Chapter 264: All in Your Hands

“Swish!”

In the skies of Northern Mang Kingdom, there was a Quinary Color Peacock, a Dragon Eagle, and a strange avian that were soaring rapidly. Each of the giant avians had dozens of people standing on them.

Among these people, there were males, females, elders, youths, and even a few monks. All of them had grave expressions; most of them had bloodshot eyes, untidy robes, disheveled hair—looking utterly exhausted.

The demonic beast army had already entered the Northern Mang Kingdom and had been wreaking havoc along their way, taking an immeasurable number of lives. Since Jiang Yi and his group had concluded that the little fox was in Stellarsky City, they naturally wanted to find the little fox as soon as possible to end all this destruction.

The King of Northern Mang Kingdom was very clever, and he seemed to have guessed the demonic beast army’s final destination. He didn’t care whether if someone was intentionally leading them on—or if it was the Demon Empress herself that wanted to use this chance to destroy the Stellarsky City, he was absolutely delighted to help that plan succeed.

That was why he didn’t arrange any massive armies to block the demonic beast army and evacuated everyone in the southern cities as soon as possible instead, leaving behind empty cities for the demonic beast army to destroy.

As Jiang Yi had expected, the demonic beast army truly headed straight for the Stellarsky City. The Azure Dragon Empire was anxious as the Stellarsky City was the Azure Dragon Empire’s foundation, and if this city was destroyed, the Azure Dragon Empire would be completely eradicated.

Countless requests for help scattered everywhere. The Azure Dragon Empire even offered a saint artifact and one hundred celestial stones as a reward for anyone who could help neutralize the demonic beast army.

Retribution had arrived!

Apart from Jiang Yi and his group who were already heading for Stellarsky City, none of the other vassal kingdoms sent out any soldiers—even those experts that were hiding among commoners didn’t emerge. When the demonic beast insurrection was at the initial phase, the Azure Dragon Empire’s actions made the entire world bitterly disappointed. They had now fallen in dire states which actually brought much joy to the six vassal kingdoms. Why would they even send out their army to help?

Shui Youlan, the old monk from Great Zen Monastery, Zhuge Qingyun, and the others were rather concerned. If the Azure Dragon Empire was vanquished, the power balance of the continent would be disrupted. Even if the demonic beast insurrection was to subside, the six kingdoms would surely erupt with endless warring. Whenever there was war, the ones who would suffer would always be the commoners.

It was just that… the Demon Empress had obviously broken through the final phase and attained Heaven Monarch Realm.

Even if Shui Youlan, the old monk, Zhuge Qingyun and the others were to work together, they wouldn’t have the utmost confidence to subdue her. If all these martial experts perished in battle, and there was no one else who could suppress the Demon Empress, this continent might become the demonic beasts’ backyard.

Thus, Shui Youlan and the others ultimately didn’t make any move as they wanted to wait for the Stellarsky City’s battle to finish. The Azure Dragon Empire had been recuperating for ten thousand years and must surely have plenty of trump cards. It wouldn’t be too late for Shui Youlan and the others to step in after the Azure Dragon Empire’s fight.

The demonic beast army went straight towards Stellarsky City which was in between the Northern Mang Kingdom and the Northern Liang Kingdom. The Northern Mang Kingdom’s King had been opening up a path for the demonic beast army, letting them crush uninhabited places. It only took three days for the demonic beast army to reach Stellarsky City.

Jiang Yi and his group arrived at the outskirts of Stellarsky City during noon time and were glancing at the majestic giant city ahead. Everyone had this abnormal heavy feeling in their hearts.

The Stellarsky City was the imperial capital of the Azure Dragon Empire, and it was the largest city in the continent. There were millions of citizens residing in the city, and if the Stellarsky City was destroyed, all these people would be buried along with it.

“Who goes there? The Stellarsky City forbids any entry. Hurry up and leave, or else we will kill without mercy!”

There were imperial guards on the city walls, who were clad in black armor, a helmet that only left a gap for their eyes, and a long halberd.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

The martial artists from Water Moon Observatory, Great Zen Monastery’s little monk Huigeng, and everyone else all looked at Jiang Yi. Their meaning was obvious: ‘Aren’t you the Patrol Envoy of the Empire? You should settle this matter…’

Jiang Yi rubbed his nose as he flashed a black token, tossing it to the city walls below without saying anything.

