I am the villain in the book

It was late in the You hour, with only one hour remaining until the anticipated start of the ambush at Ox Head Mountain.

Ten Thousand Mountains, Broken Cliff Valley.

A cold wind swept through the empty valley, causing the fierce beast embroidered on the battle flag to sway, its menacing appearance almost as if it had come to life.

And if one were to shift their gaze downwards a little, they would discover that, compared to the terrifying scene before them, the horror of these Heavenly Dog patterns, enough to make children cease their crying, was not worth mentioning at all.

Beasts with fierce glints in their eyes, sturdy soldiers clad in black armor, weapons gleaming with cold light, and the heavy, savage breaths of many.

When ten thousand demon beasts with at least the strength of the seventh rank, and ten thousand elite Shu soldiers stood together, the powerful pressure they exerted was in no way weaker than that single sword strike Qin Zhengqiu had unleashed that day.

Having been hidden in the mountains for nearly two months of training, this Heavenly Dog Army, capable of shocking the world, was finally about to make its first appearance.

“General Du!”

The platform for commanding troops, hastily constructed from scattered rocks, was simple and crude, yet blended exceptionally well with the savage environment.

A black-armored soldier ran quickly to Du Chang, stood upright, and shouted loudly:

“All soldiers of the battalion are present!”

“Please give the order, General!”

“...”

Du Chang nodded slightly, turned his head to glance at Yang Liushi standing not far away, and nodded lightly to the latter.

Compared to before, Yang Liushi seemed to have changed greatly.

Although she still possessed the appearance of a celestial being, the inherent charm in her bones seemed to have diminished significantly, and instead, she resembled an iceberg that would not allow anyone to approach, exuding a cold chill throughout her body.

A gust of wind lifted the corners of her skirt a few inches, and her black hair fluttered behind her.

She turned her head to look back at Du Chang, her delicate chin rising and falling.

Then, Du Chang’s cold voice echoed throughout the valley.

“Set out!”

“...”

“Rattling!”

Following Du Chang's words, ten thousand black-armored soldiers simultaneously flipped over and leaped onto the backs of various demon beasts beside them.

Tigers, leopards, jackals, wolves, eagles, falcons, vultures.

Although the ten thousand demon beasts were not all of the same kind, and their cultivation levels varied slightly, with some demon beasts even being two or three major realms higher in strength than the soldiers riding on their backs.

At this moment, however, not a single demon beast showed any resistance.

Beasts ran swiftly through the forest, and birds of prey swept through the low sky.

Amidst the rolling dark clouds, ten thousand Heavenly Dog soldiers passed through the dense forest in a mixed but orderly fashion, moving eastward at an extremely fast pace.

And at the very front of the formation were naturally Du Chang and Yang Liushi.

One rode a black tiger, while the other rode a white-bodied horse with a cow's tail.

“Miss Yang, the Young Master asked me to relay to you that you must protect yourself after the battle begins.”

“Also, if we achieve a great victory tonight, you may return to Shuzhou City.”

Riding on the back of the tiger, Du Chang quickly conveyed Wei Changtian’s latest instructions to Yang Liushi beside him.

The latter turned her head, her red lips parted slightly, and she replied softly:

“Okay, I understand.”

He had already experienced this feeling several times today, and each time it seemed to be a little more severe.

“Your Majesty, you have not closed your eyes for several days.”

Li Huaizhong, who was serving nearby, moved closer, lowered his body, and advised in a low voice: “Why not rest for a while?”

“Rest? With the Wei family not eliminated, I cannot rest in peace.”

Ning Yongnian took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and asked: “Where is Han Zhao now?”

“General Han sent a message at noon saying that he had traveled to a place three hundred li away from Ox Head Mountain.”

Li Huaizhong glanced at the sky outside the hall: “Now he is probably already at Ox Head Mountain.”

“What about Wu Ding?”

Ning Yongnian still kept his eyes closed: “How is it on his side?”

“General Wu has already escorted Li Qi away from Fengyuan and is heading to Huailing Prefecture.”

Li Huaizhong replied again: “He should arrive in five days.”

“Mm.”

Nodding, Ning Yongnian said nothing more.

He mobilized his inner strength to circulate throughout his body, wanting to calm the restlessness in his heart through this method.

However, after he circulated it for several small cycles, this feeling of irritability not only did not lessen, but became even more obvious.

This feeling was very bad, and it could not help but make Ning Yongnian think that something bad might happen.

But what exactly would this bad thing be?

Ning Yongnian didn't know, and couldn't guess.

After all, the situation on all fronts now seemed to be completely under control, but also seemed to be out of his control.

The candlelight flickered, and the fragrance of agarwood curled upwards.

After sitting for a while, Ning Yongnian finally opened his eyes, got up and walked out of the Tianlu Pavilion, and then stood in the center of the courtyard outside the hall.

The Qi Luck Yellow Dragon shot out from his dantian, and then grew larger and larger, swimming and circling in the sky above the Tianlu Pavilion.

