The Human Emperor - Page 663/702

Chapter 663: Assassination! (II)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

A Profound Martial realm expert, close to the Imperial Martial realm!

This thought flashed through the minds of the guards. They were just ordinary guards from the Wang Clan, no match for an expert of this level.

Buzz!

Suddenly, under their flabbergasted gazes, Wang Chong raised a finger, immediately stopping that grandiose and terrifying saber energy.

Boom! A blazing Sword Qi emerged from the tip of Wang Chong’s finger and jolted that saber energy into pieces. At almost the same moment, Wang Chong flung out his left hand. While everyone was still trying to understand what was going on, Wang Chong was already thrusting his Wootz Steel sword through the air. The sword cut through the giant man’s armor, its tip plunging into his heart and out through his back.

Clang!

The armored man’s knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, the dazzling Halo of Thorns at his feet dispersing. The man’s eyes were wide open, fixed on the nearby Wang Chong, apparently unable to believe that the blow he had unleashed with all his power had been so easily destroyed by Wang Chong.

“Not knowing your own strength!”

Wang Chong sneered as he flicked his sleeves and slowly walked forward. In the southwestern war, his strength had soared, allowing him to break into the Imperial Martial realm. He had even managed to easily slay Longqinba, so an opponent of this level was laughable.

Moreover, saber energy had never been centered on the principle of ‘the more the better’. Quality would always overcome quantity in this domain, and Su Zhengchen’s Art of God and Demon Obliteration was hailed as the greatest technique in the world. How could an ordinary saber energy compare to it?

Thwish! Thwish!

Wang Chong had barely walked two steps when his eyes suddenly flew open and a metal whistle rang out in his ears. Three black arrows, gleaming with a green luster, shot out from the end of the street in triangular formation. Appearing mere moments ago, they were already right in front of Wang Chong’s face.

Bzz! Wang Chong’s body slightly leaned to the side as if he had already predicted this attack, and the three arrows brushed past him by a hair. Bangbangbang! The three arrows struck an ancient scholar tree by the side of road, instantly turning it into powder.

Wang Chong easily dodged these toxic arrows, and then his body swayed, vanishing like a puff of smoke. When he next appeared, he was already several zhang away.

Boomboomboom!

Behind him, another wave of arrows was shooting over from the other direction, passing over the place he had been standing just moments ago. Dust plumed into the air as they blasted the wall that had been behind him to bits.

But all this was far from over…

“Kill him!”

Shouts came from all around. After these two waves of sneak attacks, people around Wang Chong suddenly tore off their disguises and rushed at him. Hu, people from the Western Regions, Tibetans, Arabians, even Han… these people had been following Wang Chong this entire time, choosing this moment to launch their ambush.

Swish! The first to arrive were the curved, crescent-moon-like scimitars of the Abbasid Caliphate. These unique blades that were less than one foot long were edged on both their front and back. Only the sides of the scimitars with their exquisite carvings could be touched.

In truth, this was also the only place the user of the scimitar could leverage their strength.

After these Arabian scimitars were various other weapons, humming in the air. The Hu, the people from the Western Regions, the Tibetans, the Arabians, and the Hans converged on Wang Chong like starving wolves, their halos intersecting and encircling Wang Chong, locking off all paths of escape.

And these Hu, the Western Regioners, Tibetans, and Arabians… no matter which race or tribe they belonged to, they had put aside everything and reached an invisible and silent agreement.

‘Kill Wang Chong.’

Buzz!

In the blink of an eye, countless scimitars and assassination weapons seemed on the verge of striking true. Wang Chong only smiled calmly, as if these people didn’t exist.

Thump! With a light stamp of his foot, a barrier of Stellar Energy with a faint reddish hue suddenly erupted out of his body and covered him like a bell jar. Clangclangclang! All the scimitars and other weapons halted as if they had struck a bronze wall.

“Your homework was too poor!”

Wang Chong glanced at his surroundings, a harsh and cold light in his eyes.

If these people had truly investigated him, they would have known that he was now a completely different person. He was no longer some ordinary warrior that could be defeated through sheer numbers.

It was obvious that these people had only discovered that he was a superb strategist, not that his cultivation in martial arts was similarly shocking.

“Li Siye!”

Wang Chong did nothing more, only shouted out a name.

Boom!

A mountain of a man suddenly burst out of the second floor of a nearby restaurant. On his back was a massive sword that was taller than the average adult man.

Boom!

Faint ripples flashed in the air. No one was able to see just how Li Siye had managed to pull out his sword as a fierce Sword Qi tore through the air, splitting the rear eight assassins at the waist.

The remaining Sword Qi slashed through the stones of the street, leaving a fissure ten-some zhang long.

“Ignore it and kill him!”

A sturdy Hu suddenly spoke in the Hu language and cast aside everything else, accelerating as he charged at Wang Chong.

