Lu Xingzhou anticipated this turn of events in the battle, but he didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. He had just figured out the situation and was about to warn Guamei to return when she was already trapped.

Fortunately, the arrangements in the capital were almost complete, and it was pointless to sit around and wait. It would be better to try and provide assistance.

Of course, to make it sound better to Lao Sheng, he would go to Beijiang to put Lao Sheng’s mind at ease. In reality, Lu Xingzhou going to the battlefield by himself was useless. What he truly intended to do was go to the border between Beijiang and Tianshuang Kingdom to meet Si Han.

Beijiang was a war, and a super-large-scale one led by a super-grade expert at that. An individual could hardly accomplish anything.

Moreover, the army in the Huo family’s hands was not his to command, and he would end up being indebted to the Huo family.

But he wasn’t without other troops to use… At least Tianshuang Kingdom was part of the human alliance when it came to dealing with the demon race, and at this time, with the support of Tianyao Sacred Land, Si Han was obedient, especially willing to obey him, the Sacred Master’s male consort…

Lu Xingzhou had already sent a message via jade talisman through Su Yuan, instructing Si Han to mobilize elites directly to the Beijiang battlefield. To avoid being mistaken by Daqian for launching a pincer attack, he would go alone to meet them.

The person he brought was Huo Zhang.

Huo Zhang had been dismissed and hadn’t been reinstated. He had originally hoped that Gu Zhanting would use him, an experienced Beijiang general, in this war and take him to battle. However, the war’s progression was so bizarre that he didn’t even have time to wait for any imperial decree of reinstatement. Huo Xingyuan couldn’t take him along even when he went to reinforce.

But Huo Zhang had lived in Beijiang for a long time, had extensive connections, and knew the area inside out. With him negotiating, Si Han’s army wouldn’t encounter any problems along the way, and there would be people to guide them.

On the surface, it was an opportunity for Huo Zhang to earn merit and be reinstated, which greatly shocked Huo Zhang.

Flying towards the northwestern border, Huo Zhang was still asking Lu Xingzhou, “Are you really going to help me earn merit?”

Lu Xingzhou hummed, not in the mood for much conversation.

He helped Huo Zhang not only because Huo Zhang was genuinely useful in this matter but also with an underlying malice, though the person involved wouldn’t perceive it as malice—lifting Huo Zhang up would naturally cause him to clash with Huo Qi. It was the most overt form of instigation, and even if the person involved knew your intention, they would only be grateful.

His attitude was cold, but Huo Zhang didn’t mind, smiling, “Alright, Lu Xingzhou is indeed much more reliable than those people like Huo Qi. He still remembers his brother.”

Lu Xingzhou smiled without answering.

Huo Zhang, looking for something to say, asked, “What do you think about this? Will His Majesty be in trouble?”

Lu Xingzhou shook his head, “No.”

How could a super-grade expert easily get into trouble, especially when he was in his own city, not trapped in someone else’s arrangements? Then it was even more impossible for anything to happen.

If Gu Zhanting merely wanted to leave and hadn’t been pre-arranged in a formation, Long Qinghuang wouldn’t have been able to stop him, and even if the demon race had an army of millions, it would be futile. The reason he was still stuck there must be due to other intentions.

But his intentions were unknown in the capital at this moment.

Long Qinghuang, as the Demon Emperor, wasn’t just good at fighting… Even if the demonization of those officials didn’t have much to do with her, it was impossible for her not to have demon spies lurking in the capital, some of whom might have climbed to certain positions or bribed human traitors. These were inevitable occurrences.

Otherwise, how could Chen Yu have been captured so easily back then? One moment Chen Yu’s name was used here, and the next moment Chen Yu was captured, almost bringing tears to the eyes of those who heard or saw it.

And these lurking demon race members or human traitors would definitely use this time to stir up trouble in the capital, publicizing Gu Zhanting’s predicament and inciting panic.

They might even try to instigate Jin Wang and others to act as regents.

From previous interactions, Jin Wang wasn’t very clever and was extremely self-righteous. He always felt that with Shen Tang exiled and Qi Wang confined at home, he was like the Crown Prince, acting very high-profile and reaching out far, completely forgetting that Gu Zhanting hadn’t named him Crown Prince yet.

