"Brother, kill him, kill him!" Clara Night shouted at the top of her lungs.
"You want revenge for him? Ha! What a joke. Look who's got the upper hand now!" The old man pulled out a knife and waved it at her neck.
"You bastard!" Clara was furious. This old man was the one who killed Aiden—she was determined to see him dead, dead—
"Ha! So what if I'm a bastard? As long as you all die, that's enough for me!" The old man clearly couldn't care less about her insults.
At that moment, Adrian Night glanced at Clara but said nothing. Then he slowly pulled out a strip of black cloth and covered his eyes.
The scene made everyone pause, confused about what he was up to.
"Clara, trust your brother. Don't... be afraid!" No sooner had Adrian finished speaking than he shot forward like a whirlwind—so fast he was almost a blur. Before anyone could react, he'd already dashed up to the old man. The old man, no rookie, instinctively raised his sword to block Adrian's attack, but as he staggered back, the hostage was already in Adrian's arms.
In the next second, Adrian ripped off the black cloth from his eyes. The whole blindfold thing had just been to distract the old man. Now that Clara was safe, everything was settled.
Whoosh—he untied her ropes and whispered in her ear, "Go to the courtyard at the foot of Mount Hua. It's safe there." Then he lifted her onto his horse. "Leave now and wait for me. Once I'm done here, I'll come for you."
"Brother..." Clara's tears kept falling. "I'm sorry."
"Don't say dumb stuff. Trust me—I'll come for you, no matter what. Protect yourself, and protect his child." With that, Adrian said nothing more. He slapped the horse's rump hard, and it took off at a wild gallop.
"Brother... Brother..." Clara, riding away, looked back to see Adrian plunging into the chaos of battle. Her tears streamed down. Turns out, he's always cared so much about her.
He really has always been the best big brother...
But what about her? What has she ever done for him?!
"Go after her!" the old man shouted furiously, seeing the hostage escape.
But anyone who tried to chase Clara was instantly blocked by Adrian, swords in both hands, diving straight into the wild melee.
*****
"Connor Tong?" Ethan Chu looked at the man before him, feeling a bitter irony. Once a model of loyalty, now just a pawn for the wicked.
And now, what was he doing? Blocking Ethan Chu's path with his own men?
"Emperor Chu, I advise you to surrender." Leading his few remaining soldiers, Connor Tong barred Ethan Chu's way.
"Is your brain made of dog crap or what?" Ethan Chu sneered.
"What did you just say?" Connor Tong's face changed instantly, and the soldiers all stared, shocked—how could an emperor talk so crudely?
"Are you really that brainless? Since when do Cao Wan'er and her son act like Emperor Song Jing ever did? If the late emperor was so easy to fool, he'd have been dead ages ago. Now that witch just spouts nonsense and you all buy it? You guys are hopeless." Ethan Chu sat tall on his horse, looking down at them like they were idiots.
The soldiers glanced at each other, then at General Connor Tong, not knowing what to think anymore.
"Enough nonsense!" Connor Tong would never admit he'd been tricked. No way, absolutely not!
Ethan Chu snorted, unimpressed. "Let’s skip the rest—just look at now. Jude Song took the throne without the Dragon–Phoenix Jade Seal. All the ministers objected, and what happened? Whole clans wiped out, nine generations slaughtered. Is that how a wise emperor acts? And you’ve seen the Jade Seal yourself in her hands, her tail is pure gold. Can you really deny she’s the real deal? Can you even question her legitimacy?"
"Uh..." Connor Tong froze again. Yeah, when you think about it, that kind of makes sense...
"Your family even has a painting of the Dragon–Phoenix Jade Seal, right? Your dad must’ve told you about it. Since forever, emperors keep the Jade Seal locked away—no one but the emperor even knows where it is. So how did Ivy’s mom supposedly steal it? And if Cao Wan’er’s story is true, why didn’t anyone investigate back then? Why are we only hearing about it now, when Ivy’s challenging her? Don’t you think that’s fishy?" Ethan Chu pressed.
