“At this moment, Constantine II had tried everything.
He fought desperately.
But in the darkness, with a thousand cavalry trapped inside such a narrow valley, they could neither advance nor retreat. Their warhorses had become a burden instead.
He could only watch helplessly as the riders around him were knocked from their horses one after another, screaming as they died.
It felt as though his heart was bleeding.
He roared with all his strength and swung his sword wildly.
Yet nothing could stop his soldiers from being slaughtered.
No one knew how much time had passed…
The thousand cavalry around Constantine II had been wiped out completely.
More than half of them had been killed by Lanyling’s arrows alone.
This had been Chimera Tribe’s last elite fighting force, and now it had been utterly destroyed.
Covered in blood, Constantine II stood motionless.
Suddenly, he let out a furious roar.
‘Lanyling, if you’ve got any courage, come down here and fight me in a duel!’
His voice sounded like that of a wounded beast.
Unable to bear it any longer, Gou Li stepped into the light.
‘Xiao Ye, surrender.’
Constantine II’s body trembled. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the woman standing in the light.
This woman, who looked more than ten years younger and far more beautiful, was… his mother?
The wife of the Chimera Tribe’s chief had actually surrendered?
Then Constantine II saw Lanyling’s hand casually playing with her full, rounded backside.
His eyes nearly burst from rage.
Humiliation.
The greatest humiliation.
The greatest shame he had ever suffered.
‘Gou Li, you are the disgrace of the Chimera Tribe! You’re actually telling me to surrender? I’d rather die than surrender!’ Constantine II roared.
Then he drew his sword and slashed it towards his own neck, intending to kill himself.
Constantine II might have been hot tempered, crude and foolish, but he had courage. He chose to end his life without hesitation.
‘No!’ Gou Li cried out as she rushed forward.
Although she was selfish and domineering, he was still her own son. Compared with her scheming daughter, she had always loved this son more. She could not bear to watch him die before her eyes.
However, she was far too far away to stop him.
But…
The instant Constantine II’s sword touched his neck, it froze in place.
Lanyling had been watching him closely all along. Especially after Gou Li appeared, Constantine II’s mind and spirit had suffered an unprecedented shock.
So Lanyling’s Spirit Immobilisation Technique succeeded at once, freezing him where he stood.
Then Lanyling fired an arrow, effortlessly knocking the sword from Constantine II’s hand.
Duolong stepped forward and struck the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.
The young chief of the Chimera Tribe, Constantine II, officially became Lanyling’s prisoner.
Gou Li was so overjoyed that tears nearly flowed from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Lanyling’s neck and kissed him.
‘Thank you, thank you. I knew you weren’t as ruthless and heartless as you pretended to be.’
Lanyling looked into her eyes.
‘I think you’ve misunderstood. I spared his life not because I want to become his stepfather, but because he still has tremendous value.’
…
This ambush had achieved spectacular results.
Du Yan knelt upright before Lanyling, while Gou E prostrated himself completely at Lanyling’s feet.
Lanyling glanced at the two of them, stepped forward, and patted Gou E on the head.
Immediately, Gou E became as fawning as a lapdog, practically burying his head in the ground.
As for Du Yan, Lanyling merely nodded.
‘Gou E, stay here and wait for the Yan Demon Tribe’s main force. Then escort these supplies back to the tribe.’
‘Yes, Chief!’ Gou E replied respectfully. ‘As for… my…’
‘The antidote?’ Lanyling asked. ‘Don’t worry. When the time comes, someone will naturally bring it to you.’
‘Thank you, Chief! Thank you, Chief!’ Gou E kowtowed repeatedly. ‘I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life!’
Then Lanyling turned to Du Yan.
‘Mount your horse. We’re going to intercept the Chimera Tribe’s other army.’
‘Yes, Chief!’ Du Yan replied.
This ambush had not only annihilated Constantine II’s thousand cavalry, it had also captured more than six hundred warhorses. Another four hundred horses had either been seriously wounded or killed, which was truly heartbreaking.
Lanyling turned to Gangduo and Duolong.
‘Now the two of you must split up. One of you will command a thousand cavalry and follow me to destroy the Chimera Tribe’s thousand infantry before attacking and looting the Chimera Tribe itself. The other will remain with three hundred cavalry to guard this iron and steel until the Yan Demon Tribe’s main force arrives, then escort the millions of jin of iron back home. Which of you will come with me, and which will stay to guard the supplies?’
Duolong immediately answered, ‘I’ll follow you to destroy the Chimera Tribe!’
