Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Although the war of the southwest was over, remaining vigilant after the war was of utmost priority. But when Wang Chong was brought up, everyone on the summit looked silently toward him.
The southwest was still in chaos, and the threat of Duan Gequan and Dalun Ruozan still existed.
If there was one person who could stabilize the southwest and calm the hearts of its people, at the same intimidating Mengshe Zhao and Ă-Tsang, that person was not Wang Yan or Xianyu Zhongtong, but the seventeen-year-old Wang Chong.
Neither Wang Yan nor Xianyu Zhongtong could deny this.
"Generals, you are too kind."
Wang Chongâs eyes widened. He had been listening on the edge of the crowd, not thinking that the flames of battle would catch onto his clothes.
"But all of you can be at ease. Until His Highness King Song arrives, I will not leave this place."
Upon seeing these expectant gazes, Wang Chong suddenly realized that he now had an extremely high position in all their minds. Everyone was treating him like the pillar that propped up the southwest.
"Wonderful, with Young Master here..."
The generals rejoiced at Wang Chongâs words, one general even shouting in excitement.
Buzz!
Wang Chongâs mouth was open in preparation to speak when his eyes suddenly widened. He felt a danger that he had never felt before.
This danger was so intense that Wang Chong felt like his skull was going to explode, and goosebumps rose up over all his body. This feeling was like that of walking through a scorching summer day and then suddenly being plunged into an icehouse.
What is this?
Wang Chong was stupefied. At this moment, he could smell the thick scent of death on his nose.
Not during the entire southwestern war had he ever felt such a terrifying pressure.
Buzz!
Wang Chongâs mind had barely touched upon this thought, and the southwest generals before him still had the expressions on their faces from just a moment ago, when Wang Chong immediately sensed a dark shadow enveloping him. The stench of death instantly thickened.
"Not good!"
Wang Chong paled and he immediately leaped to the side. A second later, a strange pitch-black arrow that Wang Chong had never seen before brushed past his ear.
Wang Chong had never felt so close to death before.
Boom!
A massive shockwave burst out by his ear. Time seemed to stop. Wang Chong turned his head and saw a sight that he would find hard to forget. That black arrow had landed several zhang away, in the chest of Luo Ji.
Luo Jiâs mouth was agape, his eyes filled with disbelief. Around him, the generals were pale as they stared at that arrow in shock.
Sudden!
Too sudden!
No one had expected this sort of thing to happen after the war had concluded.
"Who is it? Whoâs there!!"
Lin Wushou was the first to rush to Luo Jiâs side, hugging Luo Ji as he looked around with a savage expression.
Bzzt! Wang Chongâs pupils constricted as he twisted his head in the direction the arrow had come from. But the area for several dozen li around was empty.
Impossible!
Wang Chong suddenly looked toward the horizon. There, he could faintly make out a black silhouette, but it was there for only a brief moment before vanishing without a trace.
"Luo Jiiiii!
Tearful cries rose from behind him. Wang Chongâs heart turned cold as he turned his head to be greeted by an extremely bizarre sight. In the few seconds that had passed, Luo Jiâs body had turned as black as ink and as stiff as a board.
Crack! In the space of a single breath, the Luo Ji who had fought so courageously on the battlefield and been so alive just a few moments ago had transformed into a sculpture of black glass, which then shattered into pieces on the ground.
And those shards began to decay under the influence of some mysterious energy, carbonizing until they were just dust in the wind.
All the southwest generals were dumbfounded.
Wang Chong felt like his heart was a block of ice.
Because this arrow had been meant for him.
If he hadnât reacted quickly, noticing the danger beforehand and dodging, he would be the one whose body turned to dust.
"Bastard! Who did this?"
Furious roars began to rise from the mountain. The generals began to rush down the mountain toward the place the arrow had been fired from.
Nearby, the convalescing Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong had been alarmed and rushed from the summit, needing only a few seconds to span the distance.
"Luo Ji, Luo Jiiiii!!"
The most agitated and vengeful of the generals at this moment was Lin Wushou. The two were bosom friends in the Annan Protectorate army, and they had managed to survive the war of the southwest together.
No one had thought that Luo Ji would die here!
"Who is it?! Who did this?"
"Too shameless! Is it Mengshe Zhao, or is it Ă-Tsang!!"
"They canât win a proper battle, so they resort to tactics like this!"
......
The generals of the southwest returned from their fruitless search, and when they saw what had happened to Luo Ji, they were both shocked and furious. All of them were deeply affected by Luo Jiâs end.
"Itâs too shameless! Mengshe Zhao and Ă-Tsang must pay a price!"