The soldiers listened to Ethan Chu’s words and couldn’t help but feel something was off. Even if they hadn’t been involved, just hearing this made them suspicious.
"General, my mom says that woman really is the Empress of the Soaring Phoenix Realm," one soldier piped up, braving the silence.
Right away, a few more soldiers chimed in: "Yeah, my mom says the same thing. She told us not to block the Empress, and that it's not her killing the civilians. They trust the Empress would never do something like that."
"Yeah, General, my mom says so too. And Saint Willow said it—he wouldn't lie. Plus, Jude Song... he's never shown a tail..." The soldier's voice got quieter, but that last bit hit home for everyone. Even if he was crippled, a royal should still have a tail, right? But the Crown Prince never showed the Song clan's mark.
Of course, that's exactly what Saint Willow said back then—and it's true. Jude Song never showed a royal tail, though his leg injury was always the excuse.
But now the Empress not only shows a golden tail, she also has the Dragon–Phoenix Jade Seal, and all the people's love and support. No wonder these soldiers were starting to waver.
"Uh..." Connor Tong hesitated again. Every word from his men made sense, but...
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"General Tong, don't listen to his nonsense!" Suddenly, two or three dozen men in grey clothes, each embroidered with dragon claws, burst onto the scene.
Whinny! The horse reared up, startled by the arrival of these men.
Ethan Chu frowned. He could feel these newcomers were no ordinary fighters. Judging by their outfits and aura, they had to be the 'dark forces' Ivy mentioned.
Could it be...
Ethan Chu's eyes widened. So these were Empress Dowager Cao's secret elites?
"General Tong, are you questioning Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?" The tallest of the grey-clad men stepped forward, staring coldly at Connor Tong.
"Who are you?" Connor Tong demanded, gripping his sword tight, clearly on guard.
"We're the Empress Dowager's personal guards." The man flashed a token—her official seal. "Kneel, now!"
At that, Connor Tong and the soldiers almost knelt, but Ethan Chu roared, "You want to kneel to traitors? Use your brains! If the Empress Dowager wasn't guilty, why does she keep sending people to mess with you?"
"Chu Emperor, quit spouting lies!" The grey-clad man snapped, seeing Connor Tong hesitate.
"Ha, lies? That's rich. You really think no one suspects you after all this? If you trusted Connor Tong, why keep pulling stunts like this? You're just here to confuse people. Sure, you’ll say I’m lying, but everything I say makes sense. What about you?" Ethan Chu stared down at them, not scared at all. Who cared how strong their martial arts were? If they threatened Ivy, he'd destroy them all.
"Impossible..." The man was clearly rattled—he'd totally underestimated a king's debate skills.
Connor Tong wasn't a genius, but he wasn't dumb either. He caught the flicker of panic on the grey-clad man's face and quickly said, "I want to see the Empress Dowager myself! If I have doubts, I need to ask her directly. I won't kill innocents, and that woman’s story has way too many holes. If I kill the wrong person, I won’t have the guts to face my ancestors."
"What’s that supposed to mean, General Tong? Don’t tell me you believe him now?" The man didn't like Connor's doubts one bit.
"Yeah, General Tong! The Empress Dowager treats you like family—she’d never trick you. Don’t listen to his nonsense!" another grey-clad man jumped in.
"I have doubts, I don't know the truth, so I need to ask. If I'm wrong, I'll accept any punishment." Connor Tong declared, fists clasped in salute.
His expression said it all—he didn’t understand, so he had to see the Empress Dowager himself.
At that, the thirty-some grey-clad men exchanged glances. Next second, their eyes flashed murder—they raised their blades and charged Connor Tong and his men.
Naturally, seeing this, Ethan Chu leaped off his horse to help them fight.
"You... you really are traitors!" Connor Tong roared, watching these killers slaughter his men. Regret burned in his chest for ever trusting them.
"You bastards! Bastards!" Connor Tong howled, fists clenched, teeth grinding, his whole body burning with fury—ready to explode.