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Lingwu Territory·Overlord’s mansion.

Inside a room as expansive as the King’s court, a young woman sat on an elevated throne with a red gauze covering her face.

This young woman wore crimson clothes embroidered with clouds and peonies in yellow-gold threads as well as a relaxed petticoat and long sleeves that trailed onto the floor. A head of silky jet-black hair was coiled into a high hair bun with a blood-colored hairpin and a bead string made of gold and gems inserted into it, showing off her graceful and luxurious presence. A stole created out of martin fur wrapped around her jade-like neck as her slender fingers deftly rolled the bamboo tube in her hands.

Her exquisite eyes stared fixedly at the bamboo tube in her hands as she kept silent.

Beneath the elevated platform, there were solemn civilian court officials and military leaders standing respectfully on the two sides while two men and two women kneeled between them with cold sweat flowing down their foreheads.

First Temple: Monarch of Qin Guang, Second Temple: Monarch of Clear River, Ninth Temple: Monarch of Equality, and Hidden Guard’s missions official Frost.

Seeing how the Overlord of Lingwu wasn’t saying a word, the hearts of these four people went cold.

Even the calmest of the four, Monarch of Qin Guang, was deferentially sticking his head to the floor. He was very clear on what that woman on the elevated throne signified in Lingwu Territory. She is omnipotent in literary arts and military strategies, but that also signifies that everything from pardoning a life to saving a life and giving authority to taking away authority is concentrated solely on her person. His Majesty the King, who oversees the royal capital, still has a hundred officials to balance the monarchical power, but in Lingwu Territory, only the Overlord of Lingwu is the sole authority.

Besides,【Hidden Guard】’s Major Command was standing as the third spot on the side of the military officials and was still staring at him coldly, even now.

So long as the Overlord of Lingwu gave the command, the bloody heads of the four people kneeling would fall onto the floor.

A few moments later, the Overlord of Lingwu lifted up her head and swept her beautiful eyes on these four people. Afterwards, she remarked:

“So, you all escaped back in such sorry states?”

Monarch of Qin Guang pleaded:

“This official is incompetent, please bestow punishment on this lowly official, ruler.”

The Overlord of Lingwu held the bamboo tube in one hand and said:

“Incompetent……? Hmph.”

She breathed out a mouthful of white mist, then crossed one leg over the other.

With five fingers grasping one end of the bamboo tube, the Overlord of Lingwu indifferently stated:

“Of course you all are incompetent. But Monarch of Qin Guang, your realm is the highest out of the Ten Temple Hell Kings. Since even you are unable to defeat him, this proves that it is not your incompetence, but rather the entire Hidden Guard’s dereliction of duty. If I wasn’t prompted by a sudden impulse to bury a chess piece inside West-Resisting City, then I’m sure that your entire Hidden Guard wouldn’t have detected that there’s a young tiger lying in the west, yes?”

As soon as her voice fell, the third person from the five officials on the right left his place in the ranks and kneeled down beside Monarch of Qin Guang, then said with a lowered head:

“This official has neglected his job.”

The Overlord of Lingwu laughed and as she pinched the bamboo tube in her grasp, she said:

“I’m actually quite curious, where does this Li De get his courage from? To negotiate terms with Lingwu……heh. Even though Lingwu does lack some things, what can he, a downtrodden City Lord, provide for us?”

After those words left her mouth, the three members of the Ten Temple Hell Kings weren’t able to react. However, Frost seemed to have become aware of something, so she fiercely raised her head and said with a trembling voice:

“Ruler……”

The Overlord of Lingwu sent over a glance at her.

Their gazes met each other for a short instant before Frost lowered her head and the expression on her face fluctuated as she suddenly shouted:

“Li De knew that Ruler would say these words, so he entrusted me with a message to tell Ruler: Don’t throw away Lingwu’s future……just because of your own arrogance.”

The shadows of mirth appeared to have dotted the Overlord of Lingwu’s brows and eyes, yet her voice was filled with soul-piercing dignity:

“Oh? Is he speculating my thoughts?”

Frost replied loudly:

“He said, an emperor’s heart is hard to fathom. But if Ruler is someone who will disregard the bigger picture for some minor details, then treat these words like air. Ruler can send the Ten Temple Hell Kings over and see who will have the last laugh. But he wants to remind Ruler that Lingwu is rich in natural resources and is very strong, but is also being weighed down by the Giant Race. 80,000 armored cavalry does sound majestic and 150,000 armored martial soldiers is enough to disregard commoners in their path, but behind them are family members in the land of bitter coldness!”

The Overlord of Lingwu’s expression turned icy. The jingles of her chained phoenix hairpin sounded through the hall as a terrifying aura suppressed everyone else in the hall from looking up.

Hidden Guard’s Major Command lifted his head and frostily stated:

“Ruler, this official has been lax in disciplining his subordinates and caused this person to offend Ruler. This official……”

The Overlord of Lingwu did not pay heed to Major Command’s words and instead fixed her glare on Frost as she asked:

“Did he say anything else?”

