Bells and drums rang together through the towering Forbidden City, filled with golden armor.
Both the northern and southern divisions of the Imperial Army had turned out in full force. Everywhere one looked, gilded armor gleamed inside and outside Black Tortoise Gate, their ranks exuding a grim, imposing presence.
At the Ancestral Hall west of the Imperial City, lights blazed beneath the palace walls. The drumbeats grew ever more rapid, and the assembled ministers were so tense that their bodies felt weak.
Although the palace's Imperial Army consisted of elite soldiers selected through Great Qian's many rigorous screenings, they numbered fewer than thirty thousand!!
Even the Capital Camp's three hundred thousand hardened soldiers had failed to hold him back!
Could they expect the Imperial Army to prop up the collapsing heavens?
Their last hope now rested entirely with the Ancestral Hall Guardians.
The atmosphere inside the dim Inner Hall was unbearably oppressive.
Though the emperor's heart burned with anxiety, he no longer dared shout at the Ancestral Hall Guardians.
Jiang Huji's face was haggard, his clouded eyes filled with guilt:
"Shanhe, Mingri, the Jiang Family's blood flows through this old man's veins. I am willing to sacrifice myself. One of you must accompany me to a glorious death."
Jiang Shanhe and Jiang Mingyue had originally borne the surnames Gao and Tantai. They had been peak martial artists, drifting freely like idle clouds and wild cranes, until the imperial household recruited them, bestowed the Jiang surname upon them, and brought them into the Ancestral Hall, where they had cultivated in seclusion ever since.
Hearing this, Jiang Shanhe smiled calmly:
"Without the Ancestral Hall, I would have reached the end of my natural lifespan long ago. Without the Ancestral Hall, I would never have felt the majesty of heaven and earth's mighty