Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1397 Remnants of the Old Dynasty

West of Zhongjing City, the embassy.

The servant A scrambled in, crying out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

He walked through the halls and corridors, finally collapsing before King Chunxuan's bed, sobbing, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Prince Chunxuan was admiring a jade artifact he had just acquired when he casually remarked, "What's wrong? Could it be that my elder brother has passed away?"

The retainer trembled and hurriedly protested, “Your Majesty, it is not so, it is not so, it has nothing to do with Your Majesty, but rather, it is that the false dynasty suddenly broke the treaty last night and attacked us, wiping out all the soldiers guarding our Yaolan Pass. Your Majesty, this, this is probably the false dynasty’s attempt to destroy our ancestral temples and state!”

"Oh?"

A strange look appeared in King Chunxuan's eyes: "Where did you get this information? Is it true?"

The servant A said, "It was the young master of a minister's household, whom we had previously bribed, who told me this in private."

King Chunxuan pondered for a moment. He knew that person; he had never conveyed any useful information to them before.

This person may seem like a playboy, but he's actually very tight-lipped. Yet he suddenly passed on such important information to them. Either they'll find out about this soon, or there's something even more important that makes this information irrelevant.

What could it be?

Recalling the fall of Yaolan Pass, an idea popped into his head, and he asked, "Who was the general of the puppet dynasty who captured Yaolan Pass?"

"Rumor has it that he is Chen Chuan, a general of the pseudo-dynasty."

"Oh? Is this the one? Tsk tsk..."

Prince Chunxuan shook his head. "That's not because my elder brother was careless; even if he was on guard, it would have been useless..."

The old imperial family came to negotiate not only because the skyline put them in a very passive strategic position, but also because of Chen Chuan's victory at Tianji Peak, which made the old imperial family feel that negotiations were impossible.

Therefore, they valued Chen Chuan's intelligence gathering, which made them familiar with Chen Chuan and aware that if he were to appear, almost no one at the four passes would be able to stop him.

Footsteps sounded outside, and the official entered. He bowed to Prince Chunxuan with his hands clasped and said in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, please leave Zhongjing immediately."

"Hmm, what happened?"

King Chunxuan remained calm and said with amusement, "Let me guess, the Great Shun Dynasty has decided to send troops to attack our dynasty?"

The retainer A shuddered, for King Chunxuan no longer referred to the Great Shun as a false dynasty, this…

Remain silent. "Your Majesty is wise; it is time for us to leave."

"They can't leave."

King Chunxuan said, "Since the Great Shun has already declared war on me, how could they easily let us leave?"

"When two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys."

"Country? What country?"

King Chunxuan said sarcastically, "They're nothing but a bunch of remnants of the old regime clinging to life. They think they're something special just because they're behind closed doors and claim to be powerful and domineering?"

The official replied solemnly, "Your Majesty, why do you say such a thing? Our dynasty still has tens of millions of soldiers and dozens of generals. Looking across the world, how many countries can rival us?"

Prince Chunxuan shook his head and said, "No matter how much we boast, we cannot hide the fact that the enemy is strong and we are weak... Besides, I only just received news of such a momentous event as the capture of Yaolan Pass..."

His fingernails slid across the table. "Are our spies truly unaware? My dear brother has probably long forgotten me."

He suddenly smiled. “If I go back,” he gestured a few times with his hand across his neck, “my good brother will probably put all the blame on me and then offer my head as a sacrifice to the heavens.”

He was speechless for a moment, then sighed.

At that moment, a servant rushed in from outside, knelt on the ground, and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, a lot of soldiers have come and surrounded the guesthouse."

Upon hearing this, the faces of everyone in the inner hall turned deathly pale, and some even burst into tears.

At this moment, the official shouted, "Silence!" He said sternly, "Death is death, but we must not lose face for the nation."

Prince Chunxuan remained calm, which was expected. However, since it was just a siege, it was probably only to prevent them from sending any messages outward, and they probably wouldn't attack him now.

But how could he accept being abandoned by his elder brother like this?

He said to his servant A, "Go and fetch the map I drew by hand, and also bring me the treasures that my mother bestowed upon me, as well as those treasures from my residence."

His expression suddenly changed. "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

King Chunxuan said leisurely, "I'm not doing anything, just trying to save myself." Then he coldly said to his servant A, "Stupid servant, hurry up and go!"

The servant A quickly got up and ran towards the inner hall.

"You must not go!"

The official stepped forward and tried to grab the person, but failed. He then immediately turned to face King Chunxuan with his hands clasped, and said urgently, "Your Majesty! Think carefully, Your Majesty!" King Chunxuan said, "Why do you need to persuade me? What you are carrying on your shoulders is nothing but the old dynasty of the past, which has long since perished. Now I am seeking a way out for you and me."

He stepped forward, his face flushed red, "Your Majesty! You are an envoy personally appointed by His Majesty, and a member of the Yuan clan. How dare you utter such treasonous words..."

Prince Chunxuan's expression turned cold. He threw the jade artifact in his hand down and stood up abruptly: "Don't mention that false king to me!"

