Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1573 - 1568: Sound the Gong and Withdraw the Troops

"Bring them up!" Xiao Rongyan’s voice was deep.

Soon, all the family members of the King of Xiping’s residence were pulled down from horseback and forced to kneel.

"My lord... My lord, save me!" A woman shrieked at the top of her lungs.

The second son of the King of Xiping, trembling with fear, shouted for his father: "Father, save me..."

"Father-in-law, husband, save us!"

The general of the Xiping army saw the old princess, the Crown Princess Consort, the second and third sons of the King of Xiping, and even the wailing baby in the swaddling clothes, cradled by his mother. His eyes widened in shock.

"Go and call the King of Xiping to come and speak..." Xiao Rongyan did not want to delay a moment, his eyes so menacing that it sent chills down one’s spine.

"Regent Prince, now you conspire secretly with the Emperor of Zhou to hand over the Yan Kingdom..."

The general spoke without stopping, and Xiao Rongyan, impatient, turned his head to glance at Yue Shi.

Without a word, Yue Shi kicked the second son of the King of Xiping to the ground, and with a swift stroke... his head was separated from his body.

The voice of the Xiping army general was stuck in his throat, watching in panic as the family members of the King of Xiping screamed and cried in terror, huddling together as if it were their necks that had been severed.

The princess of the King of Xiping, seeing her own child’s head roll to the ground, screamed and tried to rush over, but was firmly held down by the soldiers of Zhou, desperately wailing her son’s name.

"I’ll give you ten seconds... to get the King of Xiping here! Otherwise, his third son will not survive..." Xiao Rongyan said with chilling calmness, "One..."

The Xiping army general did not expect the Regent Prince to be so ruthless, killing the second son of the King of Xiping without any prior warning—this was the bloodline of the Murong royal family! This was the Regent Prince’s own relative!

"Quick, go get the lord over here!" The princess of the King of Xiping screamed, the third son was also her flesh after all, how could a mother watch her beloved child die, she shouted hoarsely, "Go quickly! If you don’t, I’ll have the lord kill you! Exterminate your whole family! Go quickly!"

"Two..."

"The King of Xiping is already dead in battle!" That general quickly shouted, terrified that the mad Regent Prince would actually kill more people from the King of Xiping’s house. Fearing repercussions from the Xiping heir, he hurriedly said, "I’ll go get the Crown Prince!"

Xiao Rongyan rubbed the ring on his thumb, saying: "Tell the Xiping heir to withdraw his troops immediately! If within a quarter of an hour I don’t hear the Xiping army signaling retreat... for every ten seconds delayed, someone from the King of Xiping’s family will die!"

The general of the Xiping army quickly turned his horse and sped towards the direction of the Xiping heir to deliver the message.

When the Xiping heir learned that Xiao Rongyan personally led the troops of Zhou here, bringing their family members and already killed his second brother, his pupils dilated in shock.

"The Regent Prince is utterly unreasonable, I hadn’t even finished speaking before he chopped Second Young Master’s head off! He said... within a quarter of an hour, he must hear our Xiping army signaling the retreat, otherwise... every ten seconds delayed, someone from the King of Xiping’s family will be killed!" The Xiping army general’s voice trembled, "Crown Prince, your three young masters are also among them, even the Crown Princess Consort, who hasn’t been long after childbirth, has been captured!"

The black-clothed counselor looked at the expression of the Xiping heir and knew he was shaken, he spoke: "Crown Prince, to achieve great things... one must not be bogged down by minor matters, think of Liu Bang, when Xiang Yu captured Liu Bang’s father..."

He hinted without further explanation, fixing his eyes on the Xiping heir: "If the King of Xiping were here, do you think he would choose to kill the Emperor of Zhou or save his wife and children? A real man does not fear being without a wife... if there’s a wife, there will naturally be children!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"But... but the princess is also among them!" Xiping General Zhenjiang looked at this black-clothed counselor, utterly incredulous, what kind of cold-blooded person would say such things.

"Crown Prince, if killing the Emperor of Zhou is possible, the princess below ground would surely be gratified!" the black-clothed counselor said again.

Just as the Crown Prince was hesitating, another soldier rode back from the Xiping army intercepting the reinforcements of Zhou, delivering a message: "Crown Prince! The Regent Prince has chopped off the Third Young Master’s head, saying... next it will be the Crown Princess Consort’s turn!"

The Xiping heir’s eyes filled with rage, his hand clenching tightly over the sword at his side: "He dares!"

"Crown Prince, there can be no more hesitation, indecision not only cares for neither side, but will lose both! You must make a swift decision!" The black-clothed counselor bowed deeply to the Xiping heir.

"Crown Prince!" Another soldier ran in, shouting, "The Regent Prince has killed the Crown Princess Consort... and said next will be your first son!"

Hearing that his wife was dead, all the blood in the Xiping heir’s body turned cold and sluggish. Thinking of his eldest son, he dared not delay any longer, shouting loudly: "Sound the retreat!"

On the mountain, Bai Qingyan, who was leading the troops in battle against the Xiping army, heard the sound of the Xiping army’s retreat signal.

The Xiping army was already terrified by these desperate soldiers of Zhou. As they came up, arrows rained down from above like a storm, killing countless brothers...

Subsequently, the Emperor of Zhou personally led troops to fight, swinging his sword without fatigue, striking with blood at every blow!

These soldiers of Zhou, like cornered beasts, gambled everything for a life-and-death struggle, their ferocity like a pack of wolves filled others with dread. Now, with the Xiping army signaling retreat, the Xiping army soldiers naturally fell back, unwilling to engage in pointless battles.

Wei Zhong, who stayed by Bai Qingyan’s side, took a step forward, panting as he spoke to Bai Qingyan: "The Xiping army... is signaling retreat?"

"Your Majesty... the Xiping army is retreating, should we descend?" Liu Pinggao shook his long sword, already nicked, covered with blood, panting heavily.

"Let’s wait a bit longer!" Bai Qingyan’s gaze turned to the foot of the mountain, trees obscuring her view, she could barely make out the glow of fire. Bai Qingyan’s entire arm was sore and trembling, she spoke to Liu Pinggao: "Send someone to scout what’s going on."

·

The Xiping heir, seeing his two brothers and wife lying in pools of blood, hearing his mother and three children’s cries, wished he could skin Xiao Rongyan alive. He shouted loudly: "Regent Prince! The Xiping army has signaled retreat, I beg the Regent Prince to honor his promise and release my family from King of Xiping’s residence."

"No rush..." Xiao Rongyan’s voice held no discernible emotion, yet even beyond the mask, his sharp gaze was felt by the Xiping heir, sending chills down his spine.

Xiao Rongyan said: "Order the Xiping heir to have the Xiping army retreat five miles back. When the Emperor of Zhou and the soldiers on the mountain come down unscathed, we will discuss the matter of releasing people..."

The Xiping heir clenched his reins tightly, gritting his teeth in a deadlock with Xiao Rongyan: "This seems inappropriate! What if we release them and the Regent Prince does not honor his word?"