Shangguan Hong had only just left the military camp when he was ambushed in an isolated corner. His corpse was, in terrible condition, was nearly diced into mincemeat. It could only be identified from the little trinkets left at the scene. As there was nothing that could be brought back to the Dragon King, the soldiers on patrol could only invite him to personally go down to see for himself.
It was more than any ordinary assassination. It was more like the killer wanted to release his or her pent up rage or had wished to use such crude methods to hide the truth.
Gu Shenwei felt that the prior theory was more plausible. The Golden Roc Fort he knew could be ruthless and strike without mercy, but its killers rarely defiled the corpses of their victims.
Shangguan Fei, logically, agreed with the Dragon King’s theory but he was still pale with shock and nearly threw up.
He had hated Shangguan Hong, had even wished for his half-brother to perish as quickly as possible. However, upon seeing the pieces of flesh strewn across the ground, even if it could be someone else’s, he still felt somewhat sorry.
He could see his own future from the gory scene.
The Dragon King was going to take serious action. For the next five consecutive days, a huge search was conducted in the capital of the Stone Kingdom, as well as as inside and outside of the military camp. He personally took part in searches of crucial areas and left no stone unturned.
A total of 34 killers and machetemen from the Golden Roc Fort were rounded up. Most of them were executed on the spot. Only two were captured alive, but they committed suicide by taking poison while being escorted to the Dragon King.
They definitely were not the entirety spies planted in the Xiaoyao Lake region, but Gu Shenwei could only do so much, for now.
On the sixth day after Shangguan Hong’s disappearance, two supply depots within the borders of the Stone Kingdom were secretly set on fire simultaneously.
The existence of one of the depots was public knowledge, while that of the other was kept secret. The former was situated about 20 kilometers in a southwesterly direction from the capital and was the very one that Gu Shenwei had brought both Shangguan brothers to visit before. There were many sharp wooden pegs stored in it. The latter was closely adjacent to the city walls of the capital and looked like an ordinary commoner’s house that was frequented by encumbered oxcarts. The mysterious black liquid that Shangguan Fei saw that night was stored in this depot.
The scale of the sneak attacks exceeded everyone’s expectations. Each depot was hit by groups of about 80 to 90 people; the searches over the last five days did not seem to have diminished the Golden Roc Fort’s strength. In fact, it seemed stronger now.
Gu Shenwei had strengthened security at both locations and even set up traps for the attackers. After a brief fight, the ambushers suffered heavy losses and were nearly wiped out. Even so, they successfully set fire to the depots and laid waste to Zhong Heng’s strenuous endeavor.
The fires, both north and south, shot up high and illuminated half of the night sky. It raged on for a long time and only gradually died down near dawn.
Rumors began spreading suddnely, causing the soldiers and civilians of the Xiaoyao Lake to have even less confidence in the upcoming battle. The more experienced civilians began snatching up provisions and storing them securely, getting ready for another long and drawn out seige.
When the fires raged on, Gu Shenwei and Zhong Heng were in their tents planning battle formations throughout the night. As the news was passed on to them, they both heaved a sigh of relief.
In the end, Shangguan Hong still managed to pass the intelligence on to the Golden Roc Fort, He even did it even quicker than they had expected. As for the two depots, they were only displayed that one day for Shangguan Hong’s viewing pleasure, and more than half of the suit of armors kept there were replicas made of wood, with very few real items among them.
“The journey from here to Shuangquan Village takes, at the very least, half a month. It’s only the sixth day since Shangguan Hong’s death, yet the Golden Roc Fort seemed to have acted a bit too swiftly,” Zhong Heng raised his doubts.
“Therefore, the person who gave the order would definitely not be Shangguan Jianyi. Most probably it was some blademaster. Let me get him to…” Gu Shenwei remarked as he briskly walked to the entrance of his tent. Suddenly he paused and spun around, struck by an idea. “Could it be that…”
“That’s exactly right!” the usually calm Zhong Heng exclaimed, an obvious excitement unexpectedly appearing upon his face. “Shangguan Jianyi has already snuck into the Xiaoyao Lake region, he’s somewhere near to us!”
“He’s the Commander of an army.”
“So are you,” said as he Zhong Heng grinned.
