I'm a villain, not a devil

Broken walls, ruins, and corpses, this is everything Sean saw after returning to the imperial capital.

He brought Serlot, the messenger of Nieqi, with him. Although his speed was not as fast as his own, it only took him half a day.

In just twelve hours, the Imperial Army and the Treeman Army had fought three major offensive and defensive battles.

The city wall of the imperial capital is known as the most rigorous and tallest steel monster in the entire continent. It is made of 30% bedrock and 70% steel. It has never been challenged by the enemy since its construction.

But twelve hours later, a collapse occurred on the northern city wall that faced the enemy directly. The first encounter with the enemy was already extremely tragic.

The first two times were still the most basic offensive and defensive battles, but in the third siege, due to the collapse, the tree people almost poured into the imperial capital. In desperation, the imperial army could only use human lives to fill this gap. After fighting for several hours and both sides leaving tens of thousands of corpses, this battle was barely over.

When Sean saw Wu Xiao, the marshal's eyes were red and his shoulders were wrapped in thick bandages. Even so, dark green juice oozed out from time to time.

Seeing Sean's gaze, Wu Xiao casually explained: "The characteristics of the tree people are not obvious enough. They sent twelve Crimsons to lurk in the vanguard team and caused the collapse. I paid a price - but unfortunately, six tree people still escaped."

He fought one against twelve, and only suffered a shoulder injury and poisoning, leaving six crimson-level tree people behind... Sean couldn't help but look at Wu Xiao again. The latter was stronger than he thought.

However, he just smiled casually: "Marshal, you are not good at learning."

Wu Xiao nodded: "Of course I am not good enough in martial arts. If I had half the strength of your foster father, none of the twelve tree people would have escaped, and I would not have been injured. Forget it, let's not talk about this. This plan is all thanks to you."

Sean shrugged. "I, a wanted criminal, took action, but no one in the empire made a sound. The Marshal is quite capable."

Wu Xiao didn't even raise his head: "The emperor's order came, asking me to arrest you and put you in prison. I killed the eunuch who came to deliver the order."

These words were said lightly, but the implication contained in them was profound - for the empire, the emperor was the supreme will, and to disobey his orders or even kill his people, even if they were marshals, was considered extremely daring.

Sean asked curiously, "Do you know what your Majesty is planning?"

Wu Xiao smiled for the first time, but there was a hint of regret in his smile.

"The statue of the founder of the nation is facing Huangshan. Although I am not an expert in this area, I can at least tell that this is some kind of ritual." He glanced at Sean, "Just like you hiding a person and a bomb in your stomach, it's all a ritual."

Sean chuckled: "The Marshal who loves his soldiers like his own sons is quite open-minded."

Wu Xiao's smile became even more intense, as if he had let go of a lot of things.

He stood up and looked at Sean: "Before, I cooperated with the eldest prince Bai Zhan, just to prepare for a rainy day. I dislike your adoptive father for not fighting or competing, and for living a carefree life. I hate that His Majesty is old and unwilling to die, but in the final analysis, I am still doing this for myself."

Wu Xiao's face was calm. "Sometimes I would lie to myself. I wanted to repay my teacher Bai Youming who saved me and taught me how to become a marshal. My teacher loved this empire deeply, and I should protect it. But after sitting in this position for a long time, I figured it out."

"These are just secondary motivations. More importantly, I want to become famous."

Wu Xiao's eyes were terribly bright. "I have been an orphan since I was young. No one cared about me. When the imperial army invaded my city, I had no patriotism. I just wanted to make a name for myself. Maybe I could become a prominent figure. In the end, Bai Youming pulled me out of the pile of dead bodies."

"He knew my identity, but he still asked me with a smile if I wanted to stand out and become famous. I said yes, and I became his student."

He pointed to his head and said, "My special ability was awakened in a pile of dead bodies. It is called Death Blade. Apart from combat, when I hold this Death Blade, I can see something."

“Whenever I look up at this world, my Death Blade will tremble. Whenever I look at the majestic imperial capital, my Death Blade will only be excited. I know from within that there is a catastrophe outside the world, and the empire will also encounter disaster.”

“Every time this happens, I feel a strong desire - a desire to stand in front of everyone and tell everyone my name with victory after victory.”

He seemed to be immersed in the scene he described, closing his eyes and raising his head in enjoyment.

"I participated in eighty-nine battles of all sizes in the Imperial Army, and won eighty-nine battles—never lost once, not even a narrow victory."

"Everyone thinks the Empire is invincible, but I... didn't tell anyone. Because if others knew in advance that the disaster was about to happen, they would take precautions and prepare, and then I would lose the chance to be looked up to by others. Only if all this is accomplished in my name will the world know my name."

Wu Xiao lowered his arms in boredom again. He looked at Sean and smiled helplessly: "It's a pity that my secret arrangements were destroyed again and again. The teacher was unwilling and Bai Zhan died, and Your Majesty himself was one of the sources of the disaster."

He sighed: "It's boring... This world doesn't allow me to stand at the top and be admired by others."

Sean, who had been silent, suddenly pulled the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "Maybe you are too conservative?"

Wu Xiao shook his head. "I'm not like you. I can't be too radical. Privately, I've been involved in the princes' fight for the throne and the changes in power. For example, I gave the Second Prince and Grand Duke Yuantie the capital to approach Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Sean narrowed his eyes slightly: "Do you know the truth about the Queen's death?"

Wu Xiao nodded: "Of course, the teacher spends all day in the casino, and I have total control over the military. I can find out some things with a little effort. In my plan, Bai Zhan should be at the peak of his career, and I should use him to increase military strength and armaments, but Bai Zhan is not thoughtful enough and is arrogant. If he becomes the emperor, he will definitely look down on everyone."

"So, I will use the Queen's death to make trouble and let Bai Zhan get rid of his brothers personally. In the end, the princess who has suffered the most injustice will get back what she deserves."

He wiped his hands and said, "Then, Bai Zhan will be executed by me for collaborating with the enemy. Your Highness will legitimately become the empress, and I will become the true master behind the scenes of the empire."