Chapter 103: Standing on Equal Footing

The carriage seemed far from ordinary, and the master smiling faintly atop its roof was even more formidable.

"It’s Young Master Lin! The man on the carriage is Young Master Lin!" Wei Yong would never forget that face, not even in death.

King Wei sneered, "I shall teach him a lesson on behalf of the King of the North!" He added, "Truly, these barbarian lands know nothing of manners!" While he had no intention of killing him, he would ensure he did not escape punishment.

The Wei infantry, capable of leaping onto the carriage roof in a single bound, showed no fear of the carriage charging at them. "Shatter the horses and the carriage frame first!" the commander roared as they drew near.

The leaping guards moved like apes; it would take them only a few breaths to complete the task.

"They seem to be masters," Wei Qianqian murmured, her nerves tightening at the sight of such fierce guards.

Luna merely shook her head and smiled. These wretches were nothing—not even worth the two sisters' effort to kill. Although Jing Ni and Luna were not biological sisters and practiced different arts, their nights of cooperation had forged an intimate synergy. If they joined forces, no master beyond the late stage of the Grandmaster realm could stand against them.

"Kill!"

The second commander of the guard, his body flushed red, channeled all his inner energy into his sword. As the guards prepared their strike, Lin Shu, atop the carriage, found his own body crackling with electric arcs.

"Hah! Thunderous Might!"

BOOM! A series of explosions erupted as hundreds of distorted lightning bolts struck instantly. Clouds of mist swirled, and the high voltage turned the water molecules in the air into steam. The chief commander’s body spasmed, his face contorting in a myriad of expressions.

"No... no!"

"Ah, no!" The guards were indeed powerful; even while struck by lightning, they could still move and cry out.

"No!" the guard commander, standing over two meters tall, stared with wide, bulging eyes. Three hundred elite warriors, men of iron skin and steel bones, were finished in a single blow!

"King, retreat at once!"

As the great sword emerged, the commander hurriedly unslung the shield from his back. Watching the carriage slowly roll over the fallen guards, King Wei was filled with both shock and fury. Where could he even flee? The great army outside, despite its imposing momentum, was advancing sluggishly—clearly, they were terrified.

"Heh! Good! Truly, it is no wonder he could make the Hu tribes submit!" King Wei gave a bitter laugh. He finally understood why even the wild tribes would bow to a king of the Yanhuang clans.

The carriage rolled over the fallen guards without exerting crushing weight upon them. Once it passed, it came to a slow stop.

"Ugh!" The chief commander had recovered half his strength and could have continued to fight, but he had no desire to rise. He managed to cough up blood before drifting into unconsciousness, hoping that when he awoke, all would be well.

"Move aside! Let him enter." Dismissing the guards, King Wei turned and walked slowly back toward the throne hall.

"Stand down!" The commander sheathed his sword and followed the King. As the guards retreated, Lin Shu returned inside the carriage.

"Sigh! It is over," Wei Yong lamented, hurrying to catch up with the King. The sight of the carriage following behind made his very bones tremble.

Back upon his throne, King Wei felt a measure of relief. At least the Northern Prince had not come specifically to kill him. Lin Shu and Jing Ke stepped out of the carriage and walked toward the King.

"What a brilliant young master! The Northern royalty truly lives up to its reputation!" King Wei was struck by both Lin Shu’s detached temperament and his overwhelming power.

"Jing Ke, the Imperial Envoy, pays respects to the King of Wei." Jing Ke bowed, though Lin Shu merely offered a faint nod.

"Please!" King Wei gestured toward the side tables, his voice curt. Jing Ke nodded and looked toward Lin Shu. Lin Shu, however, would never sit at the low tables; he was not merely a prince, but the Emperor of the Empire.

"Heart-Shadow."

At his silent command, Heart-Shadow understood. In an instant, a large, black chair appeared behind the King. Seeing the King seated, Jing Ke walked to one of the side tables.

Hmph! King Wei was displeased, but far more unsettled. They were treating each other as equals! Wei Yong shook his head, not daring to speak. The atmosphere in the hall grew stifling, while outside, the generals and commanders who attempted to enter were suspended in mid-air by the carriage's power. Seeing the dejected Tian Gongshou floating at the entrance, King Wei felt even more disappointed.

"The King of Wei is truly imposing; it is difficult for this prince to even catch a glimpse of you," Lin Shu spoke first.

*Imposing your family!* King Wei offered a thin smile. "The might of the North is now clear to me! And I understand the grievances of Yan and Zhao as well."

Wei Yong’s eyes darted around. He had thousands of schemes, but remembering the sensation of suffocation from earlier, he had no desire to speak. Lin Shu clasped his hands and nodded, an apology of sorts for the intrusion.

"I will not waste words. The Empire has already signed an alliance treaty with Yan and Zhao. I ask the King of Wei to review it." With a wave of his hand, a treaty written in Wei script drifted toward the King. A eunuch stepped forward to receive it, but a flicker of electricity forced him to stop.

Taking the treaty, King Wei frowned as he opened it. It was his first time seeing such pure white paper, though the characters, while neat, lacked any spirit.

"The four islands of the East and part of the peninsula are divided into six commanderies. Yan takes the north, while Zhao, Wei, and Qi share the main island..."

Beyond the text, there were maps of the East and South Seas, as well as the surrounding regions of Wei. After reading it carefully, King Wei understood. No wonder Yan and Zhao had been migrating their people; he had mistakenly thought they were being relocated to the North.

"Wei Yong, General Wei Wu, you may withdraw." After hearing a whisper in his ear, King Wei grew suspicious of Wei Yong.

"Understood!" Wei Yong bowed his head with a bitter smile and retreated. The commander cast a glance at the King and Lin Shu, bowed, and headed for the door. Jing Ke, sensing the nature of their conversation, also took his leave to avoid offending the King. Lin Shu did not stop him.

"Young Master Lin, is it true that Wei Yong is a member of the Net?"

King Wei grew increasingly alarmed. No wonder so many ministers had died over the last two years while Wei Yong had survived.

Lin Shu nodded. "With the situation in Wei becoming perilous, who knows how many nobles have secretly pledged loyalty to Western Qin? Perhaps many of the established families in Wei were the true shadow-masters of the Net all along."

The Net was the most mysterious organization; King Wei had known of its infamy since he was ten.

"Why is the Northern Kingdom so benevolent, dividing land and providing such support?" Building cities and even handling the transport—it looked like a trap.

In the carriage, the live feed of the King was playing, and Xuan Jian, hearing the voices, peeked in curiously from the doorway.

Was it benevolence, or a passing whim? Even Lin Shu could not be sure—perhaps it was both. Lin Shu waved his hand again, and a projection of the Eurasian continent floated before King Wei.

"Is this the true expanse of the world? Can it be?" King Wei frowned. As rumors spread, the nobility of the seven states began to grasp a new understanding of the world.

"The world is vast, yet the seven states hold but thirty million people. After seven hundred years of strife, it is time for the world to return to unity."

"King of Wei, are you willing to divide your clans and head to the East to preserve the heritage of Wei?"

King Wei was, of course, willing. After his repeated defeats by Qin, he knew the Great State of Wei was truly finished. Once the Qin army recovered, Han and Wei would certainly fall.

"I do not understand. With the power of the Northern Alliance, could you not easily repel Western Qin? Why then..."

"Wei and Han are one; we are willing to join the Northern Alliance. If the Empire can overthrow the tyrannical Qin, it shall become the sovereign of the world and rightfully inherit the mantle of the Zhou Emperors."

Yet, leaving his ancestral lands—how could he bear it?