Book 4: Chapter 161: The Yuan Imperial Dynasty Is Our Yuan Nation
Book 4: Chapter 161: The Yuan Imperial Dynasty Is Our Yuan Nation
Major Metropolitan City, Yuan Imperial Dynasty:
Boom!
A loud report rang out from the blessings cloud sea the instant the Bat Ancestor died. Boundless blessings scattered.
Great Sigh Palace Hall:
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu, Archduke Xi Kang, Mo Yike, and many other officials looked up at the sky.
“Why have so much of my Yuan Nation’s blessings scattered? Did something happen?” the officials exclaimed in horror.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu narrowed his eyes. “Something happened to the Bat Ancestor.”
“The Bat Ancestor? Your Reverence, was the scattering of blessings over the past two days because the Chang Clan elders died? Chang Sheng died too?” Mo Yike raised his eyebrows.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu did not answer.
“Chang Sheng died? Hah! Did the Bat Ancestor kill him? Your Reverence, if that is the case, that is akin to our Yuan Nation cutting off an arm by ourselves,” Mo Yike said bitterly.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu shook his head and said, “I’m not sure.”
“Huh?” Mo Yike looked at Imperial Emperor Xi Yu.
“One can clearly see the situation of every official only with a heavenly dynasty’s blessings cloud sea. An imperial dynasty’s blessings cloud sea is centered around us. The officials, even the national beast’s prime, are all auxiliary. There is only a connection but no way for clear verification. The vampire clan’s blessings are connected to the Bat Ancestor. From what we sense, the Bat Ancestor seems to have died, but there is still a connection. However, I am not certain of the details,” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu said with a frown.
“The Bat Ancestor cannot die. He is the symbol of my Yuan Nation’s national beast. Your Reverence, this official will immediately send someone to investigate the matter,” Archduke Xi Kang called out.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu frowned heavily as he nodded.
Mo Yike showed a faint, bitter smile. To him, Chang Sheng was much more important than the Bat Ancestor.
——
One month later, Great Sigh Palace Hall:
Qin Zibai knelt before Imperial Emperor Xi Yu on one knee, covered in blood.
“Your Reverence, Qian Exterminating City got ambushed. The Yuan Nation suffered great losses this time. This official managed to make an opening only because of the zombie army. The other four factions were nearly wiped out,” Qin Zibai reported bitterly.
Thud! Imperial Emperor Xi Yu glared as he slammed his palm on the throne’s armrest.
“Your Reverence, Qian Exterminating City was a trap! We just received word. Of the five factions, Ao Tianhuang severely injured the two imperial emperors and two Dao lords before they barely managed to escape,” Archduke Xi Kang added sullenly.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu’s face sank.
“A trap? It’s not just that, Your Reverence!” Mo Yike suddenly said with a bitter smile.
“Huh?” Everyone looked at Mo Yike.
“If this official is right, the Heaven Shaking Sect disciples were the first to be destroyed. Am I right, Lord Qin?” Mo Yike looked at Qin Zibai.
“Huh? That’s right. The experts from the Qian Nation eliminated the Heaven Shaking Sect first. We did not even get to see their corpses; they were completely wiped out.” Qin Zibai nodded.
“Completely wiped out? Hah! You are overthinking. They are not dead at all. Next, am I right in saying that the Heaven Shaking Sect Master was the first to support the Bat Ancestor’s proposal to go to Chaoge City?” Mo Yike looked at Qin Zibai.
“Huh? That seems…that seems to be the case.” Qin Zibai nodded in confusion.
“The Heaven Shaking Sect? Hah! Your Reverence, we have all been fooled. This was a trap by the Qian Heavenly Emperor. If this official is right, the meeting in Qian Exterminating City was also organized by the Heaven Shaking Sect Master, wasn’t it?” Mo Yike looked at Imperial Emperor Xi Yu.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“It looks like this official was right. How unfortunate! Why did Your Reverence not discuss it with your officials first before agreeing? Hah… The Heaven Shaking Sect was probably planted by the Qian Heavenly Emperor. The discussion between the five factions was in the Qian Heavenly Emperor’s full control, no, manipulation. In fact, Archduke Xi Kang’s discovery of Long Wanyu in Chaoge City was probably intentionally leaked by the Qian Heavenly Emperor,” Mo Yike said with a bitter smile.
