Chapter 18 — Receiving Seven Envelopes for Help, I Alone Stormed into the Royal Palace

The day I left the camp, he personally gave me the water bag. Yet at this moment, he stood on top of the citadel, drawing the bowstring taut, with no trace of the old friendship left in his eyes. I held up the black order card that the Emperor had given me.

“Open your dog eyes and see clearly!”

"The royal command is here, no one dares to stop me!"

The city's head suddenly went silent for a moment. But Cao Liet just laughed coldly.

"Faking a royal decree is a further crime."

“Tham Thanh Duong, Bac Dich is surrounding the gate, yet you still dare to disrupt the army's mind.”

“Where are you, shoot!”

The second rain of arrows poured down again. I gritted my teeth, reined in the reins, turned my horse and rushed straight towards the west of the city. Lang Nha gate... I'm so familiar with it. I have guarded this place for three years. Which brick on the wall is loose, which gutter can hide people, even if we close our eyes we can detect it. Under the west cliff there is an old drainage line. On normal days, there is only enough for the dog to get through. But a few years ago, a flash flood caused a section to collapse, and then it was poorly repaired. The inside was enough for a person to bend over and crawl through. I abandoned my horse and rolled down into the ditch. A rain of arrows chased closely behind, plunging continuously into the mud. The warhorse whinnied in pain and then ran away. I never looked back. I stuffed the token into my chest, pulled out my knife and cut off the dry vines covering the sewer opening. The smell of dirty water immediately hit my face. I cursed in a low voice, bent down and crawled in. The inside of the sewer line was pitch black. Even when I held out my hand, I couldn't see the five fingers. Green moss on slippery cliffs. I crawled for about half a minute. The skin on both knees and elbows was torn. Suddenly, a human voice was heard from ahead.

“Is the agency closing the city gate stuck?”

“It's not stuck, someone put an iron wedge inside.”

“If the North Dich attacks strongly tonight, the city gate will not be able to close.”

"Vice Commander Cao has already said that when the North Dich enters, we will withdraw from the east gate."

I stopped. The fire in my chest burned little by little. It's not that you can't keep it. Someone wants to sell the entire Lang Nha gate. We climbed from the end of the drainage path into the compartment under the city gate. Two soldiers were squatting next to the winch, holding a bundle of oilcloth in their hands. As soon as they saw me, both of their faces changed at the same time.

“Captain Shen?”

I didn't give them a chance to call anyone. The blade hit hard below the first man's throat. The remaining guy was about to pull out his knife but I kicked him into a wooden box. He hit so hard that he was dizzy and his whole body fell limp to the ground. I tore open the oilcloth wrapper. Inside is a document bearing the private seal of the Ta family in the capital. It's written very clearly on it. As long as the Lang Nha pass falls, Cao Liet will take the name of escorting the remaining army to retreat to Thanh Chau. After everything is over, the Ministry of Defense will have orders to help him clear all his crimes. I stuffed the documents into my armor, picked up my knife and walked up. The city's head was now a mess. Cao Liet is still ordering people to hunt and arrest me. I followed the underground stairs up, cleverly standing right behind him. Hearing footsteps, he immediately turned around. I threw a strong kick at his thigh. He knelt down and was about to pull out his knife. But my knife... was at his neck.

“Cao Liet.”

"Your three generations of ancestors all ate military food at the Lang Nha pass gate."

“Now comes the place where the ancestors' bones are buried Do you also want to sell it?

Cao Liet's face turned pale.

“Shen Qing Duong, don't spit blood on people.”

I smashed the letter straight in his face.

"I also made up the Ta family's seal?"

All the surrounding Tran Bac soldiers and generals all changed color at the same time. Cao Liet's eyes quickly turned around and suddenly he shouted loudly.

“She is the traitor!”

"She injured the king and then fled the capital. Your Majesty has long issued an order to arrest her!"

I held up the black token.

“Your Majesty personally gave the order.”

"From top to bottom of Lang Nha pass, everyone must listen to my instructions."

A veteran soldier recognized the order and immediately knelt down.

“The general obeys orders!”

One person kneels. Then the second person also knelt. The sounds above the city were like a tide... Gradually subsided.

“Obey!”

Cao Liet still tried to struggle. I swung my hand and used the hilt to hit him hard in the back of the head. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground. I raised my head and looked out the gate. The North Dich flag is starting to move. They knew there was an incident happening in the city. They will definitely succeed. I put the knife back into its sheath.

“Tie Cao Liet up.”

“Clean the city gates.”

“Ignite the wind and fire.”

“Who dares even mention the word ‘withdrawal’…”

“I will sacrifice him first.”

When the wind fire was lit, the sky was pitch black. The Bac Dich camp outside the Lang Nha pass also simultaneously lit a fire. Patches of fire spread throughout the valley, like countless wolf eyes staring at the gate. The iron wedge in the mechanism that opens and closes the city gate has been pulled out. However, the gate shaft had long been corroded by people, and when it was closed, there was still a gap half the width of a finger.