The Northern Wind Howls: Smoke Rises from the Battlefield

“By the King’s command! Xiao Yuanshan, Marquis of Zhenbei, has amassed troops for his own gain, colluded with the Di Rong, and plotted treason! Kill everyone in the household without exception!” A voice as cold as iron rang out amid the chaos. It belonged to a centurion of the Purefire Guard. Beneath his faceplate, only a pair of utterly emotionless eyes could be seen.

“The King’s command? Hahaha!” Xiao Yuanshan laughed in fury, his laughter filled with desolation. “When someone wants to pin a crime on you, there’s never a shortage of excuses! I, Xiao Yuanshan, have guarded the northern frontier against the northern winds for twenty years. I’ve fought over a hundred battles, great and small, and bear twenty-seven wounds from blades and arrows! Have I ever harbored even the slightest disloyal thought? Have I ever failed the King in the slightest?!” His gaze flashed as he fixed it on the centurion. “It’s King Wuwei! He can’t stand me! He wants to eliminate everyone who disagrees with him!”

The centurion’s eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, then turned cold again. “Words of a traitor! Kill!” He said no more, simply waving the command flag in his hand.