Dawn had just broken.
A disturbance erupted at the southern gate of Xianyang.
“T-That… what is that?”
“A person?”
“No… it’s a golden man!”
Upon the city wall—
a stiff corpse had been hung high in the air.
It was Zhao Wu.
His body had been drenched in molten gold.
After cooling, the liquid metal had encased him entirely, turning him into a twisted golden statue radiating the aura of death.
Sunlight reflected off it with a dazzling yet eerie glow.
Beside the corpse stood an enormous wooden sign.
Three blood-red words were written upon it:
Traitors die.
The crowd exploded into chaos.
“It’s Zhao Wu! That wastrel Zhao Wu!”
“H-He actually…”
“He colluded with the enemy! He betrayed the nation!”
A merchant pointed at the golden corpse, his voice trembling.
“He sold a state secret to those golden-haired foreigners!”
The moment those words were spoken, fury erupted through the crowd like a tidal wave.
“That damned traitor deserves a thousand cuts!”
“He died too easily!”
“Hanging him there is still letting him off lightly!”
…
Inside the Four Seas Pavilion.
A second-floor window opened slightly.
Lucas’s adjutant had turned deathly pale.
“G-General…”
His teeth chattered.
“We’ve been exposed! We’ve been exposed!”
“T-That Zhao Wu was caught by them!”
The adjutant pointed toward the city wall opposite them.
“They’re warning us! We need to leave immediately!”
Lucas followed the direction of his finger.
He saw the golden corpse.
He saw the blood-red wooden sign.
He remained silent for a moment.
Then—
“Haha…”
He laughed.
The laughter was low and filled with arrogance.
The adjutant froze.
“General, you…”
“What are you afraid of?”
Lucas turned around and poured himself a cup of grape wine.
“Isn’t this actually a good thing?”
The adjutant was completely dumbfounded.
“A good thing?”
“Of course.”
Lucas took a sip of wine, his expression overflowing with pride.
“Why would they display the corpse publicly?”
“Because they’re afraid.”
“They know we’ve obtained the power of the gods and cannot stop us, so they can only resort to this barbaric method to intimidate us.”
The adjutant’s mouth fell open in shock.
Lucas walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
“This only proves that what we possess is a priceless treasure.”
“A divine weapon powerful enough to make even this Eastern Empire tremble!”
His eyes burned with greed.
“Pass down my orders.”
“Tonight, we begin the operation.”
…
Zhangtai Palace.
“Outrageous!”
Ying Zheng kicked over the bronze crane lampstand before him.
Lamp oil splashed across the floor.
“Those mere barbarians dared to bribe traitors under My very nose and steal the secrets of Great Qin!”
He drew the Tianwen Sword from his waist.
The blade let out a sharp hum.
“Wang Jian!”
The old general immediately stepped forward.
“Your servant is here!”
“Mobilize the troops at once! Crush that Four Seas Pavilion flat for Me!”
Ying Zheng’s voice was as cold as winter winds.
“As for every western barbarian inside, regardless of age or gender—leave none alive!”
“Your Majesty! You must not!”
Li Si dropped to his knees.
“When nations go to war, even envoys are not executed, Your Majesty!”
“Envoys?”
Ying Zheng let out a cold laugh.
“Someone who sends thieves into My treasury to steal things dares call himself an envoy?”
He was just about to issue the order—
when a lazy voice sounded out.
“Father Emperor, don’t be so hasty.”
Ying Ziye walked out from behind the screen, yawning.
In his hands, he was still casually playing with a nine-linked ring puzzle, clearly enjoying himself.
The moment Ying Zheng saw him, a third of his anger faded.
“Ziye, these barbarians have gone too far!”
“If I don’t teach them a lesson, they’ll truly think Great Qin has no one capable left!”
Ying Ziye walked over to him.
“Father Emperor.”
“What’s the fun in a cat catching mice?”
Ying Zheng froze slightly.
Ying Ziye continued:
“It’s not about killing the mouse with a single swipe.”
“It’s about watching it carry the stolen grain back to its hole, little by little.”
“Watching it believe it’s finally about to eat its fill and be safe.”
He raised his head and smiled at Ying Zheng.
“Then, with one strike—”
“you destroy both the mouse hole and all the grain together.”
Ying Zheng said nothing.
He merely stared at his eight-year-old son.
Ying Ziye walked toward the sand table.
“Father Emperor, if we close the net now, what do we gain?”
He pointed toward a small pouch of gold coins on the table.
“Only a few chests of gold.”
“Not worth it.”
Then he continued:
“But what if we wait a little longer?”
“Wait until they believe they’ve succeeded and pour more gold, more craftsmen, and more of their assets into that valley.”
“Wait until they manufacture a pile of worthless scrap metal.”
“Then we close the net.”
Ying Ziye slammed his hand heavily onto the sand table.
“What we gain then…”
“…won’t merely be gold.”
“It will be the entire Roman delegation’s money—and their lives.”
The great hall fell silent.
The hand gripping the Tianwen Sword slowly relaxed.
Ying Zheng looked at the sand table, then at Ying Ziye.
After a long while—
he laughed.
“Good!”
“We shall do exactly as Ziye says!”
“I truly want to see just how much these rats can carry back into their nest!”
…
Deep night.
The moon was hidden and fierce winds swept the land.
Xianyang’s curfew had already begun.
The back gate of the Four Seas Pavilion silently opened.
More than a dozen craftsmen dressed in Qin clothing—but with blond hair and blue eyes—slipped out under the cover of darkness, carrying several heavy crates.
Their movements were swift and agile.
Following dark alleyways, they quickly vanished into the night.
Outside the city—
within a deserted mountain valley.
The Romans had already transformed the place into a secret workshop.
Bonfires blazed brightly.
Lucas stood atop a large rock.
Before him gathered dozens of Rome’s finest craftsmen.
“Gentlemen!”
His voice trembled slightly from excitement.
“Tonight, we shall witness a miracle!”
He waved his hand.
A personal guard carefully carried forward a brocade box.
Lucas opened it and took out the blueprint scroll he had purchased with five chests of gold.
Slowly, he unfurled it.
By the light of the flames—
an immensely complicated blueprint filled with astonishingly precise lines appeared before everyone.
An old craftsman with white hair and beard trembled as he stepped forward.
He was Rome’s greatest engineer.
After only a single glance—
his entire body froze.
With a thud, he dropped to his knees before Lucas.
“General!”
The old craftsman’s voice carried both tears and overwhelming ecstasy.
“This… this is the masterpiece of the God of War himself!”
Pointing frantically at the individual components drawn upon the blueprint, he looked utterly insane.
“These ingenious connecting rods! This unbelievable firing mechanism!”
“Heavens! I swear, whoever created this must have received divine revelation!”
The old craftsman lifted his head, his face filled with fanaticism.
“General! With this!”
“With this ‘Divine Mechanism Crossbow’!”
“The entire world will kneel beneath Rome!”
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