Chapter 588 - 382: The Fall of Dongchang, Everything Should End

Chapter 588: Chapter 382: The Fall of Dongchang, Everything Should End

Cao Jin heard this, and his right hand suddenly emitted an invisible Gang Qi.

The Gang Qi wrapped around the Crown Prince like a venomous snake, making him instantly rigid.

The Crown Prince’s mouth began to open uncontrollably, making guttural "ho ho" sounds, lacking even the strength to bite his tongue and end himself.

The old eunuch slowly stepped forward, holding a gilded wine pot, and pinched open the Crown Prince’s lower jaw with his withered fingers.

The pot of eerie purple poison wine glittered with enchanting light under the flames.

With the sound of "gulp gulp" swallowing, within the Crown Prince’s wide eyes.

The last reflection was the slightly complex face of Cao Er.

The poison wine bestowed by the emperor was indeed exceptionally dominant; mere breaths after passing the throat, the Crown Prince’s face had already twisted and deformed.

His eyes bulged violently, bloodshot, nearly bursting from the sockets.

The Crown Prince stared dead at the coiling dragon ceiling of the hall, as if trying to find a last sliver of hope amidst the ornate carvings.

"Ho... ho........"

Finally, the Crown Prince’s throat emitted a gasping sound like a broken bellows, his muscles tightened like iron, and his ten fingers left several bloody marks on the marble floor.

Viscous black blood seeped slowly from the seven orifices, carving sinister trails on his pallid face, even soaking the python robe symbolizing the Crown Prince.

The most horrifying was the Crown Prince’s eyes that refused to close even in death.

Within those gradually diffusing pupils, disbelief solidified into despair.

How could he believe that the emperor, who once held him in childhood to admire flowers in the imperial garden, would today truly grant this cup of poison wine?

Cao Er coldly observed the Crown Prince’s gradually stiffening corpse on the ground, a faint twitch at the corner of his eye.

Your Majesty... even his own flesh and blood, he could so resolutely grant death.

This ruthlessness made the hairs on the back of Cao Er’s neck stand upright.

Thinking of this, Cao Er’s gaze turned extremely grave, silently muttering in his mind, his Adam’s apple moved with difficulty.

Because, at this moment, Cao Er knew better than anyone—from the moment he received this imperial decree, he had already embarked on a path of no return.

The emperor wants to use Dongchang’s hand to eliminate the Crown Prince, how could he leave any witnesses to be criticized?

This deep palace, seemingly calm now, is actually already a net of heaven and earth.

Cao Er’s right hand unconsciously rubbed the gilded token at his waist, the words "Dongchang Chief of Punishment" flickering under the candlelight.

"Let’s go."

He raspingly said to the officers behind him, his voice parched, unlike his own: "Time to report back."

The moonlight outside the hall was ghastly white as paper, casting a sinister light on the green stone slabs along the palace path.

Each step Cao Er took on the palace bricks felt especially heavy, his gilded official boots gleaming coldly under the moonlight.

This path leading to Yuji Hall, he had walked countless times, but never before like today, felt each step like treading on the edge of a blade.

Heh........

Cao Er’s lips curled into a cold smile, his fingers hidden in his sleeves slightly curling.

Even ants strive to survive, what of Cao Er?

Since he guessed this was a dead end, how could he be unprepared?

Then, Cao Er’s peripheral vision swept over the Dongchang officers lined up behind him, knowing all too well.

Among these seemingly respectful figures, there were Jinyi Guard plants and those who, like him, sensed the scent of death, trapped beasts.

At this moment, everyone’s exterior calm, but each harbors ulterior motives, just waiting for the moment to come, surely risking colleagues’ lives to pave their own path of survival.

When passing the Imperial Martial Gate... Cao Er had been calculating in his mind, his right thumb quietly stroking the smoke bomb in his sleeve.

This gadget is a special Dongchang product, enough to create chaos for half a quarter-hour once detonated.

The palace wall’s lanterns suddenly rocked violently, twisting and distorting everyone’s shadows.

Cao Er squinted, looking at the looming armored Forbidden Army around the corner ahead.

Sure enough, the emperor was too lazy to even pretend.

Clang!!!

The piercing sound of metal scraping tore through the night sky, palace Forbidden Army suddenly surged from all sides.

Under the moonlight, countless cold blades simultaneously unsheathed, shimmering waves of knife light merged into a blinding silver tide, making one unable to open their eyes.

"What do you want to do?"

Someone in the Dongchang officers’ ranks sternly questioned, yet the voice abruptly halted.

A Brocade Spring Saber had already pierced through his back, the one holding it shockingly a colleague.

Only now did everyone realize amongst their ranks, there were unexpectedly so many Jinyi Guard plants!

"Run!"

Someone shouted seemingly instinctively, the previously orderly lineup instantly exploded.

