Chapter 2093: How Can I Not Grant Your Request?
A hint of greed flashed through King Liang’s eyes, but he quickly concealed it. He said, “There were some important military matters that I wished to discuss with the country lord, but your subordinates actually stopped us and prevented us from meeting.”
“You two, really! King Liang, why didn’t you tell me if you had something to talk about?” Tushan Yu remarked. She was an incredibly beautiful woman, with countless pursuers all around her. How could she not know what King Liang was really thinking? However, she didn’t expose him, and pretended to scold her subordinates to let the matter pass instead. She asked, “May I ask what it is that King Liang needed to talk to me about tonight?”
King Liang naturally wouldn’t continue to chase after the prior matter, as that would only ruin his image. He used the chance to say, “We aren’t too familiar with the Fiend races’ territory. I wonder if the country lord has assigned any soldiers to patrol the surroundings?”
Tushan Yu was stunned, asking, “Could it be that your side didn’t assign any patrols?” She thought that was absolutely unbelievable, as such a thing was something any army would know to do.
King Liang’s face heated up and he quickly said, “I did want to assign some guards to patrol the surroundings, but there are some brats on our side who stopped me and said that doing so would make it seem as if we didn’t trust you, and that it would tarnish the relations between our two sides. I didn’t want to listen to them, but I couldn't go against their clans that have military influence. Their seniors have extraordinary prestige in the army, so I couldn't offend them too harshly.”
If the Qin clan brothers heard this, they would definitely curse loudly, thinking, How could there be such a shameless person in this world?! However, King Liang said all that without even batting an eyelid.
Tushan Yu was a bit surprised. She was a bit confused, because she had met the Qin brothers before, and they didn't really seem to be like that However, she said with a smile, “Then we’ve really troubled the king. But in my opinion, we still ought to have the patrols just in case. Safety is most important after all.” The reason she hadn’t assigned sentries was mainly because she didn’t want to act out of place.
“Your words are wise, country lord," King Liang said. When he saw her beautiful smiling face, he was really itching deep down. He was about to tease her some more when he suddenly heard a screeching arrow. The expressions of those present changed. No matter how ignorant King Liang was, even he knew that it was an alarm arrow.
“What… What happened?” he asked those around him in a panic. But they had been with him all this time, so how could they know what had happened?
King Liang thought to himself, I was just here to flirt with women. Why did I end up encountering this kind of thing?
There were vague shouts of fighting in the distance. The entire camp was in disorder. Even so, the human army still had talented individuals. Soon after, a vice-general led a group of brave men over to remind King Liang to return to the main tent at once. Otherwise, it would be bad if soldiers came for orders and he wasn’t there.
“Yes, yes, let’s hurry on back,” King Liang said, nodding hurriedly. He was in such a rush that he almost fell.
When she saw how out of his wits he was, Tushan Yu felt disdain for him. She quickly gathered her subordinates to have them prepare for battle. At the same time, she prepared to look into what exactly had happened.
Just then, another group charged straight throughto them. The one in the lead was dressed in dazzling golden armor that contrasted greatly with the black-armored soldiers around him.
When she saw his impressive demeanor, Tushan Yu’s expression completely changed. She exclaimed, “The Second Prince?”
Shouldn’t the Second Prince be in the sealed land? Furthermore, the Second Empress even went to save him with great fanfare. Why did he suddenly appear here?
Even though she didn’t fully understand the situation, she instinctively felt that something wasn’t right.
Suddenly, the Second Prince gave King Liang and the others a vigilant look, then looked at Tushan Yu and said, “Bluefield Country Lord, your mission is complete.”
Tushan Yu was bewildered.
King Liang acted as if he had suddenly realized what happened. He pointed at Tushan Yu in , roaring, “You're really something! You two already colluded a long time ago and baited us into an ambush!”
Tushan Yu was speechless.
This guy seems to be a bit slow in the head normally, but why is his reaction so fast now? More importantly, why is he being so dramatic?
“King Liang, please don't listen to his nonsense. I came on orders from…” Tushan Yu began.
Before she even finished what she wanted to say, however, the Second Prince cut her off. “Country lord, please hurry and come to this side. It's safer here.”
