount Olympus. As for you, all you need to do is activate the ancient Vatican sacred relic to seal off the area completely."
The Divine Knight rose to his feet, a formidable killing intent radiating from him. "Lu Yuan's emergence has shattered the balance between East and West."
"No matter for whose sake, such an overpowering figure cannot be allowed to exist—at least not now."
From the very beginning, he had made up his mind to see Lu Yuan dead.
Huaxia was already mighty in its own right.
Coupled with such a terrifying entity, the balance would crumble, and they would very likely be swallowed whole in the future.
That was something the Divine Knight would never allow under any circumstances, and annihilating Lu Yuan was the wisest course of action.
"The Holy City?"
Upon hearing this, the Holy Angel spoke up at once. "Deploying a thermonuclear weapon could reduce the entire city to ash. Are you truly willing to make such a sacrifice?"
He had genuinely not anticipated that the other party would go to such lengths. After all, the Holy City was of paramount importance to Mount Olympus; losing it would be a severe blow.
"As the old Eastern saying goes, 'If you won't sacrifice your child, you can't catch the wolf.' What does a mere city matter?"
The Divine Knight remained entirely unconcerned. In the past, he had exercised an iron fist to slaughter every Awakened who opposed him.
A single city meant nothing now.
"Very well."
The Holy Angel stood as well and continued, "However, I have one condition."
"When the time comes, assemble media reporters from all factions to record the scene of Lu Yuan's destruction."
"He holds no reverence for the divine and is a heretic. I want the entire world to see what fate awaits those who disrespect God."
In his eyes, no Awakened could withstand a thermonuclear weapon. As long as the plan succeeded, Lu Yuan had zero chance of survival.
Doing this would reclaim their dignity while simultaneously serving as a deterrent to the entire world.
As for whether it would destabilize the global geopolitical landscape or ignite the fury of the East, the Holy Angel did not care in the slightest.
Once Lu Yuan was dead, balance would be preserved unless the East genuinely wished to initiate a global war of annihilation.
And according to his understanding, the East had always favored patience and restraint; they would never choose reckless ruin.
"Of course, Mr. Edward. That aligns with my intentions as well," the Divine Knight nodded.
If Lu Yuan lived, with his terrifying might, the proposed Human Alliance would inevitably be established sooner or later.
Yet the Divine Knight refused to let the East take the lead, nor was he willing to serve beneath anyone else.
In truth, many council members felt the exact same way.
"Then it is settled. Let this operation be called the Plan to Bombard the Eastern King," the Holy Angel said, looking toward him.
The two exchanged a glance, both catching the subtle smiles in each other's eyes. Without another word, they departed the ancient castle, mobilizing their respective resources and authority to secretly set the stage.
However, every aspect of this plan had to remain strictly confidential and could not be leaked in the slightest, or it would easily unravel.
Meanwhile, practically everyone at home and abroad knew that the Eastern King Lu had departed, heading for Mount Olympus upon invitation.
Shortly after, the Divine Knight issued a public announcement stating that Lu Yuan would be received in the Holy City with the highest honors.
Numerous reporters and journalists would be on site to provide full coverage and live broadcasts, allowing every person across the globe to witness this historic moment.
The words were framed beautifully, giving the impression that they were truly welcoming Lu Yuan with open arms, just as the announcement claimed.
Elder Ji and Elder Yun also learned of this.
They both sensed something amiss.
The reception was simply too enthusiastic, crossing the line of normalcy—extreme abnormality invariably masked deception.
However, Lu Yuan was already en route, and they had failed to uncover any concrete intelligence.
In the end, they could only transmit the confirmed meeting location to him while redoubling their efforts to investigate every scrap of related information.
Ten thousand meters above, above the sea of clouds, the Golden-Winged Great Peng beat its wings.
Its speed was so staggering that it triggered successive sonic booms.
Ordinarily, no common creature could endure such immense velocity.
Yet to a Beast King, it was nothing, and it continued to accelerate.
"Master, at this rate, it should take about ten days to reach that mountain," the Golden-Winged Great Peng estimated and spoke.
"Understood."
Lu Yuan nodded.
He had already received the message from Elder Ji and Elder Yun, learning long beforehand that the destination was the Holy City at the foot of Mount Olympus.
With the communicator in hand, he had no need to worry about losing his way for the time being.
Naturally, with the global expansion, the device could only pinpoint cities where humans resided, unable to cover uncharted regions, but that was more than enough.
Without overthinking, Lu Yuan glanced downward.
Below lay a vast sea of clouds and towering mountain ranges receding rapidly into the distance.
Along the entire journey, the landscape consisted almost entirely of such vistas, devoid of human cities.
This was only natural. Following the global mutation, the territories once inhabited by humanity in the old era were now reduced to a tiny fraction.
The vast majority had become the domains of mutated beasts.
Even ten thousand meters up in the sky, predatory birds of prey occasionally soared into view, and one would even cross paths with Beast Kings.
