The path to the temple was clear.
The emperor's personal guards were dead, and the soldiers of the emperor's aristocratic families were dying at the hands of the Wei clan.
Looking at the situation the emperor was in, Wei Chen smiled cynically.
The main culprit of the Wei clan massacre was the crown prince, the current emperor.
"We're almost there…" Wei Chen said to the prince, who was holding tightly onto his waist.
"Go faster, if my brother notices that his soldiers have fallen and we chase after him, he'll surely escape," said the prince.
"There's no horse faster than this one, we'll arrive in a few minutes," said Wei Chen.
"I made a good choice of horse," he thought.
Looking ahead, he noticed that the temple stairs were very close.
They only had to pass a medium-sized wall. But suddenly he felt a chill, making the hair on his scalp stand up.
Without thinking twice, he made the horse jump the wall. "Watch out!" Wei Chen shouted to the prince.
While turning and dodging an arrow coming at him in the air,
causing them both to fall along with the prince who was clinging to him.
They fell on the temple steps, causing great pain to both of them.
"Ouch, that hurt," the prince squealed.
Wei Chen paid no attention to the prince's complaints and decided to look around for the one who had shot the arrow.
It was actually one of the remaining emperor's guards, about to go kill him when one of the warriors got ahead of him and killed him from behind.
Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he gave a thumbs-up; the soldier, excited, bowed and turned around with red cheeks from the excitement.
Wei Chen let out a breath with a smile.
He turned and took the prince's arm, who was still complaining about the pain from the fall.
"I can walk, Wei Chen, you're an idiot. Why didn't you tell me they were aiming at us? I would've jumped," said the prince.
"What are you talking about? I warned you, I said 'watch out,' didn't you hear?" said Wei Chen brazenly.
The prince was about to explode with rage, but Wei Chen interrupted him before he could speak.
"There's no time for this, your brother is up there hiding like a rat."
The prince opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Let me go first," he finally said.
"Mmm? Ah, that's right," said Wei Chen, releasing the prince's arm.
They ran toward the top of the temple; on the stairs were the bodies of monks and soldiers.
It was a very chilling scene, even more so being a temple.
"We have to hurry," said Wei Chen to the prince, who was also witnessing the scene.
"Yes, we have to hurry," said the prince.
They ran as fast as they could toward the top.
Upon arriving, they saw the emperor with his dragon robe, clutching gold ingots in his arms.
It was a truly pathetic sight; he was trembling, with tears and snot on his face.
"Wow… what an interesting scene, Your Majesty," said Wei Chen, amused.
As if he had seen the devil, the emperor went pale as a sheet, dropped the gold ingots, and stepped back several times.
"Don't be so scared of me, Your Majesty," he said while pointing to his side at the prince, "be scared of him."
The emperor shook his head frantically. "I don't want to die," he said between sobs.
The prince frowned; no matter what, he was still his brother, and seeing him in a frenzied state left him with mixed feelings.
Noticing this, Wei Chen patted the prince on the shoulder, giving him a signal that it was time.
The prince took a deep breath and drew his sword.
The sword touched the ground loudly on purpose, making the emperor's heart beat fast.
With a swift movement, the sword cut off the crown prince's head.
"Wow… not bad," said Wei Chen, genuinely surprised. He knelt and said, "I, Wei Chen, last son of the Wei family, give thanks and glory to the new emperor."
The prince nodded as he sheathed his sword.
"You may rise, this is not over yet," said the prince, now emperor.
"Your Majesty, this humble subject must leave you for a few moments," said Wei Chen.
"Where are you going?" asked the emperor.
"To pray," said Wei Chen as if nothing had happened.
The emperor frowned.
"I didn't think you were religious," said the prince.
"Of course I am," and with that, he turned and went directly to the Buddha statue nearby.
Wei Chen sat on the ground and bowed, his head touching the floor.
"Protect me from my enemies, and forgive me for the blood I have shed and will shed," he said, bowing four times to the Buddha statue.
When he finished, he stood up, put his hands together, and made a slight bow to the emperor.
"This subject awaits your orders," said Wei Chen.
"Last son of the Wei family, I, emperor, give you my first order."
"This humble subject listens to the orders of Your Majesty."
The emperor looked at the battlefield; to his surprise, the army of the aristocratic families had fallen.
The Wei clan army was watching him as if waiting for him to give the order to their general.
There were less than 40 soldiers, covered in blood and wounds, but their gazes did not look like those of injured men.
On the contrary, they came fierce, ready for battle.
The emperor smiled. He pointed to the north, where the enemy foreign troops were attacking the kingdom.
"Kill the intruders and assist any soldiers who need reinforcements."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" said everyone, including Wei Chen.
Even though the distance was far enough, the soldiers responded to the emperor's words as if they already knew what he would command.