Unlimited Ambition

"That wicked woman." I rolled my eyes and swallowed the flattery.

"Why are you so quiet? Did I guess right?" CC smiled sweetly, but what she said was anything but pleasant.

Alright, I get it now. This woman called me out here deliberately to pick a fight with me: "I came here in a hurry because someone here owes me money." After saying that, she drew her sword, Yitian, from her waist and Qinggang, which was slung across her back, pointing it at CC. "Today the weather is fine and the sun is shining brightly. I'm here to settle the score with you for the past few years."

"Do you think I owe you anything?" Seeing this, CC's hands trembled, and she pulled out two daggers from who-knows-where.

You owe me a lot!

The words had barely left his lips when the sword's edge arrived. A variation of the Japanese sword technique, the Ghost Dragon Flash, pierced through the air. The Heaven-Slaying Sword stood before him, its power imposing—yet it was a feint. The unassuming Qinggang behind him possessed the deadly skill to strike.

CC, however, was a veteran of countless battles. In terms of combat experience, she far surpassed mine. Although the Ghost Dragon Flash was exquisite, she didn't take it seriously. With a cold snort, she spun around like a snake, barely dodging the attack. Then, she imitated me. Two daggers, one real and one feinting, aimed at my neck.

And so, the two began to fight. In terms of speed and agility, CC naturally had the upper hand. However, in terms of the sophistication of her moves and her power, I had the advantage. For a time, neither could gain the upper hand.

But as the fight went on, just like last time, CC was incredibly fast and her attacks were fierce. However, I used Tai Chi swordplay for defense. Like granite before a stormy sea, I remained unmoved despite the strong winds and raging waves. Gradually, I wore CC down until she lost her edge.

At the same time, CC is, after all, a woman. Although her physical abilities, thanks to her supernatural powers, have kept her at the peak of her youth and vitality, as long as she is still a woman, her stamina is not as good as mine.

And so, just like at the dock, CC was gradually subdued by me.

Of course, just like last time, CC could escape if it wanted to... but that's impossible. Kill Wolf is stuck there. I don't want to be like that amateur, Schneider. I've already shut down the operating system. To boot it up, I need a special boot password.

However, I hadn't expected that CC, having learned from her previous experience, would have some specific plan to control me when she called me out this time. But after all this time, I haven't seen any improvement in her. On the contrary, I had been holding back a little… and it would be a shame to waste it.

At that moment, CC suddenly noticed a fleeting opening in my chest. At first, she thought it was just a feint to lure me in, but after fighting for a while longer, she spotted the opening again. Upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't a trap, but rather an unconscious habit in my movements.

The flaw appeared very briefly and in a very small area. CC thought about it for a moment and concluded that it must have been something I hadn't noticed. Then he thought that letting him win so easily would be too good for him. It was better to gain a slight advantage and make it more difficult for him to win.

With this thought in mind, CC observed again and, sure enough, the flaw reappeared. Without hesitation, a flash of cold light appeared in her hand, and she stepped forward, her dagger aimed straight at my chest—but it was just to scare me. CC calculated the distance; this would at most cause a superficial wound.

To CC's surprise, as I watched the dagger hurtle towards me, I didn't retreat but instead advanced, blocking it with my chest. CC was startled and tried to change her move, but it was too late.

CC watched as the dagger was about to pierce through, then couldn't help but close her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch. But unexpectedly, the dagger only pierced through the outer layer of her clothing, followed by a clang—the sound of metal clashing. Her left hand suddenly felt weightless, devoid of sensation—followed by excruciating pain.

When CC opened her eyes again, she saw my triumphant smile. Then the pain returned, and she realized that this time it was her right hand.

It was cut in half.

"Ah!" Even though she was an immortal witch who could regenerate her limbs, it would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid of such a scene. CC's expression changed instantly, and she turned to run away—but then both of her legs were injured at the same time, and both of her Achilles tendons were suddenly pulled out. She lay there motionless.

