Chapter 285: The Twenty-Four Rebel Bands, All Show and No Substance

"Yang Tai, son of Yang Qianyuan, has become the leader of the Twenty-Four Rebel Bands."

"This morning, he challenged our forces outside the capital city; General Qiao He rode out to meet him and was captured within fewer than ten strikes." Upon seeing Chu Danqing, Yang Qianzheng spoke these words first.

Chu Danqing listened, stunned.

Today was his third day in the capital, and his days had been extremely full.

Every day he either trained in the Five Elements Spirit Forging Scripture or nurtured Da Bao and the others.

Because he was undistracted and others handled all the trivial matters, Chu Danqing’s progress was not fast.

After all, it had only been three days—what substantial breakthrough could there be?

As for Xiong Zhigang, he had already been sent back two days ago, costing 49 maintenance points plus 40,000 processing points.

It left Chu Danqing destitute.

"Me?" Chu Danqing understood well that no one visits the Three Treasures without reason; Yang Qianzheng was always swamped, and his coming here meant he wanted Chu Danqing to fight.

"Yes, Qianyuan has already led eight thousand troops rushing here, but even with forced marches, it will take at least five days."

"Yang Tai is powerful and has rallied many rebel leaders; in my estimation, the capital may hold no more than three more days." Yang Qianzheng reached this conclusion by comparing his own intelligence with enemy reports.

He had originally not wanted to trouble Chu Danqing.

As his words ended, a new quest appeared.

【Hidden Quest: Kill rebel leader Yang Tai within one hour and crush the Twenty-Four Rebel Bands】

【Trial Difficulty: B-Rank (Brave）】

【Trial Reward: Paradise Points ×5000, Attribute Points +3】

【Trial Failure: Paradise Points -10000】

Damn, this quest’s difficulty level is way too low.

The time limit is compressed to one hour, yet it’s only B-Rank?

How did they make the difficulty so mismatched with the battlefield?

"Fine, I’ll go out and kill him." Chu Danqing nodded immediately.

Yang Qianjing truly was no ordinary disciple of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect—he was dead, yet his legacy still plagued them.

He suspected Yang Tai might possess equipment or items left behind by Yang Qianjing from the Paradise.

Otherwise, Qiao He would never have been captured in just ten strikes.

Qiao He was the old general previously struck down by the Pure Yang Celestial General’s sword.

He was now one of the strongest fighters left in the capital.

After agreeing, Chu Danqing led Da Bao and the others out of the city to confront the enemy.

But he arrived too late—the enemy had already begun assaulting the city and had seized control of the gate.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late; the gate had just been breached, and the enemy had not yet entered the capital.

The Pure Yang Celestial General and the Golden Strength Warriors rushed forward immediately, forcibly halting the enemy’s assault.

And with overwhelming force, they reversed the advantage.

"Trivial tricks, dare you show them off before masters? Seek death!" came a dismissive voice.

Yang Tai stepped slowly through the gate, a fish-dragon ribbon swirling around him; instantly, the surroundings transformed into a glowing realm.

Then nothing happened.

Neither the Pure Yang Celestial General nor the Golden Strength Warriors were affected at all.

This was clearly some kind of area-of-effect domain attack.

But due to the formation’s coordinated defense, all summoned units had 30% of Chu Danqing’s total shield value.

Chu Danqing’s shield was longer than his health bar—even 30% was an enormous number.

Moreover, as long as the formation’s coordinated defense remained active, he could continuously replenish their shields.

The shield loss might even be slower than the recovery rate.

The Pure Yang Celestial General also sensed Yang Tai’s threat; he immediately abandoned the gate battle and charged straight toward him without hesitation.

"Come then, let me see what you’re made of," Yang Tai said. His glowing fish-dragon transformed into a golden light resembling a spear.

He gripped the golden spear and advanced, its tip aimed directly at the Pure Yang Celestial General’s throat, intending to pierce it in one thrust.

But there was one problem: the Pure Yang Celestial General wore an Excellent-grade full-body heavy armor, plus shields and multiple buffs.

The spear couldn’t even break the shield, let alone pierce his throat.

What followed was dire—the Pure Yang Celestial General’s heavy sword swung straight down onto Yang Tai’s head.

Yes, not a slash or chop—but a smash.

Yang Tai’s face twisted in shock; he instantly retreated.

A fraction too slow—the sword grazed half his body, instantly reducing it to bloody pulp.

If this had been a spirit beast or a warrior wielding a spirit weapon, the damage wouldn’t have been this severe.

"Protect the Young Master!"

As soon as Yang Tai was wounded, the Twenty-Four Rebel Bands saw it and rushed to rescue him.

Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes—Yang Tai’s performance made it unlikely he had truly won their loyalty.

These rebels were most likely the elite remnants left behind by Yang Qianjing’s earlier planning.

After all, Yang Tai was Yang Qianjing’s son; a father laying groundwork for his son was only natural.

But just because they wanted to save him, did Chu Danqing have to let them?

At this moment, Bei Hui Feng had finished its chant; under Da Gu’s control, it struck the leader of the Twenty-Four Rebel Bands directly.

