Chapter 2870: Turning the Tables

Despite the many experts in the Annihilation faction, none had the power to deal with the Conqueror King’s artifact. It wasn't without reason that the Conqueror King had conquered many worlds through it. Three days later, the imperial child passed away.

Confounding Crossroads was anguished. This was the child born to his most doted-on Consort Donggo. Only before this beautiful and gentle woman did he feel like a great man. She really admired him as if he were her heaven.

He had already made up his mind to let Consort Donggo’s child inherit his throne in the future. Little had he expected their child to pass away shortly after birth.

Curse that Conqueror King! He continues to be a thorn in my flesh even after he’s dead!

Since they hadn’t identified the source of the plague, an official proposed bringing the other prince out of the capital to seek refuge in an imperial manor. There were fewer people in the imperial manor, so the odds of catching the plague were much lower.

Confounding Crossroads agreed. The other prince was born from a consort he didn’t favor anyway. He'd been so angry at being bullied by the Conqueror King that he had too much to drink and vented on a random consort in the imperial palace. He hadn’t expected the consort to get pregnant just like that.

If not for this incident, he might not have remembered that he had this son.

Since I’m not fond of this son anyway, I might as well send him out of the palace.

So, that prince was escorted out of the imperial palace by a nanny and several palace maids.

Confounding Crossroads spent the following days consoling Consort Donggo while furiously ordering his men to investigate how the Conqueror King’s artifact had ended up outside, and who was behind the plague.

The experts of the Annihilation faction had been through storms. While the plague was terrifying, they knew about methods to control it. It took them a few years, but they finally resolved the plague.

Many people died in the meantime, including several higher-ups in the imperial palace, but on the whole, it was within an acceptable margin. The only regret was that even though they had retrieved the Conqueror King’s artifact, they failed to uncover the culprit behind this catastrophe.

The blame was eventually attributed to the Conqueror King’s remnants. Since the Conqueror King was dead, and his remnants had been thoroughly purged, this incident was left unresolved.

Putting aside the plague, the Annihilation faction was faring well on other fronts.

Wu Sangui was very successful in pushing back the Yongli Emperor’s forces, and at this rate, it wouldn’t take long for him to quell Southern Ming.

The other remnants of the Order faction in Jiangnan were also shrinking. The Zheng clan’s territories on the continent had shrunk to just Xiamen and a few cities in the vicinity.

One day, Confounding Crossroads suddenly decided to personally join the battlefield. This wasn’t decided on a whim; it was a carefully-considered decision.

Despite being the ultimate victor in the battle against the Conqueror King, in recent years, he noticed a horrifying trend—the power vacuum was being filled up.

Jirgalang, Oboi, and even Suksaha, who had aided them in purging the Conqueror King’s remnant powers, were beginning to wield significant influence.

Confounding Crossroads felt suffocated. He was worried that another Conqueror King would rise to power, reducing him to a puppet yet again. Ultimately, he was still much too young and lacked prestige within the Annihilation faction. Among his brothers, many were more qualified than him.

He'd only become the emperor because the Conqueror King and Defiant Providence wanted to put the weakest person on the throne so that they could control him.

If the Annihilation Progenitor descended upon the world and saw how weak he was, they wouldn’t choose him to be their next envoy. Thus, he needed to accrue some accomplishments, and the best way to do so was in battle.

As much as he hated the Conqueror King, he had to agree with the latter’s philosophy. The more one conquered, the stronger one became. The Annihilation faction respected experts who achieved things on the battlefield.

Of course, there were also risks involved when the emperor personally joined the battlefield. Should the battle end in a defeat, the emperor risked losing all his prestige. That was also the reason he had only chosen to join the battlefield now.

The Order faction was on the verge of being wiped out. The Zheng clan, after suffering a series of defeats, only had a few cities left on the continent. They no longer had the power to resist the Manchu army.

In other words, this was a low-risk opportunity to accomplish a huge merit. More importantly, Confounding Crossroads could win over the lower-ranking and middle-ranking military officials during the war, and he could use this base to create his own following.

Once he built up his own aides, the other powerful officials would no longer be able to treat him as a puppet.

Many in the imperial court were opposed to him joining the front lines, but Confounding Crossroads had already made up his mind. He pushed his decision through.

For insurance, he brought the Upper Three Banners Imperial Guards along with him. The Upper Three Banners were the strongest armies of the Eight Banners, and they were usually under the emperor’s direct control.

Confounding Crossroads knew that he didn’t wield true control of the Upper Three Banners yet. Most of its generals were more loyal to the Conqueror King or other powerful officials. His goal for participating in this war was to truly establish control over this power.

The Bordered Yellow Banner’s commander, Tasu, first led the Manchu cavalrymen to Quanzhou, where they prepared to travel via sea to attack Xiamen’s north.

The Plain White Banner’s commander, Laita, and the Guangdong Manchu army would make their way to Chaozhou, where they would work with Tongan’s navy to attack Xiamen’s south.

Confounding Crossroads and the Plain Yellow Banner’s commander, Namusange, would lead the main naval force. With their superior military might, they would lead a frontal assault.

Faced with this overwhelming assault, the Zheng clan panicked, and internal strife broke out.

The Zheng clan was currently under Zheng Chenggong’s leadership, but many of his subordinates were pushing him to avoid a confrontation with the Manchus for the time being and hold their base in Taiwan instead.

Zheng Chenggong was put in a tough spot. He decided to seek his little sister’s opinion.

His little sister’s beauty and incredible abillity had left a mark not just within the Zheng clan but on the enemies as well. Those within the Zheng clan called her the Glacier Mountain Goddess, whereas the Annihilation faction called her the Glacier Mountain Demoness.

So, Zheng Chenggong approached a beautiful woman dressed in an icy-blue dress and consulted her on the issue.

“There is no way we can guard Xiamen. Retreating would have been a wise decision. However, the Qing emperor is personally joining the front lines, making this a rare opportunity for us. If we can assassinate him in the battle, it’ll surely shake the Qing dynasty to its core.”

The woman in the blue dress was Chu Chuyan. After years of bloodshed, her disposition had gotten much colder.

Zheng Chenggong replied with a bitter smile, “I know, but the enemy is too strong. We don’t have enough troops on our side. Even avoiding a rout is a tall order, let alone assassinating that dog emperor.”

They could have the advantage in a naval battle, but the enemy had far more ships than them.

“I have my ways,” Chu Chuyan replied confidently.

Zheng Chenggong was surprised, but he chose to trust his little sister. “All right.”

As soon as Zheng Chenggong left, Chu Chuyan dropped her glacier mountain expression and ran behind the screen to tightly embrace the man behind it. “Ah Zu, you’re finally here!”

Zu An also tightly embraced the delicate, trembling body in his arms. Indeed, they had been in this world for many years now, and despite knowing about each other’s existence, this was their first time meeting.

They exchanged a passionate kiss. Their yearning and adoration for each other were so great that they wanted to melt into each other’s bodies.

That night, the Glacier Mountain Goddess melted.

...

The tides suddenly changed. The seawater receded without warning, leaving the bigger Manchu ships stranded on the shallow coast. That turned them into living targets for the Zheng clan’s smaller ships.

“How is this possible? Why did the seawater suddenly recede at this moment?” Confounding Crossroads roared furiously.

There was no way the Annihilation faction, with so many experts on their sides, would make such an elementary mistake. They had already calculated this world’s tides beforehand, so such an anomaly shouldn’t have happened.

It didn’t take long for the Annihilation faction to realize what was going on.

“The enemy has a powerful water element user!”