「Lingnan Prefecture.」
Under Prince Zhao’s command, the court’s army was unstoppable, forcing the rebel army into a steady retreat.
General Xuanwei looked at the map before him and said excitedly.
"If this keeps up, we’ll be able to wipe out the rebels in one fell swoop within three days!"
Before Prince Zhao’s arrival in Lingnan, General Xuanwei had thought it would take at least a year to completely defeat the rebellion. Yet after the prince came, it took him just over two months to rout the enemy, sending them fleeing in disarray.
With victory in sight, General Xuanwei was naturally overjoyed.
He marveled to himself once again, ’Prince Zhao is truly worthy of being Duke Zhen’s son.’
’Like father, like son. The ancients were right!’
Li Ji was toying with a small pouch in his hand.
Inside the pouch was a lock of Manman’s hair.
He had secretly snipped it from her head while she was asleep.
Ever since leaving Shangjing, he had kept this pouch close to his body, taking it out to touch from time to time.
’I wonder how Manman is doing now. Does she miss me?’
’Is the child in her belly behaving?’
General Xuanwei felt that three days was a short time that would pass in a flash. But for Li Ji, it was an unbearable wait—not just three days, but even three hours felt agonizing.
He wished he could eliminate the rebels immediately. Then he could race back to Shangjing and reunite with his wife and daughter.
Just then, a scout threw open the tent flap and ran inside.
"Reporting to Prince Zhao, a letter has arrived from Shangjing."
Li Ji guessed it must be Manman’s reply.
He immediately stood up, strode over, and snatched the letter.
There were three pages, covered in dense script.
Li Ji first scanned through it quickly, then read it again slowly, word by word.
The first half of the letter was filled with trivial daily matters, nothing important, but Li Ji adored reading it.
Reading about these things was like having Manman right there in front of him. It closed the distance between them and greatly eased the ache of his longing.
The second half of the letter was all business.
The changing situation in the court was described with perfect clarity.
The Emperor was now in a coma, the Night Owl Guard’s power was growing, and control of the government had fallen into Prince Wu Zhang’s hands.
If this continued, Prince Wu Zhang would sooner or later ascend to that position and become the man who ruled the world.
Hua Manman wrote that she would do her best to delay Prince Wu Zhang’s ascension. She hoped Li Ji could deal with the rebels quickly and hurry back to Shangjing City. She needed his help.
General Xuanwei noticed that Prince Zhao’s expression had turned extremely grave after he finished the letter.
General Xuanwei grew nervous as well and asked uneasily.
"Did something happen in the Capital City?"
Li Ji said coldly, "The Saint is gravely ill and has fallen into a coma. Prince Wu Zhang has seized the opportunity to take sole control of the government."
General Xuanwei was shocked. ’How could such a thing happen?!’
"I cannot let Prince Wu Zhang succeed," Li Ji stated.
General Xuanwei looked at him in astonishment.
"You’re not thinking of returning to the Capital City to save His Majesty, are you?"
"My wife and child are in Shangjing," Li Ji replied. "I must go back to protect them."
General Xuanwei said urgently, "This is a critical moment for finishing off the rebels! You can’t leave!"
Li Ji said in a low voice, "We’re moving the plan up. We attack tonight. I want all the rebels dealt with at Pu Yang before dawn."
General Xuanwei was incredulous.
"This is too rushed! The men aren’t ready. What if the surprise attack fails?"
Li Ji’s gaze was as sharp as a sword. "I will lead the charge myself. In this battle, we can only win. We cannot lose."
General Xuanwei almost cried out.
"You are the commander-in-chief! How can you put yourself in danger? If anything happens to you, the army’s morale will collapse!"
Once morale collapsed, they would lose the advantage they had fought so hard to gain.
Li Ji said coldly, "I said, in this battle, we can only win. We cannot lose!"
General Xuanwei thought he had gone mad.
’As long as it’s a war, there’s always a risk of failure.’
’There’s no such thing as a one-hundred-percent certain victory!’
But Li Ji’s attitude was resolute. No matter how General Xuanwei tried to persuade him, it was useless.
「That night」, Li Ji personally led the charge, leading an elite unit in a surprise attack on the rebels’ temporary camp.
The two sides clashed fiercely in the mountain forest.
Previously, Li Ji had played it safe, advancing steadily. Now, he only wanted to quickly slaughter every last one of the enemy soldiers standing in his way.
His moves were decisive and brutal, nearly every strike a fatal blow, giving the enemy no chance to struggle.
It was as if he would slay gods and buddhas alike if they stood in his way!
The world before his eyes gradually turned scarlet.
Soon, the long spear in his hand was dyed red with blood, and his armor was coated in a glaring layer of crimson.
Thick blood dripped from the spear’s tip, landing silently on the dirt.
His heart pounded violently, accompanied by ragged breaths. The web of his hand, gripping the spear, split open from the excessive force.
The air around him was filled with the rising and falling shouts of battle.
Li Ji pierced an enemy soldier’s neck with his spear, flicked the body up, and flung it viciously aside.
The corpse flew through the air and landed squarely in front of Prince Dongyang, who was preparing to flee.
Prince Dongyang, Li Hao, was so frightened he stumbled and fell to the ground in a pathetic heap.
Xu Jiwu drew the sword from his waist with one hand, pulled Li Hao to his feet with the other, and gave him a hard shove.
"Your Highness, run!"
Shoved forward, Li Hao staggered away.
Following behind him was a young woman—the daughter of a chieftain he had just married.
Xu Jiwu tried to block Prince Zhao’s path, buying time for Prince Dongyang to escape.
However, he had overestimated his own strength and underestimated how terrifying Li Ji could be.
At this moment, Li Ji’s eyes were completely bloodshot with killing intent.
His mind was consumed with a single thought: slaughter the enemy and get back to the Capital.
’They all have to die! Not one can be left alive!’
Li Ji swept his spear horizontally, sending all the enemy soldiers trying to approach him flying.
Xu Jiwu retreated rapidly, dodging the sharp tip of the spear.
Before he could regain his footing, Li Ji had already rushed before him like a phantom.
’So fast!’ Xu Jiwu cried out in his heart, raising his sword to block.
But the long spear in Li Ji’s hand blurred.
It was a feint.
Before Xu Jiwu could react, the shaft of the long spear had viciously slammed into his waist!
His body flew sideways with tremendous force, smashing hard against a tree trunk.
He felt as if his spine was about to snap, the pain twisting his face as he grimaced.
But he wasn’t in pain for long.
Because in the next moment, the long spear pierced through his heart!
Chen Wangbei saw Xu Jiwu die and immediately roared.
"The rebel general Xu Jiwu is dead! Surrender at once!"
The struggling rebel soldiers heard the roar and all looked in Xu Jiwu’s direction, only to see him impaled on a spear.
In an instant, the rebel army fell into chaos.
Even Prince Dongyang, who had already run some distance, was scared out of his wits. Fear and grief washed over him, driving him to the brink of despair.
...
I’m so sleepy right now I can’t even keep my eyes open. I’ll post this Chapter first and make up for the other two tomorrow at noon. Goodnight everyone, mwah~