"You...you." CC struggled, but found her legs weak and couldn't get up. She watched as I tore off the outer garment, revealing a close-fitting soft armor underneath—the spot on her chest where she had just stabbed her was a breastplate. There was a slight dent.

"How about it? I told you, I'm going to settle accounts with you properly." I chuckled, but I didn't care about the bloodshed at all, and I held CC tightly.

"You bastard!" CC bit my lip hard. She bit off a chunk of flesh. But I didn't feel any pain at all. I looked at her happily and then kissed her with my still-bleeding lips.

After a long while, their lips parted, and CC still looked miserable and resentful. As I pulled a nylon rope from my waist, about to tie her up, CC snorted and said, "I'm already like this. Do I even need to be tied up?"

I didn't think much of it: "She'll recover in a little while. It's better to keep her tied up, it makes me feel more at ease." Then I tied her up tightly in a turtle shell bondage.

"You pervert!" CC cursed, then spat in my face.

"Say whatever you want." I dipped my finger in my saliva and then put it in my mouth.

"Pervert!" CC then cursed.

"Indeed, I admit I'm a bit of a pervert." I said this as I hoisted CC onto my shoulder and walked towards Sha Po Lang.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Bloodstained Kyoto

Three days later, indeed three days later, I returned with CC, who had recovered but was still bound up like a dumpling.

Therefore, I cannot be considered untrustworthy. If I said three days, then three days is three days.

CC's ending seems rather tragic. To prevent her from escaping again, I cleaned out the governor's mansion's basement. Then I locked her up there. I also ordered the guards (all women) to shoot her immediately if any prisoner escaped—after all, she wouldn't really die.

Thus, three days after the Shengen Island Incident, the Northeast Army fired artillery in a sacrificial ceremony, publicly declaring its intention to march south and quell the rebellion. However, its true destination was Luoyang.

I can't wait any longer; I can already see that old codger's face. Eunuchs interfering in politics, huh?

After the army entered Shanhaiguan, news came again from the Japanese archipelago: Kyoto had fallen, and the million-strong Breton army stationed there had been completely annihilated—more than half of them were tortured and killed after being taken prisoner.

Governor Cornelia's fate remains unknown.

Oh, I see.

Whatever. A woman like that should just die.

As I hypnotized myself with these words, I clutched my heart tightly, fighting against the increasingly severe angina.

"My lord...should we call a doctor to come and take a look?" Cheng Yu hesitated for a moment before finally asking.

I shook my head: "Forget it, it's an old problem. I know what's wrong with me."

It was probably after Euphemia died. I, who had always been very healthy, fell ill. Although those quack doctors kept saying it was angina, angina, I knew it was a heart ailment. The kind that was absolutely incurable.

"All troops, advance at full speed... no, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will advance first, and must reach Luoyang within two days. The main force will follow shortly after." I then issued new combat orders.

"Yes, my lord."

The Tiger and Leopard Rider, based on the Kill Wolf design, eliminated many features exceeding human limits to create a mass-produced seventh-generation mech suitable for ordinary pilots. It is equipped with variable light wings, a multi-functional automatic rifle, and a particle vibration blade for close combat. It also features innovatively added missile bays in various parts of the mech and a wide-range attack mode.

Its combat power surpasses that of sixth-generation mechs such as the Frost Wolf and Sea Wolf by several levels. It is an elite unit secretly deployed by the Northeast Army. Because traditional radioactive energy sources cannot provide sufficient power, the new engine uses Sakura Stone fuel. This limits the number of units; so far, only one thousand have been produced.

However, with this number of troops, coupled with the formidable fighting power of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, capable of taking on ten men each, completely controlling Luoyang is obviously wishful thinking. But breaking into the Forbidden City, seizing control of the Emperor, and simultaneously using intelligence from the Ministry of the Interior to kill several important figures—that force would be sufficient.

But the most important thing is speed! Speed, speed, speed!! Before that old geezer notices, speed, speed, speed, speed, speed!!!

"In conclusion, I have decided that I will personally command this raid."

