1195 - Lingyun
Chapter 1195 Lingyun
"The new Emperor is only interested in ancient texts and doesn't involve himself in matters of the military. He wouldn't care about such trivial matters," replied another commander from a foreign race nonchalantly. He did not sound as if he held much respect for the new Emperor.
"Since its inception, it has been the iron rule in Royal City that an emergent new Emperor will naturally control all power within the city. The entry of an emissary from the Sinners into Royal City is a major incident that should be reported to him, no matter whether he is interested in it or not. You people have no respect for our sovereign at all. Are you planning to rebel?" Nie Tiankong chided them angrily.
"Haha, since the new Emperor has no intention of controlling military matters, why should we trouble him? You don't have to go through so much trouble, Commander Nie Tiankong. What's wrong about executing this Sinner? He committed a crime punishable by death by entering Royal City without reporting and seeking for prior approval," said the burly, rotund commander that had spoken up first in a nonchalant manner.
"He rode thousands of kilometers and was wounded on the way here. Obviously, something huge has happened, and this is a special case. What crime did he commit? I want to question the soldiers guarding the west gate if they will hold themselves responsible if they delayed the passage of strategic military information by detaining the emissary?"
Nie Tiankong tried to reason his way through.
After that day at the Azure Cloud Square, he began to side completely with Ye Qingyu.
This time, he swore he would never betray Ye Qingyu again, no matter what kind of situation he found himself in.
"Haha, what unpardonable crime? That's just alarmist talk... some people look as though they're completely loyal to the new Emperor, but may I ask who betrayed him in the first place? Don't you think that it's laughable for you to be standing for the very thing you went against?" the Commander of the Dark-feathered People chided Nie Tiankong indirectly.
"You..." Nie Tiankong replied, feeling angry and anxious.
"Alright, let's stop the idle chatter. Nie Tiankong, step aside. We're acting on our sovereign's orders, so you shouldn't make a fool of yourself here. You won't be able to stop us today," said the Commander from the Sky-reaching People, who had been silent thus far. He had adopted a hardline approach, and he looked impatient.
"Sovereign? May I know which sovereign is that?" Nie Tiankong asked.
The Commander of the Sky-reaching People laughed derisively. "That's not for you to ask."
Nie Tiankong had only entered the military for a short period of time and held the least power among the major commanders. He could not hold his own yet and had little experience. The long serving commanders did not hold him in high regard at all.
At this moment, Nie Tiankong could also sense that the matter about the emissary could be more complicated than he thought. If other sovereigns were involved, it was definitely more intriguing than he had expected.
"Haha, forget it. I think we don't have to bring him along with us. Let's just kill him here," said the Commander of the Dark-feathered People as if having a sudden idea. He added, "To prevent further complications."
The third commander nodded and instantly drew out the longsword hanging from his waist, intending to kill their captive.
Nie Tiankong was feeling anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
A voice rang out at this moment. "Stay your hand," said a youth dressed in a white shirt and a white robe as he walked in the cell, led by a few jail guards. He had heard them arguing from afar and looked calm, not displaying any unusual emotion. "The new Emperor has ordered for the emissary of the Sinners to meet with him," he said.
Everyone turned their attention to the youth, and even the three high-spirited commanders felt a little trepidation as they felt that things were going south for them very quickly.
The youth in white robes had extremely ordinary skills and a low cultivation level that was not worth mentioning. He was like an ant to them, but they knew that this youth, Mo Weinan, was a trusted attendant of the new Emperor. He had great status, and no one dared to offend him.
During the past few days, a countless number of people had tried to befriend the young man, and many beautiful young noble women had tried to earn his attention.
"Summoned by the new Emperor? But this emissary from the Sinners is severely wounded, I'm afraid he can't last long..." the Commander of the Sky-reaching People said. He cast a glance to the commander who had drawn his longsword behind him, wanting him to act now.
