After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 422: Chapter 421: The Kingdom Is Broken, the Mountains and Rivers Remain

Hee Lingchuan gave him a long look. ”Aren’t your injuries healed yet?” ’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’This guy really is an opportunist.’

”It’s nothing.”

Hee Lingchuan didn’t object. He stood up and said, ”Let’s go.”

He was indeed very curious about Thousand Star City. After all, this city had fallen thirty or forty years earlier than Panlong City, and its opponent had been just as hopelessly powerful.

He casually steadied himself against the stone hut and quietly released an Eye Spider.

Uncle Da was right across from them; he couldn’t afford to be careless.

The Eye Spider glanced at the owl on the other side, then immediately scurried into a crack in the rocks.

The two walked together, heading into the Illusion City.

Before turning away, Hee Lingchuan glanced at the campfire across the way. He saw six or seven Chiyan People get up, chatting and laughing as they headed for the Illusion City. Uncle Da, however, remained behind with a few men to guard the carriages.

Hee Lingchuan frowned inwardly.

It was one thing for the caravan’s hands to go sightseeing, but these Chiyan People had just been playing a heated game of cat and mouse with Fushan Yue. With their precious cargo on the carriage, how could they dare to be so careless and wander off?

How could Uncle Da condone such unprofessionalism?

After walking a few dozen yards, Hee Lingchuan finally asked Fushan Yue, ”Have you seen this illusion before?”

”Never. I’ve traveled this road at least three or four times, and this is the first I’ve seen it.” Fushan Yue had removed his splint this afternoon; as long as he kept his hand hidden in his cloak, no one could see his injured arm. ”But I’ve heard of these illusions. They even have a special name for it: the ’afterglow’ of Thousand Star City.”

”Lingxu City didn’t like these illusions. They tried setting fires and performing rituals here a few times to get rid of them. Heh, it didn’t work.” Fushan Yue glanced around as he walked. ”Later, they discovered it only appears under certain conditions—perhaps a unique scenario like today, with a thunderstorm followed by a bright, clear moon. So, Lingxu City gave up. I’ve heard from others who’ve experienced Illusion City that they also saw these scenes only after extreme celestial phenomena. Some people even came here specifically to wait for it, but they always left empty-handed.”

Hee Lingchuan had heard of similar phenomena in his original world—something about light and sound images occasionally left behind by creation, a purely random occurrence.

But as for this place...

”This must be the scene right before Thousand Star City fell, right?” People rushed to and fro everywhere: delivering weapons and medicine, carrying the wounded, putting out fires, and forming squads to intercept enemies leaping down from the city walls... Even women and the elderly were deployed, but they were still severely short-handed.

There were fires, explosions, and the sky-shaking sound of crying everywhere.

Countless figures formed from water vapor—old and young, Demon and human, strong and frail—passed through Hee Lingchuan and Fushan Yue’s bodies, rushing to their deaths. Though time had passed and these people were long gone, Hee Lingchuan still felt a pang of sorrow seeing this scene.

He understood that in a few years, the same final dirge would be played for Panlong City.

”Looks like it.” As they walked toward the palace in the distance, Fushan Yue said, ”The Yuanl Kingdom repelled the grand armies assembled by Lingxu City three times, a rare feat in history. Even after King Yuanl died and Thousand Star City was destroyed, the Twilight Plateau carried on his last wishes and still rose up in rebellion three times, killing many officials and soldiers and causing tremendous turmoil in the Central Region.”

Hee Lingchuan was slightly taken aback. ”They rebelled three more times?”

”Indeed. It just shows how fierce and resolute the people of the Yuanl Kingdom were,” Fushan Yue said grimly. ”Why else would it have provoked such thunderous fury that the Great Emperor personally ordered his army to carry out a thirty-day massacre on the Twilight Plateau? Do you know how many people died then?”

Hee Lingchuan shook his head.

”When Thousand Star City fell, not a single one of the two hundred and thirty members of King Yuanl, Shao Yuqing’s, entire clan was spared. Even ten-year-old children were dragged out to be executed by a thousand cuts, their wails lasting for a full day before they died. By comparison, King Yuanl and his son dying on the battlefield was a swift death.”

”Afterward, the army was ordered to hunt down and slaughter everyone on the Twilight Plateau, indiscriminately—sparing neither good nor bad, man nor woman, and asking no questions. The entire Yuanl Kingdom was left desolate. At that time, the rivers and streams on the plateau ran with blood, open-air graveyards were everywhere, and vultures and crows circled in the sky all day long.”

Hee Lingchuan drew in a sharp breath.

”The thirty days finally passed, and the grand army withdrew. But so many people had died that a plague immediately swept through the area.” Fushan Yue scratched his head. ”Two hundred years have passed, and the Twilight Plateau still hasn’t recovered its vitality. What you see now is the result. After that, the tributes offered to Lingxu City by the various Demon Kings became much more generous.”

When the rabbit dies, the fox mourns.

”Does Lingxu City slaughter hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of civilians every time a Demon King rebels?”

’The residents of the Twilight Plateau are subjects of the Beiga Kingdom, Beiga People themselves. Even if someone led them to rebel against the Demon Emperor and the Deities, the primary guilt lies with King Yuanl. Generally, for a capital crime like treason, executing the ringleaders should be enough. Who would carry out such a large-scale, indiscriminate harvest of heads?’

’It’s like when Nian Zanli took Wuzhou and defected to Beiga. Even if the Yuan Kingdom defeated him, they would, at most, execute his entire clan. How could they possibly slaughter every last person in Wuzhou?’

’What kind of ruler would dig out their own foundation?’