"My lord, your body is of immeasurable value; how could you possibly risk such danger yourself?! It would be better if I did it for you."

I had barely finished speaking when my cousin Cao Hong stood up to object. Incidentally, he was one of the commanders of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

On the surface, I maintained a friendly demeanor. But inwardly, I was cursing: "Give it to you, you stingy bastard?! Holy crap, if I really give it to you, by the time I get there, there won't even be a drop of soup left!"

So he shook his head, neither saying no, but simply said, "Zilie is kind. However... if Zilie could also drive the Killer Wolf at Mach 7 in the sky, I would grant your request, how about it?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Hong exclaimed, "Holy crap, Mach 7? Do you think I'm some kind of monster like you? Even if my body could handle that speed, my reflexes wouldn't be able to keep up. If I accidentally crashed into a tree, wouldn't I be the laughingstock of the next day?"

Cao Hong fell silent, and the other generals who had been eager to try also fell silent.

"Alright, that's settled then. Everyone, go back and prepare." After saying that, he ignored everything and left the city hall—which had been temporarily requisitioned. Dare to refuse?! Crushing a mere mayor like that would be as easy as crushing an ant.

However, to be fair, I feel quite good about myself; the army hasn't caused any disturbance to the people along the way. I suppose that's what you'd call a kingly army?

Of course, turning these soldiers, who receive daily patriotic education, receive full pay, and get bonuses every now and then, into bandits is no harder than killing them. They're a modern army, after all, not some primitive feudal army. And forget about things like "a three-day manhunt on the day the city falls." They'll still fight to the death.

Social progress is good. As society progresses, soldiers' ideological level improves, but their intelligence remains stagnant, making them easier to fool without spending more money.

And so, at dawn the next day, a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had assembled. After being brainwashed by the Lone Geass aura, they hastily unfurled their wings of light. With the Killing Wolf as their spearhead, they formed a charging formation and flew towards Luoyang.

The wolf king, who had been entrenched in the Northeast, finally bared his fangs, unleashing his ambition to dominate the world.

After marching for three hours at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour, they didn't rush to the Forbidden City. Instead, they circled the main camp outside Beijing. The elite troops from the Northeast were invincible on the battlefield; how could the Beijing's cultural troupes compare? Moreover, it was a surprise attack, a calculated move against the unsuspecting. In less than half an hour, the main camp outside Beijing was engulfed in flames, and almost all 30,000 Imperial Guards left inside were wiped out.

The taste of blood...

I opened the cockpit, greedily inhaling the chaotic scent. Closing my eyes, I could even see the souls of the soldiers who had died tragically—just then, a Tiger Leopard mech rushed towards me.

"What is it?" I asked softly.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's cockpit was opened, revealing another person inside besides the driver. He showed me his Ministry of Internal Affairs credentials.

"My lord, please enter the city quickly. The treacherous minister Gao Hai has already received the news and is preparing to flee with the emperor."

I chuckled to myself, thinking, isn't it too late to make a decision at this point?

"Write down his name. He'll be promoted three ranks afterward!" I said, then closed the cockpit door and immediately commanded through the public channel: "All personnel assemble! The target is Zhu Jincheng!!"

※※※

At this moment, chaos reigned within the Forbidden City. After the initial shock, the old tyrant, though still unable to believe that his closest ally, the Northeast Army, would launch an attack at this critical juncture, rushed to the Forbidden City as quickly as possible—regardless of anything else, the national treasury's gold reserves, the various treasures within the palace—he'd give them all if he wanted. As long as the Emperor was in his hands, he would get back exactly what he had taken!

Along the way, protected by his trusted confidants, Gao Hai paid no heed to the fleeing palace maids and eunuchs, ordering his driver to drive recklessly at breakneck speed, killing countless people. When the carriage finally stopped in front of the emperor's palace, the bloodstains on the wheels were still a deep crimson.

