Summer Month, 30th. The team was only a few miles away from the imperial capital, and the members already exceeded 10,000.

Shui Yun woke up before dawn, and in fact, she barely managed to sleep last night. She stepped out of her tent and looked up at the fading stars. In the night sky, there were only thin clouds like silk yarn, and the wisps floated in the sky, which meant that the new day was still sunny. That's probably a good sign, but for whom, she thought.

She walked a little farther and turned to look at the camp behind her.

They look messy and come in different sizes. The largest ones have more than 1,000 people, and the smaller ones have only a few hundred. Most of the people in charge of the vigil were members of the "Tsuchibu", who were drowsy at this time, raising their hands and yawning from time to time.

Shui Yun had no intention of blaming those people, they were merchants and logisticians, not trained soldiers. The rest are also not. Of the more than 10,000 people in front of them, only a small number of them received simple weapons and cotton armor, and many more were bare-handed. Without a complete organization, officers, and overseers, even the sergeants on the border could not exert their combat effectiveness, let alone her people and the people who joined in the fun.

This was the idea of the Pale Chief, and she understandably wanted to do so—whether it was calling for war with the Alliance or purging the King of demons, these were civilians, not rebels intent on subverting the Empire. For the ruler himself, the killing of the people who came to 'petition' will inevitably become an indelible stain, and if they are allowed to enter the imperial capital, or even storm the palace hall, the prestige of the king will also plummet.

Shui Yun only prayed that the golden emperor would choose the latter, otherwise even if he shook the empire, it would be meaningless to her. It does seem a little ridiculous, she advertises the other person's cruelty and mediocrity, but expects him to be actually merciful enough.

She glanced at the whitening sky again, walked back to the front of the camp, and lifted the tabernacle that belonged to the head of the earth.

Wei Feng was as awake as she expected, wearing the brown robe she wore on weekdays, and was flipping through a book that seemed to be the history of the empire. The Earth King is able to draw energy from the earth, so he barely sleeps. He closed the book, patted the felt beside him, and motioned for Shui Yun to come and sit down.

"Do you have something on your mind?" When she did so, Wei Feng spoke, not looking at her, "Although I may not be able to help." ”

It's already so obvious, Shui Yun lowered his head and didn't answer the question directly. "How much food do we have left?"

"It's about five days now." The man replied, "When they leave the imperial capital, I will have the Tubu provide enough food until they return to their hometown." He folded his hands on the low table in front of him, "This is our original duty." ”

"I understand." She responded a little hoarsely, biting a strand of hair in her mouth and being silent for a while, "What are you going to do if the defenders of the imperial capital fight back?" ”

Wei Feng glanced at her, and there was no hesitation in his eyes.

"I swore to kill all the demons in the world, but I never took human life." He clenched his hands on the table slightly, "I don't want to make an exception unless I have to." ”

The man exhaled, his voice softening slightly, "If a fight is inevitable. He looked out at the camp, "I'll make sure they're safe." ”

That's what this man has always insisted on. It looks a little rigid, even naïve, but Shui Yun is not disgusted. Maybe it's because ...... The same is true of her aspirations.

She raised her hand and lightly rested it on Wei Feng's hands, feeling a little warmth and steadfastness.

"Thank you." She whispered, then got up, "Me too." ”

……

The last few miles remained uneventful. As it approached noon, the end of this journey was within reach.

"We're here." Wei Feng's voice came from outside the car, pulling her back to reality with her eyes closed and contemplative.

Shui Yun answered. She motioned for the coachman to stop the carriage, then pushed the door open, and silently stepped on the ground, looking out into the distance.

Hundreds of years of time have carved its history into the high walls of huge bluestones, but they have not been eroded by the wind. Just like the huge country in front of her, after more than ten generations of emperors, there is still no trace of decline.

Maybe that's just on the surface, she thought.

A long period of comfort will inevitably bring about change, and decay is beginning to spread from within. The seeds of unease had already been planted, and what she brought with her was the beginning of the empire's shaking.

The gates of the city in the distance were closed. The guards of the city lined up above the walls, aiming their crossbows at the ranks behind her—but that was all. As the central city-state of the empire, Sin'an Fortress has no regular garrison on weekdays, except for the guards and royal guards who maintain law and order. As the imperial capital with a population of hundreds of thousands, if the Praetorian Guards of more than 1,000 people were scattered to various city gates, it would be as worthless as a splash in the ocean.

In fact, since it was built 240 years ago, the imperial capital has never been warned. Unlike fortresses located on the border, its heavy façade has no moats, urns, or turrets, and is more like a simple demonstration of solemnity. Because of this, the golden emperor must have chosen to stick to the inner city, and gave up the outer city, which was difficult to defend.

She turned around and looked at the crowd behind her, chanting a whispering incantation. The order was quickly conveyed everywhere, and a huge procession of tens of thousands of "people" slowly stopped at a distance of more than 1,000 feet from the city wall.

Shui Yun put his hands on his chest again—there was a boxy metal box, hung around his neck with a plain cloth band, not quite like an ordinary necklace. She closed her eyes and prayed softly, as if it would bring good luck.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes, her expression calming down. "Frost Group!"

A dozen people came to her. Most of them were women, dressed in plain white robes and scarves, without any visible weapons in their hands. But anyone who knows anything about the Pale Hand will never take this team lightly.

They are the elite of the "Fog Department", and each of them is an outstanding magician. Although most of his usual duties are to spy on intelligence, Shui Yun is sure that even the excellent assassins cultivated by the "Shadow Department" will not be able to outnumber them in equal numbers.

"Everything went according to plan." Shui Yun whispered, "Our mission is to break through the outer city. As for the inner city, there are others in charge of it. ”

The white-robed magicians nodded in agreement. They chanted incantations and disappeared from the sight of the clouds. Then she turned her head and looked at Wei Feng beside her.

"I'm in charge of opening the gates." The leader of the earth tribe said in a deep voice, "The defenders will ask you." ”

Shui Yun bowed his head wordlessly, watching the man crouch down and press his palm to the ground. The earth rippled and swallowed him silently.