"Use every means possible to find out where the marine species troops have gone and what their condition is."

"Hurry, hurry. Find out the state of those damned marine species troops."

​​

"Get in contact with China. They have the closest relationship with the Tiger King. They'll definitely be the first to know the marine species troops' condition."

…

Every alliance's senior officials gave out similar orders at nearly the same time.

It was evident that the marine species troops had become a cause of worry for the alliances.

They were the first enemy who the alliances truly found hard to deal with, even with nuclear weapons.

They were even harder to deal with than the Deep Abyss invaders from back then and directly posed a threat to the whole of Earth.

They were extremely formidable.

To be honest, they wanted to go straight to the Tiger King and ask about the matter. However, he had only just gone through a huge battle and was currently on the way home.

No matter how anxious they were, they would never be so foolish as to call and ask about it at this time.

This included Dong Pingtao and the others, too. In fact, they were even less likely to do so than the others.

While the various alliances around the world were giving out orders, the mass of dark clouds and lightning flashes at Ji's borders had stopped expanding a long time ago during the battle. It was currently quickly dispersing even.

The seawater that had flooded large expanses of Ji also started to swiftly recede.

These could be said to be the best forms of evidence that allowed the alliances to determine the victor and the loser.

Had they not already determined that the Tiger King had emerged victorious, their concern definitely wouldn't be how many casualties the marine species troops had suffered. Rather, they would be immediately discussing how they should deal with the troops.

While a huge buzz was going through the alliances' senior managements, all of Ji's senior officials and even the citizens were still caught up in their excitement from their narrow escape from death.

After some discussion, Lee Bokbyul, Park Gookchang, and the others immediately stepped up their promotional efforts. They wanted the Ji citizens to accept as soon as possible the fact that the Tiger King had become the person to whom they should pledge allegiance.

Wang Hu wasn't concerned about the turmoil in the outside world at the moment.

He didn't fly back to the Tiger King's Cave in a hurry by himself. Instead, he brought Hei Fan and the others with him and used Spirit Stones to recover some divine power while they traveled.

At the same time, he was also trying to think of a countermeasure.

This matter was far from over.

Upon returning to the Tiger King's Cave, Wang Hu let Hei Fan and most of the forces return to Lichi. Then, he entered the room and saw Silly Girl who had fully calmed down by now.

A smile formed on his stern and aloof countenance. As he walked over briskly, he said, "I'm back."

Then, he went over to the bed and put his arms around his wife's tender shoulders.

A relaxed and comfortable feeling welled up in him.

Having a wife waiting for him at home after a big battle and being able to hug his wife after returning home simply felt wonderful.

Di Baijun, who was pretending to be calm and serene, glanced at the rascal up and down. When she saw that he wasn't injured, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, as though she wasn't particularly concerned, she casually asked, "Did you suffer any injuries?"

"No. Those little worms certainly have a few tricks up their sleeves, so I wasn't able to smack them dead. However, they are still far from being able to injure your husband here." Wang Hu raised an eyebrow and replied with a smile.

Di Baijun glared at him a little and scoffed fairly disdainfully. "Continue bragging, why don't you?"

"I'm not." Wang Hu gave his wife a big kiss on her tender cheek before gently blowing on her with a confident look on his face.

Then, he added, "If it wasn't because I didn't want to come back to you injured, every one of those little worms can forget about escaping."

Di Baijun curled her lip and rolled her eyes as she struggled even more disdainfully. However, her actions weren't even as forceful as Big Treasure and Little Treasure when they struggled, so she naturally didn't manage to break free of his hold, of course.

"I'm not going to talk any more nonsense with you. Remember this: in the future, don't fight anyone to the death so rashly if there isn't any need for you to do so. Do you understand me?"

As Di Baijun spoke, her expression turned sober, and she glared at Wang Hu very seriously.

Wang Hu nearly burst into laughter. As he took in Silly Girl's serious expression with a rather odd look in his eyes, he couldn't help but smile and ask, "Are you talking about me? Or are you talking about yourself? Have you forgotten who insisted on fighting to the death with me back then?"

Di Baijun's stunning visage turned crimson right away.

Wang Hu admired the sight with great interest. Because he felt more courageous by a great deal after the battle, he added with a smile, "But it's also all thanks to that that I gained such a wonderful wife and such adorable children."

"Ahhh! Go to hell, you jerk!" An embarrassed and annoyed Di Baijun yelled as she pushed Wang Hu away with both hands and kicked him on the chest.

Boom!

An explosion rang out in the entire cave.

Cough, cough.

Wang Hu regained clarity of mind—he had gotten carried away.

He hastily pretended to cough a couple of times. Divine power surged out of him, and he pushed the rocks and stones that had fallen in back where they originally were.

Then, with a sincere look that spelled 'I was wrong' on his face, he walked back to the bed.

"I was wrong, Baijun."

