Son-in-law Heaven Emperor Xiao Yi

Tianlan Kingdom, Zhenxi City.

This was a border fortress between Tianlan Kingdom and Tianqing Kingdom and also served as the gateway city to the west of Tianlan Kingdom.

It was even more massive than Heiya City.

The city walls alone were a hundred meters high, and the extensive walls stretched for dozens of miles like an Azure Dragon lying across the land, guarding the western gate of Tianlan Kingdom. Continue reading stories on empire

The commander of Zhenxi City was the King of Zhenxi, Zhao Qiankun, known for his impregnable defense.

Inside the city lord's mansion.

Zhao Qiankun's face was dark as he looked at the scout reports, kicked the table and chairs in front of him to the ground, and cursed, "Useless trash, Geng Jie and Li Tenglong, these two pieces of rubbish, a million-strong army, just like that completely annihilated? What the hell were they doing?"

"Please calm your anger, my lord!"

"Your Highness, what's most critical now is to consider how to fend off the Tianqing Kingdom's army..."

"To assemble that million-man army, our Tianlan Kingdom almost emptied out the nest, even Zhenxi City had a hundred thousand troops pulled away. Now, with only a hundred thousand left, what are we supposed to do..."

One after another, Zhao Qiankun's subordinates offered their advice.

Tianlan Kingdom was more or less on par with Tianqing Kingdom; there was little difference in national strength between the two countries.

But now...

Having lost a million troops all at once, they were grievously wounded.

"Given the circumstances, what else can we do but make a last stand?"

Zhao Qiankun said coldly, "At the time when it was decided to wage war against Tianqing Kingdom, I disagreed, yet all of you thought that Tianqing was beset on all sides, at its weakest. Now that trouble has arisen, you come to ask me what to do? What were you doing earlier?"

All along.

Zhao Qiankun had been defending Zhenxi City, while Zhang Baisheng had been guarding Heiya City.

Although there were minor frictions between the two armies, they had never engaged in large-scale warfare.

This was because Zhao Qiankun had a clear understanding of the strength of the two nations; neither could truly overpower the other.

But this time...

It truly was a war that could lead to the destruction of a nation!

From the moment Tianlan Kingdom mobilized en masse, dispatching a million-strong army to attack Tianqing Kingdom, it was destined that only one of the two countries would continue to exist.

Just then.

A messenger from outside announced, "My lord, an imperial envoy has arrived!"

"Let him in!"

Zhao Qiankun commanded with a grim face.

A moment later.

An old eunuch with a sly look walked in, holding a royal edict, and proclaimed in a deep voice, "King of Zhenxi, receive the order!"

"Your servant receives the order!"

Zhao Qiankun and the others all knelt.

The eunuch unfolded the royal edict and intoned, "By the Mandate of Heaven, the king decrees: Zhenxi City is the western gateway of Tianlan Kingdom, Zhao Qiankun is hereby ordered to ensure that the enemy forces are kept out of Zhenxi City, let this be known!"

"Your servant obeys the order!"

Zhao Qiankun received the royal edict with a dark face, almost wishing he could tear the edict to shreds.

The eunuch stepped forward, his sharp voice slightly grating, "My lord, His Majesty orders you to hold Zhenxi City at all costs, the armies of Baijing Kingdom and Sihai Kingdom will soon launch an attack. As long as we withstand this wave of the Tianqing Kingdom's army, the final victory will surely be ours..."

"I know!"

Zhao Qiankun responded coldly, "Given the urgency of the war situation, I will not detain you any longer, please!"

The eunuch named Zheng Yu was a trusted confidant of Tianlan Kingdom, and even the royal princes would show him some respect. When had he ever carried out an edict without some personal gain?

Zhao Qiankun actually gave him a direct order to leave?

Zheng Yu narrowed his eyes, sizing up Zhao Qiankun, gave a sinister smile, and said, "If that's the case, I will take my leave first!"

Zheng Yu walked towards the exit.

From behind him came the conversation between several generals and Zhao Qiankun, "My lord, this Zheng is a close confidant of His Majesty and is notoriously greedy. You sent him away without even offering a tip, I fear..."

"Fear what? Zhenxi City is in imminent danger, yet you expect me to indulge him with lavish hospitality? An old castrated cur that does nothing but stir up trouble, would he dare to bite me?" Zhao Qiankun's chilly voice came through, followed by an impatient remark, "Enough about that old cur, promptly inform me about the detailed reports on the Tianqing Kingdom's army..."

Outside the door.

Zheng Yu's smile on his face grew increasingly malevolent, like a ferocious venomous snake, he sneered in a chilling voice, "What a Zhao Qiankun, what a King of Zhenxi, hmph..."

