"If you want to ask why we did not appear in the Mausoleum of Books … that's because a battle on that level is no longer something I can participate in, much less you." Tianhai Chenwu stood up from his chair and slowly walked to the door. After a moment of silence, he said, "As for this war in the capital, since I've already made up my mind, I will not change it."
"My Holiness has so easily made your decision, so how can we so easily accept it?"
Tianhai Shengxue's face was as pale as snow.
"I am the head of the Tianhai clan. My decision represents the will of the Tianhai clan."
"My Holiness must not forget that the Tianhai clan is the Tianhai clan because the Empress is surnamed Tianhai!"
"But you must also not forget that saying that has been circulating on the continent for a long time: Tianhai is Tianhai, the Tianhai clan is the Tianhai clan!"
Tianhai Chenwu looked at his son like he was looking at an idiot and harshly yelled, "Why should I have the Tianhai clan accompany her in death!"
Tianhai Shengxue gave a somewhat absent-minded laugh. "Could it be that My Holiness believes that if the Empress is no longer here, our Tianhai clan can continue to exist?"
"A truly intelligent person will never deny the existence of any possibility."
Tianhai Chenwu gazed at the Mausoleum of Books under the night sky, the corners of his eyes twitching. He took in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. With a slightly hoarse voice, he said, "His Holiness the Pope and Principal Shang swore an oath to the starry sky to make a promise to me. They have no leeway to renege on it. If the Imperial Court wants to stabilize as quickly as possible, it needs our existence."
Tianhai Shengxue painfully said, "Father, you shouldn't be such a naive person! How could you be so muddle-headed!"
"Naive? Muddle-Headed? " Tianhai Chenwu laughed involuntarily, a tinge of pain and hatred flashing through his eyes. His voice became even more hoarse as he harshly said, "Until the final moment, do you think I would make this sort of decision? Just a moment ago, the Empress saved Chen Changsheng. Do you still not understand what this means! "
Tianhai Shengxue froze, and then a struggling expression appeared on his face. He wanted to argue, but he didn't know where to start.
"This means that the Empress has already decided to pass the throne to Chen Changsheng!"
"But … news just came from the Mausoleum of Books that Chen Changsheng is not Crown Prince Zhaoming."
"Is that important? No matter who Crown Prince Zhaoming is, the Empress has never thought about passing the throne to me. "
Tianhai Chenwu's voice became even colder. "This being the case, why should I let the Tianhai clan shed blood for her?"
Tianhai Shengxue was still unable to accept it, saying, "Even if that's the case, could it be that you can ascend to the throne afterwards? No! The only one who could ascend to the throne was still that Crown Prince Zhaoming whose whereabouts were unknown! Principal Shang has planned for so many years that he would never allow anything else to happen. The Prince of Xiang can't, the Prince of Zhongshan can't, and Sir also has no hope, so what difference does the situation make? "
"The difference is that if the Empress wins, for the sake of her son, she will definitely weaken us as much as possible in the next few years, perhaps even directly kill us. But if the Empress loses, if her son wants to rule this country under the gaze of seventeen princes, he will have no choice but to need our Tianhai clan as his arms."
Tianhai Chenwu's voice was incomparably cold. "After all, we are his uncle's family, and I am his cousin. We are all family, aren't we?"
…
… …
The rain over the capital had already stopped, but the torrential rain was still falling over the distant plains. Occasionally, lightning would flash in the night sky, clearly illuminating the figures of those Red Falcons flying back and forth.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended and a rain of ballista bolts rose from the ground, flying in reverse with the torrential rain and shooting down a Red Falcon flying south.
Soon after, thunder boomed from the rain clouds. With a rumble, the thundering hooves gradually came to a stop, replaced by the sound of ballista bolts flying through the air and countless clangs of metal.
Similar scenes were taking place in many places, taking place in the armies preparing to return to the capital. The Great Zhou Army in the rain grew restless and then quickly fell silent, no longer making a single sound.
Tens of thousands of cavalry had stopped advancing, pausing in the torrential rain. It was strangely quiet, and no one knew what had happened.
At the very front of the cavalry of the Great Zhou's Mount Song Army that had returned from the Wusong Mountain Fortress was a carriage.
With the support of a Guardian, the Old Lady of the Mutuo clan struggled out of the carriage. Standing in the torrential rain, she gazed at the dense mass of cavalry in front of her.
"Where is your clan's general?"
The several thousand cavalry of the Mount Song Army parted like a tide. The seventh Divine General of the Great Zhou, Tian Song, rode out from the rear on his Black Dragon Horse.
Seeing the elderly woman next to the carriage, Divine General Tian Song slightly lowered his head, allowing the rain to wash his armor in silence for a very long time.
In the end, he still dismounted from his horse and said stiffly to the old woman, "This child is fully armored and cannot bow to Mother."
"It's already a time like this, so what's the point in caring about such unnecessary formalities?"
The Old Lady of the Mutuo clan was not angered by his attitude. Like an ordinary old woman, she muttered, "Your daughter is about to give birth, so why aren't you quickly following me home to take a look?"
… …
… …
The Black Mountain Camp was the unit of the Great Zhou Army most skilled in defense. They were famed for their arrays and especially skilled at using magical artifacts. Normally, they guarded the capital and were deeply trusted by the Divine Empress.
