Chu Nanping didn’t bring good news. Although he had discovered the whereabouts of another 14 people, he didn’t know the details of the plan.
He had been ordered to follow Ju Chi and not allowed to intervene. In fact, he had been unable to rescue the guard as “14 accomplices and seven killers from the Golden Roc Fort were inspecting outside at the time.”
Ju Chi and his associates had made a grand plan. They had planned to take control of the Dragon King’s 20,000 soldiers, and then use both carrot and stick to stop the troops from the Golden Roc Fort. However, he didn’t think that he was being well protected by the Golden Roc Fort killers.
Unfortunately, by the time Chu Nanping entered the room, Ju Chi had already been stabbed to death.
“They have set off in batches and will arrive at the barracks in about fifteen minutes,” said Chu Nanping. He had dozens of apprentices. Their skills were still a far cry from those of the killer’s, but they could complete simple tracking tasks.
Gu Shenwei nodded, indicating that everything would be done according to their original plan. After that, Chu Nanping received the order and then left.
The debate over whether they should cross Xiaoyao Lake was still going on, and it was getting more and more violent. Dugu Xian was eager to get the Dragon King’s support more than ever before.
The generals of the Shi, Kang, Sha and Hui Kingdom refused to leave, while the general of An Kingdom was carefully on the fence. They hoped that the army could defend their country and didn’t want to fight in Xiaoyao Lake. Moreover, most of the royal family had fled, so they had little qualification to speak.
Other generals had been persuaded because the location of the battle had little to do with their vital interests. As long as the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain agreed to the plan, they would naturally agree. Besides, they were too tired to care about where the fight would take place.
The generals of Stone Kingdom were the first to appeal to the Dragon King. They still didn’t know about the plot in the palace and hadn’t been told that the king had died. “Dragon King, when you invaded the Land of Fragrance, in the whole of the Western Region our country was the only loyal one to you and we never believed the rumor of your death. We protected the city and waited for you; it was not easy. Are we going to take the initiative and abandon it before the enemy arrives? Isn’t the Dragon army now comparable to what it was a few months ago?”
He failed to mention that their former enemy had been a few thousand soldiers from Xiaoyao Lake, whereas now their enemy was the powerful army from the Golden Roc Fort. The two weren’t comparable.
In fact, the Stone Kingdom generals and soldiers were indeed loyal to the Dragon King.
Observing them in silence, Gu Shenwei realized that there was another advantage. He could calmly watch everyone’s reaction and then deduce what they were thinking. This method of identification was not completely accurate, but often experienced veterans could recognize liars and deceitfulness.
As dawn approached, he saw someone fidgeting.
“We don’t intend to abandon it.” Dugu Xian replied on behalf of the Dragon King, “The Golden Roc Fort will not occupy Xiaoyao Lake forever. Once defeated, they will retreat hastily. It’s as if there was a thief stealing things in our houses, but he actually plans to stay there for a while. It doesn’t mean that he actually occupies the house.”
“A thief? This thief can kill people and set fire. That’s easy for you to say. After all, this is not your home.” A general was very angry and spoke rudely to the Left General.
“Dragon King, you should say something,” the general said. The Dragon King had been silent the entire evening, which convinced several people that going south was not necessarily a sure strategy.
Gu Shenwei coughed, which meant that he was about to speak. Dozens of generals immediately turned to him and waited for his final decision. However, the first words the Dragon King said had nothing to do with the plan.
“Prince, where are you going?”
The Prince of the Kang Kingdom, who had lifted the curtain, turned back awkwardly. “I, I want to…go to the toilet.”
A general from Stone Kingdom said with dissatisfaction, “Can’t you endure it for a while? The Dragon King is about to speak.”
“Okay, I’ll hold it.” The Prince returned to his original position and sat down. Surprisingly, the once violent prince had become extremely submissive.
The Princes from the Kang, Sha and Hui Kingdoms all stayed in the army, but only the Prince of Kang Kingdom served as a vice commander in the Dragon Army. He had once competed with the Dragon King for the Princess of Stone Kingdom and also opposed the Dragon King several times in public. Yet he was the only royalty among the many generals of Xiaoyao Lake.
Gu Shenwei decided to stop the endless debate, because everyone had fully expressed their opinions. He said, “The Dragon army shares life and death with the five countries. I swear that we are bound to return to the north shore of Xiaoyao Lake within three months. If I fail to succeed by then, I will be punished.”
As he had made it very clear, the generals of the five countries lowered their heads in disappointment and dared not to speak further. The Dragon King had promised that he would complete the task within three months, which allowed them to give an account to their soldiers.
Dugu Xian glanced at the Dragon King, not completely satisfied. All’s fair in war. The Dragon King should not have made this promise, for it would give the enemy an expectation. If the army from the Golden Roc Fort didn’t intend to cross Xiaoyao Lake, the plan to fight in the narrow area would be a complete failure.
Suddenly, three clangs came from outside the tent. It sounded like weapons colliding.
Gu Shenwei stood up, and said in a severe tone, “We must work together. If anyone contacts the enemy before the war begins, he will be betraying me and the entire Xiaoyao Lake.”
