262

Chapter 262: Untitled

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

It was an intentional move for the Regent King’s daughter to meet him. At the same moment that Xuanyuan Cheng abducted “Zong Yue,” the final plan was immediately activated.

The first and most important target was the Holy Palace.

While Meng Fuyao used all her might to trigger the fight between the Xuanyuan officials through manipulation in the harem, Zong Yue’s aim had already been pointed to another direction. The first thing he did was to remove the sharpest claws and sturdiest wings of Xuanyuan Cheng – the hidden organizations that especially helped Xuanyuan Cheng to monitor the court officials, investigate and arrest enemies, and secretly threaten the officials who did not listen to him.

Before that, when Meng Fuyao dashed to Kunjing, performed on the streets and searched for him for more than half a month in the Regent King’s residence, Zong Yue was already using the fake skin of the Holy Palace Messenger to infiltrate into the Holy Palace headquarters in the southern outskirts of Kunjing. After that, it was merely a cycle of deploying assassins and using cunning methods.

Only after the Holy Palace was destroyed, such that the pressurizing threat towards court officials were removed, could he safely link up with the officials who were still emotionally attached to their former master.

When problems arose within the Holy Palace, Xuanyuan Cheng’s instinctive reaction was to doubt Xuanyuan Min. Hence, it resulted in the hurried process of selecting the Empress. Unfortunately, he was not very lucky as he met the professional throne-snatcher, Meng Fuyao.

Meng Fuyao was not part of Zong Yue’s plan. Zong Yue actually intended to rally 100 court officials to speak up against the Regent King and his closest aides, using the reason that Prince Wen You’s case still had many points of contention. According to Xuanyuan customs, those who were accused of betrayal towards the nation by six officials of at least the third rank would have to be temporarily suspended from duties even if they were not convicted, and await investigations from the security bureaus. Of course, Zong Yue was not expecting Xuanyuan Cheng to obediently give up his power. But as long as he took a step back amongst the strong waves of opposition, and stay at home to wait for the chaos to die down, Zong Yue would be able to immediately cut off the ties with his confidantes and kill them. Even if Xuanyuan Cheng chose to change the laws and not stay away at home, his close subordinates would still have to retreat from court to avoid overwhelming opposition. By that time, their fate would be up to Zong Yue. The Regent King’s residence may be heavily guarded, but the Grand Scholar’s residence definitely was not.

A few days later, the Regent King gave a hurried order to deploy the troops from the Capital Defence and battle against Consort Xian’s father. He also arranged for some of his guards in the Capital to wipe out the opposition camp.

He was also an amazing politician of his generation. When he realized that the enemies were lurking in the dark, and retreating would only pronounce a dead corner, he resolutely chose to place all his bets on one final hitch.

Whenever diplomacy was useless in politics, being tougher than the rest was the only way out.

The brave guards of the Capital rode speedily, and bellows of dust appeared as the horses galloped by. In a reckless and high-profile fashion, the horses dashed towards the Capital with a murderous aura. Families shut their doors, and businessmen closed their shops. Through the cracks in their doors, they could see the armored soldiers holding their knives and charging into the residences of court officials.

However, just as the soldiers stepped past the door, there was an immediate tremor. Then, blood splattered out from the soldiers who flew out of the door.

There seemed to be a very strong force that hit the soldier in the chest, and he flew away faster than when he dashed in. While he hit his mates standing at the back of the line, blood spluttered crazily, and black and small flying arrows appeared simultaneously in front of him. Every arrow was at an unimaginable speed and force, and each one of them was able to successively strike three people.

The fastest to dash in was the fastest to die as well. In an instant, there were already about a dozen corpses lying in front of the residence.

Then, while the other soldiers froze in their tracks, the huge door opened, and a black-clothed and toned man walked out. His appearance was average, but he had a murderous aura. In his hand, he held a strange item that looked like a bow and arrow, and it gave a chilly shine under the reflection of the winter sunlight.

The knowledgeable ones probably would have cried out in shock by then. Thus, was the ‘Pearl-Falling Bow’ which could shoot out 18 arrows successively. Invented by the most famous crafter of weaponry in Xuanji, this arrow could kill people as fast as pearls falling from a broken string, and nothing could stop its way in a short amount of time.

This arrow was extremely expensive, to the point that even a thousand taels of gold would not be able to buy one. Even in Xuanji, where the invention originated from, they were unable to produce it in large stocks.

Yet these people had one of each in their hands. A simple press on their finger and lives would fall as easily as how patches of maize were cut off.

It was a powerful arrow used specially to cause long-distance damage. To use it in a simple fight in the alley was such a weird move.

The guards of the Capital ended up exploding like mountains of ants.

No one was willing to use their flesh to fend against such a monstrous weapon. While the guards shouted to retreat after hundreds of their companions were killed, screams sounded in other places. Guards dashed out of the residences of high-ranking officials towards all directions, and even the commands of their superiors could not stop the chaos. While they escaped miserably, elderly officials rushed out and used their walking sticks to poke the guards’ butts. “Shame on you! Tsk!”

Thy sky was stained with blood, and people thronged the streets like floodwater. Regardless, the black-clothed men held on to their arrows and watched on coldly. Suddenly, all of them looked up as a whistle sounded from above them.

At the cue of the whistle, these men uniformly flipped over the walls of the various residences and dashed to the Regent King’s home!

