Chapter 143: – Broken, the Son of Heaven Captured (6K Subscribers Wanted)

Li Mountain lies east of Haojing, a massive military fortress, serving as the command post of the Son of Heaven during wartime and also his final stronghold in times of peril.

All cultivators summoned by the Son of Heaven to the front line gather here, and although Wang Wu does not know why even a cultivator of Wang Lan's level is dragged here, he is currently only at the Tuifan realm.

Of course, for someone of his age who entered a sect, this rate of progress is considered very fast, since he officially joined the Qingping Sect only a month ago.

The current front line is not at Li Mountain, but within Shen Zhou, west of Haojing.

Because the Western Wei reinforcements have disappeared, even the military aid they once provided has been withdrawn, the Great Zhou army's war against Shen Zhou has proceeded smoothly.

The Great Zhou forces quickly broke through Shen Zhou's defenses and entered its interior; under the suppression of numerous warships, Shen Zhou's air superiority was essentially lost.

The world's war model is actually quite "modern": cultivators act as ultra‑high‑performance fighter jets, the heavily armored infantry and cavalry of formation are the main battle tank corps, and they can be thrown directly into fortress‑siege battles.

Cultivators dispatched by the Qingping Sect receive battlefield training and mobilization at the Li Mountain military base for half a month, after which they are sent to the front lines to carry out their missions.

Although this is the place where the Son of Heaven issues commands while controlling the overall situation in wartime, the Son of Heaven is currently not at Li Mountain but on the Shen Zhou front.

Because the war has gone smoothly for a month, the Son of Heaven believes all the credit is his, and to further boost morale he decides to go to the front personally, taking the highest command of the army.

In short, the deputy commander's support work was done well, and now it's time for the supreme commander's control to be decided with a single hammer blow.

If everything goes smoothly, it should not go poorly, and ultimately Shen Zhou's fate will be the total extermination of its ruling Jiang family, after which Shen Zhou will be fully under the Son of Heaven's control.

Of course, this does not mean the Jiang clan will be eradicated; in fact the Son of Heaven will not make it that absolute.

"By the way, now that the Great King has declared war on Shen Zhou, what about Qi Zhou?"

"Ha, what else can we say? If the Son of Heaven keeps retreating, Qi Zhou will certainly echo the main house, but isn't it Shen Zhou that's retreating now? Then they'll just play dead, stay silent, and maybe even join the Zhou royal army to show sincerity!"

Wang Wu was strolling around the military fortress with Wang Lan and happened to pass by two cultivators discussing the matter.

The two cultivators were discussing it, and from their expressions it seemed they did not hold much respect for that Son of Heaven.

That's normal; after all, the Son of Heaven's reputation is not very good among the people or elsewhere.

Since his great‑grandfather Ji Xie, the Great Zhou court's control over the regions has steadily weakened, and from that time local "militia" became the private troops of the ruling families of each state.

Nan Zhou is a typical example; in this imperial decree, Nan Zhou naturally responded actively, so they sent many cultivators from the various sects in the state.

It can't be said that all they sent were worthless; there are still many true‑realm cultivators, and a considerable portion of those at the Break‑Delusion to Void‑Empty realms.

Zhao Xingyue did not come here, although the Upper Xuan Sect also answered the Son of Heaven's call, she was not on the dispatch list.

The Qingping Sect is very proactive, especially its Sword Palace, which has sent many disciples.

Wang Lan also belongs to the Sword Palace, and was taken under the tutelage of the Palace master Li Shangxuan.

However, Sword Palace disciples do not go to the front lines; they guard the rear at Li Mountain, and some will be stationed in Haojing.

When Wang Wu of Zhou overthrew the Great Shang, to honor Jiang Taigong's meritorious service, the Jiang clan's fief was granted west of Haojing, adjacent to the three continents of Wang Ji, dubbed "eternally guarding Wang Ji".

Now the contradictions have fully escalated, war has broken out; if Shen Zhou still forms an alliance with Western Wei, the Son of Heaven would have to hide here to command the overall situation, perhaps even flee south in panic.

"Even if they show sincerity, given the current situation, the Great King probably won't spare them," said the taller of the two cultivators.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do; Qi Zhou can't do anything now," the short cultivator laughed.

"They have several neighboring states eyeing them; what can they do? In the current situation, any slight change will invite other states to claim credit before the Son of Heaven."

"Ha ha, that's true," the tall cultivator also laughed.

As the two walked past, Wang Lan kept tightly holding Wang Wu's hand the whole way, a lingering tide of emotion still on her face.

