I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely

Chapter 336 - 289: When the Tree Falls, the Monkeys Scatter; When the Wall Falls, Everyone Pushes

Zhou Di was, after all, the Emperor of the Human Race’s Imperial City—a Venerable Emperor. For him to end up in such a state was truly lamentable.

Of course.

All of this was Zhou Di’s own doing.

If one were to say...

If Zhou Di hadn’t pursued Longevity by practicing the Undying Immortal Dao, he wouldn’t have suffered the backlash from the Emperor Dragon Qi. The Great Zhou Martial Country wouldn’t have been plunged into misery with its people struggling to survive, this current outcome would never have occurred, and there would be no rebel army from the Jiuzhou Alliance.

So.

This was a case of reaping what one sows.

"Your Majesty!"

At this moment.

Bai Wuyu took a deep breath. He bowed to Zhou Di. "I am willing to lead the troops into battle."

"Military Minister!"

Zhou Di’s gaze fell upon Bai Wuyu.

"Good!"

Zhou Di stood up. With a wave of his right hand, three Tiger Orders flew toward Bai Wuyu, who caught them all. "Military Minister, hear my decree."

"I am here!"

Bai Wuyu’s tone was respectful.

"From this day forward, you shall command the three armies, defend the Great Zhou Imperial City, and repel the invading enemy,"

Zhou Di commanded.

"I accept your decree!"

Bai Wuyu bowed deeply.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

The war drums had begun to sound.

Great Zhou Imperial City.

Outside the city.

The warships of the Jiuzhou Alliance’s army had fanned out, forming an encirclement that enveloped the entire Great Zhou Imperial City. On the decks of the warships, war drums were beaten one after another. Soldiers struck the drums, creating sound waves that spread rapidly, affecting the entire Great Zhou Imperial City.

In fact.

Within the Great Zhou Imperial City.

Besides the imperial relatives in the Imperial Palace and the numerous Civil and Military Ministers of the Court, there were also many common people—citizens of the Great Zhou Martial Country.

"Re... Rebels..."

"Th... This..."

"Are they going to attack the Imperial City?"

"Heavens!"

"..."

The common people were terrified. They hid in their homes, not daring to go outside. Only the braver ones peeked through cracks in their windows and doors.

Additionally.

In the Great Zhou Imperial City.

There were naturally many factions, and behind these factions were intricate connections to the Civil and Military Ministers of the Great Zhou Martial Country’s Court.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

「Inside the Imperial Palace.」

The sound of war drums also rang out. The sound waves they created spread out, and a terrifying Military Evil Qi gradually began to permeate the air.

When two armies face off, the war drums sound first.

Then.

Great Zhou Battleships rose from the Imperial Palace one by one. They moved with extreme speed, appearing above the city walls. Upon the walls, various armies and soldiers had already gathered in droves. They stood guard on the Imperial City’s walls, ready to face the powerful enemy about to attack.

"You’ve finally come, after all."

WENG!

Bai Wuyu appeared, his hands clasped behind his back. He was fully armed, his gear the best the Great Zhou Martial Country had to offer.

"Of course."

Wang Miao and the others looked calm, their eyes all fixed on Bai Wuyu.

"What’s this?"

Guo Anshi’s lips curled up slightly as he spoke with disdain, "Has the Great Zhou Martial Country run out of people? They’re actually sending a defeated general like you out to fight?"

"Hahaha..."

Cheng Feng, the Lord of Yangzhou, laughed heartily. "It’s true. Hong Dingtian is already dead, and Emperor Yuanwu is a fatuous ruler. He has no supporters left."

"We’ve fought our way to the gates of the Imperial City, yet Emperor Yuanwu, Zhou Di, doesn’t even have the courage to lead his troops personally? How ridiculous!"

said Duan Berlin.

"He’s just the ruler of a dying kingdom. How much courage can you expect from him?"

said Xu Fengnian.

"Well said."

"..."

The other leaders chimed in with their agreement.

"Huuu..."

Bai Wuyu took a deep breath, his calm gaze sweeping over Wang Miao and the others. With a wave of his right hand, he gave a military command, shouting, "Activate the array!"

"Activate the array!!"

"Activate the array!!!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

ROAR!

The sound of a dragon’s roar echoed.

Accompanied by a series of rumbles.

Across the entire Great Zhou Imperial City, a glowing light screen rose rapidly from the city walls. The light flowed with a translucent sheen.

This was the National Protection Array.

However.

The National Protection Array had been successfully established through the combined efforts of Hong Dingtian, the True Immortal Daoist, and Xiao Yin, who had leveraged the might of the Court.

This array was founded on the Court, combining Vast Righteous Qi, Heaven and Earth Energy, and Military Evil Qi, while also drawing upon the will of the people. The resulting grand array could shelter the people of Kyushu.

Now.

With Hong Dingtian dead, Bai Wuyu had inherited his position, but this had weakened the National Protection Array considerably. Furthermore, the rebellion across Kyushu had weakened it even more.

At this very moment.

Emperor Yuanwu, Zhou Di, in order to protect the Imperial City, had repurposed the National Protection Array—which was meant to guard the entire Great Zhou Martial Country—to defend only the Great Zhou Imperial City. This act of sacrificing the greater good for the smaller self lowered the array’s significance and Realm by a level, transforming it from a National Protection Array into a City Defense Array.

