Chapter 410: The Court’s Dread

Ever since the Grand Preceptor put his life on the line to join the fray, forging an alliance between the Great Wu court and Yan Wuyong, the two primarily human armies had been locked in a five-year tug-of-war with the Great Tong Dynasty established by Ye Xuliu.

Even united, the human side remained at a disadvantage throughout those five years.

Why? Because even though humans fought with reckless abandon, could the demons be said to fear death any less?

With the demon army’s fearsome physiques and their ability to wield arcane arts far beyond the resistance of common soldiers, this prolonged battle had practically been filled with human corpses.

Fortunately for the human side, the Flood Dragon Emperor—the demon race’s strongest combatant—never made an appearance. Had he joined the war, there would’ve been no contest.

During those five years, the sudden emergence of the Universal Temple had greatly hampered the demons’ advance.

Though few in number, the warriors from the Temple at Four Corners Town were all terrifying figures.

The most memorable battle among them featured a yellow weasel demon in human form and a young girl carrying an iron sword.

The former returned to its true form, towering like a mountain, and swallowed twenty thousand demon soldiers in a single gulp.

The latter was even more terrifying—just her and her sword alone carved a bloody path back and forth through an army of one hundred thousand demon soldiers.

Elsewhere, a beautiful woman in a dark red gown began appearing across Great Wu’s war-torn lands, rescuing civilians who hadn’t been able to flee in time.

Over time, she earned a nickname: the Free Wanderer Beauty…

In the sixth year of Great Wu’s chaos, Yan Wuyong, through both charisma and sheer strength, rallied a massive force—his troops numbering over three hundred thousand!

To put that into perspective, even before the mass conscription, the total strength of the Great Wu court’s army was only about that number. After conscription, the number skyrocketed to a record-breaking seven hundred thousand—but only Emperor Ye himself knew the true measure of their combat effectiveness.

Great Wu Imperial Palace, Golden Hall.

Emperor Ye, clad in imperial robes, sat atop the dragon throne. With years of experience under his belt, all the youthful inexperience from his days as a prince had faded, replaced by an imposing imperial presence in his every gesture.

Before the throne, a middle-aged general in armor stepped forward and said,
“Your Majesty, we have held Kouzi Pass, Qiuli Pass, and Jieyang Pass.”

Ye Di’s expression remained calm. He said flatly,
“The three eastern passes—our Great Wu court was only responsible for Kouzi Pass. Yan Wuyong guarded the other two by himself. Holding our pass was simply expected, no?”

The general’s body trembled slightly. Gritting his teeth, he replied,
“Your Majesty, if not for Yan Wuyong personally leading reinforcements, Kouzi Pass would have fallen to the demon army…”

“Hmph!”

With a cold snort, Emperor Ye’s voice thundered through the hall. The gathered ministers immediately knelt.
“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty!”

“Calm my anger?” Ye Di’s eyes glinted with icy sharpness as he swept his gaze across the generals.
“You can’t even hold a single pass and have to rely on others for reinforcements. Are you saying the gap between you and Yan Wuyong is truly so vast?”

The general dropped to the floor in prostration.
“Your Majesty, the fault does not lie with our soldiers. They fought with all they had. But the demon side sent two demon generals, whose spiritual might could shake the heavens with a single hand—there was simply nothing we could do to resist!”

“Most importantly, Yan Wuyong is just too powerful. He arrived with thirty thousand troops and, with a single axe strike, cleaved through tens of thousands of demons and even slew one demon general outright. The other fled severely wounded!”

“Such might is beyond our reach—we simply cannot compare…”

Hearing this, a flash of fleeting dread crossed Emperor Ye’s eyes before he fell into deep thought.

After a moment, a young civil official stepped out from the crowd. After bowing, he said,
“Your Majesty, rumors are swirling across Great Wu, and Yan Wuyong’s ability to rally the people is unmatched. Our court must begin preparing now.”

“Lest we forget, before the alliance, Yan Wuyong was one of the rebel leaders!”

The kneeling general quickly added,
“Indeed! We truly must stay wary of Yan Wuyong. The more troops he has, the more terrifying he becomes. If he can unleash a mountain-splitting axe with thirty thousand men, what would happen with three hundred thousand? I dare not even imagine!”

Leaning forward on his desk, Emperor Ye asked in a low voice,
“Then what do you propose?”

“This…” The young official paused, then said,
“Your Majesty, I believe our top priority should be to suppress Yan Wuyong now. We cannot allow him to expand further.”

“Our alliance was meant to fight the demons and preserve the Great Wu regime. If we drive out the demons only for Yan Wuyong to rise unchecked, then all we’ve sacrificed will merely pave the way for another.”

Emperor Ye’s tone turned cold.
“Have you considered what would happen if we fall out with Yan Wuyong while the demon threat still looms?”

To this, the young official pulled a jade box from his sleeve and said solemnly,
“Your Majesty, this box contains a pair of malevolent gu insect passed down in my family for generations. One is the ‘child gu,’ and the other, the ‘mother gu.’”

“If we plant the child gu inside Yan Wuyong and Your Majesty holds the mother gu, then with a single thought, his life would be in your hands.”

“By then, not only would he pose no threat to Great Wu, he would become Your Majesty’s greatest weapon.”

Ye Di frowned.
“Why didn’t you bring this up earlier?”

“Your Majesty, these malevolent gu cannot simply be taken out on a whim. Each time they’re retrieved, they require a location steeped in powerful Yin and malevolent energy… and the place they were sealed was none other than the battlefield at Xiaosi Village two months ago—my hometown…”

At the mention of Xiaosi Village, the officials present immediately understood what kind of “Yin and malevolent energy” must’ve formed there.

Two months prior, a great battle had taken place at Xiaosi Village. The villages across a hundred miles were piled high with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed through the land.

It was estimated that the dead—humans and demons alike—numbered no less than a hundred thousand…

The kind of gu birthed from such carnage could not possibly be a benevolent thing.

“Open it for me.”

At Ye Di’s command, the young official opened the jade box.

The moment the box was opened, the temperature in the Golden Hall seemed to drop noticeably. Everyone leaned in curiously.

“Your Majesty, the one on the left is the child gu. The right, the mother gu.” The official knelt and raised the box high so the Emperor could see clearly.

The child gu on the left was small, its body covered in dark red scales that resembled dried blood, glinting with a sinister sheen.

Its most terrifying feature was its semi-transparent face, within which a twisted human visage could vaguely be seen, glowing with eerie green light in the eye sockets.

The mother gu on the right was larger and more elongated. Its body was encased in thick, bark-like plates, each engraved with strange, intricate patterns.

The most disturbing part was its head—clearly a human face, with distinct features and hollow eye sockets that flickered with blue flames…