NOVEL WEB Chapter 81.1
Roughly two hours later, a mighty army arrived at the capital city of the Shang Kingdom.
This grand army was composed of troops from the An, Peng, and Great Yue kingdoms, with the forces of the Great Yue Kingdom being the most prominent.
The Great Yue Kingdom is a great kingdom-level nation, with a territory spanning 1 million square miles and a population of over ten million. Its military strength has reached the level of one million, and its national power is even greater than the combined might of An and Peng.
In this world, the strong are revered, and the same is true for nations.
Thus, the grand army formed by the three countries naturally takes Great Yue as its leader.
At the forefront of the army, there are three generals clad in armor. They are the chief commanders of the three forces, each riding atop a majestic steed, gazing into the distance at the capital city.
“Finally, we’ve reached the capital city of the Shang Kingdom. I didn’t expect it to be so easy!”
“Of course it was easy. The Shang Kingdom hardly has any soldiers left; they’ve completely given up on resisting!”
“As long as we take down the capital city, the Shang Kingdom will be ours!”
“Accomplishments and glory, promotions and noble titles are within our grasp!”The three generals had smiles of joy on their faces, imagining a bright future.
At that moment, the general from An Kingdom bowed with his hands clasped towards the general from Great Yue Kingdom and said, “This battle will soon be over. I ask that General Zhao, upon your return, please speak favorably of our An Kingdom! On behalf of His Majesty, I offer my thanks!”
With that, he quickly slipped a stack of banknotes over.
General Zhao of Great Yue Kingdom saw that it was actually 50,000 taels of silver; the other party was indeed generous.
The general from Peng Kingdom, who was standing nearby, also clasped his hands towards General Zhao of Great Yue Kingdom and said, “We also ask that General Zhao speak well of our Peng Kingdom. We too have exerted great effort! Please accept this small token of appreciation. Once the matter is successfully concluded, there will be a substantial reward!”
With those words, he also stealthily placed an item into General Zhao’s hand.
General Zhao glanced at it and saw that it was a piece of jade pendant, lush and verdant, emitting a faint glow at night, clearly of considerable value.
The three nations had an agreement: they would send troops simultaneously to attack the Shang Kingdom.
After the victory, the Great Yue Kingdom would take the lion’s share.
However, the Great Yue must assist them in resisting Great Xia.
In other words, they acknowledged the Great Yue Kingdom as their elder brother.
When Great Xia bullied them, the Great Yue Kingdom, as their elder brother, had to stand up for its two younger siblings.
Therefore, they bribed General Zhao here, hoping he would lend a helping hand.
General Zhao accepted the two gifts with great joy, “You are too kind, Generals! I have seen your efforts and will surely report them truthfully. You will not be disappointed!”
The generals from Peng and An countries were overjoyed: “Thank you, General Zhao!”
Thus, the three of them were in high spirits, riding their horses slowly towards the capital city of the Shang Kingdom.
In their eyes, the Shang Kingdom was like a grasshopper after autumn, unable to leap anymore, unable to escape the palm of their hands.
But at that moment, they noticed that the gates of the capital city were wide open, and a bad feeling surged in their hearts.
“Why are the city gates open?”
“Something’s not right!”
“Let’s go! Hurry over and take a look!”
The three of them led a large army, spurring their horses on quickly to the gates of the capital city.
They found the place eerily deserted, with not a single guard in sight, a situation that seemed very wrong indeed.
General Zhao of the Great Yue Kingdom, with his sharp gaze, spotted a soldier shivering in a corner near the empty city gates. He called out urgently, “You there! Come to me! If you don’t obey, don’t blame me for being rude!”
As he spoke, he exuded a powerful aura.
The soldier was so shaken by the imposing aura that he tumbled out from the corner.
Then, he hurriedly kowtowed and apologized, “General, I am innocent, please don’t kill me, don’t kill me…”
General Zhao rode over on his horse and, from his elevated position, demanded, “I have questions for you, and you must answer them completely and truthfully! If you conceal even half a word, I will send you to meet the King of Hell!”
