Chapter 604: Maximilian’s Masterplan

Few months ago, inside the army camp of Maximilian...

"Brother Max, I think I found the beast woman you told me to gather information about," Wukong announced excitedly as he entered the camp, his auburn hair swaying with his movement.

"Calm yourself first," Maximilian told him, opening his eyes as he sat cross-legged on the bed.

Wukong took a deep breath, catching his breath before explaining, "I heard rumours from the foot soldiers about a beast woman who offers water to the injured human cultivators left behind after each clash. According to the survivors, she wears a veil over her face, and a Greater Spirit Beast always accompanies her. The beasts call her Lady Gumiho."

"Lady Gumiho, huh..." Maximilian murmured, a faint smile forming on his lips. "So she is already trying to reduce the discord between humans and beasts in her own way."

His gaze returned to Wukong as he ordered, "Confirm the reliability of this information. Stay back at the battlefield if you have to. I will only trust your eyes, Wukong."

"As you say, Brother Max," Wukong answered, a bright smile blooming on his face from Maximilian’s unwavering trust in him.

---

After the next clash between the two forces, Wukong stayed behind and observed the battlefield from afar. Gumiho really appeared, accompanied by a Greater Spirit Beast. Not only did she offer water to the injured humans, but she also provided healing pills to those who were on the verge of death.

Once Maximilian learned this intel directly from Wukong, he had already planned how he would meet Gumiho as a human.

His act of using Life Essence to cast the Thirty-Six Sword Formation when, in truth, he only used a bit of his true Soulforce and Death Lightning to damage his own skin. Repeatedly announcing that all of his actions were in the hope of creating peace between humans and beasts. Deliberately letting Lin Feng stab him and forcing Bai Chengsheng to show his true colors. The act of blasting Vajra when, in truth, he only blasted the coating of lightning covering its blade before putting it back into his storage pouch at the last moment.

Every decision he made was intended to move him one step closer to this plan until he finally arrived there, buried beneath the broken chariot, waiting to be noticed by Gumiho.

---

Gumiho’s pink eyes stared at the injured face of Maximilian. ’Strange... have I seen this man before?’ she murmured inwardly, his face seeming somewhat familiar.

"Th-that’s Arthur!" Chitra gasped, immediately recognising the unconscious man. She pushed Gumiho back and instinctively stepped between them to protect her. "He is the Commander of the Fifth Battalion."

Her jaw tightened, her brows creasing into a deep frown as the memory of her brutal defeat at his hands replayed in her mind.

The sharp claws on her hand elongated as she brought it down towards his face.

"Stop, Chitra," Gumiho ordered in a firm tone. "You are a proud warrior of the Tiger Clan. How could you kill an unconscious and injured man?"

Chitra’s sharp nails stopped only inches away from Maximilian’s face, her hand trembling with restrained fury.

"He is the one who brought me to the death’s door," she snapped, glaring at Maximilian’s unconscious figure. "He is also the one who destroyed our protective array and a major reason for the Clan Leader’s current condition."

"I also heard that he was used by the War Marshal of the humans," Gumiho said, keeping her tone calm. "He was only played as a pawn by the hands of that Demi-God."

Chitra stared at Maximilian with her predatory gaze for a few more seconds before finally retracting her hand.

Gumiho stepped forward and bent down beside him. Since Commander Arthur was at the True Sage Realm, water and food were useless to him.

She took out a jade bottle from her storage pouch. Opening its lid, she took out a white-coloured pill that illuminated with a faint white glow. "One year ago, a mysterious senior left these Myriad Life Pills for me. I hope it can reduce your agony."

She opened his mouth and placed the pill inside.

’So that’s where my hard-earned Myriad Life Pills went,’ Maximilian sighed inwardly. She had been feeding these pills like candies to the human cultivators who seemed to be on the verge of death.

She was about to rise to her feet when a weak voice called out to her.

"B-bring me... to V-Vyomandera," Maximilian murmured, his golden eyes barely opening. "I... I can heal him."