Although the ring is worn on the ring finger, which is not the "Eastern tradition" of Wang Wu's old family but a custom from the West.

Yet the Eastern tradition of betrothal tokens also includes rings, just without the rule of which finger, so there's nothing wrong; it's a blend of East and West.

"I haven't even had a chance to tell Li Shangxuan, and you're already taken as his disciple?" Wang Wu, surprised by Wang Lan's recent developments, said as they sat down in a tavern.

Zi Yuan isn't here; she went to play in Mang City, where a festival has recently opened, and Wang Wu plans to take Wang Lan there, but they have to wait a few days.

"Yes, the master said my talent is extraordinary, so he accepted me as a disciple, and he was curious why I hadn't been discovered until now," Wang Lan replied with a smile.

She didn't sit opposite Wang Wu, but sat beside him, leaning into his embrace.

"But you're a sword cultivator at the Tuifan realm, why did the sect send you here?"

"I don't know; most of our Sword Palace disciples have already arrived," Wang Lan shook her head, "including your sworn sister Wu Lang's sister Yao Qing, senior sister also came, and she's now guarding the queen in the Son of Heaven's palace."

"Queen?" Wang Wu was taken aback by the title, "Which king…?"

"Bao Si?" He quickly recovered and asked.

"Mm," Wang Lan nodded, "It's Queen Si, from Bao Zhou; the Great King already announced it to the world before, but it seems the Great King hasn't married Queen Si yet."

"Why?" Wang Wu was a bit puzzled.

"Probably they want to hold a grand ceremony to marry her after this war's victory," Wang Lan said with a smile, "I heard it from a junior sister we live with, saying they want to use it to announce the Great King's regard for the Si clan to the world."

The previous external‑relative power was too great, so it needed to be harshly suppressed or even eliminated, then unite another external‑relative. That's roughly the Son of Heaven's thinking.

After a few hundred years, when the Si clan becomes powerful, the new Son of Heaven will probably do the same as the current Zhou You Wang, right?

But judging by the current war situation, the posthumous title of You Wang probably can't be used any more.

"This Son of Heaven is quite particular…" Wang Wu was about to critique, but the next moment his voice was swallowed by a massive explosion.

Brilliant flames burst into the sky over Li Mountain, and the flash instantly engulfed the entire city's heavens.

The brightness of the burst was so great it could instantly blind anyone who hadn't had time to take cover.

But here, on Li Mountain, people would not face that problem.

The deep‑blue protective shield blocked the flash and withstood the shockwave from the blast.

Electrical arcs flickered in the air; the high temperature ionized the air, turning the sky above Li Mountain into a blue liquid sea.

The Great Zhou's armaments are naturally possessed by the people of Shen Zhou, and the weapon "Blazing Sun" was originally developed under Jiang's leadership.

Therefore, Shen Zhou is not lacking "Blazing Sun".

"This… Shen Zhou people have gone mad!???"

At that moment, looking up at the dazzling sky, everyone in the tavern shouted in amazement.

Simultaneously, a huge bell rang throughout the city; under its toll, the whole city was changing.

Massive bunkers rose from the mountain, each huge "log" tail spewing flames, shooting from these towers toward the heavens.

Those things were clearly missile launch silos, and here on Lishan, Wang Wu finally witnessed the launch process of this world's "intercontinental missile".

Uh, it really… really is quite similar to the missile launch procedure back home…?

Seems indeed to be a sci‑fi world, no doubt.

Although cultivators can soar through the heavens and vanish into the earth, when they fight it's nothing more than ultra‑high‑speed "magical implements" flying about, then tossing all sorts of bombs.

Isn't it just a more advanced fighter jet? A bit more functional, a bit more agile, a bit higher in firepower…

No flaw, family, not a single flaw, family—what flaw could there be?

"Ah, it seems the Son of Heaven has been defeated." He stopped eating, took Wang Lan out of the tavern, leapt onto the city's highest rooftop, and Wang Wu stared at the distant sky. After watching for a while, he said.

"Ah?" Wang Lan was startled: "How—how could this be??"

Although she has absolute trust in her husband, … but this is a bit… far too fanciful, isn't it?

Clearly the Great Zhou army held a massive advantage over Shenzhou, and since the Son of Heaven personally led the campaign, the frontline troops have been greatly inspired, their combat power soaring, the front advancing rapidly, and victory reports pouring in.

But how—how could they have lost??

"I don't know why either," Wang Wu shrugged, his gaze fixed on the smoking warship in the distant sky.

