Chapter 710
Chapter 710
“Seize An Liang!”
The King of Chu gave the order, and the grandmaster-level expert by his side leaped to attack Grand Eunuch An Liang. At the same time, Ning Qi drew his majestic bow, nocking an arrow and pulling the string taut.
The King of Chu roared in anger.
“An Liang, did you collude with Ning Qi to plot against me?”
But in that instant, the King of Chu's body suddenly stiffened. A strange and enchanting fragrance spread through the air.
“Aaargh! Fudushan, Fudushan is plotting to kill me! Ning Qi has colluded with Fudushan to poison me...”
After crying out, the King of Chu coughed up a mouthful of green blood, threw his head back, and died. At that moment, Ning Qi had only drawn his bowstring; he had not yet released the arrow.
*Damn it! The King of Chu died before I even shot the arrow? What is this! This won't make my archery look impressive at all! Instead of becoming a battlefield hero, haven't I just become a despicable assassin?*
Killing a king on the battlefield in front of everyone was completely different from an assassination. The act of assassinating a monarch was an absolute taboo.
Seeing the King of Chu collapse, Ning Qi's mind went numb.
*Damn it! I only just drew the bowstring, why did he collapse?*
Then, his hand slipped, and the arrow was released.
*Swoosh.*
The arrow, loosed from the heavy bow, traced a perfect arc through the air toward the platform where the King of Chu and his central army were stationed.
*Bang!*
It exploded violently above the King of Chu's head. Despite the incredible distance of three hundred meters, Ning Qi had shot with perfect accuracy. Ning Qi's archery stance was magnificent, everything was perfect. If the plan had gone accordingly, his incredible skill would have sent shivers down the world's spine. Unfortunately, he had released the arrow a moment too late; the King of Chu had died before he could showcase his prowess. If Shen Lang had been here, he would have surely shouted that a master actor had just graced the stage. Moreover, this scene had truly captured everyone's attention; over a hundred thousand people had witnessed it.
*W-what is happening? Is the Third Prince of Yue, Ning Qi, this incredible? Or is there some other conspiracy? Was our great king assassinated?*
But Ning Qi swore to the heavens that the arrow he had just shot was truly a slip of the hand. The moment he saw the King of Chu collapse, his mind went blank. Though he was holding the bowstring taut, he had internally decided not to shoot. Yet, the arrow had been loosed, and his plan had come within a hair's breadth of success.
*Is... is this another one of Shen Lang's plots? Is he that formidable?*
Even setting aside the collapse of his carefully built tower and the ruin of his near-perfect plan, the most crucial thing was figuring out the next best course of action in this situation. Besides, what had the King of Chu shouted before he died? That Fudushan was trying to assassinate him? That Ning Qi had colluded with Fudushan to assassinate him?
But was it really acceptable to assassinate a monarch? Yes and no!
Let's examine the circumstances under which assassinating a monarch was unacceptable. King Jiang Li of the Great Qian Kingdom had died suddenly, and the cause of death was never clearly determined. The official explanation from the Great Yan Dynasty was that Jiang Li had frantically used ancient sorcery to enhance his bloodline, which ultimately led to his sudden death. However, everyone believed Jiang Li's death was deeply connected to the Yan Emperor, and in a way, they all believed he had been assassinated. So, does that mean it's okay to assassinate a monarch?
In truth, it was not. Because above all the kingdoms was the Great Yan Dynasty, and everyone had to follow the rules. Both the State of Yue and the State of Chu were vassal states under the Great Yan Dynasty, making them, in a sense, brother nations. The King of Chu and the King of Yue were considered brothers. Even if they couldn't stand each other, they had to send envoys for major celebratory occasions.
When the Queen Dowager of Yue held her birthday banquet, the King of Chu sent his Crown Prince. When the Queen Dowager of Chu held hers, Ning Yuanxian sent Ning Qi. No matter how much conflict or how many battles they had, could they really assassinate the monarch of a brother state? If someone assassinated the King of Chu today, wouldn't they try to assassinate the King of Wu tomorrow, and the King of Jin the day after? This was similar to the situation on modern Earth. Within the framework of the United Nations, Russia could fight Ukraine, but if Russia sent someone to assassinate the Ukrainian president, it would surely face sanctions from the UN. In any case, the rules the vassal states had to follow and the right to speak were all determined by the Great Yan Dynasty.
During the Warring States period, numerous assassins tried to kill Ying Zheng, the King of Qin. Among them were assassins sent by the state of Chu and the state of Yan. At first glance, assassinating a monarch seems like a very normal thing, and sometimes the assassins were even treated as heroes. But going back several hundred years, when the power of the Son of Heaven of the Zhou Dynasty was relatively strong, anyone who tried to assassinate the ruler of another vassal state would have been condemned by the entire world. With the Great Yan Dynasty holding absolute power, the assassination of one vassal state's monarch by another was something that absolutely could not be allowed to happen.
***
On the central army's platform, the Seventh Prince of Chu, Chu Lin, was so stunned by the sight that he was completely dumbfounded. He had never expected something like this to happen. He had only exposed the conspiracy, yet his royal father had actually collapsed. The grandmaster by the King of Chu's side was also stupefied. He was not a eunuch but Li Xuanqi, the martial arts instructor for the Chu royal family and the man appointed as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor. After seizing Grand Eunuch An Liang, he immediately dislocated his jaw and the bones in both his arms to prevent him from committing suicide. The Chu army was also dumbfounded, and the Crown Prince of Chu was so shocked he could barely breathe.
