Chapter 832: We Are All the Price

Chapter 832: We Are All the Price

The curtain of night gradually enveloped the land, yet it brought no peace to the storm-tossed Celestial Capital.

The siege had entered its fifth day, and finally reached the bloodiest and most brutal stage—street-to-street combat.

The Imperial Guard defending the Celestial Capital scattered into every alley, engaging the rebel forces that had breached the city in a bitter fight for each street and lane, but they were ultimately no match for the endless tide.

They had no reinforcements.

But the enemy’s reinforcements came without cease, their weapons and ammunition seemingly inexhaustible.

Five thousand against five hundred thousand.

This battle of such disparate strength seemed doomed from the start.

That floating “palace” was utterly useless.

Though the starship serving as its foundation still functioned, only the reactor and anti-gravity devices remained operational.

It was too old.

Built during the Three Years’ War, it had hovered in an oxidizing environment for over two hundred years, and the people living on this land had erected a lavish imperial palace upon its spine.

The burden it bore was too heavy; it could not even rise into the clouds, only watch as soldiers swarmed like ants.

It witnessed yet another dynastic change, but never awaited its true master.

“Ahhh! These rebels! I wish I could slaughter them all, flay their skin, and tear out their sinews!”

At the foot of the palace steps, the commander of the Imperial Guard stared with bloodshot eyes at the capital engulfed in flames.

The last line of defense leading to the palace had been breached!

His subordinate staggered before him, knelt on one knee, and, enduring the gunshot wound on his shoulder, reported.

“General! Retreat at once! Our brothers are nearly all dead… The Celestial Capital can no longer be held!”

“Retreat?! Never!!”

The Imperial Guard commander roared, snatched the rifle from the officer’s hands, and charged to the front line himself, exchanging fire with the rebels below the steps.

Gunfire erupted before the palace!

The streets below the steps were littered with corpses!

Men piled bodies into breastworks, crouched behind cover, and shot at each other.

The murky blood flowed backward up the steps from below, eventually breaching the palace gates.

Surrounded by rebels, the Imperial Guard commander was shot dead by a hail of bullets, his eyes wide open as he fell before the bloodstained palace gates.

All five thousand Imperial Guards died for their country; not one retreated.

In the end, their bodies were strung on flagpoles and hung at the northern gate of the Celestial Capital.

It was said the Emperor had fled in that direction.

The Celestial Capital had finally changed hands…

…

That night, Yanush ordered a grand feast to reward the entire army, then swaggered into Wuto’s imperial palace to take up residence.

When he announced the Northern Hunt, Wuto had fled in haste, leaving behind none of the palace’s treasures, eunuchs, or concubines.

Those fair-skinned consorts and maids, along with the gold, silver, jewels, artworks, and ritual vessels piled in the storehouses—all were graciously accepted by the Heavenly King.

Some he kept for himself; others he bestowed upon his valiant soldiers and trusted confidants, earning himself a reputation for impartial rewards and punishments.

As for the eunuchs, Yanush did not waste them either. He ordered these castrated men to stand on the palace’s chessboard, wielding swords and daggers, wearing animal-head ornaments, and play a “human chess” game by the light of bonfires to entertain his coronation.

He himself sat on the imperial throne, dallying with a young count’s daughter whom Wuto had not yet had time to favor, enjoying her delicate, tearful beauty while listening to the wails and sobs of bloodshed on the chessboard.

“What a thrill! Hahaha! Damn, what a thrill!”

Yanush laughed loudly, slapping the armrest of the throne.

“That McCullen always looked down on this war game, but I find it quite amusing!”

The military advisor standing beside him chuckled.

“Your Majesty has endowed it with new pleasure.”

Your Majesty…

Yanush narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of indescribable satisfaction in his brow.

To be enfeoffed as a prince and appointed prime minister—

There was no greater pinnacle in life!

“The legend of the Skywolf devouring the sun should now come true… Let the Ox tribe be set aside for now, since this is Ox Province, but the reckoning with the Sun tribe can begin.”

“Issue my decree: confiscate all their property, reduce them to slaves—whoever catches them keeps them.”

“As for those nobles enfeoffed by Wuto, let them remain at home awaiting judgment. If any dares step outside, kill without mercy!”

The military advisor standing at his side said respectfully.

“Your Majesty is wise!”

Rising smoke obscured the night sky.

The coronation ceremony was set for three days later.

Yanush declared the Xilan Empire overthrown, the Xilan Dynasty no more, and proclaimed a new empire—the Yanush Empire—and a new dynasty—the Yanush Dynasty.

Like many great families, his name became the surname of his future clan, and this surname, adorned with countless legends, would be supremely glorious, as if the Wolf God’s incarnation on earth.

The entire Heavenly King’s army, from top to bottom, was jubilant and festive, slaughtering pigs and sheep, drinking wine and eating meat, reveling without restraint.

