Chapter Eighty-Six: Treachery

"I'm sorry, but I must refuse you." After listening to Rhett’s proposal, Sun Licheng considered for a moment before declining outright.

What a joke—his goal was to return to Earth and reunite with his family, not to fight and die in service to the Goblin Empire. Besides, if he wanted to build an industrial system and develop an economy, he would do it on Earth. With his abilities, he could at least become the next Ma Ali; why settle for being just another green-skinned goblin here?

"Er… won’t you reconsider? The Goblin Empire is never stingy with its rewards for its heroes." The commander was taken aback by Sun Licheng’s decisive refusal and, after a brief pause, began to tempt him with promises of reward.

"Thank you, Commander. I truly have my own matters to attend to. Besides, look at me—these scrawny arms and legs could hardly bear the weight of the empire’s revival." Sun Licheng didn’t want to listen to the commander’s endless persuasion, so he hurried to restate his position.

He didn’t trust the Goblin Empire completely, so he hadn’t revealed the truth of how he came to this world or his peculiar bodily condition. Remembering the tangled love and hatred between the two sovereigns and the Goblin Empire, he was determined to keep the truth to himself.

"Very well. Since it’s rare for us to meet, and you are quite an impressive goblin hero, why not keep an old man company for a while? Once we’ve chatted, I’ll send you off with some gifts. How does that sound?" Seeing Sun Licheng’s resolute attitude, Rhett no longer pressed the matter, reverting to the demeanor of a kindly elder.

Sun Licheng understood the importance of respecting one’s elders and, imagining how lonely this great brain must have been over the years, agreed to stay and chat.

The two began a casual conversation in the control room, finding themselves quite congenial. As the conversation went on, Sun Licheng gradually let his guard down.

This was precisely the opportunity Rhett had been waiting for. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from the spherical shield, piercing straight into Sun Licheng’s brow and linking the two together.

Immediately, Sun Licheng lost all ability to move, frozen in place like a block of wood.

Then, Rhett’s arrogant electronic voice echoed through the control room: "Hah! You fool! Did you think you really had a choice about accepting the mission? I suspected long ago that the last idiot betrayed me, and now you refuse to obey me as well. I am the commander, your master! If none of you will heed my orders, then I shall handle things myself. This body isn’t bad—turns out my ten thousand years of research into brain control paid off! Ha! At last, I will have a new body!"

As Rhett’s words faded, the goblin brain within the sphere began to drift toward the beam of light, pressing itself against it. Soon, a crimson glow flickered from the brain, then slowly traveled along the beam toward Sun Licheng’s head.

All Sun Licheng could do was watch in despair as the red light crept closer; he was utterly powerless to move.

"Ah!"

With a scream, the red glow burrowed into Sun Licheng’s head. His eyes immediately lost all luster; if it weren’t for the light holding him upright, he would have collapsed to the floor.

…

Inside Sun Licheng’s mind, in the headquarters of the Justice League, the stone fortress hall was brightly lit by countless torches. Upon the throne, a tall man clad in golden sacred armor slept soundly, while below him stood a host of Dark Saints.

Strangely, the Dark Saints’ armor was also sacred, each one boasting a pair of huge metallic wings upon its back.

A metallic scraping rang out as the man stretched and opened his eyes.

"Eh? Where am I?" he asked in confusion.

"King Sun Licheng, this is the headquarters of the Justice League," answered a woman in Dark Aquila Armor, stepping forward and saluting with a sharp, piercing voice.

Indeed, this man was Sun Licheng, restored to his true appearance.

"And who might you be?"

Sun Licheng, still uncertain of his surroundings, asked, recognizing her vaguely.

"I’m Little Red Riding Hood, your majesty. Don’t you remember me?" she replied, her tone tinged with reproach and her eyes full of grievance.

"Little Red Riding Hood? Could that dream have been real?" Sun Licheng suddenly recalled, but was puzzled—why was he in the Justice League and not the Blood Alliance?

After the girl’s explanation, Sun Licheng finally understood: after the last dream battle, the Blood Alliance had destroyed the Justice League, and the two had formally merged. The leaders all agreed that the Justice League headquarters was more comfortable, so they relocated here.

"By the way, Your Majesty, we’re no longer called the Blood Alliance," Little Red Riding Hood announced excitedly.

"Oh? What’s our new name?" Sun Licheng asked with interest.

"We’re called the Grand Slam now!" she replied, giving Sun Licheng an unexpected answer and shouting, "Oh yeah!"

Behind her, the Dark Saints all struck poses and echoed loudly, "Oh yeah!"

Sun Licheng immediately covered his face, thinking, "Still as unreliable as ever…"

Just then, a minion in Dark Armor rushed in, tripping over the threshold and crashing to the ground with a clatter of armor.

"What’s all this panic? What happened?" Sun Licheng asked helplessly, exasperated by this band of misfits.

"R-report, Your Majesty! The enemy is attacking!" the minion shouted from where he lay, voice trembling with fright.

At the edge of Sun Licheng’s mind, black clouds churned menacingly in the sky, pressing down with suffocating weight. On the ground, countless war puppets and beasts charged forward. Overhead, an unending swarm of goblin air carriers, flanked by swarms of winged planes, blotted out the sky.

From the giant airships, crimson flashes would periodically erupt, sending pillars of light crashing to the earth and causing violent explosions. Amid the chaos, warriors in black armor soared into the sky.

"Damn it, the enemy’s too strong. Our forces can’t hold them," Benbo Ba, clad in Dark Dragon Armor, shouted to Ba Bo Ben, who was commanding the lesser demons’ desperate resistance.

"I’ve already sent someone back for reinforcements. Whether we can hold or not, we must hold until His Majesty sends aid!" Ba Bo Ben bellowed back.

Suddenly, a massive beam struck near Ba Bo Ben. A pig-headed monster in dark armor screamed as he was blasted skyward, fragments of sacred armor and flesh raining down on those below, plunging the ground into chaos.

"Your Majesty, send reinforcements quickly!" Pinocchio, overseeing the battle in Dark Phoenix Armor, cried out in his heart. Beside him, waves of monsters in dark armor rushed to the front lines, while not far off, legions of minions in dark sacred armor unfurled their wings and soared into battle.