Wu Hao took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, “Thanks to Friend Chen returning in time, otherwise I might have truly fallen for Liu Kun’s treacherous scheme. What should we do now? The princess is still in his hands, and there may be his ambushes in the Divine Capital.”
“Sovereign, the urgent matter is to return to the Divine Capital immediately and take control of the situation.”
Chen Ping said, “Since Liu Kun has planned all this, he must have laid contingency plans in the Divine Capital. If we delay our return, he is very likely to seize control of the Divine Capital in the meantime. As for the princess, we can first send people to secretly investigate her whereabouts, then find a way to rescue her.”
Wu Hao nodded, “Good! We’ll do as Friend Chen says! Pass down the order, turn around immediately and return to the Divine Capital!”
The imperial guards dared not delay, immediately turned their horses around and galloped towards the north gate of the Divine Capital.
Chen Ping and Zi Yuan followed beside Wu Hao, remaining vigilant of the surroundings at all times.
Before long, the north gate of the Divine Capital was already in sight.
However, when the group approached the north gate, they found the north gate tightly closed, with the city walls filled with soldiers from the State-Suppressing Legion, led by none other than Liu Kun’s trusted deputy general.
“The Sovereign has returned! Open the city gate quickly!” the imperial guard commander Ao Lie shouted loudly.
The deputy general on the city wall sneered, “Sovereign? Now the Divine Capital is under the control of Lord Prime Minister. Without Lord Prime Minister’s order, no one is allowed to enter the city!”
“What?”
Wu Hao’s face changed drastically, “Liu Kun dares to betray me!”
“Sovereign, at this point, are you still deluded?”
The deputy general said, “Lord Prime Minister is destined by heaven, and sooner or later he will control the entire Sixth Heaven. You had better surrender obediently. Lord Prime Minister might still spare your life!”
“Nonsense!”
Wu Hao roared in anger, “Liu Kun has wolfish ambitions, betraying the Divine Kingdom, and everyone has the right to punish him! If you are sensible, open the city gate immediately and surrender with your hands tied, otherwise don’t blame me for being impolite!”
“Impolite?”
The deputy general scoffed, “Sovereign, do you think you still have a chance? The State-Suppressing Legion has already controlled all the city gates and key departments of the Divine Capital. The imperial guards are no match for us at all. If you’re sensible, surrender obediently, otherwise we won’t be polite!”
Wu Hao trembled with rage and was about to order a forced attack on the city gate.
Chen Ping quickly stopped him, “Sovereign, do not act impulsively. The State-Suppressing Legion occupies the advantageous terrain, a forced attack will only cause unnecessary casualties. It would be better for us to first retreat to a nearby town, muster troops, and then plan to retake the Divine Capital.”
Wu Hao also knew that Chen Ping was right and could only suppress the anger in his heart, “Good! We’ll retreat first! Liu Kun, I will avenge this grudge!”
At that moment, the deputy general on the city wall suddenly ordered, “Release the arrows!”
Countless arrows shot towards the imperial guards, who quickly formed protective shields around themselves.
Chen Ping and Zi Yuan immediately protected Wu Hao by his side, circulating their spiritual energy to block the arrows aimed at Wu Hao.
“Withdraw!” Wu Hao shouted loudly.
The imperial guards fought while retreating, fleeing towards a distant town.
The soldiers of the State-Suppressing Legion on the city wall, seeing this, did not pursue but simply closed the city gate again and strengthened their vigilance.
After Wu Hao led the imperial guards to retreat to a town called Qingfeng Town, they finally stopped.
At this time, his face was so gloomy that it seemed water could drip from it.
The Divine Capital was occupied, the princess was abducted, Liu Kun rebelled, a series of changes left him overwhelmed.
“Friend Chen, what should we do now?” Wu Hao looked at Chen Ping, his eyes filled with expectation.
Chen Ping pondered, “Sovereign, although Liu Kun controls the Divine Capital, his rebellion is unpopular, and there must be many in the State-Suppressing Legion who are unwilling to follow him.
Moreover, once his conspiracy of kidnapping the princess and plotting for the Sacrificial Treasure Canon spreads, it will inevitably arouse dissatisfaction among the people of the Divine Capital and other forces.
What we need to do most now is to stabilise the morale of the troops, contact forces loyal to the Divine Kingdom, and then wait for the opportunity to retake the Divine Capital.”
