What? Prince Lin Has Rebelled? The Third Prince Too?

Urgent hoofbeats rang through the main streets of Far Capital as the messenger soldier continued shouting the same words.

All pedestrians instinctively stepped aside, clearing a path to the royal palace.

After the messenger soldier passed, everyone began discussing what exactly had happened.

"What happened at the front? Did something go wrong with the Southeast Legion?"

"Impossible, right? That's the Southeast Legion led by Prince Lin, the strongest legion in the Empire."

"Prince Lin is the foremost of the Empire's Five Tigers. He's never lost a battle against the demons. Back at Yellow Stone Mountain, he wiped out two hundred thousand demon troops in a single battle. How could something have gone wrong with Prince Lin?"

"Exactly. Prince Lin has guarded the Southeastern Plains for years. With only a few cities, he led five hundred thousand Southeast Legion soldiers against a million-strong demon army for ten years without falling behind. Nothing should have happened!"

"I think Prince Lin must have won another great victory and sent back an urgent report to inform His Majesty. Looks like our Empire is about to receive double blessings!"

Pooling their thoughts, the crowd unanimously felt that Prince Lin could not possibly be the problem. Instead, they believed more good news had arrived.

"Hey, I heard our Third Prince is at the front too. Could something have happened to him?"

"Wasn't the Third Prince sent by His Majesty to Jiashan Fortress as a frontline staff officer to polish his credentials? What could possibly happen to him?"

"You never know. They say this Third Prince is useless in both civil and martial matters. He dared to visit the Fragrant Pavilion when he was fourteen. Maybe he caused some trouble at the front."

"Yeah, he's a prince without any ability, yet he dared to run to the front lines. Do you think there's something wrong with his brai—"

"Shut up! Is a prince someone we can insult? Are you trying to get us killed? No matter how useless he is, he's still a prince. Watch out, or the Imperial City Guards will drag you away and cut out your tongue."

"It's probably that prince who got into trouble, and Jiashan Fortress might be in trouble too!"

Some veterans among the crowd, unlike the others, were not so optimistic. They easily connected the news to the imperial fortress that was still under construction.

"Ah, who cares? The front is so far away. What does it have to do with ordinary people like us in Far Capital? Let's keep celebrating."

At the heavily guarded gates of the royal palace, the messenger abandoned his horse, which had run itself foaming at the mouth, and hurried over to the guards.

"I have an urgent report from the front! Please present it to His Majesty at once—it is of the utmost urgency!"

After checking the messenger's identity and the letter's seal, the guard immediately headed for the banquet hall to report.

At that moment, the lords in the banquet hall were still reveling. Some had even pulled serving maids close to flirt with them, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

"Report! Urgent news from the front!"

The doors of the banquet hall flew open. A guard clutching a letter hurried past the assembled ministers and strode straight up to the Emperor. He dropped to his knees and presented the letter with both hands.

Lin Huang unhurriedly took the urgent report, then slowly swept his gaze across the ministers and generals before saying with a smile, "It seems our prince has brought us more good news. Last time, he annihilated two hundred thousand demon troops in a single battle. Could it be that this time he has sent word that he wiped out a million demon soldiers and captured the Southeastern Plains?"

Hearing the Emperor's confident words, the ministers and generals immediately began echoing him, celebrating and discussing among themselves.

"Hahaha, indeed!"

"Once the prince captures the entire Southeastern Plains, our eastern expedition into the Far East will face no further obstacles!"

"What a pity that I could not fight alongside the prince and accomplish such a feat!"

"With Prince Lin and the battle-hardened Southeast Legion, a mere million demon troops are nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter!"

"I propose that we petition His Majesty to make the Southeast Legion the vanguard of the Empire's eastern expedition!"

"We share the same thought! Let us submit the petition together!"

The crowd was still happily imagining the situation at the front and the future eastern expedition, discussing how to ask the Emperor to make the Southeast Legion the vanguard. None of them noticed that after opening the letter, the Emperor's face had grown darker and darker as he read!

Bang!

Lin Huang slammed the letter onto the table. The force of the blow shattered the entire table onto the floor.

His face was now livid, utterly different from the beaming expression he had worn during the birthday celebration.

The ministers and generals throughout the hall were jolted awake by the thunderous impact and all dropped to their knees!

"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!"

Their words were like oil poured onto a fire, instantly igniting Lin Huang's fury!

"Calm down? The demons have deployed one hundred thousand elite troops to launch a surprise attack on Jiashan. Jiashan Fortress now has only fifty thousand men under Zichuan Shengxing struggling to hold on. Is Lin Xingyuan and his five hundred thousand Southeast Legion soldiers merely sitting around eating for nothing? He actually allowed one hundred thousand demon elites to break through his defensive zone and head straight for Jiashan Fortress?"

"Does he not know how important Jiashan Fortress is to the Empire's eastern expedition plans? How dare he act so recklessly! Or is he planning to lead his five hundred thousand Southeast Legion soldiers in rebellion against me?!"

All the princes, ministers, generals, palace maids, and guards fell to their knees, not daring to make a sound.

No one had expected Prince Lin, who had faced a million-strong demon army with five hundred thousand men for years without defeat, to make such a basic and dangerous mistake.

If Jiashan Fortress fell, the Empire would no longer have any possibility of launching an eastern expedition. Instead, it would have to worry whether the demons would launch a full-scale assault, leaving it with no choice but to retreat into defense.

