20demayo Chapter 496
Chapter 496
Helian Chi’s ascension to the throne was anything but legitimate. Many within the Jin Kingdom’s royal family were deeply resentful of him. If they were to discover that Helian Chi was dead, not only would it be impossible for Su Yanran to become the empress dowager, but they might not even succeed in avenging his death.
Her gaze swept across the room, noting that all those present were loyal to Helian Chi. Tears welled up in her eyes once more as she cried out, “Quick, summon the imperial physician! The emperor still breathes. Hurry, someone, fetch the imperial physician for me!”
Some were still caught off guard, exchanging bewildered glances, but others reacted swiftly, blocking the gazes of the less perceptive and hastily lifting Helian Chi onto makeshift stretchers.
Explosions echoed in the distance as Su Yanran climbed into the carriage. The accompanying soldiers loaded Helian Chi’s body into the carriage as well. “Your Majesty, what should we do now?” one of them asked.@@@@
“We must keep the news of Chi’s demise a secret at all costs,” she replied. “If it were to spread, we’d be caught between internal strife and external threats. Without even needing Great Yan’s forces, our own people would be enough to drive us to our deaths.”
Take those regional kings, for instance... none of them were easy to deal with.
Su Yanran’s efforts to conceal Helian Chi’s death would not go unnoticed, especially by Shi Ruojun, who was determined to thwart their plans.
The Great Yan army crossed the Black Water, relentlessly pursuing the fleeing Jin Kingdom forces.
While the adage “do not pursue the desperate” held true, Su Yanran and her companions were far from desperate—they were merely lambs without a shepherd, waiting to be slaughtered.
Empty Reverie Valley—
The must-pass route for the Jin Kingdom forces to return home.
The thunderous clatter of hooves reverberated through the valley, startling countless bats from the cliffs.
“Where is Hei Yun?” Su Yanran inquired, just as they had barely found their footing. “Didn’t Hei Yun receive orders to attack and burn the Great Yan army’s granary? How is it that Shi Ruojun is here? And how did she so easily locate our armory? And even... know the exact location of the royal tent? This is utterly unbelievable. If not...”
“Your Majesty, we suspect that Captain Hei Yun is a spy for Great Yan.”
“That’s impossible!” Su Yanran exclaimed, shaking her head vigorously. “Hei Yun is utterly loyal to the Jin Kingdom. She was personally trained by Chi. There’s no way she could...”
“But Captain Hei Yun’s actions are highly suspicious. Both the emperor and Your Majesty trusted her implicitly, and we dared not speak out. But now...”
Now that the emperor was dead, and Hei Yun had vanished without a trace, they no longer felt constrained by fear.
“During patrols, soldiers have seen Captain Hei Yun returning from the direction of Great Yan’s camp on multiple occasions. Each time, she claimed to be scouting the terrain and gathering intelligence, but we found her behavior deeply unsettling.”
“When we launched an attack on Great Yan, I personally witnessed her gazing from the perimeter of their camp. Her demeanor was particularly odd. When I inquired about her actions, she refused to explain herself.”
The air was filled with screams and cries of agony.
Su Yanran had initially been protected, but as the boulders pounded down, even those loyal to her were forced to flee for their own survival.
After all, with so many soldiers crammed together, there was no place to dodge the crashing stones—only a path to being crushed into oblivion.
Shi Ruojun arrived with her troops. Outside the valley’s entrance, soldiers who surrendered were bound and taken away, while those who refused were slaughtered on the spot, without any hesitation.
Time passed uncertainly, and the echoes of screams within the valley grew quietly faint. Even the sound of falling stones ceased, for they were now buried beneath a heap of lifeless bodies.
Shi Ruojun lounged lazily on her horse, turning to Deputy General Hao beside her. “This Third Yan. I tasked him with setting traps within Empty Reverie Valley, but did he go so far as to hollow out the surrounding hills?”
Deputy General Hao chuckled. “Master Strategist wasn’t collecting these boulders after you issued the command, General. He had already been gathering them since before your recruitment began. He said it would come in handy one day.”
And indeed, it had.
No wonder the soldiers all praised Master Strategist for his foresight and proclaimed that the Great Yan army was unstoppable.
With General Shi, the war goddess, and Master Strategist Third Yan, the linchpin of their forces, the Great Yan army! Unstoppable!
In the deathly silence, Third Yan and Shi Ruojun locked eyes from afar, though the pitch-black night obscured their vision. Yet, both could not help but let slip a sigh of relief.
The emperor and empress of the Jin Kingdom had fallen beneath the iron hooves of the Great Yan army, and the Jin Kingdom would soon plunge into unprecedented chaos. It was the perfect opportunity for the Great Yan to seize control.
A black arrow shot from behind Third Yan, slicing through the air with a sharp hiss.
“Thwack!”
“Third Yan!”
“Master Strategist!”
As the horizon began to blush with the pale light of dawn, a thin fog lingering over the land, Third Yan was struck from behind and tumbled off his horse.
The archer thought he could flee under the cover of darkness, but someone grabbed his wrist. “Here! This is the one who fired the cold arrow. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Helian Ying’s eyes widened in shock, his face smacked by Bai Tingting, cracking the mask of his disguise.