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Chu Yuqin asked curiously, "What is it?"

Lu Chen then leaned close to Chu Yuqin\'s ear and whispered, "When I return, I will marry you. You just wait to bear my children."

Blushing at Lu Chen\'s words, Chu Yuqin turned her head to glance at Lu Chen\'s other wives and concubines before saying with a touch of resentment, "You\'re not being serious!"

Just then, Chu Qingli, who was standing nearby, saw Lu Chen suddenly lean close to her sister and whisper something that made her sister\'s face turn red. She immediately gave Lu Chen a glare.

Lu Chen just smiled faintly, saying nothing more.

After saying goodbye to each of them, Lu Chen then led the North Country\'s two hundred thousand troops as they set off to march northward.

Clearly, the number of soldiers in the North Country had now exceeded the maximum number stipulated by the imperial decree on limiting troop numbers. Yet, Lu Chen had stopped pretending and openly displayed the strength of the North Country\'s soldiers during the military parade.

Lu Chen felt there was no longer any need for pretense. A few days earlier, he had learned from Commander Wang Jiantao that the Sum Emperor was planning to join forces with various grandmasters to kill Zhuge Zhongguang. Lu Chen did not believe his father the emperor aimed solely at Zhuge Zhongguang.

Zhuge Zhongguang was now a person of the North Country and its second-in-command. Targeting him was an attack on the entirety of the North Country.

Furthermore, based on the Sum Emperor\'s various actions, it seemed that once the emperor had dealt with the aristocratic families of Great Sum, the next step would be to weaken the vassals, with the North Country likely being the first to be targeted.

Having prepared the grandmasters for the kill, it was impossible for the emperor to leave the North Country for last. This was why Lu Chen thought there was no longer any need to continue the charade.

...

Half a month later.

The news of the North Country\'s military parade had shocked all of the major dynasties; no one had anticipated that the North Country could have developed such formidable military power in such a short time.

The Sum Imperial Court was the most shocked, but because the court was deeply engaged in an intensifying war with the rebel forces of the South, it had no time to address the happenings in the North Country, so the matter did not spark much discussion in the imperial assembly.

However, when the Sum Emperor saw the reports in his hands, his expression turned extremely ugly, to the point of being described as contorted.

In the Royal Garden.

The Sum Emperor stood by the lotus pond, looking at the reports in his hands, silent for a long time. The next moment, sharp Sword Qi burst from his body, slicing every structure in the Royal Garden in half, instantly dismembering all the eunuchs and maids below the Ninth Grade.

Seeing such a furious outburst from the Sum Emperor, Situ Ce guessed that something must have happened in the North Land.

The Sum Emperor then spoke coldly, "Good, very good indeed, such a good son I have!!!"

The Sum Emperor had always believed that the North Country\'s Heavy Cavalry had been destroyed, yet when the Barbarian Tribe moved eastward, the North Country\'s Heavy Cavalry had emerged once again.

Adding to that the messages previously transmitted back by Commander Wang, the Sum Emperor had realized that the North Country\'s rate of growth far exceeded his estimations. He had previously thought that the refugees would hinder the North Country\'s development, but now their military might had become so formidable.

Especially those Heavy Cavalry, according to messages from the Shadow Guard, the strength of those Heavy Cavalry was mostly above Fifth Grade, and their leading Military General was even suspected to be an Extreme Realm Master.

The North Country\'s Heavy Cavalry strength had far outstripped the Great Sum Imperial Court\'s Heavy Cavalry. When the North Fre King had moved south, he had thought the North Country\'s Heavy Cavalry were just a bunch of heavily armored weaklings, hence they were so easily defeated. Now, he was being told that those Heavy Cavalry were all above the Fifth Grade!

At this time, the Sum Emperor said to the trembling grandmaster Shadow Guard kneeling on the ground, "Is there still no news of Wang Jiantao?"

The kneeling Shadow Guard promptly responded, "None. The Shadow Guards we dispatched to the North Country reported that upon their arrival, they couldn\'t find Commander Wang and the others; they seemed to have completely vanished."

The Sum Emperor had sent additional Shadow Guards to the North Country because he worried that Wang Jiantao might be incompetent. The military parade news he had just received was from the latter group of Shadow Guards sent out.

These Shadow Guards had tried to locate Wang Jiantao upon reaching Yan County, but all the Shadow Guards in the city had disappeared without a trace.

At this moment, the Sum Emperor understood what had happened. He said coldly, "Stop searching. Consider them all dead. From today on, you will temporarily assume command of the Shadow Guards."

Hearing this, the kneeling Shadow Guard immediately kowtowed and said, "Thank you for Your Majesty\'s grace!"

Then, the Sum Emperor sent the report flying to the destroyed pavilion where Situ Ce was; although the pavilion was ruined, he was surrounded by a sphere of outwardly projecting Gang Qi, holding up the remnants of the pavilion from collapsing.

The report sent by the Sum Emperor pierced through Situ Ce\'s Gang Qi barrier without surprise, and Situ Ce caught it without any ripple of emotion in his heart.

He had long known that the North Prince was no ordinary person, and that the North Country\'s Heavy Cavalry could not have been truely annihilated.

It seemed that the North Prince had become aware of the Sum Emperor\'s actions, and thus had decided to hold a high-profile military parade, no longer intending to remain concealed.

Just then, a soldier rushed into the Royal Garden, shouting, "Report!"

The soldier kneeled halfway before the Sum Emperor and the emperor said coldly, "Speak!"

The soldier immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Dongfang Family has disappeared! The imperial soldiers behind the rebel lines planned to seek the Dongfang Family\'s help, only to find their docks devoid of merchant ships, and the Dongfang Family itself deserted!"

Upon hearing this, the Sum Emperor\'s heart skipped a beat.

Gone?

What was going on?

The Dongfang Family had agreed to assist him in eliminating the South\'s aristocratic families. Could it be they were reconsidering?

The Sum Emperor\'s expression darkened further, then he asked, "How can they be gone? Did you find out where they went?"

The soldier replied, "No, not just our soldiers are looking for them, even the South\'s rebel forces are searching."