Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roars erupted simultaneously from the guard posts, barracks, and armories around the Imperial City.
The whistle of bodies cutting through the air, pounding footsteps, and clattering armor rang out without end.
Dense masses of troops were frantically converging on the square before the Hall of Heaven's Mandate.
The instant the Nation-Protecting Seal's city-shielding barrier spanned heaven and earth and enveloped the Imperial Capital, every barracks in the Imperial City erupted into an uproar.
The duty commanders' message talismans flashed madly, but each incoming order was more outrageous than the last.
-"Rebellion at the Hall of Heaven's Mandate! All troops, assemble immediately! Suppress it!"
-"Her Highness the Eldest Princess has returned to the capital! Treacherous villains are attempting to murder her! Hurry to protect her!"
-"The third prince has rebelled! Imperial Guards, seal off the entire city!"
The city's south, the city's north...
The orders came from a chaotic jumble of sources, their contents contradicting one another.
"Wh... whose orders are we supposed to follow?!"
The soldiers held military orders from different sources, their faces turning green.
Similar scenes played out throughout the Imperial Capital.
But military orders weighed like mountains, and time waited for no one.
The commanders of the various barracks still led their subordinates toward the Hall of Heaven's Mandate, steeling themselves as they went.
Then they saw a bizarre scene unlike anything they had witnessed in their lives...
In the square before the Hall of Heaven's Mandate, Imperial Guards were fighting Imperial Guards.
A unit on the left shouted, "Protect His Majesty!"
The unit on the right shouted, "Protect Her Highness!"
Weapons and Magic Treasures clashed in an unending roar.
"Wang Ergou! Have you fucking lost your mind?! I'm your squad leader!"
"Squad Leader Zhang! You're the one who's lost his mind! Her Highness