It was only because the Golden-Winged Great Peng possessed the distinct aura of mythic bloodline that ordinary beasts dared not provoke it.
Had this been an airplane—even a fighter jet—it likely would have been shot down before long.
Yet precisely because the world had expanded so drastically, even at the Golden-Winged Great Peng's incredible speed, traveling from the starting point to Mount Olympus required a considerable amount of time.
Of course, Lu Yuan was not lacking in time right now. After gazing at the scenery for a while, he closed his eyes once more.
He understood full well that this journey to Mount Olympus would not be simple.
Neither the Divine Knight nor the Holy Angel would easily agree to establish the Human Alliance.
Yet Lu Yuan did not care, because anywhere and anytime, absolute truth was forged through strength of fist.
Having undergone three months of secluded cultivation, he had reached the peak of his condition in every aspect.
He had virtually no shortcomings. In other words, Lu Yuan could confidently state that at this stage, no living creature in the entire world could threaten his life.
And that was his greatest reliance in daring to venture alone to Mount Olympus.
No matter what scheme they devised, he could shatter it through sheer absolute force!
*Skree—*
The next instant, the Golden-Winged Great Peng let out a piercing cry. As if sensing its master's resolve, its speed surged once again.
Time trickled away second by second.
People both domestically and abroad waited for the day the two sides would meet.
Finally, ten days later.
Almost everyone aware of the event stayed gathered in their homes, ready to watch this historic moment unfold.
Would the Human Alliance be successfully formed, or would the two sides part on bad terms, or perhaps even ignite a grand war?
Everyone was waiting with bated breath.
Inside a conference room at the Mount Tai Trial Academy, Elder Ji was presiding over the inaugural meeting regarding the expedition to Mount Tai.
Beside him sat Dean Zheng, Ji Yuzhen, Zhu Qingyu, Northern Emperor, Ice Fairy, and others.
One side comprised the leadership, while the other represented the most elite students; all of them would play crucial roles in the days to come.
Naturally, the meeting had reached its conclusion.
Before long, Lu Yuan would arrive at the Holy City of Mount Olympus.
A live broadcast would cover the event, and they needed to monitor it closely.
*Bang!*
The door was abruptly shoved open.
Elder Yun rushed in, out of breath. "This is bad! We received intelligence that Mount Olympus has deployed a thermonuclear weapon!"
"At the same time, massive numbers of Awakened have converged on the Holy City. They appear to be conducting a major operation!"
Although the other side had acted with utmost secrecy, the operation had still been uncovered, and he had come over immediately.
The moment those words fell, everyone present stood up, their expressions changing drastically.
A surge of fury arose on Elder Ji's face in particular. "I knew it! The Divine Knight and the Holy Angel harbored sinister intentions all along! To think they would be so utterly unhinged!"
Things had escalated to such a point that their intent was glaringly obvious.
They intended to use a thermonuclear weapon to obliterate Lu Yuan.
Having felt uneasy from the start, Elder Ji deduced their objective the second he heard the news. Continuing the meeting was naturally out of the question.
"Vile to the core! I knew they had an ulterior motive!"
"Detestable! To resort to such a foul scheme—they deserve to die!"
"Quick, Elder Ji, notify King Lu at once!"
Dean Zheng immediately urged, thinking that Lu Yuan might not have arrived yet.
Everyone grew frantic.
After all, that was a thermonuclear weapon.
No matter how powerful Lu Yuan was, could he truly endure it?
Even if there were a chance, what about afterward? Would he be gravely injured? Would the Divine Knight and the Holy Angel seize the opportunity to finish him off?
Upon hearing this, Elder Ji nodded repeatedly and sent a message.
He knew that with Lu Yuan riding the Golden-Winged Great Peng ten thousand meters in the air at such a great distance, a voice call would suffer severe interference.
Afterward, everyone fixed their gazes on the communicator, anxiously awaiting a response.
With every second that ticked by, their brows knitted tighter.
*Ding-dong—*
After an agonizing wait, Elder Ji's communicator chimed.
Everyone leaned in to look. Indeed, it was a reply from Lu Yuan:
*No matter!*
There were only those two words, yet they carried a boundless, unyielding confidence.
For a moment, everyone froze in place.
That...
That was a thermonuclear weapon.
A mere two-word reply?
Instantly, a crazy thought surfaced in their minds.
Could it be...?
Did King Lu intend to face a thermonuclear weapon head-on?
Meanwhile, on the other side in the Western lands, amidst the sea of clouds.
Lu Yuan shut down his communicator and slowly lifted his head.
At this very moment, he looked into the distance and saw the colossal mass of Mount Olympus.
Towering and magnificent, it was hardly inferior to the present Mount Tai.
Like a terrifying titan beast crouched upon the earth, the mountain loomed, while the Holy City lay nestled at its foot—looking so minuscule that it was hard to spot without looking closely.
"Seems we have almost arrived."
A smile touched his lips as he murmured softly to himself, "A thermonuclear weapon, is it? Let us see just how much power it truly holds!"
Chapter 101