荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“Not good! Retreat!”

Panicked voices came from the distance, but it was too late.

Creee!

Plaintive screeches accompanied by the thunderous vibrating of bowstrings resounded through the skies. The battle of birds came to a sudden standstill, and then bodies began to plummet to the ground, all of them pierced through by arrows.

Thumpthump!

A downpour of birds came thudding down, and a few moments later, the ground was splattered with blood and feathers.

The remaining birds in the air took fright and immediately flew to higher altitudes. In the blink of an eye, the skies over the estate were cleared.

“Your Highness!”

With the battle over, Chen Burang walked up to Wang Chong and respectfully said, “All the enemy birds have temporarily been driven away, but this is far from over. They will come again. This time, we managed to catch them unawares by mixing in with the one thousand cavalry Your Highness transferred to the estate, but they will be ready next time and fly at higher altitudes. At that time, we will be greatly limited in what we can do!”

The majority of master archers in the military could shoot one thousand meters into the air, but each additional five hundred meters was more difficult than the previous, and master archers that could shoot three thousand meters into the air were incredibly rare.

Chen Burang had brought extremely formidable master archers with him. While there were only several dozen of them, all of them could shoot nearly two thousand meters into the air, but anything more than that was difficult. In the field of archery, shooting far and shooting high were two different concepts, just like how one being able to jump far didn’t necessarily mean that one could jump very high!

“I understand. Thank you for your efforts. Go and rest for now,” Wang Chong indifferently said.

Although he couldn’t finish off his opponent, killing more than two hundred birds in one go was more than enough to reach his goal of taking some of the pressure off Zhang Que’s men.

“Young Master!”

There was a flash of light and a gust of fragrance. Miyasame Ayaka emerged like a ghost in front of Wang Chong and got down on one knee.

“The situation in the capital is grim. The enemy outnumbers us, and they seem to have recruited tracking experts from the martial arts world who they are using to hunt us down. I’m pushing the assassination team to the limit to resist them, but they won’t be able to last for long.”

Miyasame Ayaka’s body was completely enclosed in assassination clothes, but the area around her exposed eyes was covered in sweat, and her clothes appeared drenched. It was clear that she had been through a vicious fight.

The situation was bad all around. Not only were the skies over the estate being controlled, there was a hidden slaughter taking place in the capital. The enemy was intent on purging the capital of all of Wang Chong’s eyes and ears.

“Understood.”

Wang Chong nodded. He exuded a calm confidence that seemed to already have a plan for everything.

“Have the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain Teams arrived?”

“Everyone except those lacking enough strength or who were assigned to watch the border protectorates have arrived. But the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain Teams only listen to Young Master’s orders. All of them are awaiting your orders,” Miyasame Ayaka truthfully said.

“Tell the teams that they can start moving. In addition...”

Wang Chong paused, and then he removed the token from his waist and threw it over.

“Starting from now, all four teams are under your command.”

The Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain Teams were four elite teams of intelligence operatives Wang Chong had established. Not only did they possess sharp observation abilities, but also astonishing strength. Wang Chong originally had them watching the surrounding countries so that he could see what the Turks, Goguryeons, or Arabs were up to.

But this rebellion had far more influence on the course of the Great Tang than these foreign countries. In order to deal with the Eastern Palace’s wave tactics, he had to call them back.

“Yes! Your subordinate will do all she can!”

Miyasame Ayaka took the token and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Chen Burang and Miyasame Ayaka quickly left. Meanwhile, Zhang Que had begun to call back the injured birds to treat them. The King of Foreign Lands Residence was a hive of activity.

Wang Chong took stock of his surroundings. Dark clouds hung overhead, and the lights near and far were sparse and scattered, the city lacking its usual exuberance. Not far from the King of Foreign Lands Residence, many homes had locked their gates and no light could be seen from their windows.

The common folk of the capital seemed to have sensed something.

“Cheng Sanyuan!” Wang Chong suddenly said.

“Your subordinate is here!”

Cheng Sanyuan stepped forward and bowed.

“This letter is for you. Do exactly as it says!”

Wang Chong took an envelope from his left sleeve and handed it over.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Cheng Sanyuan quickly came forward, took the letter, and departed.

