Chapter 5: Southern Line (8)
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No doubt about it, the sudden arrival of the Beast Legion threw everyone in the Imperial Capital into a tizzy.
They thought the beasts would only bounce around the Southern Line and Northern Line, never staging a large-scale invasion of their homeland. But lo and behold, they had assembled into an unprecedented army, sweeping through the Empire’s defenses like they were made of butter, heading straight for the city walls!
Even the dimmest of bulbs could figure out that this enormous Beast Legion didn’t just happen to roll in together; someone was clearly pulling the strings behind the scenes!
Fortunately, the city walls of the Imperial Capital were high and sturdy. No matter how muscular those beasts were, they couldn’t leap over. Plus, the walls were lined with giant crossbows and boiling oil ready to turn those furry invaders into roasted monsters. Defending against the Beast Legion was definitely within the realm of possibility!
On top of that, the Imperial Legion had plenty of griffins to ride, so even if the beastly horde decided to take to the skies, the capital wouldn’t just roll over and become a buffet!
For a moment, both sides were on high alert, poised for confrontation at the city walls.
The Beast Legion, showing no immediate inclination to attack, seemed to take a breather around five to six thousand meters from the walls. The population and livestock they had captured along the way had turned into their banquet.
The camp was an absolute mess of bl**d and bones, with guts flying everywhere. It was a real farm-to-table operation, just not a very appetizing one.
At that moment, a purple figure zipped through the air.
The feasting beasts perked up their heads, eyeing the reckless individual daring to invade their camp.
Dozens of wyverns immediately took off, screeching as they lunged to gobble her up.
“Whoa now, don’t get your scales in a twist! I’m just a messenger representing His Majesty the Emperor, here to have a word with your commander. Please, remain calm!”
Lady Rong Ji deftly dodged the attacking wyverns while revealing her identity to the mindless beasts.
Not long after, a voice echoed from within the camp, “Let her in.”
Rong Ji let out a sigh of relief. Good thing the commander still had a sliver of willingness to communicate with the imperial messenger; otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to face the Emperor upon returning.
For her, the Emperor was much less important than Fu Yetian, but for now, she wasn’t ready to burn that bridge.
She landed gently, dodging the bits and pieces of bodies scattered across the ground. The stench in the air was suffocating, causing her to wrinkle her nose as she carefully lifted the hem of her dress. Nothing was going to ruin her outfit with beastly odors!
A dozen massive beasts slowly stood up, showing off their menacing fangs but parting to clear a path.
This allowed Lady Rong Ji to catch a glimpse of a simple white tent behind them—a sure sign of human habitation. The female demon leader must be inside.
Ignoring the fierce gazes of the beasts, she strode forward with purpose. She couldn’t bear the smell of all those beasts crowded together; she had no idea how that woman could stand it!
A little creature, barely half her height, jumped up and held the tent flap open for her.
With the sunlight streaming in, Rong Ji could vaguely make out a figure sitting cross-legged within the tent.
She stepped inside without hesitation, as if she had never considered it might be a trap.
What greeted her was a standard issue blonde, blue-eyed demon woman, with a body that could stop traffic. She looked young, but if the Emperor’s intel was accurate, she was over eight hundred years old. Just that fact alone screamed “serious power!”
“Esteemed leader, I am Rong Ji, here to pay my respects on behalf of the Emperor,” she said.
The woman looked up, scrutinizing her closely. “Ah, so you are Rong Ji?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I’ve heard Fu Yetian mention you,” the demon said.
Rong Ji was taken aback but quickly composed herself, replying coolly, “Oh? What would I have done to be on the mind of the esteemed leader?”
Deep down, she had already figured it out; not long ago, when Fu Yetian returned from Thousand Bird City, he had been accompanied by a woman—rumor had it, that woman was the infamous Exile he brought back from the Thousand Bird Floating City.
That’s why she had dared to imply to the Emperor that the Beast Legion’s assault could be linked to Fu Yetian’s escapades.
Originally, she just wanted to poke at the Emperor a little, but now it seemed Fu Yetian and this woman were rather chummy if he was casually dropping her name in conversation.
However, she had no illusions about Fu Yetian changing his opinion of her.
After all, she was the one who distanced herself from him back in the day, leading to their ultimate falling out. It seemed he had forgotten they once had a romance!
Ah, right, this woman’s name was Lilith.
“Oh, no worries! I just love to gossip. Love, romance, anything—I’m all ears! So, one day, after a few drinks, Fu Yetian spilled all the beans on you two—everything!”
Lilith chuckled, her eyes sparkling with the kind of mischief only a nosy neighbor can possess.
Rong Ji clenched her fists, her voice trembling, “So… what did Fu Yetian say about me?”
Lilith watched her with gleeful interest, as if savoring a fine wine. “What else? You two are practically enemies by now!”
Rong Ji’s heart sank; it turned out, in Fu Yetian’s eyes, she was just the scheming harlot who lured him out of the Immortal Gate and then tossed him aside for her own gain.
“However,” Lilith continued, “he did mention if that damned woman could turn back, he wouldn’t mind starting over. But that woman and he are as far apart as the heavens and the earth; he might as well forget it in this lifetime.”
“No, no! I want to turn back, really!” Rong Ji blurted out, nearly jumping out of her skin.
Lilith burst into laughter, doubling over in delight.
“Oh, sure, that’s wonderful to hear. But it seems Fu Yetian is stuck somewhere else and can’t come back—I can feel it.”
Rong Ji gritted her teeth. “I’ll find a way to rescue him, I swear!”
“Good! Now that’s the spirit of a true romantic. Oh, by the way, why did the Emperor send you?”
Lilith casually shifted back to business.
Rong Ji shot back angrily, “That d*mn dog of an Emperor sent me to ask you what your grand plan in launching such a flashy attack on the Imperial Capital is!”
“What else could it be? A change of dynasty, of course.”
Rong Ji’s eyes widened. “A change of dynasty?”
Lilith smiled broadly. “Yes! My ancestors were wiped out by the Four Warriors. Eight hundred years ago, I aimed to upend the Empire during turmoil, but that Emperor back then held his ground. I killed too many, caught the eye of the Gods, so here I am, stuck in a tight cage for eight hundred years—running power for Thousand Bird Floating City.
Only recently have I regained some strength.”
“But why strike now?” Rong Ji pressed.
“Tell the Emperor his luck has run out; I can feel it,” Lilith said coolly.
“Luck has run out?”
Lilith gave her an amused look. “At this point, you should really be focusing more on how to rescue your prince charming.
Of course, if the Emperor chooses to surrender, I might let him keep his life. But if he decides to resist… well, those famished beasts could do something quite… dramatic.”
