Chapter 708
Chapter 708
Inside the King of Chu's barracks.
The King of Chu, who had been unconscious for days, finally awoke.
"Shen Lang, you vile bastard! I swear this! I will slaughter your entire family, flay you alive, and burn you to death! I will dig up the graves of all eighteen generations of your Shen Clan's ancestors and the Jin Clan's ancestors as well! Not only that, after I conquer Tianyue City, I will burn down the Yue King's palace!"
The Crown Prince of Chu asked.
"Royal Father, what should we do now? Should we turn back immediately and save the capital?"
The King of Chu replied coldly.
"Turn back? If our army returns to the capital now, we will gain nothing. Shen Lang, that damned scoundrel, is living in a fantasy, just waiting for us to negotiate with him!"
The King of Chu suddenly threw off his covers, rose from his bed, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"There is only one path left for us now. We must fight with all our strength, completely conquer Zhenxi City, and seize Tianxi Province! I originally intended not to attack the Yue capital to save face for His Majesty the Emperor. But now that Ning Zheng and Shen Lang have burned my palace, I have no other choice. We must swiftly take the Yue capital, force the King of Yue to commit suicide, and burn his palace to the ground. Only then can our State of Chu regain its honor."
The King of Chu continued, roaring.
"So Shen Lang occupies our capital and refuses to leave? Let him! Once I conquer the Yue capital, I won't leave either! Not only that, I will negotiate with Ning Qi and have the Xue Clan's fleet immediately attack Raging Tide City to completely annihilate the Jin Clan. I will kill all of Shen Lang's parents and the entire Jin Clan!
After that, I will negotiate only with Ning Qi, not Shen Lang. If Ning Zheng doesn't relinquish the Chu capital and withdraw his forces, I will kill his entire family too. Tomorrow, the army will attack the city with all its might! We will raze Zhenxi City and the Yue capital, burn the Yue palace, and force Ning Yuanxian to kill himself! That is our only way forward!"
The King of Chu spoke with a booming, imposing voice. There was no trace of his illness; he was like an enraged tiger ready to devour everything. The Crown Prince of Chu bowed and said.
"I humbly accept my Royal Father's command!"
* * *
A short while later, the King of Chu summoned all his high-ranking military officers for a pre-battle meeting. The king spoke in a quiet voice.
"I know you have all heard the rumors. The rumors that Ning Zheng and Shen Lang crossed the thousand-li Great Snow Mountain and, after a swift long-distance march, conquered our capital of Chu. Furthermore, it is said that he burned our palace and took the queen and several consorts captive."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked, but they all shook their heads in unison.
"That could not have happened. They are merely rumors; we do not believe them."
But the King of Chu said calmly.
"Those rumors are all true!"
A deathly silence fell over the place, and the king continued in his hoarse voice.
"All of that news is true. Our capital has been occupied by Shen Lang, and the queen and Consort An have been taken captive. He even subjected them to the great humiliation of being paraded before the masses. My palace, the magnificent palace our Chu Clan spent hundreds of years to build, has been burned to the ground."
Everyone remained silent, but the officers' breathing grew heavier. The king had explained this with extreme composure, and that was what made it most terrifying. In a slow drawl, the king asked them.
"Tell me, how can we wash away this humiliation?"
One of the generals among them shouted loudly.
"A blood debt must be paid in blood."
The king looked at the others, and they too shouted in unison.
"A blood debt must be paid in blood!"
"Let's pay our blood debt in blood!"
The King of Chu spoke again in a low voice.
"Well said. A blood debt must be paid in blood! Therefore, we must take Zhenxi City, occupy the Yue capital, burn the Yue King's palace, force Ning Yuanxian to kill himself, and slaughter three hundred thousand—no, five hundred thousand—of Yue's people! We must kill Shen Lang's entire family and the entire Jin Clan. Only then can our State of Chu regain even a shred of its dignity."
The king's hawk-like eyes swept slowly over his officers as he spoke.
"I know you cherish your soldiers and your own lives. But... but in tomorrow's siege, I will assign a mission to every officer. Those who complete their mission will be promoted. Those who fail should not expect to keep their heads. I do not care who you are, how close we are, or what great merits you have achieved in the past. Any general who fails to complete their mission in the attack on Zhenxi City tomorrow will be executed!
I don't care what methods you use, how many people die, or even if all of you die—I must have Zhenxi City in my hands. If you fail to capture a section of the wall and lose the battle in your assigned sector, I will not only take your head but also slaughter your entire family! Remember this. If we do not destroy the Yue capital this time, if Ning Yuanxian, Shen Lang's family, and the Jin Clan do not all die, I will never return to Chu! Is that understood?"
From beginning to end, the king spoke in a low, hoarse voice, yet it shook men's hearts like the heavy rumble of thunder in the sky, threatening to strike down with a terrifying bolt of lightning at any moment, leaving not even bones to be collected. No one doubted the king's will.
"We obey your command!"
They all knelt in an orderly fashion.
"Then you are dismissed. We attack the city tomorrow!"
The officers withdrew. Their hearts were heavy, yet also filled with a murderous resolve. After returning to their barracks, every general issued orders for strategic deployment. Tomorrow would be the decisive battle, the assault on Zhenxi City. Take the city or lose their heads—there was no other path for them.
* * *
The next day.
The two hundred thousand strong army of Chu was completely transformed. Every soldier wore a solemn expression, their eyes filled with resentment. Is it not said that an army filled with righteous fury is destined for victory? There was no need for a rousing speech before battle; the King of Chu gave the order directly.
