CHAPTER 554: CHAPTER 553: YAN WANQING, YOU FINALLY DECIDED TO SHOW UP

"When Father was alive, he was plagued by illness. Before his demise, he had ruled Chu Kingdom for only twenty-two years. I have just ascended the throne for less than four years, and already chaos reigns throughout the land," the voice of Chu Qi was somber as he looked at Song Huaxu. "If the extinction you speak of is true, even if my body is strong, at most I will have to abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince after forty years."

"You say you want to help me, why not help me to the end? I want to follow you to Penglai."

Chu Qi adopted a negotiating stance: "Otherwise, I will surrender with the people of Chu Kingdom right now and help Xiao Pingfeng unify the world."

He had let go of everything.

What use was having great power? And what of a beauty in one’s arms, if only for a night of joy? In the face of life and death, they were trivial matters.

Song Huaxu had come out of Penglai, so there must surely be ways within Penglai to prolong life.

His man had found out. After Yan Wanqing’s extermination of the Bright Summit, Song Huaxu barely escaped with his life, becoming the elder he is now. Before that, he had always appeared youthful. Even so, the current Song Huaxu still bore a tall and straight figure, unlike ordinary people his age.

Therefore, he must enter Penglai!

Song Huaxu listened quietly.

"Is Your Majesty threatening me?"

"You may think of it that way," Chu Qi stated bluntly. "Dawn is nearly upon us. You do not have much time left to consider."

Before this moment, countless thoughts had passed through Song Huaxu’s mind. Everyone thought that he was the one manipulating the King of Chu Kingdom, yet never considered that he himself could be outmaneuvered by Chu Qi.

What were once Chu Qi’s weaknesses - power, beauty, the world - he now completely disregarded, instead using them to threaten Song Huaxu.

Interesting, truly interesting.

"Very well, I agree to Your Majesty’s terms," Song Huaxu conceded. To enter Penglai together, but as for whether one would survive, he offered no guarantee.

"I knew Daoist Song was a man capable of great things," Chu Qi, having achieved his goal, continued with an inscrutable tone, his gaze sweeping over Su Bai with an ambiguous intent.

Once inside Penglai, he would naturally have his own ways to survive and then leave with Yan Wanqing.

Dawn broke.

The sounds of war drums roared between the two armies, tearing a deep gash in the dawn, from which a ray of Chaoyang emerged, illuminating the world.

Chu Qi and Xiao Pingfeng stood far apart, each across a million-strong army, gazing at each other.

"Kill!" Without hesitation, Xiao Pingfeng gave the order with a simple hand gesture, his black eyes filled with killing intent.

His personal command signified a desire to send Chu Qi along with these filthy people of Chu Kingdom straight back to the underworld!

The armies clashed, and amidst the drum beats, blood flowed like rivers. The red and blue flags of the two nations intertwined and tangled, utterly ruining the beautiful morning.

Atop a hill.

Yan Hongzhao, his face covered, led a group of Personal Guards he had trained himself, silently waiting on the hilltop.

"Boss, when do we make our move? The battle has already started."

Yan Hongzhao’s eyes were narrowed as he fixed his gaze on the fight below: "No rush, wait a bit longer. I haven’t seen big sister yet."

Today was the first battle, and both sides were bound to test each other’s strength.

It was impossible to reveal one’s full military might without reservation.

Moreover, he understood Xiao Pingfeng well - a man who was not likely to show his hand easily.

So, he still had to wait.

As Yan Hongzhao expected, the battle raged on until sunset, and Chu Kingdom had not yet deployed Yan Wanqing.

It was only when both sides lowered their flags and the emperors of both nations returned to their respective camps in carriages that today’s battle finally came to an end.

The people on the hilltop fell silent.

Because blood had turned the ground into rivers, charred corpses were everywhere, interspersed with injured warhorses that could only lie on the ground, whimpering and waiting for death.

"Boss... let’s go back," Ghost Face said suddenly, his voice gentle.

Yan Hongzhao nodded, grabbed the reins, and turned in the opposite direction, "Retreat!"

Soon, a troop of cavalry withdrew from the mountaintop.

Yan Hongzhao didn’t notice that after they left, atop the imperial carriage discovered by Dawei, Xiao Pingfeng raised his head and glanced at that mountaintop.

The war between Dawei and Chu Kingdom was indeed tough. Yan Hongzhao had gone up the mountain for a week in succession but still had not seen his own sister.

"What the hell is going on with Chu Kingdom? If this continues, they will be beaten back to their homeland by Xiao Pingfeng." In the span of a week, Chu Kingdom had suffered consecutive defeats, having lost the momentum they had before the war.

In the following days, Xiao Pingfeng showed up on the Dawei side to boost morale, but Chu Qi didn’t show himself at all on the Chu side.

Yan Hongzhao pulled down his mask, his expression icy, "Right now, Song Huaxu is within the Chu Kingdom’s camp. My sister learned her skills from him, and he surely is brewing a larger plot. We can’t act rashly."

The more godlike in using soldiers, the more one must hold their forces still.

"It’s going to rain soon, boss," Ghost Face said softly, looking up at the dark clouds gathering on the horizon, with thunder rumbling from within, signifying imminent rain.

Without lifting his eyelids, Yan Hongzhao’s eyes were fixed on the Chu camp, "Wait."

She had a vague feeling that this rain was too peculiar in its timing.

Above the battlefield, the slaughter continued.

The rain, large as beans, plummeted from the sky, banging against bodies of soldiers and the earth, mingling everywhere with rainwater and mud, carrying blood with them...

Yan Hongzhao’s eyes were almost pummeled shut by the downpour.

She forcefully wiped the rainwater off her face, "Just wait a bit longer, just a little bit more."

Not only was she waiting, but Xiao Pingfeng was too.

The torrential rain enveloped everyone, creating a world muddled by mist. And just then!

A squadron of cavalry rushed out from the Chu army camp like arrows released from their strings. The leader had a lean figure, dressed in silver Battle Armor, and wherever he went, with a raise of his hand and a drop of his blade, a string of corpses fell.

He was as cold as an Assassin without a soul, his eyes filled only with murder!

"There he is! The Killing God!" Ghost Face exclaimed, and all eyes turned to focus there.

The man wore half a black mask, his expression indifferent, his long sword drenched in blood, which even the heavy rain couldn’t wash clean.

Yan Hongzhao recognized him at once.

"Sister! It’s my sister!" she urgently pulled on the reins, and her horse let out a cry.

She couldn’t be mistaken. It had been three years, and her sister had lost a lot of weight, but she recognized her immediately.

"The young miss has suffered!" Ghost Face couldn’t help but say.

Yan Wanqing used to strike decisively yet never murdered innocents indiscriminately, but now she seemed like a wild horse let loose, carrying out a nearly indistinguishable rampage on the battlefield. The majority of those she killed were Dawei soldiers, but even the Chu soldiers who approached her were decapitated without as much as a blink.

Fitting for someone hailed as a killing machine, the Killing God!

Chu Kingdom’s ultimate trump card!

Xiao Pingfeng’s black eyes had been fixed on that flash of silver since it appeared.

His fists clenched tightly.

Yan Wanqing, you’ve finally decided to show yourself!

"This time, I want to see how you can escape!"