At the western gate of the imperial city.
Ling Feng sat calmly at the front of the carriage with his eyes closed, resting. In contrast, Yue Tengfeng appeared rather anxious, as he wasn't sure if he could trust the demon emperor Ling Feng mentioned.
Why would a demon emperor-level expert help Ling Feng?
As time passed, a long procession finally emerged from the imperial city. Under the leadership of Wen Tingguang and Liu Hongzhang, the Tianyang Empire's envoy delegation gradually approached.
At the front, General Xiahou Lie's face was still pale, clearly still suffering from the blow he received from Steward Wei yesterday. His injuries had not yet fully healed.
Seeing them emerge from the city, Ling Feng exchanged a glance with Yue Tengfeng. They knew the most crucial moment had arrived.
Xiahou Lie saw Ling Feng waiting outside the city gate from afar. His brow furrowed slightly, and a glint of murderous intent flickered in his eyes. He had come to loathe this young man who had caused him to lose face.
"General Xiahou, as per our agreement, we've brought back Prince Nangong. You may take him with you now," Wen Tingguang said calmly as he walked beside Xiahou Lie.
"Hmm, understood," Xiahou Lie nodded slightly, still holding a golden helmet in his right hand. He had no special respect for Nangong Yin, given that he was not part of Jingwang's faction.
The envoy delegation from the Tianyang Empire soon reached the gate. Yue Tengfeng promptly drove the carriage forward and gave Xiahou Lie a fist-and-palm salute, laughing loudly, "General Xiahou, we've brought Prince Nangong back as promised."
"Very good," Xiahou Lie said as he pulled aside the carriage curtains and saw Nangong Yin sitting quietly inside, seemingly unscathed.
Upon seeing Xiahou Lie, Nangong Yin was so excited that he nearly burst into tears. Just as he was about to leap out of the carriage, a terrifying roar echoed from the sky.
Soon after, a scout hurriedly reported in a panic, "Not good! The demonic beasts from Tianwei Mountain and the Xilin Plains are rioting!"
"What?" Wen Tingguang's pupils contracted sharply as he grabbed Ling Feng, preparing to organize a defense with the imperial city guards. Yue Tengfeng quickly said he needed to report to the emperor and rushed off to the palace.
"Hehe, even the mighty imperial capital is being harassed by demonic beasts," Xiahou Lie sneered, clearly uninterested in helping the Tianbai Empire fend off the attack. He seemed almost delighted by their misfortune.
"Let them fight. The more casualties, the better." Xiahou Lie was secretly pleased. The envoys from the Tianyang Empire behind him also seemed eager to see the demonic beasts destroy the imperial city.
"This has nothing to do with us. Let's return to the embassy," Xiahou Lie said, glancing at the carriage. He found it odd that Nangong Yin, normally so loud and obnoxious, was unusually quiet today. However, he didn't dwell on it and bowed slightly to the prince in the carriage, saying, "Prince, we'll now return to the embassy."
Nangong Yin nodded eagerly, his eyes flashing with cold intent as he began plotting his revenge. A cruel smile appeared on his lips.
Before Xiahou Lie could finish his sentence, a massive shadow descended from the sky. A giant foot seemed to fall from the heavens.
Xiahou Lie's eyes twitched, and without thinking, he kicked the carriage away and leaped back several meters. However, to his shock, a second giant foot came down from the sky and, with a crunching sound, stomped the carriage into the ground. The carriage, along with Nangong Yin inside, was instantly crushed into a bloody pulp!
The massive foot pressed down onto the ground, causing the earth to shake.
Xiahou Lie looked up, his eyes wide in disbelief. The prince I worked so hard to retrieve is... dead?
Xiahou Lie trembled with rage. He drew his large flaming sword and charged into the sky, slashing fiercely at the massive creature.
"Crimson Flame Slash!" Xiahou Lie unleashed all of his elemental qi in a powerful attack, sending a dazzling blade of light towards the enormous demonic beast.
However, before the blade could even break through the demonic qi barrier surrounding the demonic beast, it was deflected back at Xiahou Lie, sending him flying.
Xiahou Lie coughed up blood as the backlash from the demonic qi hit him like a hammer to the chest. He had already been severely injured the previous night, and now, his strength was reduced to just 40-50% of his usual power.
"Oh my god! What is that demonic beast?"
"Such a powerful demonic beast!"
The guards were stunned, immediately drawing their bows and firing arrows towards the sky. A torrent of arrows rained down, but they were completely ineffective against the demonic beast's barrier.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The demonic beast seemed uninterested in attacking the city. It simply passed overhead and soon disappeared into the distance.
Of course, a few buildings were trampled along the way.
"Beast, stop right there!" Several emperor-level experts from the imperial city quickly took to the skies, chasing after the demonic beast.
However, to their shock, the creature vanished into thin air, as though it had never been there.
With the disappearance of the demonic beast, the lower-tier beasts attacking the gates also retreated, and peace was restored.
Xiahou Lie struggled to stand, his gaze falling on the wreckage of the carriage. Amid the ruins, he saw a bloody and mangled body. There was no doubt that it belonged to the unlucky Nangong Yin.
"Th-this..." Cold sweat beaded on Xiahou Lie's forehead. This disaster had occurred right under his nose, and it was clear that the Tianbai Empire had indeed returned Nangong Yin safely. He had no grounds to shift the blame to them.
It was his failure, his dereliction of duty, that had allowed Nangong Yin to die.
"General Xiahou, what should we do now?" One of the envoys asked in a low voice, staring at the mangled body on the ground.
"What do we do? What do we do? Stop asking me that!"
Xiahou Lie clenched his fists in frustration. Just moments ago, he had been gloating over the Tianbai Empire's troubles, and now, the tables had turned.
After a long pause, Xiahou Lie took a deep breath. They had stood by and done nothing during the demonic beast attack, and now, the Tianbai Empire would probably be the ones laughing at him. The blame for this disaster would fall squarely on his shoulders, and there was no escaping it.
"Collect the prince's body. We'll return to the embassy," Xiahou Lie said through gritted teeth. Now, all he could do was wait and see how the Eleventh Prince would handle this disaster.