Chapter 204: Blood-Soaked Phoenix

BANG!

A gunshot rang out. Someone fell to the ground. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the target.

The white-haired man shoved Lu Ye aside, taking the bullet with his own body.

The bullet happened to strike his mask. Someone recognized the mask immediately and exclaimed, "The Prince Consort!"

Even though Lu Yanzhi’s face was ghastly pale and unsettling, it was still highly recognizable.

"Didn’t the Prince Consort die?"

"How is he still alive?"

Someone saw something that made them take a trembling step back, their eyes filled with terror and their voice quavering. "Don’t... don’t you think... he doesn’t look... alive...?"

Everyone was too shocked by Lu Yanzhi’s return from the dead to hear what that person said.

All eyes darted between Lu Yanzhi and Xiao Li.

Lu Ling gave a nasty smirk. "Princess sister-in-law, if you’re going to kill my uncle, shouldn’t you at least ask if my brother agrees?"

He, like everyone else, waited for Xiao Li’s reaction.

Her husband, whom she had once killed with her own hands, was back from the dead. What expression would the cruel and vicious Princess Xuanyang wear?

Unfortunately for them, they were disappointed.

Reunited with her dead former husband, Xiao Li’s cold, dark eyes showed not a flicker of emotion.

"Let me repeat myself. I do not have a Prince Consort. I never have, I do not now, and I never will for the rest of my life."

As her words faded, an artillery shell fell from the sky.

BOOM!

The shell landed precisely in the middle of a group of civil servants and exploded before they could react.

"AHHHH!" A crowd of people were sent flying, screaming in agony.

BOOM!

BOOM!

They fell one after another. Their powerful and merciless destructive force instantly turned the area into a large crater. Flesh and blood splattered across the ground. Those who weren’t killed but were maimed lay on the ground, screaming in terror.

"Help me, it hurts so much!"

"My leg! My leg!"

"My eyes..."

"Help! Help me!"

"My lord, someone come! Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician..."

The area under bombardment was a scene of utter carnage.

Meanwhile, those outside the blast zone could only watch as the shells fell and exploded.

Those ministers who held great power in the court, those arrogant heads of aristocratic families, were blown to pieces one by one, their bodies mangled. Those who survived fell to the ground, crying and wailing in pain. The scene was horrifically bloody and brutal.

Beneath the artillery fire, all men were equal.

The officials who were lucky enough to escape the blasts were now paralyzed with fear, collapsing to the ground with urine streaming down their legs, unable to even run.

"What in the world is that..."

"It seems to be gunpowder...?"

"Gunpowder isn’t this powerful, but it must be related to it."

"Lord Liang was blown to death... blown to smithereens..."

"Mr. Xue’s leg was blown off..."

"It’s over. It’s all over..."

Xiao Jingyu was thrown by a blast. When he finally recovered from the dizziness and ringing in his ears, he looked back, and his very soul seemed to shatter.

"Stop! Xuanyang, stop!"

The Corpse Puppet Lu Yanzhi had shielded Lu Ye, dodging the explosion. A large hole was blasted in his back, but it didn’t affect his movements.

After setting Lu Ye down, he lunged violently toward Xiao Li.

CLANG!

Rong Qing’s greatsword had been waiting for him.

The two instantly clashed. Lu Yanzhi tried desperately to get to Xiao Li, while Rong Qing’s blade struck at his limbs with every blow.

Taking aim, he lopped off his hand with a single slash.

His arm had been cut off before. Who knew whose hand Lu Ling had used to reattach it, but now it was severed once again.

Xiao Li stood her ground, not retreating a single step. Only the wind from Rong Qing’s blade stirred a lock of her hair.

Seeing their own side being blown to bits, the soldiers raised their swords. "Charge!"

"Kill!"

They wanted to kill Xiao Li’s people, but the men of the Nanqi King and Prince Yanping were surrounding the Silver Armor Guards. Seeing the enemy charge, they had no choice but to engage.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two more shells landed, and a swath of enemy soldiers was instantly blown away.

Seeing that the situation was disastrous and irreversible, Xiao Jingyu’s eyes turned red with fury. "Xuanyang, you forced my hand."

He drew his sword in a rage and charged toward Xiao Li, with Nan Yin and Beifeng close behind.

The Silver Armor Guards immediately blocked them. Manager Jiang, clad in armor, raised his long spear. It shot out like a dragon, and in a single move, he pinned Beifeng to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, he withdrew his spear, turned, and charged straight for Xiao Jingyu’s back.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

Xiao Jingzhao watched with excitement. If he weren’t surrounded by the Silver Armor Guards, he would have loved to do it himself.

Because Lu Ling was standing next to a pillar, he had avoided all but the first shell that fell.

He wiped the blood from his cheek and calmly kicked away a dismembered hand at his feet.

He glanced at the large crater blasted into the ground, then looked up.

Amidst the bloody slaughter and the glint of blades, that crimson figure still stood out, watching. Her expression was cold and proud, her gaze chilling as it reflected the flashing steel. Her posture was confident and arrogant. She was a master strategist, decisive in her kills.

The struggle for Imperial Power was meant to be a battlefield for men, yet here she stood, a woman, proud and tall. She was no one’s follower or vassal, no delicate flower, but a blood-soaked phoenix looking down upon the world’s heroes.

’Every glance is captivating, enchanting. There’s no room for anyone else in my eyes. My heart is about to explode. I want her so badly, I want her to step on me, to take my life. In that moment, I would surely die without regret.’

However, after just a moment of crazed trembling, he calmed down completely.

’I remember there were supposed to be archers stationed on the walls behind us,’ he thought. ’But not a single arrow has been fired.’

The tide had turned. It was a lost cause.

The Emperor, the Eldest Prince, the Nanqi King, Prince Yanping, Prince Chen... they had all lost.

’A bunch of good-for-nothings!’

Glancing at Lu Yanzhi, who could only crawl on the ground now that his feet had been chopped off, Lu Ling let out a mocking laugh. "You couldn’t beat her when you were alive, and you can’t beat her now that you’re dead. No wonder the Princess looked down on you!"

’I’d love to go to the Princess’s side,’ he mused. ’But now is not a good time.’

SLAP! A hand suddenly shot out and grabbed him. It was Lu Ye, who had just regained consciousness. He staggered as he clutched Lu Ling and commanded, "Kill her! Use all your Corpse Puppets and kill Xiao Xuanyang!"

Lu Ling slowly took out his Bone Flute. Under Lu Ye’s expectant gaze, he viciously stabbed it into his heart.

"Uncle, have you forgotten? I am a criminal exiled by you, the Lu family. I am not a slave you can command!"

In that brief moment, Xiao Jingyu was captured. The Silver Armor Guards slammed their shields, the sound thundering. "Prince Chen is here! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

"Prince Yanping is here! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

"The Nanqi King is here! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

"Surrender! Surrender! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The three Princes were dragged onto the platform, blades held to their necks. As the powerful shouts of the Silver Armor Guards echoed, the blood-crazed soldiers gradually stopped fighting.

Under the watchful eyes of all, the figure in red walked before the three men. A figure in dark purple emerged from somewhere, holding a familiar box.

Three mechanisms were undone, one by one, revealing the Jade Seal hidden deep inside.

Xiao Li nonchalantly picked up the Jade Seal. Behind her, the Silver Armor Guards fell to their knees with a great CLATTER. "Long live the Empress! Ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"