The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 493- 495

Chapter 493: The Wan Army’s Crushing Defeat

Xue Chi was indeed anxious. He and his army had been trapped in this weird dense fog for two days and all their attempts to extricate themselves from it had failed.

This spooky thick mist was fraught with deadly traps of all descriptions. Also, enemies had been showing up on occasions. What with those traps and occasional encounters with enemies, Xue Chi had lost a lot of men. Worse still, they had no water or food. His army had been drained from panic for quite some time.

Xue Chi had been in the army for decades and fought numerous battles, but never once had he ever seen such eerie dense mist or such varied tactics, which was why his army suffered particularly heavy casualties on the first day. It had been on the second day that he had found something out about the current situation.

Not all those traps were real. In fact, most of them were hallucinations! Even those enemies were non-existent. Those so-called enemies were none other than his own men!

The fog was like some kind of demonic creature capable of manipulating people’s minds, and they had all fallen victim to it.

Clenching his teeth, Xue Chi was so furious he was on the verge of vomiting blood. It was not until he gave his men strict orders not to attack when encountering enemies that the tragic fratricidal killings stopped reoccurring.

As time ticked away, Xue Chi, who was still observant, discovered that the thick fog was gradually lifting and commanded his men to be on full alert.

On the ramparts, Ling Zhang slightly frowned. He had thought that the large-scale Formation would last three or four days, but it had now been merely two days, and the fog was beginning to disperse already. It would seem having the Formation cover an unduly large area would compromise its stability and sustainability. This Formation had been pushed to the limit. Still, it had served its purpose pretty well in the sense that Xue Chi and his men had been trapped in it for two days. Considering they hadn’t drunk for two days, there was no doubt they were all spent, no matter how hard they tried to pretend otherwise.

“Get ready to make our move,” said Ling Zhang, looking at Jiang Ke.

Jiang Ke inclined his head, descended the ramparts and opened the gates of Shengzhou Pass as planned, preparing to lead his army out there to engage Xue Chi’s men frontally.

The army had just marched through the gates when the dense fog enveloping the whole battleground and Xue Chi’s men finally cleared.

The moment the thick mist dispersed, Xue Chi caught sight of the North-western Army of the Great Wen in battle formation, his heart sinking. His men were exhausted after being trapped for two days, while the enemy was at full strength! To make things worse, as the fog lifted, he looked around and found that the battlefield was strewn with dead bodies of his men, and the surviving ones were no longer in formation of any kind. At the sight of this, his heart sank even further.

Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi, naturally, wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away. While the Wan army were still in the trance caused by the disappearance of the thick fog and were still hesitating about attacking the army of the Great Wen, the two of them decisively gave the order to attack. Because of the disorganization of the Wan army, the North-western Army’s fierce offensive crushed them as easily as smashing rotten wood. The fighting turned into a slaughter almost from the very beginning.

Xue Chi made an attempt to get his men into battle formation again but only managed to have one third of them do his bidding. The remainder were utterly unable to follow his orders, what with the attack of the enemy.

…

The intense fighting lasted almost four hours. Xue Chi, who had quick reactions, decided promptly and opportunely to retreat so that the rest of his men could survive instead of being massacred. However, the moment he and those men fell back, the Wan soldiers at the front were reduced to cannon fodder, serving as human shields to buy time for their fellow soldiers to escape, and they all ended up dead.

The Wan army took a heavy blow. Even Shan Congyi narrowly avoided being killed on the battleground.

Every member of the army was badly bruised by the defeat. The morale was dropping to the bottom and there seemed to be no way to stop it.

The defense of Shengzhou Pass was as strong as always, but the Wan army Xue Chi had brought to this place had lost more than half of its men. Thinking about this, Xue Chi was furious but there was nothing he could do that would make a difference. He regretted not having seized the opportunity, and he also regretted having led the army into this war. He had thought that without Yuwen Tong being in command, he would definitely be able to take Shengzhou Pass without much difficulty, but the fact had proved him terribly wrong. His hair grayed overnight as though he had aged ten years, his face covered with wrinkles, making him look senile.

In Shengzhou Pass.

“Pity it’s getting late. Otherwise we’ll pursue them to their encampment and wipe them out!” said Jiang Xi, a regretful look on his face.

Ling Zhang gave a smile but made no reply. Jiang Ke cast Jiang Xi a glance and sniffed, “Stop nagging. There will be plenty of chances for that. Have you cleared the battlefield? Have you got the injured settled in? Have you done the post-fight pep talk?”

