Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

120. Xu Lintian Dies in Battle

Translator: Flying Lines

On the other side.

Ju Liandao led troops to all the way to take ten cities.

Under the shining sun, the cold amour acquired a dense, cold aura. The spears in their hands had ruthlessly reaped fresh lives. Luke-warm blood stained the armor, causing it to release a cruel beauty.

“The crown prince is here. Why aren’t you hurrying to surrender!” Ju Liandao’s angry voice sounded.

Even though many cities already opened up the city gates to surrender, some of them were guarded by Lan Buhui’s loyal underlings. These people would rather die than surrender. They refused to given in till the last moment when they no longer had the energy to fight against Ju Liandao’s troops.

There were four generals serving Lan Buhui. Each of them was good at martial arts and fighting wars. And the city that Ju Liandao was attacking was protected by one of the four generals, Xu Lintian.

After fighting for exactly two hours, Xu Lintian’s troops were mostly dead. Only Xu Lintian was left, standing in front of the city gates, alone. The red tassel on the halberd in his hand swayed in a lonely arc. The dense coppery smell of blood filled the air.

Countless soldiers died by his hands.

Xu Lintian was just like a death reaper descending upon the mortal realm. He never frowned and only knew to kill without pause. His nose was filled with the stench of blood. The city he defended stood behind him.

Seeing this situation, Ju Liandao became subdued inside his heart. He had heard of Xu Lintian before, and Ju Liandao couldn’t help it as a fierce sense of pity towards Xu Lintian grew inside his heart.

It was such a pity that Xu Lintian served a different master. Today was destined to be the day of Xu Lintian’s death!

“Xu Lintian, since the crown prince has returned, stop being so stubborn!”

Ju Liandao entered the fray personally. His voice resounded like it was thunder.

However, at this point, Xu Lintian was only driven by blood-lust. The thing that was supporting him was that belief. He didn’t hear specifically what Ju Liandao said. At this moment, there was only one thought left in his brain, so he raised the halberd in his hand and rushed towards Ju Liandao.

Xu Lintian’s armor was already dyed red by fresh blood. There were other people’s blood, as well as his own. However, he didn’t seem to be able to feel pain and only knew to cut down the enemy’s troops without pause.

Ju Liandao’s martial arts were brilliant. He had his troops retreat and went to fight Xu Lintian personally.

“Bang——”

The sound of weapons clashing resounded. The red tassel moved, and it was even more vivid than the fresh blood.

Ju Liandao’s fighting style was overbearing, yet even though Xu Lintian used a lot of energy, he was crazy about winning. Thus, he didn’t mind the style of giving an injury in exchange for receiving one. He only knew that there was no way for him to protect the city, but as before, he fought until the very last second.

Finally, after more than ten rounds of fighting, Xu Linatian was pierced through the heart.

His expression was frigid, and he staggered back a dozen steps. The pain in his body had almost caused him to go numb.

In the end, Xu Lintian still fell.

He fell in front of the city gates. He fell into the lake of blood.

His head was facing the city gates. His eyes were open, and his lips trembled like he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he didn’t make any sound.

The moment Xu Lintian fell, everyone nearby all sighed a breath of relief.

This city was finally taken.

Su Jie had been traveling with Ju Liandao’s army. He wore armor and looked extremely valiant. The handsome young man’s expression was resolute and steadfast. There was an air of killing intent and a beautiful golden flower on his face. These elegant lines were the biggest motivation behind the soldiers charging and defeating the enemies.

At this moment, the chariot that carried Su Jie slowly made its way forward.

Su Jie stopped beside the corpse of Xu Lintian. He silently looked at the body of the general who would rather die than submit. For a moment, he was speechless.

This was a road laid with fresh blood and lives. One success came at the cost of ten thousand lives. Su Jie’s path to the position as emperor was paved by war.