Gangduo calmly said, ‘Then I’ll stay behind to guard the supplies.’
Duolong grinned.
‘Big brother, sorry to leave you with the boring job.’
Gangduo remained expressionless.
‘It’s nothing.’
Half an hour later, Lanyling set off with Duolong, Gou Li, Du Yan, and a thousand cavalry, heading towards the Chimera Tribe.
Half an hour later…
Lanyling’s force met the Chimera Tribe’s thousand infantry head on.
That fool Constantine II had led a thousand cavalry and a thousand infantry to rescue the mine, yet he had not even marched them together. Instead, he had left the infantry far behind.
Hearing the sound of approaching horses, the infantry commander at the front shouted,
‘Is that the Young Chief?’
A voice answered,
‘You’re so slow. The battle’s already over. What use are you? Turn around and return to the tribe!’
The moment she heard this, Gou Li felt as though she had seen a ghost.
The voice belonged to Lanyling.
Yet it sounded exactly like Constantine II.
The Chimera infantry commander shrank his neck after being scolded.
‘Yes!’
The thousand soldiers turned around lazily, presenting their backs to Lanyling’s thousand cavalry.
As second line troops, they had absolutely no sense of vigilance.
Then Lanyling spoke again in Constantine II’s voice.
‘Why are you blocking the road? Sit down in the grass on both sides and don’t get in my way.’
‘Yes!’
The infantry commander obeyed.
The thousand soldiers scattered to both sides of the road, threw down their weapons, and sat comfortably on the grass.
They had marched for more than fifty li and were utterly exhausted. Once they sat down, none of them wanted to get up again.
Then…
They heard the thunder of cavalry charging from behind.
Wait… wasn’t the Young Chief’s cavalry supposed to ride along the road? Why were they charging straight at them from behind?
Only then did they realise something was terribly wrong.
‘Enemy! Enemy!’
They tried to stand and grab their weapons.
But it was already too late.
They had been sitting scattered across the ground with no formation and no defence.
Meanwhile, Lanyling’s cavalry had begun their charge from only a hundred metres away.
More than a thousand cavalry charging from a hundred metres against a thousand unprepared infantry sitting on the ground…
It was nothing but a massacre.
The riders urged their horses forward, trampling over the infantry while their curved sabres harvested lives without mercy.
Charge after charge.
Wave after wave of killing.
In less than half an hour, apart from a small number who escaped into the forest, the Chimera Tribe’s thousand infantry had been slaughtered.
The grasslands beside the road were covered with corpses, and the earth had been stained red with blood.
Gou Li’s expression twitched slightly before returning to its usual calm.
Lanyling remained completely expressionless.
‘Form up. We attack the Chimera Tribe.’
The thousand cavalry quickly regrouped and charged towards the Chimera Tribe.
…
More than an hour later…
Lanyling and his thousand cavalry arrived outside the gates of the Chimera Tribe.
‘Who’s there?’ a vigilant voice shouted from the walls. Dozens of bows were drawn at once.
‘It’s me.’
Once again, Lanyling spoke in Constantine II’s voice.
The warrior captain on the wall called out,
‘Young Chief, it’s too dark. Can I see your face?’
He was cautious.
A torch was raised, illuminating Constantine II’s face, his single eye glaring angrily.
It really was Constantine II, without the slightest flaw.
The warrior captain immediately relaxed and ordered the gates opened.
‘Creak… creak…’
The huge gates slowly swung open.
Using Constantine II’s voice again, Lanyling impatiently shouted,
‘Go wake everyone up. Gather them all in the castle square on the mountaintop. I’m holding a meeting!’
The warrior captain froze.
A meeting? What meeting?
Still, he wasn’t surprised.
Constantine II had always been eccentric, especially after Lanyling had shot out one of his eyes.
Besides, with the chief absent, he had the authority to issue any order he pleased. It would not be strange for him to arrange something like this simply to show off his authority.
The order was immediately passed on.
Soon, the assembly bell echoed throughout the tribe.
The people of the Chimera Tribe, who had been fast asleep, woke up cursing.
This had already happened three times before, all because of Constantine II. The previous two times he had claimed it was to train everyone’s alertness.
Outside, the tribal warriors shouted,
‘All tribe members, gather immediately at the mountaintop castle square! Hurry! Hurry!’
‘A meeting? The Chief isn’t even here. What’s there to discuss?’
‘The Young Chief’s father isn’t even dead yet, and he’s already acting like the Chief?’
After Constantine’s disastrous defeat at Lanyling’s hands, which had almost wiped out the tribe’s army, the people’s respect for him had greatly diminished.
