“Wilde, mom has let you down.”

Mrs. Long was truly agonized. Wilde was a good child, and even at such a time, he still didn’t have the slightest bit of resentment against her. He was actually consoling her instead. That made her feel even more forlorn.

If it weren’t for her family’s schemes, she wouldn’t have implicated everyone. Looking at Wilde who was on his last breaths but still acted as though he were fine, she felt as if a knife was stabbing into her heart.

“Mom, don’t be afraid. Long Chen will definitely come and save us,” comforted Wilde. He did his best to sit up. That way he could alleviate some of the pressure from the needles and he could feel a bit more ‘comfortable’.

“Child, it’s been hard on you.” Each Bone Eroding Needle was a horrifying torture object, and seeing them cover his body so densely caused her to cry even harder. Just how much pain had this child suffered?

“Mom, I’m fine. That bastard Marquis Ying interrogated me, but I didn’t even know what he was talking about. In any case, I didn’t say a word, infuriating the old bastard,” laughed Wilde.

Once Marquis Ying had recovered from his wounds, he had heard that Wilde had been captured. He had immediately gone to interrogate him alone.

He was extremely curious about Wilde’s physical body. He was still in disbelief that a novice like him, who hadn’t even reached Blood Condensation, had been able to block his sword.

He wanted to know how Wilde cultivated. However, he didn’t have Long Chen’s powerful soul. He was unable to see through the situation with Wilde’s cells.

Although he did find out that Wilde’s body was extremely strange with only four meridians, he had assumed that it was the result of training in some sort of mysterious cultivation technique since childhood.

Marquis Ying naturally wouldn’t give up a chance to obtain such a mysterious cultivation technique. Even if he couldn’t cultivate it, it would definitely be a priceless treasure if he could obtain it.

But he hadn’t expected a kid like Wilde to be so tough. He didn’t say a single word, and no matter how he hit him, he didn’t make a single sound.

He had tried all sorts of torture, in the end even using the cruelest Bone Eroding Needles all over his body. But he still didn’t say a single word.

Later, Marquis Ying gradually realized that Wilde’s body’s strangeness was most likely due to his constitution.

Perhaps Wilde’s cultivation technique was something that others would be incapable of cultivating even if they had the technique! Forcefully cultivating in it would only result in death.

The real question was just what kind of existence could block the pain of the Bone Eroding Needle? Even if you could resist one needle, who could possibly take ten of them without dying? Even a Tendon Transformation expert would go crazy from the pain of ten Bone Eroding Needles.

Having understood that point, Marquis Ying no longer bothered with Wilde’s cultivation technique. He was more interested in Wilde’s physical body. He wanted to see just how many Bone Eroding Needles a person’s body could take.

And that was how Wilde had turned into a human-shaped hedgehog. That was absolutely shocking to Marquis Ying. Even being covered by the Bone Eroding Needles, he still didn’t die. His physical body was too terrifying.

It was at that time that he had been ordered to send Wilde to the execution ground, and only then did he stop his torture of Wilde.

“Hmph, I guess you are pretty difficult to deal with since you could survive that many Bone Eroding Needles. I wonder if your neck will be able to stop my blade? I truly am curious,” Li Feng said to Wilde coldly.

“You bastard, just wait! Brother Long will definitely come to save us!” Wilde retorted angrily.

“Just keep dreaming. No matter who comes, no one will be able to save you, not even God himself. Just quietly become a ghost,” sneered Li Feng coldly. He no longer bothered with them.

A disturbance arose as a party from both the Phoenix Cry Empire and the Grand Xia Empire walked out. On the side of the Phoenix Cry Empire was the Empress Dowager along with the princes and princesses, as well as the powerful chancellors.

On the side of the Grand Xia Empire was a large, tower-like man wearing yellow robes. Behind him were three armed soldiers closely following him.

Those four all emitted a terrifying pressure. Their reserved auras seemed like volcanoes that might erupt at any moment.

The person at the front was the Grand Xia’s Emperor, Xia Youyu. The three people behind him were the Grand Xia’s peak experts. This time Xia Youyu had truly brought his entire empire’s top forces here.

The two groups stopped when they were a few dozen steps from each other. The fourth prince was the first to walk out. Behind him were two people, one of which was Marquis Ying. The other one was a slightly short, bearded man with a warhammer on his back. That was the equally famous Wu Yi who was known as Marquis Wu.

Ever since the eldest prince had been removed from his position, the Empress Dowager had supported the fourth prince to become the inheritor of the empire, making him become the new crown prince. And once the fourth prince had become the crown prince, in a thunderous strike, he had immediately captured the eldest prince’s henchmen.

He also quickly ordered Marquis Wu to recall his army back to the capital to defend. They had only just managed to return when the Grand Xia’s army had arrived and encircled the capital.

The fourth prince had gone out in front of the capital and faced hundreds of thousands of the Grand Xia’s elite troops as calm as ever in order to negotiate, causing the Grand Xia’s army to pause outside the city gates, allowing the commoners to escape having their blades wreck havoc on the city.

