Inside the capital of Tianlan Kingdom, the flames of war reached to the skies.
A blood-soaked figure rushed into the Golden Throne Hall, wailing, "Your Majesty, the Great General has fallen in battle, the city gates have been breached, we, we have lost..."
As the current King of Tianlan Kingdom, Xu Zhengnan, sat on the Dragon Throne, upon hearing the news, his whole body violently shook, nearly toppling from his seat.
"Lost? We have lost..."
Xu Zhengnan abruptly stood up, his eyes bloodshot with fury, glaring at the silent ministers below, "Have you all gone mute? Huh? When you were all eager to persuade me to agree to Xue Yilou's demands, to send troops to attack Tianqing Kingdom and divide it up, weren't you very vocal then? Why are you all silent now?"
The ministers bowed their heads even lower.
Xu Zhengnan furiously kicked over the table in front of him, his eyes nearly bursting with rage, gritting his teeth, "Half a month, merely half a month, and my Tianlan Kingdom's army of a million men has been annihilated, even allowing the army of Tianqing Kingdom to advance unchecked, now even my capital city has been breached. What use are you all?"
"We, your ministers, deserve death..."
The ministers quickly knelt down to take the blame.
"Deserve death? Even if I were to flay you alive, could that save my Tianlan Kingdom?" Xu Zhengnan said, with his chest heaving violently.
"We, your ministers, deserve death..."
The ministers knelt in obeisance once more.
Looking at the ministers before him, Xu Zhengnan suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, "I understand now... this empire is mine alone, you are just ministers. Even if the king is replaced, you can still serve as ministers, you do not truly care about my empire. Since that is the case, let you all accompany my kingdom in death!"
Xu Zhengnan drew his longsword, charging into the midst of the ministers.
With each sword stroke, a minister was slain.
"Your Majesty, spare our lives..."
"I have been loyal to you, Your Majesty..."
"Loyalty? I no longer need your loyalty, all of you shall accompany my kingdom in death..." Xu Zhengnan, appearing to be crazed, frantically killed the ministers before him.
He had now reached the end of his rope.
An emperor at his wit's end, no longer seeing any hope.
The frenzied slaughter drenched Xu Zhengnan in blood, when suddenly, his gaze turned to Zheng Yu, who was hiding to the side, his expression even more ferocious, "You eunuch dog, if not for you, how could Zhenxi City have been so easily breached? You've been emboldened by my favor to commit all sorts of evils, but Zhenxi City is the gateway to my Tianlan Kingdom, how dare you set a trap at such a critical moment. I will kill you..."
"Don't, Your Majesty, please spare your servant..."
With a face full of terror, Zheng Yu clung desperately to Xu Zhengnan's leg.
"Spare you? If I spare you, who will spare my Tianlan Kingdom?" Xu Zhengnan roared, his longsword poised to stab at Zheng Yu.
A sharp sword suddenly pierced through his lower body, straight out from his chest, with blood and shredded organs trailing behind.
Xu Zhengnan violently spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing onto the Dragon Throne, looking blankly at Zheng Yu with bloodied hands, "You, you, you..."
With a cold snort, Zheng Yu's face turned icy, "Must have felt good to call me an old dog and a eunuch, huh? Now you're just a king of a fallen country, still thinking you're a king? You still want to kill me? Humph, I had only planned to secretly contact Lord Xiao Yi and coordinate from within and without. Since you insist on killing me, then don't blame me for being ruthless! All I need to do is take your head to Lord Xiao Yi and that would be a great contribution. Then I will be the powerful chief minister once again!"
Xu Zhengnan closed his eyes in despair.
Zheng Yu decapitated him and turned his cold, merciless gaze onto the ministers, sneering, "Gentlemen, do you want to avenge this foolish king? Or would you follow me to offer surrender?"
They looked at each other in dismay.
Having just experienced Xu Zhengnan's murderous rampage, and now witnessing Zheng Yu execute him, they were utterly confused. But as Xu Zhengnan had said earlier, they didn't truly care who the king was; even if Tianlan Kingdom were destroyed, they could still offer their allegiance to another, merely switching masters.