Someone blindly crashed into the palace wall, but was pinned into a porcupine by crossbow arrows shot from the wall.

Someone tried to draw a sword in resistance, only to be pierced by several long spears in an instant.

Some even pushed their comrades towards the pursuing soldiers, exchanging their lives for a moment’s reprieve.

Cao Er stood still, allowing the chaotic crowd to flee past him.

His eyes were fixed on the figure slowly approaching ahead—the Jinyi Guard Commander Envoy Shen Wanbao, whose sword was dripping with the blood of Dongchang agents.

In the next moment, twelve cold gleams simultaneously unsheathed, Cao Er and the remaining Dongchang protectors moved in perfect unison, without a word or a moment’s hesitation.

At such a deadly moment, hesitation would mean seeking one’s death.

Cao Er turned sideways, driving his short blade accurately into the throat of the oncoming guards, warm blood spraying over his face.

Simultaneously, from the corner of his eye, Cao Er glimpsed Cao San being pierced through the heart by the Cyan Dragon of the Jinyi Guard.

Suddenly, torches blazed on the palace walls, causing Cao Er’s heart to skip a beat—those were the archers of the Divine Soldier Camp.

"An edict from His Majesty!!!"

The sharp proclamation ripped through the night sky as Shen Wanbao, holding the gilded imperial edict, stood amidst a pool of blood.

The bright yellow silk unfolded in the firelight, the vermillion imperial writing glaring like blood: "Cao Er of the Dongchang and others plotted rebellion, aimed to harm the Crown Prince, an unforgivable crime! Immediate execution without mercy!"

"Release the arrows!"

As soon as Shen Wanbao’s decree ended, arrows rained down suddenly from the top of the wall.

Cao Er rolled amidst the shower of arrows, his left shoulder pierced through at some point, and with a grim smile, he tore a piece of cloth to bandage the wound.

It seems, His Majesty desires not only the Crown Prince’s life, but also for the Dongchang to bear the crime of murdering the Crown Prince!

"What a cunning... plan to kill two birds with one stone!"

Coughing blood, Cao Er looked to his side, where the original twelve Dongchang protectors had dwindled to just four.

The palace gate was within reach, yet blocked by the Iron Shield Formation.

Shen Wanbao’s sword was already stained red, leading the Jinyi Guard in closing in.

In an instant, Cao Er sharply pulled a smoke bomb from his waist, throwing it to the ground. With a muffled "boom," dense smoke enveloped the entire palace path.

"Go!" Five shadows darted eerily towards the side gate.

Cao Er was the first to retreat, looking back just in time to see a protector behind him slashed in two by Shen Wanbao’s sword.

He bit down hard, not even having the time to be afraid, and turned into the thick smoke.

Shen Wanbao slowly sheathed his sword, the Gang Qi on its blade flickering away like a fleeting blossom.

He watched as Cao Er and the others vanished around the corner of the palace wall, a look of unfathomable intent flickering in his eyes.

"Trying to escape?"

Shen Wanbao’s voice lingered hauntingly in the night, like a festering wound.

Standing atop the palace wall, his robe flapping, his gaze was as cold as ice.

"No one under the sky has ever escaped from my grasp."

Running at the forefront, Cao Er’s eyes were bloodshot, Gang Qi bursting madly around him. "Charge out!"

Behind him, the four protectors had long abandoned decorum, pushing their Lightweight Technique to the limit, flitting between the palace buildings.

But no matter how they maneuvered, there was always a team of Jinyi Guard blocking the way, as if the entire imperial city had become a cage!

Whizz!

A black iron arrow tore through the air, instantly piercing through a protector’s chest!

Blood spurted, and the man fell like a kite with a broken string, unable even to scream.

Cao Er’s heart was shattered, yet he dared not look back, only roaring hoarsely, "Separate and run!"

However, just as he leaped toward the palace wall—

"I already told you, you can’t escape."

Clang!

A cyan gleam like a celestial being shot across the moonlit sky in a tragic, beautiful arc.

That sword was so fast it transcended time; everyone felt only a flash of cyan light before the world fell silent.

Cao Er’s pupils abruptly contracted.

He slowly lowered his head, seeing a fine line of blood as thin as a thread gradually appearing on his chest.

The three protectors beside him stood rigid, each of their throats and hearts marked by that haunting cyan scar.

Cao Er tried to speak, but as soon as his lips moved, his upper body slid down along the bloodline.

His viscera spilled out with a watery splash, steaming in the moonlight.

The bodies of the three protectors split simultaneously, their dismembered remains falling silently like withering petals.

Shen Wanbao sheathed his sword, and as the cyan Gang Sword’s glow faded, silence once more fell over the imperial palace.

Moonlight like water shone upon the still-twitching remains.

This Jinyi Guard Commander Envoy turned and walked into the shadows: "Drag them off to feed the dogs."

"Dongchang, it’s all over."