800 Wholeheartedly (1/2)

Azheba had only decided to kill Ye Chuo at the very last moment. In his heart, there were several reasons to do so, but none of them were convincing enough until then.

No matter what, his foremost goal was to rescue Liman.

”Liman doesn't deserve to die.” Azheba first ordered the 500 panic-stricken Norland cavalrymen to remain where they were, and then he rode to the Dragon King to great him. ”He has many opinions, but he's only loyal to His Highness, though he's also been honest with you this whole time. Dragon King, if you die, nobody can save him.”

”What about that one?” Gu Shenwei pointed at the corpse in the distance.

”There're crafty sycophants groveling at every king's feet. I've never liked Ye Chuo. He was the one who sent the bandits to burn the provisions. He was also the one that plotted to assassinate you, Dragon King.”

”So Prince Duodun's declaring war on me. Are you doing this because you still want our alliance to last?”

As weird as it sounded, that was exactly what Azheba was hoping for. ”As far as I know, the Dragon King's not an impulsive person. In the Royal Court, despite the fact that King Rizhu betrayed you several times, you still maintained your alliance with him throughout all that.”

”King Rizhu's dead,” Gu Shenwei retorted. As an ”ally,” he had watched King Rizhu be assassinated without making any efforts to save him.

”I know.” Azheba was not naive and he knew that his hopes of the Dragon King and Duodun remaining allies were merely a farfetched wish. ”The Dragon King and His Highness are not objectively opposed enemies. The king of the grasslands and the king of the Western Regions can coexist in mutual non-interference even if they don't fight enemies side by side.”

Gu Shenwei still felt that Azheba was being a bit naïve. ”Okay, then. You have my word that as long as Prince Duodun stops plotting against me, I'll keep my end of the alliance.”

”And there's also Liman.”

Shangguan Yun had been watching on from the side the whole time. At this point, he smiled and interjected to say, ”As long as the Dragon King is alive, Prince Duodun won't be able to retrieve the 100,000 plus Norland troops anytime soon. Without a powerful army, why would he kill Liman and make an enemy out of the Naihang Tribe?”

Azheba let out a laugh, nodded his head in respect for the Dragon King, and then turned his horse to return to his contingent.

Gazing at the Norlander's retreating figure, Shangguan Yun shook his head. ”Azheba's always been a sober man. Today, why did he… He's digging a grave for himself.”

”This is not his first time doing something similar,” Gu Shenwei replied. Back then in the Royal Court, Azheba had once stubbornly insisted on convincing the Court Attendants Army to give up their obsessive belief in the Khan.

Shangguan Yun knew what the Dragon King was referring to. He laughed and replied, ”I kind of like him, and I hope that Duodun isn't stupid enough to impulsively kill him on a whim. This kind of subordinate is very rare. Duodun should cherish him since he has him.”

Long Fanyun and the reinforcements finally arrived. These were the Dragon King's guard troops, and they started blowing bugles and cheering even when they were still far away.

Gu Shenwei turned around. He had been vigilant and concerned ever since he had entered the Norland, but now he could finally lower down his guard a little. This was the army that truly belonged to him, and to some extent, it could even make up for the loss of Lotus.

Han Fen liked uproarious occasions, so she also started cheering. After a while, a question occurred to her. ”What's a crafty sycophant?”

Shangguan Yun pretended to also be contemplating the same question as he answered, ”Well, a crafty sycophant is someone that a king likes unconditionally… Just like you – the Dragon King captured you, but didn't kill you, which means that he obviously likes you.”

”I'm the Dragon King's crafty sycophant?”

”Mmm, you are.”

”I'm an idler as well as a crafty sycophant?”

”Mm, that's who you are.”

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Upon hearing the distant bugle sounds and cheers, Azheba became more and more uncertain of his decision and was actually now a little regretful about that arrow he had shot. It wouldn't have been easy to mob the Dragon King, but it was also not a completely impossible task. And most importantly, he had no right to decide whether the Dragon King was an ally or an enemy. This meant that what he had done was almost equivalent to outright betrayal.

It was already midnight by the time he returned to Heaven's Pass, and when he finally arrived, there was a team waiting for him at the city gate, torches in their hands.

Seeing the leather bag on the back of the horse, Shangguan Ru felt chills run through her heart. She had faith in the Dragon King, but fear nonetheless involuntarily surfaced in her throughts.

Azheba gave bland a nod in acknowledgement. ”The Dragon King's alive.” Then he rode forward into the city. He wasn't supposed to tell anybody anything before first meeting with Prince Duodun.

The moment the city gate closed behind him, Azheba felt a sudden shock in the heart. He suddenly realized that what he had done was indeed a ”betrayal” of a certain kind, and that the reason for this was neither the Dragon King nor Liman, but rather that woman beside the city gate.

Bathed in the light of the torches, that look in Shangguan Ru's eyes was something he had never seen before – it was an intense look composed of anger, anxiety and desperation, and each emotion was so intense that the owner of this look had forgotten herself.

Upon hearing the words ”The Dragon King's alive,” Shangguan Ru was so relieved that hse didn't even greet Azheba.

Azheba felt heart-broken, yet also proud of himself. The Dragon King mustn't die, he thought. Because the Dragon King's the man she loves, then as long as the Dragon King's alive, she won't be forced to marry anyone else.

He had once been ordered to persuade her into marrying Duodun, but in reality, he didn't mean the words he had spoken. It was not until now that he discovered what he truly desired.

Due to these thoughts, Azheba entered the camp with a guilty conscience. He walked into the tent, knelt down on his knees, and raised the head in the leather bag.

There was still a look of horror etched into Ye Chuo's face.

”You failed to catch up with the Dragon King?” Duodun couldn't believe it.

”We did, but the Dragon King's reinforcements had also arrived. After weighing the pros and cons, I believed that killing Ye Chuo might serve your will and interests better.”