Chapter 26 - The Mad King's Sacrifice.

As the massive castle approached, the drawbridge extending from it smoothly landed on the city wall. However, at that very moment, several larger wooden boxes popped out from hidden positions on the city wall. These wooden boxes were filled with model siege spears.

As these siege spears were launched, numerous iron chains were linked by them to the drawbridge and the mobile castle. It was then that Xu Xuan noticed that behind each linked siege spear hung a large stone. As the ropes supporting these stones were cut one by one, the iron chains stuck in the wall began to tighten, and a massive pulling force appeared on these siege spears and chains.

However, such a pulling force alone was not enough to destroy the castle. So, before everyone's eyes, huge mechanisms began to appear within the city. These mechanisms had one purpose: to continuously add stones to the platforms holding the suspended stones, thereby increasing the pulling force exerted by the chains on the castle.

With a series of sounds, several large sections of the wall were torn off the massive castle by the siege spears. Immediately after, several large trebuchets popped out from the city wall. Under Mo Li's control, these devices accurately hurled stones towards the position where the castle was constructing its cloud ladder pontoon bridge. Just as the castle was preparing to build a second cloud ladder, a large number of stones had already shattered the first aerial cloud ladder. As for the soldiers who were using this bridge to attack the city, they all fell down.

For a time, the battlefield reached a stalemate.

Time passed minute by minute, and cold sweat began to appear more and more on Gongshu Ban's forehead. With the appearance of defensive mechanisms and fire oil spraying mechanisms on the city wall, the cracks on his mobile castle also increased. Finally, he once again took out a wooden block and placed it on the castle, while Mo Li also placed a wooden block on the city wall. Gongshu Ban's wooden block instantly transformed into a giant multi-headed automaton snake, while Mo Li's wooden block became an automaton ox.

Immediately, on the floating bridge of the city wall, the automaton snake and the automaton ox clashed. However, due to the defensive weapons around the automaton ox, the automaton snake was ultimately rammed off the city wall by its opponent. At this point, victory was decided.

"Very well, in terms of defensive mechanisms alone, I, Ban, declare you the strongest." Seeing this, Gongshu Ban stood up, picked up the wooden pieces from the ground, then turned to the King of Chu and said, "Your subject is incompetent and unable to breach Mo Li's defenses, but your subject has one more way to win."

As he spoke, dozens of automaton snakes suddenly appeared around Gongshu Ban, surrounding Mo Li and Xu Xuan in the middle: "As long as Great Master Mo is killed, then attacking the city will be easy. Considering the soldiers and the foundation of my Gongshu clan, the Song state's defenders cannot resist. Moreover, the Song state has just suffered a major defeat."

"Is killing me meaningful? Haven't the soldiers of Eastern Chu also suffered a major defeat? Moreover, when you arrive at the city walls of the Song state, what you will see will not only be the Song state's army, but also my Mohist School's one hundred thousand Qi Practitioners and elite Mohist automatons waiting for you on the city walls." Mo Li said, rising majestically: "To be an enemy of my Mohist Qi Practitioners, does Your Majesty truly still want to fight this war?"

"..." Hearing Mo Li's words, Gongshu Ban was speechless for a moment, so he turned and walked towards the outside of the grand hall.

"Hmph hmph hmph, ha ha ha ha ha!!!" Just then, a strange laugh erupted from the King of Chu's mouth. In an instant, the temperature inside the grand hall dropped by several degrees, and some of the lights in the hall also extinguished. The grand hall became dim.

"Where is Mr. Gongshu going?"

"I have lost miserably enough today; I am truly ashamed to face Your Majesty, so I ask Your Majesty to let me leave." At this moment, Gongshu Ban's face showed a dejected expression, and while speaking, his steps did not stop at all. However, in the next second, several of the outermost ministers stepped forward and directly blocked Gongshu Ban's path. It was also at this moment that Xu Xuan noticed that the fog outside had not dissipated with time; instead, it had become even denser than in the morning, and the air was filled with the scent of incense ash.

"No matter, no matter, Mr. Gongshu can just stay. This small matter is nothing."

"Your Majesty does not know, this concerns the reputation of my Hundred Schools of Thought. Today's events will surely be recorded in Mohist texts. I am truly ashamed to continue working. From today, I will seclude myself in the mountains and forests, until I have my revenge." Gongshu Ban sighed with a frustrated expression, then lifted his leg, preparing to walk out again.

Seeing this scene, Xu Xuan finally understood: this old fellow simply wanted to run. He was clearly using this opportunity, having lost all face and standing, as an excuse to leave directly.

However, it was clear that the King of Chu had no intention of letting Gongshu Ban leave.

"Mr. Gongshu, please come back first. I actually have something I want to say to Great Master Mo." The King of Chu waved to Gongshu Ban. Seeing that the latter eventually walked back reluctantly, he then looked at Mo Li and asked, "You constantly speak of universal love for all beings, so I ask you, where were you when I was attacked by Western Chu? Why didn't you persuade the Xiang clan of Western Chu not to rebel against me? When the Xiang clan attacked me, you didn't come, but when I attack the Song state, you appear? How do you explain this?"

