Thick smoke billowed, covering the entire Yanglin Thirteen Prefectures.
Outside the city, broken limbs and arms were everywhere. The air was filled with a strong smell of blood, which made people sick. The post-war scene was horrific.
Despite the heavy casualties, Tianze's soldiers had proud smiles on their scarred and bloodstained faces.
War is cruel, and it brings more death. But through this war, they also saw a scene of unity between the army and the people. The whole country is of one mind, not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, not afraid of wolves and tigers, and they all work towards a belief. That feeling is really good. Even if everyone is bleeding, their hearts are warm.
They didn't know what had happened to the enemy, but they suddenly stopped attacking. However, even though the enemy had retreated to their camps, they did not dare to slack off.
Almost all the wounded soldiers gathered at a location not far from the city gate, where they were resting and healing. The reason for this was that the enemy's continuous fighting had consumed too much of their physical strength, and they really had no strength left. Secondly, they were also prepared in case of a sudden attack by the enemy. Even Emperor Shitian did not return to the inn.
In the simple room on the city gate tower, Emperor Shitian leaned his head against the wall with his eyes slightly narrowed. The pale color on his face silently told of his fatigue. Since the outbreak of this battle, he had hardly slept. He endured day after day, night after night.
Seeing the king so exhausted, Liu Minsheng felt worried but also relieved. It was a blessing for the people of Tianze to have such a king.
At this moment, there was a "whoosh" sound, and the next moment a feather arrow tied with a cloth strip pierced the desk in front of Di Shitian.
Liu Minsheng looked terrified. He looked outside and closed the window.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was my fault for not guarding well enough that the thieves had the chance to take advantage of me." Seeing that Emperor Shi Tian had woken up, Liu Minsheng immediately knelt on the ground and apologized. Fortunately, it was just a feather arrow carrying a message. If it had gone towards the king, then... the consequences would have been disastrous.
In fact, it can only be said that Liu Minsheng was worrying too much. If it went towards Emperor Shi Tian, Emperor Shi Tian would not let it fall.
Reaching out, he peeled off the cloth strips and slowly opened it. Di Shitian's face turned stern.
"Your Majesty, what happened?" Although he didn't know whether the person who delivered the letter was an enemy or a friend, judging from the king's expression, it was probably not good news.
"The Queen Mother is missing."
I have been serving the king for the past few days, and this is the first time I have heard the king speak a complete sentence. Rumor has it that the king is a filial son, and now it seems to be true. Otherwise, the king would not be so uncharacteristic. Everyone knows that the king is a person who would not frown in front of a million enemy troops.
"Empress Dowager?" At this critical moment, the Empress Dowager disappeared. This is probably not a good sign...
Emperor Shitian frowned, his eyes were cold, he suddenly understood the malicious smile of the black-clothed man when he called off the battle today. Perhaps he already knew about this, or maybe he was the one who did it? No matter what, the Queen Mother must not be in any danger.
But now he was too busy to investigate in person. On one side was the people of the world, and on the other was his biological mother. For the first time, he felt the difficulty.
"Your Majesty, the enemy has sent an envoy with a letter for your perusal."
That man in black
Damn it, it was sent at this time, I guess...
Emperor Shi Tian nodded to Liu Minsheng, and Liu Minsheng immediately went down to take the letter and presented it to Emperor Shi Tian.
Holding the envelope, Di Shitian felt fear for the first time. It was just a piece of paper, so light that it could be shattered with just a little force. But at this moment, he felt as if a heavy stone weighed down his body.
When he opened the envelope, an earring fell out. It was a gift from him to his mother for her birthday last year, and she always wore it.
really…
My heart trembled slightly a few times.
Liu Minsheng also noticed his abnormality and immediately spoke up, "Your Majesty? Are you okay?"
Emperor Shitian came back to his senses and took out the letter.
"If you want your mother to live, you must exchange her with the Ling Tian Sword outside the city at three o'clock tonight. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences at your own risk."
He knew that the target of the man in black was not Tianze. He was interested in the Lingtian Sword in his hand. If he could really exchange the Lingtian Sword for his mother, he would be willing to do so. But he was worried that they would not let his mother go so easily. Maybe there was a bigger conspiracy behind this.
But what to do
The Queen Mother's life or death is unknown now, so he has to go to the appointment tonight, whether he wants to or not. Otherwise, it would be unfilial!
Suddenly, his hand trembled and the letter fell to the ground. Liu Minsheng immediately stepped forward, picked it up, and read the contents of the letter.
"Your Majesty, you can't go? The entire war situation now depends on you. If something happens to you, Tianze will be in danger, and the people will be in danger!"
How could Emperor Shitian not know what he said? But at this point, he had no other choice but to take it one step at a time.
"I'm determined."
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Liu Minsheng's voice was mournful, and he had already knelt in front of Emperor Shitian.
"Go down." Emperor Shitian did not look at him again, but slowly turned around. "Call Dugu Yingcheng in."
The king had already ordered it, and there was nothing he could do. Now, he only hoped that Prime Minister Dugu could win back the king's heart.
As night falls, black occupies the entire space. Whether it is filled with smoke or the flames of war, at this moment, they are all swallowed up by the night. It is the most selfless and the most indifferent. It can accept any filth and blood, and can also ignore all conspiracies and killings. When the dawn breaks, it will wave its sleeves and leave cleanly.
It's autumn now and the nights are a bit chilly.
Emperor Shi Tian was wearing an outer robe and standing alone at the location agreed in the letter.
The breeze was blowing, but it did not blow away the pungent smell of blood.