"You human bastard!" Chitra shouted, immediately jumping at him. She grabbed him by the collar, her fingernails digging into his skin. "How dare you say our Clan Leader’s name with your filthy mouth? You are the reason he is in this state."

"A-and I can help him wake up as well," Maximilian declared, looking directly into Chitra’s eyes. "Are you that scared of a human at the verge of death that you would let your Clan Leader die?"

"I knew it," Chitra muttered, her nails pressing deeper into his chest and producing beads of blood. "It was a mistake to let a vile human like you live."

"Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement, Chitra," Gumiho said, tapping Chitra’s shoulder.

Her eyes shifted to Maximilian as she asked, "Lord Vyomendra was attacked by Soul Gnawing Gu, an insect of the upper realm. It has already grown significantly within his body. How can you, a human cultivator at the Early-Stage True Sage Realm, heal him?"

"In the cave where I found the Divine Artifact, I found a book that contained information about poisonous insects," Maximilian revealed in a weak tone, blood still leaking from the sword wound in his abdomen and his chest, where Chitra’s nails were still piercing his skin. "It contained a cure for Soul Gnawing Gu as well."

"We cannot trust a human—"

"Bring him to the Tiger Clan," Gumiho ordered before Chitra could finish her words.

Chitra was about to voice her protest when Gumiho continued, "He is the only chance we have to heal Lord Vyomendra. If he really has an ulterior motive, you may get rid of him right there. With his damaged cultivation base, he wouldn’t be able to pull any tricks in everyone’s presence."

Chitra still seemed reluctant to trust this human. Every last one of them she had met was manipulative and evil through and through. However, if he could really help Vyomendra, her prejudice might become the reason for their Clan Head’s death.

After a few seconds, she finally made her decision. Her nails withdrew from his skin, and she moved back from him.

She grabbed him by the hair on his head and muttered, "If you dare pull any tricks, I will make sure you die the most horrible death."

’Hold it in, Maximilian,’ he muttered inwardly, keeping his expression neutral. He had his pride as a dragon, after all. Being treated like trash was obviously infuriating him.

"I understand," he replied in a calm tone.

He swallowed the pill that Gumiho had placed in his mouth and spent a couple of hours channelling his Soulforce to digest the pill and activate its healing properties.

The wounds slowly vanished from his body, leaving behind only dried stains of blood.

He opened his eyes, turning his gaze to Gumiho.

"Thank you..."

"Call me Gumiho."

"Thank you, Gumiho."

He had only risen to his feet when suddenly a fist landed in his gut, bending him forward. The punch knocked the air out of his mouth, or at least he acted as though it did.

"It’s Lady Gumiho for you, human," Chitra muttered, retracting her hand from his abdomen.

She drew a silver-coloured rope from her storage pouch, clasped his hands together, and tied it around his wrists while holding the other end of the rope herself.

"Don’t even try to break it," Chitra warned him. "This is an elite-grade artifact. The moment it senses an attempt to break free, it will sever your arms."

Maximilian obediently nodded.

She drew a tiger-shaped chariot from her storage pouch. Gumiho entered first, followed by Chitra. As Maximilian followed, he immediately received a kick to the chest, throwing him onto his back on the ground.

"Who permitted you to enter when you destroyed my last chariot?" Chitra scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him.

’This rude cat,’ Maximilian muttered inwardly, barely holding back his urge to discipline her. ’Just you wait. I’m counting every humiliation you are making me suffer.’

"Chitra, you always call humans vile, yet you are currently behaving like one," Gumiho said in a serious tone as she sat inside the chariot. "The line between settling a grudge and becoming a monster is very thin. Don’t accidentally cross it."

"Lady Gumiho, the only reason I left him alive is because of you," Chitra muttered, clenching her fists at her sides. "I don’t believe in the slightest that he can cure the Clan Leader. Please don’t stop me from giving him what he deserves."

She tied the rope securely around the chariot’s door handle before climbing inside and slamming the door shut.

The chariot immediately surged into the air, dragging Maximilian along behind it.