The residence was still as strictly guarded as before, but there were patches of bloodstains, piles of disintegrated flesh and traces of gunpowder in front of the door. There were even some corpses lying around as they were not cleared in time. Just a few moments ago, Consort Xian’s father had led his army to charge past layers of obstacles to reach a distance of three yards away from the Regent King’s residence. That was also the closest distance he had ever achieved in killing the Regent King.

Three yards away from the residence, while Consort Xian’s father happily instructed his subordinates to carry out the “final attack,” the black steel walls of the residence suddenly flipped. Huge and solemn gunners appeared, and each wall was packed with three of them!

Having only prepared for an alley fight, Consort Xian’s father totally did not expect Xuanyuan Cheng to actually construct his residence as a city. As such, the gunners fired, and he died.

In the meantime, from the highest point of the residence, which was also the highest point of the city, the windows of the viewing gallery suddenly opened in unison. Countless bows and arrows appeared, facing 360 degrees and covering every angle, and the opposing army fell quickly under the wave of arrows.

From the fourth level onwards, the bows and arrows were used. Below that, thunder crash bombs were thrown out, forming a dark arc in the night sky, and patches of red appeared wherever they landed on.

At the top of the gallery, the calm and composed Regent King wore clothes and a crown befitting of a noble king. Placing both of his hands on the window frame, he looked down and smirked.

Only then had the bloodshed of Kunjing officially entered the climax.

When Xuanyuan Cheng forcefully defeated the betrayer, Consort Xian’s father, Zong Yue simultaneously appeared in front of the residence.

Zong Yue was still dressed in clothes as white as snow, and his lips were as red as a cherry. He calmly rode an equally calm white horse, and he seemed to float like a bright pearl above the clouds.

When he stopped in front of the residence, he looked up, and he met Xuanyuan Cheng’s gaze.

It was a vengeance that spanned over 10 odd years and two generations. For the past decade or so, they had schemed tirelessly against one another, and each day was a matter of life or death to them. Yet, it was only now that they were truly facing each other as enemies.

Xuanyuan Cheng squinted his eyes, and the eyes resembled arrows that were coated with poison.

On the other hand, Zong Yue merely looked up nonchalantly without any facial expression. He did not seem like he was staring at an enemy whom he had endured over 10 years to scheme and plot against, but rather a flower that belonged to his garden. During the day, he would protect and cherish them, but at night, his blood-coated boots would mercilessly step on these fragile blooms.

They were separated by 10 odd years of grievances, the smell of scorching firewood mixed with gunpowder, and a tall building made of copper and steel walls. They locked gazes for just a second, and then, both shifted their eyes away.

Xuanyuan Cheng raised his arm – he was going to use his rich stock of weapons in the viewing gallery to destroy these bunch of ants who had overestimated their own strength.

Meanwhile, Zong Yue gently snapped his fingers.

He had activated the cue for the attack.

However, his attack started from within the residence!

Bang!

A deafening sound marked the start of the final life or death match between Xuanyuan Cheng and Xuanyuan Yue. It was also a reflection of the bloody ending of Prince Wen Yi’s when his entire household was killed.

A bomber could be bombed by anyone else!

After the bang, plumes of smoke exploded out of the viewing gallery, and the structure started to waver slightly. Then, the degree of wavering slowly increased, and the smoke rose higher and higher into the sky. Over time, smoke eventually covered half of the gallery and amongst the smoke were crimson red sparks of fire. The fire sent its red tongues continuously licking across the sturdy building. What made the situation worse was the explosive weapons hidden in the gallery. This alarming explosion was, essentially, a talisman that sped up the rate of death. As the fire grew larger and larger, sounds of firecrackers and explosions continued to ring, and the explosive weapons shot out of the gallery uncontrollably. While it aggravated the damage caused, more lives were lost as well. Guards on the gallery continually screamed as they were toppled down, and they landed in the fire and were burnt to death.

3,000 loyal guards dashed out to put out the fire, but they realized that there were continuous explosions on the ground beneath them and the ground flipped open. The rooms were shattered to ruins, and the trees toppled over. There were always people dying from the dark red flames that suddenly appeared at their feet, and from the front of the residence to the viewing gallery, the route was filled with corpses or pieces of broken limbs.

The guards screamed as they dispersed, and they slowly realized that the line of the explosion was the route that led to the viewing gallery. The intention was only to cut all possible sources of remuneration. As such, the guards stopped in their tracks and stared at each other, being unable to understand why such an aggressive explosion could appear in the heavily guarded residence.

Just then, Zong Yue raised his hand. The black-clothed men immediately changed the arrows on their bows to rockets, aggravating the situation!

Screams and howls rang more frequently and panicked, and on the viewing gallery, Xuanyuan Cheng could no longer maintain his calm. He tried to turn and walk down the gallery, and from afar, one could see the confusion and shock in his expression.

Zong Yue watched on silently, but his eyebrows slightly raised as a sign of mockery. The method was actually very simple: it was an act of perseverance.

Xuanyuan Cheng’s residence was known to be one made of steel. Not only was it hard for outsiders to enter, but his guards were also carefully chosen and maintained. He moved the people living around him to other places, and built layers of walls and deployed countless guards. He even personally invented a small suspending hammer that would alarm him if there were tremors beneath the ground, which was to prevent people from digging a tunnel into his residence. The defense that he laid out could be considered to be super tight and secure.

However, Xuanyuan Cheng still made a fatal mistake. To better control Xuanyuan Min, he placed his residence at a spot very near to the palace. This was no doubt opening up another door. His residence might be hard to infiltrate, but there were plenty of opportunities for people to scheme in the palace, especially if his opponents thought through their plans meticulously and were not afraid to resort to any means.