Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 88: A Hundred Assassins Draw Their Nightblades! Poisoned Needles Hidden in Their Sleeves

February 7th.

The Awakening of Insects.

On the eve of the spring thunder, the underground martial arts arena of Qihuang Garden was brightly lit.

One hundred people.

Dressed in black.

Face covered with a black cloth.

They stood solemnly like pine trees.

Eunuch Li, his back hunched, paced slowly at the front of the line. His voice was hoarse, yet every word struck a chord in everyone's heart:

"From today onwards, you will have no names, only code names."

"Nightblade I, Nightblade II, and so on, up to Nightblade Hundred."

"You only have one master—Lady Night Phoenix."

"Your lives belong to the lady from the moment you signed the death contract."

He stopped in his tracks.

The cloudy old eyes swept over every young face.

"Those who are afraid of death can leave now. Take ten taels of silver and leave the garden tonight."

No one moved.

Even their breathing was kept extremely low.

"Very good." Eunuch Li nodded. "Then remember the first rule—"

He suddenly raised his hand.

His withered fingers made a vague gesture in front of him.

"Those whom the lady wishes to kill must die."

"The person the lady wants to protect must live."

"If you fail to complete the mission, end it yourself. Don't dirty the lady's hands."

The words fell.

A hundred people knelt down.

The sound of knees slamming into the ground was perfectly synchronized.

"I swear to serve my wife to the death!"

The sound echoed through the enclosed training ground.

Ye Huang stood on the second-floor viewing platform, watching quietly.

Blood Blade stood beside her.

This veteran, who had lost an arm, stood upright like a spear.

"Blood Blade," Night Phoenix said.

"Your subordinate is here."

"These hundred men are yours to lead."

Bloodblade knelt on one knee: "Madam, I am incapable of this task due to my crippled body—"

"I believe you," Ye Huang interrupted him, "because you've died once, so you know better how to live."

Bloodblade looked up.

A complex expression flashed in his single eye.

Three years ago on the northern battlefield, he was struck by seven arrows and should have died amidst piles of corpses. It was a passing caravan that saved him; that caravan... belonged to the Shen family.

"Your subordinate..." his voice choked with emotion, "I would gladly die for you."

"I don't want you to die." Ye Huang helped him up. "I want you to lead these hundred men and become the sharpest blade in Jiangnan."

She turned and went downstairs.

Walk to the front of the queue.

Hundreds of eyes were fixed on her.

"I know why you've come," Ye Huang said calmly. "Some are here for money, some for survival, and some for revenge."

I don't ask about the past.

"Only look to the future."

She walked up to the first man in black.

"Yoruichi, look up."

The man in black looked up.

He was a young man in his early twenties with a scar on his face, running diagonally from his brow bone to his jaw.

"Why did you come?"

"The Liu family killed my parents," the young man said hoarsely. "I want revenge."

"Alright." Ye Huang nodded. "But revenge isn't about throwing your life away. Learn how to live first, then learn how to kill."

She asked them one by one.

Some people are driven by money—their families are poor, and their younger siblings starve to death.

Some people are desperate for a way to survive—they are being hunted down by their enemies and have nowhere else to turn.

Someone has received favors from the Shen family or the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion.

One hundred people.

One hundred stories.

"From today onwards," Night Phoenix said finally, "your story is over."

"Nightblade, is your new beginning."

"The training is tough; people can die."

"But those who survived—"

She paused.

"I promise you wealth, I promise you dignity, I promise you... to sever the shackles of the past with your own hands."

One hundred people knelt again.

This time, there was something more in his eyes.

It's fire.

The next day at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

It was still dark.

Shouts and cheers have already echoed across the training ground.

"Faster! Faster!"

Blood Blade, wielding a staff with only one arm, moved through the ranks.

"At your current speed, even the dogs kept by the Liu family can't catch you!"

He walked up to a boy who was staggering.

He struck the calf with a stick.

The boy grunted, but gritted his teeth and stood firm.