Although no one had seen the assassin, there was no doubt that if they werenât from Mengshe Zhao, they were from Ă-Tsang. At this moment, only they had the chance to commit this sort of deed!
"Itâs not them!" Wang Chong suddenly declared. His eyes narrowed, shining with a cold light.
"Theyâve already lost the war of the southwest, and killing Luo Ji or any other random person wouldnât change this. Dalun Ruozanâs the kind of person who would view such tactics with contempt. As for Mengshe Zhao... Until Geluofengâs safety is assured, Duan Gequan will pay attention to nothing else. And besides him, no one else could do such a thing.
"And besides, look around you. Our soldiers surround the entire mountain. Do you think the MengsheâĂ-Tsang army could hide assassins here?"
Wang Chongâs voice was very cold!
Extremely cold!
Luo Ji had died for him. There was no disputing this fact. Wang Chong had never anticipated such a thing happening in the final moments of the war.
"But, Young Master, if itâs not Mengshe Zhao or Ă-Tsang, who could have done it?"
"In addition, what is with that arrow? Everyone saw it! Could it have appeared out of thin air?" several red-eyed generals asked. Although they were agitated, they still maintained a great deal of respect for Wang Chong. But anyone else who said such words would not have received the same reception.
"Itâs precisely because of this arrow that I say that it couldnât have been Mengshe Zhao or Ă-Tsang!"
Wang Chong suddenly took two steps forward, bending down and taking up that pitch-black arrow. After piercing through Luo Ji, it had struck the ground.
The head of the arrow had ceased to exist, leaving behind only the black arrow shaft, which seemed most strange and bizarre.
When they thought about Luo Jiâs wretched death, all the generals shivered.
"Ă-Tsang doesnât have the skill to forge such an arrow, and the arrow-making art of Mengshe Zhao was inherited from the Central Plains. Their combined abilities simply arenât enough to craft this level of arrow! ...If they had such abilities, today wouldnât have ended up like this," Wang Chong said.
He carefully inspected the arrow in his hands. Never in all his life had he seen an arrow of this level. Although only the arrow shaft was left, it still contained a dreadful energy, purely destructive in nature. Just by gripping it, Wang Chong felt a deep shock.
And this wasnât all. The arrow shaft, arrow tail, and its extremely simple arc that seemed to be one with the principles of the world... Not even the greatest smithing clans of the capital could craft such an arrow.
The craftsmanship reflected in that trajectory was practically divine, surpassing any other arrow that Wang Chong had ever seen.
No normal person could create such a thing.
In addition, as his gaze swept over a symbol on the shaft, Wang Chongâs heart shivered and he stopped speaking.
The other generals fell silent as well.
Wang Chongâs conclusion was correct. In terms of craftsmanship, the Great Tang of the Central Plains truly reigned supreme. If Mengshe Zhao and Ă-Tsang could create terrifying black arrows like this, the Tang would have been facing a dreadful unit of master archers today as well.
A general finally couldnât help but ask, "But, Young Master, if itâs not Mengshe Zhao or Ă-Tsang, who could it be?"
Although Wang Chongâs argument was very reasonable, it was a clear fact that Luo Ji had been killed. If it wasnât Mengshe Zhao or Ă-Tsang, who assassinated him? What reason would there be to assassinate him?
It was too absurd and unreasonable.
Wang Chong said nothing, but his mind recalled the image of that blurry silhouette on the horizon. He could guarantee that this mysterious black arrow had not been fired anywhere within a ten li radius of this area.
Because it was impossible for someone to fire such an arrow in a ten li radius and remain undiscovered by the Tang army.
But if it was as he thought, if it was at that distance... then his opponentâs strength was far too terrifying!
Hiss!
Wang Chong took in a deep breath and stopped pondering the matter.
If it wasnât Dalun Ruozan or Duan Gequan who fired that arrow, it must have been a third party. Why had they done this, and why had they chosen this moment?
And more importantly, why had they been after him?
......
Wang Chong quickly felt like the entire war of the southwest was covered in a thick fog. There seemed to be something else beyond Mengshe Zhao and Ă-Tsang that he didnât know about.
"Leave this matter to me. No matter what, Iâll definitely find out who shot this arrow!"
Wang Chongâs right hand suddenly clenched itself over the arrow.
......
In the coda of the southwest war, Luo Ji died to a mysterious black arrow. No one could have imagined this, but this was also a matter that only a few people knew about. The vast majority of the Annan Protectorate army soldiers knew nothing about it, let alone other people.
And to the people outside the southwest, today was bound to be an unforgettable day of celebration.