Daqin Zhentiansi

August 23rd, the 26th year of the Yuankang era of the Yongtian calendar (8th month).

Noon.

Outside Wanren City, the capital of the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

The sky was cloudless, and the scorching sun was baking the last foundations of the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

The once majestic moat has long since dried up and cracked, like an ugly scar lying across the scorched earth.

Outside the towering city, the earth groaned from the weight of the metal.

Three million elite troops from the eastern border of the Great Qin were silently arrayed, their chilling aura so intense that even birds would flee!
Standing atop the five-story-high Crimson Scale Beast War Chariot, Han Qi, the Duke of Ningguo, stood in the central army. His silver armor and white beard were as solid as a reef, and the red banner with gold trim behind him, bearing the character "Han," resembled a burning blood flag.

His ancient sword pointed diagonally at the sky, his imposing presence serving as the anchor for the entire army.

Beside him, Marquis Ji Liang of Xichang glared like an eagle and looked like a wolf, while Marquis Yang Jiye of Zhennan stood with his hand on his sword, his fighting spirit soaring to the sky.

General Chen Wu, the valiant general who once led his troops to take over Tianyu Town and silenced the demons, was not on the roof of the vehicle, but his most elite Xuanjia Army was at the forefront of the attack.

One hundred thousand heavily armored cavalry with rune patterns on the left wing!

The knight and his warhorse were covered in dark armor that shimmered with runes, revealing only their cold eyes, as icy as stars in the dark night.

The heavy spearheads formed a forest, pointing at the crumbling city gate.

Eight hundred ferocious siege beasts on the right flank!

The battering ram, engraved with seal script, resembled a moving mountain. The massive crossbow arms gleamed with a cold light, and the crossbow bolts, each over ten feet long, were poised to be fired.

Its imposing presence turned the faces of the guards on the distant city walls deathly pale.

Thirty thousand heavily armored infantrymen at the front!

The massive shields, forged from black iron, were interlocked to form a mobile steel wall.

On the shoulder armor, the dark red bloodstains left by the East Sea Demon Slayer resembled engraved medals, gleaming with a cruel, eerie light under the blazing sun.

Long halberds stood like a forest, their cold blades pointing towards the sky.

As Duke Han Qi of Ningguo raised his hand, all was silent outside Wanren City.

Only the sound of the wind blowing through thousands of banners could be heard.

Han Qi's aged yet thunderous voice suddenly tore through the silent sky:

"How can you say we have no clothes?!"

"We are brothers in arms!!!" Three million soldiers roared in unison!

The sound converged like thunder from the heavens, and the violent sound waves crashed violently against the towering walls of Wanren City, causing the ravaged battlements to crumble and fall into the dust!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The wall of giant shields surged forward three steps in perfect unison, like a mountain collapsing!

The heavy armor pieces landed simultaneously, producing a deafening metallic roar, as if the earth itself had collapsed!
"wind!!"

"wind!!!"

"Strong wind—!!!"

Three roars, each one louder than the last!
Like the war drums that herald death!

Accompanied by this soul-stirring shout—

"Om-!"

The sound of crossbows snapping their strings, like the buzzing of bees in hell, filled the entire city!
The sky instantly darkened!

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!"

Eight hundred thousand tempered, armor-piercing arrows transformed into a torrential rain of steel, blotting out the sky and shrieking with a chilling shriek, violently pelting the already battered city walls!
In an instant, the high wall that symbolized "impregnable fortress" was nailed into a huge hedgehog covered with dense, dark iron feathers!

It trembled and cried out in agony amidst the rain of arrows!

The lingering resonance of the bowstring had not yet faded.

"Choke!"

Marquis Yang Jiye of Zhennan drew his giant blade, and the crimson blade energy instantly tore through the sky and clouds!
"kill--!"

He roared and merged with the three hundred powerful figures flying up behind him into a destructive torrent!
Yang Jiye transformed himself into a blade, and a hundred-foot-long crimson fire phoenix, carrying a ferocious aura that could burn away the eight wastelands, dragged a dazzling rainbow, and with resolute force, crashed into the city gate tower of the imperial city!

"Boom——!!!"

The city gate was struck as if by the fist of a giant god in the crimson storm, and countless huge bricks and stones were scattered like cannonballs!

Amidst billowing smoke and towering flames, the ancient, weathered golden plaque bearing the inscription "Wanren," a symbol of the supreme authority of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, shattered like rotten wood, turning into a shower of golden dust!
The army surged into the city like a torrent.

……

Wanren City.

Nine Dragon Palace.

Inside the magnificent palace, however, a thick, unyielding sense of despair and bloodshed permeated the air.

The flickering candlelight illuminated Yuwen Tuo's face, which was contorted with fear and rage, as he sat on the throne.

His scarlet dragon robe was splattered with freshly spilled wine.

The successive reports of deaths were like poisoned daggers, piercing deep into everyone's hearts.

"Report! Your Majesty! Donghua Gate... Donghua Gate has been breached! The defending general, Marquis Zhao Lie of Zhenbei... has been killed in battle! His body has been completely destroyed!"

