“Why do I feel like someone is watching me? Is it just my imagination…”
On the blood-stained ice plains, Meng Qingzhou, like any ordinary soldier, was helping to clean up the battlefield.
His Sword Sense domain continuously enveloped the area, remaining vigilant against any potential sneak attacks. Yet, in a fleeting moment, he sensed a vast, abyss-like aura that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
When he tried to probe further, the hidden observer had already vanished without a trace.
A soldier receiving treatment from a medic inadvertently turned his head and saw a slender figure standing atop a distant snow-capped mountain. The figure’s golden hair shimmered brilliantly under the setting sun.
The soldier rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the slender figure was nowhere to be seen, as if it had never existed.
“Strange, could it be a spy from another faction?” The soldier said to the medic, “Forget about treating me for now, quickly report this to the Sword Saint, Your Majesty. There might be a suspicious person nearby.”
…
…
“Suspicious person, golden hair…”
Meng Qingzhou received the news and stood motionless for a long time. After a while, he sighed softly and waved his hand, “Got it, continue with your work.”
The medic bowed slightly, then turned around and respectfully said, “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Liuli?” Meng Qingzhou turned around, greeted by a familiar fragrance.
Dongfang Liuli, dressed in a crimson battle robe, her delicate face slightly pale, walked up to Meng Qingzhou and asked, “What’s wrong? Is someone trying to launch a sneak attack?”
“No, I’m keeping watch. Don’t worry.”
Without another word, Meng Qingzhou took Dongfang Liuli’s soft, boneless hand, placed two fingers on her wrist, and frowned, “Your pulse is very weak, almost on the verge of death. Are your injuries that severe?”
Dongfang Liuli quickly withdrew her hand, hiding it behind her back, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes as she forced a smile, “It’s just my constitution. I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“Really?” Meng Qingzhou was skeptical.
He couldn’t use Divine Sense to probe Dongfang Liuli’s life force, but his intuition told him something was off.
However, Dongfang Liuli clearly didn’t want to say more, and he didn’t want to press her.
“I am the ruler, and you are my subject. Would I lie to you?” Dongfang Liuli coughed lightly, trying to appear authoritative.
In the past, this statement would have dispelled Meng Qingzhou’s doubts.
After all, the Empress was a formidable figure, the ruler of Great Jin, why would she deceive a mere subject for no reason?
Now that Meng Qingzhou knew Qin Liuli was Dongfang Liuli, although it was hard to associate the two as one person, he understood that behind the Empress’s domineering decisiveness lay a gentle and elegant side.
A well-intentioned lie might not suit Qin Liuli, but it did suit Dongfang Liuli.
“Your Majesty, do you think I would believe that? Tell me the truth, or don’t blame me for defying you.” Meng Qingzhou gently stroked Dongfang Liuli’s smooth, fair cheek, smiling warmly.
Defying the ruler…
Dongfang Liuli was momentarily stunned, then her cheeks flushed with a mix of shyness and anticipation, but her mouth remained stubborn, “Hmph! I am the ruler of a nation! Having just defeated the Shizong Alliance, I am about to claim dominance over the Wilderness. Who knows, I might even become the Human Emperor in the future! You, a lowly subject, dare to offend me?!”
Meng Qingzhou’s eyebrow twitched slightly, thinking, ‘Is this a threat or a blatant temptation?’
Recalling the events of the past few days, he shivered and quickly shut his mouth, fearing to be devoured by the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Seeing Meng Qingzhou shrink back and silently retreat two steps, Dongfang Liuli covered her mouth and laughed.
The two stood side by side, neither speaking.
Dongfang Liuli glanced at Meng Qingzhou’s hovering arm, wanting to lean on it several times. But seeing the soldiers sneaking glances at them, she reluctantly gave up, her mood instantly souring.
“So annoying.” Dongfang Liuli kicked a stone in frustration.
“What?” Meng Qingzhou asked, puzzled.
“None of your business!” Dongfang Liuli crossed her arms, pouting angrily.
Meng Qingzhou scratched his head, looking utterly confused.
Why is she angry? Who upset her?
“Is Your Majesty upset over the thousands of soldiers who died? Many familiar faces are now buried in this foreign land, their bodies lost forever,” Meng Qingzhou said.
Dongfang Liuli was taken aback, then glanced sideways at Meng Qingzhou.
Since when did this salt fish become so sentimental?
“I never had such thoughts,” Dongfang Liuli said firmly, her tone slightly iron-blooded, “Because what I do is to end the chaos! Whether ordinary soldiers or kings, if they die on the path of pursuing their dreams, falling on the battlefield, it is an honor and a blessing.”
“At most, I sigh with regret, but I will not suffer for it.”
“To build a peaceful era, it is necessary to have countless corpses as the foundation, the cornerstone of peace.”
“So, there’s no need to be upset, nor to dwell on it.”
Meng Qingzhou was stunned, then silently nodded.
His wife’s ambition to conquer the world truly surpassed ninety-nine percent of the world’s heroes.
“Let’s go, follow me to the Shizong Alliance’s territory to collect the spoils of war,” Dongfang Liuli said, her spirits lifted, smiling brightly.
The Shizong Alliance had stood in the Wilderness for thousands of years, their accumulated heritage must be terrifying.
With the defeat of the Northern Territory’s ruler, the Northern Territory’s fortune would be entirely swallowed by the Great Jin Dynasty.
Three-quarters of the Wilderness’s fortune had already been devoured by Great Jin!
This harvest was unprecedented!
The concept of fortune was ethereal, but as a faction’s fortune accumulated to a certain extent, everyone within the faction, from commoners to cultivators, would benefit! Cultivation speed would increase, and the chances of going mad during cultivation would decrease.
If one held a high position in a faction with immense fortune, or was the leader or emperor, they would be nourished by the faith of billions of people and the vast fortune. Even without doing anything, their cultivation level would gradually increase.
This is why factions would go to any lengths to start wars, in pursuit of becoming the dominant force in a region.
As for ruling the Wilderness and Sky State, becoming the Human Emperor, that was even more unimaginable. The mere concept of the “Human Emperor’s Authority” was akin to a manifestation of certain rules, capable of bestowing divine duties upon ordinary beings, turning mountains into spirits, crowning demons as kings, and so on…
Now, with Great Jin defeating the Shizong Alliance, the fortune accumulated over nearly ten thousand years in the Northern Snow Plains was entirely swallowed by the Great Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop.
This harvest was the greatest of all!
“Minister Meng, thank you,” Dongfang Liuli turned back, smiling sweetly.
Meng Qingzhou was about to speak when Dongfang Liuli added, “Tonight, come to the royal palace. I will be your greatest spoil of this battle, hehe…”
Hearing this, Meng Qingzhou’s spirit lifted.
How could he refuse such an invitation from a peerless beauty!
He secretly vowed to wash away the shame of his previous defeat.
“I will do my utmost to satisfy… Your Majesty,” Meng Qingzhou said confidently, smiling.
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