Frost dipped her head even further downward and could only feel as if her heart was about to burst into two. Her lips trembled; not even a peep could escape past them. With her state being so, she could only take out the note in her bosom. It was, of course, the note that Li De had formerly stuck onto the bamboo tube. She didn’t take it too seriously at the time, so she opened it up and discovered that the note wasn’t addressed to the Overlord of Lingwu. Rather, it was written for her, telling her about how to persuade the Overlord of Lingwu into opening up the bamboo tube.

In the beginning, Frost didn’t pay any mind to it since how would the Overlord not opening the bamboo tube have anything to do with her?

But when the Overlord of Lingwu said “what can he, a downtrodden City Lord, provide for us”, Frost’s heart instantly jumped and fear started washing over her like ocean tides. She woke up to reality with a start; Hidden Guard’s operation had failed this time and turned out to be a major loss of face for Lingwu Territory. Someone had to be made the scapegoat for such a situation.

If the Overlord of Lingwu were to dispatch the Ten Temple Hell Kings, then the trio of monarchs would still have an opportunity to make up for their faults. But it wasn’t the same for an ordinary missions official like her with no positive value or even a decent cultivation base. On top of that, she was also Shiloh’s guide. Since Shiloh rebelled against Hidden Guard, then she, the guide, would not be able to rid herself of the sin known as ineffective supervision and be sent to death.

Unless, Li De’s gift is able to invoke the Overlord of Lingwu’s favor.

This way, she would win herself a chance at surviving!

Therefore, Frost found herself with no other choice but to follow the instructions on the note in the instant she realized that, to take the side of that despicable West-Resisting City’s City Lord.

The Overlord of Lingwu looked up and gestured. The middle-aged man ranked first amongst the civilian officials went forth to take the note from Frost, walked over to the Overlord of Lingwu, and used both hands to hand the note over to her with a bow. The Overlord of Lingwu swept the note and found that everything Frost had said was similar to the note except for the last section:

“If she still doesn’t accept, then just pass the note onto her.”

The Overlord of Lingwu flipped over the note and read the big, carelessly written words on the back:

“I was in the wrong this time. I sincerely offer you my meager gift as a temporary apology. Let us meet another day, I wish you unbounded happiness as your lead horse.”

The Overlord of Lingwu went into shock for two seconds, then burst into laughter.

She hadn’t laughed so carefreely for so long, so she threw the note onto the floor in all smiles and commented:

“This person is interesting. Let’s take a look at the tribute he’s offering.”

She opened the bamboo tube in her hand. It wasn’t very heavy; all there was inside was a rolled up scroll.

The Overlord of Lingwu unfurled the scroll and what appeared before her was a sketch and densely packed words. As she examined it, she lost the smile on her face.

A short while later, she handed over the scroll to the middle-aged man who had just passed over the note to her and commanded:

“Prime minister, take a look at it.”

The middle-aged man received the scroll, unfurled it, and began glancing through it with furrowed brows. Soon after, shock appeared in his expression. Moments later, he knelt down with the scroll cupped in his hands and loudly congratulated:

“Congratulations, Ruler! This land will finally be dominated by my Lingwu. Once the northern defensive line is liberated, 80,000 armored cavalry may leave for the royal capital at any time! This time, that harsh, merciless, and incapable ruler shall pay the price! This old servant has waited for 20 years, this day has finally——”

The Overlord of Lingwu narrowed her eyes and ignored the tearful prime minister. Leaning back onto the throne behind her, she impassively called out:

“……Major Command.”

The man kneeling on the floor stood up and answered with cupped hands and a lowered head:

“Your loyal subject is present.”

The Overlord of Lingwu pondered for a moment before saying:

“From today onwards, cancel Li De and Shiloh’s names from【Hidden Guard】’s assassination list. Within three years,【Hidden Guard】will not enter West-Resisting City.”

“Understood.”

“Fetch one of my tokens and send it to Li De. Tell him that he doesn’t need to be the lead horse. If he loses in someone’s hands in the future, he can come to Lingwu Territory and rely on the token to find backing in me. Civilian official or military official, whichever position suits him.”

“Yes.”

“In addition to this, not only does he want Shiloh, he also wants to establish his own Secret Division Organization, yes? That’s impossible without any suitable talents. Frost, you are no longer a member of【Hidden Guard】from this day onwards, go to West-Resisting City and lend him a hand.”

Frost lifted her head and protested with a trembling voice:

“Ruler……”

The Overlord of Lingwu no longer paid any further attention to her. Frost originally wanted to argue, but she abruptly swallowed down the words that were about to come out.

She instinctively understood that she had no other choice but to go to West-Resisting City. Regardless of whether she had previously offended the City Lord or how difficult her future days were to be, she still had to go.

Because this is the only way for her to survive the ordeal.

The Overlord of Lingwu swept her gaze upon all in the hall and ordered:

“Apart from the prime minister, you may all withdraw.”