In Lu Xingzhou’s mind, this fool was on par with the Huo family’s members. It was hard to say what he would do.

Before leaving the capital, Lu Xingzhou met with a group of officials, among whom was Imperial Censor Xiao Ting. These people were Shen Tang’s people, a list Shen Tang had specially given him when he mentioned going to the capital.

On the surface, they weren’t Shen Tang’s people; they had all outwardly pledged allegiance to Jin Wang.

Lu Xingzhou wanted them to help stir things up and see what Jin Wang would do.

If this guy was really foolish enough to harbor ambitions for the throne, it would be interesting. He could effortlessly avenge the assassination in Jiangmo Domain and help Tangtang eliminate a rival.

Moreover, although Huo Xingyuan had gone to war, Huo Qi and the others were still in the capital. They were so close to Jin Wang that their entire family would be implicated. This revenge would be more efficient than anything else.

It was hard to expect Jin Wang to be this foolish, but it was worth a try, as there was no cost.

The journey was long. It took more than a day to fly to the northwestern border between Daqian and Tianshuang Kingdom. Si Han and his subordinates had also just arrived. Seeing Lu Xingzhou fly in with people, he stepped forward to greet him, “Young Master Lu, most of the elite forces of both the righteous and demonic factions of Tianshuang Kingdom are here, three or four first-grade experts, and hundreds of second and third-grade experts combined, awaiting Young Master’s arrangements.”

The elders of the Yingyue Sect and those from Hanlan Sect and others who had received favors from Lu Xingzhou and Ye Tinglan all bowed in salute, “Greetings, Young Master Lu. Resisting the demon race is our unshirkable duty; we will follow Young Master’s commands.”

Lu Xingzhou glanced around. Even Ling Qixuan and others from the Bingyu Sect were present and showed great respect to him, “Greetings, Young Master Lu.”

Lu Xingzhou nodded, not bothering with pleasantries, and pointed to Huo Zhang, “This time, Young Master Huo Zhang will lead the way. Everyone, follow us.”

Huo Zhang felt as if he were dreaming.

Are you really the ruler of Tianshuang Kingdom?

It’s one thing that a single shout could gather so many forces from both the righteous and demonic factions of the entire Tianshuang Kingdom, presumably due to Si Han’s high prestige as the ruler. But why are they all so polite and respectful to you?

Their attitude was practically “point and shoot.”

If this force could be used to avenge himself against the Huo family, the Huo family would be thoroughly flattened several times over… It was ridiculous that Huo Qi and the others still treated him as the lowly bastard they used to bully. Judging by this power, who the heck was the lowly bastard?

The group majestically headed east towards the battlefield. Huo Zhang, being familiar with the area, did not take the endless wilderness of the outer demon territories but instead went directly through Daqian’s internal border.

“Although the outside is flat, it’s hard to say whether we’ll encounter demon tribes, which could cause trouble,” Huo Zhang expertly explained. “If we detour this way, we’ll reach Guiyuan City, a supply base for artifacts, talismans, and elixirs, in the rear near the battlefield. It’s said that some demon forces have bypassed the front lines to harass cities in the rear. If they’re knowledgeable, they’ll likely focus more on attacking Guiyuan City to destroy the supplies.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “Since it’s a rear supply base, there should be many驻军, right?”

“There’s more than one supply base; this one is relatively low-end in terms of equipment, so the stationed troops aren’t that many… but they are relatively elite. If led by a good general and cooperating with the city’s defensive formation, they should be able to hold out for a few days. But the city lord… hehe.” Huo Zhang chuckled, not saying much more, only adding, “I hope they can hold out, at least until we arrive to reinforce. My father’s primary target for rescue won’t be this city.”

The City Lord of Guiyuan City was a man he had personally promoted, who had offered him many tributes. But Huo Zhang knew clearly that this person was incompetent, greedy, and cowardly.

In the past, a plump, greedy city lord like that taking some bribes wasn’t a big deal, but encountering this tough battle, Huo Zhang felt very annoyed.

