Chapter 1165 - Why Not Go One Step Further?
“It’s that lunatic,” someone cried out in alarm.
At the same time, all eyes converged upon this figure.
Everyone recognized the figure that flew out from the mansion to be Zhang Longcheng, the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords]. His body was completely smeared in blood and circulated a near-material blood-colored evil qi all around, bringing to mind the killing god of the netherworld.
At this instant, it seemed that a boundless burst of evil qi was assailing upon everyone. Every one of their banners, battle garments, and hair strands fluttered backward, as if being compelled to retreat by some kind of ripping force.
The enormous pressure caused a few weaker soldiers to feel suffocated.
A silent unrest pervaded the air.
A faint smile formed on Nie Tiankong’s face, albeit he did not say anything at once.
Linghu Buxiu was shocked to the extreme.
He did not actually believe that Ye Qingyu could safely escape from the King of Zhenyuan’s residence, and kill his way out so quickly to boot. Just by looking at his blood-stained body, one could tell how terrible the battle in the residence must have been.
“Let me go, let me go...”
Yu Wanlou was struggling frantically.
He felt himself to be a little wronged.
He could not understand why the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] would target him so suddenly. He had never interacted, let alone met face to face, with this lunatic, and was thus perplexed that the latter was willing to antagonize the entire King of Zhenyuan’s residence just to capture him.
How can there be such a lunatic in this world?
How the heck have I offended you?
These two questions would become the biggest philosophical questions of Yu Wanlou’s life from this day onward.
Of course, the premise was whether Yu Wanlou still had a future.
Standing at the broken main gate of the royal residence, Ye Qingyu looked at the dense and dark mass of soldiers and horses from various large factions outside, completely unsurprised, for he had long anticipated all of this.
He even opened his mouth to reveal his white teeth behind his bloodied lips, giving off a heart-chilling luster.
“It’s just as well that so many people are here.”
He nodded his head satisfiedly.
Swish swish swish!
Dozens of figures instantly raced out from the residence.
They were led by the exasperated Crown Prince of Zhenyuan, followed by the King’s younger brother, the mansion’s second duke, and various aces and attendants. Every one of them was covered in blood, and most had wounds on their bodies. As soon as they came out, they noisily surrounded Ye Qingyu at the entrance…
“Don’t run, you country bumpkin… You’re not going anywhere today… I want you dead, and so you will die!” The Crown Prince’s face and eyes were red as he howled thunderously, seemingly gone mad.
Some of the other aces and attendants were also red-eyed.
It was a form of humiliation to them to have allowed Ye Qingyu to walk out alive from the mansion having captured Yu Wanlou. There was now only one chance for redemption, and that was to kill him in front of everyone, using his blood to wash away the humiliation.
If they failed to do so, every one of them would be eternally nailed to the pillar of disgrace henceforth.
“Listen up, everyone. The King of Zhenyuan’s residence will fight to the death against this country bumpkin who has become our eternal enemy. None of you shall intervene, otherwise you’ll also become our enemy,” dressed in a long golden robe, the residence’s second duke spoke.
He was the Quasi-emperor who had surprise attacked and attempted to wipe out Ye Qingyu and the entire mansion of the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] on that night, only to escape injured. Having been injured again during the battle on this day, his breath was wavering and his voice sounded like the friction of blades.
Turning his body, he showed a gloomy face and cupped his hands toward the personages of the various forces outside the residence before uttering those tough words.
His words more or less made things definite.
He was clearly saying them to those who might want to help Ye Qingyu.
Anyone who sought to profit from this situation would have to think carefully about who they sided with.
Those people who originally had something to say shut their mouths as soon as they saw this scene.
On the contrary, Ye Qingyu, who was surrounded in the middle, displayed a sneering face.
Paying no attention to the people from the mansion, he stamped one foot on the struggling and howling Yu Wanlou and said, “Do you admit your guilt?”
“What guilt?” Yu Wanlou yelled, his face reddened with rage.
Having been stamped on, he lost all face.
“Trafficking the Dark Ones, conspiring against your own associates, and selling military information...” Ye Qingyu cited dozens of charges in detail, making the time and venue perfectly clear. He then shouted, “Do you dare claim that you didn’t do these things?”
Yu Wanlou laughed grimly, “I’d thought you’d have more than these trifles to fuss about. You wanted to arrest me just based on these?”
Ye Qingyu also laughed grimly, “You think that these are trifles? Are the laws of the camp mere trifles to you?”
“Idiot, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill… You won’t even get to regret what you did today. You dare to arrest me just based on these trifles? Let me go right now.”
In Yu Wanlou’s perception– as well as that of many other Royal City nobles who were present – the charges listed out by Ye Qingyu did not amount to much. This was because these were matters that everyone had closed one eye to for several hundred years. Although, strictly speaking, they were indeed in violation of the camp’s laws, in reality, many nobles did these things. Everyone knew the hidden rules beneath the surface and did not take the laws seriously.
“Good, very good. Hoho, this shows how arrogant you are in your daily life. You’ve violated so many of the camp’s laws, each of which is a capital offense, yet you treat it as nothing. That’s good, very good...” Ye Qingyu did not waste too much breath arguing. “As long as you have admitted...”
