Chapter 576: Drum

Chapter 576: The Drum

Hearing Bai Lingmiao speak such words, Li Huowang was momentarily bewildered.

Did the Mother of Boundless Life truly pity the common people? Was this really something the White Lotus Sect, which buried people alive in the earth, would do?

As for what exactly had happened to the Mother of Boundless Life, as a mere mortal, Li Huowang did not know. He could only judge based on the information he had acquired. It was likely that the Mother of Boundless Life had once been the very embodiment of this heavenly principle.

"Alright then, when the time comes, act within your limits. If anything goes wrong, run away immediately. Don't come near me. There's danger around me."

"Don't worry, we'll naturally protect the Holy Maiden. You needn't trouble yourself with it," Lian Zhibei said with a trace of dissatisfaction, stepping closer.

Li Huowang simply ignored her. "It's better for people to be safe than anything else. Once we get through this crisis, we can deal with other matters gradually." With those words, he opened his arms and gently embraced Bai Lingmiao.

Just as Li Huowang closed his eyes to savor the long-awaited warmth, Bai Lingmiao’s face suddenly twisted into a sinister expression, revealing another visage.

Her face showed the grin of a beast, her mouth stretching wider and wider, a scarlet tongue flicking in the air with agile twists, as if at any moment, it would slip into Li Huowang's earhole.

"Second Mother?"

"What?" Li Huowang released Bai Lingmiao and turned around to see Li Sui standing there, staring intently at them.

"Not Second Mother, it's First Mother. Second Mother has gone."

Bai Lingmiao kissed Li Huowang's cheek and then walked over to Li Sui, gently embracing her. "Sui Sui, have you been good with daddy lately?"

Li Sui proudly lifted her head, offering it to Bai Lingmiao from her tentacles. "Mother, look at my new head! I love it so much. I like being human, but daddy won’t let me keep wearing it."

"Don't listen to your father. He doesn't understand. From now on, wear it like this. It looks much better than before."

"I think so too. Now no one will fear my appearance, and I can talk to others."

Seeing the tenderness and care on Bai Lingmiao's face, Li Huowang breathed a little easier. At least when she was with him, she acted like a normal person.

Previously, Bai Lingmiao's appearance had frightened him greatly. He should find ways to let Li Sui interact more with Miao Miao.

"All of you follow me. We’ll meet at the eastern city wall," the voice of the Astronomical Bureau suddenly rang in Li Huowang's ears, making him tremble all over.

But as he looked around for the source of the voice, he realized he wasn’t alone. The White Lotus believers and Bai Lingmiao were doing the same thing. Clearly, the Astronomical Bureau hadn’t spoken just to him.

"Li Sui is leaving," Li Huowang said, opening his mouth. From the body of the Princess Anping, countless tentacles emerged and began crawling into his body.

"Astronomical Bureau, didn’t you say it would take an hour to fetch the item? Hasn’t enough time passed?" Li Huowang asked.

"It's too late. The dice has taken action. He doesn’t intend to hide anymore—he plans to eliminate us all together," the voice of the Astronomical Bureau echoed again in Li Huowang's mind.

"Where is the dice now?"

"At the military camp."

"What?!" That word sent a chill through Li Huowang’s entire body. In the next instant, Peng Longteng appeared beside him and grabbed him, throwing him high into the sky.

Li Huowang soared high into the air, and the vast Shangjing City spread beneath him.

Not just Shangjing City! With his excellent vision, Li Huowang saw the dense swarm of ants outside the eastern city wall, and the centipedes coiled among them.

Li Huowang understood—it weren’t ants! They were the armies stationed around Shangjing City! And those weren’t centipedes—they were the dragon veins of the dice!

He should have realized it earlier. The dice’s greatest strength was never direct confrontation! This man used his imperial identity to deceive the armies and turn them against them!

As soon as Li Huowang landed steadily, the figure of the Astronomical Bureau appeared beside him without warning.

"There's no time to lose. Let’s walk and talk. The dice is trying to make the entire Liang Dynasty believe he is their new emperor. If everyone in the whole Liang believes his lies, we’ll be at war with the entire nation."

The dice wasn’t merely stealing the dragon veins—he wanted to seize the entire Liang Dynasty.

If the dice’s deception were terrifying, what made it even more dangerous was that he was indeed the Emperor of Liang.

Li Huowang clenched his teeth and ran across rooftops toward the city gate. "Is the method you mentioned really effective? If it fails, everything will be lost!"

"I have my own plans. If you still want to save the entire Liang, then listen to me!" Like a ghost, the Astronomical Bureau floated beside Li Huowang.

"Fine! Then let’s plan how to proceed now. Don’t lose control later."

The Emperor was outside the city, leading a group of palace guards preparing to rebel. The chaos gradually spread from the city walls into the capital, causing panic and rumors to swirl throughout Shangjing City.

The tentacles extending from Li Huowang’s body moved swiftly, climbing up the bricks of the city wall, carrying him quickly to the top.

When Li Huowang reached the wall, the White Lotus Sect and the Aojing Sect had already arrived. Not only them, but members of the Astronomical Bureau were also arriving one by one.

Though many people were present, including many experts, comparing them to the densely packed armies below, shrouded in ominous aura, everyone felt their hearts pounding.

Liang had become the largest country in this land not through rhetoric.

Looking down at the golden dragon flag raised high in the military formation, each person felt deeply conflicted, unsure of what they were thinking.

"If we really start fighting, both sides will suffer heavy losses. The dice doesn’t expect to win—he just wants to exhaust our forces. Whether we can stop this battle depends entirely on you."

Li Huowang glanced sideways at him. "You have so many concerns, yet you insist I help you. Are you planning to use something else from me?"

Although the plan the Astronomical Bureau proposed seemed simple, Li Huowang could only trust half of what he said. He had been deceived far too often.

"No matter what I use, I must solve the dice problem. Don’t forget, this also involves you."

Li Huowang turned his gaze back to the throne where the dice sat, his eyes growing cold. It was him! If not for him, Zhuge Yuan wouldn’t have died! The world wouldn’t have fallen into such chaos!

"I can let you use me, but there’s only one condition: kill the dice!"

"Thump... thump... thump..." The low sound of drums began to beat, each strike hammering into every heart.

"The Astronomical Bureau rebels against heaven, colludes with the White Lotus Sect, daring to plot against the current emperor! Kill!!"

As the army below simultaneously gripped their weapons and slammed them onto the ground, the aura of death surged like a mountain over Li Huowang and his companions.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

In the next moment, catapults launched high into the air, some three-meter-tall heavily armored black iron towers soaring into the sky like black boulders, crashing toward the city wall.

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Next chapter updates at 00:01

(End of Chapter)