Chapter 1505: Match Made in Heaven
The Second Prince’s face twitched. This Duantian Chou was really a freak through and through. Not even he could take it. Still, he had to admit that the Dark Elf was an incredibly sharp blade. As long as he used that blade well, he would become the nightmare of any enemy.
Heichi Fei’s soldiers finally realized what had happened, and a huge uproar broke out. They ran in all directions to escape. Even though the Heichi Clan’s trusted generals tried to stop them, it was of no use. In the end, they all simply fled for their lives together.
Unfortunately, how could the Second Prince let them run? His subordinates quickly drew crossbows, shooting them down one by one. As the ones who were running at the very forefront were shot down, people began to surrender one after another, and others also lowered their weapons.
Once the leaders of the Crown Prince’s forces were killed, taking in the rest of their army was easy. As for how they could discern if the new troops were still loyal to the Crown Prince, there was actually a very easy solution. They would just force the new additions to report on each other. That way, they would be forced to remain united; the ones who did make a report would incur grudges, and thus have no way of turning back. That was just how human nature worked.
The group continued in the Imperial Palace’s direction. As they got closer, they encountered another troop that was heading there. The Second Prince recognized the ident.i.ty of the leaders. They were Chief Attendant Wu Fa and Composed King Wu Pei.
Wu Fa and Wu Pei also saw the Second Prince. Both of them were surprised and said something similar to what Heichi Fei had said not too long ago. “Why is it you?”
After dealing with the Fourth Prince, they had suddenly noticed that something strange was happening at the Imperial Palace. After considering things a bit, they decided to head to the Imperial Palace first.
They figured that the Crown Prince had more than enough power to deal with the Second Prince, but the Imperial Palace’s defenses had been left a bit neglected. If the Second Prince or some other individual with wild ambitions launched a surprise attack and took hold of the Crown Prince’s main base, things would be troublesome. As such, they had decided to provide reinforcements first. How could they have known that they would encounter the Second Prince’s main army here?
“Why can it not be me?” the Second Prince said once again; however, he didn’t seem annoyed at all. Rather, he seemed to be enjoying it a lot.
He had never gotten along with Wu Fa. In his earlier years, at the morning court sessions, the other person had always gotten in his way. As a result, on several occasions, he had even received punishment from his father. Now, he had such a good opportunity, so he naturally had to properly enjoy Wu Fa’s shameful display of terrified pleas.
“Were you waiting for them?” the Second Prince asked, having his subordinates bring out the Crown Prince and the others’ corpses again.
Sure enough, an uproar broke out in the other camp. Many of them turned pale with fright.
Wu Fa and Wu Pei’s faces were ashen. Wu Pei’s knees buckled, although Wu Fa remained a bit calmer. He didn’t run like Heichi Fei, but rather remained in place. He glanced at the Second Prince’s group, then shifted his gaze to the two people at the prince’s side. He said resentfully, “Lou Chen, Xue Han? So it was you who leaked information. No wonder the Crown Prince lost.”
Lou Chen and Xue Han were both palace eunuchs with the rank of Regular Attendant. They were the greatest secretaries of the Fiend Emperor. Wu Fa was actually the two’s immediate superior, but he was an outer minister, while they were internal servants of the Imperial Palace. As such, he didn’t actually have that much control over them.
Xue Han’s expression became extremely unnatural, while Lou Chen just sneered, “A talented person chooses a patron of integrity. You treated us like dogs, so of course we would report to them. The Second Prince treats us like knights of the state, so we naturally treat him with respect too. This is something right and proper.”
Wu Fa roared with laughter, replying, “You two castrates even want to become state knights? How absurd!”
Lou Chen and Xue Han’s faces quickly turned entirely red. They cursed with shrill voices, “You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you won’t meet a good end!”
Wu Fa glowered. He coldly said, “What is the use of mere words? How about we go for a round?”
“You’re already cornered, and yet you still want to fight with us? Do you even have the right?” the two Regular Attendants cursed.
“You’re courting death!” Wu Fa exclaimed furiously. He rushed straight at the two of them.
The eunuchs’ expressions changed and they retreated. Even though their cultivation was weaker than Wu Fa’s, they still had a chance if they worked together. However, the situation was completely in their favor right now. Why did they have to take the risk of fighting him? Both wanted to enjoy lives of glory and wealth in the future. Their lives were precious; how could they risk it all here?
As the two of them withdrew, the Second Prince’s men were left feeling a bit alarmed. After all, Wu Fa was after the two eunuchs. No one else wanted to stand in his way.
Suddenly, Wu Fa’s body bent at a ninety degree angle, and he moved directly toward the Second Prince. He knew that with their old grudge, the Second Prince definitely wouldn’t let him go. As such, he gave up on running or begging and instead decided to go directly for the leader. That way, he could have a chance at survival.
