However, the current scene was deeply unsettling.
Gu Xuanji said, "Observe and wait for my command before acting."
"Yes!" Yan Jing acknowledged.
Subsequently, the army remained stationed before the Great Zhou Capital.
One breath. Two breaths. A quarter of an hour. Half an hour... An hour passed, yet the city before them remained utterly still.
Gu Xuanji’s eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly raised his hand, about to order the attack, when a deep, chilling laugh suddenly echoed through the void.
"Soone’s here!" one soldier exclaid.
Shen Changqing looked towards the Capital City’s walls. At so point, a figure in a black imperial robe, his face cold and grim, had appeared there.
"Emperor Qin, we et again!" Emperor Zhou surveyed the army below, a faint, unwavering smile on his lips. To others, however, this smile seed chillingly eerie.
"Indeed, it has been a long ti," Gu Xuanji replied to the man on the wall, his expression unchanged. "I just didn’t expect that the once formidable Emperor Zhou would end up like this. It’s truly regrettable."
"Regrettable?" Emperor Zhou smiled faintly and then shook his head. "I don’t find it regrettable at all. I am far better off now than before. Speaking of which, if I recall correctly, Emperor Qin, your own lifespan is dwindling, isn’t it? Why not join and share in eternal life?"
Share in eternal life!
Shen Changqing’s eyebrows twitched. This Emperor Zhou is no longer human, he thought. He’s just like the Demonfolk of the Eternal Alliance. It seems even siding with the Demon Evil stems from the irresistible temptation of a longer life.
"Eternal life?" Gu Xuanji shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Is there truly such a thing as eternal life in this world? Emperor Zhou, it seems you’ve lost your way. You were once the Great Zhou Emperor, yet now you willingly associate with the Demon Evil. You’ve shad Great Zhou and the Human Clan. Today, my Great Qin army stands before your city. Surrender, and I will grant you a dignified end."
When Gu Xuanji finished speaking, Emperor Zhou’s eyes grew colder. "Gu Xuanji, do you truly believe I fear you? Let tell you the truth: your easy advance to the Capital City was entirely by my design. Otherwise, how could your re millions of soldiers have ever reached this place?"
"What do you an?" Gu Xuanji’s face hardened.
"What do I an?" Emperor Zhou burst into laughter. "HAHAHA! Weren’t you curious why all the cities you conquered were empty? Don’t you want to know where all those people went? Today—I will show you what a grave mistake it was to invade my Great Zhou!"
As his voice faded, he flipped his palm, and a crimson, blood-like Seal materialized. With the Seal’s appearance, a pillar of blood-red light shot into the Qingming sky.
In the next instant, Heaven and Earth trembled violently. A blood-colored light screen, originating from the soaring pillar of light, spread rapidly in all directions, engulfing everything. The scorching sun vanished, and Heaven and Earth were plunged into a dark, crimson gloom.
"What is that thing—?!" The previously stationary army stirred with unease.
Under the crimson light screen, the once-normal ground turned a dark, dried-blood brown. An overwhelmingly thick stench of blood assaulted their nostrils. The majestic city walls began to decay, their vibrant colors fading to be replaced by the sa dark brown.
Just then, a piercing shriek echoed from within the city. Soone shot into the air, landing directly before Emperor Zhou, their face contorted with rage. "Your Majesty, what in the world is happening?!" Zhou Chi’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the man before him.
Fake! It was all fake! The Capital City, his family... all of it! The Zhou Family had perished long ago, unbeknownst to him. The people he’d spoken to, lived with—they were nothing but illusions! With the illusion shattered, the Capital City’s prosperity was gone. Only walking corpses remained, endlessly tearing at the living. So officials and generals had fallen to these Dead Corpses, but he, Zhou Chi, had fought his way out, relying on his formidable strength.
Now, facing Emperor Zhou again, Zhou Chi gripped his longsword tightly, as if desperately trying to restrain an overwhelming urge.
To this accusation, Emperor Zhou rely smiled. "What is it you wish to know?"
"Why? Why has the Capital City beco like this? Why are my Zhou Family dead? You deceived ?!"
"Impudent!" Emperor Zhou’s face turned cold. With a wave of his hand, a powerful force sent Zhou Chi flying.
The Great General of Great Zhou landed hard, spitting blood, his eyes still locked on the figure before him.
"I promised to grant you all eternal life," Emperor Zhou stated. "Only in death is there true eternity. So, I sent the Zhou Family on their way, fulfilling my promise to you."
"Beast!" Zhou Chi roared, his power erupting. A Sword Gang Breaking the Sky shot directly towards Emperor Zhou.
However, when the Sword Gang neared within three inches of Emperor Zhou, an invisible force shattered it to pieces.
Before Zhou Chi could react, Emperor Zhou moved.
SQUELCH!
A hand pierced through Zhou Chi’s chest, exposing his still-beating heart to the air.
With a slight squeeze, the heart burst.
Zhou Chi collapsed, his eyes wide open in an eternal, unseeing stare, as if dying with a grievance.
Just then, a swift attack ca from behind. A longsword cut through the air, striking Emperor Zhou’s back, yet it failed to penetrate his defenses.
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