abnabooks Chapter 2641 Ambitious, or a Father Lacking Morality?
Chapter 2641 Ambitious, or a Father Lacking Morality?
Chapter 2641 Ambitious, or a Father Lacking Morality?
Sha Wei kicked the merman in the back of the knee, causing him to kneel down directly in front of the general.
“I heard them call you Your Highness.” He Lingchuan pulled an ice arrow from his shoulder armor and examined it carefully. “Which Your Highness are you?”
This water arrow technique is truly formidable.
The one-armed merman gritted his teeth and remained silent.
He Lingchuan glanced at Zhuang Yinan, who immediately brought over another prisoner and casually placed a knife against the one-armed merman's neck:
"Explain yourself, who is he?"
"Yes, it is our Crown Prince, Zhongsun Peng!"
He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, while the soldiers behind him exchanged bewildered glances. How could they possibly capture one of the enemy's "princes" deep in the mountains and dense forests?
"What country are you from?"
When Zhuang Yinan asked again, the prisoner confessed that Zhongsun Peng was the crown prince of Bolang Kingdom and had been incorporated into Fushan Lie's southern army during this expedition.
Since Lingxu City was launching its campaign against Panlong, as is customary, the various demon kingdoms of Bega were required to send large armies to assist in the battle. Bolang Kingdom, as one of the twelve demon kingdoms, was also obligated to fulfill its duty. This was because the Maohe Plain was crisscrossed by waterways, and Bolang Kingdom, as a water-based kingdom of Bega, had more room to maneuver there.
After thoroughly understanding the terrain of the southern part of Panlong Wasteland, Fu Shanlie decided to let Prince Bolang use his expertise to deploy a surprise force by utilizing the abundant water of the Womi River, which flows to the sea.
Fu Shanlie did indeed set his sights on Luoyuan. Its terrain was ideal for a large army outpost, and from there, they could advance northwards into the Panlong Wasteland.
According to their plan, Zhongsun Peng only needed to lead the Beijia army to quietly capture Luoyuan, and the giant tortoise would then transport several more batches of soldiers. While the Panlong army was locked in a fierce battle with Hu Yechan at Fulugou, they wouldn't have expected Beijia to seize a second outpost there. At that point, Fushanlie's army could directly march here and completely overwhelm the Panlong Wasteland!
Zhongsun Peng stared at He Lingchuan, then suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse: "How...how did you know we would land here?"
Not counting the three hundred people in his team, very few people knew about this plan.
Furthermore, the method of crossing the Starling Plain by riding a giant tortoise is so unpredictable that it's like an antelope hanging its horns – how could the enemy possibly ambush them so precisely?
"Why would King Bolang send his crown prince to the battlefield?" He Lingchuan did not have the habit of answering prisoners.
He didn't know beforehand how Fu Shanlie would cross the Starling Plain. The size of the plain, and the current level of spiritual energy, meant that ordinary earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape through land) wouldn't be effective against large groups. But looking at it another way, the Womi River runs from north to south through the entire Starling Plain; if land wasn't an option, could Bega take the waterway?
The Womi River is wide and deep, a natural sanctuary that almost completely escapes surveillance from the sky and the ground. And it flows all the way to the sea.
He Lingchuan knew that the aquatic creatures in Beijia were diverse, and even Fu Shanlie himself was skilled in both water and earth escape techniques.
If Fu Shanlie were to rush towards the Womi River, then the landing point for this Bega elite force would most likely be in the dark and gloomy Ghost Needle Forest. He Lingchuan brought a team over to try his luck.
Fortunately, he has always been lucky.
As for why he only brought a thousand men, it was because he judged that the number of Bega's hidden soldiers was limited. First, this team had to cross the borders of multiple countries without being detected, which meant that in addition to traveling through sparsely populated, no-man's-land, the number of people could not be too large; second, any escape technique has a limit to the number of people it can carry, whether it is water escape or earth escape; finally, Luoyuan Town has a small population, with only a small number of local militia, so Bega's army could take it without much effort.
This army is small in number, but if it were to quietly take over Luoyuan and turn it into a stronghold, it wouldn't be as easy for Panlong to take it over as it is today.
Prince Bolang tightly shut his mouth again, resolutely refusing to speak.
Zhuang Yinan said, "In the past year or so, many members of the royal family in Bega have gone to the battlefield. We've killed quite a few princes, nobles, and other royals. But the capture of the crown prince of the Demon Kingdom is a first."
As soon as the general returned, their luck turned around.
Sha Wei scoffed, "Beiga has many vassal states, so royal families are worthless. This one is a royal relative, that one is a nobleman's relative."
Zhuang Yinan asked the other prisoners, and they all said they didn't know the reason either; in any case, King Bolang had simply assigned the crown prince to lead the expedition.
He Lingchuan tapped his temple with his index finger: "How many sons did King Bolang have? Seventy-six, or seventy-seven? It seems he also has more than two hundred grandsons."
On another note, when he was investigating the elixir of immortality case in Chiyan Kingdom, the inspector Zhongsun Mou he encountered seemed to be a distant relative of the royal family of Bolang Kingdom.
Sha Wei scratched her head: "Uh..."
He didn't remember at all; it was Zhuang Yinan who said, "Seventy-seven."
These past two days, He Lingchuan has been catching up on the lessons he missed over the past five years with Wen Daolun, including updating the information on the various demon kingdoms of Bega. The Bolang royal family are merfolk; not only do they look human, but over the centuries since joining Bega, their temperament and behavior have become increasingly human-like. King Bolang is particularly amorous and has many children and grandchildren, so he designated a crown prince early on to prevent his descendants from fighting endlessly for the position.
Even if the princes of the demon race originally had no intention of seizing the throne, they often couldn't resist being won over by their subordinates—most of the courtiers of the vassal demon kingdoms were human, and everyone who followed the demon royal family wanted to live a life of luxury and hoped that they had chosen the right side.
Therefore, over the past few hundred years since the founding of Bega, the traditions of the demon kingdoms have become increasingly similar to those of human kingdoms—power can not only easily change people, but also easily change the habits of demons.
But why did King Bolang send his long-chosen successor to the battlefield, especially the most dangerous Panbei battlefield? There must be some story behind it.
He Lingchuan then asked Prince Bolang, "Is the falling out between father and son due to your ambition or your father's lack of virtue?"
Zhongsun Peng glared coldly at him: "A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated. If you have the guts, kill me! It won't be long before Beijia takes you and that laughable Panlong City down with him..."
These Panlong people dared not kill him. The crown prince of an enemy country was the best bargaining chip on the battlefield.
Before he could finish speaking, He Lingchuan suddenly grabbed his hair, turned him around, and made him face another prisoner.
Then, he slit his throat with a knife!
So what if he's the crown prince of Bolang Kingdom? This is what happens to anyone who dares to provoke him.
He Lingchuan was always meticulous in his killings, severing the carotid artery and trachea together. Zhongsun Peng's neck was cut in half, yet he still didn't die.
With a hiss, the prisoner opposite was splattered with blood all over his head and face, and was stunned for a moment.
Zhongsun Peng's eyes were wide open, and he made gurgling sounds in his throat as bubbles continued to rise from his severed trachea.
He Lingchuan leaned close to his ear and asked, "What do you mean by 'together'? Tell me."
Zhongsun Peng couldn't utter a single word; his eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.
The prisoner opposite him was forced to look him in the eye, and his scalp tingled from his glare.