Thirty thousand Imperial Guards sealed off the Human Emperor Hall.
War drums thundered from every corner of the palace. A tide of black-armored soldiers trampled the long stairways, every blade pointed at Yin Jiao.
Beyond the palace walls, the people of Chaoge heard only an unbroken roll of drums. Every household shut its doors; no one dared peek outside.
Within the palace, killing intent already bore down on the hall's entrance.
Companies of Imperial Guards poured out of the parade grounds in all four directions, clad in heavy armor, their spears and halberds a forest. Their synchronized footsteps shook even the floor tiles.
They were the royal domain's last army of iron.
On their first day in camp, they had to swear an oath before the Cheng Tang Ancestral Temple.
Protect Great Shang.
Protect the Human Emperor.
Protect the state.
Yet now, a single Royal Decree from Di Xin had thrust this army, which should have guarded Yin Shang's realm, before the crown prince.
Thirty thousand Imperial Guards bore down on the Human Emperor Hall!
Spears blocked the doors.
Bows and crossbows lined the palace walls.
Rank upon rank of swordsmen and shield bearers surrounded the entire hall so tightly that not even water could pass through.
Inside, the officials' faces were deathly pale.
Shang Rong knelt upright, his aged eyes red as he stared fixedly at the black armor outside.
The jade pendant in Bi Gan's palm burned hot, and his chest rose and fell unevenly.
Great Shang's army of iron was actually raising its blades against Cheng Tang's bloodline today.
This was a national disgrace.
And a demonic calamity.
Queen Jiang instinctively tried to step in front of her two sons.
But Yin Hong caught her first. His dark eyes swept coldly over Daji, his voice low enough