Mo Weinan replied unhurriedly instead, "The new Emperor wishes to summon the emissary of the Sinners and will not inquire about other matters. As for whether the emissary can survive till he meets the Emperor, that falls under your responsibility. If you people can't even get something as small as that right, and the emissary ends up dying from his wounds, then the fate of the King of Zhenyuan shall be an example for you."
The heart of the commander holding the sword trembled, and his hand paused.
The other two commanders from the Dark-feathered People and the Sky-reaching People respectively could sense a chilling murderous intent from the Emperor's message.
It was an order from a Martial Emperor that came directly to them. Who dared to defy him?
Furthermore, by slaying the King of Zhenyuan and the sovereign of the Sky Foxes during the Battle on the Azure Cloud Platform, the new Emperor had already proven to be a ruthless character through his actions and that he stood by his words. They might seem extremely valuable as commanders, but their status was not very far off from that of the King of Zhenyuan and lowly compared to the sovereign of Sky Foxes. The Emperor could kill them with a snap of his fingers.
"Alright, we'll hand the man over to you. Take him away," the Sky-reaching Commander said. He did not dare to carry out their original plan any further; none of them could withstand the fury of a Martial Emperor. Even if there was a sovereign-level being in his clan, it would still be prudent for him to not offend the Emperor if he could help it.
"Tell your men to bring him over," Mo Weinan said. He then cut off all conversation with the commanders and turned to leave.
He did not have the skill to protect the emissary of the Sinners. If anything happened to the Sinner on their way to Ye Qingyu, the noble commanders could realize their original plan and escape from any implication.
"This..." the Commander of the Sky-reaching People turned gloomy.
He had planned to strike after handing the captive over to Mo Weinan, but he had not expected the lowly herb-gathering slave from the Dark Ones to be so cunning. The youth had seen through his devious plan and left him with no other choice.
Nie Tiankong let out a sigh of relief.
He could have tried to persuade the other commanders for the entire day, but just a few words from Mo Weinan had achieved a greater effect. It made him realize how much sway the Emperor had over his subjects.
...
...
Lingyun was an outstanding talent from the new batch of martial arts experts in the Unmoving City of Darkness.
He had accomplished many great feats in the resistance of the Invaders and received the admiration of the current Emperor of Darkness, who promoted him to become the Vanguard of the Central Unit. He could be classified as a genius-level character in the armies of the Sinners in the Unmoving City of Darkness. He had already attained a Quasi-emperor level at a young age of less than one hundred years old, and his accomplishments were dazzling.
This time, there had been civil unrest and riots in the Unmoving City of Darkness, and the current Emperor of Darkness was ambushed. His whereabouts were unknown, and no one knew whether he was still alive or not. The armies of the Sinners were in a state of chaos, and Invaders from the Chaotic Region west of the Great Wall took the opportunity to attack, punching a one thousand and five hundred kilometer wide hole in the wall. The Western Region of the Dark Realm was thrown into chaos, and the Unmoving City of Darkness suffered heavy losses. It could not hold on for much longer, and the military counselor had sent Lingyun to the Royal City to report on the grave situation and to seek for reinforcements. After all, the unrest this time was huge, and the camp of the Guardians had to give the appropriate assistance.
On his way to Royal City, Lingyun was continually ambushed.
The skirmishers who attacked him were made up of Invaders and a few mysterious people whom he could not recognize. They wounded him badly, and it made him realize the possibility that some people did not want the message to reach Royal City.
He didn't really care about that.
This was because he had seen the various faces of the noble races in the Guardian camp within Royal City before. The commanders from the four noble races in the Great Wall of the Western Region were scum. The Great Wall had withstood all sorts of attacks over the years because the Sinner army had defended it with their lives. The one hundred and fifty million kilometer long wall had kept the Chaotic Region away and the Invaders at bay for a hundred thousand millennia. This amazing feat was achieved at the expense of the lives of the Sinners, who had given up their blood, flesh and bone for the cause.
Every day of peace was paid for in blood.
