Truly hundreds of people—not just from the vicinity of West Gate City, but many more—had been forcibly escorted by Zong Shou from across the three provinces of Huanlong. Their expressions varied greatly: some overjoyed, some solemn, some resentful, others deeply deferential.

Even their treatment differed. Some were seated beneath meticulously arranged heated tents, served by braziers close at hand. Others were left to stand alone, solitary figures in the snow.

Ren Bo looked further, his gaze sweeping toward the city walls. There, facing the fortifications, stood rows upon rows of wooden stakes. One stake was placed every twenty paces, and atop each hung a corpse. Over thirty thousand bodies, men and women alike, frozen stiff in the frigid air. The sight alone sent a chill deep into the bone.

The most conspicuous figure was Yue Guanyun, the Lord of Taoyun City, positioned right at the forefront. The rest, Ren Bo surmised, were from the traitorous cities. He had heard on the road that unlike Zong Shou’s previous campaigns across the three provinces of Huanlongtianfang and Xipin, where he had treated those who surrendered—willingly or otherwise—with considerable leniency, his methods against these outright rebel cities had been brutal to the extreme.

He had almost never accepted surrender. From the city lords down to their trusted subordinates, every single one had been executed, their entire families nearly wiped out.

Ren Bo felt a pang of unease, yet he understood that Zong Shou’s actions were, in essence, without flaw.

But he also acutely noticed that most of the individuals impaled on those wooden racks were over the age of sixteen.

Ren Bo permitted himself a slight smile, drawing his gaze back. “My Lord, you seem somewhat harsh with these City State rulers? I recall when the former Monarch governed, he treated all the city lords as brothers, never allowing them to lose face in public. Yet, in private, he practiced clear favoritism. Rewarding the close and loyal vassals generously, while maintaining strict discipline through reward and punishment—this method could certainly be used to pull them apart and win their allegiance…”

“Is that so?”

Zong Shou instantly realized that, compared to Zong Weiran, his own methods were somewhat unsophisticated.

However, the art of kingship was something he genuinely did not understand. Though he had spent some time navigating the marketplace previously, he had commanded only a handful of underlings before his nascent success was suppressed.

But Zong Shou quickly dismissed the thought. In any case, he didn’t care much for these people, nor did he have the patience or mental energy for such subtle maneuvering. Directness was better.

He immediately cut to the chase. “Prime Minister, you have traveled a thousand li. Has the matter in Hong City reached a resolution? And what profit have I accrued from this endeavor?”

“Calculated according to the agreed one-half share, Your Majesty’s earnings amount to two million Rank Four Beast Cores! This does not yet include the materials contained within the two spatial bags you possess—”

Ren Bo was straightforward, handing over several sheets of cured animal hide. “Here is the manifest. And this is the estimated budget, as you requested, for the Beast Cores Qiantian Mountain will likely require next year.”

Before the fleet had set sail that day, he certainly had not anticipated the proceeds from this Cloud Sea Hunt would be so colossal. Had he known, he would have squeezed them for more.

Zong Shou’s lips twitched. Ren Bo, as expected, was still trying to draw money from his coffers. A true treacherous minister.

“Prime Minister, what about the eight hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows I purchased on Spirit Communication Island? How do you not account for this additional investment?”

Seeing Ren Bo offer a knowing, half-smile without answering, Zong Shou’s breath hitched. For the first time facing this veteran official, he felt thoroughly outmaneuvered. He bypassed the issue and turned his attention to the ‘budget’ Ren Bo had prepared.

The first item to catch his eye was the ‘loan’ from his side, which had been slashed by a full fifty percent. The reasoning, provided adequately, was that Qiantian Mountain’s current finances were sufficient to bear the burden.

Zong Shou’s eyelid twitched. He forcibly suppressed the urge to dismiss Ren Bo on the spot and continued reading.

Then, with a contemplative air, he murmured, “Prime Minister, this budget seems rather peculiar! Calculated this way, the majority of the Beast Cores and Soul Stones will end up in the hands of the Martial Cultivators and Spirit Masters within the city.”

Ren Bo bowed slightly upon hearing this. “Precisely, My Lord! Ren Bo has considered this carefully. If too many Beast Cores and Soul Stones flood the market, it will only lead to massive devaluation, shrinking the wealth of the citizens within the city. Therefore, I carefully concluded it is best to ensure these items are consumed sooner rather than later.”

Zong Shou’s eyes brightened, and nine-tenths of his previous anger vanished instantly. In this era, few understood that an excess of currency would devalue the wealth of the populace.

Though he was dissatisfied with Ren Bo’s stinginess, the minister was, grudgingly, still usable. He examined the document further and noted that the Iron Steel Hall was already more than half-completed.

“Excellent! This aligns perfectly with my intent!”

As he spoke, Zong Shou saw a troop of knights galloping toward them in the distance. The man leading them was Zong Yuan. He dismounted and saluted, “My Lord, Xie Rong refuses to yield!”

Zong Shou’s brow instantly furrowed, a hint of coldness appearing. “Did you tell them I spared the offspring under sixteen?”

Seeing Zong Yuan fall silent, Zong Shou understood immediately, and then coldly scoffed, “Since he insists on perishing with his city, then we shall oblige him. Bring out the Yuan Mie Crossbows.”

Ren Bo’s expression shifted slightly as he looked toward the front lines. There, several hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows were being pushed forward, aimed in the direction of West Gate City. The twenty thousand troops also let out waves of cheering.