The man was instantly blown to pieces, and the area-of-effect damage spread.

A large number of rebel leaders clustered together were killed, triggering a chain reaction.

Yang Tai staggered to the ground, staring in despair at the scene.

These Twenty-Four Rebel Bands were the loyalists his father had chosen for him; with a smooth plan, they would have easily helped him ascend the throne.

But plan after plan had failed: first his father’s defeat and death, then his hasty mobilization of troops.

Though his advance had been unimpeded all the way to the capital, now, just as he was about to storm inside, he had fallen here.

The Pure Yang Celestial General seized Yang Tai and dragged him before Chu Danqing.

"Order your men to surrender. You’ve lost," Chu Danqing said.

Yang Tai’s core strength was these Twenty-Four Rebel Bands; among them, only a few were elite remnants left by Yang Qianjing long ago—the rest were conscripted refugees.

Chu Danqing didn’t want unnecessary slaughter, so he offered them surrender.

If the refugees surrendered, they wouldn’t die—they’d get food and clothing.

"Pfft. What are you, to demand my surrender?" Yang Tai gritted his teeth, voice dripping with contempt: "Send Yang Qianzheng to see me. I—"

"I’m informing you, not negotiating," Chu Danqing cut him off. "If you refuse, take your head to the Emperor yourself."

"I am the rightful heir of the Great Ancestor, hereditary Prince of An. Yang Qianzheng, this adopted son, is my royal uncle. How dare you kill me?!"

"The Great Ancestor left a decree: members of the imperial clan cannot be executed; the highest punishment is demotion to commoner status."

"Even if I rebel, you cannot kill me," Yang Tai said with all his remaining strength.

Chu Danqing’s gaze swept the battlefield; under the leadership of the Pure Yang Celestial General, the Yin Dark Goddess, and the Golden Strength Warriors, the capital’s defenders swiftly turned defeat into victory.

It was total collapse.

"Rules are made by men—and obeyed by them," Chu Danqing said to Yang Tai.

In that instant, Yang Tai felt a terrible premonition.

"Your father, Prince An Yang Qianjing, was killed by me. Your uncle, Prince Ning Yang Zhenhao, was also killed by me."

"What makes you think you have any grounds to believe I won’t kill you?" Chu Danqing chuckled.

"Y-you—" Yang Tai was truly afraid now.

He hadn’t known these things—he’d only heard rumors that they died in the chaos of battle.

But now someone openly admitted to killing them; he had no value left.

"I’ll give you one last chance: order your men to lay down their weapons and surrender. I’ll take you to the Emperor," Chu Danqing threatened.

As for letting Yang Tai live? Impossible—he still needed Yang Tai to complete his hidden quest.

Besides, Yang Qianzheng would never let him live.

Previously, Yang Taicheng had been forced onto the throne and was weak-willed—he had a decent chance of survival.

But Yang Tai not only rebelled himself, his father rebelled too; he ambushed Yang Qianzheng and stole his Purple Mansion spirit beast, Jade Spirit Dragon. To sentence him to beheading is already mercy.

After struggling internally, Yang Tai finally whispered: "Fine."

For his life, he endured.

"First, heal me. Otherwise, I won’t last long enough to order the surrender," Yang Tai demanded.

Chu Danqing immediately agreed and had Da Bai treat him.

But he didn’t fully heal him—only kept him barely alive.

Yang Tai, though not fully recovered, could still barely issue surrender orders.

But... the effect was poor.

The enemy troops were all conscripts recruited by the Twenty-Four Rebel Bands; Yang Tai was merely an outsider imposed upon them.

The troops obeyed him only because the Twenty-Four Rebel Bands obeyed him.

Now that his subordinates were gone, the troops ignored his commands entirely.

He lacked authority, lacked ability, and relied entirely on the legacy left by his father, Yang Qianjing.

Chu Danqing now understood why the quest difficulty was only B-Rank.

Yang Tai’s incompetence and lack of talent aside, he even used the late Emperor Taizu’s edicts as an excuse to retreat—yet if you’ve already rebelled, what retreat is left?

Worse still, the rebel troops refuse to obey him.

Even if he succeeds in rebellion, he’ll likely accomplish nothing, ending up merely a puppet emperor stripped of all power.

“Worthless, can’t even handle this.” Chu Danqing sighed; with no other solution, he could only rely on brute force to crush the rebellion.

Fortunately, the capital’s garrison troops were of decent overall quality, and with coordinated efforts, they quickly suppressed the enemy forces.

But casualties were indeed heavy.

Unfortunately, the veteran general Qiao He was found already decapitated.

He had been killed by Yang Tai.

The reason was that he saw Qiao He’s formidable strength and sought to recruit him to his side.

But how could Qiao He agree? He not only refused, but also cursed Yang Tai as a traitorous rebel.

He cursed so foully that Yang Tai lost his composure and, in a rage, beheaded him to raise the battle standard.

Had Qiao He lived, Yang Tai might still have had a faint chance of survival.

Now, there’s no hope left—his death will come the moment he meets Yang Qianyuan.

(End of Chapter)