45: A palace coup, a rebellion!

Night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Outside the Imperial Capital, to the south, was the Hundred Battles Camp.

Inside the entire grand camp, clusters of torches lit up, and the thundering sound of hooves was incessant.

In the firelight, azure iron armor reflected a cold gleam, and a terrifying number of troops, arrayed in formation, surged towards the Imperial Capital like a bronze torrent.

The standard armor of the Hundred Battles Camp was forged from a thousand refined profound iron, impervious to water and fire, and impenetrable by Protective Aura.

The breastplate was rectangular, inlaid with multiple profound iron scales, which intertwined like a Dragon's body, extending outwards to the shoulder guards, transforming into the head of an azure evil flood Dragon.

When the army moved in unison, faint sounds of Dragon roars could be heard.

At the very front, a burly Old General, with hair streaked black and white, wore nine-headed flood Dragon armor and held a crimson blood battle saber.

His aura of ferocity was almost solidified, taking the form of an evil flood Dragon, sending shivers down one's spine.

“The time has come! Follow this general into the city and eliminate the treacherous villains!”

Military General raised his crimson blood battle saber, his warhorse whinnied, and his command was powerful and deafening.

“We respectfully obey the Grand General’s order!”

The general of the vanguard cavalry regiment held a blood-stained mountain shaking battle flag, commanding the army to advance with the force of a thunderclap, mighty and vast, directly towards the Imperial Capital.

Wherever they passed, dust flew, and nothing could stop them.

Before reaching the Imperial Capital, the slaughter had already begun.

In the night, the scouts watched, their hearts trembling with fear... Eastern Palace.

The Crown Prince, listening to the urgent reports from his informants, his shoulders trembling slightly, let out a burst of unrestrained laughter.

“Today is truly a day of great joy for this lonely one, a double blessing!”

“King Qi is cornered and desperate, the Imperial Father is critically ill, and this lonely one is only half a step away from that position!”

“Someone! Summon General Chen, and then send my secret letter, ordering the Prime Minister to dispatch troops to capture and kill the rebels!”

The Crown Prince had specially changed into the Golden Dragon Armor he had commissioned, looking radiant.

“Your Highness, what is the situation?” The Seventh Prince of the Longevity Dynasty, secretly residing in the Eastern Palace, received the news and immediately met with the Crown Prince.

“King Qi is struggling in his death throes, he has mobilized the entire Hundred Battles Camp, preparing to break through the South City Gate and into the palace gates.”

“Although the South City Gate is controlled by the Hundred Battles Camp, there are still ten thousand soldiers from the Tiger and Leopard Battalion, ten thousand from the Winged Dragon Camp, and ten thousand from the Valiant Cavalry Camp within the city. At this moment, all have received orders to defend the palace gates to the death. As long as they hold out for a short while, when the main forces of the three grand camps arrive, the rebels will surely be annihilated!”

The Crown Prince wiped the treasured sword in his hand, already eager to use this sword to personally cut off Prince Qi’s head.

“Brother Chi, please wait for good news. Once this lonely one takes power, I will form a permanent alliance with the Longevity Dynasty.”

...Outside the West City Gate.

The two hundred thousand strong Valiant Cavalry Camp, which had dispatched troops almost simultaneously with the Hundred Battles Camp, firmly controlled the West City Gate.

Ten thousand were left inside the city.

All the rest were stationed outside the city.

In the grand camp.

Deputy General Xing glanced at the King of Chu's seal, then respectfully handed it to the military official next to him, who wore a half-covered silver mask.

“My lord, it is as you predicted. The King of Chu indeed told us not to act rashly and to await orders.”

“Now King Qi’s army has already entered the city, my lord, what exactly should we do?”

“Cooperate with the King of Chu, and wait.” The silver-masked man’s voice was icy cold, “Tonight is a good day to send my Imperial brothers on their way.”

...Inside the Imperial Capital.

A scene of desolation.

Every household's doors were tightly shut.

Although the Hundred Battles Camp's invading army maintained strict discipline and did not deliberately loot the populace, at a time when everyone's nerves were taut, once the army discovered suspicious individuals, they would kill them without question.

The stench of blood filled the streets and alleys.

Where the armies clashed, infants dared not cry, and even stray dogs on the roadside would receive a couple of slashes.

