The Human Emperor
chapter-1663

Chapter 1663: The Commander Tally!

“You’re here!”

Upon seeing Wang Chong, Zhangchou Jianqiong finally raised his head, his lips managing a weak smile.

“What’s going on?”

Wang Chong walked over and sat down next to Zhangchou Jianqiong.

Zhangchou Jianqiong seemed to be extremely worried and not in the right state of mind.

“What else is there? The other party came prepared, and they probably knew my route beforehand, even investigating the streets I normally take,” Zhangchou Jianqiong said.

The Bureau of Military Personnel had many matters to attend to every day, and as an important official of the court, he had even more problems on his plate.

This was particularly the case now, with the Imperial Court controlled by the Confucian Sect and the First Prince. Zhangchou Jianqiong was a single block of wood trying to prop up a tottering gate. For this reason, whenever he went home, Zhangchou Jianqiong would take a small side street after going past Vermillion Bird Avenue. This was for no other reason than that it was peaceful and quiet, allowing him time to ponder the problems on his mind.

In the thronging capital home to nearly one million people, such peace and quiet was extremely valuable.

But Zhangchou Jianqiong had never imagined that the other side would exploit this harmless pleasure.

“They had a very high level of martial arts, but they still underestimated me. I managed to kill one of them and break out, but I sustained some internal injuries.”

As Zhangchou Jianqiong spoke, he extended an arm and unleashed an azure stream of dense Stellar Energy that transformed into a lotus.

Wang Chong couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise.

Zhangchou Jianqiong had an intense desire for fame and renown. This was something that the man himself would not deny.

But it seemed that even though he was focused on achieving fame, Zhangchou Jianqiong had never put aside his cultivation of martial arts. Wang Chong could see from this move that though Zhangchou Jianqiong had not reached the Subtle realm, his cultivation level was still extremely profound.

But as these thoughts passed through his mind, something changed.

Not long after the Stellar Energy had taken the form of a lotus, an extremely black energy as thin as spider webs burst out of his palm.

Fwoosh! The lotus of Stellar Energy that Zhangchou Jianqiong had created immediately turned into a roaring black flame.

This flame was despotic and immediately burned Zhangchou Jianqiong’s Stellar Energy to nothing, upon which Zhangchou Jianqiong paled even further.

“The Fire of Mara!”

Wang Chong immediately stood up in alarm.

The black flame surging through Zhangchou Jianqiong’s body was extremely familiar to Wang Chong. It was none other than the Fire of Mara used by the men in black, though its nature seemed even more tyrannical and domineering than before.

“How could this be?!”

Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil as he stared at Zhangchou Jianqiong.

He had returned from the northwest not too long ago, so he was well aware of the energy used by the men in black.

The men in black had attacked Zhangchou Jianqiong! This was something Wang Chong had never imagined possible.

Why would the men in black attack Zhangchou Jianqiong? Given the past movements of these two, they should have never interacted before.

“You know them?”

It was Zhangchou Jianqiong’s turn to be surprised.

He had clearly not expected Wang Chong’s reaction.

“What’s going on here? Lord Zhangchou, can you give me a detailed account of what happened to you?”

Wang Chong’s brow furrowed, his expression grave and solemn.

The moment Zhangchou Jianqiong revealed the Fire of Mara in his body, the entire incident took on a completely different character.

Zhangchou Jianqiong pensively gazed at Wang Chong. This was not an aimless man, so there had to be a reason for this request.

Thus, Zhangchou Jianqiong began to explain the incident in detail.

But in Zhangchou Jianqiong’s view, this was just an ordinary assassination, where his opponent had been well-prepared and had learned his route. The only slight oddity was their martial arts.

“Lord Zhangchou, think back and try to remember if there was anything else strange about them,” Wang Chong asked.

Zhangchou Jianqiong was taken aback, but he quickly furrowed his brow in thought.

“Right, there was one other thing. Besides those black flames, these people could also transform into savage, bestial appearances. Their bodies grew several feet taller in just a few moments and their muscles became bursting with strength. Once they transformed, my attacks were much weaker against them. Moreover, their eyes became scarlet red.”

Half–Lu Wus!

Wang Chong’s brow furrowed even deeper. He was now certain that it was the men in black who had attacked Zhangchou Jianqiong.

What’s going on here? Why would they attack Zhangchou Jianqiong?

Wang Chong’s mind was seething. He could see no intersection of interests between the men in black and Zhangchou Jianqiong. The two shouldn’t have even been in conflict.

