The Protagonist's Opportunity A Coordinated Assault

Hearing the emperor's furious roar just as he reached the door, Wei Zhongxian shuddered and hurriedly trotted back.

"Your Majesty, this servant is here! This servant is here!"

Wang Hao jumped down from the dragon bed. After his previously floating true qi had been solidified, his movements became much more agile, completely devoid of his former weakness.

"There is no need to draft a decree, that is too slow!"

While letting the palace maids help him change into a martial outfit suitable for action, Wang Hao spoke at a rapid-fire pace, "I just received... hmm, an informant's report! That assassin is at the Jishitang Clinic in the south city slums!"

"What?" Wei Zhongxian was greatly shocked.

How long had it been? His Majesty had been in a coma all this time, so where did he get an informant's report? Could it be that His Majesty controlled a mysterious force that even the Eastern Depot did not know about?

Thinking of this, the look in Wei Zhongxian's eyes as he gazed at Wang Hao instantly changed. At such a young age, his mastery of the emperor's statecraft was truly unfathomable!

"Bring the experts of the Eastern Depot, and have Yu Huatian notify the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as well as Cao Zhengchun's Imperial Guard crossbowmen! Then go to the Empress Dowager at the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility and invite Grand Companion Zhang over."

Excitement gleamed in Wang Hao's eyes. Since he had already become a villain, he might as well act like one—kick them while they are down and take their life! With so much manpower, plus Grand Companion Zhang, who was at the second layer of the Astral Qi Realm, the seventh stage of martial arts, let us see if you survive this.

"Remember, do not make a big fuss. Quietly surround Jishitang. Within a radius of five hundred meters, not even a mouse is allowed to escape!"

"Also, prepare a large amount of fire oil! Bring the heavy ballistas too."

Wei Zhongxian's heart pounded with fear as he listened. Fire oil? What was His Majesty planning to...

"Your Majesty, there are many commoners in the south city slums. Using fire oil..." Wei Zhongxian hesitated for a moment. After all, if too many civilians died, it would be bad for the emperor's reputation.

"I cannot care about that much!" Wang Hao coldly interrupted him. "If that assassin does not die, I will not be able to sleep! That is a slum, mostly filled with refugees and beggars, completely useless. If there are casualties, we will just give them more compensation later. If you let that assassin escape, do not even think about keeping your heads!"

In truth, Wang Hao's heart was bleeding; he did not want to slaughter innocents either. But he knew that against a Child of Destiny like Ye Chen, conventional methods were completely useless.

You send experts in? The guy will break through in the middle of battle and counter-kill them. You use poison? What if he is immune to all poisons?

Only this kind of dishonorable fire attack, combined with large-scale area coverage strikes from heavy armor-piercing giant arrows, might be able to kill him. Moreover, according to the system's intelligence, Ye Chen was in secluded cultivation. This was when his alertness would be at its lowest.

"This servant obeys the decree!" Seeing that the emperor's mind was made up, Wei Zhongxian said no more, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes. Since His Majesty had given the word, then a fire attack it was!

...

Half an hour later.

The southern part of the capital city, the slums.

The night was deep. There were no bright lights and feasting like in the wealthy districts here, only endless darkness and a putrid stench. Dilapidated shacks were squeezed together like burial mounds.

In the end, Wang Hao's compassion flared up. As a modern man, he still could not bring himself to do something so deranged. The people inside the shacks were all quietly taken away by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and each household was even given a bag of rice.

Jishitang was a very small clinic situated at a slightly more open intersection.

At this moment, Cao Shaoqin led five hundred Eastern Depot operatives, along with three thousand black-armored Imperial Guard elites led by Cao Zhengchun, surrounding Jishitang so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

On the rooftops and behind the corners of walls stood archers armed with powerful crossbows. The arrowheads were smeared with a deadly poison that sealed the throat at the sight of blood. It was an enhanced version of the Smiling Half-Step Convulsion specially provided by Hai Dafu. Hai Dafu himself was personally commanding over a dozen heavy ballistas mounted on high ground, all aiming directly at this small clinic.

Wang Hao stood on a distant tower, looking down at everything from a commanding height.

Wei Zhongxian and Yu Huatian guarded him on the left and right. The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Pei Jingzhe, had brought hundreds of elite guards to stand watch below the tower as a support force. This Pei Jingzhe was at the third layer of the True Intent Realm, the sixth stage of martial arts. He was no useless showpiece like the late emperor's men, and his loyalty was astonishingly high at 95. He was excellent material to be the emperor's loyal hound and had been brought along by Wang Hao. If you want to become the emperor's confidant, then show your strength.

"Your Majesty, the arrangements are complete. According to the informant's report, there is indeed someone inside that clinic, and their aura is chaotic, seemingly suffering from severe injuries," Yu Huatian said in a low voice.

Wang Hao nodded, secretly thrilled. The system did not deceive me!

"Do it. Set the fire first to force him out, and then let loose a volley of ten thousand arrows! Remember, no nonsense, no trying to persuade him to surrender, just kill him directly!"

Villains die from talking too much; this principle was deeply engraved in Wang Hao's heart.

"Do it!" With Wei Zhongxian's order.

Hundreds of jars filled with fire oil were fiercely hurled at Jishitang by strongmen.

Crash!

The fire oil splashed everywhere, instantly soaking the dilapidated wooden structure.

Immediately after, countless flaming arrows pierced the night sky, falling upon the clinic like a meteor shower.

Boom!

A towering inferno instantly ignited!

The firelight illuminated half the night sky, and the scorching heat caused the air to distort.

"Ah!"

A few miserable screams rang out from inside the clinic; it was the resident doctor and the medicine boy. These two were not innocent either. They badmouthed the late emperor in Ye Chen's ear every day, so they bore a part of the responsibility for Ye Chen assassinating the emperor. Crushed beneath the struggle between imperial power and destiny, their lives were cheaper than grass.

Wang Hao stared fixedly at the sea of flames.

Suddenly!

With a loud boom!

The floor of the clinic exploded, and a figure wrapped in golden light soared into the sky!

It was exactly Ye Chen!

At this moment, although he looked a bit disheveled and some of his hair was scorched, the aura radiating from his body was actually stronger than before!

The peak of the fourth stage of martial arts!

In just half an hour, he had used that Nine Suns Art to not only suppress his injuries but also break through several minor realms!

This is the protagonist! This is the freaking unreasonable protagonist!

"Dog Emperor! What a vicious heart you have!"

Ye Chen stood on the roof, looking at the surrounding sea of fire, his eyes splitting with rage.

He had never expected that this little tyrant, whom he considered trash, could actually find this place, and use such ruthless methods as directly setting the house on fire!

"Shoot!"

Wang Hao completely ignored his accusations and coldly gave the order.

Twang, twang, twang!

The already prepared poisoned arrows poured down like a torrential rain storm.

This time, there was no demonic wind.

Although Ye Chen had just achieved initial success in his divine art and his protective true qi was tyrannical, under such a dense barrage of poisoned arrows, it was impossible for him to defend against all of them.

Clang, clang, clang!

Most of the arrows were deflected by his saber technique, but a few tricky poisoned arrows still struck his thigh and shoulder.

"Despicable!"

Ye Chen let out a muffled groan, feeling a numb sensation rapidly spreading throughout his body.

"Poison!"

He was horrified. This emperor was not only ruthless, but also insidious!

Standing at the highest point of the tower, compared to his previous panic in the imperial garden, Wang Hao now stood with his back straight and his hands behind his back. His entire body exuded a chilling aura that made people afraid to look at him directly. This was the confidence of a transmigrator who had the entire situation under control.