"Damn it! He hunts geese all day, only to have his eyes pecked by a sparrow! We underestimated him!!" Gao Hai thought to himself, not caring about his appearance, or rather, before receiving the news, he hadn't even washed or groomed himself. After receiving the news, he rushed to the palace like a madman—without even changing his clothes.

They had already reached the palace gates, but still hadn't spotted a single Northeast Army soldier. The old man chuckled inwardly, thinking, "I still have a chance to turn things around—who would have thought that someone would stop him at this critical moment when he usually moves freely within the Forbidden City?"

The emperor's personal maidservant stepped forward and blocked the doorway: "Does Prime Minister Gao wish to see the emperor? Such disheveled attire makes him a laughingstock. Please go back and change your clothes first, then—"

"Get out of my way! How dare you, a mere palace maid, block my path?!" Gao Hai was furious. Without thinking twice, he slapped a lowly palace maid across the face and then tried to force his way in.

"She certainly wouldn't dare, but what about me?" At this moment, the person Gao Hai least wanted to see appeared. A silver-gray cloak stood out starkly against the red background. Bloodstains were faintly visible on the longsword in his hand. It was none other than the Wolf of the Far North, Cao Cao, Cao Mengde.

"Traitorous scoundrel!" Gao Hai shouted sternly.

"Oh dear?!" I chuckled and said, "I never imagined that I would hear those four words from your mouth one day. How ironic."

"You, you, you, you..." Gao Hai's face was contorted, and he could barely speak.

"Your Majesty, he said I'm a traitor! Your brother Mengde has been insulted like this, don't you want to say anything?" I turned to the side and gently blew a breath into the little girl's ear.

Gao Hai then noticed that I was holding the Emperor's hand with my other hand. Just moments before he had been so stern, but now he was drenched in cold sweat—"Why? Why, when he was around, did I only notice him? Even without his reminder, I almost completely ignored the Emperor… Could it be… could this be the true destiny, the true destiny—"

After being teased by her lover, the little girl's face flushed red. But she hadn't forgotten my earlier instructions. She thought back to how heartbroken she was after hearing of my engagement to the Princess of Brittany, believing I had abandoned her. She never expected that I would change my mind now. Thinking of the promise I had made, the little girl finally mustered her courage.

"The General of Zhenbei was summoned to the capital to rescue the bride on my orders, having received a secret imperial edict." After saying this, the little girl hugged my arm and hid behind me.

Gao Hai thought to himself: It's over. Then he closed his eyes in anguish.

"Go and rest for a while. I'll come find you in a bit." I generously kissed the Emperor on the cheek. Then I instructed her personal maid, "Take the Emperor to rest. Take good care of him."

The young palace maid with a swollen face immediately bowed and reluctantly led the emperor into the palace.

As he faced death, Gao Hai finally regained his composure. His clothes were disheveled, yet his elegant demeanor remained unchanged. He looked at me without fear.

"A man of refined taste, it seems you, Father, have taken my words to heart." At this moment, I was no longer in a hurry to kill him, and suddenly uttered this sentence without any reason.

"Since becoming prime minister, you have broken away from the eunuch clique and controlled the court as a powerful minister rather than a eunuch. You have cultivated your character, reputation, and made friends with scholars. Aren't these things what you gave us?" Gao Hai chuckled softly and said, "The sword in your hand, wasn't it a gift from me back then?"

I nodded: "Day and night, I dare not part with my longsword."

Gao Hai sighed, "To die by this sword is a fitting end..."

"Indeed," I agreed, followed by a flash of cold light. Once the powerful minister Gao Hai was gone, his head severed from his body.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Holding the Emperor Hostage to Command the Lords

Two days later, with the main force of the Northeast Army entering Kyoto, my heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled. The situation in Luoyang was now stable. Immediately afterwards, I split a small portion of the Northeast Army and reorganized the Imperial Guard. After that, I led the tigers and wolves of the North south.

However, when I told the little princess about my plans to head south and asked for a blank imperial edict along with several written proposals, she was somewhat displeased. She pouted, quite angry that I was leaving so soon, afraid I would never return.