"Pain?" Bloodblade said coldly, "When Liu Chengming's blade strikes, it will hurt a hundred times more than this!"

The training program was set by Ye Huang.

It combines modern special forces training methods with ancient martial arts techniques.

I go for a 10-mile run in the morning.

Climbing the wall with a heavy load.

Throwing concealed weapons.

Toxicological identification.

And most importantly—the combined attack formation.

"Three people per group, triangular formation," Bloodblade demonstrated. "Integrate offense and defense, provide cover for each other. Remember, Nightblade doesn't need heroes, it needs living killers."

Eunuch Li comes occasionally.

He doesn't speak.

Just watching.

Occasionally, I will step in to correct a certain action.

His withered finger pressed on a certain pressure point of a Nightblade, and the man trembled all over, then found that he could exert force much more smoothly.

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Li!"

"Practice," Eunuch Li uttered only one word.

Three underground floors.

Another secret room.

This place is more secluded than the training ground.

The entrance is hidden behind the artificial waterfall and requires turning three mechanisms to open.

The room was filled with tool tables.

Anvil, furnace, grinding wheel, mortar and pestle.

There were also a dozen or so craftsmen, all of whom were experienced workers who had signed life-long contracts.

Night Phoenix is ​​testing her newly made hidden arrow.

"Please take a look, Madam." The old craftsman, Master Lu, handed over a bronze wristband. "It was modified according to your drawings. The quiver is hidden in the sleeve, and the mechanism is in the palm. Clench your fist three times to activate it."

Ye Huang put it on.

Aim at the wooden target ten paces away.

make a fist.

one two three.

"call out--"

Three short arrows shot out in a triangular formation!

All of them hit the bullseye!

"What about rapid fire?"

"There needs to be a one-breath interval between shots, otherwise the mechanism will overheat and jam," Master Lu honestly said. "But we used high-quality steel springs, which allow us to fire three more rounds than those on the market."

Ye Huang nodded.

Move on to the next workbench.

There are even smaller items here.

Poison needle.

The needle is one inch long and as fine as a cow's hair.

"What kind of poison was used?"

"Three kinds," Master Chen, the nephew of Physician Chen, who was in charge of the poisons, said in a low voice. "The red bottle is 'Blood-Sealing Throat,' which kills the victim in ten breaths. The blue bottle is 'Muscle-Softening Powder,' which can cause paralysis. The black bottle... is a formula given by the madam, called 'Neurotoxin.' The victim suffers excruciating pain all over their body but cannot make a sound, and their heart will fail after half an hour."

Ye Huang picked up a black bottle of poisoned needles.

Look at it against the light.

The needle tip gleamed with a faint blue light.

"How's the production?"

"We can produce 100 red needles, 50 blue needles, and 20 black needles daily." Master Chen hesitated. "Madam, the raw material for the black needles, the sap of that 'arrow poison tree,' is extremely difficult to obtain..."

"Money is not a problem." Ye Huang put down the needles. "Go to the Southern Frontier to collect them, go to foreign lands to buy them. What I want is results."

"Yes."

The last workbench.

Several earthenware jars were displayed.

"Smoke bombs," Master Lu explained. "They explode when dropped, releasing thick smoke that obscures visibility. The smoke is mixed with chili powder and itching powder; inhaling it... it's quite unpleasant."

Ye Huang picked one up and weighed it in her hand.

"Range?"

"Those with good arm strength can throw it twenty paces."

"Not enough." Ye Huang shook her head. "Make a small crossbow, fired with a spring mechanism. I need coverage from fifty paces away."

"This..." Master Lu hesitated, "The crossbow is too big and inconvenient to carry..."

"Then let's make it foldable." Ye Huang picked up a charcoal pencil and sketched a diagram on the wall. "Three-section telescopic design, with brass buckles. When not in use, it can be disassembled and carried on the back. Assembly time should not exceed ten breaths."

The craftsmen gathered around to look.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Brilliant!"

"This definitely makes it much lighter!"

"Madam is truly talented!"

Ye Huang finished drawing.

Put down the charcoal pencil.

