Chapter 1669: Reinforcements have arrived

Don't talk about how one isn't sincere if one doesn't go personally; that kind of talk can only fool the believers. As a sovereign of a nation, King Yao knew very well that dealing with Heavenly Gods was like doing business; in the end, it depended on who needed whom. If the Heavenly God needed him, then it wouldn't matter if he were slightly negligent.

Ever since He Xiao killed the Master of Red Hut, King Yao had shrunk into the Frost Immortal Hall, eating and living there, and would not leave even if he were beaten to death. Even if the Fourth Prince needed to go to the temple for medical treatment, King Yao could not possibly accompany him. He had so many ministers and palace attendants; why not make good use of them?

He wasn't some loving father among the common folk with no one to use, forced to do it himself.

At the time, Bai Tan was dejected and somewhat disbelieving, but Qing Yang and Chief Envoy Liang both opposed it, saying that if this plan failed, it would first alert King Yao.

Therefore, they chose the current compromise plan.

Sure enough, King Yao was stunned as soon as he heard it was a "divine art."

A divine art meant that even imperial physicians couldn't save him.

He was indeed a veteran who had sat firmly on the throne for decades; amidst his surging fury, he was still able to turn and instruct You Rongzhi: "Send him to the temple for treatment, as quickly as possible!"

You Rongzhi agreed and had two palace guards carry the Fourth Prince.

Prince Rui's legs could no longer move, so he could only let them handle him.

Qing Yang gave a slight sneer; it was just as expected.

Just then, urgent bell sounds suddenly came from the west, three long and two short, three times in a row.

Not only did King Yao's expression change upon hearing it, but the imperial guards were initially confused, then shocked.

In their entire lives, they had never heard such bell sounds.

The reason was simple: they hung on the palace gate tower, and once they rang, it meant the palace city was being invaded by an outside enemy! In this day and age, that meant Bai Tan's army had broken through the Ximen of the palace city.

This, how could this be?

The defense of the Yao Nation's palace city was so high, and its magic arrays so complex, that it far exceeded any other country in the Flash Gold Plains. A certain Yao King even proudly said that even if Lingxu City had gates and walls, it could not possess both beauty and practicality like the Yao Nation's palace city.

King Yao was even more puzzled.

Clearly, the subordinate Xu Yankun, whom Bai Hengbo had planted, was guarding the Nanmen, and Bai Tan should have attacked from the Nanmen. Why was it the bell of the Ximen that rang? As if responding to these few bell sounds, shouts suddenly came from not far away. The torches, initially like sparks, gathered together and burned into a terrifying sea of fire! This sea of fire was rushing toward here.

The scale of it made King Yao's face change color and sweat bead on his forehead.

There weren't many guards left in the palace tonight. This large group of people was charging wildly, and he even saw them slaughtering the guards on the roadside, so—they didn't look like they were here to rescue the sovereign!

Zhao Song's team was still blocking the Frost Immortal Hall. As soon as this force arrived, they didn't say a word and clashed with them.

The enemy was many and they were few; the situation was not optimistic.

Zhao Song shouted: "Bai Tan has rebelled, Bai Tan has rebelled! Those who rebel with him will have their nine generations exterminated!"

Bai Tan's voice indeed rose from the army: "Zhao Song, sure enough, you have also been bewitched by He Xiao's demonic words and secretly incited to rebel, wanting to harm the King's life!"

He wanted to set up a straw man, and He Xiao was perfect; after all, the man wasn't on the scene, and his fame was high.

Many palace guards knew that Zhao Song had been by He Xiao's side for the past few months, almost inseparable. Everyone in Tianshui City knew that He Xiao was truly a capable man who succeeded in everything he did. If he harbored malicious intent, wouldn't brainwashing Zhao Song and inciting him to rebel be a piece of cake? So, everyone's faces revealed a sudden realization.

So that was it; it was He Xiao! Good, continue to kill these treacherous thieves who turned against us! Seeing this, King Yao was so angry that his beard trembled.

"Preposterous! Qiu..." He subconsciously looked for Qiu Long to get the sound-amplifying stone, but halfway through, he remembered that this loyal servant was already dead.

In his desperation, he had to ask other palace attendants, but no one else could carry as many gadgets on their person as Qiu Long.

"Why haven't you gone to find it yet?"

Several palace attendants rushed into the hall, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, and only after great difficulty did they find one under the desk and rushed to present it.

King Yao was not a cultivator and could not use true power to shout. Only by hanging the sound-amplifying stone on his chest could his voice resonate around the hall.

However, during the interval while the palace attendants were rummaging for the sound-amplifying stone, the Green Guards and Bai Hengbo's subordinates inside the Frost Immortal Hall suddenly erupted, coordinating with Bai Tan from the inside and outside to besiege the two or three hundred men under Zhao Song.

Attacked from both sides, it was difficult for Zhao Song to continue blocking the gate.

Seeing this, Du Yingdong, the Minister of Medicine guarding King Yao, immediately dispatched over a hundred imperial guards from behind the hall to rush forward and assist Zhao Song.

These teams were locked in a chaotic battle; it was impossible to tell how many layers of sandwiches they were.

Over a dozen of Bai Hengbo's original subordinates could not withstand the pressure and directly surrendered, exiting the battlefield. The two deputy generals had clear heads, knowing that once they were defeated, there would be no hope for their side, so they were even more heroic than before.

At this moment, one could see that Qing Yang's subordinates were truly formidable; even when fighting the imperial guards with fewer numbers, they showed no fear, and after a few exchanges, they even had the upper hand.

After just two exchanges, the palace guards around Zhao Song fell one after another. He was shocked and furious. Looking closely, he saw that there were several unfamiliar faces in Bai Tan's army who were particularly formidable; they didn't charge forward like ordinary guards but assisted from the side.

