novelhk Chapter 196 Blood Feud! Your Highness, Spare My Life!
Chapter 196 Blood Feud! Your Highness, Spare My Life!
The imperial study was filled with dragon-shaped golden energy, which easily blocked Ye Gucheng's celestial flight.
It would be shocking if this got out.
Everyone knows that while the "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" sword technique may not be the most lethal, it is certainly the most difficult to defend against.
No martial art has yet appeared that can perfectly defend against a celestial being descending from the heavens.
Ye Gucheng missed his attack and appeared in the imperial study.
"I never expected it to be you..."
The emperor's face was full of surprise; he couldn't imagine what reason Ye Gucheng would have to kill him.
"The legend of the dragon's aura is actually true! The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were truly protected by the nation's destiny!"
Although the assassination plot failed, Ye Gucheng remained calm and instead asked curiously, "Is the legend that the emperor can cultivate using dragon energy true?"
The emperor said, "Whether it's true or false, you're not leaving the palace today anyway. The Imperial Guards will be here soon."
Ye Gucheng laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I am also very curious. Where are your Imperial Guards? How come we were able to take them so easily?"
The emperor frowned slightly and asked, "Us?"
Ye Gucheng said, "Knowing the existence of dragon energy, we naturally need to make more preparations."
Two figures slowly emerged from behind Ye Gucheng. The emperor recognized the first person as Chief Steward Wang, but the second person greatly surprised him.
That was a man who looked exactly like him!
Who are you?
"I am His Majesty."
"Nonsense!"
The emperor was furious. These treacherous officials had been plotting this for a long time, and they had even found someone to replace him. Their plan was very meticulous and was not something that had been planned overnight.
"Haha, just a little joke with Your Majesty, please don't be offended."
"I am the heir apparent to the Prince of Pingnan. I wonder if Your Majesty still remembers me?"
The Prince of Pingnan, who looked exactly like the emperor, stood before the emperor and spoke in his tone, which was truly chilling.
"The Prince of Pingnan?!"
The emperor had almost forgotten about the Prince of Pingnan, let alone the Prince of Pingnan's heir!
"Your Majesty knows you won't remember, but the late Emperor once allocated a fiefdom to my father in the south. It was more of a death trap than a fiefdom."
"Ever since I can remember, I have never had a peaceful day. The area around my fiefdom is full of demons and monsters. Not to mention the common people, even the Pingnan Prince's Mansion is in danger of collapse."
"That's when I realized that the Prince of Pingnan's mansion was just a watchdog for you. We all share the surname Zhu, so why should you be able to enjoy peace and tranquility while others have to risk their lives?"
"Your Majesty, I am not convinced!"
The Prince of Pingnan's face was filled with madness, and his eyes gradually turned bloodshot.
"If you're unlucky, who can you blame? My throne was earned by my ancestors through hard work. If your ancestors were so useless, don't stand here like a complaining woman. If you're so capable, go and earn this throne yourself."
"As you are now, you have no air of an emperor whatsoever. Even if you were to sit in this position, you would be nothing more than a monkey in a crown."
The emperor looked indifferently at the heir of the Prince of Pingnan.
Both Ye Gucheng and Steward Wang changed the way they looked at the emperor.
"Having served His Majesty for so many years, I only now realize His Majesty's true colors. Your presence today is far more pleasing to the eye than your previous submissive demeanor in court."
Steward Wang squinted and smiled, "To be honest, you and Prince Xian are indeed brothers; your ability to play dumb is exactly the same."
The imperial study resounded with the roar of dragons, and golden dragon energy swirled and danced in the sky.
It wasn't until Chief Steward Wang mentioned Chu Yang that the Emperor truly became enraged, coldly saying, "You know quite a lot..."
"Having been a eunuch for so many years, even if I lose power, I still have several obedient adopted sons. The Eastern and Western Depots that you rely on are not a monolithic entity."
Steward Wang said with a hint of pride, "Although Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian have high talent in martial arts, they are still a bit inferior to me in other aspects."
The emperor scoffed dismissively, "They're all useless."
Despite being scolded along with the two supervisors, Chief Steward Wang was not annoyed at all. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, please continue scolding. We have plenty of time. The few imperial guards outside are long dead, and the rest have been transferred away by you yourself. You can't escape now."
The emperor's face was grim as he secretly calculated how long it would take for Li Chengliang, Cao Zhengchun, and the others to kill Chu Yang. Once the Imperial Guards returned, he would tear them to pieces.
Ye Gucheng suddenly spoke up: "Let's finish this quickly and avoid any unforeseen complications. The Imperial Guards will return sooner or later."
The Prince of Pingnan nodded and said, "Brother Ye is right, it's time to bring out the things."
Seeing their confidence, which suggested they weren't just bluffing, a flicker of panic crossed the emperor's eyes.
After saying that, the Prince of Pingnan carefully took out a box from his pocket.
Although it hadn't been opened yet, the emperor could see the red and black aura emanating from the box, and a chilling, ominous atmosphere wafted towards him.