"I need to see the samples within ten days."

"yes!"

The existence of the concealed weapon workshop could not be completely hidden in the end.

February 10th.

In the teahouses three streets outside Qihuang Garden.

A candy vendor kept glancing towards the garden.

He's been watching for three days.

They arrive at Chenshi (7-9 AM) and leave at Xushi (7-9 PM) every day.

I didn't sell many sugar figurines.

His gaze grew increasingly sharp.

The evening of the fourth day.

As he was packing up his stall, he was "accidentally" knocked down by two drunk men.

Sugar figurines were scattered all over the ground.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" the drunkard said, helping him up.

whispered in his ear:

"Young master asked, where is the entrance to the workshop?"

The vendor's expression remained unchanged.

"Artificial hill, waterfall, three on the left and four on the right."

Thanks.

The drunkard staggered away.

After packing up his stall, the vendor pushed his cart into the alley.

Deep in the alley.

Mo Shisan was waiting for him.

"how?"

"As Madam instructed, we gave them false information." The vendor—actually Nightblade Seventeen—torn off the fake scars on his face. "They believed it."

"Very good." Mo Shisan handed over a bag of silver. "Keep an eye on it. Next time they ask, just say... the entrance has changed; it's under the stone bridge by the lotus pond."

"Yes."

Nightblade Seventeen took the silver and the cart disappeared into the night.

February 12th.

Ye Huang tested the training results at the training ground.

The hundred Nightblades were divided into ten teams.

Offensive and defensive drills.

A volley of crossbow bolts was fired.

A sneak attack with a poisoned needle.

Smoke cover.

When done in unison, the movements flow smoothly and effortlessly.

"It's usable now." Eunuch Li rarely spoke, "It's no worse than the new recruits trained by Xuan Ying..."

This is extremely high praise.

Xuan Ying is the head of Nangong Ye's personal guards.

The men he trained were the elite of the Imperial Guard.

"It's still a long way off." Ye Huang shook her head. "Without seeing blood, it's all just for show."

She looked at Blood Blade.

"Take thirty men with you when you set sail three days from now."

Bloodblade paused, then asked, "Madam, on that ship..."

"There are arrangements on the ship," Ye Huang said calmly. "I want you to hide in the cargo hold until the Black Dragon Gang members board—"

She made a gesture.

"Leave no one alive."

"yes!"

"The other twenty men will guard the workshop," Ye Huang continued. "If Liu Chengming wants to set fire, let him. But the one who sets the fire... I want him alive."

"yes!"

The order has been issued.

The Nightblades' eyes gleamed with excitement.

at last.

Blood is about to be drawn.

---

That night.

Ye Huang stood alone at the highest point of Qihuang Garden.

He held in his hand the secret letter that Prince Jing had just sent.

"Liu has acquired ten bottles of arrow poison wood sap, suspected to be used for poisoning concealed weapons. The Gu Master from Xiling will arrive in Hangzhou in three days, accompanied by ten children whose behavior is strange. Take care."

Antiaris toxicaria.

Xiling Gu Master.

Children.

Ye Huang held the letter up to the candlelight.

Watching it burn to ashes.

"Liu Chengming..." she said softly, "You really are... in such a hurry to die."

She turned and went downstairs.

I went into Bao'er's room.

The little one is sleeping soundly.

She was holding the tabby cat in her arms.

"Bao'er." She sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched her son's face.

"Mother?" Bao'er opened her eyes groggily.

"If...bad people try to hurt you, Mother will kill them, right?"

Bao'er thought for a moment.

nod.

"Bad people deserve to die."

"What if..." Ye Huang's voice lowered, "...what if Mother kills many people?"

Bao'er reached out her little hand and touched her face.

"Don't cry, Mother."

"Bao'er will protect Mother."

Ye Huang's eyes welled up with tears.

Hug her son tightly.

outside the window.

The spring thunder of the Awakening of Insects finally roared.

Rumbling--

It sounds like a war drum.

In preparation for the impending bloody battle.

The prelude to the thunderous sound.