Chapter 1671: The Fisherman

Some of these leaves stuck to the waists of the stone carving beasts, some to their heels, and some under their bellies; almost every stone carving beast had a different part stuck by the leaves. "Aim for the leaves and strike!" Qing Yang reminded Bai Tan, "The core of the stone carving beast is hidden inside!"

A giant stone lion bit a palace guard to death and turned to lunge at Qing Yang, its sharp teeth still stained with blood and flesh. Qing Yang held her staff in one hand and transformed a green jade whisk in the other, flicking it at the lion.

The whisk tail lengthened, turning into three thousand fine threads, binding the giant lion's head and neck. Immediately after, Qing Yang shifted two steps to the side, avoiding the lion's lunge, and pulled with the whisk—

The giant lion couldn't stop its momentum and was directly thrown to the ground by her!

This move used extremely clever force; others couldn't see how much strength Qing Yang used, only knowing that this throw was imposing, and such a large giant lion fell like a golden mountain collapsing, shaking the ground violently.

Taking advantage of the giant lion not yet rising, Qing Yang raised her staff and stabbed fiercely into its waist.

Her elemental power surged, and the tip of the staff pierced through the giant lion's hard body, as if an awl had chiseled through a crab shell, accompanied by a dull thud.

When she pulled out the staff, a white ball was stuck to the tip.

A direct hit! The giant lion stopped moving.

King Yao's fury soared to the top of his head; this old woman was using the Yao Nation's elemental power to strike his palace-guarding stone beasts!

Yet he had no way to stop her.

The Regent sent by Between Beijia was very special, conferred by the Demon Emperor and stamped by the Yao King. King Yao could remove Bai Tan's position with a single official document, but he couldn't remove Qing Yang's position as Regent, so naturally, he couldn't take away her elemental power.

At most, he could weaken it slightly.

This was the significance of the Regent; if King Yao could manage her as he pleased, why call it "Regent"?

So Qing Yang could comfortably use the Yao Nation's elemental power to kill King Yao's ministers and palace guards, and then try to pull him off the throne! But Qing Yang also noticed that, for some unknown reason, white mist began to permeate the Frost Immortal Hall.

This mist seemed to drift out from the Jade Spring Palace, blown here by the wind in gusts, becoming increasingly thick. People in the mist felt ice-cold all over, their joints about to freeze, and their movements naturally became increasingly sluggish.

This mist came suspiciously. Qing Yang had passed by the Jade Spring Palace countless times, and the mist there had never blown into the Frost Immortal Hall; otherwise, living people couldn't possibly live here.

That is to say, the barrier of the Jade Spring Palace had been opened? "Stay alert," she ordered all the Green Guards, "something is coming out of the Jade Spring Palace."

When Tianshui City was in chaos from inside to outside, where was He Lingchuan?

He was at the Nether Lake.

After using the Mountain-Moving Array to transfer out of the Spring-Gushing Villa, He Lingchuan flew north quickly and met with Wanqi Feng, Wang Fubao, Mother Zhu, and others at the Nether Lake Villa.

The villa project had been suspended for a long time, and the gatekeeper who watched the site had been taken away by the Green Guards. The current construction site was empty, just right for He Lingchuan to stay.

Another cold wind whistled by, mixed with ice crystals.

"It's snowing again." He reached out to catch a snowflake; it was small and fine, melting instantly in his palm.

But he knew that tonight's snow was destined to get heavier and heavier.

Even bad weather wanted to join the fun; very good.

He was in no hurry to leave. First, he was certain that the struggle between Qing Yang and King Yao was in full swing and they had no time to search for him; second, he couldn't leave Tianshui City too far, otherwise, he would exceed the range of the eyeball spider's connection and wouldn't be able to receive real-time broadcasts from within Tianshui City.

After Dong Rui left, they lost their aerial surveillance power. But it didn't matter; He Lingchuan had hired the bird demons that had delivered letters to him several times before, namely a night owl, a demoiselle crane, and a blue bird.

