Gate of God

Both of them did not attempt to dodge. This was a direct fight without any schemes or tactics as both fists unsurprisingly collided.

The golden mist hovered around as brilliance shone through the cracks.

Boom!

A huge explosion sound could be heard.

Heatwaves spread across the room.

However, this was not all. Another gigantic explosion could be heard at the same time when Chen Feihua’s and Qian Wu’s attacks clashed. The entire throne room trembled from the impact.

Around the palace entrance.

The city guards were fighting against the black figures with their overwhelming numbers. It should almost a one-sided battle.

However, that did not happen.

It was a stalemate.

The thousand-strong black figure army was blocking the city guards with their lives. Although they were on the retreat, it was a methodical and strategical retreat, not one of complete and utter defeat.

King Duan had a sunken expression while standing behind the city guards. The black figures in front of them were clearly not ordinary people.

They were well-trained.

They had perfect offensive and defensive formations when they fought.

"Kill! What are you guys waiting for! We need to pave a way no matter the price!" King Duan’s roared impatiently.

However, the city guards were still progressing slowly.

Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu observed the battle on the sidelines with an expressionless face. On the other hand, Ping Yang was clearly impatient. One could see a hint of anxiety in her pair of clear eyes.

"Hey, shameless fellow! Think of something!" Ping Yang said as she stared at Fang Zhengzhi, seemingly urging him to take action.

"What? Think of something?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

"Find a way to defeat these black figures!" Ping Yang eagerly said.

"Why do we have to defeat them?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

"What... what else is there? They are stopping the city guards. If we cannot get past them, we will not be able to save father!"

"We do not need to defeat them to save the Emperor."

"How do we save father without defeating them?"

"We can simply leave a portion of the army to stall these black figures while the rest go on forward." Fang Zhengzhi stared at Ping Yang helplessly.

"Hm... we can do that?" Ping Yang seemed to have reacted to the situation as she said.

This conversation was naturally heard by King Duan Lin Xinjue, In an instant, he felt as though he was struck by an epiphany.

Splitting the forces?

Yes, why didn’t he think of that!

They were in the palace! The palace was extremely spacious. There was absolutely no need to waste time with the people here!

King Duan Lin Xinjue felt that he was introduced to a whole new world of battle tactics. According to the normal art of war, one should always clear the obstacles right in front of them before proceeding. This was because leaving a portion of the enemy forces alive would increase the risk of their mission.

Even if they managed to infiltrate the area, the enemy forces might be able to perform an ambush or sneak attack on them in the future.

However...

The situation now was different.

They were in Flame Capital City, the land of the Holy Emperor. As long as they could charge into the palace, they did not have to worry about further ambush attacks.

Lin Xinjue seemed to have realized something upon this thought.

However, he was uncomfortable that this epiphany was granted by Fang Zhengzhi. He was the commander of the city guards, to think that he would need an outsider to provide him with battle tactics.

This was undoubtedly a disgrace.

On the other hand, the situation did not allow him to stand his ground. He had to swallow his shame and heed Fang Zhengzhi’s suggestion as he needed to get to the throne room as quickly as possible.

"Split the forces right now. General Wang and his troops will stay. The rest of you follow me into the throne room!" King Duan said as his face turned red.

"Yes!"

At the rooftop outside the palace.

A black figure quickly sped towards the rooftop from the entrance of the palace. He then landed behind Su Qing, his face filled with admiration and respect.

"My lord, King Duan has already entered the inner palace!"

"Oh? That is slightly faster than my expectations. How did he do it?" Su Qing was slightly surprised after hearing the news from her informant.

"He split his forces!"

"I see, it seems like he has improved in the art of war. Cooping himself up in his residence to study did him some good!" Su Qing nodded as he said.

"This... this idea was raised by Fang Zhengzhi."

"Fang Zhengzhi? I understand. Although this is a bit faster than our original plan, it doesn’t matter. We are almost done. Send out the message to commence the plan!" Su Qing squinted his eyes as he said.

