Alas, the power swiftly draining from his body made the person in black realize that everything has already been set in stone. It was a reality that was impossible to change.

"Cough cough … are you? Who … are you?!" He coughed several times, feeling extremely indignant, making it look slightly pathetic.

"Shan Yu!" The person"s tone was unbelievably cold. At the same time, the black cloak covering her head loosened in the wind, revealing silky black long hair.

Her wheat-colored skin gave off a strange yet wild sense of beauty under the moonlight, and the pitch-black pupils in her eyes were like two restless b.a.l.l.s of fire.

"Shan Yu? Shan … You … You are the Princess of the Southern Region!" The person in black wore a hideous expression. He was shocked, unbelievably shocked. He knew that he had fallen into a trap, and that the thousands of people in black in front of him were not the Northern Barbarian army. But he would have never imagined that they would be the Southern Region Army, and that the woman standing before him now would be their Princess!

How is this possible?

Why is the Southern Region Army inside the Imperial Palace?

Didn"t King Duan mention that the four gates of the Imperial Palace were sealed off by the Palace Guards? How could the Southern Region Army have infiltrated the palace from the outside?

He couldn"t grasp the situation, but Shan Yu had no intention of letting him think about it further. She forcefully yanked the dagger out from his heart. Blood splashed everywhere like a fountain.

Then, he saw three figures standing among the countless people in black. The person in the middle still maintained his mocking smile.

"Eh? Looks like you"re about to die, so why don"t you answer my final question? Was my stirring heroic performance acted convincingly?" Fang Zhengzhi probed him in curiosity.

"Act … Act …" The person in black"s chest pumped up and down as blood gushed out uncontrollably. At the same time, a mouthful of fresh blood poured out from his mouth. His feet became weak, no longer able to support his weight.

"Plop!"

He fell to the ground.

In the instant he collapsed, he could see another person in black falling to the ground not far away. He could see the same disbelief in his comrade"s eyes.

The Southern Region … It was the Southern Region!

Why are they in the Imperial Palace?!

His eyes were bursting with vigor and rage but his body fell silent.

Ping Yang subconsciously puffed up her mouth after watching the person in black being literally angered to death by Fang Zhengzhi.

"Where are the Rebirth State warriors you promised? They"re still weaker than me!" Ping Yang cast a look of disdain at the person in black sprawled on the ground, then turned to Fang Zhengzhi and asked, "Did you act as well as I did?"

"You?" Fang Zhengzhi responded with the same expression.

"But honestly speaking, I nearly believed you when you exclaimed that you"d rather die in glory than live in dishonor!" Ping Yang added after she thought about it.

"This is called talent, and talent cannot be learnt." Fang Zhengzhi smirked and turned his attention to Shan Yu and the two pitch-black daggers in her hands.

After not seeing her for a year, this woman"s improvements have been this drastic?

Fang Zhengzhi only witnessed Shan Yu"s abilities once a year ago outside the Emperor"s chamber of the Southern Region. Her style can be summarized in three words: quick, precise, and brutal.

But now …

Shan Yu has evidently improved a great deal compared to a year ago. Although Shan Yu relied on an ambush strike, her opponent was nonetheless in the Rebirth State, and such a drastic gap in their state levels was not something that can be overcome this easily.

Judging by her close combat abilities alone, Shan Yu"s level of attainment was indeed top-notch.

As the two people in black collapsed, their remaining comrades could not hold on any longer too.

Fang Zhengzhi was not surprised by this at all, because the thousands of soldiers in front of him were the most elite troops of the Southern Region, and furthermore, there were a few great Settlement Chiefs in the Rebirth State hidden within the regular troops.

But with her mastery level skyrocketing, coupled with her unexpected ambush attack, she did not require too much effort to swiftly dispatch these few people in black in the Rebirth State.

Fang Zhengzhi stopped watching the battle between the people in black and the Southern Region soldiers, instead turning around slowly and gazing at the neat files of Palace Guards in the distance as well as the Palace Guards in front of Lin Xinjue.

"Your Sixth Brother seemed to have committed treason …" Fang Zhengzhi whispered.

Ping Yang naturally noticed the changes in the Palace Guards but reserved her opinions, only gritting her teeth as her clear eyes reflected a tinge of dreariness.

Although Lin Xinjue has a different mother, they … share the same father. How could she possibly be happy watching her half-brother suddenly switch his allegiance halfway through the battle?