It was common for killers to have the inclination to engage in risky business alone. The Dragon King had gone alone to gather intelligence on the enemy on a few occassions and it was possible that Shangguan Jianyi would behave in the same manner. It was exactly the type of behavior that the Supreme King appreciated.
It was slightly sloppy to assume that the enemy Commander, after only two sneak attacks which were moderately larger in scale, was hiding somewhere near. However, Gu Shenwei increasingly sensed that it was plausible. He could not help but get excited as well.
Zhong Heng led some men to put out the fires and catch the arsonists who escaped. Gu Shenwei led over 200 guard troops and 300 swordsmen to surround the camp of the five highest-ranking military officers of Xiaoyao Lake himself.
Gu Shenwei was not making a wild guess while deducing that Shangguan Jianyi was hiding in the camp.
After he was attacked in the royal palace, Gu Shenwei ordered people to observe the Shangguan brothers secretly. There were various signs that showed that the person Shangguan Hong was making contact with came from the tents of the military officers from the five nations.
Gu Shenwei originally planned to keep the small nest running for a little while longer. Though he could wait a while longer for the largest fish to take the bait, he decided that it was time to reel it in; he even suspect he was a bit too late.
Just as the encirclement was set up, news came again that the arsonists were mostly stragglers from the other four nations of the Xiaoyao Lake who had fled after their loss. On paper, they never returned to their camp, nor were their names recorded within the personnel files. In reality, however, they had been hiding in the camp all along, protected by their comrades.
The armies of all five nations were involved in the matter. There were even some soldiers of the Stone Kingdom, who were more loyal in nature, that were willing to protect the deserters.
The situation soon became blown out of proportion. The Dragon King’s army consisted one-third of the soldiers from the five nations army. If he did not intervene, it would be akin to allowing the betrayal to continue, were he to act too harshly, it would be a detriment to his own strength. No matter what, it was not as simple as all of the local soldiers from Xiaoyao Lake wanting to turn to the Golden Roc Fort.
It was still dark when Gu Shenwei gave the order for all his troops to assemble, before leading his men into the camp of the high-ranking military officers of the five nations army.
There were four princes among the dozens of officers and all of them were woken from their sleep, emerging from their tents to greet the Dragon King.
In reality, none of them were actually asleep. The burning of the supply depots was huge news and could even be seen from afar. The officers, who were either guilty or afraid of trouble, hid in their tents trying to listen to the noises outside.
Upon seeing that the Dragon King was not in a good mood, the military officers gathered around dared not ask any questions.
There were more than 120 attendants and guard troops assigned to the officers in the camp. They were separated from their masters and forced to stand in a row. Gu Shenwei walked past them, inspecting each of them, picking out seven suspicious characters.
The Dragon King’s actions made it seems as if he could sniff out the traitors, but in reality he had sent people to investigate beforehand and was completely sure of who were on the side of the Golden Roc Fort. That being said, he had not discovered who among them was Shangguan Jianyi.
He did not immediately bring out his accusations, choosing instead to walk in front of the officers. He began to speak for the first time since entering the camp, “The Supreme King wants to turn the entire Xiaoyao Lake region into the private property of the Shangguan family, but I gave you independence. There’s a price to pay for maintaining the status of the royal families and that price is fighting alongside me. Now though, there are some among you who are secretly in cahoots with the Golden Roc Fort. Not only are you betraying me, you’re a traitor to your own royal clan and nation. Stand out and perhaps I will spare you.”
Not one single person came forth. Though the Dragon King’s method of calling out the other traitors amongst the attendants and guard troops made their officers feel extremely afraid, they still chose to believe luck was on their side.
Gu Shenwei waited for a while before waving his hand, the hundreds of soldiers standing behind him drew their weapons in unison.
One of the high-ranking military officers from the Stone Kingdom thought that the Dragon King was about to begin a massacre and hurriedly attempted to exonerate himself. “Dragon King, I’m absolutely innocent. Prime Minister Zhong can vouch for the fact that I put in great effort during the defense of the city.”
All along, although the military officers from the five nations had their differences, they always thought of themselves as a united front. Compared to the Dragon King and his army, who were outsiders, they felt that they were the true masters of the Xiaoyao Lake region.
Now, their united front was starting to crack and split apart.
Gu Shenwei nodded and replied, “All the high-ranking military officers of the Stone Kingdom should come over here.”