Archduke Xi Kang’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. How can that be? I put in so much effort to locate Long Wanyu. How could it have been given to me by the Qian Heavenly Emperor?”
“Of course, he would ‘accidentally’ leak it to you. The Qian Heavenly Emperor manipulated the five factions into gathering in Qian Exterminating City. Then, he manipulated the experts of the five factions into leaving Qian Exterminating City for Chaoge City. The Qian Heavenly Emperor arranged for the ambush in Chaoge City before destroying the five factions in Qian Exterminating City. Everything in the five factions’ march to the north was within the Qian Heavenly Emperor’s control. The most important part was the Heaven Shaking Sect’s support. Hahaha! The northern expedition could only be a joke!” Mo Yike laughed bitterly.
After Mo Yike spoke, the eyelids of everyone in the hall twitched wildly as a chill ran down their back.
The Qian Heavenly Emperor held the five factions in the palm of his hand? No, was that Heaven Shaking Sect loyal to the Qian Nation? Does that mean he toyed with four factions?
“Humph!” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu snorted coldly.
“Your Reverence, this official guesses that the next step would be the Qian Nation sending soldiers to wipe out the four factions. Except for my Yuan Nation, the masters of the other three factions are severely injured. Furthermore, their main forces were nearly completely wiped out in Qian Exterminating City. All the factions have suffered heavy losses. As for the Qian Nation…” Mo Yike smiled bitterly.
“What about the Qian Nation?”
Smiling bitterly, Mo Yike said, “If this official is right, with this trap, the Qian Heavenly Emperor not only caused our factions heavy losses but even managed to clean up our spies. The Qian Nation must have captured all the spies that you placed there. Many people might have died in the Qian Nation, but it reached an unprecedented level of strength. Given that our five factions’ actions were unwarranted, the Qian Nation holds the moral high ground. Sending out soldiers would be the righteous thing for it to do and would boost its soldiers’ morale. For its next move, it will send its armies to our various factions to wipe us all out.”
After Mo Yike spoke, a commotion broke out among the officials in the hall; all of them showed horrified expressions.
The Qian Nation is about to attack?
Before the Qian Nation attacked, it had already caused the four factions severe losses. How dangerous would an actual attack be?
“Why are there only three heavenly dynasties in the entire Divine Continent? None of them are simple to deal with!” Mo Yike said bitterly.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu remained silent.
“Lord Mo, what should we do now?” Qin Zibai asked anxiously.
Mo Yike took a deep breath and said, “Your Reverence, considering what we know, there is only one way to protect our Yuan Nation with minimal losses.”
“Oh?” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu looked at Mo Yike.
“Immediately apologize and compensate the Qian Heavenly Dynasty to resolve the grudge. We might even have to give up some territory to do so. Then, we make further plans in the future,” Mo Yike said seriously.
“Give up territory as compensation?” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu glared.
“Your Reverence, this is just an interim measure. It is not convenient for our Yuan Nation to mobilize its armies at this moment. We can give up ten or twelve cities to pacify the Qian Nation, buying some time for our Yuan Nation to take a breather. That would be enough. Right now, the Qian Nation is at its strongest, and we need to avoid being the first target. As long as we are patient and wait, there will be an opportunity sooner or later. Your Reverence, this is not the time to flaunt our bravery,” Mo Yike immediately advised anxiously.
“Lord Mo, you are overthinking. We still have five million zombies. What do we have to fear from the Qian Nation?” Archduke Xi Kang immediately argued.
“Archduke, five million soldiers? They are not gods. Why did we lose despite such a strong army?” Mo Yike countered bitterly.
“Humph! You are boosting the morale of others and becoming more cowardly. Mo Yike, you are a coward!” Archduke Xi Kang said while glaring.
“Your Reverence, the Qian Heavenly Dynasty is marching with strong momentum. We cannot face it head-on. This time was just a discussion in Qian Exterminating City. My Yuan Nation has not formed an irreconcilable grudge with the Qian Nation yet. We can still salvage this. We should wait for a better opportunity.” Mo Yike looked at Imperial Emperor Xi Yu.
“Alright, we will consider it,” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu said indifferently.
“Your Reverence!” Mo Yike protested bitterly.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu did not give a definitive answer. He clearly had not listened to Mo Yike’s advice.
“We said that we would consider it,” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu said.
“Yes!” Mo Yike could only nod helplessly.
“Qin Zibai, you are severely injured. Go and rest first,” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu said indifferently.