But then a tiny dagger swept across his neck as well as the necks of his comrades. Thudthudthud! The remaining assassins were cut down like wheat stalks in the blink of an eye, their eyes wide as their bodies toppled.

“Lord Marquis, are you okay?”

Li Siye had put away his giant sword and hurried over.

“I’m fine. This only happened because their investigation was clearly lacking,” Wang Chong lightly said as he slowly put away the tiny Wootz Steel dagger in his hand. This was a dagger that he had forged for himself. Its original intent was to practice his Sword Qi, but it was more than enough to deal with these assassins.

Clang!

Wang Chong gripped the Wootz Steel sword thrust into the heart of the kneeling corpse of the armored man and pulled. At the same time, his left hand reached out and removed the man’s helmet.

“It really was a Turk!”

Wang Chong’s face showed no surprise.

“It’s not only the Turks. There were also Goguryeons, Arabians, Tibetans, and Western Regioners, even Khitans. Lord Marquis, with your victory in the southwest over Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang, everyone regards you as a thorn in their eyes,” Li Siye worriedly said.

Wang Chong was outwardly at ease but inwardly vigilant. On the surface, he seemed alone, but his trusted aides had been following him the entire time. In these few short moments, countless people were pouring out from the surrounding restaurants, inns, alleys, and the distant ends of the streets.

Wang Chong’s current status was no longer that of some ordinary scion of the Wang Clan.

He was no longer a mere scion, but a true noble.

Just his title as the Son of Heaven’s disciple was enough for countless people to be keeping watch on him and protecting him from the shadows. If something were to truly happen to him at a critical juncture like this, no one would be able to bear the responsibility.

“Haha, this is a certainty.”

Wang Chong waved his hands, unconcerned. After experiencing the hell of the southwest, he found it hard to be moved by such a minor incident.

“Oh, and didn’t I already tell you? Why are you still calling me Lord Marquis?”

“Your subordinate does not dare. A distinction exists between above and below, and Young Master is now a marquis, personally bestowed the title of Young Marquis by His Majesty. If we at your side do not address you as Lord Marquis, other people will be even less willing to do so.”

Li Siye lowered his head and gave a deep bow.

Wang Chong helplessly shook his head. Li Siye’s personality really was like that of a rock. Once he began to stubbornly cling to a principle, no one would be able to convince him otherwise.

“I know that scolding you won’t make a difference. Just follow me.”

Wang Chong turned his head as he spoke. He could see several familiar figures hurrying over from that direction. From their uniform, Wang Chong could tell at a glance that these were people from the Bureau of Rites and the Chamberlain of Dependencies.

“Lord Marquis, our apologies for the slowness. Is Milord okay? Are there any injuries?”

“Lord Marquis, please forgive us. We will definitely strengthen the patrols. Such an incident will not repeat itself! These bastards, to be so bold! In broad daylight, they still dared to act so recklessly in the capital.”

……

These officials dressed in crimson robes kicked at the corpses of the assassins, low curses whispered from their lips.

But in front of Wang Chong, these people had their faces turned stubbornly toward the ground, not daring to raise their heads, timidity on full display.

This was in broad daylight. If Wang Chong were to encounter some unexpected accident, everyone present would have to take the consequences from the Sage Emperor.

“Siye, talk with them. I have other matters, so I’ll leave first.”

Wang Chong didn’t even glance at these people, leaving as soon as he gave this order.

The people of the Bureau of Rites and Chamberlain of Dependencies were closest to King Qi, and it was in these two government agencies that King Qi’s faction wielded the most power. Wang Chong had not forgotten about what the Chamberlain of Dependencies and Bureau of Rites had done to him during the Kunwu Training Camp mission and the award ceremony.

A new Son of Heaven would bring in his own ministers. He might have been some obscure nobody back then, but he was now an existence that even the Bureau of Rites and Chamberlain of Dependencies had to bow and scrape to.

“Farewell, Lord Marquis.”

Li Siye gave a deferential bow and quickly set about dealing with this incident for Wang Chong. With so many people dead, an explanation was demanded, and Li Siye could tell at a glance that the Court of Judicial Review, Imperial Army, and city guards had all arrived.

……

“Failed again! This brat is extremely perceptive. This is already the second time.”

“That’s right! None of the people we’ve wanted to kill have ever managed to live a second day. We managed to kill people far more formidable than him, but our methods appear to be useless against him.”

“With things like this, there’s nothing we can do. We still can’t let ourselves be discovered. If outsiders discover our existence, the first people the master kills will be us.”

Several thousand meters from the place where Wang Chong was attacked, two figures cloaked in black sat in the corner of a restaurant. The ground at their feet was covered in corpses. The waiters, maids, the owner, and the patrons… all of them had their eyes wide open as they lay in pools of blood.