Although the Wan army had suffered heavy casualties, they still had tens of thousands men left, and it wouldn’t be easy to wipe them out. It was inadvisable to rush into things when it came to fighting a war. Of course, Jiang Xi was also aware of it. He was just feeling anger smoldering inside him, and it struck him that wiping out the Wan army at one fell swoop was the only way to vent it.

“Be patient. The time is not ripe yet,” said Ling Zhang.

Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi both looked at him.

“The Luohai army encamped outside Youzhou Pass is a great threat. Though Nian Feng is absent, his lieutenants are no fools. They would sure as hell take action once the Wan army is exterminated. Only when the news of Mu Hengtian’s death and the chaos in their capital reaches their ears will they be too panic-stricken to give these things any more thought,” continued Ling Zhang.

“Is Mu Hengtian really going to die?” Jiang Xi looked at him expectantly.

A gleam flashed across Ling Zhang’s eyes and with that he replied, “It won’t be long before he dies, from illness or otherwise.”

The Luohai Kingdom must not make trouble for the Great Wen at this point in time. The South-western Army had sallied out in full strength. The North-western Army had split into two groups, most of the troops in Shengzhou Pass defending against attack from the Wan army, those under Shao Feng’s command relatively small in number. The Great Wen had been gradually restored to its former prosperity in the past five years, but it would take more than five years to fill the demographic gap caused by the deaths of young and middle-aged men during the many years of war. The number of troops of the Great Wen was also limited. The small number of garrisons stationed in the capital city and provincial prefectures must stay where they were. If the Luohai Kingdom took a hard line and waded in in these circumstances, the Great Wen would be under great pressure. Therefore, on no account should they allow Mu Hengtian to continue to live. Also, they couldn’t let him die too easily…

In the Luohai capital.

The capital had become quiet and listless compared with the prosperous and busy city it had been a month ago. All residents were staying indoors, and the security was quite tight, with city patrols marching along the streets from time to time.

Nian Feng had secretly returned to the capital, covertly offered help to the prince he was in support of, and orchestrated several mass murders. All the victims had been members of the faction led by Mu Rongfeng the crown prince. When the blood had been flowing on the ground, everybody in the city had seemed to smell blood.

Beside himself with rage, Mu Rongfeng fought tooth and nail against the prince supported by Nian Feng. The Dugu family took advantage of the opportunity and muscled in with the intention to help the prince he had aligned himself with profit from the strife between the other two sides. However, both Mu Rongfeng and Nian Feng had been keeping a weather eye on the Dugu family. Nobody knew whether it had been conducted consciously or unconsciously, but the two of them had laid a trap for the Dugu family together, which the target had fallen victim to. The Dugu family had lost a lot of them, taking a heavy blow.

Mu Hengtian the monarch had suddenly deteriorated and was still confined to bed and suffering from occasional coma. The court physicians were all using euphemistic terms when asked about his condition, implying that he didn’t have much time left.

The news had added much fuel to the already heated debate in the court. Mu Rongfeng wanted to succeed to the throne, but Nian Feng and Dugu Shan disagreed. The latter two were wary of each other and fighting each other, resorting to all kinds of dirty tricks. The court had descended into utter chaos, and people were dying every day.

In a rare lucid moment, Mu Hengtian, after being informed of the situation in the court, spat out another mouthful of blood and passed out again. Before fainting, he felt lucky that he had granted Ling Zhang’s request and stayed out of the war between the other two countries. The Luohai Kingdom still had a chance to settle its issues. No matter which one of the princes ascended the throne, the Luohai Kingdom would at least have some time to knock the court into shape again while the Great Wen and the Wan Kingdom were fighting at outrance. However, Mu Hengtian, who was now comatose, was unaware that an army led by Yuwen Tong had stormed almost half of the Wan Kingdom! Xue Chi’s men still hadn’t taken Shengzhou Pass. The Wan Kingdom was hanging by a thread…

“Your Lordship, His Highness sent someone to buy…”

In the Abode of Prime Minister, a man sent by Lian Hai secretly informed Dugu Shan of what medicines Mu Rongfeng had had his henchman order at a high price.

“Father, what do you think Mu Rongfeng is planning to do?” Dugu Miao inquired of Dugu Shan, looking at the list of medicines, frowning.

The Dugu family had lost a lot of allies recently, and their influence on the court had been weakened somewhat. Had Jiahe Chamber of Commerce not been offering them intelligence from time to time, they wouldn’t have kept abreast of the movements of the other two sides.