Some time ago, because the Demon Lord had left Xuelao City and ventured deep into Mount Han, the situation in the north of the continent was abnormally tense. The Black Mountain Camp had been called forward by the Ministry of the Army to defend the front line of Huayang County, but it was still not far from the capital. Of the several armies returning to the capital tonight, although the Black Mountain Camp did not have many cavalry, it was the fastest to reach the capital.
Until they were forced to stop by the torrential rain or some other reason in the highlands of Red Pine Valley, thirty li north of the capital.
The torrential rain fell upon the makeshift tents with a boom. It did not sound like war drums, but more like leather bags filled with alcohol falling to the ground.
The tent was filled with the smell of strong alcohol, but this did not mean that at this tense moment, there were still people in the mood to feast. Rather, it was because some of the soldiers had suffered significant injuries and were currently receiving treatment.
The commander of the Black Mountain Camp was Divine General Wu Shuang. This Divine General had an extraordinary background and an elegant demeanor. He was strict with his subordinates, but not harsh. He was fair in reward and punishment, and had a certain degree in reward and punishment. He was deeply loved and respected by the soldiers under his command. If someone had the intention to harm him, let alone being injured, even if they were beheaded, his personal soldiers would still ensure his safety.
But tonight's situation was different. Those personal soldiers could not fight to the death with their opponents.
Divine General Wu Shuang's face was as white as paper. It was obvious that he had suffered significant injuries. His face was like frost, cold to the extreme.
His gaze flitted across those Guardians that he had grown up with, ultimately resting on his father. He became agitated and wanted to stand up, but he was restrained by a magical artifact, unable to move.
He angrily roared, "The Empress has always been gracious to me. Father, by doing this, aren't you making me unjust!"
The head of the Wu family looked at his son and said, "The Empress truly does trust you, but has she ever trusted your family in the slightest?"
Wu Shuang's expression did not change. He sternly said, "The Empress has treated me well. I cannot let her down."
The head of the Wu family's expression also did not change. He indifferently said, "So as your father, I will not let you do anything that would betray your heart. Right now, you have the heart, but you have no power."
Wu Shuang thought of how his father had led the Guardians to ambush him and restrain him, and his expression became even more unsightly.
The head of the Wu family calmly said, "Let it go … the Empress previously saved Chen Changsheng in the Mausoleum of Books, which directly led to the betrayal of the Tianhai family … did she not think of this? But why does she still insist on doing this? Because she is Chen Changsheng's mother. Then, do you think I would harm you? "
… …
… …
After a fierce battle, the reinforcements from the Han Province Army temporarily stopped at the Chenggong Mountains outside the rain clouds.
The sixth Divine General of the Great Zhou, Tian Chui, stood on the corpse-filled battlefield, his two hands gripping the metal sword.
Ten-some streams of blood seeped out from the chinks in his armor. His eyes were wide open, brimming with rage.
He looked at those subordinates that he had once fought shoulder to shoulder with on the battlefield, looked at those former schoolmates, and harshly yelled, "Even if you can kill me, how can you convince the masses! Seven armies have returned to the capital! Even if you kill us generals, how can you make the soldiers obey your orders! "
The several dozen people surrounding him suddenly parted. The principal of Star Seizer Academy, Chen Guansong, slowly walked over from the foot of the mountain.
"Teacher … when did you leave the capital?"
Divine General Tian Chui looked at Chen Guansong, his expression abruptly changing. "Even Sir … has betrayed?"
Chen Guansong looked at him and said, "The Great Zhou Dynasty has never been surnamed Tianhai, but Chen. Your teacher cannot accept the word 'betrayal'."
This extremely senior and inconspicuous figure of the Great Zhou Army, so inconspicuous that everyone had almost forgotten about him, gazed at the disciple that he had admired the most two hundred years ago and was now at the end of his rope. He could not bear to see this. "You fought against the demons in the north, achieving great merit for the Human race. The reason the Great Zhou has been able to barely maintain a balance of power in these last few years is all because of you. As long as you are willing to surrender, whether it's His Holiness the Pope, Principal Shang, or the princes, they will all be extremely happy. You will be able to choose any army in the north."
Divine General Tian Chui's expression was a little perplexed, but after a few moments, it completely vanished. A hint of ruthlessness flashed across his face as he asked, "Just why?"
He did not answer the suggestion of his beloved teacher. He only wanted to know the reason.
After Chen Guansong left the front lines, he returned to the capital to take charge of Star Seizer Academy, raising countless outstanding generals for the Great Zhou Imperial Court. He was assuredly extremely trusted by the Divine Empress, and based on his understanding of his teacher, Chen Guansong could not have endured for two-hundred-some years for tonight's matter. So just what had made him stand against the Divine Empress?
"I said before that the reason the Great Zhou has been able to maintain a balance of power in the north with the demons in these last few years is all because of you … Xue Xingchuan has remained in the capital all this time, Xu Shiji and the others have been mediocre and incompetent. Crucially, just what is the Divine Empress thinking? Correct, in the end, I was still disappointed in the Empress. This is the reason. "
Chen Guansong looked at Tian Chui and said, "I hope that this reason can convince you."
Divine General Tian Chui fell silent for a very long time, and then he began to laugh, revealing his white teeth. His laugh was both miserable and full of derision.
"You people, just what do you know?"
The rain clouds in the night sky finally drifted over Chenggong Mountain.
The torrential rain fiercely descended, but it could not wash away the blood on Divine General Tian Chui's armor.
He looked at Chen Guansong, looked at his former schoolmates and comrades, his face full of contempt as he said, "Come."
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