Chapter 213: Scapegoat

Chapter 213: Scapegoat

The woman on the white deer was enchanting despite her veiled face, but none of the soldiers were in the mood to admire her beauty. Instead, their faces were warped as if they could already see grim reapers coming after them.

“NOOOOO!” the soldiers howled.

What are those things behind the Deer Girl?!

Amidst the furious sandstorm were armored deities soaring through the sky and war elephants charging on land. There was also a massive flock of birds and a vast army of terracotta soldiers and specters.

They looked like a monster that would swiftly devour the city.

“AHHH!”

Some soldiers fainted out of shock. Others tossed aside their weapons and fled to the underground.

This was not an ordeal that humans could withstand! Be it officials, nobles, or esteemed mages, their faces were as black as they could be.

They had known that a calamity was approaching, and they had made preparations for it too, but when Shu Yichao arrived with his undead army, they couldn’t help but tremble in fear.

“No one is allowed to run!”

Yizhou’s city lord was the only one still holding his saber, which he used to decapitate the fleeing deserters. Cries of agony filled the air as fresh blood splattered.

“Either we get through this ordeal or die on this city wall!” he roared with madness in his eyes.

“Father!” The city lord’s son rushed out. He pointed at the streak of white light outside the city and exclaimed, “The Deer Girl is in danger! We need to open the city gates!”

“SCRAM!” The city lord kicked his son aside. “You must have either fallen for her witchcraft or gone insane!”

You want me to open the city gates to let the Deer Girl in?

Don’t you see the monsters trailing behind her? We don’t even know if we can guard the city at this rate, and you still want us to take such a huge risk?! You must be tired of living!

So far, the Anxi Protectorate-General has massacred everyone who stands in his path!

The city lord quickly issued an order to his mages and soldiers, “Activate the barrier and our defense towers! Reinforcements will arrive in a few days’ time as long as we hold this fort!”

“Father!” The city lord’s son, who had been kicked aside, hugged his legs and cried, “How can you do this?! How can you be so cruel?! The Deer Girl is a desert fairy, a treasure bestowed to us from heaven! I won’t want to live anymore if the demons get her!”

“...You must be out of your mind.”

The other pale-faced nobles directed sympathetic gazes at the city lord.

Just then, the Deer Girl arrived at the city gates.

She could have asked the soldiers to open the gates for her, and she was confident that she could talk them into it, but she wasn’t planning on entering the city from the very start.

There was a flash of white light, and she vanished without a trace.

The city lord rubbed his eyes in confusion.

What just happened?

“Hm?”

Shu Yichao also noticed the Deer Girl’s abrupt disappearance, but in exchange, a massive city containing more red dots appeared before him.

Tsenpo Ling’s poker face crumbled when she received a war report from Hexi in her chambers.

“How dare the Tang court backstab me when we have agreed to form an alliance? Those reprehensible bastards! I’ll drive a thousand stakes through their body!” Tsenpo Ling spat.

The situation was getting worse and worse for them.

“Where’s the Archmage of Furystorm?!” Tsenpo Ling roared. “Didn’t he make a move?”

Despite having mobilized troops out of Hexi, Tsenpo Ling didn’t think that Hexi would be conquered because the Archmage of Furystorm was stationed there. It was unthinkable to her how they could have suffered such a tragic defeat when the archmage was there.

Did the Archmage of Furystorm turn a blind eye to our plight?

The truth was worse.

“Your Majesty,” the messenger said with a tearful face. “The Archmage of Furystorm vanished after his battle with the Tang court’s Imperial Preceptor. No one knows where he has gone!”

“!!!” Tsenpo Ling was stunned.

Each archmage was an invaluable asset to the Tibetan Empire. If she had to make a choice, she would rather lose a hundred thousand soldiers than a single archmage.

But now...

The reason behind the Archmage of Furystorm’s disappearance was apparent to Tsenpo Ling. The other party must either be dead or severely wounded!

It’s over. There’s no way to turn the tables now.

North, south, east, west; we’re surrounded by enemies now!

“...”

“Your Majesty, what should we do now?” Tsenpo Ling’s aides cried.

Tsenpo Ling waved her hand, gesturing for them to leave. She waited till her aides were gone before flipping the table and screaming.

“GAHHHHH!!!”

But the worst had yet to come.

When the exhausted Tsenpo Ling returned to her room, she noticed that the Night Illumination Pearl representing Beiting on her map had darkened.

“!!!”

Did something happen to Beiting too?!

Tsenpo Ling felt weak.

No, I can’t lose any more cities. If the Tangs reclaim Hexi, the Tibetan Empire will be trapped on the Tibetan Plateau.

“I have to proceed with my plan now.”

Her plan of securing a Tang court’s edict had gone up in smoke, so she could only turn to another bunch of fellows.

“Let’s hope that the Lionheart Army will be of use.”