However, there wasn’t the slightest look of alarm on the Second Prince’s face. Instead, there was a mocking smile on the corners of his lips.
Wu Fa immediately panicked. Don’t tell me he already knew about my plans the entire time?
But an arrow on a bowstring has to be fired!
Suddenly, he saw a thin black sword. After that, he saw his own back.
My back?
A burst of red blood appeared before his eyes, and his life ended.
When he saw Duantian Chou lick the blood off his sword with a look of excitement, the Second Prince frowned. This guy was clearly using a thin sword, and yet it felt as if he were wielding a machete. He always beheaded his opponent, and never left them alive.
He had still wanted to slowly torment Wu Fa, in order to watch his old enemy wail in pain at his feet. That was something that would have brought him tremendous satisfaction. Instead, it was Duantian Chou who had gotten all excited, but he wasn’t able to.
When he saw Wu Fa die like that, Wu Pei’s legs grew weak. He quickly kneeled on the ground and pleaded, “I was coerced by the Crown Prince before. I am willing to serve the Second Prince!”
The Second Prince nodded in satisfaction. He needed useful people right now, so the more people sided with him, the better. Later on, once he had proper control over the Fiend King Court, he would slowly clean it up.
Following Wu Pei’s surrender, the other Golden Crow Guards began to surrender too. The Second Prince was able to incorporate them into his troops easily. When he saw his increasingly powerful army, he felt incredible. His losses when facing the Crown Prince had been quite severe, but now that he had taken in so many surrendered troops, his forces had actually increased in strength.
It seems I’m blessed by the heavens.
They quickly arrived at the Imperial Palace gates. However, the chaotic situation they had expected didn’t materialize. On the contrary, the palace gates were tightly shut, and it was heavily guarded. There weren’t any openings in the defense.
The Second Prince frowned when he saw that. He had a bad feeling.
Wu Pei had just surrendered and wanted to show himself off a bit in front of his new master, so he walked up and boldly said, “Many of these palace gate guards are my subordinates or my old friends. I’ll head over and have them open up the gate.” He was one of the Golden Crow Guards’ five great commanders, so he did have the right to say such a thing.
The Second Prince nodded slightly. A peaceful resolution would be best; otherwise, a fight in the Imperial Palace would sound bad if news of it got out.
But who would have thought that after Wu Pei spoke just a few sentences, he would come running back with arrows on his tail? If he hadn’t fled quickly, he would have been instantly turned into a porcupine. He pulled out an arrow from his bottom while explaining to the Second Prince with an ashen expression, “Something is wrong with them! They’re normally really obedient to me. Should I go and try again?”
The Second Prince pushed him away. He gestured for his subordinates to bring out the Crown Prince and the others’ corpses. His subordinate hollered, “The Crown Prince has already been executed. Do not put up senseless resistance. Our Second Prince is generous and kind; he will let bygones be bygones. Once he rises to the throne, he will reward everyone.”
Just then, a cold voice replied from the palace gates, “The late Fiend Emperor pa.s.sed on the throne to the youngest prince in his later years. Is the Second Prince trying to start a rebellion?”
“Pa.s.sed on the throne to the youngest prince?” the Second Prince repeated, briefly stunned. Then, he roared with laughter and exclaimed, “Who is the one telling jokes at this hour?”
The others under him also roared with laughter. The youngest prince was still so young; it hadn’t even been too long since he was weaned. How could he possibly be the Fiend Emperor?
“How brazen!” came a furious roar, accompanied by tremendous power. The laughter of the army was immediately suppressed. Many people even felt their heart rates quicken. They didn’t dare to mess around again.
The Second Prince’s expression changed. Then, he stared at the figure at the palace gate. The strong cultivators under him also stared in that direction with grave expressions. Anyone with that level of skill was definitely not to be trifled with.
“Hm? Aren’t you that… Zu An?” the Second Prince called out in surprise. The other person shared a grudge against the Crown Prince, and because of his relationship with the Medusa Queen, he was well-known in the Fiend King Court. Even though he had changed his name, how could someone like that escape the intelligence network of such influential individuals?
“The Second Empress is there as well!” several people exclaimed, getting on their tiptoes. They saw the Second Empress dressed in phoenix robes, looking n.o.ble and glamorous. She looked mysteriously alluring against the backdrop of the Imperial Palace and several fiery lights.
The Second Prince frowned. This young and beautiful stepmother had always held a kind of forbidden allure for him. But she was his father’s woman, so he could only dare to fantasize about her occasionally.
And yet, right now, she stood by Zu An’s side, cute and helpless-looking, as if they were a match made in heaven. He felt a wave of anger surge within him.
You have successfully trolled the Second Prince for +288 +288 +288…