"Yes!" The figure then disappeared without a trace.

Su Qing then cast his glance back onto the castle walls of the palace. He turned around and walked down from the rooftop.

A couple of black figures standing behind him immediately followed behind.

At the same time, a ferocious beast similar to a giant black eagle flew into the horizon with breakneck speed, quickly flying out of sight.

Flame Capital City, East gate.

The city guards standing guard at the gate exchanged glances in apprehension. Although there was clearly commotion coming from within the palace, their role was to guard the city gates.

No one dared to let down their guard.

At that moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere under the night sky. It was a figure that completely cloaked himself in the darkness. Their legs were wrapped in cloth and their spears were also wrapped in black fabric.

"Enemies... enemies!" A voice rang from the top of the castle walls. Even though the figures were completely clad in black attire, they were still discovered when they were near the castle walls.

This place was the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The city guards guarding the castle walls had not seen this scene for a very long time. There was a huge group of black figures planning to infiltrate the city.

How preposterous!

"General, there are enemies!"

"What?" A husky voice sounded. Following which, a middle-aged man clad in a shining armor came to the edge of the castle walls.

Upon looking at the scene, his eyes widened.

"How can this be? This is Flame Capital City, the center of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could someone attempt to infiltrate this place? Why didn’t you report immediately!" The middle0aged man stared at the huge number of black figures dashing towards the castle walls with a horrified expression. He could not understand the situation.

"General, the sky was dark. The enemies were camouflaged in the darkness. We cannot possibly tell the exact numbers of the enemies. Furthermore, almost 90% of the city guards had entered the palace together with King Duan. What should we do?" The soldier who was standing guard at the castle wall tower reported.

"Quick, shut the city gates!"

"Yes!"

"All the city guards listen up! As a soldier of the Great Xia Dynasty, we must protect Flame Capital City with our lives! Those who wished to be excluded will suffer death!"

"Yes!"

The army commands echoed across the city walls. However, this did not affect the black figures from approaching. As they slowly appeared in the middle-aged man’s field of vision, his expression changed.

This was because looking down from the castle wall, he could see a huge army of black figures with no gap in between. There also seemed to be no end in sight, their numbers extending far into the dark horizon.

"How can this be? How did so many people get to the castle wall in such a short time?" The middle-aged man paled. He was now sure that this was a premeditated ambush.

Or could this be...

This was a war!

"Quick, go to the palace and inform King Duan!"

"Wait!" Just as the middle-aged man gave his orders, another voice rang. Following which, a figure walked out from the shadows.

"Lord Su?" The middle-aged man looked at the young man on the castle wall. He was surprised to see him here.

That was because the person was Su Qing.

The Chief of the Northern Lands Five Constabularies Su Qing!

News of Su Qing entering Flame Capital City had long spread across the country. However, this did not mean that he should appear here of all times.

"General Li!" Su Qing nodded as he walked towards the middle-aged man.

Behind him stood a couple of black figures. Each of them was masked by a black scarf and emitted a chilling aura.

"Lord Su, I have urgent matters to attend to. Could you..."

"General Li need not worry. I know everything!" Su Qing interrupted General Li. Following which, he walked to the edge of the castle wall and cast his glance at the countless black figures that extended into the horizon. He then frowned and said, "I didn’t think that the Northern Barbarians would send a 100000-strong army into the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty!"

"What? 100000!" General Li was startled upon hearing the numbers. He once again looked a the horde of infiltrators and could confirm that there were simply too many to be counted.

However, 100000-strong army?

This was an impossible task.

After all, this was Flame Capital City, well within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty. How could someone have hidden a 100000 strong army right under their eyes? How strange was that?

General Li was doubtful of his words. However, Su Qing had already confirmed the identity of the infiltrators. They were the Northern Barbarians. He had to treat them with caution.