Ministers echoed in unison, "We wish to follow Zheng!"
"Hahaha, rest assured, I will lead you to surrender to Lord Xiao Yi, and glory and riches will still be ours!" Zheng Yu was brimming with pride, feeling increasingly fortunate about his decision to betray the Zhenxi Army, "With my contribution of supplying the defense map of Zhenxi City, I will at least be heavily relied upon by the royal family of Tianqing Kingdom, perhaps even becoming a great territorial official!"
With Zheng Yu at the forefront, he walked towards the palace exit, head of Xu Zhengnan in tow.
The ministers followed closely behind him.
As they approached the palace entrance, Xiao Yi and his party had just arrived there as well.
With haste, Zheng Yu approached, offering Xu Zhengnan's head with both hands, falling to his knees, "Your humble servant, Zheng Yu, greets Lord Xiao Yi! Long live the Lord, for ten thousand years..."
General Zhao's face suddenly twisted with ferocity within the crowd.
Hot streams blew from the nostrils of his battle steed, hissing loudly.
Zheng Yu proclaimed, "Lord Xiao Yi, your humble servant has beheaded the King of Tianlan Kingdom, Xu Zhengnan, to demonstrate allegiance and wishes to submit to Tianqing Kingdom!"
The ministers knelt down in succession, "We are willing to submit to Tianqing Kingdom!"
Xiao Yi looked at Zheng Yu with a playful expression, "You killed Xu Zhengnan?"
Zheng Yu immediately nodded, overflowing with pride, "The defense map of Zhenxi City was also delivered to your Highness by someone on my command. I have long been in awe of your renowned name, Lord. At last, my wish has been fulfilled. I am willing to serve under your command with the utmost devotion, even if it means grinding my bones to dust, without a word of complaint!"
"Willing to grind your bones to dust without a word of complaint? Truly?" Xiao Yi narrowed his eyes and said.
"If I break this oath, may thunder strike me from the sky!" Zheng Yu continued to demonstrate his loyalty.
No one dislikes flattery.
It was by his silver tongue and his supreme flattery that he had won Xu Zhengnan's favor, "Your Highness is a celestial being, blessed with a unique destiny. Wherever your Highness resides, that land is graced with your radiance. Even I have abandoned the darkness and turned towards the light, simply captivated by your majestic fame!"
Xiao Yi nodded, stroking his chin, "Your knack for flattery is indeed quite remarkable!"
Thinking that Xiao Yi was praising him, Zheng Yu quickly spoke with false modesty, "Your humble servant is not flattering, I speak only the truth!"
"Since that's the case, I would not want to overlook your sincere devotion..."
Xiao Yi said with a smile.
Overjoyed, Zheng Yu exclaimed, "It is an honor to serve your Highness!"
Xiao Yi's next sentence sent chills through Zheng Yu as if plunging into the eighteenth layer of hell, "Since you say you're willing to grind your bones to dust, then this prince shall fulfill your wish. General Zhao, I entrust this old dog to you. Whether to behead, to cook in boiling oil, or to execute by dismemberment is for you to decide!"
"Thank you, my lord!"
Zhao Gaoyi was ecstatic, stepping forward with a bow, his gaze ferocious as he stared at Zheng Yu.
Zheng Yu trembled uncontrollably, in disbelief, "No, no... My lord, I have contributed to you, I have contributed to Tianqing Kingdom, no, this cannot be..."
Xiao Yi, however, was expressionless, paying him no further attention.
With the force of a thunderclap, Zhao Gaoyi savagely broke Zheng Yu's limbs, binding him in front of the palace gate, "Zhenxi Army, hear my command, this traitor before us is Zheng Yu, who betrayed his foster father. Each of us will take a turn with the blade, let him endure the sentence of dismemberment!"
The two hundred thousand strong Zhenxi Army, each wielding a blade, sequentially sliced off pieces of Zheng Yu's flesh.
In agonizing pain, Zheng Yu felt life was unbearable, gazing upon the daunting ranks of the Zhenxi Army, his face etched with despair...