Chapter 1505: Heaven and Earth Made for Each Other

The Second Prince's face twitched. Duan Tianchou was a complete neurotic and pervert, unbearable even to himself. However, he was an incredibly sharp blade; if used skillfully, he would be a nightmare for any enemy.

At this moment, Hei Chifei's soldiers realized what had happened, and a commotion immediately broke out. They scattered and fled in all directions. Even the few trusted generals from the Hei Chi family who tried their best to stop them failed, eventually joining the others in fleeing.

Unfortunately, the Second Prince wouldn't let them escape. Soon, his soldiers took out their powerful crossbows and shot down those who ran to the front. Then, at an opportune moment, they offered terms of surrender, and those remaining laid down their weapons. After executing all of the Crown Prince's direct lineage and loyalists, integrating the rest was simple. As for how to identify the Crown Prince's die-hard loyalists, it was a simple matter: make them inform on each other. This not only dismantled any possibility of their unity but also sowed seeds of hatred, ensuring they could never return to their former ways. This was human nature.

The group continued towards the Imperial Palace. Not far from the palace, they encountered another contingent heading in the same direction. The Second Prince recognized the leaders of the opposing group: Grand Secretary Wufa and Prince Anyi Wupei. Wufa and Wupei also saw the Second Prince and were equally astonished, exclaiming the same words as Hei Chifei: "How is it you!"

After dealing with the Fourth Prince, they had suddenly noticed unusual activity near the Imperial Palace. After some deliberation, they decided to check on the palace first. In their view, the Crown Prince's forces were more than sufficient to handle the Second Prince. Instead, they feared a potential mishap at the palace; if the Second Prince or other ambitious figures attacked and seized the Crown Prince's base, it would become a much larger problem. Thus, they had decided to come here first for support. Little did they know, they would encounter the Second Prince's main forces here.

"Why couldn't it be me?" The Second Prince repeated the same words without any weariness, but rather with a sense of enjoyment. Wufa had always been at odds with him, often undermining him in court in previous years, leading to him being punished by the Emperor on several occasions. With such an excellent opportunity today, he naturally wanted to savor Wufa's panic, regret, fear, and disgraceful pleas for mercy.

"Were you waiting for them?" The Second Prince once again ordered his subordinates to bring out the bodies of the Crown Prince and others. As expected, the opposing camp erupted in an uproar, and many turned pale with fear. Wufa and Wupei also looked ashen. Wupei immediately went limp, but Wufa remained relatively calm. He didn't flee like Hei Chifei but stayed put, scanning the Second Prince's side before his gaze settled on the two individuals beside him.

"Lou Chen, Xue Han? So it was you who tipped them off. No wonder the Crown Prince failed." Wufa's voice was full of resentment. Lou Chen and Xue Han were both palace eunuchs, holding the rank of Grand Constant Attendant, essentially confidential secretaries to the Demon Emperor. Technically, Wufa was their superior, but as an external minister and they being internal palace attendants, there wasn't strong direct control between them in many situations. Xue Han's expression was somewhat unnatural, while Lou Chen sneered directly: "As the saying goes, 'Good birds choose a tree to roost in, and capable ministers choose a master to serve.' You treated us like dogs, so naturally, I returned the favor like a dog. The Second Prince treated us as national scholars, so naturally, we repay him as national scholars. This is only right and proper."

Wufa burst into laughter: "Two eunuchs dreaming of being national scholars! That's utterly ridiculous!" Lou Chen and Xue Han's faces instantly flushed red. They shrieked curses: "You dog! May you die a terrible death!"

Wufa's face darkened, and he said grimly: "What good is mere cursing? How about we settle this with a fight?"

"You're a cornered beast now, wanting to challenge us. Are you even qualified?" the two Grand Constant Attendants retorted.

"You're asking for death!" Wufa roared in fury and lunged directly at the two of them. The two eunuchs' expressions changed, and they instinctively recoiled. While neither of them matched Wufa in cultivation, together they were not entirely without the ability to fight him. But with victory already in their grasp, why would they risk a duel with him? They were already envisioning a future of power and glory, their lives too precious to be staked against a worthless one.

As the two eunuchs retreated, the Second Prince's formation became somewhat chaotic. After all, Wufa was lunging at the eunuchs, and others didn't want to step in to block for them. Just then, Wufa's figure suddenly swerved ninety degrees and charged directly at the Second Prince. It turned out he knew that given their past grievances, the Second Prince would never spare him. So, from the start, he had abandoned any thought of fleeing or begging for mercy, deciding instead to try 'capturing the king to capture the bandits,' hoping for a slim chance of survival.

