Chapter 683: Luring the Enemy into a Trap

Chapter 683: Inviting the Wolf into the Fold

Riding swiftly from the west toward the capital, the road hugged the mountains—the famed Taihang Range.

Where the Taihang Range ended in its final spur, a mountain called West Mountain rose; beyond it lay the open ground of the capital. West Mountain simply meant the mountain west of the capital.

When Yeltu and his men reached West Mountain, it was already deep night, and the capital remained barely visible in the snowy darkness.

He suddenly raised his hand to halt the column: "The closer we get to the target, the less we can let our guard down… the Central Plains' way of war is vastly different from ours. Beware of ambushes. Send two squads ahead to scout the mountains on either side."

Soon two teams dismounted, used lightness skills, and vanished into the wooded slopes ahead.

The cavalry reined in their horses, looking left and right. In the night, the forests loomed black, exuding an inexplicable eeriness and dread.

Fighting in snow differed from normal conditions in many ways—for instance, in the mountains, one couldn't judge whether people were present by the absence of startled birds, because there were hardly any birds at all.

Still, most felt the Protector was being overly cautious. Why would the Xia capital possibly set an ambush here? They had no troops.

Before long, scouts returned: "No ambush."

Yeltu exhaled. "It seems they truly are unguarded. Speed up, advance! Send the signal!"

"Whoosh!" A flare shot into the sky, and the light cavalry charged straight for the capital.

Lu Jianzhang had not slept all night. He stood atop his own mansion, gazing at the moon. When he saw the distant flare, he finally exhaled. "Prepare."

Originally, Lu Jianzhang had no intention of rebellion. Serving Xia Longyuan was the same as serving Xia Chichi.

Earlier, when Xia Longyuan let a impostor govern, Lu, as Chancellor, could seize more benefits and power. Yet in his heart, he was still uneasy, fearing that the world's foremost sovereign might suddenly take things seriously, leaving him in constant dread. Everyone said the impostor had issued many foolish decrees, placing primary blame on Xia Longyuan himself—without his indulgence, what could the impostor have done? But secondary blame? No one mentioned it.

Secondary blame naturally fell on him, the Chancellor. If Xia Longyuan had ever decided to crack down, he would have been the first to be executed.

Now, for the sake of stability in the new dynasty, Xia Chichi wouldn't dig up old grievances. Lu Jianzhang had originally thought that serving the new court might be better than before—less power, but at least stability. In the early days of the new dynasty, he had even offered many useful suggestions for economic recovery.

But the one thing that should never have happened was that the new emperor truly intended to continue the late emperor's policy of suppressing the great clans. Although Xia Chichi hadn't yet shown it openly, when the Cui family submitted their surrender memorial, everyone understood its implications.

Even the Cui family had to cripple their own martial power just to survive—what good could other families expect?

The new dynasty had just been established, with ruin everywhere. Instead of seeking stability, it was already wielding a knife that would cut to the bone. Setting aside personal interests, even considering the empire's future, Lu Jianzhang felt this new dynasty had no prospects.

What was even more absurd was that within a few days, the only capable army had been dispatched—to attack the Wang family… Did they truly believe the capital was as solid as Mount Tai?

Lu Jianzhang strode downstairs and led his men out of his residence.

Soon, the sound of hooves thundered at the capital's western gate. Yeltu and his men reached the city walls. Their inside contact was even more direct than Guichen's in the Wang family—the gatekeeper simply opened the gate.

Yeltu led his cavalry straight in, unimpeded, onto the main avenue, heading directly for the imperial palace.

Easier than imagined… Previously, the capital's bureaucrats had been disorganized, and the Four Symbols Sect had easily seized control. This time, it was the Four Symbols Sect that was unprepared. Most were likely asleep. Outside the palace gates, only a few slovenly, dozing Imperial Guards remained. When they saw the barbarian cavalry surging toward them, they were dumbstruck.

"Shwish!" Yeltu cut down one guard with a single stroke, leaped into the air, and slashed directly at the seam of the palace gate.

He could already hear chaos inside—Four Symbols disciples shouting, "Enemy attack! Defend the gate!"

For a strongman like Yeltu, the gate's defenses were negligible. In two or three strikes, the palace doors burst open. Yeltu vaulted back onto his horse, and the light cavalry poured in.

But when only half the column had passed through, Yeltu froze, reining in his horse in shock.

Ahead, a neat formation of longspearmen stood arrayed in the square, the cold gleam of their spear tips glittering in the snow. Xia Chichi, clad in dragon robes, stood in the midst of the formation, flanked by high-ranking protectors of the Four Symbols Sect.

