The Phoenix Reborn Book II

Chapter 157 Betrayal?

“What do you mean?!” huang Miaoling exclaimed as she looked at her husband. “How can Lan’er and Wang Chengliu can—”

“Junzhu! They have crossed the line of your arrow!” langcao's exclamation made Huang Miaoling turn his gaze away.

Hearing this, Huang Miaoling held back his curiosity about Wang Chengliu and Lan’er to then reply, “Do as planned!”

Langcao nodded his head, then faced the row of archers. He gave a gesture before then exclaiming loudly, “Let go!”

Langcao's cry sounded out loud, then followed by the other commanders.

Huang Miaoling who initially wanted to ask further about her husband's statement immediately glanced outside the gate. From the gap of the gate that was still slightly open, the woman gazed towards the hundreds of troops walking Wang Chengliu who was showered with hundreds of arrows.

The place where the arrows were pointed was aligned with where Huang Miaoling's arrow landed. This made Chenxiao who was in the back row of Wang Chengliu's army clench his hands. He had just realized the reason Huang Miaoling had not fired an arrow at Wang Chengliu.

Not because it was incapable, but because the arrow served as a boundary sign for Huang Miaoling's army archers!

“J-Junzhu is amazing!” exclaim a number of soldiers who are also aware of this.

Although he received praise, but the heart of Huang Miaoling's expression looked gloomy. He stared at the walking troops of Wang Chengliu who continued walking without fear of storming the defensive wall.

“This ... massacre,” said one of the other soldiers with trembling hands.

Huang Miaoling's eyes glanced at the archers on the wall, finding ugly expressions adorning their faces. ‘That's great, Wang Chengliu ...,’ praised sarcastically in heart as he stared at the horsemen who were waiting for their turn.

What is happening now is a mind game. In the beginning, Wang Chengliu deliberately accused Huang Miaoling of being a traitor, stressing he had taken the royal family hostage. This was followed by the walking troops who stormed the defensive wall and died in vain by the arrows of Jingcheng's troops.

Even if their current position was opposite, however Wang Chengliu's forces were part of Shi Kingdom, as was Jingcheng's army. Thus, when they killed the troops from the capital so easily, Jingcheng's troops would feel like traitors who had killed his own brothers.

Their faith will be broken.

“Tactics so devious and despicable,” whispered Huang Miaoling, knowing that Wang Chengliu deliberately sacrificed the lives of his walking troops to shake the confidence of Jingcheng's forces. “Longzhu troops get ready!” the woman shouted as she pointed Mazu towards the gate.

Liang Fenghong frowned. “You're going out? He purposely did this to lure you.”

Huang Miaoling looked at Liang Fenghong and said, “Moral troops will become even lower if I don't come out. The longer the time passes, the weaker the confidence the troops have in me." He gripped his horse rope and added, “If what you just said about Wang Chengliu and Lan’er is true, then the sooner I have to end all of this!”

Hearing his wife's words, Liang Fenghong presented his horse with Huang Miaoling's horse while saying, “Do not get carried away with emotions, face everything calmly.” He glanced at his wife. “Understanding?”

Huang Miaoling's head nodded as his face turned resolute. “Strike!”

***

With sharp eyes that continued to stare at the couple, Wang Chengliu raised his hands high into the air, leaving Chenxiao and his troops confused. “Archers, get ready!”

Wang Chengliu's orders left Chenxiao shocked. “Your Highness, what are you—!” He gasped when he saw the crazy expression that emanated on the young emperor's face. “You will sacrifice thousands of our troops to kill those two people?!”

Wang Chengliu ignored the questions that were thrown from Chenxiao's mouth. Realizing the archer soldiers did not listen to his orders and only looked confused, he snapped, “Didn't you guys hear my orders?!”

Forcibly, the archer soldiers raised bows and aimed arrows. Their hands trembled, not feeling willing to follow orders that would result in hundreds of brothers' lives being lost in their own hands.

“Your Majesty! Think back wisely!” chenxiao shouted with a frightened face, not expecting Wang Chengliu to take a choice like this.

Other than the Death Troops under Hudie's leadership, no one else knew the truth for Wang Chengliu's betrayal of the royal family. Even after being crowned emperor, Wang Chengliu always covered up the reality and dropped the blame on Huang Miaoling's name and his family.

Then, why did he now openly destroy the mask of his wise leader?

What was all just to kill Huang Miaoling and Liang Fenghong?!

Didn't he realize that this would have an effect on the soldier's confidence in him later on?!

At this moment, Chenxiao was reminded of one remark Huang Miaoling had said the day he tortured the woman.

“There will come a day where you realize .. that the person you support is someone who has lost his sanity.”

Chenxiao saw how Huang Miaoling had the soldiers under his command on standby. The woman squinted her eyes and looked hatefully at Wang Chengliu.

“Defense formation!” huang Miaoling shouted, preparing to receive a rain of arrows from Wang Chengliu's troops.

On the other hand, Chenxiao saw that Huang Miaoling's efforts made Wang Chengliu put on a vile expression. The young emperor no longer cared about his reputation, he only wanted to take down Jingcheng!

“Temb—!?”

Wang Chengliu's words stopped abruptly, a cold object felt stuck to his neck. Without moving his head in the slightest, the man glanced down, realizing a sword had been there.

Wang Chengliu's black bead slowly shifted to the right, swaying the sword owner with a deadly gaze.

“Chenxiao,” call him in a stifled voice. “What are you doing?”

___

A/N: Abis kelarin this, the author made a story smut first ato the kingdom again huh? (What question is this Luke?!)