World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 579 - 293: Great success! Suo Lun miracle! (Important)_2

Chapter 579: 293: Great success! Suo Lun miracle! (Important)_2

And as a concubine, Princess Ji Hui had to stand nine steps behind.

Hundreds of civil and military officials stood ten steps further back.

Within this strict hierarchy, the entire ruling class of the Night Orchid Duchy surrounded Grand Duke Lan Shi as he ascended the Sacrificial Altar!

...

At 11:45 AM!

Grand Duke Lanshi completed the ninety-nine steps and arrived at the Sacrificial Altar.

The Sacrificial Altar, an area of three hundred square meters.

In the center stood the one-hundred-meter-tall Sky-Piercing Stele, beneath which was placed a large cauldron, with incense burning within.

And the piece of jade flooring in front of the large cauldron was the very one that Suo Lun had replaced, containing thirty jin of time-sensitive explosive bricks.

It appeared, indeed, without any discrepancy or trace.

However, at that moment, Grand Duke Lanshi was still more than ten meters away from that piece of jade flooring.

On the entire Sacrificial Altar, only he and his principal wife, Princess Mo Ping, stood.

Several hundred civil and military officials waited down the ten steps, including the concubine Princess Ji Hui.

The celestial official shouted loudly, "Play the music!"

Immediately, the hundreds of musicians on another flight of steps began to play elegant music.

Solemn and beautiful!

At the same time, Grand Duke Lan Shi started his ritual of three kneelings and nine bowings!

"Kneel!"

Grand Duke Lanshi knelt and kowtowed three times towards the Sky-Piercing Stele. Three meters behind him, his principal wife, Princess Mo Ping, also knelt and paid her respects.

"Rise!"

Grand Duke Lanshi stood up, and Princess Mo Ping followed suit.

"Walk!"

Grand Duke Lanshi took three big steps forward, with Princess Mo Ping following.

"Kneel!"

Mr. Lan knelt again and knocked his head three more times.

In this way, he took three steps, kneeled once, and knocked his head three times.

After the three kneelings and nine bowings!

Grand Duke Lanshi had already arrived in front of the large cauldron beneath the Sky-Piercing Stele, standing on the piece of jade flooring that Suo Lun had replaced.

His principal wife, Mo Ping, stood three meters behind him.

Underneath his feet was the time-sensitive bomb that Suo Lun had crafted.

As per the plan, the explosion was set for noon sharp!

...

The time was now 11:55 AM.

Only five minutes remained until the detonation!

At that moment, all the elegant music stopped!

All the officials stood in silence.

Dozens of celestial officials stared intently at the hourglass, watching the last bit of golden sand run out.

And the sun moved bit by bit, its shadow on the Sky-Piercing Stele growing shorter and shorter.

At noon, the sun would be suspended directly overhead.

At that time, due to the Sky-Piercing Stele pointing straight at the sun and being illuminated right in the center, there would be no shadow.

This moment was said to be the closest to heaven and thus the most appropriate time for offering prayers to the heavens.

Seconds ticked by steadily.

The entire area was as silent as death, waiting for the final moment to come.

Four minutes.

Three minutes.

Two minutes.

One minute!

The time had come, it was noon.

The golden sand in the dozen hourglasses had completely run out.

The sun shone directly above the Sky-Piercing Stele, casting no shadow.

The time-sensitive explosive that Suo Lun created did not detonate on schedule.

Grand Duke Lanshi knelt on both knees, took out the sacrificial text, and began to chant loudly!

"Oh great heavens, shine upon our land! Majestic divine dragon, watch over our people! Gather the earth’s spirits, bring favourable winds and rains. May each find their place, and all beings thrive. May each find their place, in both present and past..."

Grand Duke Lanshi indeed endured much, now with his body frail and ailing, yet he still pronounced the text of the Heaven’s Sacrifice so clearly and forcefully that the several hundred civil and military officials on the platform listened with absolute clarity.

Only his principal wife, Princess Mo Ping, standing a few meters behind him, could see his hands trembling faintly.

The entire sacrificial text was less than a thousand words.

The first few hundred words made no mention of warfare, focusing only on the grace of the divine dragon, the blessings of heaven and earth, and the welfare of all people.

Only in the last few hundred words was the battle of national humiliation mentioned!

Hoping the divine dragon and heaven would protect them, and that the Night Orchid Duchy could wash away its national disgrace and reclaim its lost territory.