“Your Highness, please don’t feel bad about this. Xu Lintian was stubbornly loyal to Lan Buhui. Even though he was a good general, he didn’t serve a good master,” Ju Liandao said. He saw that Su Jie was silent and thought that Xu Lintian’s desperate resistance swayed the idea of retaking the throne.

Su Jie moved his eyes away from Xu Lintian’s body. He said lightly, “He was also a hero. Bury him in this city.”

*

“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!”

The city gates opened wide. The inhabitants of the city were hiding in different places. They used fearful gazes to steal glances as Ju Liandao stepped on blood and led troops into the city.

They only saw people clustering around a young man, who was dressed in a pristine white robe, on a chariot. His features were elegant and beautiful, with a golden flower under the corner of his right eye, giving him a noble and mysterious air.

“That… is His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Most of the citizens believed in the immortal. There was an effigy of the immortal in the city that had a sympathetic look and a flower just like that of Su Jie on the immortal’s face. Even though the citizens had never seen State Yanling’s founding emperor before, they had heard about the descendants of the immortal having a flower on their faces to prove their identity.

Now that they saw the golden flower on Su Jie’s face, there were many citizens staring at Su Jie, as well as citizens rushing to the sides of the road excitedly who then all kneeled towards the youth on the carriage from afar.

As long as there were people to lead, there would be more who followed.

Su Jie’s expression was solemn and respectful. He walked down the road surrounded by soldiers into the city’s temple for the immortal and knelt in front of the immortal’s statue.

All of the soldiers followed Su Jie and knelt towards the statue.

“Ancestor, today, Su Jie of the Su family have led troops loyal to Yanling and stepped upon the road of retaking the lost throne. Thanks to the protection of ancestors, Su Jie will definitely restore peace and unity to the country and revitalize the Su family!”

He respectfully kowtowed towards the statue of the immortal.

Even if Su Jie didn’t think the legend of the immortal was completely true, it was undeniable that his ancestor was the person who saved people from suffering.

State Yanling’s citizens believed that the immortal was forever youthful. His descendants would return to the immortal’s side after death.

The immortal in the legends could command beasts, which Su Jie thought carried some truth. After all, Zhou Zaiyue had a strong tiger by his side. Perhaps the immortal possessed the ability to communicate with and command beasts?

But the things of the past can no longer be studied, and Su Jie didn’t give any more thought to it. He lit three incense sticks respectfully and then left the temple.

Now that Ju Liandao’s troops had neared the palace that Lan Buhui inhabited in the imperial city, the war only became more intense. However, Lan Buhui, who was in the imperial city, didn’t make any moves.

“Your Majesty, a message arrived today. General Xu has died in battle,” the eunuch in charge of passing on the message said with a trembling voice inside the palace of the imperial city.

“I understand. You can go.” Lan Buhui’s expression was very calm. It was like he knew that this would be the result, and so he was able to face it so calmly.

After the eunuch left, Lan Buhui called for General Yun Hui, the head of his sixteen guards.

“Yun Hui, the crown prince of the previous dynasty is about to attack the imperial city.”

“I swear on my life to protect Your Majesty. I will never let that leftover evil of the previous dynasty enter the imperial city!”

“No, the reason I called you here isn’t because of this…” The corners of Lan Buhui’s lips curled into a mysterious smile. He came down from the throne and walked to General Yun Hui before saying, “General Yun Hui, I heard that the crown prince of the previous dynasty is a descendent of the immortal. Gongsun Ju Lian is already occupying half the territory. And now, they have taken many cities. I can no longer resist against their advancement…”

General Yun Hui waited silently for Lan Buhui to finish.

“Cheng Huan died that year, and now Xu Lintian is also dead. My heart feels like it’s empty.” Lan Buhui couldn’t help but babble a little, seemingly like he was recalling the life he led before.

General Yun Hui hung his head even lower. His mission was to protect the emperor. No matter what Lan Buhui said to him, he would bury these words inside his stomach and never repeat them again.

“Therefore, Yun Hui, before I leave, I have to prepare that crown prince a generous gift.”