180 Motive

"Kill!" the Jin family's leader yelled as he led a large number of allied troops toward exposed Ma family protectors. The useless sellswords broke down as soon as a tenth of them were killed. They swiftly retreated from the gate they were guarding, bypassing the courtyard and running straight back into the Ma family complex.

"Useless," the Ma family leader muttered. "Remind me again who made the decision to hire these useless thugs?"

"Your son is incompetent," said Ma Yong, a younger version of the Ma family leader. "Shall we leave them outside to die?"

"No, we must let them in," the Ma family leader said. "If we don't shelter them, we'll affect the morale of all the mercenaries in the crown prince's faction. We simply can't bear that responsibility."

The young master nodded, and they both looked on grimly as their troops retreated and abandoned the outer courtyard. "At least this building has been fortified by the geomancer. It's one of the few buildings that weren't damaged during those mysterious attacks."

Ma Yong chuckled. "It's a good thing we paid him a bonus to establish a firmer structure. All those fools in the other households are probably pissing their pants worrying about whether their building is defective. We're the only ones who don't have such worries."

"Indeed, with these fortifications, we can hold out until the succession is over," the Ma family leader said. "By then, we'll either have contributed greatly or we'll beg for forgiveness. However, with the way things are going, I refuse to believe that we'll lose."

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly. "What was that?" Ma Yong asked. The shaking didn't subside. Instead it was accompanied by a few stronger tremors. A crack appeared on a wall that shouldn't have broken in a hundred years.

"What's going on?" the Ma family leader said. He walked up to the newly formed crack and lightly touched it. It collapsed, and pieces of wall fell down a dark gap that ran down the entire length of the wall. He paled.

"We've been tricked!" the Ma family leader said. "I'll have that geomancer's head!"

He didn't know the damage had been caused by two little miscreants on their rampage throughout the city. And he never would.

Soon after, the building crumbled as it was attacked by the Jin family's troops. Eventually the heavy roof collapsed and killed everyone in the building.

***

"The operation was a success," Prince Lei said to Wang Jun, who was casually leafing through a book he'd read a dozen times. "A third of the crown prince's forces were annihilated instantly. In addition, several pieces of real estate have become available."

"Don't forget your faithful helper when you appropriate them," Wang Jun said, chuckling. "I would buy them, but it seems they no longer have an owner."

While he looked calm on the surface, he was actually worried. The crown prince had yet to muster the full force of the military against them, and he wasn't sure how they would withstand it. Without external aid, they had a thirty-percent chance at best to pull through.

One message after another trickled into their makeshift command room. News of victories and defeats throughout the city were filtered and summarized to Prince Lei, who gave out orders to their field commanders under Wang Jun's discreet advice.

A half day later, Prince Lei's previously relaxed expression had turned grim. "The situation's turned around. Our attack on the Alchemists Association headquarters has failed. The geomancer, seeing the problems in the other buildings, thoroughly inspected their last few holdouts and fixed and reinforced them. It won't be easy to take them. Also, there's another piece of bad news."

"What's that?" Wang Jun asked.

He didn't have to wonder for long. Their building shook, and screams rang out from outside. His eyes narrowed. "It seems they've decided to cut right to the chase. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of our forces are in other districts." Wang Jun struck himself in the chest, regaining his sickly complexion. "Let's go supervise the situation."

Prince Lei led Wang Jun out of the room. He was soon joined by Protector Ren, who supported him as they flew to their destination. They soon arrived at a vantage point that overlooked the chaotic city.

In Central Square, two sides were facing off. Prince Lei's faction wore green livery and was composed mostly of upper-tier sellswords and Wang family employees. Prince Tian's forces wore blue. A large number of military troops meshed awkwardly with scattered cultivators and noblemen. They outnumbered Prince Lei's troops two to one.

Prince Tian himself took the lead. He flew up with Marshal Feng and twenty-four other core-formation cultivators. In response, Prince Lei jumped off the vantage point and floated out with fourteen core-formation experts. Five were Wang family employees, while the other nine were men from his own faction. They stared daggers at each other from across the battlefield, neither side daring to back down.

"You should have known your limits before committing treachery," Prince Tian said. "As much as I loathe to kill my own brother, you leave me with very little choice."

"Cut the crap," Prince Lei said. "You and I both know who's caused this situation. If you hadn't poisoned Father, and if you hadn't killed First Brother and Fourth Brother, I would have gladly let you take the throne."

Prince Tian's eyes narrowed as murmurs ran through both sides. These were fresh accusations. "After committing treason, it's easy to casually slander the other party. I personally won't bother to respond to such deceitful tricks. I'll make you submit through force."

The twenty-four cultivators erupted with core-formation might. Prince Lei's fourteen experts released theirs in response, but it was clear who was on the losing end.

"Kill them all!" Prince Tian shouted.