When Gu Shenwei talked about betrayal, nobody dared to speak, especially the generals of the five countries. They all lowered their heads for fear of being caught by the Dragon King.
“In the past few months, I have forgiven many people. But now the war is coming. Those who are making contact with the enemy must die.”
Hearing this, the Prince of Kang Kingdom lowered his head as much as he could and began to flush.
The Dragon King stared at him. So did everyone else.
The Prince couldn’t pretend to be deaf and dumb. He thought about whether he should confess or resist, and then said, “The five countries of Xiaoyao Lake must remain independent. Unfortunately, the Dragon King is not a native. You once said that the royal families of the five countries have never proven their ability to defend the territories left by their ancestors. But today, we want to prove ourselves.”
Gu Shenwei had said something similar, because he wanted to arouse the Prince’s courage. At that time, it seemed to have too great an influence on the Prince of Kang Kingdom.
The Dragon King snorted and bent his fingers to knock on the table twice.
The curtain was lifted, and his guards brought in a group of panic-stricken captives. Most of the captives knelt as soon as they saw the Dragon King, but a few stood upright.
There were 26 people in total, 13 renegades from the five countries and 13 nobles from the Land of Fragrance who had planned to fight against the Dragon King before.
But two people were missing.
Long Fanyun made an unobtrusive gesture, which meant that their people were searching.
Several people from the five countries had joined in the rebellion, which deeply disturbed the generals. Many regretted that they had talked too much and might be punished for it.
Suddenly, the Prince of Kang Kingdom stood up with a sigh. He became passionate. He pointed to the captives and said, “They are the elites from the five countries of Xiaoyao Lake, and they only occupy a very small part of it. Neither the Dragon King nor the Supreme King can make us yield. Even if you kill us all, more people will fight against you.”
To his great disappointment and indignation, the “elites” were not of the same mind. Before he finished his words, they began to beg for the Dragon King’s forgiveness and tried to shrink from their responsibilities.
“Dragon King, I was forced to…”
“We were led by the Prince of the Kang Kingdom.”
“I want to confess. Dragon King, these people pretended to be soldiers from the Five Kingdoms and tried to stir up a rebellion…”
The Prince of Kang Kingdom stared at the captives with a scowl and then scolded, “Idiots! We are not afraid of death. Your actions will only make the Dragon King despise you.”
However, no one listened to him. Seeing that the Dragon King wasn’t speaking, the captives thought that maybe he would show them mercy. The last three or four renegades who had been standing knelt down and asked for mercy.
The Prince shook his head with a wry smile. He had intended to prove the strength of the five countries, but it seemed that he had grown more cowardly and incompetent. Finally, he believed that he could not bear the responsibility.
He pulled out his scimitar.
The guards and generals in the tent also took out their weapons, but the Dragon King sat in silence. He didn’t even intend to touch his hilt.
“If you want to maintain independence, you have to pay the price. Dragon King, that was what you said before. Since no one wants to be the first to die, I will act.”
“You will die, but not now,” Gu Shenwei said coldly. He could not allow the Prince to die in this way and become a hero in the eyes of the soldiers from the five countries.
The guards rushed to take the Prince’s weapon and pressed him to the ground.
“Dragon King, let me…” Before the Prince could finish his words, he was being gagged.
“You can’t stir up a rebellion. I want more names.”
The captives looked at each other. Several of them gave names in low voices, but it was obvious that they were fabricating the names on the spot to please the Dragon King.
“It’s him. The list was in his hand.” Finally, someone had found one of the missing accomplices.
“Who is he?”
The captives looked at each other, and then pointed to the Prince of Kang Kingdom at the same time. “He is from Kang Kingdom, and was introduced by the Prince.”
The Prince could not help laughing, “I knew you guys were not credible. Dragon King, the royal families of the five countries are not vulnerable. There is still one person you failed to catch. Listen-”
The Prince’s hands were bound behind him, so he moved his ears toward outside with excitement, “The rebellion has begun. Escape now before it’s too late. As for you guys, you are all going to die.” He said these last few words to the captives.
The uproar outside the tent grew louder and louder.
One captive, eager to please the Dragon King, took two steps forward on his knees and said, “Dragon King, please don’t worry. They are dozens of nobles from the Land of Fragrance pretending to be soldiers from the five countries, but they can’t stir up a rebellion. We don’t need to worry about them.”
Angry, the Prince struggled to free himself from the shackles of the guards and flew up to kick the captive in the face.
The two men were immediately separated. Although the captive was full of blood in his face, he endured pain and dared not make any sound.
The noise outside the tent did not subside. The senior generals gathered and looked at the Dragon King, waiting for his orders.
Commanders from all parts of the barracks entered the tent one after another and reported the situation outside the tent. There were more than 20 armies of thousands of people; at least eight of them were experiencing riots of different sizes.
In fact, the Dragon King had it wrong. This was not the instigation of dozens of impersonators. The captives had also been deceived and delivered false messages without intention.
The Prince of Kang Kingdom became more and more excited. He wanted to see if the five countries of Xiaoyao Lake could prove themselves this time.