Is there no one left in Taiyuan?
This news is truly shocking. Taiyuan is the premier city of Guanzhong, the place where His Majesty raised his army. It has hundreds, even thousands, of powerful families and is the birthplace of the most bloodline military generals. And yet, that place... has also...
"Old man," a young man swallowed hard, then asked blankly, "What exactly happened? Judging from your tone, the entire Guanzhong has been emptied out?"
"Whether they've completely emptied their place, the old man doesn't know, but judging from the famine relief efforts six months ago, it's probably not far off."
"Fleeing from famine?" The group was taken aback. Guanzhong a fertile plain; even a year of drought shouldn't warrant such a situation, right?
"There are many reasons," the old man said with a wry smile. "At first, it was just that the livestock in the family would suddenly turn into man-eating monsters, quietly eating children and even the women in the family. Then, in the countryside, farmers would die inexplicably. As these things happened more and more often, it caused unease, and initially, it was the people from the countryside who ran to the city to seek refuge."
Everyone nodded. The countryside has the most livestock, and some potentially demonic creatures, such as field mice, snakes, and wild boars, may appear in the fields. In contrast, in the city, at most, wealthy families keep cats and dogs, so it is naturally safer than the countryside.
"But once they got to the city, many people found that children were still going missing. At first, it was the children of villagers, but later, it was the children of city dwellers, and sometimes even the children of wealthy families, who would mysteriously go missing. The panic grew, and the government would try to blame it on dog or cat demons, but as time went on, everyone felt that something was wrong."
"Large numbers of children disappeared, and people killed almost any cat or dog they saw. For a long time, the city was thoroughly searched, but there was no trace of those animals. Instead, more and more children went missing, until later..."
"What happened next?" some of the younger generation asked hurriedly.
The elders then recalled the words spoken by the female servant of the Nether Moon Cult.
The imperial court is raising ghost soldiers, and they need children's flesh and blood as sacrifices.
Could it be...?
"A merchant who returned from the capital said that many Ghost and God Temple had been erected there. It is said that at night, people would secretly bring children from who-knows-where to be tortured and sacrificed. Many times, the children's pitiful screams kept people awake at night."
"As the rumor spread, people below began to protest, including officials and some powerful families. But then they heard..."
"What did you hear?"
"I heard that Yue City, next to Taiyuan, was suppressed by the imperial court. The entire city, with millions of households, was wiped out, and not a single person survived. Batch after batch of children were sent to the capital. When this news spread, I don't know if it's true or not, but everyone panicked. First, the wealthy families started to flee, then the smaller families, and later, even the government officials themselves ran away."
"Has the imperial court gone mad?" A group of young men exclaimed in shock.
The older generation frowned, sensing that things weren't so simple.
Since the imperial court could directly suppress them, why didn't it just go all the way and suppress the entire Guanzhong? Why give them a chance to escape?
Furthermore, what is the court's purpose in doing this? Has the capital truly been controlled by so-called ghosts and gods?
"My beloved ministers, I have decided to launch a military campaign in the spring to reclaim the Northern Lands, wipe out the demons, and avenge my billions of Northern Lands people. Do you have any suggestions?"
Inside the imperial palace, members of both civil and military families gathered at the front. Since the beginning of the year, the emperor had been appearing more and more frequently. This time, however, after years of silence, even when the Duke of Wei nearly marched on the capital without him showing his face, he was now so assertive, determined to fight the terrifying demons of the Northern Lands!
For a moment, many ministers felt bewildered.
But no one dared to express their opinion easily. The current court had a strange atmosphere, completely different from before.
In the imperial court, the most elite civil and military officials seemed to have been completely replaced. Nearly half of the Nine Ministers had been replaced, and the leaders of the major bloodline families were no longer the same people as before. However, their temperaments were strikingly similar, each one exuding a ghostly aura. Standing there, they made the civil and military officials below dare not look at them.
Especially the scholar-officials, although they were afraid of those bloodthirsty warriors in the past, they were still confident that no matter how much those rude warriors disliked them, these weak scholars, at least their lives would not be in danger.