The task of these bird demons was very simple: just carry the eyeball spiders and circle above Tianshui City and the palace, with the requirement to slow down and fly high and low.

This was so that Mother Zhu could receive messages from the eyeball spiders from multiple angles and positions.

At this time, the Soul-Sucking Mirror couldn't see anything, so it could only anxiously ask: "Is there any new development? Who won, King Yao or Qing Yang?"

"Qing Yang is still very calm, but Bai Tan's army's morale is wavering, some subordinates have started to surrender, and the stone carving beasts guarding the Frost Immortal Hall are killing quite fast. These things also have elemental power, and the attacking side doesn't have any advantage." Mother Zhu made a sand nest for herself and lay down comfortably, asking He Lingchuan, "Do you still think Qing Yang will win?"

"Yes." He Lingchuan nodded, "Since the battle started, Qing Yang has held back and hasn't used her full strength at all."

The former Great National Master of Between Beijia had more skills than this. This wasn't a question of holding back one trick; she had at least held back several.

"That's right. This battle isn't intense, at least not for her." As a master of fighting, Mother Zhu could see through it at a glance, "This subversion focuses on speed. What is she still waiting for?"

From ancient times to the present, which palace rebellion didn't need to seize the time? If the sovereign were allowed to recover and reorganize the troops, the rebels would easily become turtles in a jar.

The outcome would be miserable.

Qing Yang had clearly planned it carefully beforehand; why did it seem like she was slacking off when implementing it? Mother Zhu didn't understand, and the mirror also said: "Ah, why?"

"Haven't you noticed that there is still one party in this battle for power that hasn't made a move yet?"

Mother Zhu was puzzled: "Who?"

The mirror blurted out: "The temple?"

"This coup was planned by at least three parties. Qing Yang and Bai Tan have both entered the arena, but the Heavenly God side only had Goddess Feng He show her face and manifest her spirit, without giving any substantial support." He Lingchuan laughed, "Clearly it is the strongest force, yet it has been hiding behind the scenes."

Mother Zhu was surprised: "Qing Yang doesn't want them to sit back and reap the benefits?"

"King Yao still has a few tricks up his sleeve and also has cards he hasn't revealed. Qing Yang probably doesn't want to exert this effort herself." He Lingchuan's eyes were like torches, "Exerting effort in fighting will inevitably lead to damage. If her strength is damaged, her say after the war will be smaller, making it easy for others to reap the benefits."

"The fisherman is the Heavenly God?" Mother Zhu chuckled, "Why do I feel like you are the fisherman?"

Was the Heavenly God hiding behind the scenes? Clearly, this kid was secretly remote-controlling it!

If it weren't for him turning his hands to clouds and rain, could Qing Yang and King Yao have started fighting early?

The mirror also shouted: "Oh, I remember, the note you wrote to Qiu Long didn't mention the Heavenly God at all!"

The tip-off letter He Lingchuan left in the red jade box only said that Bai Tan and Qing Yang were plotting a rebellion, deliberately omitting the Heavenly God.

He clearly knew that the root of this rebellion lay with the Heavenly God!

He Lingchuan shrugged: "I didn't lie to him; I just concealed part of the facts."

And the most important part of the facts at that.

He tipped off King Yao, hoping King Yao would resist properly and not let his opponents easily seize power;

He Lingchuan had been stirring up trouble in the Yao Nation for so long that he absolutely didn't want Qing Yang and the Heavenly God to easily defeat King Yao and seize the Yao Nation.

If the opponents were only Qing Yang and Bai Tan, King Yao still had the confidence to defeat them; but if he had known at the time that the Heavenly God was the mastermind, He Lingchuan couldn't estimate what kind of effect this blow would have on him—would it stimulate his fighting spirit, or would he feel despair and simply give up resistance? It was better to save this surprise for now.

So Mother Zhu was right; he was the real fisherman!...

In the northern border of the Yao Nation, snowflakes were also flying.

Facing the invasion of the Luodian Nation, the Yao Nation's northern line garrison immediately fought back.

