Chapter 387 329: The Heavenly Monarch's Methods? Next Target: Celestial Capital

'But... even if everything goes smoothly!' A headache was starting to form for Chu Bamboo. 'After pulling all this off, I've definitely become a thorn in the Imperial Court's side. I'm bound to face assassination attempts from all sorts of the court's Transcendents...'

Chu Bamboo never considered the people of this era to be fools. 'As long as I don't kill them, once they get their bearings and think things through, they'll easily deduce my weakness.'

'Accumulate power, expand the Guild... and improve my own strength... After becoming a target, all of that will be basically impossible.' Chu Bamboo pursed his lips, his mind racing.

'Maybe I should let this identity "die" publicly to make my escape... and then build up my strength in the shadows? That might be an acceptable path.'

Countless thoughts flashed through Chu Bamboo's mind.

Finally.

With the mass death of officers, the collapse of military order... the destruction of logistics and armaments... and countless drones being shot down...

In the end—

The drone carrier floated directly over the military barracks. Exerting a terrifying, oppressive presence, it released its Z-3 fighter drones.

A storm of missiles and bombs erupted.

The medium-sized drones only carried small to medium-sized bombs. Their primary purpose was to decapitate the army's command structure by assassinating its officers...

But the Z-3 fighter drones were another matter entirely!

Their destructive power wasn't necessarily greater than that of the many medium drones... but the visual spectacle they created was on a whole different level!

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. The unimaginable sight of the bombing... caused the men of the Imperial Guard, who were already scurrying for cover like rats, to completely lose their will to resist...

They broke. The entire army completely collapsed...

Even though in this army of fifty thousand, confirmed kills only numbered in the low thousands—and many of those had died when burning granaries set the linked camps ablaze, or were caught in the explosion of an ignited armory... or were accidentally killed by friendly fire while attacking the drones—

But now...

With the vast majority of their commanders dead... and with the survivors, completely devoid of the will to fight, scattering in all directions—the Imperial Guard was, in essence, completely annihilated!

Eunuch Huang: "..."

Eunuch Huang's mind went blank. He could, in fact, comprehend what was happening. After all, eunuchs had to be highly educated to get ahead... if one was an empty-head, there was no chance of ever earning the Emperor's favor!

The Heavenly Monarch's academic standards for his attendants were frighteningly high! To some extent, education was valued even more than Extraordinary Power... Or rather, one had to first be cultured and then pass a rigorous screening process before they could possibly learn any form of Extraordinary Power...

But it was precisely because he understood all this that he could grasp... just how dire the situation had become!

His face was pale as he stared intently at Chu Bamboo. His lips trembled, a thousand words caught in his throat, but he couldn't force out a single one.

In the end, only four words echoed in his mind... The world is in chaos!

But how could this be happening?

Just yesterday, the Daqian Dynasty was still thriving!

'Even if you are the Grand Ancestor Emperor... why would you use such brutal methods against the very Daqian Dynasty you founded?!'

Chu Bamboo remained silent, thoughts churning. He weighed his words before speaking. "Hive... bring the drone carrier back. For the return route... hmm, stick to the populated areas."

'Strategic objective, accomplished! Now...'

Chu Bamboo pursed his lips. 'It's time to think... about my escape plan!'

He didn't need to guess... 'The Emperor must be absolutely livid.'

'Uh, wait!' Chu Bamboo's brow furrowed. 'When I leave, I'm not going to find Su Buqun waiting to block the door, am I?'

Chu Bamboo sank into deep thought. 'Hu Kaikang... right, I'm definitely no match for him!'

'Whatever... I'll just go out and see what happens! If I die, I'll just have to learn my lesson and try again...' Chu Bamboo rubbed the bridge of his nose, already wondering if, should he really run into the old ancestor, he should try to get on his good side and see if he could coax some intel out of him.

Suddenly, Chu Bamboo sensed something. A sharp pain lanced through his heart, and his face turned deathly pale. "...What is this?"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hu Kaikang's expression changed dramatically. He instantly sensed something was amiss and moved to support Chu Bamboo.

"...It's nothing." After forcing out the two words, Chu Bamboo's vision went black, and he inexplicably saw...

A roaring Golden Dragon, charging at him out of a sea of blackness...

"???"

Immediately, time began to reverse!

...

"Huh...?"

In the Ecological Garden, Chu Bamboo dazedly opened his eyes. He glanced around—no Vice President Xin, no Eunuch Huang, no Hu Kaikang... No one... Oh, wait, Little Mushroom Head was here!

Chu Bamboo subconsciously glanced at the time. '...Six o'clock. Hmm...'

Chu Bamboo fell silent for a moment. 'Did it send me back to the very beginning this time?' Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he was struck by a surreal feeling, as if a lifetime had passed.

'So, how did I die?' Chu Bamboo was genuinely baffled. Whether it was the old ancestor suddenly appearing to strike him down on the spot... or the Emperor still having some kind of Ancient Relic missile, a nuclear weapon, or even an Antimatter Bomb to throw his way...

He could have accepted any of those ways of dying.

But this, of all things...

...This death, which felt like dropping dead from a heart attack, was something Chu Bamboo found truly hard to swallow.

He closed his eyes, taking a long moment to calm himself, then got up and began to pace. Gradually, a theory formed in his mind. 'Was it some kind of Divine Technique? Or maybe an Artifact?'

'That's the most logical explanation!'

'Terrifyingly powerful!' Chu Bamboo sucked in a sharp breath as possibilities raced through his mind. 'Is it something that can curse me to death just by knowing my name? But... that Golden Dragon didn't look like something so dark and sinister...'

'Or maybe...'

'No, no, no, thinking about this is pointless right now! I need to think about a solution... At the very least, I have to figure out how to resist it!'

He rubbed his face hard, forcing himself to calm down. His expression turned grim as he focused his thoughts, gradually untangling the problem.

'First of all... activating that thing must be incredibly difficult!'

'If it could be used easily, the Emperor could kill anyone he wanted, whenever he wanted! But in reality, when I brought the drone carrier to the Imperial Capital, they didn't react. When the drones swept through the capital, they still didn't react...'

'Only after I annihilated the Imperial Guard, threatening the very stability of the Daqian Imperial Court, did they finally play this card. Therefore...'

'Either the cost of using it is immense—so immense that the Heavenly Monarch hesitated to use it even as the Imperial Guard was being destroyed, only making up his mind after they were completely wiped out! Or...'

'...it simply takes a long time to activate! At least an hour or more...'

So, which is it?

Chu Bamboo was leaning toward the first possibility.

After a brief silence, he gave a noncommittal shrug. 'But then again... for me, it doesn't matter which one it is!'

'Because there's no way I can take them out in an hour! So as long as they commit to using that thing... it's a no-win situation for me as I am now!'

Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. 'So what's the next move? Attack the Imperial Capital again? Or...'

He silently brought up a map. His finger slid across the light screen, eventually drawing a circle around the Celestial Capital. Then, he tapped... on the Imperial Capital to the north!

'Old Huo and Lao Hu clearly don't know the truth about this thing... but...'

Chu Bamboo's expression was inscrutable. He was certain that the Pope of the God Worship Sect... would definitely know the deal with that illusory Golden Dragon! Besides, if he went to the Celestial Capital, he could also dig up his good buddy's inheritance while he was at it...

'Looking at it that way, my next move... is obvious!'

A silent smile touched his lips, then his expression shifted, becoming calm and serious. "Nuwa No. 17, Hive... Now, on my command!"