Chapter 1697: Plot
Since the Four Villains and Five Evils were gone, it meant that most of the dangers plaguing the Golden Road were gone as well.
The Four Villains and Five Evils were far, far more dangerous than the Three Anomalies because the Three Anomalies were ultimately just places. If you grasped their rules, then you could overcome them safely every time.
The Four Villains and Five Evils were different though. They were sentient beings that could not be circumvented by following some rules or defeated because they were so powerful. On top of that, they were vicious, cruel, and bloodthirsty. Encountering them usually meant an inescapable death.
That was why the merchants who relied on the Golden Road to make a living were overjoyed to hear that the Four Villains and Five Evils were dead. Those who had lost families and loved ones to them especially were in tears. Happy tears, of course.
Not everyone was happy by their deaths though. Some people were very sad and worried.
These people were the ones backing the Five Evils, of course.
The reason the Five Evils were able to run rampant at the Golden Road and survive numerous attempts to eradicate them wasn’t just because they were powerful. It was also because they had powerful backers that secretly shielded them from most harm.
These people hailed from Wei or the Western Regions. Some were powerful and influential kings who ruled over an entire region like Wei Nandou. Some were the lords or kings of Zheyan, Shule, Shache, Wusun, and other western nations.
After all, the Golden Road was basically a chunk of meat so fat you could see the sheen all the way from either side of the road. Anyone who occupied it was guaranteed to eat themselves into pigs.
That was why Wei and many nations of the Western Regions invested many years into it. Some were ultimately able to carve out a foothold on the Golden Road.
Now, it was all gone.
It wasn’t just gone. Their ill-gotten wealth was gone as well.