Wang Chong stood alone in the yard. Around him were Golden Guards, guarding him in the open and in the shadows, and one thousand cavalry attired in bright armor.

An autumn wind blew, and Wang Chong profoundly looked toward the brightly lit Imperial Palace, his thoughts inscrutable.

......

Bang!

The loud ring of a bell came from within the Imperial Palace. Whoosh! The gates of the palace opened, and countless Imperial Army soldiers surged out in a cold flood of steel.

“Go, go, go!”

The sounds of cracking whips and people slapping the sides of horses could be heard in the darkness, and then the Imperial Army cavalry vanished.

“The Imperial Court has ordered that the whole city is to be placed on a curfew after the Xu Period (7-9pm)! Anyone who defies the order will be executed!”

These stern warnings resounded through the capital.

The Imperial Army cavalry that had left the Imperial Palace split up into one thousand ten-man teams that spread across the entire capital. After the Xu Period, the capital became bleak and desolate, the sounds of hooves echoing deep into the darkness.

“Daddy, what’s a curfew?”

In a residence in the eastern part of the city, a child of seven years poked his head out the window and curiously looked outside. Before he could finish speaking, whoosh! A hand came from behind, closed over the child’s mouth, and pulled him back inside.

Bang!

The shutters were quickly shut, and even the lantern within was blown out. The house fell silent.

But outside the street was a great clamor, the thundering of hooves getting closer and closer, even causing the stone slabs to tremble. A few moments later, a squad of Imperial Army cavalry rode past and vanished into the distance.

Thudthudthud!

Restaurants, tea houses, and many other places that were brightly lit suddenly closed their doors.

Not since the chaos several decades ago, when the Sage Emperor first took the throne, had the capital experienced a curfew. In a flash, the capital became empty and deserted, but in the dark alleys, where ordinary people weren’t looking, a battle was taking place.

Whoosh!

Atop a moss-covered wall lining a street, a row of figures suddenly appeared. They held sabers, swords, and daggers in their hands, and all of them were dressed in dark assassination clothes that tightly clung to their bodies. Their exposed eyes were all like those of savage beasts as they stared at the other side.

In the darkness, past the old wall on the other side, cold eyes gleamed like stars. This was another group of people, lined up in an arc, gripping their weapons with their backs arched as if prepared to attack at any moment.

It was a tense standoff in which no one said a word.

Arf!

A dog barked in the distance, and then the leader of the group on the left suddenly roared, jumping over the wall and lunging at the opposite group.

The ten-some men on the wall to the right shot down without a word toward that man.

Swish! Plush!

Blades plunged into flesh, releasing explosions of blood as the two groups began to battle in the darkness. This was a silent battle, the only sound being that initial roar.

Thudthudthud!

Sharp edges flashed, thrust, and drew bleak arcs in the air, and one body collapsed to the stone slabs after another, rapidly cooling as blood began to collect into tiny streams.

The battle had begun quickly and ended even more quickly. Only a few people, covered in wounds, remained standing. Everyone else was a corpse.

Swoosh!

Those survivors quickly melded back into the darkness, and a few moments later, even the bodies were gone.

Both sides seemed to be upholding a rule that this battle was not to alarm the citizens of the capital.

While this battle had ended, another battle in another place had begun.

Swoosh!

In the eastern part of the city, a figure agilely leapt onto a roof tile and then made another light jump onto the rooftop. Other than the small sound made when the tile shifted, there was no other sound. His body was arched as he pressed himself against the roof and warily inspected his surroundings.

Crack! The tile under his foot abruptly exploded, and a steely arm broke through the rooftop and grabbed his ankle. “Ah!” The man yelped in alarm and tried to jump away, but a sword quickly came up from below and pierced through his body.

There was a series of soft thumps as the man’s stiff body dropped to the ground.

Everything fell quiet.

To the south, east, north, in the tea houses, restaurants, alleys... in the darkness, assassinations and counter-assassinations were taking place in almost every area. On this night, the entire capital was converted into a battleground, but it was a battle without smoke, and at every moment, lives were silently winking out of existence.

And not a single civilian was aware of any of this.