Looking at this giant dragon tumbling in the night, Ning Yongnian suddenly thought of the Dragon Locking Formation, and thought of the more than two million Great Ning people in Yuanzhou City.

Having done such a thing, it was impossible for this emperor to never have hesitated or struggled.

But Ning Yongnian had always felt that it was worth it to exchange the lives of two million people for the territory of a country.

Ning Yongnian always believed in the principle of “no pain, no gain”, and also understood that being an emperor was destined to be lonely.

But at this very moment, on this ordinary yet extraordinary night, he suddenly felt somewhat shaken.

He suddenly became uncertain whether all of this was worth it.

For the sake of Great Feng, two million innocent people lost their lives.

For the sake of Jizhou, he personally watched his own flesh and blood die tragically before his eyes.

For the sake of Shuzhou, the current Great Ning was plagued by famine and starvation.

Including the deceased Xu Shixing, Ning Qingyu, Liu Zhongchun...

For the sake of the so-called great cause, he had killed too many people and paid too great a price.

But everything he gained... seemed so meaningless.

But...

Now that he had come this far, no matter how shaken he was, Ning Yongnian knew that he had no way to retreat.

Once the arrow was released, there was no turning back, and all he could do was continue down this path.

“Your Majesty...”

Behind him, Li Huaizhong suddenly said softly: “General Han Zhao has just sent a message saying that the army has arrived at Ox Head Mountain.”

Ning Yongnian did not turn his head, but simply responded calmly.

“Okay, I understand.”

Late in the Xu hour, Ox Head Mountain.

The huge funnel-shaped valley was already illuminated by continuous flames, crowded with countless yellow-armored soldiers.

Because of its funnel shape, this valley naturally had a large entrance and a small exit. If one did not climb over the mountains, they could only exit through a narrow gap between the two mountains.

This narrow gap was too short to be considered a natural barrier, but it greatly slowed down the army's exit from the valley.

Few were leaving, and many were entering. Over time, more than 100,000 of the 200,000-strong army were “stranded” in the valley.

And these people were Wei Changtian’s target.

“Young Master.”

Beside him, Chu Xianping reminded him in a low voice: “More than 10,000 people have already left the valley, and more than 30,000 have not yet entered. There are approximately 160,000 people in the valley.”

“Our people are all ready. The Heavenly Dog Army will arrive in a quarter of an hour, which will be just enough to help block the enemy's retreat.”

“Young Master, it's almost time.”

“...”

After Chu Xianping finished speaking, he stopped talking, and Wei Changtian did not answer immediately, but stood on a huge rock, silently overlooking the vast crowd of people at his feet, as small as ants.

The dark clouds overhead had become so thick that they blocked all starlight and moonlight, very similar to the scene on the night the Heavenly Luo Sect mountain gate was destroyed.

Yes, Wei Changtian was planning to use “Heli” to create a “divine punishment”, and then, in conjunction with the huge amount of gunpowder that had already been buried throughout the valley, use a “heavenly thunder and earthly fire” to give the imperial army a fatal blow.

Of course, with his own inner strength, even if he went all out, it was impossible to create a heavenly thunder that was too powerful.

However, he could imitate Yun Lian, and use the blood of the Son of Heaven to outline in advance a formation that could increase the power of the heavenly thunder.

And this was the reason why Wei Changtian left Shen Ran at Ox Head Mountain at that time.

During these days, Shen Ran had been using his own blood mixed with some beast blood to draw talismans in this valley.

Although the power of the heavenly thunder would definitely be weaker than the one Yun Lian had triggered due to the mixing of beast blood.

But after all, Wei Changtian was not facing the Heavenly Luo Sect, but only a group of ordinary soldiers of the lower three ranks, so it would definitely be enough.

“...”

At his feet, the soldiers filling the valley still did not notice anything unusual.

Wei Changtian silently mobilized a trace of inner strength and concentrated it in his palm, and looked up at the rolling dark clouds that also filled the sky.

He could trigger the heavenly thunder at any time now, and as soon as the heavenly thunder fell, the people of the Heavenly Luo Sect ambushing around would detonate all the explosives, and the Shu army and the Li army would also block the front and rear of the valley at the same time.

In other words, he could take the lives of more than 100,000 people with just one action...

Ink-colored darkness permeated the valley, and countless strands of purple lightning surged in the clouds.

Suddenly, Wei Changtian turned his head and asked Chu Xianping.

“Brother Chu, do you think I should have supported Ning Yuke to become king and rebel back then?”

“If I hadn’t done this, these people probably wouldn’t have died, right?”

“...”

Hearing such a question at this critical juncture, Chu Xianping couldn’t help but be slightly stunned.

However, he quickly replied calmly:

“If you hadn’t rebelled, then they probably wouldn’t have died.”

“But if you hadn’t rebelled, then the people of this world would never be able to live for themselves.”

“Young Master, these are the words you once said to me.”

“...”

“Okay, I understand.”

Following the last soft sigh, Wei Changtian slightly raised his palm.

In the next moment, countless suppressed purple lightning crashed down.