However, the Second Prince's face showed no trace of panic; instead, a hint of mockery played on his lips. Wufa's heart sank, and he felt a mix of shock and uncertainty. Had the other party anticipated his plan all along? Unfortunately, the arrow was already on the string and had to be loosed. Immediately after, he saw a slender black sword. Then, he saw his own back.

"My back?" Then, his vision turned completely red, and he lost all consciousness.

Watching Duan Tianchou's excited gleam as he licked blood from his sword, the Second Prince frowned. Even though Duan Tianchou used a slender sword, he wielded it like a great saber, always decapitating his opponents and never leaving anyone alive. The Second Prince had originally intended to capture Wufa alive and slowly torture him, believing it would be very satisfying to watch his former adversary wail in agony at his feet. Unfortunately, Duan Tianchou had taken that pleasure for himself, preventing the Prince from enjoying it.

Seeing Wufa die instantly like that, Prince Anyi Wupei, the other leader from the Crown Prince's side, felt his legs give way and promptly knelt: "I was merely coerced by the Crown Prince before. I am willing to pledge allegiance to the Second Prince!" The Second Prince nodded in satisfaction. Now was the time for gathering talent, and the more people who defected to him, the better. After gaining complete control of the royal court in the future, he could slowly eliminate dissenters. With Wupei's surrender, the other Golden Crow Guards also defected, and the Second Prince easily incorporated them. Watching his forces grow stronger by the day, the Second Prince felt a surge of ambition. Although he had suffered heavy losses in his conflict with the Crown Prince, absorbing so many surrendered soldiers had not only prevented a decrease in strength but actually increased it. It seemed he was truly the Son of Heaven.

They soon arrived at the Imperial Palace gates. The imagined chaos was nowhere to be found. Instead, the palace gates were tightly shut, and the soldiers guarding them were on high alert, their defenses seemingly impenetrable. Seeing this, the Second Prince frowned, and a few shadows crossed his mind.

Wupei, having just surrendered, wanted to prove himself to his new master. So, he volunteered: "Many of these palace guards are my subordinates or old acquaintances. I'll go and tell them to open the gates." As one of the five grand commanders of the Golden Crow Guard, he indeed had the authority to say such a thing. The Second Prince nodded slightly. A peaceful resolution was always preferable, to avoid the bad optics of attacking the Imperial Palace.

However, no sooner had Wupei approached the palace gate and spoken a few words than he was shot back by a volley of arrows. If he hadn't run fast enough, he would likely have been riddled with arrows on the spot. Pulling arrows from his buttocks, he explained to the Second Prince with a mournful face: "These guys are acting strangely. They usually listen to me. Shall I try again?"

The Second Prince pushed him aside and gestured for his subordinates to bring forward the bodies of the Crown Prince and others. His men shouted: "The Crown Prince has been executed! Everyone, do not make futile resistance. Our Second Prince is magnanimous and will not hold your past actions against you. After he ascends the throne, he will bestow rewards upon you all!"

At that moment, a cold voice came from above the palace gate: "The Old Demon Emperor passed the throne to the Little Prince on his deathbed. Is the Second Prince attempting rebellion?"

"Passed the throne to the Little Prince?" The Second Prince was slightly taken aback, then laughed. "Who is making such a joke?" His other subordinates also burst into laughter. The Little Prince was still so young; he had only just been weaned. How could he become the Demon Emperor?

"Audacious!" A furious roar, filled with supreme deterrent power, spread out, instantly silencing the laughter of the vast army. Many even felt a palpitation in their hearts and, for a moment, dared not jest further.

The Second Prince's expression changed, and he stared intently at a figure on the palace gate. His various masters also looked up gravely; such a level of skill clearly indicated a formidable individual.

"Huh, aren't you... Zu An?" The Second Prince was somewhat surprised. Because of his feud with the Crown Prince and his romantic entanglement with Queen Medusa, the other party was considered a prominent figure in the royal court. Although he had once changed his name, how could he hide from the intelligence networks of these top figures?

"And the Little Demon Empress!" Many sharp-eyed individuals spotted the Little Demon Empress in her phoenix robes, noble and radiant. Against the backdrop of the Imperial Palace and the firelight, she possessed an inexplicable, captivating beauty. The Second Prince frowned. This young and beautiful stepmother possessed a forbidden allure. However, as she was his father's woman, he only dared to think about her occasionally in private. Yet, she now stood somewhat dependently beside Zu An, making them appear like a match made in heaven. This caused a surge of unholy desire to rise within him.

Rage points from the Second Prince: 288,288,288...