"This is... the National Protection Array?"

"Excellent, excellent. To think Emperor Yuanwu, Zhou Di, would use the last of the National Protection Array just to defend the Imperial City."

"He’s digging his own grave."

"It’s nothing more than a final, desperate struggle."

"..."

Wang Miao and the others jeered.

"Kill!"

"Attack!"

"Break through the Imperial City!"

"Chaaarge!!!"

"..."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

RUMBLE!!!

All sorts of explosions and rumbles echoed in every direction. The nine leaders, including Wang Miao, led the Jiuzhou Alliance army in a charge against the Great Zhou Imperial City without hesitation.

Instantly.

Countless attacks rained down like a torrential storm, all aimed at the Great Zhou Imperial City. But the City Defense Array had already risen, blocking every single assault.

"Counterattack!"

"Kill!"

"..."

Bai Wuyu’s gaze was frigid. With a wave of his right hand, he issued the order to counterattack. Countless attacks shot into the sky, blasting toward the Jiuzhou Alliance army.

"AHHH!!!"

"No!!"

"PFFT! PFFT!..."

A series of screams rang out.

In contrast, the Jiuzhou Alliance army had no array to protect them. They could only endure the attacks head-on, at best raising a Military Array to counter.

Therefore.

Bai Wuyu and his men could hide beneath the "turtle shell" of the City Defense Array. Under its protection, they were immune to attack, as the Jiuzhou Alliance’s assaults couldn’t break through it.

However.

Bai Wuyu and his men could still harm the Jiuzhou Alliance army.

In this way.

As long as the City Defense Array remained unbroken, the army led by Bai Wuyu was invincible. The Imperial City could not be breached. Instead, it was the Jiuzhou Alliance army that was constrained.

「One day later.」

Wang Miao and the others temporarily gave up their assault on the Imperial City.

Because.

They had led the army in an attack for an entire day but were unable to even shake the City Defense Array, let alone break it. On the contrary, they had lost a considerable number of soldiers.

Continuing like this would be unwise.

Thus.

They halted their attack.

Immediately after.

They made camp outside the Great Zhou Imperial City, surrounding it completely. They couldn’t let a single person from inside escape.

With the Jiuzhou Alliance army’s attack paused, Bai Wuyu breathed a sigh of relief. After ordering his personal guard to stand watch on the walls, he quickly reported the situation to Zhou Di.

「Inside the Imperial Palace Hall.」

"Your Majesty."

Bai Wuyu said, "The Imperial City is protected by the City Defense Array. The Jiuzhou Alliance army can’t break through it. They’ve already made camp outside the city."

"I am aware."

Zhou Di nodded.

"This..."

The ministers exchanged glances.

At that moment.

"Military Minister."

Xiao Yin looked at Bai Wuyu and asked, "In this battle, did that ’Huo Yuanjia’ make an appearance?"

"No."

Bai Wuyu shook his head.

"He didn’t appear again."

Xiao Yin frowned.

"Yes, he really didn’t show up again."

"This can’t go on. As long as Huo Yuanjia remains hidden, he’s like a time bomb lurking in the shadows. No one knows when he’ll suddenly go off."

"Indeed!"

"That’s right."

"We have to find a way to draw that Huo Yuanjia out."

"Correct."

"Only by drawing out Huo Yuanjia and then annihilating him with the Nine Nether Demon Suppression Array can we eliminate this threat for good and prevent future troubles."

"..."

The ministers broke into a flurry of discussion.

"But who should go and lure Huo Yuanjia out? Without sufficient strength, it’s impossible. It would require the power of a Perfect Law Realm expert, at the very least."

The ministers fell into deep thought.

"I will go."

Just then.

A pale-faced old man stepped forward. He walked out from among the ministers and knelt before Zhou Di. "Your Majesty, I know my time is short. At the end of my life, I wish to make one last contribution to the Court and to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

"This..."

"Minister of the Ministry of Rites, you..."

"..."

Involuntarily.

The ministers were all stunned.

One must understand.

In the Imperial Court, the numerous Civil and Military Ministers were all experts who had stepped into the Fourth Realm. Most of them cultivated the Confucian Dao and the Martial Dao, using them to support and protect the Emperor Dao.

It could be said.

Even the weakest of the Civil and Military Ministers had reached the level of a Venerable Ultimate. Without such Cultivation and Realm, it would be impossible to even stand in the Imperial Court.

Unfortunately.

Throughout these many battles.

Few of these Civil and Military Ministers in the Imperial Court had any desire to fight the rebels. The root cause was one thing and one thing only: Zhou Di had lost his Emperor Dragon Qi.

Without the Emperor Dragon Qi.

’Could an Emperor still be an Emperor?’

Therefore.

These Civil and Military Ministers in the Imperial Court had long been thinking of finding a new, worthy master. This was the real reason why the rebel army of the Jiuzhou Alliance had been assembled in such a short time.

It could be said.

With the exception of Cang Province.

The other Eight States were basically backed by the figures of these Civil and Military Ministers from the Imperial Court.

As the saying goes.

When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when a wall starts to crumble, everyone gives it a push.

That was precisely the principle at play.