With that, he swept a bright glance across the surroundings and declared loudly, “Yu Wanlou has personally admitted to violating the camp’s laws. According to the rules established by the wise men of the Royal City, these crimes shall be punished by death. Today, as the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords], I shall kill Yu Wanlou in front of the King of Zhenyuan’s residence to uphold military law.”
It was only at this time that Yu Wanlou sensed that things were not right.
He intends not only to arrest me, but also to kill me.
“Don’t go too far, you...” he shouted.
Before he finished speaking.
Ye Qingyu lowered his head to Yu Wanlou’s ear and said something softly.
The latter revealed an odd expression on his face, but before he could say anything, a sword light flashed and his head rolled on to the ground. This near-Quasi-emperor-level expert died on the spot, his Dao dissipating.
Fresh blood colored the main gate in red.
This...
Seeing this scene, the hearts of many surrounding personages jolted.
This is yet another slap to the face. To kill a senior attendant of the mansion in front of the Crown Prince of Zhenyuan and so many people is clearly an insult to the royal residence.
However, Yu Wanlou is also an idiot.
Hidden rules naturally cannot be openly revealed. There are many things you can do which won’t be a problem as long as nobody pursues, but that doesn’t mean that you can admit to them so boldly. When exposed and pursued, these things will spell one’s death. Alas, he has died in vain. After all, from a legal standpoint, there’s nothing wrong with what Zhang Longcheng did.
Of course, it was only from a legal standpoint.
The power of the law depended on its actual enforcement.
When nobody takes the law seriously, it becomes a joke unless someone enforces it using great strength and in a nearly crazy and reckless way like the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] did today. The law would then become inviolable and divine once again.
The [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] is a madman.
This was the assessment inwardly made by countless people.
Plop!
With one leg, Ye Qingyu kicked Yu Wanlou’s corpse to one side.
There was actually only one reason why he caused such a fuss – Yu Wanlou was also one of the murderers who ambushed Ren Puyang at Luoshen Ridge.
As he was one of the people newly unearthed from the memory transmitted by [The Beginning], Ye Qingyu certainly could not allow him to continue living in this world. Ye Qingyu had clearly explained his rationale for killing Yu Wanlou in the words he last spoke. Therefore, although Yu Wanlou died in disbelieving shock, he was not left confused.
Of course, nobody else knew about this.
Ye Qingyu flicked off the blood on his finger.
A burst of power and aura surged, causing the blood on his body to fly off and allowing him to feel somewhat refreshed.
Looking at the Crown Prince of Zhenyuan and his subordinates, he said brusquely, “Yu Wanlou has been executed as his rightful punishment. It’s great enough a crime for your residence to harbor a serious criminal, yet you still dare to go on about killing me. Hoho, that’s great. It looks like the laws of the Guardian camp is nothing compared to the dignity of your residence. That’s truly remarkable. It’s no wonder that nobody dares to provoke the King of Zhenyuan. You have placed yourself above the laws of the camp, after all...”
“You… you’re slandering us,” the Crown Prince snapped. “Today, you...”
Before he could finish his sentence, the second duke beside him hurriedly held him back, then took a step forward and glared at Ye Qingyu. Being not as foolish as Yu Wanlou, he was able to preserve a sense of reason despite his immense anger, and he thus did not get caught up in the matter of Yu Wanlou any longer. “Your barging into the royal residence is also a serious crime which cannot be redeemed even if you died ten thousand times. Since you want to uphold the law, you should take your own life as penance first.”
Ye Qingyu guffawed and said disdainfully, “Are you an idiot? I’ve already said that I intended to use peaceful means before resorting to violence. After I knocked on the gate for such a long time, you not only did not open up, but also put up a violent resistance. On account of the King of Zhenyuan’s great merits and laborious exertions, I’ve decided not to pursue your crime of harboring Yu Wanlou, yet you still dare to raise the matter of my barging into the royal residence?”
“You...” This time, the second duke nearly exploded from anger.
Dammit, it’s indeed tough to argue with a lunatic.
“Go! Kill him.” Unable to bear it any longer, the Crown Prince waved his hands. Countless aces instantly charged out from the residence and frenziedly struck at Ye Qingyu. All of them were sacrificial warriors who were not afraid of death and held nothing back. They comprised of a considerable number of near-Quasi-emperor-level experts and three Quasi-emperors.
A tremendous force surged from Ye Qingyu’s body.
“Don’t force me to wipe out the King of Zhenyuan’s residence today.” He laughed grimly. “If even the combination of formations in the residence cannot trap me, what could you possibly have now? I won’t mind having the chance to wipe out this criminal-harboring residence.”
In truth, he was already itching to get started.
Although his initial plan was simply to take the opportunity to cause a few problems for the King of Zhenyuan’s residence, the development of the situation aroused his heart such that he increasingly wanted to go one step further.
If I have the justification and chance to cripple the King of Zhenyuan’s residence today, perhaps I can put the king in a desperate situation and cause him to stop campaigning against the Fire Province any further, and to return immediately instead. The crisis in the Fire Province can thereby be relieved somewhat.