Ren Bo knew Zong Shou always kept the Yuan Mie Crossbows stored in his spatial bag for campaigning. Yet, they had been used very few times in total. Crushing the three provinces and routing the armies had mostly occurred in open battle. The Yuan Mie Crossbows were inconvenient to fire, difficult to deploy, and far too costly in consumption; they had seen little action. It seemed Zong Shou intended to use them here, as a final show of force to awe the assembled cities.

But remembering that a single volley required the expenditure of eight hundred Rank Six Beast Cores—nearly one-third of the previous year’s entire revenue—Ren Bo felt a sharp sting of financial pain. “My Lord, though the Yuan Mie Crossbows are effective, their consumption is too immense. It would be best to use them sparingly in the future.”

Zong Shou glanced at him, then shook his head. “I believe the lives of my subordinates are far more valuable than these inanimate objects. Xie Rong is determined to die; he’s broken his pot and doesn’t care about the shards. There is no need to risk our men’s lives against him—”

At these words, the many guards surrounding the imperial carriage were deeply moved, their faces flushing with emotion. They felt that following such a sovereign, they would gladly die in service.

Ren Bo also paused, then offered an approving smile, looking into the distance. Moments later, the eight hundred Yuan Mie Crossbows began the process of charging their mechanisms.

But in the next instant, the city gates suddenly burst open. Led by Xie Rong, a contingent of West Gate City generals walked out, their faces ashen, moving on foot.

Hu Zhongyuan let out a cold sneer, commanding a group of knights to gallop forward. In moments, they roughly escorted the procession back to the front of the hill, forcing them to kneel one by one.

Then Chai Zhou, astride his horse and holding his axe horizontally, rode up before Xie Rong and demanded coldly, “Do you remember what you said back on Spirit Communication Island?”

Xie Rong’s face was ashen, and he remained silent. Chai Zhou did not become angry.

“You said the Monarch was young and incompetent, incapable of winning your loyalty, and you didn’t believe he could lead you to hunt beneath the Cloud Sea. Therefore, you could not refuse the invitation of Yue Guanyun, and joining the banner of Taoyun City was the greatest fortune of your life—”

Upon reaching this point, Chai Zhou’s face was filled with mocking coldness. “And now? Are you willing to repeat those words?”

Xie Rong remained silent. How things stood now hardly required his verbal confirmation.

Four thousand Cloud Ships had been shattered and sunk beneath the Cloud Sea. Meanwhile, Qiantian Mountain, which he had dismissed, had returned laden with spoils. Even Yue Guanyun had been cut in half, meeting a gruesome end.

Of his domain across the four provinces, only one now remained, barely clinging to life.

In truth, regret had begun to surface twenty days prior. Why had he acted as he did back then?

After escaping back here through immense hardship, he had indeed entertained the thought of abandoning the city and fleeing. But ultimately, the glimmer of false hope prevailed. By the time he realized the situation was dire—as Zong Shou swept through the three provinces of Huanlong—it was already too late to escape.

As a soft sigh escaped his lips, Xie Rong saw a flash of brilliant axe light. An icy cold sensation instantly touched his neck, and in the next moment, his head was thrown high into the air. His vision tumbled wildly until he could see nothing else.

Zong Shou, at this point, had abandoned the luxurious carriage and rode a Rank Four war steed to the front of the hill.

He watched as Xie Rong and the entire cadre of West Gate City generals were forced down and beheaded one by one.

Zong Shou’s eyelids trembled slightly, then he turned to look behind him, at the gathered Lords of the various cities.

“Have you all seen this scene clearly?”

Those who had been situated in the warm tents also emerged. Newcomers and veterans alike stood on the damp, cold earth, their expressions utterly respectful.

Whether feeling awe, respect, resentment, or fear, every single person held their breath, not daring to exhale loudly in Zong Shou’s presence.

“—I am different from my father. My father treated you all too kindly, like brothers. Zong Shou does not have that much patience. Today, with the Heavens as witness, I inform all of you: If any of your cities dare harbor dissenting thoughts again, Zong Shou will surely butcher your city and extinguish your nation! Consider these words as a solemn warning—do not claim I spoke without forethought—”

After speaking, he let out a light laugh, did not return to his carriage, and simply spurred his horse forward, riding away into the distance.

The twenty thousand elite troops of Qiantian Mountain deployed outside the city were left unattended. Only Zong Yuan soon organized a cavalry force of two thousand men and rode after Zong Shou.

Dust billowed high, and after a long time, the area around this small hill finally returned to silence.

Only after Zong Shou and the contingent of elite cavalry were far out of sight did the people gathered on the small hill finally raise their heads. They exchanged complicated glances before dispersing in small groups of three or five, chatting as they left.

They largely divided into two factions. One group consisted of the rulers of the City States originally under Qiantian Mountain’s banner. They appeared relaxed; though they felt a chill from the annihilation of West Gate City, experiencing a sense of collective sorrow for the fallen, they were fundamentally bound to Qiantian Mountain’s prosperity and loss. Consequently, they were mostly relieved, even glad.

The other group, those from the three provinces of Huanlong, Tianfang, and Xiping, looked visibly pale.

A slender middle-aged man stood among them. He was about seven and a half chi tall, wearing a long sword at his waist and Confucian robes.

Many familiar faces surrounded him. Knowing him to be Zidonglai, the City Lord of Yuanglong City in Tianfang Province, several people converged around him.

Zidonglai ignored them all, however. He stared fixedly in the direction Zong Shou had ridden away. (To be continued)