Chapter 871 - Threatened with a Divine War
The next day, Han Wu suddenly received a call from Qin Shuang.
“Han Wu, something terrible happened! My family is in trouble!” she cried out.
Han Wu immediately grew alert. “What happened?”
“My whole family was doing business in another civilization when they ran into bandits. They kidnapped my family and sent back a letter demanding 5 million Divine Essence as ransom. They want me to deliver it to the Martial Arts Civilization in person! They also said I have to get there within seven days, or they’ll kill the hostages.”
Han Wu frowned when he heard that. The Martial Arts Civilization. What a familiar name. The True Martial God King just mentioned it yesterday.
This was obviously aimed at him. Qin Shuang’s family was simply bait to lure him in.
“Don’t panic. I’ll figure something out.” After calming her down, Han Wu reported the situation to Xu Hai.
The latter nearly exploded with rage. He was on the verge of launching a divine war on the spot. After all, it was absolutely outrageous that a God King had resorted to such despicable tactics just to get what he wanted.
“Han Wu, leave this to me for now. I’m going to find that True Martial bastard and get some answers. If it comes down to it, I’ll have the Will of the Divine Civilization to step in and investigate!”
Roughly three hours passed before Xu Hai returned with a grim expression.
“Sir, what happened?” Han Wu asked. One look at Xu Hai’s face told him that things hadn’t gone well.
Xu Hai’s expression darkened. “I confronted the True Martial God King and even brought in the Will of the Divine Civilization to judge the matter. According to the Will, the True Martial God King had no involvement in the kidnapping of Qin Shuang’s family.”
Han Wu slammed his fist on the table. “Impossible. How could there be such a convenient coincidence?”
Xu Hai understood his frustration. “I know you’re anxious, but calm down first. Think carefully. Besides True Martial, who else have you offended?”
Han Wu thought hard. The only other person he could think of was the War God King.
Xu Hai answered for him. “If I had to guess, Zhong Heng most likely arranged the kidnapping of Qin Shuang’s family.”
“Please, sir, seek justice on my behalf. Ask the Will of the Divine Civilization to investigate the War God King instead.”
Xu Hai forced a bitter smile. “It’s too late. Because my accusation against True Martial God King turned out to be unfounded, the Will suspended my reporting privileges for a month.”
“Then I’ll ask other God Kings,” Han Wu muttered.
He immediately sent call requests to Commerce, Death, and Darkness, all of whom he had some connection with. None of the three answered. Each returned the same notification: the recipient was outside their service area.
Han Wu also had the contacts for several minor God Kings within the Wealth Faction. He called them all, and only the Banquet God King was willing to help. Soon, he sent back a message. The Will of the Divine Civilization had determined that Zhong Heng was also uninvolved in the kidnapping.
That result nearly made Han Wu doubt himself. Could it be that he was overthinking things? Was this really just an accident? His instincts told him otherwise. This was definitely not an accident.
“Han Wu, if you need it, I can file a request to launch a divine war against the True Martial Faction!” Xu Hai said seriously.
Han Wu had been inseparable from the founding of the Wisdom Faction. Xu Hai was willing to gamble everything he had to help him.
“Sir, that won’t be necessary for now. Their goal is to lure me into the Martial Arts Civilization. If that’s what they want, then so be it. I’ll go.”
“There will almost certainly be traps waiting specifically for you!” Xu Hai warned.
“I have no other choice.”
After thinking it over, Xu Hai agreed that Han Wu’s personal involvement was the most reliable option. To ensure his safety, however, he summoned the two strongest people under his command: He Xu and Jia Gui. Both were World life forms. At the very least, they could watch each other’s backs.
Han Wu had worked with He Xu before and trusted him. As for Jia Gui, he regarded him as a shield that Xu Hai was sending along to absorb trouble.
Before setting out, Han Wu intended to squeeze every possible advantage from the situation. He called True Martial and stated he was willing to accept the mission to investigate the Martial Arts Civilization. He didn’t mention the kidnapping at all.
Naturally, True Martial knew exactly what was happening. He declared the plan canceled and refused to give him the Divine Jurisdiction he had promised the previous day. He believed he had Han Wu cornered.
Facing this, Han Wu simply smiled and issued a subtle threat. He said he had given the matter some thought and realized that Qin Shuang’s family wasn’t his family. Whether the hostages lived or died had nothing to do with him. He would go to Xu Hai right now and request a divine war against the True Martial Faction. They could see which happened first: the hostages being killed or the True Martial Faction being defeated.
True Martial assumed Han Wu was bluffing. He didn’t believe Han Wu could actually convince Xu Hai to launch a divine war on the spot.
The next moment, however, he received a private message from Xu Hai. The message stated that if Han Wu’s demands weren’t met, Xu Hai would submit the divine war request in three minutes sharp.
True Martial froze. Xu Hai was serious! He was genuinely willing to start a divine war for Han Wu’s sake!
True Martial had hoped to save himself a complete Divine Jurisdiction, but that was clearly no longer possible. Left with no alternative, he initiated a trade with Han Wu and handed over the promised Divine Jurisdiction.
As Han Wu had expected, it was a minor Divine Jurisdiction called Iron Fist. It could enhance the destructive power of punches. It was useless to him, but still a decent prize.
He turned to He Xu and Jia Gui. “The Martial Arts Civilization is dangerous and unpredictable. Since the two of you are willing to come with me, I can’t be stingy.”
Han Wu handed the Iron Fist Jurisdiction to He Xu. He then took out the Concealment Jurisdiction he had been saving and offered it to Jia Gui. “Please accept these.”
He Xu looked at Han Wu and had no intention of accepting. Firstly, as the senior, he couldn’t accept such a generous gift from his junior. Secondly, he was there under Xu Hai’s orders. It was his duty, which made accepting the gift even more inappropriate.
As He Xu was about to politely decline, Jia Gui snatched the Concealment Jurisdiction and hugged it tightly. “No need to say anything else. I understand completely! Refusing such a kind gesture would only be disrespectful.”
Jia Gui then turned to He Xu. “Brother He, Han Wu is a generous man. Returning a gift that’s already been offered would be rude. I’d advise you not to be ungrateful.”
With no real way out, He Xu reluctantly accepted Han Wu’s gift.
Once both of them had taken their gifts, Han Wu felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders.
“Let’s go. Time to move out!” he said.
