The shrill wails and furious shouts mingled together, like a volcano erupting.
As the news spread farther and farther, nearly half of Heaven Dou City sank into grief.
Shops closed, pedestrians stopped in their tracks, and people poured out of their homes, all gazing toward the imperial palace.
And just as grief reached its depths—
"Disaster! Disaster!"
A rider galloped down the distant street at breakneck speed. The scout on horseback was ashen-faced as he shouted, "The prime minister has been murdered in his home!!!"
Before his voice had even faded, another horseman came charging over.
"Disaster! Disaster!! The commander of the three armies, Ge Long, was stabbed to death in his home!!!"
"The Minister of Works has been murdered!"
"The Vice Minister of Personnel has been murdered!"
"The deputy commander of the Imperial Guard has been murdered!"
One horseman after another raced in, and each brought another piece of devastating news.
The names were called out one by one, like heavy hammers pounding every heart.
Under this unrelenting barrage, the towering edifice of the Heaven Dou Empire seemed on the verge of collapse.
Countless people were thrown into panic, their minds in disarray.
A terrible thought rose from the depths of their hearts, impossible to suppress.
The late emperor and the Crown Prince had been assassinated one after another, and now countless officials, great and small, had been murdered in their homes.
This was clearly a premeditated, organized decapitation operation!
Could it be... that their Heaven Dou Empire was truly about to fall?
Panic spread like a plague. Some began to retreat, some looked around for a way out, while others collapsed to the ground, their eyes vacant.
"Everyone!"
In the midst of the turmoil, a booming voice rang out like a stabilizing pillar, quelling the clamor.
Zhao Linchuan