“Yes!” Qin Zibai answered.
“Your Reverence, aside from these reports of defeat, there is also the Bat Ancestor’s location. How does Your Reverence intend to deal with it?” Archduke Xi Kang asked.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.
“In the end, the Bat Ancestor consumed Chang Sheng and his clan. Hah…,” Mo Yike sighed deeply.
“Your Reverence, the Bat Ancestor is currently trapped in Chaoge City. Gu Hai has mobilized many soldiers from his other cities and stationed them around Chaoge City. Unexpectedly, the Bat Ancestor ended up falling into Gu Hai’s hands. They crippled the Bat Ancestor’s cultivation and are keeping him captive south of the city, allowing the citizens to mock and criticize him openly,” Archduke Xi Kang said with an unsightly expression.
“Ao Tianhuang? To think that Gu Hai could get Ao Tianhuang to do something for him!” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Ao Tianhuang has already left. Now, only Gu Hai and his army remain in Chaoge City. They are not even worth a strike. Although they have crippled the Bat Ancestor’s cultivation, Your Reverence has ways to help the Bat Ancestor if we rescue him, right? He is the prime of our Yuan Nation’s national beast, after all, an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator. Your Reverence, we need to rescue the Bat Ancestor right away. This official is willing to lead an army to level Chaoge City and rescue the Bat Ancestor,” Archduke Xi Kang said.
Imperial Emperor Xi Yu nodded.
However, Mo Yike’s expression changed. “Your Reverence, we cannot!”
“Oh?”
“Your Reverence, they only captured the Bat Ancestor and crippled his cultivation, not killed him? If this official is right, this should be a trap. They are just waiting for us to fall for it. Your Reverence, we cannot attack Chaoge City!” Mo Yike said seriously.
At the side, Archduke Xi Kang sneered, “Hah! Lord Mo, you are becoming even more cowardly. A trap? A trap? Haha! Is my Yuan Nation that fearful? The Bat Ancestor is the symbol of my Yuan Nation’s national beast. If we do not rescue the Bat Ancestor, how do we obtain the confidence of the citizens?”
“Hahaha! The citizens’ confidence? Archduke finally thinks of the citizens’ confidence now? Did you consider the citizens’ resentment when we initially sent out our army? I only said we could not attack Chaoge City, not that we should not rescue the Bat Ancestor. Because the Bat Ancestor did so much evil, the Han Nation citizens are enraged. Being captured for a while is nothing. Do we have to attack to rescue the Bat Ancestor? We can negotiate with the Han Nation. We can even pay a price to redeem him,” Mo Yike said seriously.
“A price? Haha! Lord Mo, you want to give our territory to a heavenly dynasty. Are you going to do the same for an insignificant royal dynasty? Is my Yuan Imperial Dynasty just for show? My Yuan Nation has five million Heavenly Palace Realm zombies. Does my Yuan Nation need to fear anyone?” Archduke Xi Kang scowled.
“Archduke Xi Kang, you are crazy!” Mo Yike retorted, scowling back.
“You are the crazy one. Humph! Your Reverence, Gu Hai has an army stationed in Chaoge City. This official is willing to lead a group of zombies to Chaoge City and destroy his army while rescuing the Bat Ancestor. At the same time, we can take back the twenty-four cities that belong to my Yuan Nation!” Archduke Xi Kang said.
“Archduke Xi Kang, are you crazy? You want to destroy the Han Royal Dynasty? Are you actually thinking of attacking at this moment?” Mo Yike glared.
“Humph! Mo Yike, I know that you are on good terms with Gu Hai. However, this is a national matter. Your personal relationship should play no part here. Your Reverence, please permit this official to go!” Archduke Xi Kang immediately shouted.
“We will give you the five million zombies to use. Quickly end the battle!” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu nodded.
“Your Reverence, we cannot!” Mo Yike exclaimed.
“Mo Yike, the Yuan Imperial Dynasty is our Yuan Nation!” Imperial Emperor Xi Yu glared.
That cold shout sent a chill through Mo Yike. Imperial Emperor Xi Yu was angry now. Mo Yike held his tongue and lowered his head, no longer daring to object.
“Many thanks, Your Reverence. This official will not disappoint Your Reverence’s expectations. I will quickly destroy Chaoge City, rescue the Bat Ancestor, and capture the twenty-four cities!” Archduke Xi Kang shouted excitedly.