The person in question was greatly surprised and stared at him with wide eyes.

King Chunxuan's eyes were extremely hostile, as if he was about to do something if he said another word.

After watching for a while, the servant stiffened his neck, as if he wanted to say something. At this moment, the servant A ran up, called out "Your Majesty", and then placed the brocade box in his hand on the table.

Prince Chunxuan snorted, reached out and flicked the stone ring, and said, "Jia, take this to General Chen's residence."

The official was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is a precious relic bestowed upon us by the late Emperor for protection!"

King Chunxuan scoffed and said, "What use is this to me? Can it protect you or me?"

He sneered, "But fortunately, my royal brother can't protect himself either. The thought that my good royal brother will soon fall to the same level makes me feel really happy."

He pointed to the brocade box and said to his servant A, "Also, send this map and documents to the Great Shun court." Seeing that servant A was standing there motionless, he stepped forward and kicked him, scolding, "You dog, go now!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Servant A hurriedly picked up the brocade box, lowered his head, and ran out.

He stood motionless to the side.

King Chunxuan didn't look at him again, pretending that he didn't exist. He stood there with his hands behind his back and said, "Guards, let the musicians and dancers in. I want to listen to music and watch dances. Let this hall be filled with music and song to send us, the remnants of the old dynasty, on our way."

At the top of Yaolan Pass, Chen Chuan stood in front of the city wall and grabbed a handful of loose beans to feed Chao Ming.

This is a melting pot of cultures, where there is no shortage of all kinds of high-energy, nutritious foods.

Maintaining a small size has its advantages: it conserves energy and slows down the growth process. Excess energy can be stored within the mutated tissue, to be absorbed or used in combat once the body returns to its normal size.

At that moment, he sensed something, looked up at the sky, and saw many fast-moving birds, and they were quite large.

These birds were clearly sent by the old imperial family to investigate. In fact, they had been appearing continuously since last night, their purpose being to find out the specific situation here.

He patted Chaoming, who let out a whistle, pressed its four feet on the city wall, and flew into the sky. It then quickly approached the birds, without needing to do any extra hunting actions. It only needed to rely on its speed to crash into the birds and explode them into clouds of blood mist in mid-air.

After resolving these issues, Chaoming did not stop. After circling around once, he continued to fly further away, his figure quickly transforming into a small black dot.

Chen Chuan looked up at the sky. With Chao Ming here, these reconnaissance birds wouldn't need to even think about getting close.

These mutated creatures, capable of discerning situations, identifying enemies, and sensing danger, are not easy to cultivate. Initially, they appeared in large numbers, but now they are becoming increasingly rare.

However, it is clear that the old imperial family attaches great importance to the fall of the pass, so they are eager to find out the specific personnel and arrangements for defense here.

The old imperial family should have been able to get information from the conservatives, but given the current situation, they may no longer be able to fully trust the conservatives.

This is actually a good thing. If the other side doesn't understand the specific situation, it will be difficult for them to make an accurate judgment, and they won't be able to mobilize their forces as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, his spirit was connected to his own, and he could sense that his main body was on its way. All he had to do now was delay until his main body arrived.

At that moment, the sound of propeller blades came from the sky behind.

Chen Chuan turned his head and saw an airship approaching. The officer accompanying him said, "Sir, those are people from the State Secret Cult Review Bureau. They're here to help us set up the ceremony."

As the airship approached, it stopped at the anchor tower. A middle-aged man led about twenty people dressed in the uniforms of the Secret Sect's headquarters out of the tower. After observing the surroundings, the middle-aged man, led by an officer, headed towards where Chen Chuan was.

When he came closer, he saluted and said, "Officer Chen, hello. I am Wen Mingzhong, the secret ritual master sent by the General Bureau to provide support. I am here to assist you in setting up the secret ritual."

Chen Chuan returned the greeting and said, "Mr. Wen, you've arrived very quickly."

Wen Mingzhong said, "We have cooperated with the army many times and know that the military situation is urgent. Sometimes the difference between victory and defeat is just a few minutes. So when the General Headquarters heard that Anbei Province had captured Yaolan Pass, they immediately sent us over."

Chen Chuan nodded slightly. He could tell that the other person was someone with innate spiritual power, and that the power was not weak. This person's identity in the Secret Sect Bureau must be very complicated.

He said, "Then you go about your business. There's no movement from the old imperial family yet. If there are any changes, I'll have someone inform you immediately."

Wen Mingzhong said seriously, "But before we begin, we need to inform Commander Chen that our General Bureau attaches great importance to this matter, so we have brought an old item with a rather fierce anomaly wrapped around it."

However, any abnormality carries a certain risk of spiraling out of control. Therefore, the General Administration reminded us to fully respect Commander Chen's opinion. If Commander Chen believes it will be hindering, then we can refrain from making any arrangements.

"Is it unusual?"

Chen Chuan said calmly, "It's alright, everyone please go ahead and make the arrangements."

……

……

(End of this chapter)