Chapter 2850: Upheaval In the Palace

Zu An realized that this was the Conqueror King’s test. If he couldn’t answer this question well, he could lose his say in this alliance. In the worst-case scenario, the Conqueror King could even abandon and kill him.

Fortunately, he had already given much thought to this question. He was able to answer right away, “It'd be easy to kill him, but the bigger problem is how to make him die reasonably; otherwise, his subordinates could notice an anomaly and turn against us.”

The Conqueror King’s eyes lit up. “My thoughts exactly. What ideas do you have?”

“Dissonant Melody has a plump figure and an unusually red face. Has he ever suffered from cultivation deviation?” Zu An asked.

The Conqueror King was awed. “You’re right. He cultivated a highly domineering skill in his earlier years, which resulted in his body accumulating excessive vitality. To make things worse, he has absorbed the energies of many different experts over the years. It might have been nothing much at the start, but absorbing the energy of the Holy Knight Order’s Captain Augustus seems to have been the tipping point. It triggered all the underlying issues in his body that have accumulated.

“He's been suffering from frequent nosebleeds that easily fill dozens of bowls. If not for his overwhelming strength, he would have been dead by now.”

This was the trump card he'd uncovered from many years of investigation. He hadn’t been planning to share this information with Zu An, but who could have thought that the latter would notice it on his own?

“Let’s work on that. Get your subordinates to spread the news and exaggerate it, so that others won’t doubt a thing even if he drops dead abruptly,” Zu An said.

The Conqueror King nodded. “That can be done. The bigger problem is how we can kill him. I can design a ploy to assassinate him, and there’s a good chance of pulling it off. The problem is that given his strength, I won’t be able to do it discreetly. The commotion will inevitably draw the attention of others.”

Zu An spent a moment in thought before asking, “Is Dissonant Melody deeply in love with Empress Harjol right now?”

“He is. It is rather unusual for someone of his stature to fall in love with an indigenous woman from this world, though.” The Conqueror King was perplexed. “His affection for Harjol transcends normal boundaries. He might have sent Da Yu’er to convince you into submission, but there’s no way he could bear to let Harjol do the same.”

Zhao Xiaodie had a peculiar expression. She had known all along that Harjol was the Little Fiend Empress, but she'd chosen to withhold the information, thinking that it could prove valuable in times of need.

Now that she thought about it, the Little Fiend Empress was quite the impressive figure. The latter had first bewitched the old Fiend Emperor, then gotten Regent Zu An wrapped around her thumb; and now, she had completely won over the Annihilation envoy as well. It was almost as if she wielded some kind of sorcery that made experts fall in love with her.

Should I find a chance to seek advice from her?

“It seems the key lies with Harjol.”

“But Harjol and Dissonant Melody are in love with each other. Where can we strike from?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“No wonder Xiaodie says you’re good with women. I’m impressed.”

“...”

Months passed, but the Manchu army was still unable to breach Shanhai Pass, which was guarded by Second Elder Hermes.

Dissonant Melody finally thought about Zu An and summoned him. “You participated in the discussions of the Order faction’s upper echelons. Do you have any ideas to overcome this impasse?”

“Hermes manages all of the Universal Conglomerate’s business deals. With his capability, there’s nothing much we can do if he remains steadfast in his defense. However, he has a weakness that we can exploit,” Zu An replied confidently.

“What is it?” Dissonant Melody hurriedly asked.

“He’s a sentimental person, and there is one woman who can become his downfall.”

“Everyone knows that Hermes fell in love with a woman back when he was younger, but no one knows who that woman is. Even if we know her identity, there’s no way we can find her in this world,” Dissonant Melody said with a frown.

“I might have a solution,” Zu An replied.

“What is it?” Dissonant Melody’s eyes lit up.

“Based on my interactions with him, he might have found a woman in this world who greatly resembles his past lover. If I head to Great Ming’s capital and make a move on that woman, we might be able to overcome this impasse,” Zu An replied.

“You want to enter Great Ming’s capital?” Dissonant Melody was stunned, but he soon replied with a smile, “We’re at war right now. You’ll be in trouble if someone discovers your identity. Why don’t you tell me who that woman is, and I’ll send someone to deal with her?”

Zu An sighed. Dissonant Melody doesn’t trust me. He fears that I’ll escape to the capital and never return. That would mean he sent Da Yu’er to me for nothing. “I’m not sure about the woman’s identity. I have to verify it in person first. We need to tread carefully, as if we alarm them, there won’t be a second chance.”

His plan upon arriving at the capital was to first look for Chen Yuanyuan to resolve his doubts before secretly meeting Isabella and Zheng Dan, lest they think he was really dead.

His words did little to dispel DIssonant Melody’s doubts. In the end, the latter didn’t agree to it.

When Zu An was taking his leave, Dissonant Melody suddenly remarked, “I heard that Princess Xiaodie is very fond of you. You’re good at winning the fancy of ladies.”

Zu An responded with a polite smile, but his heart turned cold. Dissonant Melody is trying to sound me out. Zhao Xiaodie is currently Dorgon’s daughter, yet she’s meeting me frequently. That’s bound to make people wonder what my relationship with Dorgon is.

If Dissonant Melody finds evidence of my alliance with Dorgon, he’ll surely kill us right away.

We can’t wait any longer...

Without any hesitation, he secretly slipped into Dorgon’s residence, and the two of them spent a long time hashing out their plans.

That night, Dissonant Melody made his way to Harjol’s bedroom as usual. Just thinking about her soft body, bewitching disposition, and understanding nature was enough to send a gush of heat through his body.

He had seen all kinds of beauties over the years, but none had moved him as much as her.

Even Order's divine maiden was a plaything to him. He had only married her to insult her, evident from how he had sent her to wait on other men. There was no way he would bear to send Harjol to do such a thing.

A wondrous time of relaxation and pleasure followed. Once again, he had to concede that Harjol was a woman among women. He had never felt such exhilaration from anyone else. To top it off, she'd called her little sister, Da Yu’er, over, so that the two of them could wait on him together.

What a virtuous woman!

But Dissonant Melody vaguely sensed that something was off today. It was a weird feeling of unreality, as if he was floating on clouds.

All of a sudden, his protective artifact activated. Something was attacking him.

An ancient copper coin appeared in midair, and all his protective artifacts were immediately rendered ineffective. It was the Treasure Sinking Coin!

A sword surged toward Dissonant Melody right after.

Dissonant Melody sneered. His greatest strength was to unleash destruction by altering the laws of the world. From the moment the Treasure Sinking Coin took effect, he had already rewritten the laws around himself to render all attacks ineffective.

To his horror, the sword pierced through his distorted laws!

It was none other than the Slaughter Fang[1]. This weapon could pierce through all defenses and was impervious to all laws, including distorted laws.

Exploiting the opening created by the Slaughter Fang, a pitch-black dagger surged in and slit Dissonant Melody's skin—the Poisonous Prick.

“Death’s divine power!” Dissonant Melody narrowed his eyes in shock. How could an envoy like him hope to alter the laws set by a universal deity?

1. The tooth taken from the Lord of Slaughter upon his death. Zu An said he would make it into a weapon later. ☜

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