If the city were truly breached, he might even be held accountable for the mistake of promoting such a person.

Although he himself was one of those who were greedy and cowardly, at least he could fight a bit.

There was still a day or two’s journey ahead; he hoped they could hold out for that short time.

At this moment, the capital was also in chaos.

Gu Zhanting’s personal campaigns were not few in the past. Even before the war ten years ago, he had personally led expeditions many times, and incidents of being surrounded and losing contact were not uncommon.

But in the past, nothing went wrong because there was the National Master to stabilize the morale.

As long as Ye Tinglan was present, the morale of Daqian’s people was no different from when Gu Zhanting was there, and no one dared to make a move.

But this time, Ye Tinglan was not present, which could be said to be Gu Zhanting’s own doing.

The one in charge of affairs was Prime Minister Pei Qingyan. Although Pei Qingyan’s reputation was high, compared to Gu Zhanting himself or Ye Tinglan, he was clearly a long way off.

Ye Tinglan was someone who could even suppress the old royal eccentrics. What could Pei Qingyan say in front of them? He couldn’t even be too tough on Jin Wang.

Gu Zhanting had been out of contact for two days. Huo Xingyuan had rushed north with his troops.

Rumors spread throughout the capital. Some said the Emperor was surrounded, some said he had been severely wounded by the Demon Emperor, and there were even rumors from unknown sources saying he was dead.

The Zhenmo Division launched raids everywhere, but only arrested a few insignificant idlers; the source of the rumors could not be traced.

After all, everyone was spreading rumors.

Actually, Sheng Qingfeng knew where the most outrageous source of rumors was—it was Lu Xingzhou who did it.

Others only spread a few sentences. But this kind of person who concocted a small story, vividly describing how Gu Zhanting and Long Qinghuang fought a hundred rounds, and ultimately, Gu Zhanting was struck down into a bottomless abyss by a move called “Dragon Battle to the End of the World,” sounded as if they had witnessed it firsthand, with flowing prose. If Sheng Qingfeng didn’t think this kind of nonsense was done by Lu Xingzhou, he’d swallow his cup.

Perhaps the writer was even a talented woman in the capital.

The spread of such small stories was imaginable; within half a day, everyone in the capital could recite a few lines of the battle description.

And Sheng Qingfeng also knew that the rumors spread so widely not only because of the short stories but also because of promoters behind them.

The promoters came from Jin Wangfu.

Was Jin Wang using this momentum to test the waters?

Are you crazy?

How could Sheng Qingfeng arrest people? What else could he do besides arresting a few idlers to show that the Zhenmo Division was working?

Even more distraught than Sheng Qingfeng was Pei Qingyan. The court was in utter chaos, with countless people surrounding him demanding an explanation: “Prime Minister Pei, since His Majesty appointed you to govern, there must be complete instructions. At this moment, you should no longer conceal them. If His Majesty has any arrangements, Prime Minister Pei should speak them out to reassure the people!”

Pei Qingyan implied that Gu Zhanting had no arrangements whatsoever.

Although Gu Zhanting must have had private arrangements, these arrangements were mostly of the unspeakable kind, at least not to be disclosed to Pei Qingyan.

The remaining imperial decree simply stated: “No matter what happens, Minister Pei, stabilize the situation.”

If you say nothing, how can you stabilize it? Rely on this old man’s mouth?

Pei Qingyan was so angry he almost threw in the towel. He could only retort, “His Majesty is fine. Didn’t Zhenyuan Hou just go to reinforce? Why are you all so anxious? Everyone, fulfill your duties and quietly await good news.”

“But Prime Minister Pei, as long as His Majesty doesn’t return, the public will remain uneasy. At least someone should act as regent to calm everyone’s hearts, right?”

Who said that? Are you afraid the world won’t be in chaos?

Pei Qingyan angrily turned around and saw Imperial Censor Xiao Ting smiling as he said, “Could it be that Prime Minister Pei intends to act as regent for a long time…”

The well-mannered Pei Qingyan almost swore.

He recognized this as a henchman of Jin Wang.

What was Jin Wang planning to do?!

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