"Attack the city!"
And so, the most spectacular scene since the war began unfolded. Every officer and soldier of Chu attacked the city as if they had gone mad, with no regard for their own lives. When one fell, another took their place, surging forward like moths to a flame.
'Die, die! Fight, fight!'
The Chu army transformed in an instant, becoming as dangerous as savage warriors. Zhong Yao was shocked. He dared not hold back any reserves, mobilizing his entire force to fight. If they couldn't stop the Chu army in this battle, having reserves would be useless. The Zhong Clan committed their most elite direct-line warriors to this fight, even the disciples of the South Sea Sword Sect. Hundreds, including the heirs of the Zhong Clan, became soldiers, all fighting on the front lines of the city walls. Even the peerless beauty Zhong Sisi personally went atop the wall to fight. The Zhong Clan gave their all, squeezing out their very last drop of blood.
In that moment, Zhong Yao felt no fear. All thoughts of schemes and politics vanished from his mind; he had no time to care for anything else. Zhenxi City was the foundation of the Zhong Clan. If the city fell, the Zhong Clan would be destroyed. In that case, even if Ning Qi were to ascend the throne in the future, it would be meaningless. For the Zhong Clan's hundred-year enterprise, for their future, they had to resist the enemy to the very end.
The battlefield roared with a deafening clamor, yet it also seemed to be shrouded in silence, for death had become the only event taking place. The armies on both sides died, and died, and died again. The Chu army attacked the city like madmen, and every mid-ranking officer led their soldiers from the front, frantically climbing the siege ladders up the walls. The peerless beauty Zhong Sisi, clad in brightly colored armor, swung her sword wildly, cutting down the Chu soldiers and officers who climbed onto the wall and sending them plummeting to the ground below. At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind.
'Kill!'
She had to help her clan survive this calamity. Otherwise, she would no longer be able to play the part of a princess, looking down on others from her high perch. Of course, she had never been a princess, but she had certainly been treated like one.
* * *
"Kill!"
The Crown Prince of Chu left the central command camp and, protected by a troop of cavalry, charged onto the battlefield to rally the troops. He didn't need to climb the walls himself, but he had to gallop across the entire battlefield, holding the crown prince's banner high. The Chu soldiers needed only to turn around to see that their prince was right behind them.
'The King and the Crown Prince are watching from behind us, and His Highness the Crown Prince has even taken to the field himself. What reason do we have not to risk our lives? Our palace has been burned, our capital has been raided. Now, this blood debt must be paid in blood. Let's raze Zhenxi City and the Yue capital to the ground. Kill the enemy, kill!'
The stench of blood on the battlefield pierced the sky, bodies piled up like mountains, and the blood of soldiers flowed like a river.
* * *
Inside Ning Qi's barracks.
He was truly shocked, pleased, and also enraged. Because he, too, had received the news about Shen Lang. The news that Ning Zheng and Shen Lang, leading an army of ten thousand, had crossed the thousand-li Great Snow Mountain and, after a journey of thousands of li, had conquered the capital of Chu, burned the palace, and taken the queen and princes of Chu captive.
Upon receiving the news, Ning Qi was so shocked his whole body trembled. Shen Lang was mad, and Ning Zheng was mad. No one would have ever conceived of such a thing, yet they had done it, and more importantly, they had succeeded. They had literally created an unprecedented miracle, and such incredible news would spread uncontrollably fast, shocking the world.
What would be the reaction in the State of Yue when this great victory report arrived? Yue was currently lifeless, but the news that Ning Zheng and Shen Lang had conquered the Chu capital would cause a massive stir, like a great boulder thrown into a lake. Everyone in Yue would be thrilled, everyone would praise this great and heroic victory, and Ning Zheng's reputation would soar to terrifying heights.
This victory truly deserved to be called a miracle. It was completely different from the situations where the Qiang army or the King of Wu had withdrawn their forces. Those two were victories of diplomacy and scheming. But occupying the Chu capital was an incredibly rare military victory. Therefore, upon hearing the news, Ning Zheng's status would rise infinitely, not just in the hearts of the common people of Yue, but among the officials as well.
Could such a person become the monarch of our State of Yue? Of course, he could. So, the most frightening thing in this situation was the possibility that his Royal Father, Ning Yuanxian, would use this victory to declare Ning Zheng the Duke of Yue. He could first elevate Ning Zheng to Duke of Yue to give the world a buffer, and then, after more time passed, he could invest Ning Zheng as the Crown Prince.
'That damn Shen Lang. He's a bastard who deserves to be stabbed ten million times and torn to shreds. How in the world did you pull off such a crazy feat?'
Ning Qi had no other choice now. He had to succeed in killing the King of Chu on the battlefield; failure was absolutely not an option. Otherwise, his connection to the throne of Yue would be severed. That was why, for the past few days, Ning Qi had been burning with anxiety.
'Why hasn't the King of Chu woken up? Why hasn't he initiated the battle?'
Every day, Ning Qi prayed for the King of Chu to wake up quickly and start the decisive battle. But today, the King of Chu had finally begun the assault. To his surprise, however, the Chu army had transformed into an army of madmen. The moment the battle began today, Zhenxi City was plunged into a great crisis. Even the peerless beauty Zhong Sisi had gone up on the wall to slaughter the enemy. There was truly no time. Any more delay, and Zhenxi City might fall. If the Zhong Clan was finished, Ning Qi would be half-finished as well.