Ivy Shen rode atop her horse and shouted, "Siege!"
Instantly, thousands upon thousands of soldiers surged forward. Arrows rained down from the walls of the Soaring Phoenix Realm, trying to cut down these brave troops.
But Ivy had already ordered Ethan Chu to forge copper-headed, iron-armored suits following her design. While a few soldiers got hit, most emerged unscathed.
However, just as they were about to reach the base of the wall, stones came crashing down from above and the arrows switched to flaming ones. In a flash, over a thousand soldiers were lost to the inferno and smashed by falling rocks.
Ivy clenched her fists, her brows furrowing tightly. Her eyes burned with fury as she stared at the man in the red battle robe standing atop the wall—handsome and heroic.
But right now, in her eyes, he was nothing but a pretty vase—empty decoration!
"Connor Tong!" someone shouted.
"Kill these Chu dogs!" The soldiers on the wall, seeing their general appear, instantly rallied—the man's influence over them was obvious.
Soldier A: "Oh my god, isn't that the undefeated General Connor Tong?"
Soldier B: "Yeah, so he's really here?"
Soldier A: "What do we do? If he takes the field, we're totally doomed!"
Soldier B: "Forget it! For the Emperor, we'll charge in no matter what!"
Soldier A: "Yeah, for the Emperor—who cares if we die? Charge!"
Connor Tong's appearance really did shake the morale of the Chu Kingdom troops. After all, his legend was famous enough to make anyone's ears ring.
"Ahhh—"
*Swish swish*
*Hiss hiss*
The screams of dying soldiers, the whoosh of falling fire arrows, the thud of horses collapsing—every kind of shriek filled the air, grating on the nerves.
In an instant, the place became a slaughterhouse. Both sides wanted the other dead—nothing else mattered.
Ivy Shen's eyes blazed with fury. She suddenly stood up on her horse, glaring coldly at Connor Tong on the wall. Channeling her inner power, her voice rang out loud and clear: "Connor Tong, do you even know who you're up against?"
The 'traitor' was clearly a seasoned martial artist. Even in the chaos, he could hear every word—and he used his own inner strength to shout back, voice booming.
"Brain-dead moron," Ivy Shen spat coldly.
"Traitor, how dare you insult me?" Clearly, Ivy's curse had gotten under his skin.
"Who has the Tong family guarded for generations? The heirs of Emperor Song! Now look carefully at who you're fighting—and who you're helping! Are Empress Cao and her son really worth protecting? They've slaughtered innocents and shown zero mercy. Is this the kind of emperor the Song clan used to serve?" Ivy Shen demanded, voice burning with anger.
Connor Tong hesitated for a split second, then snapped back: "Rebel, stop spouting nonsense!"
"Nonsense? Open your eyes and look at this!" Ivy Shen whipped out the Dragon-Phoenix Jade Seal from her robe. The moment she revealed it, a green glow shot straight up into the clouds, freezing every soldier on the battlefield in stunned awe.
"That... that's..." Connor Tong instinctively stepped back, clearly shaken. He'd seen this thing before—his own father had a painting of the seal by the late emperor, a treasured gift for his battlefield heroics. That painting was worshipped in their family hall.
So he knew exactly what it was—the symbol of the Soaring Phoenix Realm, the Dragon-Phoenix Jade Seal!
"If Father truly wanted Song Zhijue to be emperor, why didn't he give him the Dragon-Phoenix Jade Seal? Why has the seal been missing for so many years?" Seeing Connor Tong's reaction, Ivy Shen realized he still had some sense left.
"Uh..." Connor Tong faltered. Yeah—why hadn't the late emperor handed the Jade Seal to the Crown Prince?