He placed his hands on Silly Girl's shoulders. She had an icy-cold expression on her face and gave off obvious 'I am angry' vibes.

"Hmph."

Di Baijun snorted coldly and turned away from him a little.

With a doting smile, Wang Hu hugged Silly Girl from the back and said gently, "Alright, don't be mad anymore. I really was wrong. I was too impulsive. In the future, I definitely won't fight to the death with powerful enemies unless absolutely necessary."

"How dare you bring it up again." Di Baijun turned toward him and glared fiercely at him.

"Alright, alright. I won't bring it up anymore. I won't bring it up anymore," Wang Hu sobered up and replied with great sincerity.

Then, he coughed lightly again and went back to business. "This matter isn't over yet, Baijun."

The moment Di Baijun heard what he said, the embarrassment and annoyance in her eyes faded significantly. She grew serious and gazed at the rascal in front of her with her bright eyes, indicating for him to continue speaking.

Wang Hu, who understood her silent prompt, went on. He said, "Those worms had indeed exceeded my expectations during the battle. The Overturn Oceans Formation is pretty powerful.

"While I didn't lose, I didn't win either. One can only say that I was in a more advantageous position than them. However, I couldn't do anything about them either.

"The same also goes for them. That's why they retreated.

"They likely went back so that they can look for ways to deal with me. It's possible that they'll come and attack me again after this. However, it's also possible that they'll stop invading from Ji but choose to invade from other places instead."

Di Baijun frowned slightly and mused over his words. Then, she said firmly, "If they come here again, I'll go with you."

As she looked at Wang Hu, she said even more resolutely, "Big Treasure and Little Treasure can go into hiding first. It's not a big deal."

Wang Hu was rather moved as he gazed at Silly Girl's demeanor that brooked no dispute. He knew that she was worried about his safety.

He smiled and embraced her as he said gently, "Don't worry. I'll be fine no matter what happens, I promise. You don't have to worry."

Rather embarrassed by his response, Di Baijun said obstinately, "I just don't like how arrogantly those worms are behaving."

Wang Hu merely smiled without saying much. It would be stranger if Silly Girl stopped being obstinate one day.

At the sight of Wang Hu's silence, Di Baijun couldn't stand it anymore. She reached out, pinched away his straying hands, and said stubbornly, "Did you hear what I said? I'm going."

An unhurried Wang Hu replied, "Actually, I already have a countermeasure."

"What kind of countermeasure is it?" asked a doubtful Di Baijun.

"The answer depends on you instead." Wang Hu looked at the puzzled Silly Girl and asked seriously, "Do you still remember the Life-Giving Pearl? Does it still have any effect on me? If so, how effective is it?"

Di Baijun understood right away. She thought for a moment and answered, "It's definitely still effective on you, but I'm not sure to what extent it will be. Its effectiveness can only be determined after usage. Are you thinking of using it to become stronger?"

"Yes." Wang Hu nodded and said confidently, "The best countermeasure is to become stronger. As long as my level of combat power increases to a certain extent, those worms' schemes will be useless, no matter what they are.

"I was only a step away from breaking the Overturn Oceans Formation. I'm confident that I can smack them all dead if I use the Life-Giving Pearl to become stronger."

Di Baijun was rather doubtful of the rascal's claims. It was very possible that he was deliberately saying this so that he could stop her from going with him.

"Don't worry. Why would I lie to you?" said Wang Hu as though everything was right and justified while tightening his embrace around Silly Girl.

After a momentary pause, he added fairly sternly, "I can't talk to you for any much longer. Those worms may come anytime. I have to go into seclusion right away and use the Life-Giving Pearl."

Di Baijun wanted to get up the moment she heard what he said, but Wang Hu held her down again and said gently, "Don't be so anxious. This bit of time won't make a difference. Let me hug you for a while more."

Di Baijun's somewhat bashful gaze flickered a little, though she didn't move again.

After hugging her for a whole ten minutes and more, Wang Hu finally let go when Di Baijun urged him for the fifth time.

Di Baijun glared at him disdainfully because of this. It was just that those upturned lip corners of hers that appeared the moment she turned away seemed to be illustrating something.

Wang Hu didn't see it, however. He took out his cell phone and called Li Aimin.

"Are you alright, Your Excellency?" Li Aimin immediately asked the moment he picked up.

"I'm fine."

Wang Hu's gentle, doting expression changed to an aloof and indifferent one right away.

"I'm glad you're alright," Li Aimin said sincerely. That was indeed how he felt.

Indifferent, Wang Hu went on and said, "I was only in a more advantageous position than them in the battle just now. We couldn't do anything about each other. That's why they retreated.

"They didn't suffer great losses, so be mindful of the situation yourselves."

He hung up right away after he finished.

Li Aimin inhaled lightly with a grave look all over his countenance.

Was even the Tiger King unable to do anything about them?!

