A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace-Chapter 745 Great Victory

"Suicide?" Arubasi sneered coldly. "Why don’t you commit suicide and show me, huh? Once you’re through my door, you belong to me! If you dare to end your own life..."

He suddenly lunged forward, kicking the hairpin from Ye Tang’s hand. Simultaneously, he seized her by the waist and threw her onto the bed, pressing down on top of her. Instead of rushing to violate her, he began to slap her face repeatedly, left and right. He struck Ye Tang more than a dozen times. The red marks of his fingers on her face rapidly swelled. The corners of her mouth were battered and bleeding profusely, the flesh torn.

Ye Tang remained incredibly defiant, clenching her teeth, refusing to make a sound, merely glaring at him. Her defiance provoked Arubasi into a furious laugh. "Well, well, a tough one, are you?! Then I’ll just keep hitting you until you learn to behave!" With that, he delivered another dozen slaps.

Ye Tang’s face was now a ruin. Her ears rang, her vision blurred, and the initial fiery sting on her face had given way to a numb lack of sensation. She subconsciously raised a hand to touch her face, then her lips twisted into an extremely ugly, cold sneer. "Hmph! My face is ruined but still here. Your face is fine, yet... you are shameless!" Her voice was so faint that one had to lean close to hear her.

Upon hearing this, Arubasi grew even more infuriated. "Shameless? Beating you isn’t shameless! Now I’ll show you what true shamelessness is!" With that, he started to rip her clothes.

Ye Tang panicked. She wasn’t afraid of death, but she feared losing her purity. She desperately pushed and struck at him, but Arubasi was as immovable as a mountain.

She cried and pleaded, "Please, let me go! If you value your son’s life, let go of me now! If you defile me, they will surely kill your son to avenge me!"

Arubasi, consumed by lust, had gone mad. His eyes were bloodshot as he laughed wildly. "You little brat! Defiling you isn’t the same as killing you! You’re alive and well, so why would they take my son’s life for that?" He continued tearing at her clothes as he spoke.

Seeing her threats were useless, Ye Tang despaired. If all else failed... she would bite her tongue and end her life. Her face was swollen, making it difficult to exert force. The motion was slow, but fresh blood still trickled from her mouth. She closed her eyes, praying fervently: Just let me die quickly! Death will be a release!

Just then, the door was violently kicked open. A group of men in black burst in like a gust of wind, instantly crowding the small room. Their leader, a man with thick brows and sharp, sword-like eyes, stood over eight feet tall, a sword in his hand glinting with a cold, faint light. His gaze swept the room and landed on Ye Tang, pinned beneath Arubasi. Fury erupted in him. "You damned bastard!"

He kicked Arubasi off Ye Tang, then followed with several vicious kicks to the fallen man’s head.

Before Arubasi could react, excruciating pain shot through his head. He screamed, clutching his head as he rolled on the floor. "Who—who are you?!" A gash on his head was now gushing blood. Combined with his ferocious expression, he looked utterly terrifying.

Xia Tingfeng stood before him, using the tip of his sword to flick at Arubasi’s thick beard. He sneered, "You don’t need to know who I am. You only need to know... that your death is imminent!"

Fear flickered in Arubasi’s eyes, but he blustered, "How audacious! You dare storm my warship? Are you seeking death? Men, come—"

"No need to call. It’s useless," Xia Tingfeng cut him off. "This place... is surrounded by us!" Beneath his dark mask, a triumphant, spirited smile was hidden.

Arubasi was completely dumbfounded. "Impossible! Today is my wedding day, they..."

"Half your men have already rebelled. Oh, right, they’ve split into two factions now and are busy fighting each other," Xia Tingfeng stated coolly. "Quite a few were already dead by the time I came in. Wait a little longer, and I reckon they’ll all be finished."

Finished speaking, Xia Tingfeng wasted no more words on him and waved his hand decisively. "Men, take Ye Tang away first! And while you’re at it, tie up this old bastard!"

Several soldiers acknowledged and carried the unconscious Ye Tang out on a makeshift stretcher. Xia Tingfeng glanced at her; her face was covered in blood, swollen beyond recognition. A pang of guilt and pain shot through him, further fueling his rage. After the soldiers carrying Ye Tang had left, he narrowed his eyes at the now securely bound Arubasi.

Suddenly, he changed his mind. "How many times did you slap her?" His voice was dangerously low. The edge of his sword traced Arubasi’s skin, his eyes bloodshot and filled with a murderous aura, like an Asura from hell.

Arubasi was both furious and flustered. "You..."

"Speak!"

"I...!" Arubasi stammered, incoherent. He, who had always been overwhelmingly arrogant, had never faced such insolence. This enraged him, yet a thread of fear wove through his anger. His mind was a maelstrom of conflicting emotions, rendering him speechless.

Xia Tingfeng listened as the sounds of battle outside intensified. Looking up, he caught sight of a signal flare streaking across the sky. His heart leaped. It’s done!

With no further reservations, he swung his sword, and Arubasi’s head flew from his shoulders. "Mercy—" The word died on Arubasi’s lips as his head hit the ground. Xia Tingfeng viciously kicked the severed head. Then, he sheathed his sword and walked away, his face a mask of contempt.

The din of fighting and slaughter outside grew ever louder. When Xia Tingfeng, clad in black, stepped out, he saw the ground littered with piles of corpses. Some men were still fighting, hacking with sabers and thrusting with spears like madmen. Blood stained the ground, and rivers of it flowed across the decks of all the ships. Xia Tingfeng’s heart pounded with excitement.

The Emperor’s strategy was simply brilliant. Knowing the Southern Ocean Kingdom was nearly out of supplies, he had arranged for a large ship laden with delicious food to be secretly sent to them. Not only that, but he also covertly had the food supplies of Lvsong Island’s soldiers stolen and given to the Southern Ocean Kingdom. This created the illusion that the Southern Ocean Kingdom had plundered Lvsong Island’s provisions, taking every last bit. Lvsong Island, not wealthy to begin with, had brought only a limited amount of food on their expedition, all of which was now gone. While the Southern Ocean Kingdom feasted daily, the aroma of their cooking meat drifting for miles, Lvsong Island’s men were starving. This was a clear path to their doom! Naturally, they were enraged. Retaliation and fighting for supplies were inevitable, so infighting erupted. And that led to the scene Xia Tingfeng now witnessed. As the saying goes, humans die for wealth, and birds die for food. When people are on the verge of starvation, their potential is limitless. Otherwise, the battle wouldn’t have been so brutal!

「That night.」

Twenty thousand soldiers of the Southern Ocean Kingdom perished in the infighting. The fate of Lvsong Island’s soldiers was even more dire. Though they might have shrieked like madmen while snatching food, once their bellies were full, they reverted to being weaklings. Besides, there were only five thousand of them. They posed no real threat.

「Over the next three days.」

Zhao Junyao personally led his troops to surround and annihilate all remaining Southern Ocean Kingdom soldiers at sea. The operation was so smooth, without a single hiccup, that it was almost unbelievable.