Chapter 189 Book 5 Three Snakes
The late spring sun bore down on the sweeping columns of soldiers, a sea of gleaming armor and black banners trimmed in gold. Ten thousand men marched beneath the imperial standard of the Fir Empire, their boots crushing the wildflowers blooming along the dusty road that curved toward the borders of Qinglan State.
General Xiong Gong rode at the forefront, astride a tall black mount, his crimson cloak snapping in the wind like a flare of blood. His armor, etched with subtle patterns that hinted at noble lineage, gleamed beneath the sunlight. A weathered hand brushed the scroll inside his inner robe—a parcel sealed with the crimson wax of the imperial court. The message it carried was known to only a few, but its weight bore heavy on his mind.
"Princess Jing'an," he muttered to himself, eyes narrowing as he stared at the distant horizon.
