Chapter 198: Who Will Die in His Place?

Inside the prison carriage, the old emperor sat disheveled and wretched.

His hair hung in a tangled mess, and his entire body was filthy—rotten egg liquid dripped from his robes, and wilted vegetable leaves either clung to his hair strands or rested on his shoulders.

The once frail but dignified old ruler had been completely broken by this public humiliation.

The majestic aura of an emperor was now utterly gone!

At this moment, he was nothing more than a condemned prisoner being dragged to his execution.

Meanwhile, seated beside him in the prison carriage, Jiang Wanzhou pressed a blade to his throat, his voice ringing loudly as he recited the names of the martyrs who had died for their cause.

“Zu Fang of Beihai County!”

“Guan Xuan, the wandering blade master!”

“Kang Dapeng of Beihai County!”

…

His pace was unhurried, and by the time he had finished reciting all 513 names, the prison carriage arrived at the execution grounds!

Jiang Wanzhou yanked the old emperor out of the carriage and forced him up onto the execution platform!

At this moment, the scene before him was identical to what he had witnessed years ago—

Only now, the roles had been reversed.

The victim had become the avenger!

Once on the platform, the old emperor—terrified to his core—fell to his knees before Jiang Wanzhou, his body trembling violently as he kowtowed frantically, begging for mercy:

“Hero Jiang! Spare me! I’ll give you whatever you want!”

“A marquis title!”

“Gold and silver treasures!”

“Beautiful women!”

“Ah! And your Blade-Nurturing Sect! I will issue an imperial decree, declaring it the greatest sect in all of Great Wu!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each desperate plea, the old emperor slammed his forehead against the ground, hoping that this act of submission could alter his fate.

But Jiang Wanzhou’s expression remained calm, his voice booming like a lion’s roar:

“Dog Emperor, tell everyone!”

“Why did you massacre the blade masters of the world back then? And why did you seek to exterminate my Blade-Nurturing Sect?!”

Shaking violently, the old emperor turned to face the crowd below, his voice hoarse and desperate as he shouted:

“I was a beast! I… I had a dream—a dream where a blade master cut off my head!”

“And then… Blade-Nurturing Sect’s Qiu Lianyi actually slayed a Flood Dragon that had mastered water-walking!”

“I was afraid! Afraid that my nightmare would come true!”

“So I fabricated lies and framed Great Wu’s blade masters, slaughtering Hero Jiang and the others…!”

The crowd fell silent.

Hearing the truth, long whispered in rumors, confirmed by the old emperor himself, the people below displayed a mix of emotions—

Some showed guilt, some rage, and some simply helpless resignation…

Swish!

Jiang Wanzhou pressed the blade against the old emperor’s neck, then smirked playfully:

“Do you want a chance to live?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” the tear-streaked old emperor nodded frantically, his face contorted in terror.

“Then call out all your sons—your crown prince, your princes—bring them all here.”

Hearing this, the old emperor immediately shouted at the soldiers below, “Didn’t you hear what Hero Jiang said? Hurry up!”

The soldiers were momentarily stunned before quickly scattering to carry out the order.

In less than the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, all six of the old emperor’s sons had arrived at the execution ground.

In truth, they had been nearby all along, hiding in the shadows and observing the situation. None of them wanted to be the first to step forward. Now that they were called together, they finally cooperated and allowed the soldiers to bring them forward.

“Hero Jiang! Hero Jiang!”

“I only have six sons! They’re all here now!”

“Please, tell me what you want!”

The old emperor’s wheezing, servile demeanor made his six sons feel utterly humiliated!

In their hearts, the dignity of their emperor and father crumbled completely in this moment.

Jiang Wanzhou glanced at the six princes and said coolly, “Among you, who is willing to die in place of your father?”

As soon as he spoke, the six princes all turned pale with fear.

They had already suspected that everything Jiang Wanzhou was doing to the old emperor was merely repaying what had been done to the Blade-Nurturing Sect all those years ago.

So, they had expected Jiang Wanzhou to make them cut off an arm or something similar.

As long as it wasn’t death, the six of them were willing to take the risk!

After all, if they survived this, the throne would be within their grasp!

Because of this, the eldest prince, who was the current crown prince, was the one who hated Jiang Wanzhou the most.

If not for Jiang Wanzhou’s interference, he only had to wait for the old emperor to die, and he would have ascended the throne…

“Jiang Wanzhou! Release my father now, and I will give you anything you want!” the crown prince stepped forward and declared.

Jiang Wanzhou sneered. “You must be the crown prince. I just asked—who among you is willing to die in your father’s place?”

“Did you not understand?”

The crown prince’s face darkened with fury. “Arrogant fool! Do you think you’ll still be able to leave Great Wu alive if you go through with this?”

“Your only chance to survive is to release my father now!”

Jiang Wanzhou tapped the old emperor’s face with the back of his blade and smirked. “Look at your choice for the next emperor. He’s using every trick in the book to provoke me into killing you.”

The old emperor flushed red with anger and turned to the crown prince. “Son, you are the crown prince—are you willing to die in my place?”

The crown prince was momentarily speechless. Then, he sat back with an air of confidence and said, “Father, rest assured. This wretch wouldn’t dare kill you. Not unless he wants to die too.”

“You beast!” The old emperor cursed. He then turned to the remaining five princes and solemnly declared, “I hereby strip the crown prince of his title!”

“Whoever is willing to die in my place today shall be named my heir!”

At these words, the five remaining princes immediately fell silent.

The now-former crown prince’s face contorted with rage. His expression darkened as he whispered something to his trusted aides, a sinister smile creeping onto his face.

However, he had underestimated his father’s ability to read his sons.

Even though the old emperor did not hear what was said, he knew exactly what was about to happen.

Thus, he gave another command: “Guards, the crown prince is plotting rebellion. Execute him!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

In the blink of an eye, before the crown prince could carry out his plan to kill his father and brothers and seize the throne, his chest was pierced through by countless blades!

With a heavy thud, the crown prince collapsed, riddled with wounds.

No one had expected that the first to die today would be the crown prince, and at the hands of his own father, no less…

At that moment, the remaining five princes had to consider: if they refused to die in their father’s place, would they meet the same fate as the crown prince?

Realizing that the old emperor still held absolute control over Great Wu, the five princes reached a silent consensus.

They stepped forward in unison and declared, “We are willing to die for our father!”