The seven officers from the Stone Kingdom felt as if a huge weight was lifted off their chests and ran to the left side of the Dragon King, and looked with pity upon their comrades who had to remain at their original spot.
The military officers from the Sha and Hui kingdoms started speaking over eachother upon seeing what occured with their counterparts from the Stone Kingdom. “I’m loyal to the Dragon King!” “Dragon King, the prince of the Kang Kingdom a traitor! I have proof!” “Dragon King, none of the people from the An Kingdom are good!”
“All of you! Shut up!”
Some one, knowing that there was no way for him to hide and that, not only would his comrades point him out, but the Dragon King would soon focus on him as well, eventually stepped forward.
The prince of the Kang Kingdom step forth and declared, “Since you must find the traitor, then capture me. No one would believe me anyway.”
“Very well,” Gu Shenwei replied, drawing his Five Peaks Saber.
The prince of the Kang Kingdom had always acted indignantly toward the Dragon King and his turning out to be the traitor was within the expectations of many people.
The prince felt that his bravery had dissipated slightly, that he needed something to motivate himself. However, he was unable to look at the Dragon King directly and decided that he would simply turn away. He faced the high-ranking military officers of the five nations and addressed them, “Cowards! Remember that we are in Xiaoyao Lake. This land has always belonged to the five royal families! I’ve saved your lives today, so think of a way to save yourselves later. It doesn’t matter whether we’re relying on the Dragon King, or Supreme King, their motives are the same, and we’ll be doomed either way!”
“Non-nonsense,” rebutted a lone voice out of the dozens of high-ranking military officers present. The prince of the Kang Kingdom was spot on; they were as unwilling to help the Supreme King attack the Stone Kingdom as they were to join the Dragon King’s army.”
Everyone was preparing themselves for the Dragon King’s fatal strike.
Gu Shenwei did not make a move immediately, even though he had something to say too.
“His Royal Highness, the prince, is correct,” he replied. He did not want to use flowery language; he would wake these people up with the harsh reality of the situation. “The Supreme King wants to destroy the five nations, though to me, Xiaoyao Lake is simply a base to stabilize my operations.”
The dozens of officers remained silent with their heads bowed. Though it was the truth, by publicly declaring it the Dragon King was ascribing a grave and humiliating insult to them.
“Neither the Supreme King nor I, can be blamed. You only have yourselves to blame for ending up in this predicament,” Gu Shenwei continued, his choice of words becoming increasingly abrasive. “None of you have ever proven capable enough to defend the lands your ancestors left behind. All you know is how to be is superficial and when to give in. Fate has left the Xiaoyao Lake in your hands, yet you proactively gave it away to outsiders! I must to seize the Lake for myself, because if I don’t do so, the Supreme King will do it first. Thanks to your weakness, Xiaoyao Lake has now become a land of no master! It can be taken by anyone who acts quickly enough.”
Only the prince of the Kang kingdom dared to rebut him, “My family has ruled over the Kang kingdom for centuries. We have always been the masters of this land!”
“A master will give anything and everything to protect what belongs to them. Have you ever done that?”
The prince turned as red as an apple as he retorted, “I was not in cahoots with the Golden Roc Fort, and I don’t have any plans to rely on the Great Snow Mountain. Just kill me and get it over with. It will only be hastening my death by a few days. The royal families of Xiaoyao Lake are destined to be destroyed by you and the Supreme King.”
“Nothing is fated,” Gu Shenwei said as he lifted his saber. “You are not a traitor, and I won’t kill innocent folk. They are the traitors.”
The Dragon King pointed the tip of his saber toward the eight officers he had picked out, who had nearly collapsed to the ground. They were from the An Kingdom, south of Xiaoyao Lake.
The eight of them kneeled on the ground pleading for mercy in unison, “Spare us, Dragon King.”
“Where is the man from Golden Roc Fort?” Gu Shenwei asked.
“He- he went into the city and hasn’t been back since,” an officer confessed immediately.
Gu Shenwei got a shock upon hearing that. “Which target of Shangguan Jianyi is so valuable, that he has to personally go for it? Or is this a diversion to allow him to escape?” he thought.
“He went to kill General Dugu, I’m sure of it,” said another high-ranking military officer of the An Kingdom. Even though it was only a guess, he sounded quite certain.