’If the Demon Emperor were capricious and prone to hysteria, Hee Lingchuan could understand it. An Emperor’s wrath can leave a million corpses in its wake, with enough blood to float a shield. Even emperors have tempers and moments of uncontrollable rage that can only be sated by killing.’

’But Hee Lingchuan had distinctly heard that this Demon Emperor was calm, astute, and a grand strategist—a rare sage among the Demon Race.’

Fushan Yue shook his head. ”More than ten Demon Kings have rebelled in the past. Only this time was the punishment unprecedentedly severe. The Emperor’s Reversed Scale must have been touched.”

Yet Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but feel that Lingxu City’s whole performance felt somewhat familiar.

Just then, several dozen horsemen suddenly appeared up ahead, all galloping toward the city gate. They were accompanied by two Golden Armor Divine Generals, each step they took covering seven yards and their giant feet making the ground tremble.

Hee Lingchuan nearly drooled at the sight of these two Golden Armor Divine Generals.

How much effort had it taken him to make just one golden armor copper man? And being alone in a foreign land, he didn’t have the funds to upgrade it further. Every single material needed for that thing was outrageously expensive.

And here were two upgraded, +2 versions running all over the place.

A great Fireball, at least seven feet in diameter, came flying from high above. It was a rolling stone launched by a catapult from outside the city, its surface coated in oil and set ablaze to multiply its destructive power on impact. They were responsible for at least half of the fires raging within Thousand Star City.

Seeing it hurtling right toward the squad, a Golden Armor Divine General dashed forward, leaped up, and punched the great Fireball, sending it flying over fifty feet away.

It was like a home run.

’The movements of that Golden Armor Divine General were so fluid, so powerful! Way better than mine,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, green with envy once again.

The squad didn’t slow down, reaching the two of them in the blink of an eye.

Just then, a dozen or so men suddenly rushed out from the side. Judging by their attire, they were ministers. Heedless of whether they might be trampled by hooves, they dropped to their knees in the middle of the road and cried out in unison:

”My King! Thousand Star is lost! Please, you must evacuate immediately!”

”Nonsense!” The knights hastily reined in their horses. One man emerged from the group—around forty years old, with long eyebrows, a pale face, and a dignified air. ”A Monarch dies with his state! I will live or die with Thousand Star City! You may all leave first. I will have men escort you out of the city.”

Amid the sounds of cannon fire, a minister cried out, ”As long as you live, the Yuanl Kingdom lives!”

”Our kingdom is in the heartland of Beiga, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Even if we were to retreat or flee, where is our path to survival? Damn the Xuluo Kingdom for their betrayal, for turning their coats at the last minute! I overestimated King Xuluo and acted too rashly!” King Yuanl said coldly. ”The mistakes I’ve made cannot be atoned for even with a hundred deaths. I’ve already caused hundreds of thousands to die. How could I have the face to leave Thousand Star City alive?”

Another old minister said, ”You must preserve a single spark for our great Yuanl so that our nation and its lineage will not be extinguished!”

”A spark?” King Yuanl suddenly laughed. ”The spark has already been carried out of Thousand Star City. Our legacy will surely be carried on by someone!”

The ministers exchanged glances, all seeming to breathe a sigh of relief.

The old minister spoke again, ”And the young princes?”

Compared to Demons, humans placed greater importance on the continuation of their bloodline.

”Yunhe was fighting on the city walls and has already fallen in battle. But Yunhai is only eleven...” King Yuanl choked up, unable to continue, but his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.

The effect of the water vapor illusion was so good that Hee Lingchuan could even see the veins bulging on the back of his hand, showing how much force he was using.

Even Fushan Yue was moved. ”He killed his own son with his own hands? What a man!”

Hee Lingchuan shot him a sideways glance. ’Does this guy have some kind of misunderstanding of the term ’great man’?’ But he also understood that King Yuanl had done it because he was unwilling to let his young son be humiliated after his own death.

To be able to strike down one’s own flesh and blood... that truly was the heart of stone.

The ministers were all stunned.

The corners of King Yuanl’s eyes reddened, but he declared, ”No matter where they flee, they can’t escape the grasp of the Gods and Demons. This world is vast, but there is no place for them in it. HAHA! I would rather my children die with clear minds than live as cowards, like all the rest!”

”Your Majesty is wise and brilliant.” The old minister in the front, his eyes streaming with tears, said, ”In that case, this old servant will take his leave first.” With that, he drew the sword from his waist and calmly took his own life.

The other ministers followed his example one by one.

After a series of thuds, only a few ministers in the back row remained, trembling from head to toe, their legs shaking uncontrollably.

With the city about to fall, did they have any other way out?

The knights bowed their heads in respect to the ministers who had committed suicide. King Yuanl closed his eyes for a moment, then laughed heartily. ”Good, good! After I’ve killed a few more of the enemy, I will join you all in the afterlife!”

Without a glance at the few devastated ministers left on the side, he gave a command, and the cavalry charged toward the city wall.

What followed were scenes of bloody carnage.

Seeing all of Thousand Star City transform into a fiery Purgatory, even the usually carefree Fushan Yue let out a long breath.

This was the final moment of a powerful Demon Kingdom, frozen in history. As the Eldest Prince of the Chiyan Kingdom, he ought to have many feelings about it.

”There was no Chiyan back then.” Hee Lingchuan heard him mutter and couldn’t help but ask, ”What?”

’Less than two hundred years ago, the Chiyan Kingdom hadn’t been founded yet?’ ”Is your father the founding Monarch?”

”That’s right,” Fushan Yue said. ”Chiyan has only existed for a little over one hundred and fifty years. It’s the youngest and most vibrant Demon Kingdom in all of Beiga.”

Just then, a short, sharp scream came from their front left.

Human screams were everywhere in the illusion, but Fushan Yue frowned. ”That’s not right. I smell blood!”