Forensic Imperial Concubine

Chapter 921 She Has To Die (Part One)

It was the first time the Great Jade Kingdom suffered such a huge loss ever since Rolando arrived to lead them against the Bright Dynasty. Rolando's face was devoid of any expression, and Benjamin was so stunned and afraid that he didn't even dare take a deep breath. He remembered how the general had told him that something had changed with their enemies, but he didn't take it seriously. The result of that non-compliance had led them to this position, and he was extremely regretful.

"Someone from the Bright Dynasty has come," Rolando declared flatly. As for who it was, he gave it a thought and figured out that that person could not be Matthew. If he was already here, he would definitely come out and challenge him, one-on-one. It also could not be Felton, as he was not a person of the imperial court. Besides, since the annihilation of the Qin Clan was related to the royal families of the four kingdoms, he would not dare help any imperial court in public. 'It's someone from the Bright Dynasty's imperial capital,' Rolando said inwardly.

"Your Majesty, I know that the people from the Bright Dynasty are vicious, but I have never seen them like this."

"This is the battlefield. You can't judge anyone based on their actions, as everyone is only operating under orders, or for their survival. It's Zack. Zack has arrived," Rolando said quietly.

"Who is Zack?" Everyone began to ask, as they had never heard of him. "How would he be able to lead the Bright Dynasty's army just like that?" one even asked.

"You haven't heard of Zack before, but I'm sure you're familiar with the Bright Dynasty's Bu Clan. Zack is the present head of that clan, as well as the youngest grand secretary of his country. He is smart and meticulous, two attributes needed for a battle, but I didn't expect that Lucas is willing to send him to the battlefield," Rolando said after ruling out everyone who might have come to the Dragon Pass to help the Bright Dynasty. With the intelligence report that he had gotten, it seemed Zack came on his own, as his men hadn't seen any sign of an army that accompanied him.

"Six men from the Bu Clan worked as the grand secretary of the Bright Dynasty's imperial court." The military counsellor remembered the rumor he heard from the Bright Dynasty. It was said that even if the royal family was overthrown, the Bu Clan wouldn't. They said it was because the Bu Clan had a longer history than that royal family themselves.

Benjamin was a military official, so he didn't know much about civil officials. Since the military officials were destined to fight on the battlefield, they just knew the famous and most impressive military generals. They had heard of all the well-known generals in the Bright Dynasty, but hadn't paid much attention to its civil officials.

"Zack cannot be underestimated. He is more cunning than a normal citizen, maybe even some of our top officials," Rolando said. He and Zack made acquaintance in the Holy Chant Temple. They became friends, and would often play Go, which would always end up in a draw despite both of them carefully mapping out their tactics. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

'He always cares for the people around him. How did he stomach attacking my men with wood oil?' Rolando thought, his brows now tightly knitted. All of a sudden, his eyes lit up. Chuckling, he said, "I almost forgot that Zack is not a saint with no desires of his own. He has his bottom line, and I may have already stepped on it."

"Bottom line? What is it?"

"He and Harper are sworn friends. If it weren't from Matthew's tricks and whatnot, he might have been the one Harper married," Rolando replied.

"Then... he must hate Prince Matthew for essentially stealing his future wife?" Benjamin asked excitedly. 'If such a heartless and cruel person chooses to fight against Matthew, chaos would definitely ensue on their side! If that happens, there would be no need for us to do anything—they'd take themselves out!' he thought.

Rolando glanced at Benjamin and asked, "Have you seen Zack and Matthew fight?"

"Uh..."

"You know, Zack and Matthew are gentlemen. Zack is inferior to Matthew when it comes to martial arts, so he knows better than trying to fight him. But now, things are different. If something bad happens to Harper because of Matthew..." Rolando said with a sneer. If something bad happened to Harper because of Matthew, Zack would never forgive him.

Benjamin stared at Rolando. Rumor had it that Rolando wanted Princess Harper to be his empress, but now that he mentioned her by name directly, it seemed like it wasn't true after all. So what was the truth?

Fernando also stared at Rolando, knowing how he truly felt about her. He mentioned Harper in such a direct and emotionless way mainly because he knew showing his people how much he cared about her was useless and would not do any good. All he could do at that point was let her come back on her own.

"Your Majesty, we just got news from the Mountain Pass."

"Hand me it." Rolando's calm face contorted into something undecipherable. Fernando thought, 'I knew it! The one His Majesty cares about the most is still the heartless Princess Harper!'

Rolando opened the paper, and read it thoroughly. His face darkened as he threw it to Bastian. "Have a look," he ordered.

Bastian picked it up, opened it and checked it carefully. He was surprised. "Princess Harper leads the army to attack the Mountain Pass. How is that possible?"

"Miguel will not lie." Rolando rubbed his temples as he had a headache. Sometimes he couldn't figure out what Harper was thinking about.

"Then we'll stop fighting for three days. Since Zack has arrived, we will only let him vent his anger if we keep attacking the city. We'll just tell the soldiers to have a good rest during the next three days." Rolando waved his hand to order his people to leave. "Bastian, stay here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."