The emperor had been standing here all along, the Four Symbols Sect fully prepared. The earlier commotion inside had been entirely staged, waiting for them to storm the palace and get stuck in a position where they couldn't deploy their formation, unable to advance or retreat.

Yeltu whirled around. Outside the palace gates, on the left and right main streets, countless Four Symbols disciples emerged from the shadows, blocking every thoroughfare.

This was a complete trap!

This new emperor had known they would launch a surprise attack. And knowing that, she hadn't set an ambush outside but had lured them all the way to the palace gates for a decisive battle?

Xia Chichi looked Yeltu up and down and sighed. "Not very interesting. I thought the Vulture Tribe would come. Vulture Hunter Tooth once wounded Changhe—I could have avenged him. But this one? I don't recognize him."

Yeltu's expression was grim. The new emperor stood there, revealing no flaw whatsoever. Such bearing, such martial skill—she was definitely not the mid-tier of the Human Roll as people believed. She was very likely at the second level of the Secret Vault, capable of the Earth Roll!

Everything was wrong!

Yeltu took a deep breath. "Where is Lu Jianzhang?"

Xia Chichi smiled faintly. "Do you think he will lead his men to support you? Regrettably, his so-called 'men' can't even get out of their own alley."

She yawned and waved her hand. "Release arrows!"

From within the spear formation, arrows rained down like a storm.

Yeltu roared, his long blade sweeping out a curtain of light to shield his men from the arrows, while shouting, "Where is the Upper God?"

Xia Chichi sighed. "Our Venerable One is watching. If you're going to fight, fight properly. What use is it to ask about this person or that?"

Yeltu felt stifled. It was as if the enemy was treating this war like child's play, while he and his men had taken it with utmost seriousness, only to be played like dogs.

He couldn't help but ask one more question: "It's clear now that your army certainly didn't go to Langya. Where is it?"

Xia Chichi sighed. "Lying in ambush in the Taihang Mountains, waiting for the Li family's reinforcements. You were too busy on the road to scout every forest, right? At most, you checked the last West Mountain? But we weren't ambushed at West Mountain… By the way, since you've already passed the mountains and sent the signal, the Li family behind you, seeing it, will assume you've scouted everything and likely won't send out scouts either. So you've done me a small favor?"

Yeltu: "..."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" A second volley of arrows fell like locusts. Xia Chichi raised her Ice Soul lightly, and the falling snow grew even colder.

At the moment Yeltu entered the city, at the other end of the capital, in Black Robe Alley—where the mansions of many high officials and nobles were clustered—a multitude of household retainers gathered under the leadership of Lu Jianzhang and other senior officials, attempting to follow Yeltu's force into the palace.

Lu Jianzhang even planned to divide his forces: "Shouyi, Yushi, lead your men to the Tang residence and tie down Chief Tang. Do you have the confidence?"

Lu Shouyi and Pei Yushi were the cream of the Lu and Pei families. Both were only on the Human Roll, but when Zhao Changhe had met Lu Shouyi in Bashu, he suspected Lu Shouyi was close to the edge of the second Secret Vault. In fact, these days, he had broken through, and Pei Yushi was similar. Besides them, the great families boasted many Human Roll experts and those near the Human Roll at the ninth level of the Profound Gate. The terrifying accumulated strength of the great clans, once united, was enough to overturn the capital.

If the Demon Suppression Division was unprepared, even overrunning it wouldn't be too hard. But merely to tie down Tang Wanzhuang—that was even more feasible.

Lu Shouyi was cautious: "Hard to say. Just tying down Chief Tang should be possible… Previously, Qin Dingjiang committed a grave crime and is imprisoned. Now the Demon Suppression Division lacks other prestigious and capable commanders. If Chief Tang is neutralized, the Division is nothing to fear."

A faint sigh came from the air: "If only your wisdom and schemes could be used against foreign tribes… How you exhaust your minds to collude with the enemy and betray your lord, leaving a stench for ten thousand years!"

The people in the alley changed color instantly. Looking up, they saw Tang Wanzhuang standing atop the wall, quietly watching them. Beside her were elite officers of the Demon Suppression Division, all with bows drawn and arrows aimed into the alley.

The snowy night was bitter cold, but Tang Wanzhuang no longer wore the thick fur coat of before. She was clad in a light, moon-white gown, as pure and beautiful as a painting.

She no longer feared the cold… But everyone present felt a chill in their hearts.