When the commoners inside the city saw the fourth prince’s suave and elegant manner, there were none who didn’t feel admiration. That was the kind of boldness a ruler of an empire should have.

“As for brother Changfeng’s misfortune, Chu Xia is deeply apologetic. But luckily the heavens have blessed us and the criminals have already been arrested. I hope the blood of these people can comfort brother Changfeng’s soul.” The fourth prince ‘regretfully’ apologized to Xia Youyu.

Xia Youyu’s expression was a bit complicated. This man should be his sister’s son, and he was truly a bit unwilling inside.

He knew his son had died a wrongful death under the hands of this fourth prince Chu Xia. But he was unable to take revenge.

That was because there had been someone who had ordered him not to harm even a single hair on his body. The reason he had brought these troops was also because of that person’s order. This was all just a play written by Chu Xia.

“Seeing Your Majesty Youyu’s manner, which has yet to recover from the loss of your son, Chu Xia has truly sensed His Majesty’s strong paternal love for brother Changfeng. The loss of brother Changfeng at such a young age truly does cause one to sigh.” The fourth prince shook his head.

Xia Youyu narrowed his eyes, wishing he could slap this fake hypocrite. Even after killing his son, he now put on such an act. That was truly intolerable!

But he didn’t dare make a move. He knew that if he killed Chu Xia, he would definitely not have a good ending. He could only endure.

“Crown prince Chu Xia is too courteous. As long as I can kill my son’s murderer, I believe Changfeng will be able to truly rest contentedly.” Xia Youyu looked profoundly at Chu Xia. When he said ‘murderer’, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

The fourth prince ignored that gaze, lightly saying, “Rest easy Your Majesty. The killers have been captured and can’t run. But in order to maintain our two empires’ friendship, a couple of sacrifices are unavoidable. Only by giving up a few prejudices and misunderstandings can two empires’ people enjoy peace. Thinking back to the Grand Xia and Phoenix Cry’s friendship, I must say that Your Majesty’s vision truly is great. What do you say?”

Xia Youyu finally understood that this chess piece he had set up all those years ago had already escaped his chessboard and was beginning to control him instead. The fourth prince’s killing of Xia Changfeng was to tell him that this Chu Xia was no longer the old Chu Xia.

If he wanted to continue controlling him, that would be a grave mistake. Even just the slightest carelessness might even bring about his own fall.

The fourth prince’s words immediately caused him to awaken from his grief. He nodded, “Correct, peace is the dream of the people.”

“That’s entirely true. But peace must be built on a foundation of trust and equality. Those who would attempt to break our empires’ peace must die.”

He coldly smiled and looked towards the eldest prince and his people. His smile suddenly disappeared and he harshly shouted, “Chu Yang, do you admit your crimes?!”

Chu Yang, who was originally just lying there, was jolted suddenly and looked up into the sky, terrified. It seemed as if he was seeing some terrifying image, and he incessantly kowtowed.

“Guilty, I’m guilty!”

He repeated he was guilty over and over as he kowtowed, seeming to be full of remorse. But not a single person noticed that within the hair on the back of his head were three extremely thin needles.

He wasn’t the only one with needles in his head. The calm and slightly lifeless Empress Dowager also had such thin needles on the back of her head, but her hair blocked it so that no one could see.

The fourth prince looked over everyone and coldly shouted, “Our Phoenix Cry’s eldest prince tried in vain to destroy the peace between our two nations. He threatened to throw our people into an abyss of torture. Death without pardon - kill!”

Following his cold order, the head executioner’s blade fell.

Blood flew everywhere. Over ten heads fell to the ground and dyed the earth red. Of the members of the Long household in the row behind them, over half of them fainted directly.

The commoners watching from a distance closed their eyes in fright. It wasn’t that they hadn’t seen executions before, but they had never seen so many people executed for some heinous crimes.

Furthermore, those people were all the highest officials of the empire, causing many of them to not be able to bear the sight. At the same time, their respect for the fourth prince only grew.

Seeing all those people be executed, the fourth prince took a deep breath. He was too excited. He loved this feeling of control. Just a single thought on his part controlled the life and death of the people around him. That was the fascination of power.

He looked towards the pale faces of the princes, princesses, and the nobility. The fear in their eyes was exactly what he had wanted to see.

He would borrow this chance to clear out any other parties and make everyone acknowledge allegiance to him while making it so that they didn’t dare rebel against him. He would become a king who ruled through complete power. Follow me and prosper; oppose me and die.

“This is the result of disloyalty!”

The fourth prince coldly looked up from those corpses and looked at the terrified expression of Mrs. Long.

Her entire body was trembling now and she was filled with terror. She didn’t faint, but just watched woodenly instead.

“Mrs. Long, I’m sorry. Long Chen committed such a huge offense that even I am unable to protect you. Don’t blame me.”

After saying that, he regretfully waved his hand, causing a dozen executioner’s blades to be pressed against their necks.

“Bastards, you better stop for this master!”

Suddenly, a wild shout rang out and a group of people began to charge over to the execution stage.