"What is General Li waiting for? The Northern barbarians are known to be ferocious and merciless. Their army definitely came prepared. The army of Flame Capital City alone will not be able to defend against them. There are also Northern Barbarians creating a ruckus within the palace. General Li should light the pinnacle flame and summon troops from all over the country to protect Flame Capital City!" Su Qing stared at General Li’s horrified expression and calmly suggested.

"Light the pinnacle flame? This.. without the Emperor’s or King Duan’s orders, I don’t think..." General Li perspired profusely upon hearing those words.

Lighting the pinnacle flame!

This was an exceptionally important decision.

How could he attempt such a thing without a royal decree?

"What rubbish! Did I not make it clear enough? The Northern Barbarians had already disrupted the peace in the palace. How can the Emperor then make time to issue a royal decree? If General Li waste any more time, Flame Capital City will be infiltrated. How then can the citizens live in peace? Can you bear the responsibility of shaking the very foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty?" Su Qing’s face sunk.

"Of course I cannot. However, if the enemy doesn’t truly have a 100000-strong army and is deliberately trying to..." General Li hesitated as he spoke.

"Is General Li doubting my judgment?" Su Qing once again interrupted General Li, his eyes shining with a chilling presence.

"No, of course not, but..." General Li immediately shook his head as he said.

"Does General Li knows why I rushed to Flame Capital City all the way from Northern Lands?" Su Qing kept his gaze on General Li.

"Isn’t Lord Su here for the Crown Prince..."

"Of course not! As the Chief of the Northern Land Five Constabularies, I have gotten the secret message a long time ago that the Northern Barbarians are preparing for a war. I am here to report this urgent message. As for the issue regarding the Crown Prince, how could I have predicted that?" Su Qing said.

"This..." General Li was slightly convinced upon hearing those words.

He had only heard rumors about Su Qing entering the capital. Naturally, he had no clue about the intentions behind his actions. However, Su Qing mentioned that he could not have known about the Crown Prince issue beforehand.

Just from this point alone, General Li was slightly persuaded by his speech.

Did the Northern Barbarians truly hide 100000 soldiers within the Great Xia Dynasty under their watch? If that was the truth, it would be terrifying.

If he made a single mistake handling this issue, his entire family would probably be executed.

"It is a crisis. Is General Li going to waste any more time? The moment Flame Capital City is taken, the glory of the Great Xia Dynasty might go down in ruins!" Su Qing urged once again as he saw the hesitation on General Li’s face.

"Lord Su’s words... are accurate, however, without the Emperor’s..." General Li bit his lips in apprehension. He was already completely drenched in perspiration.

The outer castle walls of Flame Capital City was flooded with enemy troops.

The situation in the palace was unknown as well. This was indeed a crucial time when both internal and external security was being threatened. If he did anything right, he would be generously rewarded.

On the other hand, a mistake would be extremely detrimental as well.

How could he then make a decision lightly?

He was extremely hesitant.

However, at that moment, he saw a flash of light in his eyes. It was a chilling flash, a flash from the reflection of the moonlight off the blade of a sword.

It emitted a chilling presence in the night sky.

Most importantly, that flash of light was extremely near. It was so close that he had no time to react nor dodge it. He also did not prepare any defenses beforehand.

Slash!

The sword pierced through his throat as blood gushed out profusely.

"It is a time of crisis. However, General Li has displayed incompetence and weakness at this crucial time. I have executed you on behalf of King Duan!" Su Qing’s voice rang.

At the same time, he removed the sword from General Li’s throat.

A blood fountain followed the trajectory of the sword as it was raised into the air. Fresh droplets of blood then rolled down the blade of the sword.

General Li’s eyes widened in shock.

He had never expected Su Qing to kill him. Furthermore, he did so in front of all the city guards under his command.

"Urgh!" He wanted to say something. However, he could no longer speak. He held his throat with his hands and he fell to the ground.

"Light the pinnacle flame. Summon all the troops back to protect Flame Capital City!" Su Qing walked forward and stepped onto General Li’s head. He raised his sword high up in the air as the moonlight reflected off its merciless blade.

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