“He wants His Majesty to live for a while longer,” replied Dugu Shan, unsurprised at Mu Rongfeng’s decision. The current situation was not favorable for Mu Rongfeng. Only by prolonging Mu Hengtian’s life would Mu Rongfeng be able to buy himself more time to deal with Nian Feng and the Dugu family.

In fact, Dugu Shan also wanted the monarch to live for a while longer. The monarch had taken a bad turn so suddenly that the arrangements they had made hadn’t fully served their purpose yet when all of them had been upset. Nian Feng was probably the only person who wanted Mu Hengtian to die as soon as possible, for he had a large army under his command, and once Mu Hengtian died, he could totally just take over the country by force, or directly kill Mu Rongfeng and enthrone the prince he supported. Therefore, presently, the biggest enemy of the Dugu family was not Mu Rongfeng but Nian Feng.

“Father, should we take Lian Hai’s suggestion?” said Dugu Miao anxiously.

Nian Feng’s army was so strong that the Dugu family wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning if they fought him head-on. Lian Hai had suggested a method to trick Nian Feng and Mu Rongfeng into fighting each other, allowing the Dugu family to benefit from their duel. Dugu Shan was still hesitating.

“Nian Feng’s army is still stationed outside Youzhou Pass. We still have a chance,” said Dugu Shan.

“But His Majesty has no intention whatsoever to go to war with the Great Wen. God knows whether or not Nian Feng has really stationed all his men outside Youzhou Pass. Didn’t Lian Hai say that he saw some soldiers hiding in a wood in eastern suburbs?” said Dugu Miao.

“Maybe it’s just a game of bluff,” said Dugu Shan, fighting an inner battle.

“Father!” Dugu Miao raised his voice. “This opportunity would be lost if you don’t seize it immediately!”

Dugu Shan pondered for a long moment. Eventually he said, “Send for Lian Hai.”

Dugu Miao was overjoyed. “Yes, Father!”

In the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, Lian Hai, after being told that Dugu Shan wanted to set a meeting with him, gave a sneer, turned on his heel and talked with Han Shu in private for a while. Eventually, he rearranged his clothes, walked through the front gates of the chamber of commerce and got into his carriage which then drove towards the Abode of Prime Minister.

Chapter 494: Civil Strife in the Luohai Kingdom

“I’m honored to bow before you, Your Lordship.” Lian Hai paid his respects to Dugu Shan, making a bow with his hands folded in front.

“How’s everything going in the eastern suburbs?” Dugu Shan asked directly.

“It’s been confirmed there are soldiers hiding in that wood. In addition, I’ve just been informed that half of the tents in the encampment outside Youzhou Pass are empty,” answered Lian Hai.

Dugu Shan looked at him with penetrating eyes. “How did you come to get intelligence about the encampment?”

“Your Lordship, this time around, sixty percent of the food supplies for the army are provided by the Ministry of Revenue, but the rest of them are purchased from food suppliers. That is also the case for medicines. The other day, a medicine merchant of our chamber of commerce went to the encampment to deliver the medicines ordered by the army. He talked with an army physician there, slipped him some money and was told that the army was not short of medicines at all. The physician also disclosed that half of the tents there were empty. The accountant of the infirmary, without even opening any of the packages, resold the medicines to the merchant and got some kickbacks.”

The look in Dugu Shan’s eyes became alarmingly piercing. “Are you sure your source is reliable?!”

Lian Hai averred, “I’m sure.”

Dugu Shan smacked his hand down onto the teapoy. “Humph! Now that Nian Feng has gone so far as to stealthily deploy half of his men in the suburbs, I shall show him no mercy.”

Dugu Shan immediately decided to adopt the plan suggested by Lian Hai, which was to have Nian Feng deal with Mu Rongfeng first. He himself would, taking advantage of the setback and heavy loss he had just suffered, deliberately show the other two sides some of his minor vulnerabilities and slowly pull out of the melee to delude Mu Rongfeng and Nian Feng into believing that he lost his competitiveness and had to quit the rat race, but when Nian Feng took care of Mu Rongfeng, the Dugu family would make its move and eliminate Nian Feng! In order for things to go on that way, the monarch’s life must not be prolonged, which meant that the Dugu family had to stop Mu Rongfeng from giving his father any life-saving medical treatment.

“Is it your chamber of commerce that is buying those medicines for Mu Rongfeng as his purchasing agent?” Dugu Shan inquired of Lian Hai.

“Yes, we’re buying seventy percent of them for him,” answered Lian Hai.

“Suspend the purchase!” instructed Dugu Shan.

“Yes, Your Lordship,” answered Lian Hai, keeping his head down. Nobody noticed that a derisive gleam flitted across his eyes.