"The dispute between Eastern and Western Chu was originally an internal struggle for royal succession within your Chu state, not a war between two nations. Therefore, I had no reason to intervene. Whether the ultimate ruler of your Chu state was you or your younger brother, it was a disturbance among the upper echelons of the royal family and had not yet affected the common people." Mo Li said calmly: "But this time is different. This time, you have not only affected the common people, but also engaged in widespread human sacrifice, believed in ghosts and gods, and attacked another country, completely disregarding the lives of the people of both nations. For this, I have come to persuade Your Majesty to turn back."

"Turn back? Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous!!!" Hearing Mo Li's words, the King of Chu's expression clearly showed he was on the verge of fury: "It's easy to talk when you're not in my shoes. Do you know my situation? If I don't make one last stand, after the Year of the Long Night next year, Western Chu will surely besiege the royal capital, and then I will be doomed forever! This is my last chance to turn things around."

"But by doing so, you will neither win nor turn things around."

"How can I not win? Even if Gongshu Ban's automatons are blocked by your Mohist School, what does it matter? Let me tell you, my Great Chu will still annex the Song state. Because my Great Chu has the help of gods!!" Looking at Mo Li, the King of Chu said in a tone that was almost crazed and fanatical: "As long as I have enough sacrifices, next year I can complete the resurrection of the great Chitu God. Under the protection of the gods, that Hegemon-King of Western Chu will be nothing more than an ant."

Hearing the King of Chu's words, Gongshu Ban at the side quietly lowered his head, while Xu Xuan completely focused his attention on the surrounding officials. Even with all this, not a single one of these ministers expressed an opinion or spoke. Or rather, these ministers showed no reaction at all.

"Actually, there's an even simpler method: you just abdicate the throne. This way, you won't need to sacrifice the common people, the mutiny will be quelled, and it will become a fine tale."

"Why should I abdicate the throne?"

"Because in my opinion, Your Majesty is not fit to be a king."

"Audacious!!" Hearing Mo Li's words, the King of Chu's expression became ferocious, as if his forbidden scale had been touched: "Do you also believe I am not my father's son?"

"Bloodline is not important to my Mohist School at all. In my opinion, Your Majesty is simply not wise enough. Along my journey, I have seen countless refugees, all due to your tyranny. In this entire hall, I cannot see the figures of the famous scholars of the former Chu state, which is enough to illustrate your character. All the renowned individuals of the Chu state have joined Western Chu, and the common people are also fleeing towards Western Chu. This sufficiently proves your unpopularity as a ruler. Since you are both incompetent and unpopular, you should relinquish this position to someone who can govern the Chu state well."

"Blasphemous! Today I finally understand why your Mohist School is unwelcome among the various states." Hearing Mo Li's words, the King of Chu sneered: "I am a king, born to be a king. The position of king is inherited by the royal family; this is a rule from ancient times, a principle summarized by countless ancestors. I was born a king, and you actually want me to abdicate? When my Great Chu faces a crisis, the appearance of gods is enough to show that the mandate of heaven is with me! It is proof from heaven of the purity of my royal bloodline! I am destined to unify the Chu state and then conquer the world. It's just a pity that there are too few people in the Chu state now, far from enough to be sacrifices for the great god. However, the Song state still has millions of people who can serve as sacrifices for the god. Let me tell you, the food problem you mentioned is no problem for me at all, because before the Year of the Long Night, I will sacrifice all useless people to the god. At that time, the Chu state will only need to keep food for me and the army. As for the Year of the Long Night, I am not afraid; under the protection of the god, my army can completely operate during the Year of the Long Night." Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"If you sacrifice all the common people, who will you rule?" Hearing the King of Chu's almost insane words, Xu Xuan finally couldn't help but ask.

"To die for the king is inherently the duty of those common people!! They should feel honored to die for me, a king of noble blood. And even if there are no common people left, it doesn't matter. After I sacrifice all the people of the Song state and receive even greater divine blessings, when I defeat Western Chu, won't the people of Western Chu become my people? Moreover, even if the people of Western Chu are not enough, I can still plunder the people of other states. I am a person blessed by the gods; what does it matter if there are fewer common people? After a few years of recuperation, they will grow back like weeds."

"Damn it, this person is insane." Hearing the King of Eastern Chu's words, Xu Xuan concluded.

"More than just insane, he's utterly depraved." Gongshu Ban at the side also spoke at this moment.

"Great Master Mo, Mr. Gongshu, you are both heroes of this era. I do not wish to kill you here. Today you have learned of my affairs, so I give you two choices. Either assist me and bathe in the grace of the gods with me. Or... all of you die."

As the King of Chu's words fell, the last lights in the grand hall also extinguished. The entire hall became incredibly dim. Almost simultaneously, Xu Xuan noticed that the surrounding civil and military officials finally reacted. All of them stood up, encircling Mo Li and Xu Xuan in the center.