Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The men were killing each other while the women were secretly taking control of the Royal Court. Gu Shenwei was willing to be an observer and wait for an opportunity; additionally, he was very curious as to how far Lotus could go.
There was no need for Lotus to act personally and join in on any assassinations taking place in the Royal Court, but she had still invited the Dragon King to join her in hopes of convincing this stubborn killer through reality.
She believed that the Dragon King belonged to the dark night, the shadows, and her.
Gu Shenwei saw that the chaos of the Royal Court had gradually gone out of control as Lotus had expected. The lords had tried to call for a truce but the messengers they sent were either killed or had disappeared, causing more panic.
But Lotus felt that it wasn’t enough. She wanted to unleash an inferno of vengeance, regardless of the consequences.
Looking at the fallen killer, King Kuari suddenly understood why Golden Roc Castle wasn’t able to kill the Dragon King. The killers of the Unique King had a deep-rooted preconception that Yang Huan was from the castle so his thinking and behavior must conform to the killer’s principles. In fact, from the very day of his defection, the Dragon King had already broken past the yoke of the killer.
The killer had said that the Dragon King would come and so he did. The killer had also said that he would only bring two or three people with him but he had come with seven or eight. The killer had said the assassins would approach in circles but they had simply walked straight in. The killer said the tent was heavily guarded but he had collapsed with none of the hidden guards he mentioned showing up.
‘I’m really stupid.’ King Kuari blamed himself for the first time in his life in his heart. ‘I knew that we should not have underestimated the Dragon King but I was still influenced by Golden Roc Castle and only treated him as a relatively formidable killer’.
He leaned over and looked at his general. “You’ve done your best. It’s just that you’re not that capable.”
The badly wounded general was full of urgency and shame. Not only had he failed to fulfill the task assigned by the lord but he had also became a tool for the assassins before he died. He wanted to say something but didn’t want to waste his energy on words, so he staggered to his feet and spread his arms to protect the lord.
No one did anything. The general took a deep breath but wasn’t able to breathe out, and then fell to the ground, dead.
King Kuari straightened himself and looked at King Shengri, the only person who had a status equal to him in the tent. “This is a great empire, and I hope you can live up to its reputation. Think about the lineage of the Khan which has lasted for over three hundred years when you bow to an outsider.”
He turned to the Dragon King next. “Loyalty is a good thing but it may not be useful. Now I understand what the Dragon King has done in the Western Regions. You left your loyalty aside when you sit at the chessboard and you are right to do so. I underestimated you and I apologize for that. If I could do it again, I would choose you as my ally.”
Gu Shenwei nodded slightly. He had seen many scenes of people about to die and King Kuari was undoubtedly the calmest one, not debasing his status as a king. Although Gu Shenwei still would not choose to ally with him if everything happened all over again, that didn’t affect his respect towards this king.
King Kuari turned again, this time to to the beautiful but indifferent strange woman. “Let me guess, you must be Lotus, the Master Commander of the Waning Moon Hall.”
Nobody answered, which meant that his guess was right. “Is the Khan dead? Alas, I thought that the Waning Moon Hall hadn’t infiltrated the palace. Excuse me, how did I lose?”
Lotus began to explain, mostly because she wanted to tell the Dragon King. “Your Herald betrayed you long ago. He never passed any orders to King Riyao. That lord is still waiting for your orders to make a move. The battle situation in the frontline wasn’t good so your entourage also defected and colluded with the assassins to plot against your general, which created the fiasco your army is in.”
King Kuari nodded, “The loyalty earned at one’s prime time becomes the price of betrayal when one falls into decline. It’s really of little use.” But he was still a bit confused and asked, “Why? I wonder.”
King Kuari spread his arms and pointed at Lotus and King Shengri, not understanding why a pure-blooded son of the Khan would bow to a woman who was not even a herdsman of the Norland.
King Shengri, who was silent and wearing a sympathetic smile on his face, suddenly said, “My nephew is very talkative. He can preach about his big ideas for three days and nights, but are we going to wait the whole time?”
“It’s okay to wait a little longer.” Lotus had no intention of taking King Shengri’s request. “The Norland holds great power but doesn’t have the right person to command it. That’s why.”
King Kuari felt humiliated and then said the last words of his life. “Who’s going to kill me?”
A woman with a smile came up to him. King Kuari was affected and habitually smiled back. But he still wanted to protest, hoping the other side could have the Dragon King do it so that his death would be worthy of his identity, but the woman acted faster than he expected.
King Shengri’s face stiffened. “A scion of the Khan, a king,” he muttered as if he were the only living person in the tent. “There’s a saying, ‘The blood of the Khan will never end, a drop of it will always flow and grow into a river’.”
“That prophecy will come true,” said Lotus coldly. She had chosen King Shengri as her temporary puppet because he was the weakest and had no choice but to accept her harsh conditions. “Blood will flow over the ground like water soon in the Royal Court. Will King Riyao avenge King Kuari?”
“Yes.” King Shengri came to his senses. This was not the time to feel sad about the loss of his family members. “Although King Riyao is an elder, he worshipped this nephew and believed everything he said.”
“Cut off his head and send it to him, and then spread the news that the Dragon King was the assassin.”