...

Eight hundred li outside Zhenxi City.

Xiao Yi, leading the army, swept all before him, sniping the scouts sent by Zhenxi City one by one and was now resting here.

Before the campfires.

Xiao Yi and the others were waiting for the meat to finish roasting, while Zhang Baisheng was speaking about the King of Zhenxi, Zhao Qiankun, "I have crossed swords with Zhao Qiankun for twenty-eight years and understand him extremely well. I excel in attack, while he excels in defense, so trying to use the same method that trapped Li Tenglong and Geng Jie might not work. This is going to be a tough battle!"

The King of Zhenxi, Zhao Wuji, was known as the Copper Wall and Iron Rampart.

This reputation was forged from one brilliant defensive battle after another.

"Is it possible for His Highness the Martial King to break through their city gates directly?" Zheng Le tentatively asked.

Although Xiao Yi possessed the combat strength of the Tao Tribulation Realm, his realm was only at the peak of the Golden Core Realm after all.

Even if he took action, others couldn't seize any handle on him.

Xiao Yi was also somewhat tempted.

With his strength, forcibly breaking through to Zhenxi City and blasting open the gates before withdrawing in one piece was still somewhat assured.

But Zhang Baisheng just bitterly smiled and shook his head, "You're all being too optimistic... His Highness's power is beyond doubt, but Zhao Qiankun surely knows this too. Do you think he wouldn't be prepared? If he were to lay a trap with a net reaching the sky and a snare covering the earth and use a human wave tactic to entrap His Highness, then with human lives to exhaust His Highness..."

This was the reason why those in the Tao Tribulation Realm were not allowed to participate in direct combat.

The Tao Tribulation Realm could harness the forces of nature for wide-ranging attacks.

Like Ling Wufengyun, a wave of his hand could summon howling gales, able to stand against tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of enemies all by himself.

But those in the Golden Core Realm, no matter how powerful, could not match such destructive power.

If Zhao Qiankun used tens of thousands of troops and strategies like nets to entangle Xiao Yi and then employed relentless volleys of arrows regardless of the cost, he could still potentially capture Xiao Yi.

In the midst of their conversation,

a scout nearby brought over a skinny young man, saying, "Your Highness, Generals, I found him while patrolling ahead. He claims to have come to help us take Zhenxi City!"

"Hmm?"

Xiao Yi and the others exchanged glances, looking at the young man with curiosity.

Xiao Yi frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

"This humble one is a little shadow under the command of Eunuch Zheng from Tianlan Kingdom's Internal Affairs!" replied Xiao Ying, his face revealing a submissive and deferential expression.

Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow, "The Head of Internal Affairs? If you're from Tianlan Kingdom, why would you help us take Zhenxi City?"

"This... this..." Xiao Ying hesitated, unable to complete his sentence.

Zheng Le, with a flourish of his long knife, pressed it against the young man's neck, frightening Xiao Ying to kneel and kowtow for mercy. Zheng Le said, "Spit it out, or I'll end you!"

Xiao Ying quickly exclaimed, "Honorable lords, this is all because the King of Zhenxi insulted my master and infuriated him. He ordered me to bring the defensive layout of Zhenxi City and the city's patrol schedule to you, generals. I swear to the heavens, everything I've said is true, if there's even half a lie, may I be struck by lightning and die without a complete corpse!"

While saying this,

Xiao Ying produced the defense map of Zhenxi City and the patrol schedule.

Xiao Yi passed them to Zhang Baisheng.

After inspecting them, Zhang Baisheng gave a slight nod toward him.

Xiao Yi then instructed the scout, "Take him away and guard him well!"

"Yes!"

The scout immediately departed.

Only then did Xiao Yi look at Zhang Baisheng, "Old General, how credible do you think this is?"

"At least ninety percent credible!"

Zhang Baisheng took a deep breath and then said, "I've heard of this Zheng Yu. He is a greedy eunuch and very narrow-minded, one who seeks revenge for the smallest slights. With Zhao Qiankun's temper, offending him is quite normal, and indeed, this defense map and patrol schedule are flawless, very much matching Zhao Qiankun's style of military disposition!"

"With that said... breaking through Zhenxi City is within reach!" exclaimed Zheng Le, excitedly.

Zhang Baisheng nodded emphatically.

Xiao Yi exhaled deeply, looking at the defense map, and shook his head slightly, "Even the King of Hell is easy to see, little devils are tricky to deal with! Zhao Qiankun, probably never imagined that, despite his wisdom, he would be ruined at the hands of a eunuch..."