…

Mu Rongfeng wanted to save Mu Hengtian but was unable to have the prescription filled, no matter how hard he tried. He was consumed with anxiety and casting around for a solution when someone from the palace showed up and told him that the monarch wanted to see him. The man also disclosed that the monarch’s illness had got even worse.

Mu Rongfeng’s heart sank. Not daring delay, he went to the palace with all haste.

When entering the palace, he chanced upon his two brothers, the two princes supported by Nian Feng and the Dugu family respectively. Naturally, they all had hostility glinting in their eyes as they saw each other.

After walking into the royal bedchamber, Mu Rongfeng, at the sight of Mu Hengtian whose breathing was barely perceptible, felt his heart do a somersault with a thrill of foreboding.

“Feng,” called Mu Hengtian in a weak voice as his eyes struggled open and alighted on Mu Rongfeng.

Mu Rongfeng hurried over and got on his knees at Mu Hengtian’s bedside. “I’m here, Father!”

“How’s everything going out there?” asked Mu Hengtian jerkily, exerting himself to finish his sentence.

Mu Rongfeng’s heart felt as though it were getting heavier. He quickly filled his father in on the situation in the royal court and the war between the other two countries.

The look on Mu Hengtian’s face grew increasingly ugly as he listened. When hearing that an army led by Yuwen Tong had occupied the south of the Wan Kingdom, he almost blacked out with intense agitation.

“Feng, Yuwen Tong fooled me. If the Wan Kingdom falls, our country will be in dire danger,” said Mu Hengtian in a broken voice.

Mu Rongfeng’s eyes dilated at these words. He was just about to say something when Mu Hengtian raised his hand signaling him to listen quietly. Then Mu Hengtian continued, “You must put an end to the infighting as soon as possible. Nian Feng is the biggest danger you’re faced with on your path to the throne. Now there’s not much I can do, but it’s within my power to do one last thing for you – I’ll recall Nian Feng to this city, summon him to my bedside, and then…”

Mu Hengtian offered to summon Nian Feng to his bedchamber, so that Mu Rongfeng could have his men surround the bedchamber and kill Nian Feng, though he himself would have to die with Nian Feng.

“Father, that’s…No, I can’t let you…” Mu Rongfeng disagreed.

Mu Hengtian abruptly gripped his son’s hand. “You have to. This is your last chance, Feng. My illness will take my life in a couple of days, anyway. Accede to the throne immediately after Nian Feng is taken care of, then mass all the troops and attack the Great Wen!”

Mu Rongfeng was stupefied. After a long moment, he said through clenched teeth with a head bob, “Yes, Father!”

…

Mu Rongfeng knew that Nian Feng was not in the encampment outside Youzhou Pass but in the capital city. With some finesse, he managed to send Nian Feng a message saying that the monarch requested his presence in the royal bedchamber.

…

In the Abode of General-in-chief.

Nian Feng didn’t want to see Mu Hengtian at all, because Mu Hengtian’s death was now certain, and all he had to do was force Mu Rongfeng into giving up his heirship, and then enthrone the prince he supported.

However, he had failed to keep it secret that he was in the capital city instead of the encampment outside Youzhou Pass, and the Dugu family had covertly waded in, so he had no alternative but to follow the order, but he had secretly taken adequate precautions.

“I’m honored to kneel before you, Sire!” Nian Feng showed up in Mu Hengtian’s bedchamber wearing armor.

Mu Hengtian glanced at him. “Nian Feng, we need to attack the Great Wen immediately. The Wan Kingdom might not be able to hold him back. Someone has to keep Yuwen Tong at bay, or our country will soon be in grave peril as well.”

It hadn’t occurred to Nian Feng that the reason why Mu Hengtian had summoned him was because Mu Hengtian really had something sensible to say to him. However, presently he wasn’t at all in the mood for going to war with the Great Wen. He had even withdrawn half of the troops and had them hide in the suburbs.

“Sire, I believe it’s totally unnecessary for us to get involved in the war between the Wan Kingdom and the Great Wen. Everybody in the three countries knows how strong the Wan Kingdom’s cavalry is. By no stretch of the imagination would Yuwen Tong be able to annex the Wan Kingdom.”

“Stupid!”

Mu Hengtian reprimanded him and then started coughing badly. Nian Feng, after a brief moment’s hesitation, still walked up to the bed and thumped Mu Hengtian on the back. “Take it easy, Sire. Your health matters a lot to this country.”