Shan Yu arrived beside Fang Zhengzhi. Her ink-like pupils were not fixated on Fang Zhengzhi, instead focusing on Lin Tianrong not far away.

She has already waited for this day … for a very long time.

A year ago, the n.o.belite Shan Ling was murdered and died in the Southern Region. His corpse was ferried back to their empire by the Silver Horned Wolf Calvary, and he only left a single letter on his body. The letter contained only a single sentence.

"Fang Zhengzhi is the murderer."

That day, there was heavy snowfall which painted the entire Southern Region landscape silver.

That day, there were howling winds which blasted through the dense forests of the Southern Region.

Shan Yu could still remember the expressions plastered on the faces of the Southern Region soldiers and the emotions in her father"s eyes on that decisive day, and it was also that day when she became the new King of the Southern Region.

"Lin Tianrong …" Shan Yu"s gritted her teeth but her eyes ultimately s.h.i.+fted away from Lin Tianrong and onto Lin Xinjue. "Attack!"

"Attack!"

Following Shan Yu"s command, thousands of Southern Region soldiers brandished their spears in the air at the same time.

"Attack!"

"Attack!"

At a second command, thousands of long spears lunged out menacingly.

For the Southern Region soldiers, hurling long spears was naturally harder than hurling pikes, but the difference in familiarity was not a major issue.

Thousands of long spears shot into the sky but did not fall towards Lin Tianrong, instead preparing to land unmistakably on the Palace Guard formation.

"Ah!"

"What"s going on?"

"Enemies are attacking from behind?!"

All the Palace Guards who were continuously drawing their bows had been focusing their attention on Lin Mubai all this time without paying much attention to the developments unfolding behind them. In fact, they would have never expected that the "Northern Barbarian Army" charging from behind would strike them down so suddenly, and with long-range spear projectiles no less.

Amidst waves of pitiful screams, the neatly filed formation instantly descended into chaos.

And that was not all. After the aerial strike of the spears, the Southern Region Army charged out, brandis.h.i.+ng their knives and daggers while charging straight towards the "fragmented" Palace Guards formation broken up by the long spears.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Battle cries reverberated through the air, followed by stampeding thunders of footsteps.

This was a sudden turn of events. Too sudden.

It was so quick that the two forces originally engaged in a violent battle were completely taken aback. The Royal Guards, Dragon Protection Squad and the Palace Guards were all flabbergasted.

"The Northern Barbarian Army, how can it be?" The Dragon Protection Squad were left with eyes wide open.

"They actually attacked the Palace Guards. Is this a mistake?" The Royal Guards were suspended in disbelief. After all, they could not see what went on in the distance amidst the chaos.

"Qian Wu, what is going on?" Lin Xinjue was visibly jittery. The reason for his betrayal was obviously the thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers that suddenly appeared.

But now … the Northern Barbarian Army actually turned on his Palace Guards?

How could he tolerate this any longer?

"They are not the Northern Barbarian soldiers!" Qian Wu squinted, casting his gaze tightly at the people in black charging towards them, clenching his fist.

If these attackers were not Northern Barbarian soldiers, that would mean that the thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers he stationed in the Imperial Palace would have possibly been wiped out.

How can this be?

What exactly happened in the Imperial Palace?

"Not the Northern Barbarian soldiers?" Lin Xinjue"s heart jumped. He turned his attention to the approaching horde in black and sure enough, his eyes opened wide as well. "That … That"s the Southern Region Army?!"

When he noticed the attire worn beneath the black cloaks of the approaching horde, a single name appeared in his mind that he would have never thought of otherwise.

The Southern Region Army!

They were definitely an existence neglected by everyone.

Because, they were the protection squad that accompanied the Princess of the Southern Region Shan Yu into the Flame Capital City, and most importantly, they were a force that was supposedly stationed in the south hall.

So … how could they possibly be in the Imperial Palace?!

"Your Majesty, is this … your doing?" Chen Feihua was highly suspicious as they s.h.i.+fted her gaze towards the thousands of approaching Southern Region soldiers.

As the head Domain Chief of the Royal Guards, she did not arrange for the Southern Region Army to enter the Imperial Palace, so how could they possibly be appearing here?

"No." Lin Mubai shook his head.

"No? Then … could it be?" Chen Feihua was stunned. Immediately, a single thought flashed through her mind, the sole plausible scenario in this situation.