An eunuch practically crawled in, his voice hoarse like a broken gong.

"Thump!" Another eunuch, covered in blood, stumbled and crawled into the palace gate: "Your Majesty! No...it's terrible! The Vermilion Bird Gate has been breached! It's Chen Wu! It's that General Chen Wu of the Great Qin! He personally led the Black Armor Army in!"

"The lords can't hold them off! ...By the way, the messenger captain said that General Chen has been hit by seventeen arrows and is covered in blood...He's still wielding his sword, like an iron man!"

"Your Majesty!" A terrified, shrill voice pierced the chaos: "Marquis Changxin... Marquis Changxin, Zuo Qingzhong, that traitor! He... he led the last 30,000 imperial guards from Xuanwu Gate, presented a letter of surrender, and opened the city gates wide to welcome the Qin army into the city!"

"Crash—!" Yuwen Tuo suddenly stood up, knocking over the heavy bronze candlestick. Golden wine splashed everywhere, leaving glaring stains on the scarlet dragon robe.

"Where are the descendants of the Yuwen clan?! All of you, take their place! Defend the palace steps to the death! Even if I die, I will die on the dragon throne!"

His roar was filled with the madness of a wild beast, and his bloodshot eyes swept over the trembling officials below. The hall fell into a deathly silence.

A moment later, the elderly minister, Du Huan, the Privy Councilor, with his white hair and beard, knelt trembling on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold, piercing gold bricks, and let out a suppressed sob: "Your Majesty... sob... ever since Your Majesty last month, in order to summon the 'True Spirit of the Mountain Ghost' and offered... offered sacrifices to the royal bloodline—"

"The three remaining princes of the imperial family... have already... have exhausted their life essence in the secret formation, and have all turned into... turned into withered bones and charred remains..."

His words were like tearing off the last fig leaf, revealing the bloody truth.

The Yuwen clan's bloodline has long been exhausted!

"You old fool!! Stop spreading your lies and misleading the public!"

Yuwen Tuo's reason was completely consumed by rage!
He suddenly raised his right hand, and the Bone-Corroding Demon Blade instantly appeared in his palm, its blade swirling with dense, ink-black demonic winds!
"Pfft——!"

A dark blade of light flashed past!
Privy Councilor Du Huan's expression froze in horror as his head flew high into the air, hot blood gushing out like a waterfall, staining the court robes and jade tablets of several nearby ministers red!
The head rolled down the steps with a "roll" and stopped at the feet of an old minister. Its wide-open eyes met the old minister's gaze, which frightened him so much that he collapsed to the ground and lost control of his bladder.

The air inside the hall was as still as lead, and the heavy stench of blood was nauseating. The only sounds were the chattering of teeth and heavy, suppressed breathing.

After a brief silence, Prime Minister Wang Qian's aged face was etched with despair. He suddenly knelt down and kowtowed heavily: "Your Majesty! Even the might of Heaven cannot withstand a catastrophe that could topple the heavens!"

"As long as the green hills remain, there will be firewood to burn! Your Majesty, I humbly request that you immediately move your naval forces to the East China Sea! The East China Sea navy still exists, and the islands there are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Let us plan for the future..."

"Shut up! All of you shut up!" Yuwen Tuo roared like a dying beast, interrupting the prime minister. "I am the true dragon who has received the mandate of heaven for the Great Wei! The land and the state are here, the ancestral tombs are here! I am not going anywhere! I will die in this Wanren City!"

He whirled around, his crazed gaze like a red-hot nail, fixed on several dissimilarly dressed cultivators in the corner of the hall. His voice, sharp and shrill with urgency, cried out, "Yu Yangzi! You, and your Heavenly Pill Sect! Didn't we agree? Today! Today! The Burning Blood Guard army of Yangtian Continent will surely arrive!"

"Where are the reinforcements you promised?! Where are they?!"

Yu Yangzi, whose name was called, turned pale. His lips trembled and his throat bobbed, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The other cultivators from Yangtianzhou who came with him also lowered their heads and shrank their shoulders, their eyes darting around, sweating profusely, and none of them dared to say a word.

Yuwen Tuo's eyes shifted from madness to ferocity, almost spitting fire, and the demonic blade he gripped emitted a bloodthirsty hum.

at this time--

"Om-!"

On the smooth jade plate in the center of the main hall, the massive teleportation array, which had been silent, suddenly lit up with a clear and stable cyan light!

The runes flowed, and ripples spread through the space like waves on water!
Yu Yangzi and the other cultivators were stunned for a moment, then their faces broke into unbelievable joy!

Their eyes shone with an unprecedented light of hope!

Yuwen Tuo's rage was instantly replaced by a huge, twisted joy!

He practically lunged at the core of the array, frantically channeling his true energy into it to activate the formation, roaring, "They're here! Reinforcements are here! Heaven bless Great Wei!"

The light shone brightly!

Several figures solidified and stepped out from the light array.