"Since we're here, why be sneaky?" Standing in the pavilion, his eyes gazed aimlessly into the distance, and no one knew what he was looking at.
"Hehe, you are indeed the only one I like." A cold voice, with an unconcealable pride, slowly appeared under the night. He was still wrapped in black, with only a pair of eyes showing.
As soon as he appeared, he stared fiercely at the man standing in the pavilion, calm and composed. Since he met Emperor Shi Tian, he seemed to have never seen him with any expression other than calm. For this, he admired him quite a bit.
"Empress Dowager." Cold words, short words, this is the usual style of Emperor Shi Tian. Although he was threatened, there was no humble attitude in his body.
"Haha." It's really annoying.
The man in black stepped forward, approaching Emperor Shi Tian step by step. He really wanted to understand where this man's self-satisfied kingly demeanor came from? This kind of temperament in him was like meeting a master. He couldn't help but want to surrender.
A tiny human being actually made a high-ranking cultivator like him feel this way. How could he possibly forgive him!
"You know that the Queen Mother is still so calm in my hands. Now I finally understand why those stupid humans are so afraid of you."
"Human race? So you are not human." Just when the man in black was talking smugly, Emperor Shitian caught his words.
In fact, he had long suspected that the recent events were related to the aliens, but he just couldn't find the evidence. Now it seems that it's not that he can't find the evidence, but that the aliens have hidden it too well.
Small seclusion in the city, great seclusion in the court. It is really very clever!
However, Di Shitian's words just hit his weak spot.
He can do whatever he wants, and can decide life and death, but all this is based on the premise that his identity is not known to others. Once his identity is discovered, the consequences will not be something he can bear alone.
Therefore, Emperor Shitian's words made the man in black obviously anxious.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I just made a slip of the tongue. If I'm not a human, could I be a ghost?" Although he said so, his panic at that moment had already exposed him to the sun. But since he is unwilling to admit it, you Emperor Shitian will not dig deeper. After all, this is not the topic of today.
"Stop talking nonsense. If you want that old woman to live, just hand over the Lingtian Sword to me right away. Otherwise, you can just wait to collect the old woman's body." The man who had been teasing Di Shitian calmly just now was now a little confused and looked frivolous.
Of course, this was also the effect that Emperor Shi Tian wanted. Only when a person loses his composure will he be easier to control and easier for others to guess his thoughts.
So from the start, the man in black lost.
Di Shi Tian turned around, but did not look at the man in black, and his tone was as cold and hard as ever.
"I want to see someone." At some point, a pitch-black broadsword appeared in his hand.
Seeing the Sky-High Sword, the black-clothed man's eyes glowed with a deep light. He dodged and tried to snatch it. Unfortunately, the person he was facing was Emperor Shi Tian, not an ordinary nobody. Emperor Shi Tian did not dodge, but threw it straight up into the air. The black-clothed man missed, and the Sky-High Sword rotated 360 degrees in the air and returned to Emperor Shi Tian's hand.
"I want to see someone." Emperor Shitian repeated the same sentence as before and did not say anything else.
"Oh, you're really different." The man in black thought that he would at least be angry and accuse him of breaking the agreement and snatching the knife, but he didn't expect him to keep silent about the robbery. To be honest, he really couldn't figure out this man's mind.
The man in black clapped his hands, and his men immediately escorted a woman out. Because it was dark, the woman's face was not clear. However, from her clothes and figure, it could be seen that she was the Queen Mother.
When the "Queen Dowager" saw Emperor Shi Tian, she immediately struggled and cried for help, "Tian'er, save mother, Tian'er, mother is scared. Who are you? Let me go, Tian'er, Tian'er, please save mother..." The voice was exactly the same as that of the real Queen Dowager, and it was difficult for ordinary people to distinguish.
“Emperor Shitian, you have seen the person. Now, you can give me the Lingtian Sword.” The slyly smiling eyes slowly moved between the "Empress Dowager" and Emperor Shitian, and finally, fell on the Lingtian Sword, his eyes shining.
"One hand is a person, the other hand is a knife."
"Okay." The man in black looked at the Ling Tian Sword that was about to be in his hands and agreed without hesitation. He waved to his men and immediately took the "Queen Mother" to make the exchange.
When the "Queen Mother" was one meter away from Emperor Shi Tian, she suddenly showed her vicious side. She used her sleeve arrow to attack Emperor Shi Tian. Emperor Shi Tian dodged sideways, and at this moment, the fake Queen Mother leaped to the side of Emperor Shi Tian, grabbed the Lingtian Knife in his hand, and sprinkled lime powder on Emperor Shi Tian with one hand.
He closed his eyes, stepped back, and when he opened his eyes again, the Lingtian Sword in his hand had already fallen into the hands of the man in black.
"Hahahahahaha..." The man in black laughed loudly. Although his face could not be seen, one could still feel the pride around him. The feeling of defeating Emperor Shi Tian was different from that of others. It was a sense of accomplishment.
“Emperor Shitian, you could never imagine that the Lingtian Sword would fall into my hands like this. Hahahaha… I said it, there wouldn’t be any powerful people in this damn place. Now, even you, Emperor Shitian, have been defeated by me. What capabilities do you people… have, hahahaha…” Actually, he wanted to say "human race", but changed his words when he thought of what happened before.
"Emperor Shitian, now that you have been poisoned by the muscle softening powder, let's see how you can escape." The man in black waved his hand with a smug look on his face at his men who had already ambushed him, and a pair of soldiers immediately appeared around the pavilion.
"Capture Emperor Shi Tian!"
This book was first published by Xiaoxiang Academy. Please do not reprint it! (To be continued)