World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 682: Three Three Eight: Zhi Wei beheads! Turing Tuo shocked!_2

Chapter 682: Three Three Eight: Zhi Wei beheads! Turing Tuo shocked!_2

As for the outcome of the great battle, Duke Turing Tuo dared not harbor any illusions.

He was quite familiar with Duke Zhi Wei’s Southeast Army of 150,000, and although they didn’t match up to the Dragon Guard Army, they were still considered elite troops.

With 150,000 facing off against Suo Lun’s army of over 50,000, a threefold military force besieging the city, it was almost certain that the Fenglei Fort Defense Line would be breached without a doubt.

For Suo Lun to have held out for half a month was already quite remarkable.

After the battle commenced, Duke Zhi Wei sent only one letter, stating that on the first day of the siege, they suffered a minor setback, so they switched to besieging the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, waiting for the arrival of the Turing Tuo Army.

Upon receiving this letter, Duke Turing Tuo felt pride and sneered, Zhi Wei was overly eager for glory, wanting to monopolize the feat of eradicating Suo Lun by attacking Heavenly Water Main City ahead of time, and had suffered a loss. He truly deserved it.

On the first day of Zhi Wei’s attack on the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, more than 80,000 died, a complete disaster, yet in the letter he sent to Turing Tuo, he merely mentioned a minor setback.

Since then, Duke Turing Tuo had received several urgent letters from Duke Zhi Wei, all of which urged him to hasten his march and quickly reach Tian Shui City, with no other content.

Latter on, the entire battlefield and its surroundings were sealed off by Suo Lun, including the skies being blockaded by griffin beasts, making it very difficult for any messages to get out.

Therefore, the last secret letter from Zhi Wei was from five days ago.

Now, upon receiving another secret letter from Duke Zhi Wei, Duke Turing Tuo’s eyebrow twitched and he said, "It better not be that the Fenglei Fort Defense Line has already fallen and Zhi Wei has taken down Heavenly Water Main City. That would be too fucked up, making my march of several thousand miles with two hundred thousand troops utterly pointless."

Turing Chen was silent by his side, considering the possibility was still there.

Ten days had passed, and it was very likely that Zhi Wei’s army of 150,000 had already broken through the Fenglei Fort Defense Line. If that was the case, it would be terrible news for the Turing Clan.

Zhi Wei and Turing Tuo were both Zhi Li’s right-hand men. Once Zhi Wei achieved a great victory and rose in prominence, Turing Tuo would inevitably be suppressed.

Upon opening the secret letter, he saw Duke Zhi Wei’s familiar handwriting.

After glancing at it, Turing Tuo felt the hairs on his body stand on end and his scalp suddenly exploded, as if he couldn’t believe his own eyes.

He vigorously rubbed his eyes.

The secret letter from Zhi Wei clearly stated that his army of 150,000 had been completely annihilated, with more than 100,000 dead or wounded, and 40,000 captured.

Duke Zhi Wei himself, along with his son, Crown Prince Zhi You, were all captured.

Duke Turing Tuo stared at the secret letter for a long time, unable to come to terms with it.

Then, his limbs began to tremble as he hissed, "Impossible, impossible, completely impossible..."

Turing Chen said from the side, "Father, what happened? Has that old thief Zhi Wei single-handedly broken through the Fenglei Fort Defense Line and annihilated Heavenly Water Main City?"

Turing Tuo said hoarsely, "The letter states that Zhi Wei’s army of 150,000 has been completely destroyed, and he himself has become a prisoner at Suo Lun’s feet."

At these words, Turing Chen was also completely stunned and gasped, "Impossible, this...this can’t be!"

Zhi Wei had an army of 150,000, while Suo Lun had at most just over 50,000.

No matter how the battle went, it was impossible for Zhi Wei’s entire army to be annihilated.

"Could this letter be a fake?" asked Turing Chen.

Turing Tuo examined it closely, from the handwriting to the tone, the seal, and the fingerprint, comparing them to previous secret letters from Zhi Wei; everything was authentic.

It seemed the events described in the letter were true.

Zhi Wei’s army of 150,000 was annihilated!

Duke Turing Tuo felt cold chills running down his spine.

He had hoped to see Zhi Wei in misfortune, but he never imagined total annihilation!

Turing Chen asked, "Father, what should we do now?"

Turing Tuo said, "What do you mean, what should we do?"

Turing Chen asked, "Should we continue to attack Tian Shui City?"

Duke Turing Tuo said, "What else? We have an army of two hundred thousand, while Suo Lun has at most forty to fifty thousand. Besides, he has already battled Zhi Wei for ten days, what strength could he have left?"

Then, Turing Tuo sneered, "The reason Suo Lun had Zhi Wei send this letter is to make me retreat. This shows that Suo Lun is scared, inwardly timid. It’s nothing but a petty trick!"