Mu Hengtian suddenly flung out a hand and grasped Nian Feng’s wrist. Taken aback, Nian Feng subconsciously tried to free his wrist, but unexpectedly, Mu Hengtian’s grip was so firm even Nian Feng couldn’t struggle free. “You–!”

Mu Hengtian gave a sneer and instructed aloud, “Guards! Restrain Nian Feng!”

Nian Feng’s face changed and with that he whipped out his saber…

…

When Mu Hengtian was busy trying to trap Nian Feng in his bedchamber and have Nian Feng die with him, Yuwen Tong had readied his army to cross the Wan River.

After all the boat-makers worked flat out for several days, the battle canoes the army needed were finally ready. The next step was to make chain nets…

All arrangements had been made for the army to cross the river. Chen Jing’s army, who were on the opposite bank in a standoff with Yuwen Tong’s army, had built various kinds of fortifications along the riverbank, intending to prolong the standoff for as long as they could, but they failed to find out what Yuwen Tong had been doing by stealth.

“Sire, the chain net is ready. When are we crossing the river?” Yuwen Jin and He Xiao excitedly swept in, itching to take action.

“There’s no hurry,” said Yuwen Tong.

There was no hurry? Yuwen Jin and He Xiao were both astonished. In the past few days all craftsmen had been working at full stretch, the army occupied making preparations. They had all believed that they would soon set off to cross the river. Why did Yuwen Tong say there was no hurry?

“The Jiahe Chamber of Commerce hasn’t delivered the smoke-tubes to us yet. The anticipated arrival time is midnight,” explained Yuwen Tong.

“Smoke-tubes?” Yuwen Jin was confused. “What are those? I’ve never heard of them.”

“It’s a new invention. They produce large amount of smoke when opened. We’ll be needing them when crossing the river. After we fire them to the opposite bank, they’ll emit clouds of thick smoke among Chen Jing’s army, which will block their views for some time. Though the smoke might not be enough to cover the whole encampment, the wider the area it cloaks, the smaller the threat we’ll be faced with. It’ll give the vanguard more security,” responded Yuwen Tong.

Both Yuwen Jin’s and He Xiao’s interest was piqued. After being informed of what a smoke-tube was, they all looked forward to the arrival of the gadgets.

Late that night, a caravan of the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce showed up, bringing with them a lot of smoke-tubes.

“It was in a tribe in the south-west where we drew the inspiration for this,” the leader of the caravan explained to Yuwen Jin and He Xiao both of whom appeared curious. “What with the short notice, we finished only a small number of them. We would have produced a lot more smoke-tubes had we been given more time.”

Yuwen Jin and He Xiao, after hearing it, were both very cooperative. The Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had become world-famous in recent years. It surprised the two of them that the organization had such consummate artisan at its command. More importantly…

The Jiahe Chamber of Commerce had actually been in direct contact with the emperor. Was there a particular connection between the organization and the emperor, by any chance?

People of the Great Wen had also been speculating about the real owner of the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, but it was not until this year that some of them had had an inkling of the truth.

However, no matter how hard Yuwen Jin and He Xiao tried to nose out more details, the leader of the caravan remained tight-lipped from first to last. He only told them that it was a deal between the emperor and the chamber of commerce, that the relations between the two were nothing more than a partnership.

Yuwen Jin and He Xiao were skeptical, growing more curious about the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce.

On that very night, the smoke-tubes were transferred to the bank, where all of them were loaded into catapults before dawn.

Yuwen Tong gave the order for the army to cross the river at first light in the morning.

The whole army tensed up. They grabbed a short sleep and got up before daybreak, waiting to cross the river.

The sky had just begun to lighten in the east, and the encampment of Chen Jing’s army had just started to show signs of activity when suddenly an unknown object falling from the sky hit the head of a soldier walking out of his tent, and, immediately after landing on the ground as the soldier collapsed, cracked without warning, giving off pungent dense smoke which quickly started spreading.

Soon, one after another, a lot of unknown objects of that kind were flung into the encampment of the army on the northern riverbank. Before Chen Jing could do anything, the whole encampment was pervaded by that sort of pungent smoke. Chen Jing, who sensed danger, immediately commanded his men to get into battle formation and ready themselves to engage Yuwen Tong’s army who obviously were trying to cross the river.

“All archers get in position!”

Before the archers were in position, a lot of Yuwen Tong’s men dived into the Wan River.

They swam across the river, went ashore and promptly came at the soldiers guarding the bank. Thus, the two sides engaged.

“Kill all the enemies that have come ashore! Hurry!”

Meanwhile, on the southern bank, the fleet of canoes was ready to depart. Yuwen Tong, who had been observing the situation on the opposite bank, came to know that the time was ripe. “Cross the river!” he commanded.