Everyone complained loudly.
Even so, countless tribe members got dressed, left their homes, and headed towards the castle square on the mountaintop.
Chief assemblies were normally held there. Sometimes once every three years, sometimes once a year, and sometimes whenever something important happened.
Although the square was fairly large, squeezing more than thirty thousand people into it made it extremely crowded. Half of the square also bordered a cliff thousands of metres high, making attendance anything but pleasant.
The Chimera Tribe, now reduced to just over thirty thousand people after Lanyling’s repeated attacks, poured out of every household.
A sea of people filled the roads, cursing as they made their way towards the mountaintop.
More than half an hour later…
Through Lanyling’s scheme, all thirty thousand members of the Chimera Tribe were packed into the mountaintop castle square like sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
A cruel smile spread across Lanyling’s face.
‘The Chimera Tribe is finished.’
‘Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…’
His arrows flew in rapid succession, killing every tribal warrior on the walls.
Then he waved his hand.
More than a thousand cavalry charged straight into the Chimera Tribe.
…
Time rewound to more than two years earlier.
When Prince Zhi Li of the Furious Wave Kingdom had his true identity exposed, his entire worldview collapsed.
He discovered that he was not Crown Prince Zhi Lan’s biological son at all. His birth had been nothing more than a conspiracy orchestrated by Hidden Isle and the Divine Dragon Temple. He was the product of that conspiracy, while his mother was a lowly and shameless woman.
Zhi Lan and his wife, together with Prince Zhi Li himself, had brought unimaginable disaster upon the Furious Wave Kingdom, setting the nation’s strength back by decades.
At the very last moment, Zhi Li finally awoke from his nightmare. He let go of his hatred for Suo Lun and for King Zhi Bian.
Although he was not truly a member of the Zhi royal family, he chose to regard himself as one.
In his final moments, he chose to protect his wife, his daughter, the Zhi royal family, and the Furious Wave Kingdom with his life.
He confessed everything to Ji Xiuning’s Light Faction, dragging Hidden Isle, the Evil Orthodox Faction, and the Divine Dragon Temple of Zhi Capital down with him.
After making his confession, he immediately committed suicide.
His actions had nearly brought complete destruction upon the Divine Dragon Temple’s Evil Orthodox Faction, Hidden Isle, and the Zhi Capital Temple.
However, Fu Lingxi ultimately saved them all.
She found the World Destroying Demon Emperor, her own biological son, Suo Lun.
She sacrificed her own son in exchange for her own rise to power.
That all happened afterwards.
Once Zhi Li had confessed everything and taken his own life, the Yan Capital Temple cremated his body and secretly buried it in a place known to no one.
Deep within an uninhabited forest a thousand li from Yan Capital.
There was only a small mound of earth.
No gravestone.
Nothing at all.
The heir to an entire kingdom had been buried like a stray dog.
…
After Zhi Li’s charred body had been buried, Fu Lingxi discovered the World Destroying Demon Emperor, Suo Lun, and the Divine Dragon Temple sent out an overwhelming force to hunt him down.
At that very time, a dark figure appeared in the lonely forest where Zhi Li’s grave lay.
He had no head.
He rode a skeletal horse.
The Headless Knight.
As he passed, every bird and beast in the forest fell silent.
Even the wind dared not blow.
The branches dared not sway.
Even the insects beneath the earth dared not chirp.
Green flames appeared wherever he passed, yet they burned nothing.
The ground beneath his path seemed to lose all signs of life.
The Headless Knight.
He stopped before Zhi Li’s grave.
Drawing a broken, black glowing greatsword, he began digging.
Half a minute later, Zhi Li’s charred corpse was unearthed.
The Headless Knight took out a bottle.
A black bottle.
Inside it was true Demon Blood.
The blood of an Ancient Demon King.
He slowly poured the Ancient Demon King’s blood over Zhi Li’s burned corpse.
The blood was green and gave off a terrifying scent, as though merely inhaling it would bring death.
As it seeped into the blackened corpse, thick smoke rose into the air.
Then something horrifying happened.
The green blood gathered at the centre of Zhi Li’s chest, gradually forming a heart.
A green heart.
It grew larger and more complete.
Finally, it became larger than a grown man’s clenched fist.
Suddenly…
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The heart began to beat.
The sight was unimaginably eerie.
Zhi Li remained nothing more than a charred corpse.
Yet inside him was a beating green heart.
‘Rise again, my brother, and fight for His Majesty, the Demon Emperor.'”