"Get rid of him immediately—right now! I don't want to see him!"
The two-headed ogre's expression was a mix of bluster and fear. The moment he saw the Green Emperor, his heart instinctively clenched. The terror of the Green Emperor was no longer a rumor—it had been proven, time and again. Just earlier, even poisonous beasts were incapacitated by its singing. The scouts sent out returned with blood oozing from their seven orifices.
That fear, rooted in the marrow of his bones, surged the moment he saw the Green Emperor again.
He'd rather charge into a sea of blades than face this calamity of a creature—this devilish dog. The Green Emperor was more terrifying than hell itself.
"Bastard! I, the Green Emperor, am so handsome and dashing, yet you tell me to leave the moment I appear? Outrageous! Clearly, you haven't been moved by the power of my song yet. You need to listen more—morning, noon, and night. I'll follow you day and night until my beautiful voice touches your soul!"
The Green Emperor's face flushed green with anger. This was the first time someone had dared to drive it away so bluntly. Obviously, this ogre was not a fan—not a kindred spirit! That was unacceptable. People like this needed to hear it sing daily, relentlessly, until they were utterly converted.
After all, how else could it showcase its talents?
Its identity as an artist and singer wasn't just for show.
"Come back!!"
Just as it was about to perform, a voice rang in its ear. The Green Emperor looked aggrieved but could only snort coldly and retreat into Gold-Silver City, leaping up to the city wall.
With its departure, the atmosphere grew heavy again.
"Father, what do we do? Do we advance or retreat?"Yang Yanping took a deep breath, looking to Yang Ye for guidance.
"Exactly! Those are pregnant women and children! These aliens are completely devoid of humanity! This move is more vicious than any scheme!"Yang Yanding's face twisted in fury.
They were being cornered into an impossible choice.
"So ruthless..."Wu Yong took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Using human women, children, and the elderly as hostages and shields. If we advance, we force the aliens to kill them. Even if the aliens swing the blades, we become the murderers. It'll be no different from us killing them ourselves. All that sin—the massacre of innocent civilians—will be pinned on us. The people will spit on us. The reputation of the Great Yi will be destroyed. Civil unrest will follow."
"But if we retreat, the consequences are just as terrible. If they succeed in forcing us back using human hostages, the news will spread. Other tribes will follow suit—taking human civilians hostage to block our advance. Great Yi will be caged in, unable to expand an inch. It will become a prison—a deadly one."
A dynasty that cannot expand will eventually perish. The consequences for Great Yi's future could be catastrophic.
One path leads to eternal infamy, the other to a strangled future.
And the choice... lay with Yang Ye.
"Damn it!!"
Yang Yanding's fists cracked as anger burned in his eyes.
If he could, he'd rather fight a brutal war than be forced into this passive decision. Either choice would be devastating for Great Yi.
"General Yang, should we report to His Majesty and let him decide?"Wu Yong asked hesitantly.
This matter was too great for him to decide on his own.
Yang Ye closed his eyes, silent. His rapid breathing betrayed the storm in his heart. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with resolve.
"No. The general in the field does not always follow the Emperor's orders. I am the commander of the Vermilion Bird Army, and this decision is mine to make. Whatever the outcome... I alone will bear the consequences."
"My Yang family shall never betray the King. Never fail Great Yi. Even if I am burned to ashes, I will not be a coward. Let all the sins and all the infamy fall upon me alone."
His voice trembled slightly, but his words were firm.
This decision might earn him the hatred of history. He might be reviled for generations.
"Father!!"Yang Yanping and Yang Yanding both cried out in shock and sorrow, deeply moved.
"Remember this—be loyal to the King, love the people. In this chaotic world, the Yang family is willing to give everything for Great Yi. The stronger Great Yi becomes, the more people it can protect. May our people—may all humans—become as dragons."
Yang Ye turned to them and said solemnly.
Then, he walked forward with heavy steps, toward the Vermilion Bird Army. He stepped into Rockfall Valley, facing the despairing and numb faces of the human civilians—pregnant women, crying babies...
Every step felt as heavy as a mountain.
Every pair of eyes fell on him—from the civilians in Gold-Silver City, to the soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army, to the refugees in the valley. In their desperate eyes, a faint glimmer of hope lit up.
This was the human army—their army.
When their eyes fell upon Yang Ye, that hope grew stronger.
Thud!
A heavy sound rang out as Yang Ye dropped to his knees before all the human civilians in Rockfall Valley. The earth trembled beneath the weight of his action.
"Brothers and sisters of the human race, I am Yang Ye, Commander of the Vermilion Bird Army of the Great Yi Dynasty. We have come to expand our borders, to carve out more land for our people, more space to live, to survive, to thrive in this chaotic world. We came to rescue those like yourselves."
"But today... the aliens have taken you hostage to stop our advance. If we retreat now, all other tribes will follow this example. Great Yi will be shackled. And the future of humanity... will be lost."
His voice was loud, solemn, and true.
Looking at the babies still crying, Yang Ye's eyes turned bloodshot. His jaw clenched so hard it looked ready to shatter. Veins bulged on his forehead. His body trembled.
"Today, I have wronged you all. I kneel not for forgiveness, but to beg that you... in your next life... be born human again, and see our people rise as dragons."
His voice cracked with emotion.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Yang Yanping and Yang Yanding knelt.
Two hundred thousand soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army all knelt, their eyes red.
"May you all be reborn as humans... and see our people rise as dragons!!"
Even the hardest hearts broke. Seeing the crying infants and helpless pregnant women, the soldiers trembled. No one could hold back the grief.
"You... you dare! How dare you do this!!"
The two-headed ogre was furious. His eyes bulged in disbelief. He hadn't expected the humans to do this—to make such a ruthless choice. To ignore the hostages and choose to advance anyway.
Were they truly made of stone?
Did they not fear the consequences?
"Madmen. You're all madmen!! Aren't you afraid your Yi King will be enraged and have you all executed?! Don't think these are the only humans we hold. We still have hundreds of thousands more in our hands! If you don't back down, they'll all die! Bring them out! All of them!"
He bellowed in anger.
At his command, tens of thousands more human civilians were brought out, kneeling on the rocks. Infants wailed in the night, forming a tragic scene of despair.
Seeing this, Yang Ye and the others turned pale and trembled violently.
It wasn't just ten or twenty thousand—it was fifty to sixty thousand more civilians. They filled the valley, a heart-wrenching sight.
Massacring thousands is one thing. But tens of thousands? That was something else entirely.
The psychological pressure was unbearable.
"Bastards!!"
"These aliens are demons!"
"Ogres must die! All aliens must die!!"
The citizens in Gold-Silver City erupted in fury. Eyes red, fists clenched, they roared in anger.
Yang Ye took a deep breath and opened his eyes, staring at every civilian, as though to etch each of their faces into his heart.