The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1128 - 614: Eliminating Traitors (Part 2)

The Heart Protecting Mirror was tattered and dim, seemingly ruined. Xu Jianwen snorted, flipping it up and throwing it on the ground, looking at the blade wound on his chest, his eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"How could this be..."

If not for this top-grade Suppressing Object, he would have almost been cut down just now. But what truly pierced through Xu Jianwen’s psychological defenses was Zhao Douan, this "court tribute," this outsider walking the path of the Martial God, this servant... who should have been immobilized by Secret Skills, yet why was he, not only unaffected, but instead...

Instead...

Xu Jianwen was unwilling to admit it.

Just at the moment when the two bamboo rafts approached each other, it was he whose Qi Mechanism was suppressed.

Yes!

He, the legitimate Prince, was instead suppressed by an alien on the martial arts inheritance, as if he were the servant, and Zhao Douan the master.

"Impossible... impossible..."

Xu Jianwen muttered to himself, no longer able to maintain his formerly calm and confident demeanor.

He wasn’t afraid of failure.

The Xuanmen Coup’s disastrous defeat he had endured, and it wasn’t his first time in a perilous situation.

But he couldn’t accept such an incomprehensible failure.

However, Xu Jianwen quickly realized he had not yet escaped danger. He barely took out a few pills and swallowed them, then stumbled to his feet, fleeing towards the distance in the wild mountains.

Fleeing in a very sorry state, not caring as his clothes were torn by brambles and dry trees along the way.

However, the more he ran, the more the creeping fear of being watched by a predatory beast increased rather than diminished.

It was as if a power that instinctively terrified him was incessantly closing in.

Finally, Xu Jianwen, following the sound of water, emerged from the bush, only to find, stunned, that there was a dead end ahead.

A cliff stood before him, and below the cliff was a steep drop of hundreds of feet, into the ripping underground river in the fractured earth below...

"Second Prince, it seems I have won." Zhao Douan emerged from the woods, holding the Chasing Saber, cautiously approaching.

He wasn’t sure what trump cards Xu Jianwen might still have hidden, but having fought with Prince Heng and Mu Prince, he had an instinctive vigilance towards these royal members.

No one knew if these royal relatives had life-risking stunts hidden up their sleeves.

Xu Jianwen staggered back, behind him was the cliff. He stared unblinkingly at Zhao Douan, like a lone wolf trapped in a hopeless situation, yet his expression quickly calmed down: "Looks like I underestimated you. Why weren’t you controlled by the Secret Skills?"

Zhao Douan stepped on the fallen dry branches and leaves, a cold smile playing on his lips: "The prince wants to know? Come back to the capital with me, after seeing Your Majesty, you will naturally find out."

Xu Jianwen looked at him meaningfully: "You want to take me back to the capital?"

Zhao Douan replied seriously: "Actually, I’d rather kill you. But if I can capture you alive, there might be more use."

For example... extracting some information. Or perhaps... as long as obtaining Xu Jianwen’s confession, the Kuangfu Society’s long-standing slander against the Empress can be completely resolved...

Xu Jianwen laughed: "You don’t have to use such words to deceive me. Good players know to leave a breath when pushing their opponents into a corner, but do you think I would fall for it? Zhao Douan, if you have the guts, why don’t you come after me!"

With that, without waiting for Zhao Douan to react, Xu Jianwen threw his head back and fell, his whole body like a piece of dead wood, falling straight down the cliff!

Zhao Douan was shocked, leaving a trail of afterimages as he rushed to the cliff’s edge, only to see Xu Jianwen falling face up, plummeting hundreds of feet in the blink of an eye and disappearing into the earth’s fissure.

"This lunatic..."

Zhao Douan forcibly suppressed the urge to jump off the mountain... In this world, even a Martial Artist would meet a certain death falling from this height.

As for Magic... after that slash, his Qi Sea Inner Strength was nearly depleted.

After a while, Jin Jian and Yu Xiu caught up from behind in the woods.

"Can you guys go down and search? I can pay you." Zhao Douan turned back and said.

Yu Xiu stopped the eager Jin Jian, saying: "Her mana is almost exhausted, and I’m not good at flying."

After a fierce battle,

other than Yu Xiu who was in relatively better condition, the rest had all expended considerable energy.

Zhao Douan sighed softly, not surprised, and simply walked back: "Alright then. Let’s go back, the matter is not over. Since Xu Jianwen and others were defeated, the enemy forces at Hu Ting must be unusually vacant, just the right opportunity to take down Hu Ting."

Seeing him so decisively, Yu Xiu was instead taken aback, suspiciously saying: "You are giving up just like that?"