Even worse, they would lose contact with the Southeastern Plains. There were five hundred thousand elite imperial troops there. If they were all lost at once, even the Empire's foundation built over a century would be gravely damaged.

Everyone realized the urgency of the situation. They had not expected the Empire's dream of strength and prosperity to be shattered so quickly.

"Your Majesty! The most urgent task now is to immediately mobilize the one hundred thousand troops stationed at the Danna Crossing camp in Binyang Province to reinforce the fortress. We absolutely cannot allow the demon army to capture Jiashan Fortress!"

Qin Zhuo, the Empire's current grand marshal, immediately reacted and offered his counsel. Danna Crossing had been built along the Lancang Canal, allowing troops to travel by water and rapidly reinforce Jiashan Fortress, quickly relieving Jiashan's crisis.

However, the Emperor had previously ordered that the garrison at Danna Crossing could not be moved without an imperial decree and the grand marshal's order. Someone still had to bring the orders to mobilize the army, which would consume even more time. No one knew whether Zichuan Shengxing's side could hold out.

"Since things have come to this, we have no other choice. Ming Sichen, take my imperial decree and Marshal Qin's command order. Go to the Danna Crossing camp immediately, join Qu Tairan, and reinforce Jiashan at once."

"Once the siege of Jiashan Fortress is lifted, immediately lead the army to the Southeast Legion's garrison. Find Lin Xingyuan for me and tell him that I miss him a little. Tell him to relinquish his military authority and return to report for duty!"

"Yes!"

Ming Sichen stepped forward to receive the imperial decree and the marshal's command seal, then turned and headed out of the hall. Just as he was about to leave, another guard rushed in, accompanied by a travel-worn messenger soldier.

The two passed Ming Sichen, who was hurrying out, and ran straight toward the Emperor, who was pacing back and forth with an anxious expression.

"Report! Your Majesty, the man beside me is a messenger soldier from the Danna Crossing camp. He has urgent news to report!"

The two slid to their knees before Lin Huang, and the guard immediately informed the Emperor of the situation.

The garrison at Danna Crossing? At those words, the Emperor froze. The many ministers and generals also went still, while Ming Sichen silently pulled back the foot that had just crossed the threshold.

"What did you say? You are a soldier from the Danna Crossing garrison?"

The Emperor stared at this unfamiliar imperial soldier in astonishment, his eyes fixed intently on him.

Under the Emperor's gaze, the soldier was extremely nervous. But thinking of his major discovery—and how it might allow him to soar to greatness—he overcame his fear and answered loudly.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, yes! I am a guard from the Danna camp, one of Old General Qu's personal guards. I have an urgent matter to report concerning the Third Prince!"

Realizing that something was wrong—and that it involved his not particularly favored third son—Lin Huang demanded sternly.

"What happened? Why does it involve the Third Prince? Tell me everything truthfully!"

Frightened by the Emperor's harsh tone, the soldier tremblingly recounted what had happened.

It turned out that while he had been standing guard at the camp, he had suddenly needed to relieve himself and had gone into the grass nearby. But when he came out, he saw the Third Prince's men surrounding the entire camp. Not long afterward, he saw someone throw out the corpses of two banner commanders and slaughter another eight. Finally, he saw Old General Qu being bound hand and foot and escorted out of the camp by the Third Prince. Realizing something was wrong, he found a fast boat and a horse in the camp, traveled downstream by water, and hurried all the way until he finally reached Far Capital.

"Your Majesty! The Third Prince has most likely taken Old General Qu hostage and seized control of the Danna camp. He... he likely intends to use this opportunity to rebel and carve out his own territory!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! If the Third Prince controls the hundred thousand troops at the crossing, he can follow the Lancang Canal into the Lancang River. Using the Lancang River, he could swiftly seize the cities in the empire's northwest and establish himself as an independent power!"

As the ministers calculated and analyzed the situation, Lin Huang felt his vision go dark. He nearly lost his footing and collapsed to the ground.

If events truly developed this way, then with the demons launching a massive invasion, capturing Jiashan Fortress, and then taking Danna Crossing, which had no troops left to defend it—

With the canal, the Lancang River, and the Wanie River serving as waterways, their army could march south straight into the heartland of the empire, even reaching Far Capital. By then, it would be a catastrophe capable of destroying the Luminous Empire!

"Ah! That unfilial son! How could he do this? How could he betray me!"

The ministers and generals who knew the circumstances remained silent. The Emperor's affection was limited; once it had been given to the First and Second Princes, there was little left for the others. Moreover, the Third Prince had no maternal clan to support him, and he himself was useless, incapable in both letters and arms. How could the Emperor possibly care about him? The only time he had paid him any attention was two years ago, when the Third Prince presented him with a novel object that pleased him and earned him permission to go to the front lines as a lowly military adviser.

"Strike this unfilial son's name from the imperial clan! From this day onward, I have no such son, and the empire has no Third Prince!"

The First Prince and Second Prince immediately moved forward to support their father, speaking without pause.

"Father, calm your anger. Why be angry over Third Brother?"

"Yes, Father. What if Third Brother merely wished to take command of troops and head to the front lines?"

"Do not speak for that unfilial son! From today onward, you have no such Third Brother. My decision will not be changed. Remove his name from the clan register immediately!"

"Everyone, the banquet is over. Convene a council! Until we come up with a solution, no one is allowed to leave!"

All the dancers and maidservants filed out at once, afraid to remain another moment.

After everyone had left, the great doors slowly closed.

The most fate-deciding council the empire had seen in a century had begun!