The Imperial Palace has four gates, but once the four gates are guarded, coupled with the surveillance of the Royal Guards and the towering palace walls, it was possible for any army to infiltrate the palace from the outside, but there was one place which led straight to the Imperial Palace.

The Ping Yang Residence!

It was not a flaw in the Imperial Palace"s defence because the Ping Yang Residence"s tight security was even stricter than many areas in the Imperial Palace itself.

Hence in other words, it was harder to infiltrate the Ping Yang Residence than the four gates of the Imperial Palace. But …

If the main mastermind behind this was Ping Yang herself, it would be a completely different story.

"The Ping Yang Residence and the Imperial Palace are only separated by a single city!" After listening to Chen Feihua"s comment, Lin Mubai nodded gently.

"I understand." Chen Feihua nodded too.

She did not need to say anything else because things have already progressed to this stage. The Crown Prince has committed treason, King Duan has switched his allegiance, and the Imperial Palace has been surrounded.

It was already meaningless to fuss over the reason why the Southern Region Army entered the Imperial Palace through the Ping Yang Residence.

…

The Southern Region Army"s unexpected entrance finally upheaved the original imbalance of the battle. Nearly ten thousand Palace Guards were thrown into disarray by the sudden attack by the Southern Region Army from the rear. And the Royal Guards entered the battle, taking advantage of the chaos.

After being mercilessly barraged with attacks from the front and back, the nearly ten thousand Palace Guards finally showed signs of impending defeat. They could no longer go on the offense and can only opt for defense.

Lin Xinjue was extremely frantic, his heart surging with rage. At this point, he inevitably deduced the method the Southern Region Army used to enter the Imperial Palace.

They entered via the Ping Yang Residence?

No one would believe anybody who thinks that this was not Fang Zhengzhi"s idea?

However, Fang Zhengzhi evidently entered the Imperial Palace at the same time as him, and have never once mentioned anything regarding the Southern Region Army.

Furthermore …

Most importantly, Fang Zhengzhi intentionally staged an "ambush" when he first arrived. If he knew in advance that the approaching army was the Southern Region Army, why would he immediately switch his allegiance?

"Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you trick me?" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth. He was furious, but he had no other options. Once he made this decision, there was no going back.

Qian Wu"s gaze became extremely sinister. Ever since Fang Zhengzhi appeared, all of his plans have been scrambled.

If not for Fang Zhengzhi, Lin Mubai would have already been dead, and the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would be jostling with Lin Xinjue in a battle to the death.

That was his plan, his flawless plan. The harder the princes battled, the more he gained, and controlling the situation thereafter would have been much easier.

But everything changed ever since Fang Zhengzhi entered the picture.

Lin Xinjue launched his attack preemptively, causing the situation to go a little out of control. And after he painstakingly reinstated his puppet emperor, Fang Zhengzhi charged in with the Southern Region Army.

Furious.

Now, he was absolutely furious.

"King Xieluo!" Qian Wu yelled again.

The Demonic Man standing beside the Near-Life Gate, King Xieluo, gently lifted his hand again after hearing Qian Wu"s voice. "I only agreed to deliver three attacks. This is the last time."

"Okay, but I only want you to kill one person – Fang Zhengzhi!" Qian Wu pointed straight at Fang Zhengzhi as he hollered at the Demonic Man.

"Kill him? Haha, what an interesting request!" The Demonic Man gazed at Fang Zhengzhi, His visibly uninterested face cracked a smile once again.

Naturally, Fang Zhengzhi heard Qian Wu"s words, and looked at King Xieluo"s dark-green eyes, the "scar" on his forehead had the two scimitars on his head.

He was speechless.

"Uh … Did you get it wrong? I"m just a pa.s.serby! Shouldn"t your target be the Emperor?" Fang Zhengzhi pointed at Lin Mubai who was being surrounded by the Dragon Protection Squad.

Then, he saw Lin Mubai"s face turn dark.

But at such a time, he couldn"t care less about anything else. If his predictions are correct, the Demonic Man standing before him should be the "Demon King" which that old duff mentioned last time.

The Demon King!

This was an endangered species, and most importantly, this species was very, very powerful.

"King Xueluo, don"t stare at me. Why are you coming closer? He told you to kill Fang Zhengzhi, and actually, my name is Fang Zhengzhi. You can ask them if you don"t believe me, they can testify!" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the approaching King Xieluo and had no choice but to reveal his true ident.i.ty without an ounce of sincerity.