Zhao Douan turned his head, revealing a toothy smile at her: "To know it can’t be done yet persist, is foolish. This time we were unprepared, next time we’ll just take him down again. Those remnants who cling to Prince Jing to survive, what is there to fear?"

Yu Xiu was startled, her gaze towards him changed.

After finishing, he continued to walk back, though his heart was bleeding...

"Damn it... what a pity, otherwise capturing that guy back would surely have scared the hell out of Zhenbao..."

"Well, but there’s no rush, I seem to be able to rely on the Dragon Essence, to sense this guy’s position within a certain range... Which means, next time he appears within a certain range of me, I’ll be able to sense him..."

"Hmm, if the Dragon Essence fully awakens, will this sensing range expand?"

"As for the existence of the Dragon Essence, it’s clear Xu Jianwen hadn’t guessed, and... Zhenbao couldn’t guess it either, how could he imagine it? But... never expected the Dragon Essence to have this ability... In this case... maybe, the plan to deal with Prince Jing can be moved up..."

...

...

In Hu Ting City.

Inside the temporary military camp, Ye Xin, clad in armor, paced back and forth inside the tent.

From time to time, messengers came in to report the latest progress, but due to limited communication methods, Ye Xin also couldn’t grasp the situation on the battlefield in real time.

"Wu wu..."

Inside the big tent, on a chair, a civil officer was tied up with hemp rope, none other than Jiang Wangsun.

At this moment, Jiang Wangsun, with a rag stuffed in his mouth, was breathing harshly through his nose, staring intently at him.

Ye Xin turned his head to look at him, sneered, reached out, and pulled out the rag from his mouth.

"Ye Xin! You’re mad! How dare you capture me! I shall report against you to the Prince!" Jiang Wangsun cursed incessantly.

But in his tone, there was a deep-seated fear.

On the day the prisoner exchange operation began, Jiang Wangsun was personally called by Ye Xin and then tied up.

Ye Xin looked at him with disdain, mocking: "Pretend, keep pretending. Do you truly believe I am unaware of the clandestine meetings you had with the court, and Zhao Douan, that treacherous villain? Or do you think, your secret release of Feng Ju and the others, I, Ye Xin, am blind and truly don’t know?"

Jiang Wangsun’s mustache trembled, still feigning ignorance: "The old me does not understand what you’re talking about."

Ye Xin smiled faintly, saying calmly: "Still don’t understand? Let me tell you clearly, before the Prince left, he spoke with me alone. He knew of your backdoor dealings with the court long ago and was determined to have you taken down. But considering you were, after all, a meritorious figure in the rebellion, Prince was reluctant to act personally, hence arranged for me to seize the opportunity to deal with you. However, Military Advisor Xu thought perhaps you could be kept to mislead and deceive the court, which is why you were tolerated. Today’s prisoner exchange plan was personally devised by Military Advisor Xu, and whether Zhao Douan chose to stay in the city or run to Yansuo Lake to assist, he would eventually realize the intelligence you provided was false. Guess, with his suspicious nature, would he still trust you then?"

Jiang Wangsun was stunned.

Ye Xin continued: "And if the other side doesn’t trust you, then keeping you around becomes utterly useless. Rest assured, to maintain morale in the army, your betrayal of the Prince won’t be made public. Your official cause of death will merely be being assassinated by the court’s agents... Well, that is if today Zhao Douan survives, if he falls for Military Advisor Xu’s calculations, then even that Zhao might sink and be buried here. In that case, you won’t be alone on the road to Huangquan."

Jiang Wangsun finally showed a look of sheer terror, witnessing Ye Xin approaching step by step, under his robe, dripping urine ceased flowing.

"General Ye, I am innocent... I didn’t... I want to see the Prince..."

"In your next life." Ye Xin disdainfully extended his hand, gripped Jiang Wangsun’s neck, and twisted forcefully. With a "click," Jiang Wangsun was dead.

Just as Ye Xin executed the traitor, a light clapping came from a corner of his tent.

The light distorted, Jin Jian waved his Magic Wand, lifting the invisibility. Zhao Douan was smiling, clapping, and applauding: "A splendid show, General Ye. Well done."

"Zhao Douan!" Ye Xin was shocked, instinctively retreating in fear, reaching for the longsword on the weapon rack.

Zhao Douan couldn’t be bothered to argue, the Chasing Saber’s glow flickered, and a fine line appeared on Ye Xin’s neck, who fell to the ground, gurgling.

Staring in disbelief at the approaching Zhao Douan.

The latter wiped the blade on Ye Xin’s body, softly saying: "Traitors deserve to die. But you are also a traitor to the court."