Pity that the Verlanders of the Celestial Capital had fled swiftly, leaving not a single one behind.

And those nobles, each as cunning as a weasel, had run even faster than their Emperor!

Only those nobles of military background did not flee but resisted alongside the Imperial Guard.

And then there were those stubborn, unyielding old loyalists who still harbored illusions about the Xilan court.

They soon paid the price.

Not only were all the men of their families slaughtered, but the women were reduced to slaves, becoming playthings for the Heavenly King’s army.

On the northern outskirts of the Celestial Capital, Abusek’s Lion Army banner fluttered in the night and bonfire light.

Though Abusek himself was a Wolf tribesman, born into the Grey Wolf Army, that did not prevent Yanush from enfeoffing him as the Lion King.

Henceforth, the Grand Duke of Lion Province must also be a Wolf tribesman; the Lion tribe must be led by the Wolf tribe.

This was also a lesson learned from the previous dynasty, an improvement based on that lesson.

In the military tent, cups clinked and laughter rang out among the chiliarchs, but one man sat with a worried expression.

That chiliarch’s name was Anwo. Like the others in the tent, he was a Wolf tribesman, and moreover, a trusted confidant of General Abusek—the future Grand Duke of the new empire—having even worked together with Abusek on the same dock.

The only difference was that he did not worship the Wolf God, but the Silver Moon Goddess.

Though faith was not a marker of identity in the Bahr Province—bloodline was—his anxious expression still stood out starkly against the surrounding festive atmosphere.

Abusek walked up beside him, clapping him on the shoulder with a hearty laugh.

“Anwo, cheer up, haha! From now on, the empire belongs to us Wolf Clan! Whether it’s the hardworking oxen or the arrogant sun, they will all bow their heads before us! Once the Celestial King appoints me general, including you and everyone present, all of you will be commanders of ten thousand men—above ten thousand!”

He enunciated that last half-sentence word by word, then drained the fine wine from his cup in one gulp. His bold capacity for drink and his cadenced voice drew cheers and applause from within the military tent.

Watching his commander laugh heartily, Anwo could not muster any joy. He too raised his cup and drank it dry, but the worry in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

On the contrary, it deepened.

“Thank you for the promotion, General, but perhaps I am overthinking. I have a feeling our troubles are only just beginning…”

Seeing that anxious look, Abusek burst into loud laughter.

“Still worried about those big noses?”

“Is it not worth worrying about?” Anwo looked at his commander, the future grand duke of the new empire, and said in a low voice, “We killed so many of their men and stole their weapons… those Verlanders will not let us off.”

When he heard this, the drunken Abusek suddenly flashed a glint of sharpness in his eyes.

Gazing meaningfully at his subordinate, he suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t be so naive, Anwo. On this cruel wasteland, naivety is the deadliest thing.”

Anwo’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“What do you mean, General?”

Abusek grinned and said,

“Some people will indeed die, but that person is not us—it’s the emperor of the ‘old dynasty’… It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand that now, but why don’t you guess why we won so smoothly?”

“Is there even a need to ask?” Anwo replied without hesitation. “Of course it’s because we were united enough. While others were still smashing things in frustration, we organized ourselves and led them like a pack of wolves driving their prey—”

“Hahaha!” A bold laugh cut off Anwo’s speech. Abusek slapped his shoulder hard, a cruel smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “Just that? With that you think you can overthrow an empire? Anwo, my good brother, I treat you as a brother, so let me give you some advice. With such naive thinking, you wouldn’t even get past Duke Sangjay of Lion Province!”

“You handle matters well, but that alone is not enough. Don’t always believe everything you see or hear. Use your own head to think about ‘why’ and ‘what.’”

Anwo stared at him blankly, then his expression suddenly turned serious. Respectfully, he poured a cup of wine for the general and filled his own as well, then tilted his head back and drank it all.

“Please enlighten me, General!”

Pleased with the man’s diligent and studious attitude, and already somewhat drunk himself, Abusek patted his shoulder and sat down beside him.

“I’ll teach you then… but you must keep these words buried in your gut.”

Anwo nodded earnestly and leaned in respectfully.

“Your subordinate will surely remember your teachings!”

Abusek lowered his voice, letting the words be swallowed by the noisy clamor.

“Yanush came from the Grey Wolf Army, so did I, and so did many others… The kings of the thirteen armies are all his confidants, his comrades-in-arms, but there exists a circle within that he does not understand.”

“We quickly rallied around him and pushed him onto the throne, not because he held great prestige among us, but because we needed someone like him… to bear the responsibilities that belong to a king. Since he stepped forward willingly, we let him take the role.”

The drunken breath blew into his ear, and the words from that stubble-faced man sent a chill through Anwo’s heart, leaving his hands and feet icy cold.

And the next sentence froze even his increasingly ragged breath, tightened by tension.