After pushing the canoes into the river, the soldiers set sails, shielded the fleet with chain nets and headed for the opposite bank amid arrows raining down on them.

Thanks to the batch of killers who had crossed the river as the vanguard, the enemies on the north bank failed to transfer their flaming arrows and rocks to the bank in a timely manner. Only a couple of catapults were deployed. Those killers were no common soldiers. Every stroke of their sabers took an enemy’s life. They were targeting the catapults, killing among Chen Jing’s men like wolves among sheep. They were so ferocious that Chen Jing jumped angrily and cursed loudly, almost blacking out from fury.

Still, the volleys of arrows were still a great threat. Although the chain nets parried most of the arrows, soldiers in the progressing canoes were still being shot and falling into the river constantly. Every soldier downed was a life lost and a deduction in the combat power of his army. Watching this scene, Yuwen Tong had an icy look in his eyes, but there was nothing he could do other than to urge his men to speed up and cross the river as quickly as possible.

Chapter 495: The Death of Mu Hengtian

As though some kind of divine intervention was at work, the army of the Great Wen were traveling downwind when crossing the river, which was why their canoes were going faster than expected. Hard as Chen Jing’s men tried, stopping the enemy from crossing the river was now beyond their capabilities.

After encamping his men on the northern bank, Chen Jing had planned to build fortifications, and his men had indeed been executing that plan. They had worked quickly enough, but none of them had bargained on Yuwen Tong taking action so soon. All of them were caught flat-footed. Originally, Chen Jing and his lieutenants had thought that it would be at least half a month before Yuwen Tong’s army got what they needed to cross the river, because his men had burnt all the boats at the opposite bank, killed all the boat-makers in the city and destroyed the ferry crossing. If Yuwen Tong’s army were to cross the river, they would have to find some boat-makers to build them enough boats, and it would take Yuwen Tong at least half a month to make that happen, no matter how much effort he put into it. And Chen Jing had felt that he was overestimating Yuwen Tong by assuming that the latter would be able to get the job done in half a month. It had never crossed his mind that Yuwen Tong would be able to, within merely a couple of days, find so many battle canoes, chain nets and those weird tubes giving off smoke. Also, Yuwen Tong had some killers different from common soldiers under his command! It was utterly impossible for Yuwen Tong to get all these ready without making adequate preparations in advance. However, Yuwen Tong’s army had traveled very fast, and there was no way they could have brought those burdensome things with them. The only plausible explanation was that those things had been prepared and hidden somewhere near the Wan River beforehand…

As this thought crossed his mind, Chen Jing clenched his teeth, within an inch of vomiting blood from fury.

They had believed that their country was impregnable and were trying to annex the Great Wen, but now it turned out that some spies had infiltrated into their country some time ago!

Before this day, nobody had found out that Yuwen Tong had hidden something near the Wan River. How well concealed must Yuwen Tong’s spies have been?! And what about the northern bank? Had Yuwen Tong made some arrangements on the north bank as well?

Chen Jing was unable to keep from thinking more deeply about it, and cold sweat broke out increasingly fast over his back as he pondered on it.

Watching the soldiers of the Great Wen cross the Wan River one after another, he felt as though he were seeing the fate the Wan Kingdom would have to face soon. Considering even the Wan River, the most solid barrier in the north, had failed to serve its purpose, would anybody be able to stop Yuwen Tong?

…

In the royal palace of the Luohai Kingdom.

The moment Nian Feng whipped out his saber, the eunuch standing at Mu Hengtian’s bedside lunged at him. However, Nian Feng had been made General-in-chief for a reason. His arm strength was so amazing that gusts of wind were generated as he wielded his saber. The eunuch couldn’t even get close to him. Mu Hengtian, who was gripping Nian Feng’s wrist with all his might, was dragged out of bed by Nian Feng and heavily landed on the ground before Nian Feng gave him a hard kick which sent him flying as he involuntarily loosened his grip. He landed on the ground again, barely breathing.

“Your Majesty?!” screeched the eunuch. “Guards! Guards!”

Royal guards flooded in, filling half of the royal bedchamber, Mu Rongfeng standing at the front. At the sight of Mu Hengtian lying prone on the ground, Mu Rongfeng’s eyes widened drastically with shock. “FATHER!” he shouted.

“Nian Feng, you treasonous bastard! How dare you hurt my father! Today I’ll have you pay with your life for this! Guards, restrain this traitor!”