In the beginning, Grand Duke Lanshi had some difficulty reciting the sacrificial text, but as he recalled the humiliating battle that took place twenty years earlier, his blood boiled with fury.

He then remembered how his son, Crown Prince Lan Tu, had led an army of 300,000 in a fierce assault on Helan Pass, which was on the verge of being breached.

Just before leaving the palace, he had received a battle report.

Despite the Rouran City Lord, Ashi Liren, taking to the battlefield personally, with her unrivaled martial prowess spurring on the defending army’s morale, the forces of Rouran City had grown complacent over the last ten years, and their combat strength had significantly weakened.

After days and nights of relentless fighting, the defending troops at Helan Pass had suffered heavy casualties and were on the brink of collapse.

The report from Crown Prince Lan Tu stated that Helan Pass could be taken within three days at the latest!

Once Helan Pass fell, the whole Rou Ran Province would be undefended, and it would take at most a month to completely recover the lost lands.

Just the thought of this scenario made Grand Duke Lanshi’s blood surge with excitement!

The disgrace of those days could finally be washed away completely!

He had already issued a decree to Crown Prince Lan Tu to capture the Rouran City Lord, Ashi Liren, alive!

Despite having heard that she was the most beautiful woman of the age, and even though he was frail, Grand Duke Lanshi still wanted to have a taste.

The humiliation the Ashi Clan brought to the Night Orchid Duchy all those years ago would today be repaid a hundredfold!

Thus, Grand Duke Lanshi read louder and more vigorously, with two images flashing through his mind incessantly.

One moment, it was the clanging of swords and thundering of hooves from twenty years ago, and the instant his father, Duke Lamu, fell in battle.

The next moment, it was him violating Ashi Liren, washing away the humiliation of that year.

And not just Ashi Liren, but the Suo Family as well!

Back then, his father, Duke Lamu, had been personally slain by Count Suo Long beneath the walls of Rouran City!

And this time, the annihilation of the Ashi Clan and recapture of Rouran City had been made possible with the tacit consent of the heir of Rage Wave, Zhi Li.

When the day comes that Zhi Li ascends the throne and exterminates the Suo Family, when Suo Lun and the others are flayed and boiled alive, the Night Orchid Duchy must also partake in the revenge, feasting on Suo Lun’s flesh to avenge the murder of his father!

The text of the Heaven’s Sacrifice was completed!

The time was, twelve-o-three!

However, the slab of explosive under his feet still hadn’t detonated.

Grand Duke Lanshi rose to his feet, and at this moment he was supposed to step down. But as he turned around, looking at the several hundred civil and military officials on the steps, and the tens of thousands of soldiers in the square,

He suddenly drew his sword and thrust it towards the sky, shouting loudly, "To reclaim our homeland, wash away our national disgrace, and to annihilate the Ashi Clan completely, to exterminate their nine generations..."

And at that moment...

Inside the glass vessel of the timed explosive device beneath the stone slab under his feet,

A drop of water almost silently fell down.

The white phosphorus, now fully exposed to the air,

Simultaneously, the water level rose beneath the vessel, saturating the lime within.

In an instant, a violent reaction occurred, and the temperature inside the vessel surged, igniting the white phosphorus.

The burning white phosphorus instantly set the oil fuse alight.

Though the air was thin inside the vessel, this combustion was more than sufficient.

Just half a second later, the fuse ignited the thirty pounds of explosive.

"Annihilate the Ashi Clan completely, exterminate their nine generations!" the several hundred civil and military officials below shouted loudly.

Grand Duke Lanshi stood atop the Sacrificial Altar, his blood boiling, his murderous intent soaring to the heavens!

Then...

"Boom..."

An earth-shattering explosion, flames that pierced the sky.

The ground beneath Grand Duke Lanshi burst violently open!

Grand Duke Lanshi’s body was instantly shattered to pieces.

And Princess Mo Ping, just three meters from him, was blasted away like a paper kite, her body flying ten-odd meters through the air, blood spraying wildly.

The entire place fell into a dead silence, utterly unable to believe the scene before their eyes.

Their sovereign, in full view of everyone, had been blown to pieces, utterly perished.

And their lady, Principal Wife Princess Mo Ping, was sprayed with blood, her body mutilated, beauty and grace utterly destroyed.

...

Note: The second update is here, begging for support and monthly passes, thank you.