At this moment, Li Xiao and his loyal companions raced toward the capital of Tang State, Chang'an. His heart burned with a singular purpose: to summon the soldiers of Tang and lead them into battle against Chen State, seeking swift revenge for the slaughter of their people.
With unwavering faith in the Primordial Gods, Li Xiao felt certain of the outcome. After all, if the ancient beings had intervened to bring down Chen Guo, the kingdom's demise was all but assured. There would be no survivors—only ruins where once a mighty kingdom stood.
Just as the wind whispered in his ear, a booming, otherworldly voice resonated within the depths of his consciousness: "Your wish has been fulfilled. The kingdom of Chen has been destroyed."
"Impossible!"
The words rang through Li Xiao's mind like a thunderclap, and he and his companions exchanged bewildered glances, their faces contorted with disbelief.
"Is it truly gone? So quickly? The destruction of Chen Guo—how can this be?"
One of Li Xiao's guards, his throat dry, swallowed hard, unable to fathom what he had just heard.
It had only been half an hour since the departure of the Primordial Gods, and now the news of Chen Guo's annihilation had reached them. How could such an enormous kingdom, with its vast army and powerful world props, be wiped out so swiftly?
"It is true. The gods cannot lie. When the gods speak, it is so," Li Xiao declared with unwavering conviction, his voice filled with awe.
A shiver ran down his spine, a mixture of fear and elation.
"Indeed. The gods would never deceive us mortals."
"But still... is it true? We must return to Chang'an and see for ourselves," one of the generals added, his voice thick with urgency. "There is no point in debating. We must know the truth."
Without further delay, the group hastened their pace, their steeds flying across the land like arrows released from a bow. Every second weighed heavy, and they could not wait to reach Chang'an to confirm the fate of Chen Guo.
A Day Later—The Shocking Truth
After a long and grueling day, Li Xiao and his men finally returned to the capital, Chang'an. What greeted them was a sight that chilled them to their very cores.
The once-feared soldiers of Chen Guo, now defeated and broken, knelt in surrender before the Tang forces. Their pride had been shattered, their power dissolved in the face of the overwhelming might of the gods. Chang'an had been reclaimed.
"Your Highness! You have returned!" The Tang generals saluted Li Xiao with fervor, their faces bright with the joy of victory. Their excitement was palpable, for with the death of the Tang Lord, Li Xiao now stood as the sole heir to the throne, the one capable of stabilizing the fractured kingdom.
"What has happened here?" Li Xiao asked, his voice steady, though his mind raced with questions.
A general stepped forward, his eyes alight with relief. "Your Highness, rejoice! Chen Guo has been destroyed. Divine punishment has befallen them. The Lord of Chen and his generals, along with their most important officials, have perished. All of them. None have survived."
Li Xiao's heart thundered in his chest. Though he had suspected it, hearing the confirmation sent a shiver down his spine.
"Tell me more," he demanded, his voice a low rumble, as his mind sought to piece together the truth of what had happened.
The general's expression grew somber as he recounted the tale. "A mighty ancient god appeared in Chen Guo just yesterday. It was as though a mountain itself had come to life—its arms were so vast they could hold an entire city, and its eyes shone with the radiance of the sun and the moon. The Kingdom of Chen, unaware of their offense, angered the Primordial Gods, and as a result, they were met with swift and terrible retribution. The Lord of Chen and his officials were struck down in a moment of divine wrath."
Li Xiao's thoughts raced. A god had appeared? The sheer scale of such power left him speechless.
"What kind of divine punishment did they face?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, as though fearing to speak too loudly of such immense power.
"The god… it wielded a magical artifact of unimaginable power," the general continued, awe and fear in his voice. "With a single strike, it froze the entire land for thousands of miles. Cities turned to ice, and the chilling cold spread for hundreds of miles. Those who remained in the cities were frozen into statues—no one could escape. Only the strongest warriors, the diamond soldiers, managed to survive, but even they could not withstand the cold for long. The entire kingdom was gripped by this unnatural winter, as though an ancient Ice Age had descended upon them."
The general paused, his face pale with the gravity of what he had just described. "In the end, tens of millions of people perished. It was a calamity unlike any other."
Li Xiao and his companions stood in stunned silence. The devastation was unimaginable. The destruction of an entire kingdom, with so many lives lost, had been wrought by a single divine force.
"Could this truly be the power of the gods?" Li Xiao whispered, his voice thick with disbelief. "A force so immense, so merciless, that it could wipe out an entire kingdom in the blink of an eye?"
The generals exchanged uneasy glances. "Yes, Your Highness," one of them said. "The divine punishment of the gods is a power beyond mortal comprehension. The kingdom of Chen is no more. All that remains is a cold and empty land."
Li Xiao's eyes hardened. "This is an opportunity," he said, his voice now filled with determination. "We must seize it. The kingdom of Chen lies in ruins. This is our chance to expand the borders of Tang and claim their land as our own. This is a golden opportunity, and we must not let it slip away."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the generals responded in unison, their resolve firm.
"Prepare the army. We march to Chen Guo."