With an ugly look on his face, pointing his saber at Mu Rongfeng’s eyes, Nian Feng huffed, “Mu Rongfeng, you and your father set me up with the intention to trap me in this bedchamber so that you could accede to the throne. Unfortunately for you, you are too conceited to achieve any great things. Your efforts to take the throne are doomed to come to nought!”

Mu Rongfeng also had an extremely ugly look on his face. “You are now trapped in this place, yet you’re still bluffing. It surprises me a usurper like you dares to be so wildly arrogant. Today your life ends. Guards, kill Nian Feng! Whoever takes his life shall be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold!”

No sooner had he stopped speaking than some royal guards charged at Nian Feng. Mu Rongfeng gave a sneer at the sight of this, expecting to see Nian Feng hacked to pieces.

However, at this moment, the situation took another drastic turn. The half of the royal guards charging at Nian Feng suddenly turned on their heels, facing off against Mu Rongfeng and the royal guards behind him, clustering around Nian Feng to protect him.

“You–! How dare you!” Mu Rongfeng’s face changed dramatically and with that he bellowed, “This is outrageous! Are you sure you want to commit treason with Nian Feng?!”

Nian Feng, standing amid the royal guards under his command who were protecting him, gave an evil grin and said to Mu Rongfeng, “You seriously expect me to follow the order and come here unprepared? I would never walk into the lion’s den without making adequate preparations.”

“Enough talking. Ki–Kill him,” said Mu Hengtian in a faint voice, who was still lying prostrate on the ground. His eyes were now unfocused, but he still reminded Mu Rongfeng to kill Nian Feng as soon as possible.

“Father!” Mu Rongfeng cried. “Kill them! Kill Nian Feng and all these treasonous bastards!”

The royal guards lunged forward and got into a close-quarters fight with their fellow royal guards who were now protecting Nian Feng. Nian Feng was not inclined to stay, because he knew that the longer he stayed, the more troublesome the situation would be. Therefore, he brandished his saber and joined the fight. As the General-in-chief, Nian Feng had been through many battles and was quite strong. Though old, he was still robust and a better fighter than many royal guards. Shortly after he joined the rough-and-tumble, he actually managed to breach the surrounding circle!

“Stop him! Don’t let him escape! Shut the doors!” Mu Rongfeng immediately gave the order to shut the front doors of the royal bedchamber.

But for some reason, sound of fighting also issued from the outer hall. The guards attempting to close the front doors of the royal bedchamber got into a fight with a couple of eunuchs, all of whom were holding weapons and appeared murderous. Surprisingly, the eunuchs managed to defend against the attack from the guards, keeping them from closing the front doors.

Nian Feng, leading some men, directly fought his way out of the encirclement. His fighting capabilities were so high that even Mu Rongfeng was astonished. Also, he had some royal guards protecting him. At the sight of Nian Feng forcing the enemies into backing off again and again, the royal guards’ morale was boosted, and they started attacking more boldly as though their sabers were sharper than the enemies’!

“Stop him! Stop him!” bellowed Mu Rongfeng. Looking at Nian Feng with fierce eyes, he whipped the saber out of the sheath fastened to the belt of the bodyguard beside him, intending to intercept Nian Feng by himself.

If he let Nian Feng escape, there would be endless trouble in the future!

Unfortunately for Mu Rongfeng, though he wanted to personally stop Nian Feng, Nian Feng had no intention to be mired in this melee any longer. He had already broken out of the surrounding circle and was now approaching the front doors of the royal bedchamber. Before Mu Rongfeng could get close to him, he had slashed his way out of the hall, into the open space outside and then immediately left, without even casting a glance at the ‘royal guards’ and eunuchs who were risking life and limb to hold back the real royal guards.

Mu Rongfeng, however, was stopped at the front doors of the royal bedchamber by those people, unable to get through. Consumed with fury, he ranted, “Someone stop Nian Feng! Someone stop Nian Feng!”

In order to kill Nian Feng, Mu Rongfeng, apart from stationing a lot of men inside the royal bedchamber, had also posted a lot more guards on the perimeter. He had originally thought that even if Nian Feng managed to fight his way out of the hall, those guards would still be able to prevent Nian Feng from escaping. Unfortunately for him, just like what the half of the royal guards had done inside the bedchamber, half of the guards outside had also suddenly turned against their companions.

A while ago, when Mu Rongfeng had led his men into the bedchamber, the guards outside had started fighting. Many soldiers had been caught unawares and stabbed to death by their companions. Right now all was confusion and chaos outside the compound, and hardly anybody could spare any time to intercept Nian Feng!