The Hundred Battles Camp's army was endless, while the defending forces of the three camps numbered only thirty thousand.

In less than half an hour, the three-camp coalition was defeated, with fewer than five thousand remnants retreating to the depths of the Imperial Palace.

Behind them was the Wu Dynasty's Nine Dragon Hall, the site of the grand court assembly.

The ground was already awash with blood.

A sanguine mist permeated the air, making the silver moon in the sky appear somewhat sinister.

King Qi and Old General Military General stood shoulder to shoulder, surrounded by numerous experts, on the vast square outside the Nine Dragon Hall, confronting the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and others.

“Is the Imperial Father truly beyond hope, with no one even to preside over the Imperial Palace’s grand formation?”

Prince Qi sighed softly, his gaze piercing through the stubbornly defending troops, as if he saw the supreme imperial throne within the Nine Dragon Hall.

“Prince Qi! Your rebellion and usurpation are crimes punishable by slow slicing!”

The Crown Prince, looking somewhat disheveled from the aftershocks of several major battles, pointed at King Qi and the others and cursed.

“And you, Military General, as an Old General who has served three dynasties, you disregard imperial grace, you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, willingly associating with rebels. You deserve to have your nine generations exterminated and your name to be reviled for ten thousand years!”

Military General's face was stern, and he said nothing.

Prince Qi sneered, “Crown Prince Your Highness, don’t you find your words a bit laughable? The victor is king, the loser is bandit. If this King wins today, Old General Qin’s name will surely shine through the ages, and the rebels will be you and your ilk.

I originally thought the Imperial Palace’s grand formation would cause this King some trouble, but now, Crown Prince Your Highness, what do you have to stop us?”

After a slight pause.

Prince Qi then sternly declared, “Soldiers of the Hundred Battles Camp, follow this King to flatten these treacherous villains and protect His Majesty’s safety!”

No sooner had his voice fallen than tens of thousands of armored soldiers of the Hundred Battles Camp stepped forward in unison.

The mountain shaking battle flag fluttered in the wind, the army’s momentum condensed, shaking heaven and earth, like an ancient behemoth reviving, raising mountains as if to smash them down.

“This ancient battle flag, passed down through generations, can elevate the overall power of the battle formation by an entire level. Crown Prince Your Highness, be careful!”

Prime Minister reminded softly, a vast aura surging around him, condensing into the illusory form of a Literary Grandmaster.

“This little beast Prince Qi has clearly been plotting for a long time, but fortunately, he has bared his fangs today, and I have the upper hand.”

The Crown Prince sneered, not forgetting to comfort the remnants of his troops in front of him, “All you soldiers, the sacrifices you make today, the Great Wu Dynasty will remember! You are all heroes of the Great Wu Dynasty, and the reinforcements from the three grand camps are approaching; the rebels will surely be defeated sooner or later!”

“Hold the line!”

“Kill!”

The armored soldiers of the Hundred Battles Camp charged, their military might condensing into a terrifying phantom, directly crushing over the broken and defeated troops.

Military General’s gaze was ferocious, and he charged out of the formation, his nine-zhang illusory Dharma Aspect, bolstered by the army’s battle souls, emitted a crimson spiritual light, carrying a majestic Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, and surged towards the Crown Prince.

The three experts from the Immortal Fate Studio attempted to intercept, but all were restrained by the strong individuals surrounding Prince Qi.

Military General struck with a single saber, a crimson blood-edge spanning several zhang of the Void Realm, directly bisecting several Divine Martial Realm guards, and its momentum undiminished, it cleaved straight towards the Crown Prince’s face.

His illusory Dharma Aspect had absorbed the bloody spiritual light, now possessing the power of a spiritual Dharma Aspect, and simultaneously made a saber-wielding motion.

The crimson saber light shimmered.

The Crown Prince, with no way to evade, shrieked in terror, “Eunuch Cao, save me!”

“Boom!”

With a massive tremor, the Wu Dynasty’s Chief Eunuch, Eunuch Cao, lost his official cap, his white hair fluttering. He held the Crown Prince with one hand and parried Military General’s saber strike with the other.

A bloody gash tore open between his pale palms, and drops of blood trickled down.

Military General’s expression was indifferent, and he did not pursue relentlessly; instead, he looked at the ground, striking fiercely with his saber, beheading the Fifth Prince and his accompanying guards in one swift motion.