"Kill!" Prince Tian's men yelled. Their fighting intent flooded the battlefield, invigorating the forces beneath them, who charged with all they had.

"Fight to the last!" Prince Lei's men shouted. Their forces recovered from their opponents' battle cries just in time to defend themselves against the initial impact.

Wang Jun, who was watching from the vantage point, held out his hand. He coughed up blood as wave after wave of dark energy weaved through their forces and obscured their movements and attacks. The situation stabilized rapidly, but it was only a matter of time until they lost.

Blood filled the streets as the masses of cultivators were cut down by blades and spears. After a half hour of fierce fighting, a quarter of Prince Lei's forces had fallen, as had two of their core-formation cultivators.

Meanwhile, only one of Prince Tian's experts had fallen. Sighing, Wang Jun sent a signal to his people inside the auction house. Six slaughtering formations immediately activated and slayed a third of Prince Tian's unsuspecting men.

The instant these formations erupted, six core-formation experts broke off from Prince Tian's battle formation and began taking countermeasures. They directed their attacks to the formations, which could only retreat and match them blow for blow. High-grade spirit stones evaporated by the thousands. Despite the great blow they dealt to the crown prince's forces, the situation in the battlefield had hardly changed.

Suddenly a flash of red plunged toward the fierce melee, instantly suppressing both sides. Wang Jun's eyes narrowed as he recognized the figure—it was one of the king's guardians, a peak-core-formation cultivator. His lips curved into a smile as he pondered the implications. After all, Princess Guo was one of the people he'd sent a folio to, and the king's guardians were always in the same room as her. As the battle between the core-formation experts in the air came to a standstill, the battle below also died down.

Both Prince Tian and Prince Lei floated up to the figure. "Why has Esteemed Uncle interfered in this battle?" Prince Tian said. "Shouldn't you be guarding the king?"

"Has Esteemed Father…" Prince Lei said, his eyes tearing up.

"The king is in a dire situation," the red-cloaked figure said. "I have naturally come for an important matter. You are all to cease fighting until this matter is resolved, and I will kill anyone who dares interfere."

The crown prince's eyes narrowed. "Everyone, stand down," he shouted.

Prince Lei did the same to his own forces. Each side separated, leaving a large unoccupied gap stained with blood. A palanquin appeared in the distance just outside the palace, floating freely between two other red-cloaked figures. The palanquin was also red and adorned with a golden dragon with five claws. Everyone bowed when they saw it, for only the emperor could use it.

As the palanquin approached their groups, Prince Tian was the first to speak. "Why has Royal Father come all this way to the battlefield? Has he awakened?"

"He hasn't," the red-cloaked man said coldly. "However, the royal treasury's medicinal supplies have dried up. We require the services of a high-tiered alchemist to prolong his life."

Prince Tian's eyes lit up. "We'll be happy to provide such services."

The red-cloaked man snorted and looked up to Wang Jun's black figure. "Would the Wang family be so kind as to supply an alchemist and the necessary medicinal ingredients? We may also need your vast connections to secure additional rarer materials. I'm sure the crown prince won't interfere in this matter."

Wang Jun, who was still feigning illness, bowed weakly. "I'll be happy to assist in any way possible. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"There is," the red-cloaked man said. "The king's condition is dire, and we wish to save as much time as possible. We understand that you cannot send your alchemists to the palace during this fierce political struggle. We don't wish to hamper your efforts, so we'll have to thicken our skin and ask you to provide your best accommodations for the king and us three old geezers. And the princess, of course. She worries deeply for her father and refuses to leave his side."

The faint silhouette of a woman could be seen through the palanquin's thin curtains.

Wang Jun naturally understood the implications of this move: The three "royal uncles" that could cause even Prince Tian to bow down were expressing favor for Prince Lei. They'd even chosen the Wang family's less-competent alchemist over the Zhou family's. The princess was also willing to accompany their father to stay in the Wang family's compound. This meant that even she, who usually sided with her eldest brother, believed Prince Lei's accusations.

"We'll naturally provide our best courtyards," Wang Jun said. "In fact, we'll demolish some walls and stick accommodations together to make them more comfortable for our five esteemed guests."

Prince Tian paled as the red palanquin turned and headed straight into the Jade Bamboo Auction House. Now that the king himself was situated there, it would be utterly disrespectful to continue with his attack. This meant that, despite their superior forces, they could no longer take the initiative.

"Fall back!" Prince Tian said venomously, signaling for his forces to retreat. The large crowd that was initially going to crush the third prince's rebellion funneled back into the Alchemists Association, their last remaining stronghold.

That night, word of what had transpired spread throughout the city like a wildfire. Many people who had already joined the crown prince's faction secretly defected. His troops' morale reached an all-time low, but fortunately for Prince Tian, he still held the upper hand in official combat prowess.

And with that, the civil war came to an awkward standstill.

