Chapter 514: Chapter 514

Majestic Imperial Palace!

The Taiyi Emperor sat on the throne, crowned with the imperial diadem. His gaze was commanding as he looked down at the sparse gathering of ministers below, his expression growing exceedingly grim.

This was outrageous! How could he, the dignified ruler of a nation, possibly wait for his subjects?

"Who has not yet arrived?" the Taiyi Emperor asked a moment later, his voice cold.

"Your Majesty," a eunuch reported, kneeling after tallying the count, "Sima Yi, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Personnel, the Clan Leaders of the Yang, Pei, and Shangguan families, and 327 other individuals are late!"

The Taiyi Emperor’s brows furrowed. He keenly noticed that most of those late for this court assembly hailed from the great clans. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveIꜰire.net

A monarch’s intuition told him something was definitely amiss!

"Issue the order! The Imperial City is to be placed under martial law!" the Taiyi Emperor commanded coldly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" a middle-aged General responded, stepping out. He saluted and swiftly left the Imperial Hall.

Just as the General was about to exit the Imperial Hall, Sima Yi, dressed in a red robe with his left hand on his sword, strode in. His face was cold, and he exuded a dangerous aura. Behind him followed numerous figures, all Clan Leaders from the powerful clans of the Taiyi Saint’s Court.

"Sima Yi, what are you trying to do? And why are you wearing the official uniform of the Saint’s Court of the Qin Dynasty?" the Taiyi Emperor roared, standing abruptly, his face ashen. His robust voice was like a clap of thunder on a clear day, reverberating within the Imperial Hall.

Even if he were a complete fool, he would realize by now that something was terribly wrong!

"Your Majesty, I am a subject of the Qin Dynasty. Why should I not wear the official uniform of the Qin Dynasty?" Sima Yi retorted, standing in the center of the Imperial Hall.

"Damn you!" The Taiyi Emperor’s eyes narrowed, killing intent surging from him as he yelled, "Where is the Imperial Guard? Eliminate these treacherous ministers at once!"

However, an embarrassing silence followed. After he issued the command, the entire imperial palace remained eerily quiet, without a hint of movement.

"Your Majesty, you must be confused. I am the Great General of the Imperial Guard, an appointment you personally made!" Sima Yi said softly, a smile on his face.

Upon hearing this, the Taiyi Emperor’s face turned exceedingly grim. In the Imperial Hall, many officials loyal to the Taiyi Emperor could no longer maintain their composure; they were filled with dread.

"Generals, heed my command! Surround the Audience Hall!" Sima Yi commanded loudly, drawing his war sword. His demeanor changed drastically, like that of a battle-hardened general.

The command was given!

Heavy footsteps echoed.

Troops of Imperial Guard soldiers, armed with sharp weapons, tightly encircled the Audience Hall, their gleaming blades pointed directly at the Taiyi Emperor and his officials.

"Good! Very good! Extremely good!" The Taiyi Emperor’s body trembled with fury, veins popping on his forehead. He glared angrily at Sima Yi, then suddenly burst into wild laughter. "Do you think you can kill me just because you control the Imperial Guard?"

At this moment, his expression regained its composure. He took out the Jade Seal from his robes, threw it forcefully into the sky, and shouted, "Golden Crow Army, to battle!"

In mid-air, the Jade Seal exploded, and a Golden Crow ten thousand zhang in size materialized. Each of its feathers emitted a dazzling golden light. With a flap of its wings, it resembled a rising sun. In the blink of an eye, the Golden Crow flew to a height of ten thousand zhang and vanished.

The next instant, the nine heavens began to burn, and a mustard seed world wreathed in fire appeared, spanning over ten thousand miles, incredibly vast.

"Your servant accepts the command!" a terrifying voice boomed from the sky.

Earth-shattering ripples surged as countless figures wreathed in flames flew out from the mustard seed world. They arranged themselves neatly in the sky. Though numbering only one hundred thousand, the aura they emitted surpassed that of an army a billion strong. They were clad in flame armor, wielding various weapons, their eyes cold and filled with murderous intent. The weakest among them had a cultivation at the Reaching the Holy Realm.

The Golden Crow Army was the Taiyi Saint’s Court’s most powerful and mysterious legion, established by the Imperial Ancestor. They remained hidden in the shadows, appearing only when the nation faced an existential crisis.