King Liang seemed almost as if he'd received some kind of of suggestion and hurriedly shouted, “We can't let them group together! Seize Tushan Yu and make her our hostage!” As soon as he said that, he charged straight at Tushan Yu. He grabbed at her with his hands curved into claws.
When they saw the attack, Tushan Yu’s guards all retaliated. In response, King Liang’s subordinates interfered too.
Tushan Yu tried to protect herself while shouting, “King Liang, you’ve misunderstood! He's trying to incite disharmony between us!”
King Liang knew that the main army wasn’t prepared for any of this. An ambush in the middle of the night would have terrible consequences. After hearing what Tushan Yu said, he had his doubts, but he couldn't think of any other solutions at the moment. Thus, he planned to take Tushan Yu as a hostage first. Then, perhaps they would at least have a chance of mounting a comeback!
That was the only thought in his mind, as well as the only thing he could count on. He had even finished thinking things through, concluding that even if he wrongly blamed her, as long as he insisted on that point, he would be fine even once they went back to the court. They wouldn’t be able to find any fault in him. As for the soldiers suffering tragic ends, what did that have to do with him?
The other soldiers didn’t think through things as thoroughly as he had. When they saw him move, they reflexively drew their weapons and attacked Bluefield Country’s group as well. After all, people often followed orders blindly. In this kind of crisis, now that someone was taking the lead, they often didn't take time to think properly.
Tushan Yu didn’t have any time to explain anything as both sides quickly started to fight against each other.
The Second Prince grinned. If the human army and Tushan Yu’s troops had cooperated immediately, perhaps he would have suffered some losses. Now that they had started to fight among themselves, things were incredibly easy for him.
Bluefield Country didn’t excel at fighting. Furthermore, with King Liang’s higher numbers, Tushan Yu quickly fell at a disadvantage. Many on her side were hurt, and it was unclear if they were alive or dead.
The Second Prince shouted, “Bluefield Country Lord, let me lend you a helping hand!” His subordinates rushed over. He was worried that if he let this continue for too long, the two sides would realize that something was off, so it was better to use the chance to muddy the waters even more.
King Liang felt as if a huge stone had dropped on his chest. He screamed, “You colluded with the enemy from the inside after all! All of you, swiftly accept your deaths!”
He still had master rank cultivation, and his guards were all elite soldiers. They quickly cut through with tremendous force. Bluefield Country’s soldiers couldn't stop him. The Second Prince claimed to be helping Tushan Yu on the surface, but he didn’t actually exert himself that much.
Tushan Yu soon couldn't withstand it anymore. After suffering a blow, she coughed out blood as she was blown backward.
When he saw how beautiful she looked even while she was coughing blood, King Liang was a bit stirred inside and held back a little.
She is the lord of a country, after all. Even though I have a lot of authority, I normally wouldn’t have any way to obtain her. But if she colluded with the enemy from the inside and caused the human army to suffer a crushing defeat, I'd have a proper pretext to capture her. Then wouldn’t I be able to do whatever I wanted with her on the way back?
He wasn’t too worried about his own safety. In this kind of situation, the enemy was clearly focused on surrounding the main camp. Otherwise, it would be dangerous for them if this army was given time to gather and prepare to fight back. There was no way this Second Prince was that stupid, so even if anyone died, it would be the other military officials. As the main general, he had so many guards around him. He could use the chance to break out of the encirclement and escape.
King Liang thus pounced on Tushan Yu’s body. He was so close could even see her trembling eyelashes.
She really is a stunning woman!
He reflexively used a bit less force. After all, it would really be a pity if he ended up killing such a beauty.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at Tushan Yu’s side and took her into their arms. Then, that person stared coldly at him.
When he saw who it was, King Liang trembled. His outreached hand stopped in front of him, and he looked at the other person with a complicated expression, murmuring, “So it was the regent…”
Just a few years prior, this person had just been a trifling drafted son-in-law from Brightmoon City. Back then, their statuses had been as far apart as heaven and earth. He wouldn't even have had to do anything himself. Just a look from him, and his subordinates would make this brat wish he were dead.
And yet, just how much time had passed? Somehow, Zu An had already grown to a point that King Liang had no choice but to look up to him.
Tushan Yu had been struggling for her life and never expected to fall into a warm embrace. When she sensed that familiar feeling, she was startled and happy, crying out in a sweet and lovable voice, “Regent~”
In the distance, Xie Daoyun felt goosebumps appear all over her body.
