The soldiers' faces were hard, their killing intent palpable. A chill of slaughter hung over the field.
"Open your eyes and watch," Ji Wu Ye barked from the command dais. "If so much as a fly escapes from Que Pavilion, you cut it down on the spot. Understood?"
"As the General commands!" Tens of thousands roared back in unison, the reply rolling like thunder.
"Hmph. No matter how strong you are, under the press of my legions I'll send you to the Yellow Springs," Ji Wu Ye muttered, eyes burning as he stared toward the distant pavilion.
In the palace, Chi Lian (Princess Honglian) gazed the same way, anger rising. Ji Wu Ye had brazenly stripped the inner guard from the royal compound.
"Damn Ji Wu Ye… Did Nongyu's attempt fail? But why deploy the palace guard as well?" Chi Lian vaulted to the rooftops and sped toward Que Pavilion.
Elsewhere, two youths stood on a roofline, also watching the commotion.
"This rotten Han state is practically his plaything," the stern one said, voice flat with disdain. "He moves palace troops like chessmen."
The refined youth smiled. "Han's been in his hands for some time. The king is a puppet. Well, Wei Zhuang, shall we take a look? With a spectacle this large, something interesting must be happening."
"Let's," Wei Zhuang said. "I want to see who cornered Ji Wu Ye this far."
---
Inside Que Pavilion's vast central hall, Bai Feng and Mo Ya had tried everything. The bronze plates sealing the exits wouldn't budge. Anxiety crept in.
Goku shook his head lightly. "Your lightness skill is decent; your inner force is… not." Then, under his breath: "Time's about right. Ji Wu Ye should have massed his troops by now. This time I'm going to scare him senseless."
He looked to Nongyu. "Stay here. Don't come out. I'll go play with him for a bit."
"Be careful," Nongyu said softly. After what she'd witnessed, worry didn't linger long.
Mo Ya folded his arms, intrigued. "So Goku-daren plans to face an army alone? Then we'd better enjoy the show."
"You will. Just don't let your jaws lock open," Goku replied with a faint smile. He flicked his wrist; the demonic sword flashed. A single sweep—cold light flickered—and the heavy bronze panel crashed down, opening a doorway.
"Someone's out! Loose!"
The shout went up the instant Goku stepped through. A downpour of arrows screamed toward him.
Goku's gaze stayed calm. One horizontal slash—sword-qi fanned across the sky. The rain of shafts hit that invisible gale and shredded to splinters midair.
"What—?!" The archers blanched.
"If you raise your hand to me," Goku said lightly, eyes sweeping the ranks, "people will die."
A terrible pressure rolled off him, spreading in an instant.
No sound. No flash. Tens of thousands of soldiers stiffened where they stood; weapons slipped from suddenly numb fingers; then, as one, they collapsed.
Ji Wu Ye felt ice flood his spine. His heart hammered as the man walked toward him at an unhurried pace. It felt like Death itself was drawing near—cold, inevitable, suffocating. Terror spiked into despair; his mind screeched against it.
On the pavilion's upper level, Mo Ya and Bai Feng sucked in sharp breaths. "How—" Words failed. To fell legions with will alone—was that still human strength?
Chi Lian arrived on a nearby roof just in time to see bodies carpeting the ground. She froze. "What… happened?" Her eyes darted—and found the silhouette etched into her thoughts.
"Goku?!"
Ji Wu Ye, on the brink of collapse, spotted Chi Lian. His eyes flared with manic hope. He lunged, claw reaching for her throat.
"Ji Wu Ye." Ice flashed in Chi Lian's gaze. Her chain-snake sword snapped from her waist and thrust forward.
He didn't dodge. Mad with desperation, he let the blade punch through his forearm and, in the same movement, snatched for her neck.
"She isn't something filth like you may touch." Goku's voice was mild and absolute as he appeared before Chi Lian. One step—one stomp—and Ji Wu Ye's head and shoulders were pinned into the stone.
Two figures—youths—arrived at the edge of the square and stared at the sea of bodies, stunned.
"Who is he?" the stern one asked, eyes blazing.
"Princess Honglian?" the refined youth murmured, studying Chi Lian with a flicker of surprise. Thoughts moved like quicksilver behind his calm expression; the occasional spark of brilliance betrayed that he was anything but simple.
---
"What are you doing here?" Goku asked Chi Lian mildly.
"That's my line! Why are you here—and why is he—" She glanced at Ji Wu Ye, currently being used as a doormat. Shock warred with fierce satisfaction.
"If you wanted Ji Wu Ye dead, you only had to tell me," Goku said. "Why make a mess of it—and nearly get Nongyu killed?"
Her smile faltered; the praise for another woman stung. She exhaled and redirected her temper where it belonged.
Thud. She kicked Ji Wu Ye square in the chest, savoring the impact. "So this is the mighty General Ji. All that arrogance—looking down on the royal house—what's left of it now? You dared covet me? A toad eyeing swan meat. Look at yourself. Today I pass sentence on behalf of Han."
Ji Wu Ye gave a harsh laugh, face pressed into the flagstones under Goku's heel. "So I fall over a woman after all. Nothing to say. If you want me dead—do it."
"But—"
"The condemned don't get to set terms," Chi Lian cut in, eyes clear and cold—far from the innocent girl she'd been. "Speak."
"If I must die, then let it be by his hand," Ji Wu Ye said, looking up at Goku. "Only then would I have no regrets."
"You're not worthy," Goku said without looking at him. He nodded to Chi Lian. "Do it. Wasn't this the end you chose?"
She dipped her head. For this moment she had slain her master with her own hands; for this moment she'd burned away the softness of youth.
The chain-snake sword twined like a viper around Ji Wu Ye's neck.
"Damn… to die to a—" His last curse never finished. The chain tightened. Blood arced. Head and body parted. The First General of Han fell.
Ruthless, clean, without a tremor. Goku's lips curved. "Good. You've grown."
"Do you like me now… or how I was before?" Chi Lian asked, trying for lightness and failing to hide the nerves.
"Now," Goku said, smiling.
Color touched her cheeks; a luminous smile unfurled— already intoxicating. She truly was born to allure.
Goku tilted his head toward a nearby roof. "And you two? Planning to spectate forever?"
Two figures drifted down. The refined youth glanced once at Ji Wu Ye's lifeless eyes, then bowed to Goku. "Sir, your methods are extraordinary. To think the untouchable Ji Wu Ye would fall so easily. You've removed a plague from Han."
The stern youth said nothing, gaze fixed on Goku—the hunger for strength clear as flame.
"Zhang Liang. Wei Zhuang," Goku said, amused. "Interesting."
"Oh? You know our names?" Zhang Liang's brows rose, surprise flickering before he smiled. "We are honored."
_____
T/N:
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