Looking at the legion above, Sima Yi remained composed, as if he had anticipated this. However, the Clan Leaders behind him looked slightly uneasy. They had staked their entire fortunes and lives on Sima Yi. If he failed, their families would be annihilated. Rebellion, in any dynasty, was a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine familial lines.

With the support of the Golden Crow Army, the Taiyi Emperor revealed a ferocious smile and coldly ordered, "Kill them! I will have them executed by dismemberment, then gather their souls and burn them with fierce flames for ten thousand years!"

"Attack!" the soldiers of the Golden Crow Army bellowed, wasting no words. They condensed their Army Soul—a colossal, ten-thousand-zhang Golden Crow—which hovered above them before diving towards the ground.

Terrifying attacks rained down from the sky one after another. The temperature in the Void rose dramatically. In an instant, countless Imperial Guard soldiers perished, their bodies turning into charred corpses emitting a sickeningly sweet smell of burnt flesh.

"Lord Sima, what do we do now?" the Clan Leader of the Yang family asked worriedly, stepping forward. Although they had mobilized their forces outside the city, the Imperial City’s defenders were all direct subordinates of the imperial family. Even if they ordered an assault, it would take a very long time to breach the city. Now, the only force they controlled, the Imperial Guard, was being ruthlessly suppressed by the Golden Crow Army. The situation was dire.

"What’s the rush?" Sima Yi said calmly, unhurriedly taking out a yellow talisman densely covered with black patterns, which pulsed with a peculiar power. He intoned:

"Dao of Peace, activate!

A world of tranquility, free from disease, disaster, and death...

Taiping Death Soldiers, arise!"

An ethereal voice echoed through the Void.

The yellow talisman in Sima Yi’s hand spontaneously combusted, unleashing a hundred thousand beams of black light. One beam struck a shopkeeper in a certain inn. The shopkeeper’s body shuddered, his eyes turning unnaturally cold, devoid of all emotion.

"Dao of Peace, kill!" the shopkeeper roared. He tied a yellow cloth around his head, drew a battle saber, and charged towards the Imperial City.

Almost simultaneously, countless death soldiers, disguised in various professions, donned yellow cloths and brandished their weapons. A terrifying killing intent enveloped the area for a hundred li. The temperature in the Imperial City plummeted sharply. The once-bustling streets were now deserted, with only a desolate cold wind sweeping dust across the ground, creating a particularly bleak scene.

In the Audience Hall, Sima Yi stood with his hands clasped behind his back and said softly, "One hundred thousand Yellow Turban Death Soldiers against one hundred thousand soldiers of the Golden Crow Army... who will prevail?" His question seemed directed at the Taiyi Emperor, yet also at himself.

When he entered the court of the Taiyi Saint’s Court, he had already prepared to seize power by force, using his own status as a cover and employing the forbidden Cultivation Technique provided by Zhang Jiao to cultivate a large number of death soldiers.

Pathetic worms! the commander of the Golden Crow Army scoffed, completely dismissing the Yellow Turban Death Soldiers. In his view, it would take less than an hour to completely annihilate the hundred thousand Yellow Turban Death Soldiers.

A soldier from the Golden Crow Army swung his battle sword, unleashing a fiery Sword Qi that struck a Yellow Turban Death Soldier. Blood splattered as half an arm was instantly severed. If it were an ordinary Martial Artist, such a grievous injury would not only cause excruciating pain but also severely impair their combat ability.

But the Yellow Turban Death Soldier acted as if nothing had happened, his expression unchanged. He didn’t even grunt, merely continuing his attack. The Golden Crow Army soldier was stunned. He launched several more attacks, hacking the Yellow Turban Death Soldier until he was barely recognizable as human. One blow even sliced off half the Yellow Turban Death Soldier’s head.

Even so, the Yellow Turban Death Soldier continued to attack frenziedly. With each strike he delivered, brain matter splattered, creating a terrifying spectacle.

"Damn it! Are they unkillable?"

Faced with these seemingly unkillable Yellow Turban Death Soldiers, the soldiers of the Golden Crow Army felt their hearts pound with terror, and their morale plummeted. They had served in the army for many years but had never encountered such bizarre enemies.

Gradually, the soldiers of the Golden Crow Army could no longer hold their ground and began to fall.