Chapter 53: The Ba-Serpent Awakens!
“Our sacred artifact is already hungry and can’t wait any longer. Three days. I’ll give you three days. You must deliver the food of the sacred artifact within three days. Otherwise, the entire Northern Kingdom will become a living h.e.l.l…”
As the envoy spoke, he grabbed an official from the Northern Kingdom beside him. He was even more unrestrained in front of Princess Zhaoyang. Because he knew in his heart that the Northern Kingdom definitely could not deal with the Ba Serpent, the sacred artifact they worshiped.
It was just that there were some special reasons. In addition, he had heard that the Northern Kingdom also had a very powerful guardian. That was why he wanted the Northern Kingdom to obediently become a va.s.sal.
If it weren’t for these considerations, the Ba-Serpent Clan would have directly taken out the sacred artifact and started a ma.s.sacre.
“Alright, three days it is. After three days, I will settle everything, including the food which is the millions of citizens, of your sacred artifact!”
Zhaoyang suppressed the hatred in her heart and gestured for the people following her to quickly save the heavily injured officials. She could not let down those who were loyal to her. She had to save their lives even if they were injured.
After Zhaoyang left, the Ba-Serpent Clan’s envoy summoned his trusted aide.
They whispered together.
“Looking at the time, the sacred artifact should be waking up in the next two days. After it wakes up, it will eat a lot. I heard that there are many treasures in the royal family of the Northern Kingdom. We have to keep an eye on them and not let them take them away…”
The Ba Serpent Clan had taken a fancy to the Imperial City of the Northern Kingdom and the wealth of the royal family. Their sacred artifact did not like the treasures of the royal family, but they liked them, so they could not let these people take them away.
When the sacred artifact woke up, it would be time for the Ba-Serpent clan to expand. Every time the Ba-Serpent woke up and needed to eat, the Ba-Serpent clan would devour a small country. No one could resist the sacred artifact that they had worshiped for a thousand years.
The Northern Kingdom could not do it this time either.
Li Yuanqing became very busy. The Imperial City was too big. He needed to spread the Great Heavenly Cycle Demon Extinguishing Array all over the city walls and the sky. This project was very big.
Hu Jiujiu came at the right time. He pulled her along and used her to transport the materials. Hu Jiujiu also brought a note to Li Yuanqing.
“The Ba Serpent will wake up within these two days. Zhaoyang might not be able to last until the third day!”
Hu Jiujiu’s cultivation level was higher than Zhaoyang’s. The Ba Serpent Clan did not expect Hu Jiujiu to follow Princess Zhaoyang.
“Yes, I got it. Well done!” Li Yuanqing nodded as he looked at Hu Jiujiu, whose appearance had not changed much. Instead, she was becoming younger and more charming.
His inner demon seed had controlled Hu Jiujiu back then. Later on, when he was cultivating in the Wilderness, he had asked Hu Jiujiu to follow Zhaoyang and protect her.
Hu Jiujiu did not make any major mistakes, and Li Yuanqing was quite satisfied.
However, in the past five years, Hu Jiujiu’s injuries seemed to have healed a bit. Furthermore, it had vaguely tried to break through to the Manipulation Art a few times. It seemed like it was ambitious and always wanted to escape his control.
Li Yuanqing knew what Hu Jiujiu was thinking, but he did not expose her. Even if it was a puppet controlled by him, as the Nine-Tailed Fox, Hu Jiujiu had to have her own thoughts.
It all depended on whether she had the ability.
The palace maids and eunuchs were in a mess. Under the orders of their master, they began to pack some precious treasures and began to organize some things that needed to be taken away.
Their belongings had to be dealt with immediately because His Majesty had ordered them to move the palace within three days.
The Northern Kingdom had been established for a hundred years. Although its foundation was insufficient, it still took a long time to pack the things in the palace.
Therefore, the entire palace was in a state of chaos. Everyone was busy. The officials were busy sorting out some precious books, and the eunuchs and palace maids were busy packing up the treasures and the private treasuries of the imperial concubines.
Everyone in the palace thought that they would be leaving the Imperial City in three days. Only His Majesty Li Huanjun and Princess Zhaoyang knew that they still had one last chance.
It was the array that Li Huanjun had mentioned. He would use the array to protect everyone and prevent the Ba Serpent from entering the Imperial City.
However, Li Huanjun had also prepared for the worst.
“If the array is useless, I’ll stay behind. You can go to the Wilderness. I’m already an incompetent father. My body won’t last long. For the sake of the empire, I’ll stay in the Imperial City and let the commoners see that the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom didn’t abandon them…”
Li Huanjun lived for the sake of the Northern Kingdom. Therefore, if the Imperial City became the place where the Ba-Serpent Clan provided for the Ba-Serpent, it means that the empire was no longer around. Without his faith, living was worse than dying. Therefore, he would die.
“Father, I believe in Big Brother. The Ba-Serpent disaster would be resolved! If it really can’t be resolved, then the country will be destroyed. I won’t live on either!”
Although Zhaoyang sometimes hated her father for being heartless and would sacrifice anyone for the sake of the country, it was a rare consolation for him when she heard that he was going to die.
Because only she believed that her brother would definitely have a way to resolve this crisis.
Although the news of the palace packing up and leaving the city within three days could be hidden from the ordinary citizens, some meritorious officials understood the current situation.
Someone also knew that His Majesty wanted to die for the country. A wave of despair filled the hearts of all the officials.
Some people had also made up their minds. When the Ba-Serpent entered the Imperial City, even if they knew that they could not win, they would still give it a try. As long as one was alive, they would not retreat even if they risked their lives!
This atmosphere of despair began to spread. From the royal family to the officials of the Imperial Court to the commoners, everyone’s hearts were filled with despair.
Some planned to wait for death, some planned to fight even if they knew that they would fail, and some thought about whether they could survive for their wives and children.
A day later, the Ba-Serpent clan was filled with cheers. Because their hope, the thousand-year-old sacred artifact that they worshiped, had awakened today!
The originally clear sky quickly turned dark. Dark clouds rolled in the sky, and a huge and unbelievable Ba-Serpent appeared in midair.
Its huge head was even larger than a mountain. Its black body darkened the entire sky because it was swimming in midair.
The patriarch of the Ba-Serpent clan, who was standing at the highest point of the mountain, was chanting to communicate with the Ba-Serpent. “Welcome, Great Lord. Your most loyal servant has already prepared the most delicious food for you. Please follow me to enjoy it…”
The patriarch of the Ba-Serpent Clan pointed in a direction, which was the Imperial City of the Northern Kingdom.
There was a large amount of food that they had prepared for the awakening of the sacred artifact. Fifty million citizens was enough for the Ba-Serpent to increase its strength and live longer!
As long as this Ba-Serpent was around, the Ba-Serpent clan would prosper forever!