The leader was dressed in a blue Taoist robe and had a calm demeanor. He was the core envoy of the Yangtianzhou Tiandan Sect who had agreed to make contact with them!
Yuwen Tuo knelt down with a thud, as if a mountain of gold and a jade pillar had collapsed, performing the grandest kowtow with the dignity of an emperor. His voice was filled with the urgency and ecstasy of a sob: "Immortal! Welcome to the arrival of the Immortal! Where are the Blood Burning Guards?! Please, Immortal, quickly command the divine troops to annihilate those outside the city..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Taoist in the green robe spoke indifferently. His voice was not loud, but it clearly resonated in every corner of the deathly silent hall. Every word was like an ice pick piercing the hearts of all the officials of Eastern Wei:

“Yuwen Tuo.” The Taoist in the green robe looked calm, even with a hint of barely perceptible pity. “Yangtianzhou has returned to the rule of Great Qin three days ago. We are here on the orders of Marquis Qingyang: Eastern Wei, cease hostilities immediately and surrender the entire country to Great Qin.”

“Dang——!”

The Imperial Seal and the Golden Seal that Yuwen Tuo was tightly clutching slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, crashing onto the gold bricks with a crisp yet heavy cracking sound.

A corner of the gold seal was chipped off, and the jade seal was also left with an indelible crack.

"Yangtian...zhou...return...to...Qin...?"

The ecstasy on Yuwen Tuo's face shattered and peeled away like exquisite porcelain, revealing an endless, abyss-like emptiness and an incredulous bewilderment beneath.

He felt as if he had been struck hard on the spine by an invisible hammer, his whole body suddenly hunched over, collapsing onto the cold ground. A non-human whimper, like that of a wounded beast on the verge of death, squeezed out from deep in his throat: "No...no—!!! This isn't real!!!!"

He suddenly looked up, glanced around the hall, looked at each of the ministers whose faces were ashen, and then looked at the few cultivators from Yangtianzhou. He let out a raucous, incoherent wail filled with madness and utter absurdity: "Yangtianzhou... has surrendered to Great Qin? Hahaha... what about us?!"

"My Great Wei... our Yuwen family... so many years! So many people have died! The royal family... my brothers, uncles, nephews... all turned to dust! What was it all for?!"

"What are we even after?! For this... this half of the country we sacrificed our own children and bloodlines for... this lonely, isolated man... just to hear you say 'surrender'?! Huh?!"

The Taoist priest in the green robe remained silent; he might have felt pity, but the order had already been given.

The seven cultivators nodded slightly to Yuwen Tuo, then turned around and stepped into the shimmering array once more without any hesitation.

The light flashed and then went out, and the seven people vanished without a trace as if they had never been there.

The great hall was left in deathly silence.

All the ministers of Eastern Wei in the palace were petrified.

Prime Minister Wang Qian seemed to age ten years in an instant, and closed his eyes in despair, with turbid tears rolling down his cheeks.

The old minister, who had almost wet himself from the sight of the corpse, trembled violently, his fingers digging deeply into his palms.

A single thought screamed desperately in everyone's hearts: It's all over!

“Boom—crash!!!”

A deafening roar, like the earth splitting apart, echoed from afar outside the palace!
That was the last core defensive array of the imperial city, completely crushed by the Qin army's formation, and the terrifying sound of the explosion was devastating!
Mixed with the sounds of destruction came the increasingly clear, overwhelming Qin army war song, sweeping across the city like a tsunami: "How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same robes with you!..."

"Wind! Wind! Wind! Strong wind—!"

The sounds of iron hooves, shouts of battle, clashing weapons, and collapsing buildings struck the hearts of everyone in the Nine Dragon Palace like a death knell.

The palace gates were already wide open, and in the distance above the palace eaves, the battle flags of the Qin army could be faintly seen amidst the flames and smoke!
Yuwen Tuo sat blankly on the ground, holding the shattered jade seal. Suddenly, he began to laugh nervously, the laughter growing louder and more shrill and frantic.

As the setting sun dyed the last tattered Wei banner of Wanren City as if it were congealed blood, in a stinking corner of the Imperial Garden's outhouse, the guards finally found Yuwen Tuo, who was trying to escape disguised as an ordinary old servant.

His brocade robe was soaked with filth, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were unfocused. Amidst the stench that symbolized humiliation, he was roughly dragged out by several fierce Qin soldiers in black armor.

General Chen Wu, riding his horse, stood under the blazing torchlight. The blood on his body had not yet dried, and the broken arrow shaft on his back had not even been removed.

Chen Wu glanced at the former emperor, who was slumped on the ground like a beggar, his eyes showing no pity, only icy indifference.

His blood-stained longsword gleamed as he pointed forward: "Seal his dantian, shackle him with black iron chains, and put him on the prison cart! Day and night—transfer him to the capital of Great Qin and present him as a prisoner to the Yongtian Cauldron!"

The dark prison cart rolled over the charred, collapsed ruins of the Vermilion Bird Gate, where a few embers still flickered. The piercing creaking sound was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence of the twilight. (End of Chapter)