Terrified, the other party waved his hands repeatedly, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare…”
“I ask you, how was this city gate opened?”
While kneeling, the soldier replied, “Reporting to the General, it was His Majesty who ordered the gate to be opened!”
“Your Majesty?” The three generals looked at each other in confusion.
The “Your Majesty” referred to by the other party was clearly the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom.
“Why would your Emperor want to open the city gates?” General Zhao asked again.
“Because His Majesty wishes to leave the city, how can he do so without opening the gates?”
“Leave the city? He must be planning to escape!”
All three generals realized this and became very anxious.
Their most important objective for this mission was to capture the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom along with his heirs and family, to completely eradicate the roots and prevent any future threats.
But who would have thought he actually fled?
Without putting up any resistance, he just ran away?
General Zhao became anxious, drew a knife, and placed it against the soldier’s neck, demanding, “When did your Emperor flee? Where did he escape to? Answer me immediately, or I will take your head!”
“About two hours ago he fled! As for where he went… I really don’t know! However, he fled in the direction of Great Xia!” the soldier stammered in fear.
“We must pursue him quickly!”
While a portion of the army remained to guard the capital city, another portion, led by three generals, set off in pursuit towards the direction of Great Xia.
At this moment, the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom was fleeing for his life with his heirs and family, riding in a horse-drawn carriage.
Due to the breakneck speed, the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom was jostled about in the carriage, his complexion turning somewhat pale.
The Wine Sword Immortal sat atop the carriage, watching this sorry spectacle. He drank from his bottle and burst into hearty laughter.
“Wait! Stop! I need to… I’m going to vomit!”
No sooner had he spoken than he threw up without hesitation.
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, are you alright?”
After vomiting, the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom finally caught his breath.
His face was pale without a hint of color. He waved his hand weakly and said, “We can’t run anymore, let’s rest for a while! Once we’ve rested, we can continue running!”
“Are you sure you want to rest? I must remind you that the allied forces of the three kingdoms have noticed your escape and are on their way. They will catch up soon!” Wine Sword Immortal said with a teasing smile.
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom immediately turned green, “What? They’re already on our tail? Run!”
“But Your Majesty, your health…”
“Don’t worry, I can still hold on!”
And so, the group continued their desperate sprint.
However, no matter how fast they ran, they could not outpace the warhorses.
Before long, they heard the earth-shattering noise and then saw a dense mass of troops rapidly approaching.
“They’ve really caught up to us, run for our lives!” the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom cried out in terror, his face turning pale.
General Zhao of the Great Yue Kingdom, on the other hand, was ecstatic: “There they are, let’s chase them down!”
The overwhelming army closed in swiftly, eventually flanking and controlling the Shang Kingdom Emperor’s convoy from both sides amidst their ranks.
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom’s face was ashen, and he muttered despairingly, “It’s over! It’s all over now!”
The three generals slowly approached on horseback. General Zhao of the Great Yue Kingdom spoke with an air of arrogance, “Emperor of the Shang Kingdom, you certainly ran fast, giving this old man quite the chase! Now, you have nowhere to run. Just come back with me obediently!”
The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom shook his head, clinging to the carriage, “I won’t go! I won’t go back with you!”
General Zhao waved his hand, “Men, capture them for me!”
“Yes, General!”
A troop of soldiers emerged with great alacrity.
However, just as they neared the carriage, a Sword Qi descended from the sky, striking the ground in front of the soldiers and forming a very distinct trench.
“Wait! I, the old man, have taken these people under my protection; none of you can take them away!”
Everyone looked up and to their surprise, they found a person lying on top of the carriage.
He appeared to be utterly drunk, in a state of complete disarray, as if he had merged with the roof of the carriage in his slumber.
Had he not made a move, no one would have noticed him.
We are currently recruiting. CN/KR/JP Translators/MTLers are welcome!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/HGaByvmVuw