“Wang Chong, what’s wrong?” Zhangchou Jianqiong asked.

“I hope it’s not what I think.”

Wang Chong shook his head, a deep unease in his mind.

“But it’s not the background of those people that I’m actually worried about.”

Wang Chong did not explain, and Zhangchou Jianqiong did not pursue. His brow furrowed as he expressed his concerns.

“What I’m really worried about is that these people came with a very firm goal in mind. They were after the half of the Commander Tally that I have on my waist. Why the Commander Tally? Everyone in the world knows, from the commoner to a martial artist in a sect, that taking this Commander Tally has no use to them. But it’s different for the people in the court, and only those people would want the Commander Tally. This is what I’m afraid of.”

Buzz!

Wang Chong’s eyes widened and his face paled.

“Lord Zhangchou, you mean that the men in black were after the Commander Tally?”

“Mm!” Zhangchou Jianqiong grunted. He had failed to notice the change in Wang Chong’s tone.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled in Wang Chong’s heart as great waves raged.

The men in black!

The Commander Tally!

With these two thoughts, Wang Chong felt his heart dropping into an endless abyss. He had never wanted things to develop in this direction, but now, it was all displayed right in front of him.

The men in black had come for the Commander Tally!

And there was only one person in the Great Tang Imperial Court who had any use for the Commander Tally.

How could this be? The men in black are colluding with the First Prince!

Even though Wang Chong had reincarnated and had been through countless storms, he had never before felt so uneasy and disconcerted.

The First Prince had almost complete control over the Great Tang, with the Confucian Sect, the Prime Minister, and King Qi all standing with him. Even the Army-Shattering War God from one hundred years ago who had been only second to Su Zhengchen was serving him.

And now, those mysterious men in black who were intimately connected to the apocalypse were working with the First Prince. Wang Chong had never imagined this.

One resided in the inner palace while the other was mysterious and unfathomable, having existed in this world for far longer than anyone could imagine. How could these two forces be working together?!

“Wang Chong, what’s wrong?”

Although Zhangchou Jianqiong’s reaction was a little slow, he finally recognized that Wang Chong was acting very strangely.

Wang Chong didn’t hide anything and gave a brief overview of the men in black. While he skipped across a few matters, what he told Zhangchou Jianqiong was enough to leave him shaken with disbelief.

If it weren’t Wang Chong telling him all this, he would have found it complete nonsense.

“This… how could a faction like this exist, persisting for thousands of years and even deciding the rise and fall of empires?”

Zhangchou Jianqiong’s eyes were wide with shock. What Wang Chong had talked about was completely beyond his imagination.

“You’ve experienced their power, their incredible ability to transform their bodies. What’s strange about all these other things?” Wang Chong indifferently said. Zhangchou Jianqiong’s current reaction was the same as his when he first encountered these men in black.

Wang Chong had now fought with them many times and keenly understood their power, but Zhangchou Jianqiong clearly did not understand the importance of this incident yet.

After a few moments of thought, Wang Chong took a small satchel from his waist.

“I’ll give this to you.” He took out a black metal box from within and handed it over.

Zhangchou Jianqiong looked in confusion at the simple black box.

“This was the first operation of those men in black, and they clearly underestimated your strength. But since they’ve struck once but didn’t achieve their goal, they won’t let the matter go. They will try a second time, and a third! This box will help protect you. If they approach you, you’ll know ahead of time and will be able to determine where they are!”

“Thank you!” Zhangchou Jianqiong said. Although he didn’t know what this box was, if those people were really as Wang Chong said—if Wang Chong really wasn’t exaggerating—then this box had the potential to save his life.

“Wang Chong, you have to look out for yourself as well! The current Imperial Court is no longer the court of the past. Gao Xianzhi has been Anxi’s Protector-General for ten-some years, but he was removed in a single day. King Song was respected by the army and the empire, but he was swiftly toppled. Now, they’re starting to reach their hands toward us.”

Zhangchou Jianqiong couldn’t help but sigh. According to the laws of the Great Tang, the Commander Tally could order around all the soldiers of the realm, from the Protector-Generals down to the lowliest soldier. The authority imbued in this object was second only to the Imperial Seal.

In order to guard against its use for ulterior motives, the Commander Tally was divided into two halves. One half was wielded by the sovereign in the inner palace, while the other half was held by the Minister of War.

When the two halves of the Commander Tally were brought together, the armies of the realm could be fully mobilized!