***

Feng Chuan sighed as he looked through the information in the dossier once more, the evidence that incriminated Prince Tian. He'd originally chosen to dismiss it after reading it, but the royal uncles' decision had caused him to reconsider. These men were the king's most ardent supporters, brothers who had fought for him during his rise on the battlefield. Naturally this meant that they saw the king's children much like their own—they would never choose sides unless they had a legitimate reason.

As to how they could confirm this information, he guessed it had something to do with their residual marshal's authority. All three of the powerful protectors had been marshals in the king's time and had only retired to become his personal guards once the war against the south had calmed down. Feng Chuan had taken up one of their places following their retirement.

Feng Chuan sat cross-legged and accessed the marshal's medallion on his chest. It glowed with the same soft light as Southhaven Fortress. As a vestige of the ancient Song Empire obtained from a transcendent realm, it possessed a unique function: It held a detailed record of military activities within the Song Kingdom. This vital tool had been created to prevent treachery. While no direct military evidence could be attributed to the first prince's death, the many supporting details provided by Prince Lei could be validated.

Not only was he using it to review the information in the folio, but he was anxiously supervising the battle at Southhaven Fortress. He now realized that he should have fought back and forcibly mobilized troops to the wall. Now it was too late. The hopes of the kingdom now rested on a small squad of a hundred men who had daringly teleported into the core of their opponent's army. His son was one of them.

At this moment, a large explosion rattled the battlefield in Southhaven. Deputy Marshal Feng's military contributions shot through the roof, to the point where the system recommended his promotion to marshal. After pondering for a moment, Feng Chuan suggested Feng Ming's promotion. One other active marshal would need to support his decision.

Feng Chuan then moved on to inspect the battlefield, and his heart clenched when he noticed that Feng Ming and a squad of crack troops were struggling to escape the enemy's surrounding troops. He looked on in awe as Marshal Yong took one swipe after another with Southhaven's Life-Reaping Blade. The man was the backbone of their country's defense, and even he himself couldn't hold a candle to this man's willpower and cultivation.

One swipe, two swipes, three swipes. Before long, the enemies were all cleared away, leaving an opening for Feng Ming's retreat. Just as he sighed in relief, however, the system notified him of an important matter—Marshal Yong had been fatally wounded by Deputy Marshal Mo.

"I must report this to the crown prince," he muttered.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back. He exited the system and noticed a dagger protruding from his heart. He tried to circulate his qi and noticed that it was firmly sealed in place. A purple substance on the blade confirmed his guess.

"So it's true," Marshal Feng gasped and spurted out blood. "You used qi-binding venom on your own father, you monstrous son of a bitch."

"All for the sake of the kingdom," Prince Tian said as he walked away. He wore a mournful, tired expression. "We can't win against the Southern Alliance. We can only join them. A leader must make difficult choices for the sake of his people."

Feng Chuan coughed up more blood. "The Southern Alliance is filled with monsters," he said. "Better that every man, woman, and child in this kingdom perish than to let them live under their oppression."

"A difference in perspective," Prince Tian said. "You choose honor, but I choose life. Everyone in this kingdom deserves a chance at life. The people will realize this in time."

***

In Southhaven Fortress, Marshal Yong lay dying. A system notification appeared in every battle map in the room.

"Marshal Feng has been mortally wounded by Marshal Tian," the system said. "Would Marshal Yong like to pass a motion to strip Marshal Tian of his authority?"

"Yes!" Marshal Yong gasped.

"Marshal Tian has rejected the motion, while Marshal Yong has supported it," the system intoned. "Marshal Feng is incapacitated and is counted as abstaining. The motion has failed."

"Dammit," Marshal Yong said with bared teeth. "What a great crown prince you are, selling us out to the Southern Alliance like cattle for slaughter."

The generals in the room were all pale with fright. Who could have possibly expected the simultaneous assassination of two marshals?

"A matter is pending that Marshal Yong has yet to review," the system said. "Requesting the marshal to approve or reject the system-recommended promotion of Deputy Marshal Feng to marshal."

"Approve!" Marshal Yong yelled.

"Motion approved," the system said. "Authority will be transferred to Marshal Feng Ming immediately." Another alarm sounded. "Marshal Feng Chuan has passed away. Marshal Feng Chuan's status has been toggled to deceased, and his marshal's authority can no longer be used."

Looking around at the room of wide-eyed generals, Marshal Yong could only despair. "When Marshal Feng comes in, I'll already be dead," he said, his eyes red with rage. "You are to follow him without question, defend the wall, and take down that ungrateful bastard that calls himself a prince. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the generals in the room acknowledged.

Satisfied, Marshal Yong closed his eyes and sent a mental message to the system.

Please send this private message to Marshal Feng along with his marshal's medallion and my marshal's cloak. I know we don't have any more cloaks in storage, but I won't be needing it where I'm going.