However, the Guardians of the noble races enjoyed their peace and luxury from high above. Not only did they not help in the defense of the Great Wall, they even found all sorts of reasons and excuses to suppress the Sinners. They were worse than animals.
To Lingyun, it was inconsequential whether news of the situation at the border reached the Guardians in Royal City or not.
The final decision of these muddle-headed nobles would inevitably be an order for the Sinners to push the Invaders back at all costs. They would never bother themselves with how many casualties the Sinners suffered. Perhaps, they even hoped that all of the Sinners would perish.
He had already been wounded very seriously.
The demonic sword of the Invaders on his back was especially a handful; its energy kept invading his body. He had pleaded for three days at the western gates to be allowed entry into the city, but the noble harvesters had continually rejected his appeal. Eventually, he got careless in his haste to enter Royal City and was tricked by the nobles to a restricted area of the gates. They charged him with unauthorized entry into a restricted military zone and threw him into prison after applying shackles on his limbs and neck that forbade him from using his martial arts skills, along with his cultivation. The invasion of the demonic sword grew even stronger and nearly destroyed his Dao foundation.
By this time, Lingyun had already given up all hope of survival.
Firstly, his wounds were too severe and could not possibly be healed. Secondly, he held no hope in the dealings with the nobles of the Guardian camp.
If the Invaders eventually managed to destroy the Dark Realm, the prime culprits would be the muddle-headed fools of the major noble races. Without the Sinners defending the hundred and fifty million kilometer long Great Wall, the nobles would be simply vulnerable.
As such, Lingyun did not harbor much hope even when he was brought to the new Emperor by the men of the Sky-reaching Commander.
He was surprised only after arriving at the temporary imperial residence of the new Emperor.
This was because he had realized that the Emperor's temporary residence was more rundown and wretched looking than he expected. Also, it was a simple black building situated on an ordinary street not far away from the military headquarters. From the main entrance, he could observe that everything inside looked very basic, and there was no one in sight.
Lingyun grew even more shocked when Mo Weinan took him to the entrance.
The residence, which was refurbished from the original residence of the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords], looked like a small army camp. The only difference from its previous state was the smaller amount of fallen leaves, as Mo Weinan had swept the entire ground once. It looked spick and span, and a few budding herbs had been planted around the area. Everything here looked entirely opposed to luxury; it was hard to imagine that it was the temporary residence of the sovereign of the Guardian's camp.
Soon, Lingyun caught sight of Ye Qingyu.
While feeling shocked at Ye Qingyu's youth, Lingyun could not help but feel a strange familiarity as he looked at the unmasked Emperor, as if he had seen him somewhere before. He could also feel an aura of warmth emanating from the new sovereign as well.
"Are you the emissary of the Sinners from the Great Wall of the Western Region?" Ye Qingyu asked as he looked at Lingyun, a gentle look on his face. "The Great Wall of Western Region stretches for a hundred and fifty million kilometers and is guarded by thirty major Sinner tribes. Which tribe are you from?"
The corners of Lingyun's mouth twitched. Even though he had no love lost for the nobles of the Royal City, he replied honestly. "Unmoving City of Darkness," he said.
"Oh?" Ye Qingyu's eyes gleamed, looking joyful. "Unmoving City of Darkness? Haha, good."
He had spent the last few days browsing through various ancient texts in the military library and multiple arsenals to gain a deeper understanding of this realm, especially about the division of power around the Guardian camp, along with various ancient historical secrets. As such, he had come to know about the existence of the thirty Sinner tribes. He had planned to head to the Western Region in the near future to find Song Xiaojun, but he had not expected that someone from the Unmoving City of Darkness would arrive at the Royal City before he left.
Now, he no longer had to fear anyone and could do anything he wanted.
Lingyun did not know about the close connection between Ye Qingyu and the Unmoving City of Darkness; he turned defensive as he saw the Emperor's expression change after he had heard his reply, as if he was extremely happy. This was because he had an inkling that the unrest in the Unmoving City was likely to be connected with the nobles of the Royal City. Could the mastermind be this new Emperor? he thought.