The strong smell of blood made the emperor feel nauseous and dizzy.
"What is this?"
"A treasure that can destroy the dragon energy surrounding you."
The emperor was immediately startled.
The Prince of Pingnan took out a blood-red crystal ball from the box. At its very center, a black aura swirled and lingered, which was the source of all ominous energy.
He gently stroked the blood-red crystal ball, as if he were caressing his lover, even his eyes were tender, which made the emperor's skin crawl.
"Do you know what price we paid to create this treasure?"
"There is no one left alive in the Prince of Pingnan's mansion!"
"The entire fiefdom, the surrounding villages and towns, all the people have perished!"
"My father and mother are both inside this bead. Their only dying wish was that I become emperor..."
Listening to the quiet narration of the Prince of Pingnan's heir, the emperor suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his scalp tingling, and exclaimed in shock, "You scoundrels, are you even human?"
These people actually dared to use so many lives as sacrifices!
The prince laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, of course we are human, we just live like humans. If we are like this, then the people in other places are living a life worse than death."
"Rather than live such a wretched existence, I'd rather use their lives to fulfill my destiny. I promise to be a good emperor!"
Ye Gucheng said, "Your Majesty, the dragon vein is closely related to the fate of the nation, and the fate of the nation is closely related to the people. Whether a country is strong or not depends on its people."
As Emperor Taizong of Tang once said, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
"The only thing in the world that can break the dragon's aura is the people's resentment towards you and the Ming Dynasty. This Blood Resentment Pearl is made up of the blood and resentment of hundreds of thousands of people, and the dragon's aura on your body cannot stop it."
"What do you want to do?" Only then did the emperor begin to feel fear, realizing that what Ye Gucheng said was very likely true.
"Of course, it's regicide." Ye Gucheng shook his head, looking at the emperor with disappointment. "I beg Your Majesty to hand the world over to us."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Blood Vengeance Pearl in the hand of the Prince of Pingnan shone brightly red, instantly suppressing the golden light in the imperial study.
Amidst the blinding blood-red light, countless blood-red shadows surged forth, uttering venomous cries, and lunged at the emperor.
…………
"The Imperial Guards have suffered over ten thousand casualties, how come he's not exhausted yet?"
"Even if he truly is a grandmaster, he must be exhausted by now, right?"
"When exactly are we going to make our move?"
Cao Zhengchun felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the mountain of corpses piled up at Chu Yang's feet. He had never seen a martial artist kill so swiftly.
"Wait a little longer. We must not make a move until he shows signs of fatigue."
Yu Huatian licked his slightly chapped lips, his body trembling slightly. He didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment—was it excitement? Or fear?
Chu Yang was too strong, so strong that he redefined his understanding of martial artists. If it were him, he would have been hacked to pieces long ago.
"He is both a Grandmaster and a Taoist Heavenly Lord, possessing the strengths of both schools. He is so powerful that after this battle, I will have to learn the skills of Buddhism and Taoism."
Yu Huatian thought to himself.
On the high platform, someone was observing the situation, a look of heartache on their face.
It was Li Chengliang who traveled from Liaodong to the capital to become an instructor in the Imperial Guard.
The reason I feel sorry for him is that so far, Chu Yang has only killed the personal guards he brought back from Liaodong.
How could such a small place as the drill ground possibly accommodate 800,000 imperial guards? Most of them were waiting outside the palace, and the first wave of imperial guards to come in and surround Chu Yang were all his men.
It wasn't that he was greedy for credit, but rather that he wanted to accomplish everything in one fell swoop, do things well, gain the emperor's favor, and thus secure his position.
As a result, countless of his personal guards have been killed or wounded. It's as if there's an invisible vortex abyss around Chu Yang, constantly taking away the lives of the Imperial Guards.
If we can't defeat the other side, wouldn't we lose both our wife and our army, and might even lose our heads?
After waiting a while longer, Li Chengliang became increasingly anxious and could no longer remain calm. He hurriedly went to Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian's side and loudly questioned, "You two eunuchs, why haven't you entered the battle yet? If this continues, what if this traitorous minister breaks through the formation? Wouldn't that ruin everything!"
Yu Huatian glanced at him, completely ignoring Li Chengliang, which infuriated the latter.
Fortunately, Cao Zhengchun was a wise and shrewd man who handled things smoothly. He explained things to Li Chengliang in a soft voice and managed to calm him down.
"I know the general is distressed by the lives of his soldiers, but those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. There is no gain without sacrifice. What do you think, general?"
Cao Zhengchun said meaningfully.
"What you say is true, Father-in-law. I have lived a life of walking on thin ice, and I am inevitably cautious. I hope you will understand."
Li Chengliang sighed and turned his back, no longer looking at the bloody battlefield.
Cao Zhengchun revealed an appreciative look, turned his head, and focused his attention back on the battlefield, his hands hidden in his robe constantly rubbing his knuckles.