In the north of the Yao Nation, there was a chaotic battle.

It is necessary to mention the terrain of the Yao Nation's northern line: guarding the pass, the terrain is narrow, with two large camps, Cotton Camp and Bai Ling An, both having ready-made buildings and fortifications to station troops.

Yuwen Yong arrived at the northern border first, so he held the Cotton Camp, close to the border line.

Because of the Xue Zongwu case investigation, General Zhong Wu was left in Tianshui City and arrived at the northern border ten days later than him, so he led his troops to station in Bai Ling An, about four miles from the northern line.

Geographically speaking, Yuwen Yong was in front and Zhong Wu was behind; the two teams should have looked out for each other and defended together.

But the problem was that Yuwen Yong had already received King Yao's order, suspecting Zhong Wu of rebellion. If Wang Sili hadn't arrived at the front line tonight, he would have to directly take down Zhong Wu.

But he hadn't made a move yet, and the Luodian people launched a massive invasion!

This was a coincidence; or were they coordinating inside and outside? Especially since the positions of the two armies looked a bit awkward. Once Yuwen Yong started fighting northward, would Zhong Wu stab him in the back and coordinate with Luodian inside and outside? At that time, Yuwen Yong's army would be the piece of meat in the middle of a sandwich, bitten from both ends.

Then there was only one way!

Yuwen Yong immediately sent someone to the Bai Ling An camp to invite Zhong Wu to the Cotton Camp military tent to discuss matters.

Since it was a discussion of war on the front line, Zhong Wu had to come, both in reason and emotion. If he came, Yuwen Yong would immediately take him down and take over his army.

If he didn't come, Yuwen Yong would also demand that he be the first to enter the battlefield, so that he could lead his army to hold the rear and wouldn't have to be a sandwich—Zhong Wu had only led the army for three months, and Yuwen Yong didn't believe the whole army had been tamed by him.

However, before his plan could be implemented, a spy in Zhong Wu's camp sent a shocking piece of news:

Just now, General Zhong Wu had withdrawn his troops!

Yuwen Yong immediately sent bird demons to investigate. After several reconnaissance missions, he dared to confirm that the camp was still there and the supplies were still there, but the army in the camp was almost gone.

Very hasty, but very determined.

Where did the main force go? According to the spy, General Zhong Wu suddenly produced an urgent order, claiming that the foreign merchant He Xiao had united with the country's rebel generals to rebel, and Tianshui City was in an emergency, so the whole army turned south to return to the capital to rescue the sovereign! The urgent order shown by General Zhong Wu had King Yao's handwriting, and not a single official seal was missing; it even had the Qing Hong Treasure Seal stamped on it. So the soldiers at the border recognized it and followed him back.

This statement made Yuwen Yong stunned, and then he smashed the table heavily in anger.

What urgent order from the capital, what handwriting from King Yao; he didn't need to look to know it was forged! If a rebellion had truly broken out in the capital, King Yao's urgent order would have reached him first; how could Zhong Wu have received it first? A general without an order cannot return without permission. General Zhong Wu just needed an excuse to mobilize the army back to the capital.

Yuwen Yong clearly and accurately received a signal: Zhong Wu had betrayed the country!

The bird demons expanded the search range and finally discovered General Zhong Wu's main force thirty miles to the south!

Running so fast.

Yuwen Yong certainly wanted to pursue, but the Luodian cavalry was pressing hard on the border, biting Yuwen Yong's army tightly, and he couldn't withdraw from the front line at all! As long as he retreated a few steps, Luodian would immediately take the Cotton Camp pass, which was easy to defend and hard to attack, and kill their way into the Yao Nation's land.

Yuwen Yong could only send a flying message, reporting to the Yao capital with extreme urgency: General Zhong Wu has betrayed the country and led his army to attack the capital! He had originally been guarding against General Zhong Wu and the Luodian Nation attacking him from the north and south, but now he finally understood that they had been prepared to withdraw from the very beginning!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1672 =====