Murong Qinghe couldn't help but ask her quietly, “Big sister Xie, do you think this Bluefield Country Lord and big brother Zu have something going on between them?”
Xie Daoyun replied with a frown, “Why don’t you go and ask your big brother Zu later?”
“There’s no way I could do that!” Murong Qinghe exclaimed worriedly.
Big brother Zu is good in every other way, but he’s just too fickle in love.
Zu An looked at King Liang with an ice-cold expression, saying, “Not only did you not collaborate and fight alongside the Bluefield Country Lord when facing a great enemy, you started to fight against each other instead. Why is that?”
King Liang hurriedly said, “Regent, you might not know this, but this woman colluded with the Second Prince from the inside, leading them to ambush our main army! I was about to capture her to use her as a hostage!”
“I didn’t…” Tushan Yu was about to explain when Zu An stopped her.
“Do you have proof?” Zu An asked, looking at King Liang.
When he saw that Zu An hadn’t even listened to Tushan Yu’s explanation, King Liang was inwardly happy. He replied, “If it wasn’t for her colluding with the enemy from the inside, how could the Second Prince appear here silently? Besides, the Second Prince said so himself and everyone heard it. Right, you guys?”
“Yes…” people replied slowly. However, apart from the ones who were fiercely loyal to him, the others were starting to wake up and realize that something wasn’t right. Why did they feel the something was off?
“Do you just believe everything the enemy tells you? You still have no idea even after falling for the enemy’s schemes. Absolutely useless!” Zu An cursed coldly.
King Liang’s expression changed as he said, “I am still a senior relative of the current emperor. Regent, please watch what you say!”
“You still have the nerve to say that the Second Prince appeared here mysteriously? Isn’t it because you didn’t arrange any guards?! The Qin brothers advised you to do so several times, but you refused them each time, causing the human race’s reinforcements to almost be completely wiped out. My criticism of you is nothing compared to that,” Zu An said. He thought to himself, If it wasn’t because the empress dowager and empress were trying to keep each other in check, why would they ever assign such an idiot here?
King Liang also screamed, “There are some things that can't be said irresponsibly! Wasn’t it the regent who recommended this woman to escort us, which was why I completely trusted her? I was worried that the relations between the two sides would be harmed and that you would lose face, so that was why I didn’t assign many patrols. Now that something is wrong with your own people, you're shifting the blame to me! This is absolutely preposterous!”
When they heard what he said, many soldiers began to discuss things spiritedly, as if there was some reasoning to his words.
Murong Qinghe now spoke up and said, “Tsk, you make yourself so high-sounding, but wasn’t it because you coveted Bluefield Country Lord’s beauty yourself and wanted to leave her with a good impression? And yet, because of that, you ended up risking the lives of countless comrades!”
When he sensed the doubtful looks of the soldiers all around him, King Liang started panicking. He retorted, “Don’t you like that Chu clan brat? And the regent is the Chu clan’s young master. Of course you'd speak up for him!”
Murong Qinghe was embarrassed and panicky, exclaiming, “The Qin clan’s brothers have suggested for you to assign patrols several times, but they’re both seriously injured because of you! Big sister Xie can also attest to this.”
“Who doesn’t know that this Xie girl likes the regent?!” King Liang sneered.
Xie Daoyun had been about to say something, but when she heard that, her face immediately became entirely red. She exclaimed, “What kind of nonsense are you saying?!”
King Liang was about to say something else when Zu An stopped him, snapping, “Enough! For hindering military affairs, neglect of duty, and almost becoming a great sinner of the human race, men, arrest Zhao Yi to be escorted back to the capital to stand trial.”
“Who dares?!” King Liang cried, brandishing his weapon at the incoming soldiers. “Mister Zu, I am the chief commander of the army that the court has assigned, and I am his majesty’s grandfather. What qualifications do you have to arrest me?! Are you using this chance to collude with the Fiend races? If you have the skill, then just kill me now, or else once I return to the capital, I will definitely…”
Before he even finished speaking, a dazzling sword flickered, and a head flew straight into the sky.
Zu An shook away the droplet of blood on the tip of his sword, remarking, “Since you asked for it, how can I not grant your request?”
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