As one of the few people who had witnessed Zhuge Liang's prowess, he was more nervous than anyone else present, but he dared not speak, for fear of disrupting the morale of the army.
Comparing the two.
Chu Yang's composure in the face of the overwhelming Imperial Guards was something Cao Zhengchun had never seen in Zhuge Shenhou.
He seemed too relaxed!
The Imperial Guards couldn't put any pressure on him at all!
"He's holding back!"
"He didn't want to kill these Imperial Guards!"
Cao Zhengchun was increasingly alarmed. He could say with certainty that if Zhuge Liang were here, he would not have any room to hold back. If he dared to do so, the result would definitely be death!
The facts were much as Cao Zhengchun had imagined. Chu Yang did not want to kill these soldiers, but he could not hold back too much either.
There are indeed some tricks to military battle formations.
Each soldier exudes an aura, and these auras are interconnected, acting like a buff that significantly enhances a soldier's abilities.
The stronger a soldier's individual abilities, the stronger their morale, and the higher their teamwork, the greater this "momentum" will be, and it may even have the effect of resisting magic.
As the commander-in-chief, he received the most buffs when charging into battle, so Chu Yang killed mostly officers such as centurions and captains.
In addition, the battle formation is also very effective in trapping the enemy. Although Chu Yang has not yet exerted his strength, he can clearly feel the constraint. If a Grandmaster-level expert is trapped in the battle formation, he will indeed not be able to return.
Battle formations are the advantage of the human race in the war against the demon race. Due to their instincts, the demon race cannot follow orders as strictly as the human race, and therefore cannot achieve the desired effect.
After a long pause, Li Chengliang finally couldn't hold back any longer. His eyes blazing with fury, he roared at Cao Zhengchun, "If you don't make a move, I'll order the soldiers to retreat. If things go wrong, we'll all be held responsible!"
Cao Zhengchun sighed, turned to look at Yu Huatian, who nodded silently.
The two leaped into the battle formation.
The two factory chiefs, Cao Shaoqin and Ma Jinliang, followed closely behind, and behind them was a group of eunuchs dressed in red robes.
The crowd surrounded Chu Yang.
"It's about time to wrap this up."
After observing the battle formation, Chu Yang gained some insights and decided to go all out to resolve this farce.
Just as he was about to manifest his true form, a sudden gust of wind howled overhead, followed by the sound of towering waves.
"Surging Wave Palm!"
Guo Bujing descended from the sky, unleashing both palms simultaneously.
"Diamond Body Protection!"
Cao Zhengchun activated the Heavenly Gang Child Skill, his entire body protected by protective energy, and withstood Guo Bujing's palm strike.
"snort!"
Yu Huatian then drew his sword directly, his sword energy as cold as frost, colliding with Guo Bujing's palm strike and dissolving into each other!
The clash of the true energy of the three grandmaster-level experts created a powerful impact that knocked over a large number of imperial guards.
Guo Bujing landed beside Chu Yang, his aura as steady as Mount Tai.
"Such powerful palm strikes! In terms of palm strikes alone, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Guo Bujing is the best in the world."
Cao Zhengchun's arms were numb and his face was pale. One Prince Xian was already difficult enough to kill, and now Guo Bujing had also come along!
What's even more terrifying is that he hasn't even seen the wise king make his full move yet.
What should we do now?
A bold idea suddenly popped into Cao Zhengchun's mind.
"The name 'Surging Waves Palm' is well-deserved."
Yu Huatian looked down at the nick on the tip of the sword and felt a pang of heartache. The sword in his hand was not a divine weapon, but it was no ordinary iron either; he had paid a considerable price to obtain it.
As a result, Guo Bujing created a breach with a single palm strike.
"The martial arts skills of the two eunuchs have also reached new heights."
Guo Bujing was also suffering. Yu Huatian's sword energy and Cao Zhengchun's qi were rampaging in his arms. Just suppressing the two forces consumed a lot of his true essence.
Eunuchs' martial arts techniques are mostly insidious and vicious, like a bone-deep infection, often infiltrating the enemy's body unknowingly during battle and slowly tormenting them.
"Lord Guo, how is the moonlight tonight?"
"It's alright, it was worth the trip, but it's not easy to find a good spot to admire the moon."
Chu Yang reached out and patted him on the back, the vast spiritual energy instantly washing away the two abnormal forces.
Guo Bujing breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Chu Yang shook his head and said, "Why say so much? It seems pretentious. The battle formation is a bit troublesome. You help me hold off the Imperial Guards while I kill these eunuchs. That way, more people will survive."
Guo Bujing solemnly said, "Your Highness, please go ahead."
With Guo Bujing in command, the Imperial Guards' battle formation could no longer contain Chu Yang. His figure disappeared like a ghost, and when he reappeared, he was already standing in front of Cao Zhengchun.
Pointing fingers together like a sword, aiming straight for the opponent's vitals.
However, something unexpected happened.
Cao Zhengchun knelt down on the ground without hesitation.
"Your Highness, spare my life!" (End of Chapter)