Looking closer, there was no glow of elemental power on their bodies.

These were not palace guards! Zhao Song suddenly understood and shouted: "Gather, gather! There are Between Beijia people in Bai Tan's army plotting against us!" What depressed him most was that the City Patrol Army, as his opponents, also had elemental power! They were originally the regular army of Tianshui City.

Qing Yang's guard team had over a hundred people. She only brought ten or so into the palace, while the others were hidden in Bai Tan's army and only now rushed out to fight. Those were the best of the best in Between Beijia; even without elemental power, dealing with Yao Nation palace guards in the dark and chaos was a piece of cake.

If the gap in strength was vast, elemental power could only narrow the gap, but it couldn't erase it.

The battle in the Frost Immortal Hall courtyard was almost entirely centered around Qing Yang, but she was strolling leisurely in the center of the battle. Occasionally, one or two imperial guards could rush near her, only to be knocked down by her casually.

"If you keep fighting like this, you are going to lose." She looked up at King Yao: "If you have any backup plans, hurry up and show them."

She had long noticed that King Yao's left hand had been tucked in his sleeve; even when the Fourth Prince had an abnormality, he didn't reach out with his left hand to support him.

King Yao's face was iron-blue as he revealed his left hand, in the palm of which lay a copper ball the size of a goose egg, with complex patterns engraved on its surface.

Ever since his son was ambushed, he had activated the next layer of defense for the Frost Immortal Hall, but this would take some time.

He held the copper ball between his palms, rubbed it quickly a few times, and shouted: "Rise!"

Cold white light immediately shone from the copper ball, and the copper plates on its surface floated up out of thin air. The indentations deepened, but the ball grew, becoming as large as an ostrich egg.

At the same time, the evil-suppressing stone carvings of the Frost Immortal Hall all moved, and white light shone from their eyes.

The Yao Nation's palace and the residences of high officials also liked to place evil-warding stone carvings, and their placement was quite particular.

Outside the courtyard gate of the Frost Immortal Hall, there were two pairs of stone lions, two large and two small. The large ones were over a zhang tall, and the small ones were five chi; all had bulging eyes and giant mouths, full of sharp teeth, displaying majesty.

Behind the shadow wall, there was another pair of stone lions, one size smaller than the large ones outside the courtyard.

Outside the doors of the Frost Immortal Hall's main hall, rear hall, and side halls, there was also a pair of stone carvings; they were slender, winged tigers and leopards, each pair different in size and expression, with exquisite craftsmanship.

In addition, outside every two pillars under the long corridor, there was a pair of stone beasts carved against the pillars, reaching only to the thighs of an adult, known as pillar-stabilizing beasts, which played a role in supporting and stabilizing the pillars and the upper structure, a unique architectural feature of the Yao Nation.

The number of pillar-stabilizing beasts was large, a full thirty-three! These stone carvings emitted eerie light from their eyes, then shook their bodies like living things and switched postures! They all faced King Yao, heads held high and chests out, as if waiting for orders.

King Yao pointed at Qing Yang, then at Bai Tan and the guard team outside the courtyard, and said in a deep voice: "Go!"

These monsters transformed from stone carvings roared and rushed toward the targets he designated.

At this time, the palace attendants finally found the sound-amplifying stone and rushed out to present it to King Yao. The latter tied it to his chest, gathered his energy, and shouted: "Bai Tan and Qing Yang are plotting rebellion; Yao people must not be deceived again! Whoever takes the heads of these two will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and bestowed with a vermilion gate and golden lintel!"

In Tianshui City, only first-class nobles could paint their gates vermilion; according to Yao Nation custom, anyone who performed great meritorious service and received heavy rewards would be bestowed by the King with a golden lintel, which could be hung on their own gate for up to three months to show glory and favor.

Therefore, "vermilion gate and golden lintel" meant high official position and great wealth; as long as they killed these two, their whole family and clan would not have to worry for generations.

Amplified by the sound-amplifying stone, King Yao's voice finally resonated throughout the arena.

The Frost Immortal Hall was very large, thirty-three zhang from the hall entrance to the courtyard entrance, and the sky was dark, so most soldiers didn't know exactly what was happening inside, only that there was a chaotic battle inside and out.

King Yao thought the soldiers outside could return to the right path; after all, eight out of ten soldiers participating in the rebellion were confused and led along, and in the end, they would either win in a daze or lose their heads in a daze.

And indeed, some of the troops who followed Bai Tan had their minds confused again: Did General Bai really rebel? This time it was personally certified by the King, so it shouldn't be wrong, right?

But just now, the Goddess Feng He manifested and clearly praised Bai Tan for following the will of heaven! The Heavenly God and the sovereign had different opinions; who should they listen to?

When entering the palace, there were quite a few palace guards in this team. Bai Tan used them to break through the palace gate and then transferred them to other halls or city gates. Now, most of the team were confidants and temple soldiers, but there were still some City Patrol troops mixed in, which couldn't be removed.

In this moment of hesitation, the stone carving beasts arrived.

They were cold-blooded and ruthless, biting to kill upon seeing enemies, and were themselves impervious to swords and spears, making no concessions.

The weapons of the City Patrol troops only sparked when they hit them; the harder they hacked, the more happily they hurt people, as they felt no pain.

Especially the two large stone lions, which seemed to love ripping off living people's heads and swinging them around for fun. They went in and out of the crowd twice, and four or five heads were rolling on the ground.

What was even more terrifying was that these stone carving beasts also possessed elemental power! They were originally part of this Frost Immortal Hall, and also part of the palace city, sharing almost the same defensive capabilities as the palace city.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1670 =====