That thing was clearly a space vessel, and it looked like a very advanced one—definitely of the "Wang Ship" class.

Although massive, its speed was terrifying—full two hundred Mach, and it was traveling within the atmosphere.

Where it passed, the sky turned into a blue plasma, air molecules were ionized by the shock, the sky appeared as liquid plasma, with flashes of electricity visible.

"Hurry!! Hurry!!!"

Inside this massive warship, King You of Zhou… ah no, he can't be called You yet, because he's not dead. The Son of Heaven of Zhou, Ji Gong Sheng, stared intently at the fortress city ahead and roared loudly:

"Why hasn't it arrived yet!?? Speed up! Accelerate!!!"

"You damned beast, are you trying to kill me??? I'll behead you!!!"

"Great King!! The hull is severely damaged; this is already the maximum speed achievable!!!" Beside him, a man in a general's armor held Ji Gong Sheng, who was trying to draw his sword, and shouted likewise:

"Great King!! Don't do anything foolish!!!"

"Shut up!!!" Ji Gong Sheng strained to break free from the general beside him, but was powerless.

The opponent was a master at the "Entering the Law" realm, while he was only an "Entering True"—not even at the True realm. Though his body was firmly pinned, Ji Gong Sheng's mouth never stopped:

"You beast, didn't you say their defeat was already decided?? Why?? How could they still launch a rear assault!???"

Since he couldn't break free, Ji Gong Sheng simply stopped trying and instead turned his head, glared fiercely at the general holding him, and slapped him.

"If it weren't for me, you'd still be nothing but a slave!!! You damned thief Zei Qiu, is this how you repay your benefactor???"

"Go back and await execution!!!"

Obviously, Ji Gong Sheng had completely lost his sanity now.

One can only say Ji Gong Sheng is a typical emperor with great ambition but little talent; although his true historical character is unknown, the "Flame Games among the Vassals" is likely a story fabricated later.

But one thing is certain:

His abilities were abysmal, and indeed he favored sycophants and indulged in wine and women.

He heavily promoted the flattering minister Guo Shifu, spent his days lost in wine and women, ignored state affairs entirely, and even let the sacrifices fall into neglect.

"Jiang Sheng, Jiang Luo; Yan Hu Jifu, the Zhou kingdom perishes."

This was a folk song that spread when his father King Xuan died, widely known, even reaching Haojing.

"Jiang Sheng, Jiang Luo; Yan Hu Jifu, the Zhou kingdom perishes." Legend has it that at King Xuan's burial, in a tomb chamber prepared for his sacrifice, a black horse burst through the yellow earth and galloped into the distance.

The ministers attending the mourning were shocked and immediately sent accompanying cultivators to search for the black horse.

Even though three cultivators at the "Entering the Law" realm were stationed there, the black horse was never found; it was King Xuan's favorite mount, a mare already possessing spiritual intelligence, just one step short of transformation.

From then on, the song gradually spread throughout the Great Zhou realm.

During King Xuan's reign, there was a brief "Xuan's Revival", and early on King Xuan of Zhou indeed had the "wise ruler's appearance", but unfortunately it wasn't sustained and eventually faltered.

In his later years, King Xuan of Zhou ruled autocratically, ignored loyal counsel, and indiscriminately killed officials; thus the so‑called "Revival" was merely a fleeting bloom.

And after him, his successor Ji Gong Sheng was even more heavyweight. If King Xuan retained any military ability, Ji Gong Sheng had none at all.

"Snap!!"

In the command room, Ji Gong Sheng's voice was cut off by a crisp crack, and the entire bridge fell silent.

"You!!!"

Ji Gong Sheng, lying on the floor, could hardly believe it, staring intently at the man ahead.

"If you want to boost morale at the front, fine! If you want credit, that's fine too!!!" The general's eyes were blood‑red as he shouted at Ji Gong Sheng:

"I'm willing to give it; I'm a minister of the Great King. What do these petty battle merits matter???"

"But what did you do? You were reckless, ignored counsel, turned a solid advantage—one that could never be lost—into what under your command!???"

"It's already over! Over!!!"

"You are already finished!!!!"

He slammed the talisman in his hand, and the splintered fragments brushed Ji Gong Sheng's face, instantly leaving several blood‑stained cuts.

"Ugh, ugh!!!!"

Intense pain shot from his face; Ji Gong Sheng immediately rolled on the ground, trembling and shouting loudly:

"Protect the sovereign!! Protect the sovereign!!"

