Empress Natsume ✓

LXV

"Raiden isn't called 'the God of war' for nothing!"

Eiji shouted with a laugh, raising his own cup of sake to make a toast, then gulping it all up in one go.

"That's your thirteenth cup. We're in an enemy's territory, idiot. We need to be vigilant at all times, else you might lose your idiotic head"

"You're such a problematic old geezer, it makes you age faster. No wonder I look younger than you"

He laughed again, waving his hand to emphasize that it's nothing to be worried about.

"Why worry when we have our beastly king? He charged right through the enemy, breaking their strategic formation without stopping. Are you doubting him now?"

That's right, when the war started, it was Raiden who's leading them, charging right through the enemy like an arrow without stopping. After they've breaked through the Northern border, he didn't stopped there. The army continued to march in the Xue's territory. While the left and right wing have to alternatively stopped to fend off the enemy soldiers who are chasing after them.

The stubborn king would not even stopped until they invaded the nearest city state of Xue, committing a genocide. By the time they have already put down their swords, it was already in the middle of the night and the city state's ground was already pooled in blood. Some of the soldiers have already sleep with their stinking bloody uniforms on due to fatigue, some have time to have fun with women around here, and the lower classes, who are servants that were thrown in war to increased their manpower have to clean their mess, gathering and piling up a thousands of corpse to burn.

The two of them are resting on the rooftop of the governor's house, who is now dead.

Izumi stared at the people below. The cold glowing full moon gives them a visible sight in the darkness. One of the soldiers passed by, carrying a cart full of bloody chopped bodies, a child's head is on the top. His eyes are still open, bulging in fright and horror. A woman screaming for mercy can be heard in the distance, begging for the men to stop, not long after, she was silenced in just a swish of a sword.

"I'm not doubting his capabilities, I'm doubting his decisions recently"

"Why? Is it because he's too brutal and doesn't act righteous at all?"

"No..."

In this Warring States period, whoever act righteous couldn't be more ambitious as to become a warlord, waging wars from all directions. Being brutal can strike a fear to your enemy not to slight you again. Still, there's a disadvantage of it, these citizens of Xue belong to the country of Sang, which Raiden wants to unite. This event will forever be engraved in the people's hearts, creating a hatred to the Monarch and when there's a hatred from the citizens to the monarch, it will create a rebellion.

When the time comes that they have united all states of Sang, there's no guarantee that they can all keep the city states in check without raising a red flag.

"How can a subject whole heartedly trust a king who can easily be swayed by a woman?"

That's why there's a saying that “behind every successful man is a woman” that can also be the other way around “behind the downfall of every great man is a woman”

Meanwhile in the palace of Xue. Natsume and Yuan Kang is playing a chess. She invited him first, better to do this and distract him rather than being so intimate with her. This past few days, he became more and more brazen, holding her hands, hugging her waist and would even kiss her out of the blue.

She's too ashamed of the previous things that happened between them she wants to bury herself alive. Yes, Yuan Kang have officially blurred her identity. Not caring about the fact she's another man's wife, treating her like she's his own wife instead. Such false claim. Raiden will be the one who's going to bury her if he knows of this, how many green hats did she puts on him?