Chapter 722: The Real Trap (2/2)

Moreover, this utter defeat meant that his value to the Minister of the Right would diminish greatly. His dreams of regaining his marshal rank might very well remain a dream.

Sun Chao said nothing else. He stood up immediately and left for the airship port with his subordinates. Apparently, he was going to rush back to the imperial capital to seek imperial instructions. Wu Daoyu wanted to chase after the man, but his footsteps faltered, knowing very well that nothing he would do could change the outcome and that it would only add to his embarrassment.

Zhao Junhong arrived beside Wu Daoyu and accompanied the latter in watching Sun Chao’s receding figure. He then said in a leisurely manner, “Marshal Wu, Duke You is the one overseeing the entire battle around Indomitable. He has long since issued a strict order that whoever loses their defensive zone and allows the dark races to reach the city shall be punished by martial law. There’s less than half left of your defensive zone.”

Wu Daoyu snorted coldly. “This marshal answers to the military, there’s no need to heed Duke You’s orders.”

Zhao Junhong said indifferently, “Marshal Wu must be more familiar with the imperial martial law than I am. It’s just that if you dare resist when the time comes, the execution will extend to your nine generations.”

Wu Daoyu felt a chill creeping into his heart. Nonetheless, he wasn’t willing to allow a youngster to gain the upper hand. “If that day ever comes, I’ll make sure to drag you along.”

Zhao Junhong only smiled without making any comment. “Oh right, since the military has been tasked with hunting down the vampire Qianye, I must remind you to dispatch a sufficient number of experts. Otherwise, where will you hide your face if they all get wiped out? And where will the Minister of the Right hide his face?”

Wu Daoyu was startled. “How much do you know?”

Zhao Junhong laughed out loud. “How can I know anything? The place Qianye charged into was the military stronghold, you should know more than I do. Marshal Wu, take care!”

Wu Daoyu didn’t act up as he usually would as the scene of Li Fengshui’s corpse floated into his eyes.

The latter’s body was full of blood and his organs had been crushed to smithereens. Although the man was already wounded beforehand, only he himself knew the degree of his injury. This officer of the Fifth Central Command was extremely crafty and it was difficult to tell if his movements were fake or real. No one could say for sure if he was truly ever wounded.

If Li Fengshui was only lightly injured, and Qianye had managed to kill him despite the hostage situation, that would mean the vampire fugitive’s combat strength was fairly terrifying. Then, recalling how Qianye had actually escaped from right under his nose, Wu Daoyu’s expression grew ever more serious.

If he dispatched too few experts, it would be equal to sending them to their deaths. If he arranged for a lineup that was sure to win, it would drastically reduce his fighting power in Indomitable. If he were to somehow lose the defense line, the Zhao clan would surely cause trouble for him. Without a doubt, he would lose a layer of skin even if he managed to survive the ordeal.

He was now stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea with no good plan in mind.

At this point, Prince Rui walked over and said to Zhao Junhong, “You’ve grown up so much during this time. When I met you for the first time, you were still being breastfed, haha! Come, accompany for a drink.”

Zhao Junhong replied, “How can I refuse your excellency’s invitation?”

Seeing Prince Rui and Zhao Junhong leaving together, how could Wu Daoyu not know that the Ancestral Fortune Palace was here for the Zhao clan? He had made ample calculations but never expected that Qianye would be able to escape from right under his nose. Additionally, Zhao Jundu had seized this opportunity to pin the responsibility on him.

Suppressing Qianye was fine, but it was different for Zhao Jundu. Even the Minister of the Right himself wouldn’t be able to do anything against this Zhao clan young master in the current case.

A great plan was utterly defeated just like that. After much thought, the key factor lay in the imperial family’s change in attitude. Wu Daoyu gave it some deeper thought and realized that the imperial family had tipped the scales merely by dispatching the Ancestral Fortune Palace and a single Prince Rui. The thought of this caused the old man to feel a bone-deep chill from the night breeze.

…

In a side-room within the Wei clan mansion, Wei Potian was bundled up in a cape and sleeping soundly. This chamber was shabby and cold, with no furnishings except for a table and some chairs, not even a stove for the depths of the cold night. There was a teapot and a crude porcelain cup sitting on the table, and the tea within the latter was already starting to frost over.

Such a crude environment was, of course, not the Wei clan heir’s bedroom but where he was kept under house arrest. He was only allowed to leave three times a day to visit the toilet and stretch his limbs.

The night was indeed chilly, but it could do little against the Thousand Mountains cultivator, Wei Potian. Wrapped in whatever he could find, the Wei clan heir was snoring as loud as a thunderstorm. Even the two tremors that alarmed the entire city of Indomitable couldn’t wake him up. It almost seemed like the man was determined to sleep until sunrise even if someone were shouting in his ears.

The doors to the room creaked open at this point and a mysterious silhouette flickered inside. The guards outside the door sensed nothing—they yawned repeatedly and soon fell asleep against a corner of the wall.

That shadow arrived beside Wei Potian’s bed and shook him. “Wake up.” Previous ChapterNext Chapte