But throughout the command room, aside from his voice, there was no other sound.

"Protect the sovereign!! You treacherous ministers!!" Rolling on the ground, wailing continuously, Ji Gong Sheng felt both fear and fury.

"Protect the—!! Protect...!!"

His voice was cut off, not by anyone's restraint, but as his gaze swept the room he caught sight of a massive screen in the command center.

On that screen, in the distant sky, a warship hovered silently.

Then, a massive beam of light shot from a crack at the warship's tip, blasting toward the Great Zhou's royal warship he was on.

The already shattered protective shield was instantly pierced by the intense light, leaving the entire warship exposed to the high‑energy beam.

As the light column faded, the warship carrying the Zhou Emperor let out a mournful wail and fell from the sky.

Long before that warship appeared, countless figures had already surged out of Li Mountain, flying toward the Zhou Emperor's carriage in the distance.

But how could a distance of several hundred kilometers be crossed in such a short time?

Even at the Entering Law realm, the top speed is only 120 mach, which is merely forty kilometers per second.

Eight hundred kilometers in twenty seconds. Moreover, none of the figures that flew out of Li Mountain exceeded one hundred mach.

Even the fastest was only ninety mach.

Furthermore, they never managed to reach the Emperor's carriage, because midway they were intercepted by an unknown strong opponent that had leapt out.

So, under Ji Gongsheng's desperate gaze, the light column struck, bombarding the warship's armor belt.

This flagship had undergone extensive upgrades with Great Zhou technology, so its defensive capability far surpassed the original, yet its armor saw no improvement.

Because the technique was lost, the Zhou people could no longer forge armor steel of flagship grade.

When the upgraded shield was breached, this warship became indistinguishable from the warships of the Great Shang Dynasty a ten‑thousand years ago.

The weapon system equipped on a flagship is absolutely sufficient to pierce another flagship's armor belt.

As the Emperor's carriage, this warship's top priority was, of course, defensive safety. It must be said that, in that regard, the ship performed well.

At least Ji Gongsheng was still able to keep his mind clear after a whirlwind of chaos, even though the command deck was a mess, littered with scattered human fragments.

Even transcendents are equally fragile at such moments; after all, they are not front‑line combatants but merely warship pilots.

They haven't even reached the True Realm; although their physiques far surpass ordinary people, the chance of surviving such a disaster is still negligible.

"Your Majesty!! Your Majesty!!!"

An urgent cry reached Ji Gongsheng's ears, clearing his hazy mind. He turned his gaze to the voice's owner, the officer who had just slapped him and knocked him to the ground.

He was frantically clutching himself, one hand already missing, his face smeared with blood, yet he still shielded himself with a surge of energy.

This sparked a brief gratitude in Ji Gongsheng's heart, but immediately the earlier scene flashed in his mind, instantly erasing his expression and turning it grim.

Nevertheless, he wasn't completely thoughtless; he wouldn't turn hostile at this moment.

"Ah, isn't this the Your Majesty?"

At that instant, a new voice sounded, its tone slightly flippant. Both were startled and immediately looked toward its source.

"You…!"

"Puff!"

Accompanied by a sickening thud, the wide‑eyed officer slowly fell backward, and the protective aura on Ji Gongsheng vanished at that moment.

"He's indeed a loyal minister."

The voice's owner sighed regretfully, then looked at Ji Gongsheng: "You have such capable subordinates yet fail to employ them, and you lack even basic trust."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty…" the man shook his head and laughed:

"If you don't die, who will die??"

Finishing his words, he hauled Ji Gongsheng off the ground, sealed him without a chance to speak, and shattered his limbs.

The former Emperor, at that moment, turned into a human‑pig.

Li Mountain is a military fortress and also a city, home to a substantial population of seven hundred thousand.

As the Zhou Emperor's war stronghold, it can endure centuries of enemy siege, even indefinitely, because it is self‑sufficient.

Built upon Li Mountain, beyond the basic city defenses it also hosts powerful formations. Numerous peaks were hollowed out, and the Emperor's palace resides within them.

If war breaks out, the Zhou Emperor will stay in this palace, using Li Mountain to maintain control of the overall situation while awaiting allied forces.

Now that war has erupted, the gathering of countless cultivators naturally brings massive consumption, which is a boon for ordinary residents of Li Mountain.

Although this also signifies the outbreak of war, due to this world's peculiarity, most common folk feel no particular sentiment toward it.

The war here scarcely leads to slaughter, as slaughter only brings disaster and huge losses.

(End of Chapter)