After that, Turing Tuo bellowed, "Continue the march, full speed ahead, and attack Tianlang Pass as soon as possible!"

...

Inside Tianlang Pass!

"Our reserves of oil barrels are still plentiful, but during the battle at Fenglei Fort, we used up as much as eighty percent of our thunderous explosives (gunpowder packs)."

"Tianlang Pass appears to be much more treacherous than the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, but the walls are not as long, which means we can’t deploy as many siege engines."

"Duke Tuling Tuo’s army of two hundred thousand is the absolute main force of the Rage Wave Kingdom, far more elite than Zhi Wei’s one hundred and fifty thousand troops. Moreover, Tuling Tuo, as an experienced commander, is also far more cunning and shrewd than Zhi Wei!"

"In the battle against Tuling Tuo, utilizing oil barrels and Tianlang Pass, our fifty thousand against their two hundred thousand, we have roughly a forty percent chance of victory. However, even if we ultimately win, the casualties will be enormous. Right now, we have more than seventy thousand prisoners to digest and reassemble, and it will take at least two to three months before they can become a fighting force for our side."

"Therefore, if we can avoid fighting a battle against Tuling Tuo, it’s best to avoid it!"

After discussions, Suo Lun and the others reached a consensus, they prepared for the decisive battle, but it was best to make Tuling Tuo Army withdraw voluntarily.

Otherwise, even if we win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

At that time, Suo Lun’s army, if decimated, would likely be unable to suppress the seventy thousand prisoners of Tianshui City, and it’s probable that the newly secured Linhai City would be impossible to defend as well.

Currently, Suo Lun’s achievements in battle are already too vast, and there’s still the entire conquest of the Southeastern Province ahead, all of which require an immense army.

He needs a great deal of time to assimilate the enormous gains, so a decisive battle against Tuling Tuo at this time would be all harm and no good.

...

The Tuling Tuo Army is four hundred li away from Tianlang Pass!

Zhi Wei’s secret letter failed to shake Duke Tuling Tuo’s resolve, and he continued his march, vowing to wipe out Tian Shui.

Thus, Suo Lun had to execute the Heart Punishment Technique ahead of time!

Riding the griffin, he returned to Heavenly Water Main City!

In a high-security prisoner-of-war camp, thousands of military officers were detained.

There were officers from Linhai City, from the Southeastern Province, from Earl Gui Xingfu’s Allied Army.

This series of battles had captured nearly seventy thousand troops, and all officers above the rank of Centurion were here!

Without these officers, those captured soldiers were like a scattered sand, unable to cause much harm.

At this moment, all captive officers looked up to the stage above.

Kneeling there in rows were people.

In the center was the King’s brother, Duke Zhi Wei, alongside him were Crown Prince Zhi You, Earl Gui Xingfu, Crown Prince Gui Qin Bi, Young Master Gui Qinqu, and Young Master Gui Qinzhong.

All were top-level nobles, figures these officers had looked up to.

Now, they had become prisoners at the foot of the stage, kneeling before all captives.

Grand Eunuch Gao Yin, the close confidant of His Majesty and the chief eunuch in charge of the Rage Wave Kingdom, was reading the King’s decree.

"Duke Zhi Wei acted without the King’s consent, attacking fellow nobles of the kingdom in an attempt to overturn the foundation of the kingdom’s stability. With malicious intent and traitorous heart, his crimes are unforgivable; he is sentenced to death by beheading!"

After Grand Eunuch Gao Yin finished reading the decree, the captive officers trembled violently, unable to believe what they were witnessing.

Zhi Wei, the King’s brother, the Governor of the Southeastern Province, one of the top three most powerful nobles in the whole Rage Wave Kingdom.

The King actually sentenced him to beheading, actually ordered his execution?

All the captive officers present felt their bodies tremble with shock and a chilling fear.

And with it, a sense of absolute terror, for if even Zhi Wei was to be beheaded, what about them, the officers?

Gao Yin walked up to Duke Zhi Wei and asked, "Zhi Wei, do you admit your guilt?"

"Your servant deserves death and admits his guilt!" Duke Zhi Wei kowtowed heavily.

His kowtow served one purpose—to ensure that his son, Zhi You, could live.

Grand Eunuch Gao Yin looked to Zhi Yan and inquired, "Princess Zhen Yan, shall we carry out the execution?"

Princess Zhen Yan tossed a golden tablet down and said coldly, "Proceed with the execution!"

Suo Lun raised his great sword, aimed it at Duke Zhi Wei’s neck, and brought it down fiercely!

Blood sprayed as Duke Zhi Wei’s head rolled to the ground!

With that, a top-level noble of the Rage Wave Kingdom, the first Duke, the first Governor, was beheaded before the public, his life ended once and for all!