To be honest, he had very complicated feelings for his royal father. While there was certainly admiration and reverence, he had been the Crown Prince for twenty years already, so naturally, he harbored a desire to become king. The King of Chu was suspicious and greedy, so for twenty years, the Crown Prince of Chu had been extremely obedient. He even repeatedly hid his talents in front of his father, sometimes intentionally making mistakes to give the King of Chu opportunities to reprimand him. At the same time, he knew clearly that he had no choice but to bide his time, so he endured the frustration and played the part of the Crown Prince.
In his heart, he too had imagined a day when the King of Chu was gone and he ascended to the throne. But that was just a fleeting thought; he never wanted his royal father to be gone like this, here and now. This was the battlefield of a great decisive war. If his royal father fell, who could possibly command these generals? Although the Crown Prince had overseen the Privy Council for five or six years, he was still nothing more than the King of Chu's mouthpiece. With the King of Chu acting tyrannically, the Crown Prince had been unable to establish any authority. But then, as if struck by lightning, the Crown Prince of Chu cried out.
“Father, Royal Father...!”
He ran with all his might toward the central army's platform, embraced the King of Chu's body, and began to wail. Then, he secretly applied pressure and tore the corners of his eyes, causing tears of blood to stream down his face.
“Father, Royal Father. How could you... *Cough, cough*...”
In a moment, the Crown Prince coughed up several mouthfuls of bright red blood. He stood up, still clutching the King of Chu's body, and shouted with all his might in a hoarse voice.
“The State of Yue and Ning Qi have despicably assassinated my royal father! Unable to win on the battlefield, you resort to assassination? Soldiers of Chu, our great king has been murdered by the people of Yue! What should we do? Avenge our king's bloody grievance! Kill every last soldier of Yue!”
The Crown Prince of Chu, who possessed strong martial arts to begin with, shouted so loudly that his voice seemed to carry for a thousand *li*. However, this battlefield stretched for more than ten *li*, and the vast majority of the Chu army couldn't hear what he was saying. But from the scene they witnessed, they could guess what the Crown Prince had said.
“Avenge this bloody grievance!”
“Kill every last one of those Yue bastards!”
Dozens of surrounding generals waved their arms and shouted. Is this why they say an army filled with righteous indignation is bound to win? Then, the Crown Prince of Chu immediately leaped down from the platform to lead his troops and charge at Ning Qi. He had spoken of avenging his royal father's bloody grievance; he couldn't just stand there after saying it, could he? This was the perfect time for him to build his reputation. If he could just kill Ning Qi, he would win the hearts of everyone there.
“Kill him, kill him!”
The Crown Prince of Chu led over three thousand cavalrymen, along with his personal guard, and charged at the Third Prince, Ning Qi. The moment he saw the Crown Prince of Chu charging at him, Ning Qi had to make a difficult choice. What should he do? Turn and flee? No, that was not an option. Doing so would shatter his prestige. Then should he fight back? But the Crown Prince of Chu was charging with a force of over three thousand cavalrymen.
A moment ago, in his fierce charge to complete his plan, Ning Qi had become separated from the Yue cavalry. They were about a thousand meters behind him, locked in a deadly battle with the Chu cavalry. Ning Qi didn't have much time to think. He had to choose quickly: fight or flee. At that moment, Ning Qi, in a truly remarkable fashion, made his decision in an instant. He spotted a fine steed on the battlefield, immediately mounted it, raised his majestic bow again, and fired with all his might at the Crown Prince of Chu.
*Swoosh.*
The arrow flew like a flash of lightning, but it couldn't hit the Crown Prince of Chu. It was blocked by numerous shields. But Ning Qi's arrow was so powerful that after striking one shield, it sent both the shield and the warrior holding it flying. Ning Qi fired a continuous barrage of arrows. Each one possessed astonishing power, even piercing through several men, but he still couldn't hit the Crown Prince of Chu. Ning Qi's last arrow was loosed.
*Crack.*
In that instant, the bow shattered as if it had exploded, the splintered wood tearing a gash across Ning Qi's face from which a thick stream of blood poured. Ning Qi stared at the furiously charging Crown Prince of Chu and took a deep breath.
*What do I do now? If I turn and flee, my reputation will be ruined. If I fight, my life will be in danger.*
Ning Qi gritted his teeth, drew his greatsword again, and charged toward the Crown Prince of Chu and his thousands of cavalrymen. The scene was utterly thrilling. Because Ning Qi, a single man on horseback, was charging against the Crown Prince of Chu and thousands of cavalry.
Nan Po was greatly shocked by the scene. He raised his large wolf-fang club and charged after Ning Qi.
“Third Prince, Your Highness, wait for me!”
Nan Po shouted, and on the walls of Zhenxi City, Zhong Yao's eyes grew hot with tears. Ning Qi had not disappointed him. Like Ning Yi, Ning Qi also tended to value using schemes, but at a critical moment, he displayed the valor of a passionate warrior. At such a crucial moment, if Ning Qi had shown even a hint of fear or retreat, the entire battle would have been lost, and the soldiers would have collapsed uncontrollably.
In the current state of the battle, the morale of the Chu soldiers was bound to be high for at least the next few hours. This was because the Crown Prince of Chu had presented a perfect image, calming a situation on the verge of collapse and taking the lead to fight at the critical moment.
However, the heroic scene displayed by Ning Qi also greatly boosted the morale of the defending forces on the walls of Zhenxi City, and for a moment, the tide of battle seemed to shift once again. With the death of the King of Chu, the situation had transformed into a climactic confrontation between Ning Qi and the Crown Prince of Chu.