“Uh?”

The general below grabbed the token with a single hand. When he took a glance at it, his eyes were filled with respect. He then kneeled with a single knee and greeted, “General Chen Yu gives his greetings to Patrol Envoy Jiang and all the guests!”

“Greetings to Patrol Envoy Jiang and all the guests!”

When the general kneeled, the rest of the army—which numbered in tens of thousands—all kneeled along and greeted. There was even a scout that swiftly rushed towards the imperial palace to give his report.

“Huh…”

Jiang Yi didn’t know that this Patrol Envoy was such a useful status. Even the imperial general had to knee, which shocked Principal Qi and the others. Jiang Yi rubbed his nose and spoke, “Everyone, please be at ease. Are we able to enter the city?”

“Of course!”

The general stood up and bowed with a cupped fist, “Patrol Envoy Jiang. For a person of your status, let alone entering the city—you can even enter the imperial palace directly.”

“Good, let’s go!”

With a wave of his hand, the three giant avians flew towards the imperial palace. Once within the city, Jiang Yi circled the skies with the Dragon Eagle, searching around with his sense of smell which was enhanced by the elixir and the black essence force.

“None!”

After taking a spin around the city, Jiang Yi was bewildered because he didn’t catch any scent of the little fox. This meant that the little fox was contained within a special artifact, or dead, or perhaps it wasn’t within the Stellarsky City.

“Swish!”

A general ran over frantically while leading a group of men, shouting from a distance, “Patrol Envoy Jiang! Princess Ling Xue summoned you for an emergency hearing!”

Jiang Yi paused for a moment and spoke to two Vice Principals behind him before he kept the Dragon Eagle and flew down. He then sprinted towards the imperial palace along with that general while the others scattered to look for clues.

Sprinting at top speed, Jiang Yi was led by the imperial military and directly entered the imperial palace, arriving at the beautiful palace hall that he visited previously.

“Princess has given the orders that Patrol Envoy Jiang can directly enter without any announcements!”

There was an old eunuch outside who yelled out even before Jiang Yi approached. Jiang Yi didn’t reserve himself and immediately entered with huge strides.

Princess Ling Xue, who was wearing a purple dress, was seated in the palace hall. When she saw that Jiang Yi was about to salute, she waved her dainty hand and spoke with a serious expression, “Patrol Envoy Jiang, what is the situation? Your group came straight for Stellarsky City because you noticed something?”

Jiang Yi casually bowed, “Your Highness. According to our speculation, the little fox—which is the daughter of the Demon Empress—is definitely hidden in Stellarsky City. I have seen the little fox and also found the kidnappers along the way, too. A pity that we didn’t have enough manpower at that time and allowed them to escape. I reckon that the little fox is being contained in a mystical artifact now; hence, I cannot detect the little fox’s scent. The Demon Empress must have felt that; thus she is pressing straight towards Stellarsky City. If we want the Demon Empress to withdraw the army, we only option is to find the little fox as soon as possible…”

Jiang Yi quickly explained everything while Princess Ling Xue had this cold intent on her charming face. She stood up and said, “Patrol Envoy Jiang. You shall put in everything to search for the little fox’s whereabouts and ask me for anything you will require. You can even make use of the whole imperial military. You must find the little fox before the demonic beast army arrives. The millions of lives in Stellarsky City and the existence of the Azure Dragon Empire are all in your hands.”

“This…”

Jiang Yi felt the instant increase of pressure on his shoulders as his eyes flickered, “Can’t you evacuate the citizens of the city?”

“No!”

Ling Xue let out a long sigh. “The citizens of the Stellarsky City had been residing here for ten thousand years. They are the most loyal subjects of the empire and had been living here for several generations. It would be easier to kill them than to ask them to evacuate to other vassal kingdoms…”

“Alright then!”

Jiang Yi nodded his head seriously and gritted his teeth, “I will try my best. It is all up to heaven if I am able to find the little fox.”