Gu Shenwei was one step closer to being forced to join the Waning Moon Hall and he began to seriously consider whether to marry Lotus or not. He had been thinking about this matter ever since Han Fen had told him the truth.
Lotus obviously hadn’t said anything like that. Han Fen’s understanding was quite different from others so her words were not often worth believing. But marrying Lotus was indeed a solution. He had married the princess of the Stone Kingdom for benefits so naturally, he could do it again. If the military counselor were here, he probably would have thought that it was a great idea.
Lotus’s mind was complex and her feelings towards the Dragon King were particularly complicated. Perhaps even she herself could did not fully understand them. She had concocted a crazy plan to kill most of the men in the world but was slow to take action against the Dragon King. Instead, she had been surprisingly patient in persuading the Dragon King to join the Waning Moon Hall.
That did seem like a hint.
Gu Shenwei thought calmly. He saw this as a possibility and then classified it as an unlikely backup plans. He was not at the end of his rope and wasn’t being forced to do anything.
“The next one is King Rizhu,” Lotus said as if she were an enthusiastic host and were introducing the beautiful scenery of her hometown to the guests.
The sky turned bright. King Rizhu poured out a large mouthful of spirits, wiped the sweat on his face, and despised his opponent in his heart. “King Rizhu really lives up to his title; this boy always indulges in empty talk and does nothing practical. He doesn’t even have the guts to go to the battlefield himself.”
The soldiers all admiringly looked at King Rizhu and approvingly laughed. One of the veterans cried out, “Our lord fought with us and is covered with blood. King Kuari sent his general out to fight while he himself is hiding cowardly instead. He’s probably covered in tears by now. How can our lord not win?
“Win!”
King Rizhu gulped down another bowl of wine and believed that he was worthy of the compliments of his men.
The black tower-like general Zhe Su pushed his way to King Riyao, who didn’t look as excited as the ordinary soldiers. “My lord, the battle is not over yet. I’m afraid King Riyao will attack soon and the other lords have already begun to seize territory. We must find a way to stabilize them.”
“I see. There is a lot to do but I worry about the Dragon King most. That boy has too many wicked ideas, and Wild Horse and Shangguan Nu may not be able to keep an eye on him. And your son…” King Rizhu grew serious. “I heard he was kidnapped by the Dragon King’s men and taken to the women’s camp?”
“Yes.” Zhe Su’s black face flushed like a piece of hard iron being heated.
King Rizhu laughed out loud and patted the general on the shoulder, “You’re afraid I’ll punish Liman? Don’t worry. When the battle is over, he can choose any of the women of the Land of Fragrance he likes. He can take revenge on whoever bullied him in a bed and he won’t be allowed to stop his revenge until he’s satisfied. That’s my punishment.”
The soldiers’ laughter grew louder. “My lord, I want to be ‘bullied’, too.”
“Everyone will have their chance.” King Rizhu stood on the edge of the battlefield and glanced over the corpses and broken flags, his voice loud and clear. “The Norland, the Central Plains, the Western Regions, and the Land of Fragrance. There are many women in the world. Do I still deserve to be King Rizhu if I can’t let each of you have at least ten women?”
The morale of the soldiers immediately rose, and they, who had just finished a battle, were anxious to start the next one.
The soldiers all mounted their horses, replenished their arrows, replaced their sharp sabers, roared shrilly, and followed their generals across the messy battlefields to kill in the east of the nobles district.
King Rizhu’s face fell as he said to Zhe Su, “I can forgive your son. It depends on the contributions you can make to make amends for him.”
“My lord, thank you for having mercy on me.” Zhe Su was about to kneel down when King Rizhu held him up and said, “We’re brothers, so just cut that out. Never soften your knees on the battlefield.”
Zhe Su solemnly nodded, climbed onto the steed, and decided that he had to win the battle for his lord King Riyao even if he had to die today.
The cavalry set off one after another, and King Rizhu also climbed onto his horse. His body was tired but his heart was full of excitement. The blueprint he had laid out for many years was about to come true. Soon he would no longer be the only ‘foreign king’ of the Norland.
King Rizhu looked northward and slowly took a deep breath as if he could feel the life or death of the Khan by doing this.
“Dragon King.” He muttered the name. From this day on, there was no need to indulge this ungrateful fellow’s requests; only hacking this guy into pieces could soothe his anger and save his face. “The Flame Foal is my horse.”
King Rizhu urged his horse to move forward. Compared to the missing Flame Foal, this horse was annoyingly slow.
Unlike King Kuari who had sat and waited for the results of the battle, he would go to the battlefield and even join it in person when necessary, letting the whole prairie know who the real king was.
A small group of cavalry rushed towards the camp, carrying King Rizhu’s flag and calling out from a distance, “King Kuari has been killed by the Dragon King.”
The guards cheered in unison but King Rizhu was stunned. According to his plan, the Dragon King should have been with Shangguan Nu and Wild Horse at the palace in the northern area. Was he so efficient that not only had he gotten rid of the Khan but had also killed King Kuari on his way back?
“Stop them,” King Rizhu commanded because he didn’t know any of the coming horsemen, and he knew his own men very well.