But these people are different; they all know deep down that these people are different.
Of course, there are still some that are the same as before, such as the Hong Household.
Standing at the very front, in the imperial court, there were several powerful families, such as the Yuchi and the Hong Household, who all seemed the same as before. But because of this, they appeared somewhat out of place.
The emperor looked at the old ministers, a rare hint of complexity appearing in his cold eyes.
The Yuchi Household and Hong Household were his loyal followers for many years and were the military generals he valued most. But now, the relationship between the ruler and his subjects is growing increasingly distant.
"Your Majesty." It was the head of the Yuchi Household who spoke, and his gaze towards the emperor was incredibly complex.
Back then, everyone followed him because he was a great ruler, a great ruler who could make the human race prosper. All the military families believed that after mastering the Bloodline Power, under the leadership of this great ruler, there would be no more demons and monsters causing chaos in the world.
But in the end, the emperor they once revered had somehow become the greatest demon?
They had known about the Ghost Temple for a long time, and many powerful families had compromised, especially those who had tasted the benefits.
yes
The sacrifice of just a few children is equivalent to ten, twenty, or even fifty years of cultivation. What could be a more tempting offer?
They were old. He had once been one of the world's top martial artists, and there were very few martial artists in the hall who could fight him. But now, none of these sinister and ghostly figures were people he could defeat.
But wouldn't it be wonderful if the court today were filled with energetic and ambitious younger generations?
Your Majesty has forgotten what you said about revitalizing the human race.
"Is it really necessary to exterminate the demons of the Northern Lands?" the head of the Yuchi Household asked, looking up.
"What are you saying, my dear minister?" The emperor looked at him and said calmly, "Isn't it meaningful to fight demons and avenge the people of the Northern Lands? Moreover, as far as I know, there are still many surviving people in the Northern Lands. Isn't it meaningful to save them?"
Countless cold eyes immediately fixed on him, filled with savagery and greed, as if they were just waiting for a single word from above before they would pounce on him and tear the old man to pieces and devour him.
After all, the flesh and blood of First Rank martial artist is still a rare commodity.
Facing countless terrifying gazes, the seventy-year-old head of the Yuchi Household stood as straight as a javelin.
"What's the point?" Yuchi Household laughed. "They're all eating people, everywhere's a hellish place, what's the difference?"
"Of course it's different!" The emperor stood up, looked at Yuchi, and said with unusual emotion, "The fate of our human race should naturally be determined by our human race. Whether it's demons from beyond the heavens or those anomalies of Samsara, they all deserve to die. I know what you're resisting, but what war doesn't involve death? Shedding a little blood now is better than shedding blood for generations to come!"
"Can you do it?" Yuchi looked at the other party.
Do you still believe in me?
Yuchi silent, turning to look outside the main hall. At that moment, outside the hall, 100,000 armored Flying Dragon Army exuded a fierce aura, turning the sky outside the palace blood-red!
Inside the main hall, ninety percent of his colleagues were lost in that power.
Does he not know if these people still have the habit of looking in the mirror and straightening their clothes?
Seeing this inhuman, ghostly state, what kind of feeling does one have?
"Your Excellency, Duke." A man in white stepped forward with a smile, holding a cup of black blood wine in his hands.
The head of the Yuchi Household silently observed the other party, who was a Chen Household, the Emperor. He had already taken over the South Sea without firing a single shot, relying solely on the allure of that power.
Even the Chen Household had already taken control of the South Sea Dragon Palace, couldn't resist.
Human desires truly never end.
He chuckled, accepted the cup of blood wine, turned and knelt on the ground, looking at the emperor he and his family had once chosen, and drank the blood wine with a smile.
In no time, his blood vessels tore open, and his pupils turned the same eerie green as those around him.
The emperor looked at the old man who had chosen loyalty from beginning to end, stepped forward, and helped him up.
"I assure you, demons will never again rule this world, and humanity will never again be reduced to mere food. All those who have done this will pay the price, including me!!"