The Demon Lords-Chapter 677 - 130: Emperor of Eternity_3

Situ Yi's gaze first fell upon Zheng Fan. He spoke, "Who goes there? State your name!"

Zheng Fan offered a slight smile, treating the display as if watching monkeys in a show, and did not answer.

"Impudence!" Situ Yi pointed at Zheng Fan and scolded.

Then, Situ Yi turned his attention to the Sword Saint standing beside Zheng Fan. He recognized the Sword Saint and immediately bellowed, "Well, well! You, Yu Huaping! A man of Jin, yet you collude with the Yan people to plot treason and usurp my imperial rule! What audacity! You are a disgrace to your Jin heritage! I will wipe out your entire clan! Even if you are the Sword Saint, I will dispatch a grand army to capture you. Rest assured, I will not spare you!"

Situ Yi and the Sword Saint shared a deep-seated grudge.

During past political struggles, Situ Yi and Situ Jiong, the two elder brothers, were pressured by their younger brother Situ Lei. Consequently, they had no choice but to go defend Snow Sea Pass, a thinly veiled form of banishment.

At that time, they had already colluded with the Wild People. This was especially true when the Yan people were annihilating the Helian and Wenren families. Their father, the old head of the Situ Family, was in a panic. The two brothers seized the opportunity, proposing to borrow troops from the Wild People to resist the Yan forces.

Initially, the old family head was swayed.

The two brothers could have used this chance to return from Snow Sea Pass to Ying Capital City and begin another round of conflict against their younger brother. As the saying goes: so long as there is life, the struggle to seize the throne never ceases.

But who could have predicted that Situ Lei would borrow the Sword Saint's blade and kill their own father?

Did Situ Yi and Situ Jiong genuinely wish to defect to the Wild People?

They weren't fools. But at that moment, they truly had no other recourse. Their father had been the arbiter of the game's rules. Once their younger brother killed him, it was tantamount to declaring the game over. They no longer even qualified to participate. Only then did they harden their hearts and conspire with the Wild People.

Now, having reached this sorry state, Situ Yi was utterly dissatisfied with his current circumstances, even if the Yan people hadn't attacked today.

Perhaps, in Situ Yi's view, if the Sword Saint hadn't helped Situ Lei kill their father, he would have held much stronger cards when facing "Little Dog." He would never have allowed his "capital," Jade Plate City, to be snatched away. At the very least, he could have maintained the basic dignity of an "emperor."

"And you have the gall to question me?" The Sword Saint was so incensed he almost laughed.

"I am the Emperor of Dacheng! I am the Son of Heaven, my rule ordained by fate! If you dare to offend me, you defy the Mandate of Heaven!" Situ Yi continued to scream at the top of his lungs. He was the spitting image of a fool, performing a one-man show.

"Still daydreaming, even at this point!" the Sword Saint scoffed.

Zheng Fan reached out, patted the Sword Saint's shoulder, and said, "He's no fool; he's quite shrewd, actually." Signaling the Sword Saint to compose himself, Zheng Fan folded his arms, looking perfectly at ease as he regarded Situ Yi.

"So, you genuinely believe you're an emperor? Planning to emulate Emperor Jin, relocate to Yanjing, and secure the title of Jin Duke to ensure a comfortable life for your remaining years? Let me be frank, forget such pleasant dreams. My Great Yan recognizes only the Dacheng State based in Ying Capital City. We don't recognize a cur like you who crawled out of some obscure corner. I'd advise you to save your energy. Yan already has a Prince Cheng; there's no possibility of creating another Duke of Cheng. You allowed the Wild People past the borders, undermining the foundations of the Great Xia, yet you still believe that as the loser in a struggle for power, you're entitled to retain some dignity?"

Hearing this, Situ Yi's gaze froze. Zheng Fan's words had clearly pierced his heart like daggers.

Why, at this moment, did he insist on wearing the dragon robe? Why did he make his younger brother wear the python robe? Why was he still raving like a madman, "I" and "Mandate of Heaven" in every other breath? All he sought was to be captured with the status of an "emperor." That way, even if he were escorted to Yanjing, according to common practice, he could at least secure a noble title and live out his days as a wealthy man. Zheng Fan's words had shattered his illusions.

"I... I am the Son of Heaven! Even if I am defeated, I was once the supreme ruler! I can go to Yanjing, I can submit a letter of state to His Majesty the Emperor of Yan, I can..."

"No need. It's a long way, quite a difficult journey. Let's not bother with all that. Besides, I've promised someone that you, today, would meet with... an accident."

"An accident?"

"Yes. For instance, you die mysteriously. I intended to capture you alive, but failed."

Hearing this, the Sword Saint glanced at Zheng Fan from the corner of his eye.

Zheng Fan caught the movement and smiled faintly to himself.

"Brother, I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" Situ Jiong completely broke down, collapsing to his knees, kowtowing first to Zheng Fan, then to Situ Yi.

Situ Jiong stared blankly at his elder brother. He knew his own limitations and had always looked down on Situ Lei for his illegitimate birth, which was why he had long sided with his brother against Situ Lei. But now, he clearly understood that his brother could no longer protect him.

Situ Yi leaned forward and said to Situ Jiong, "Stop your sniveling. Winners become kings, losers are outlaws. At a time like this, don't disgrace me."

Then, Situ Yi turned his gaze back to Zheng Fan. "I have, after all, sat on the dragon throne and been hailed with 'Long Live Your Majesty!' General of Yan, could you grant me a dignified end? White silk, poisoned wine—either would be acceptable."

"You still want dignity? When you allowed the Wild People past the borders, did you ever consider the dignity of the people of our Three Jin?"

As the Sword Saint moved to draw his sword, Zheng Fan pressed his hand down on his wrist.

"Some dignity is indeed warranted. He was, after all, an earthly emperor; he did don the yellow robe. What emperors pursue is, ultimately, to be unique throughout the ages..."

"Exactly! If not for circumstances conspiring against me, I would undoubtedly have become an emperor for all eternity!" Situ Yi declared with an air of great confidence.

Of course, at this juncture, with no descendants to hold a knife to a historian's throat and ensure he was spoken of favorably, he could only make a few grand pronouncements for himself.

Zheng Fan nodded with a smile. "I will help you. I will help you become an emperor unique in all of history."

With that, Zheng Fan said to the armored soldiers beside him, "Go and collect a vat of liquid filth."

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"

Situ Yi froze for a moment, then immediately roared in flustered fury, "What are you doing? What do you think you're doing?!"

He was panicking. How could he not?

Zheng Fan, however, nonchalantly dug in his ear with his little finger, then brought it to his lips and blew lightly.

"Helping you achieve your dream, of course. Didn't you want to be an emperor unique in all of history? Well then, you shall be the first emperor in history to die by drowning in excrement and urine."