This scene almost drove Mu Rongfeng crazy. He had always believed that the Royal Guard was his trump card, but now it turned out that half of them had betrayed him and sided with Nian Feng!

Ever since Nian Feng had exited the bedchamber, he had been under the protection of some men all along, who had been fighting the royal guards while retreating. Nian Feng himself was also mercilessly slashing at every enemy in sight with his saber, hacking his way to the gateway of the palace, leaving a trail of blood and corpses behind him.

Originally there had been some royal guards on duty at the gateway, but now, just like the situation inside, they were now engaged in fratricidal fighting. The whole place was in disarray.

Taking advantage of such circumstances, Nian Feng managed to make good his escape from the gateway as Mu Rongfeng rushed through the doors of the royal bedchamber after killing all the traitors trying to hold him back!

“Tell them to shut the palace gates! Do not let Nian Feng escape from the palace!” railed Mu Rongfeng, his eyes red with rage.

He was just about to pursue Nian Feng when suddenly a deafening wail came from behind. “Your Majesty? Your Majesty?!” someone cried.

“His Majesty left us!”

“Your Majesty!”

A torrent of wails burst forth in the royal bedchamber. Mu Rongfeng felt as though something exploded in his head and he stopped dead in his tracks, staring in the direction of the palace gates. Then he swiveled his head to look at the royal bedchamber, his countenance suggesting that there was a painful internal struggle going on in his breast.

“Your Highness, we must not let Nian Feng escape!” said one of his bodyguards beside him through gritted teeth.

Mu Rongfeng’s fingers clenched around the hilt of his saber. Eventually, he rushed down the stairs in front of the royal bedchamber. “Come with me to pursue Nian Feng. We’ll kill him to avenge His Majesty’s murder!”

…

The royal palace of the Luohai Kingdom was thrown into chaos. Mu Hengtian and Mu Rongfeng had set a trap for Nian Feng with the intention to trap and kill him in the royal bedchamber, but unexpectedly, half of the royal guards had turned against the two of them, upsetting their plan and allowing Nian Feng to make good his escape. News instantly spread through the whole capital that Nian Feng had murdered the monarch by throwing him to the ground. Nian Feng the General-in-chief had become a regicide in the blink of an eye. Mu Rongfeng the crown prince had given the order to shut all city gates and conduct a citywide hunt for Nian Feng, but the soldiers had found nothing after searching the city for a whole day!

Worried that the situation might change again, Mu Rongfeng, after setting a mourning hall for his father in a great hurry, found the will that his father had long since made, and hastily acceded to the throne. Meanwhile, he ordered that everybody in the Abode of General-in-chief be executed, intending to force Nian Feng to show himself.

However, the brief enthronement ceremony had just been finished, and the officials hadn’t even paid their respects to the new monarch after kowtowing to Mu Hengtian’s memorial tablet, when urgent news came that Nian Feng the General-in-chief had had the city encircled by an army almost 100,000 strong, that the southern city gate was under their full-blown attack and wouldn’t hold for long!

An army 100,000 strong?!

It was a mystery to all the courtiers how Nian Feng had come to get an army 100,000 strong. Even Dugu Shan, who had made some other preparations, was taken aback. There had been so many soldiers hiding in that wood?!

To make things worse, they were soon informed that the Fourth Prince had gone missing. The Fourth Prince was the one having Nian Feng’s support. Mu Rongfeng had long since given the order for his some of his men to keep a close eye on the Fourth Prince, but now he had actually slipped away under their noses! Mu Rongfeng was immediately sent into intense anxiety. Unlike the Great Wen which had a garrison battalion stationed near each of the four pairs of city gates of the capital, the Luohai Kingdom had only two garrisons guarding its capital: the Southern City Garrison and the Western City Garrison. Given that the southern city gates were under attack from Nian Feng’s men, seeking help from the Southern City Garrison was clearly not an option. Therefore, Mu Rongfeng could only recall the Western City Garrison with the intention to have them defend against Nian Feng’s army who were attacking the city gates. The problem, however, was that the Western City Garrison was vastly outnumbered by Nian Feng’s army. There was no telling whether or not they would be able to hold the city gates.

Dugu Shan was somewhat scared. He did want Nian Feng to eliminate Mu Rongfeng, but he hadn’t bargained on Nian Feng having such a large army under his command. Fearing that Nian Feng would exterminate the Dugu family as well if his army really battered down the city gates, Dugu Shan hurriedly had Lian Hai brought to him and asked Lian Hai whether or not he could get in touch with any of the nearby garrisons and have them come to the capital city to help deal with Nian Feng’s army.