World's First Traitor System (395)

Chapter 395 - Loose Ends

Atop Peng City’s gatehouse, due to the excessive use of the ballistae, the air hung thick with smoke.

The battlefield below was a wasteland of shattered and smoldering mechanical beasts. A few, perhaps a dozen, had reached the city walls, leaving deep gouges in the stone, but none had breached the defenses.

Peng City, the capital of Great Chu, stood unscathed. The Later Jin’s ten thousand mechanical behemoths had been utterly annihilated.

The battle had cost the Chu army dearly. Six thousand ballistae, almost ninety percent, were wrecked, having fired 1.2 million fire-tipped bolts, an average of 200 per ballista. Of the two hundred thousand garrison troops, over eight thousand suffered injuries from exhaustion and overexertion, but not a single life was lost.

“Is… is that it?” Xiang Chong stammered while gazing upon the devastation.

They had won? So easily?

He suddenly realized, with a few ballistae and a million bolts, even he could have achieved such a victory.

‘Fan Li did nothing special! I could have done the same! If… if I controlled the kingdom’s wealth, if the Fan Clan Trading Company belonged to me… I would be the hero of this battle, not him!’

Resentment, not gratitude, filled his heart. He believed any Emperor, with access to the resources Fan Li commanded, could have achieved the same result. That wealth, that power, should have been his!

‘Fan Li… he must die! The Fan Clan eradicated! I will reclaim what is rightfully mine!’

As if in answer to his vengeful thoughts, something stirred amongst the wreckage. A clicking sound, like gears grinding, then a section of the debris collapsed, revealing a massive form hidden within.

A roar, deafening and filled with rage, shook the very foundations of the city.

A mechanical beast, less than one hundred paces from the walls, sprang from the wreckage. It had feigned destruction, waiting for the barrage to end, hiding beneath the bodies of its fallen comrades. With astonishing speed, it lunged towards the gatehouse towards Fan Li with its massive claws aimed at his head.

Xiang Chong was ecstatic. ‘Yes! Kill him! Tear him apart!’ He silently prayed for Fan Li’s demise while quickly retreating to a safe distance. ‘Let him die! I will rule Great Chu!’

His gleeful thoughts, however, were interrupted by a flash of silver. A figure in gleaming armor, stepped before Fan Li, the Sky Piercing Halberd held aloft. With a single, sweeping motion, Fan Chun deflected the beast’s attack. The mechanical giant’ momentum was broken. It stumbled backwards until it crashed against the city walls, sending a shower of rubble and dust raining down.

“Protect me!”

Xiang Chong shriek turned into terror as the beast toppled towards him. Even if it were deactivated, its sheer weight would crush him. He was about to die!

Fan Li frowned. He wanted to help, but it was too late.

“Don’t worry, Brother,” Fan Chun whispered, “he’s a Nascent Soul cultivator. He won’t die. But his attitude towards the three ladies… it was disgusting. He deserves a… lesson.”

Fan Li stared at his brother. So, it wasn't about protecting him? It was about the courtesans? A thought flickered in his mind. Was this the beginning of a romance?

Xiang Chong, however, survived. Just as the beast was about to crush him, an unseen force lifted it into the air, hovering a mere pace above his cowering form.

“Fear not, Emperor of Chu. I am here.”

The voice, regal and filled with authority, belonged to a woman. Empress Yao Guang. As her words faded, the mechanical beast shuddered, its metallic frame creaking and groaning, then, with a sickening crunch, it imploded, collapsing into a heap of scrap metal.

“Your Majesty!”

Xiang Chong scrambled to his feet, his terror got replaced by relief.

“You saved me! Thank you! Thank you!”

He fell to his knees, his hands raised above his head in supplication. The Emperor of Great Chu, before his own officials and soldiers, groveled before the ruler of another kingdom.

The garrison troops’ gazes hardened. The officials’ faces burned with shame. They had never felt such contempt for their Emperor.

Yao Guang descended, her dragon robes billowed around her. She glanced at the prostrate Xiang Chong and smiled. With a casual wave of her hand, she plucked six or seven more hidden mechanical beasts from the wreckage, they twisted and contorted in her grasp.

“Fan Li!” Xiang Chong shouted, emboldened by Yao Guang’s presence. “Your incompetence is appalling! You allowed these beasts to remain hidden, endangering my life!”

Fan Li ignored him. Fan Chun, however, couldn't contain his anger. “Your Majesty, after a battle, it is customary to…” He began to explain the necessity of clearing the battlefield, but a powerful force silenced him. He looked up, his face flushed, his gaze fixed on Yao Guang. She glanced at him coldly then looked away.

Fan Li, remained unaffected. “Empress Yao Guang,” he said coldly, “have you come to aid your ally, or to capitalize on our misfortune?” He spoke bluntly, his words resounded through the silent gatehouse.

Yao Guang, though ambitious, valued her reputation. She couldn't afford to alienate the people of Chu.

“Hahaha!”

She laughed. As her laughter faded, Fan Chun gasped, the pressure that had silenced him lifted. He drew a deep breath, as if he had been drowning.

Yao Guang said smoothly, “I heard of Great Chu’s troubles. As leader of the Five Kingdoms Alliance, it is my duty to assist my allies. I arrived just in time, it seems, to rescue His Majesty. Have I erred?”

Her words were skillfully crafted. She subtly positioned herself as the leader, the savior, reminding everyone present of her timely intervention.