My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

"I am Li Yiguang now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yiguang thrust out his long sword.

The queen's eyes widened, her lips parted, as if she wanted to scream or curse.

But nothing was sent.

Her body swayed, then collapsed softly.

The phoenix crown crashed to the ground with a dull thud, rolled a few times, and came to rest at the edge of the pool of blood.

Lin Mo sheathed his sword.

He didn't look at the corpse again, and turned to walk towards the door.

The second courtyard.

The third.

the fourth.

He pushed open the doors one by one.

They searched for those who dressed well, lived well, and were born into privilege.

Li Yan's youngest son, not yet ten years old, was hiding under the bed. He was still crying when he was dragged out.

Lin Mo glanced at him and pierced him with his sword.

Li Yan's daughter, who was already married, had just returned to the palace to visit her family. She knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness, saying that she knew nothing.

Lin Mo delivered a fatal blow to the throat.

Li Yan's nephew was hiding behind the artificial hill.

When he was discovered, he tried to resist, but Lin Mo sliced ​​off half of his head with a sword.

He continued walking forward.

One by one.

Not a single one was left.

He didn't know how many he had killed.

ten?

twenty?

thirty?

unimportant.

What he wanted was for all of Li Yan's descendants to die out completely, leaving not a single one.

That way, when Li Yan finds out, she will truly understand what despair is.

……

Half an hour later.

Lin Mo controlled Li Yiguang to stand in the palace square.

The sunlight shone on him, and his moon-white robes were splattered with blood, like blooming red flowers.

The sword was still in his hand, its tip still dripping blood, drop by drop, onto the white marble floor tiles.

Hunter Axe rushed out of the main hall, his face full of excitement.

"We've basically taken them all! The Imperial Guards have surrendered, and the entire palace..."

He stopped talking.

Because he saw Lin Mo covered in blood.

Hunter Axe glanced towards the harem and swallowed hard.

"They...they've all been killed?"

Lin Mo nodded, his gaze falling on a servant who was running away frantically outside the palace.

The servant stumbled along, carrying a sack on his shoulder.

Lin Mo muttered, "Now we should see how that old dog Li Yan reacts."

……

The scene returns to Glory Square.

The sun was already high in the sky, and its rays poured down without any obstruction, making people feel dizzy.

The attendant reading the list of contestants was still reciting it, his voice already a little hoarse.

Those three hundred-plus names, from imperial nobles to heroes, were read one after another, so long and tedious that it made one sleepy.

In the audience, many people began to yawn.

Some people were fiddling with their fans, some were chatting quietly with the people next to them, and some were simply leaning back in their chairs and closing their eyes to rest.

The initial excitement and anticipation have mostly worn off by now.

At the highest point of the VIP section, Li Yan sat on the imperial carriage, her head slowly drooping downwards.

He is really too old.

After sitting for so long, my energy was completely depleted.

The attendants beside him wanted to warn him but dared not, and could only watch helplessly as the old emperor's head drooped lower and lower, about to hit his chest.

The old man in the gray robe still stood quietly beside the imperial carriage, motionless, like a statue.

At the top of the altar, the gate of light was still gathering.

Golden light seeped out from the void little by little, slowly rotating and expanding.

Based on past experience, it will take at least half an hour to fully take shape.

Everyone was getting tired.

Just then—

"Report—!!!"

A sharp, distorted sound suddenly ripped through the air above the square!

Everyone was startled and turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.

At the entrance to the square, a figure covered in blood stumbled in.

His clothes were tattered, his face was covered in dust and blood, and he staggered, nearly falling several times.

He was carrying a bulging sack on his shoulder, and as he ran, dark red liquid dripped from the bottom of the sack.

That is blood.

Everyone saw it.

The crowd automatically parted to both sides, making way for a passage.

The attendant ran wildly to the foot of the imperial carriage.

With a thud, he knelt down on the ground, lying there trembling all over.

Li Yan was startled awake by the sudden noise and abruptly raised her head.

His cloudy old eyes stared blankly downwards.

The old man in the gray robe also frowned, took a step forward, and blocked the imperial carriage.

Those withered eyes stared at the kneeling servant, and his aura began to circulate.

The servant looked up, his face covered in blood, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible:

"The Second...Second Prince, he...he..."

He gasped for breath, as if he had used up all his strength to finish speaking: "He colluded with the Hunter's Axe! He launched a coup in the palace! Now the palace... is a river of blood!"

These words exploded like a thunderclap in the square!

Everyone was stunned.

The sounds of discussion, exclamations, and gasps of surprise filled the air.

They surged up from all directions in an instant.

"What?!"

"The Second Prince has rebelled?!"

"How is that possible—"

……

Li Yishao suddenly stood up, his expression changing from astonishment to anger, and then from anger to a sneer.

He pointed at the servant, his voice so loud that the whole room could hear him:

"presumptuous!"

He took a few steps forward and looked down at the trembling servant.

"If it's true, how could a mere level ten attendant like you have escaped?! With so many imperial guards and so many experts in the palace, how could you be the only one to escape alive?! Do you think I'm a fool?!"

His voice echoed across the square, his imposing presence silencing everyone around him.

The servant trembled even more violently.

But he gritted his teeth and, with trembling hands, pulled the sack off his shoulder.

It was thrown to the ground with a "bang".

The sack's opening has come loose.

The contents rolled out.

One.

Two.

Three.

……

A dozen or so human heads rolled onto the stone slabs of the square. The blood was still wet and covered in dust, but the facial features were still clearly discernible.

The one at the very front—

Wearing a phoenix crown.

The phoenix crown was askew, but the golden patterns and inlaid gems glittered dazzlingly in the sunlight.

That well-preserved face was now ashen white, and its eyes were wide open, as if it had seen something unbelievable before it died.

queen.

Li Yishao's biological mother.

Li Yishao's voice abruptly stopped.

He stood there, staring at the severed head, his expression shifting from anger to bewilderment.

Ultimately, it becomes an indescribable, empty paleness.

His body swayed, and he almost lost his balance.

The entire square was deathly silent.

Everyone stared at the heads, not daring to breathe.

The servant knelt on the ground, trembling all over, his voice broken and intermittent:

"The Second Prince... let me go... He told me... to bring these with me..."

He didn't finish speaking.

But everyone understood.

Li Yishao's pupils contracted violently.

He stared intently at the severed head, at the all-too-familiar face, and at the phoenix crown that had shone before him countless times.

His hands began to tremble.

His knees began to buckle.

He wanted to shout, but couldn't. He wanted to rush over, but his legs wouldn't obey him.

Finally, he could only let out a hoarse, inhuman growl:

"Mother Empress—!!!"