On top of that, they hadn't suffered great losses…

With a huge frown, he informed Dong Pingtao of the updates right away.

A few minutes later, Dong Pingtao held a meeting among the eleven alliances and related Wang Hu's words truthfully.

At once, all the world leaders, who had already ascertained much of the situation through their own means, felt an even heavier weight on their hearts than before.

"What should we do now? Even the Tiger King can't do anything about them. Neither can we easily use nuclear weapons. How should we deal with them when they invade again?" Japan's leader, the first to break the silence, couldn't help but speak seriously.

Everyone stayed silent for a while. Bay glanced at everyone and suggested solemnly, "Perhaps we can lure them to waters that are further out and use the nuclear weapons there."

"Can nuclear weapons really kill those Third Realm beings hidden in the sea?" asked Iran's leader grimly.

Everyone fell silent once more. All of them knew that only the high heat generated in the center at the point of explosion was capable of killing Third Realm beings.

To a Third Realm being, however, the range that the center of an explosion covered was too small.

Once they realized the situation in advance, they would be able to evade the attack.

Therefore, they could only use large-scale, wide-reaching bombardment of nuclear weapons against them.

However, their opponents this time were dragons who were skilled at using water.

Not only were they hidden in the ocean, but they had also concealed themselves. Nuclear weapons might not necessarily be able to lock on to them. Could the nuclear weapons' explosions underwater really kill them?

All the world leaders knew what the answer probably was, even if they weren't cultivation experts.

There was only one way of killing them, and that was by using enough nuclear weapons.

Yet, with that, the problem went back to square one—too many nuclear weapons exploding simultaneously brought too great an impact.

It was a vicious cycle. Moreover, to be honest, they knew that they might not really be able to kill those Divine Body Realm beings even if they were to disregard the impact.

However, they could only give the solution a try.

"We must reach an agreement with the Tiger King in advance and request for him to be ready to attack anytime." Japan's leader broke the silence. He exhibited to the fullest the heavy pressure that the world leaders were under.

As he spoke, he also looked at Dong Pingtao.

The others followed suit and looked over as well.

Dong Pingtao said steadily, "We should indeed seek the Tiger King's help. Let's discuss how much 'sincerity' we should offer later.

"The dragons' troops are very strong. I'm sure everyone has already seen that.

"Should their target the next time be outside the Tiger King's territory instead… I believe everyone should know how much 'sincerity' we should show."

Everyone nodded. Should the dragons' target not be the Tiger King's territory the next time, then they would naturally have to show enough 'sincerity' to the Tiger King.

"In my opinion, if the dragons target someone else—instead of the Tiger King—the next time, that targeted person shall bear half of the 'sincerity' to be offered, with the remainder split equally among the various alliances. How does that sound?"

Te Bajing suggested at this point.

Dong Pingtao, Bay, and Japan's leader frowned.

However, the other leaders immediately nodded in agreement.

As a result, Dong Pingtao and the other two couldn't say much else anymore. One could say that this was a tacit agreement, too.

There was no way around it. It solely depended on who the unluckiest one among them was.

At the sight, Te Bajing went on and said, "If the dragons' target is the Tiger King, then we'll try our best to cooperate with him and exterminate them."

Everyone expressed unequivocal agreement again.

After some more discussion, they settled on the total amount of 'sincerity' to offer and ended the meeting.

All the world leaders were very busy at the moment. The dragons weren't the only ones trying to invade Earth. Far from it, in fact.

Some alternate worlds had been continuously trying to invade Earth during all this time.

To strive for more time to develop and reorganize the newly-joined citizens and countries, the various alliances could only try their best to delay the invaders' progress.

As a result, they had been firing nuclear weapons every day without fail.

It was just that relative to everyone else, the dragons were the strongest, the fuss that they caused was the biggest, and the potential risk they posed was the greatest. That was why the world leaders had held meeting after meeting.

After the meeting, Dong Pingtao called Wang Hu to discuss the matter of requesting his assistance once again.

The call connected.

"What is it?"

A cold, haughty, and domineering voice that was as though the bright moon high up and above rang out.

Dong Pingtao was taken aback for a moment. Then, he immediately realized what was going on, and he asked, "Is this the Tiger Queen? I am Dong Pingtao."

"Get straight to the point," said Di Baijun aloofly in the Tiger King's Cave.

She was usually disinclined to pay any attention to anyone other than Wang Hu, Big Treasure, and Little Treasure; this applied especially so to those of other species.

Additionally, her haughtiness and cool personality were as though innate in her soul.

It wasn't deliberate. Rather, it was her true personality.

She merely made an exception for a certain rascal that frequently infuriated her, that was all.

Dong Pingtao was taken aback again. He felt like the Tiger Queen was much colder and haughtier than even the Tiger King.

Nevertheless, Dong Pingtao—who was highly adaptable to any situation—didn't mind at all. As though nothing was out of the ordinary, he went straight to business.