The Empress was at a loss, encountering such a situation for the first time.
Sometimes, even knowing the situation was hopeless, she couldn't refuse. If she disregarded the lives of those below, her reputation would be completely ruined, and she would lose all authority.
But if she cared for them, the entire capital would fall, resulting in even more deaths, and those below might not survive either.
The situation was clear: she couldn't agree to their demands under any circumstances.
Kindness doesn't lead to military strength, and benevolence doesn't grant power—this has always been true.
But the Empress was soft-hearted and couldn't bear to see her people die; after all, they were the ones she needed to deal with now. People always harbored a glimmer of hope for the future, such as the possibility that the massacre wouldn't happen.
"Your Majesty can't agree to them, or the entire capital will die!"
"Yes! Besides, even if you agree, they won't release them. They'll massacre the city! Massacre the city!"
The people inside were filled with anxiety. Many had only seen a glimmer of hope; the great formation was effective in blocking the enemy's advance. But if the Empress removed the formation, they would face unimaginable danger.
The city was massacred, leaving no one alive, not even a chicken or a dog. Even the dead were given a final blow. In such circumstances, survival was incredibly difficult.
The Empress wasn't foolish, but at this moment, she didn't know what to do. The Imperial Tutor looked around, desperately hoping Qin Chuan would appear so he could make the decision. In fact, the Empress was thinking
the same thing. Suddenly, the formation emitted a dazzling halo, and Qin Chuan appeared beside the two women. The Imperial Tutor and the Empress were overjoyed, their expressions excited. "Qin Chuan, you're here!
What should we do?" the Imperial Tutor asked excitedly. Unconsciously, she had changed, becoming indecisive herself. Qin Chuan smiled, quickly understanding the situation. He smiled and said, "What do you plan to do?" The Empress shook her head: "I don't know." "If you had to choose one, what would you do?" Qin Chuan smiled. "I can't choose. I'll open the formation," the Empress said softly. Although many would consider this choice foolish—how could an emperor be so soft-hearted?—it also showed her genuine kindness. Qin Chuan smiled wryly at her, then looked at the Imperial Tutor. "We can't activate the formation, or even more people will die," the Imperial Tutor sighed and shook his head. Qin Chuan knew that this choice wasn't necessarily ruthless; on the contrary, it was wise, showing foresight and a sense of the bigger picture. Don't underestimate this seemingly small problem; while observers may feel closer to the situation, making a choice is incredibly difficult for a kind person. "We don't actually need to choose. We can let them choose, see if they choose to save their own lives or kill others," Qin Chuan said with a smile. " Listen up, those above! One last question. Okay, that's enough. Let the blood tell you. Otherwise, you won't learn your lesson until you see the coffin. Do you think we're joking? Kill a hundred people first!" the middle-aged man shouted. "Assistant!" the Empress called out. "Have you thought it through?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile. "You've thought it through. You can't kill them. As for the formation, whether you remove it or not is irrelevant. You came to my Heavenly Kingdom and still wanted to kill my citizens? You're delusional." Almost as soon as the Empress spoke, a golden light flashed, piercing through one of the attackers, killing him instantly. This was just the beginning, because several more people fell to the ground with thuds, dying instantly. It all happened too fast. The enemy only came with a little over a hundred people, all skilled fighters, especially a few with terrifying strength. But Qin Chuan didn't engage these people directly, instead using demonic beasts to ambush those weaker. In a short time, more than a dozen of them had died or been injured, and the number was still increasing. Panic gripped the enemy . After all, no one knew who would be next. It was impossible to defend against. Besides, there were only a little over a hundred people, a one percent chance of death, but with several demonic beasts, the enemy's chance had increased to five percent. Moreover, as the number of dead increased and the number of survivors decreased, the probability of death was rapidly rising. The middle-aged man's face turned cold. He stared intently at Qin Chuan, watching his men die one after another. The man, however, simply killed them outright. "Very well, very well. Today I'll see how you handle this. Anyone who dares kill my men will suffer a fate worse than death!" the man roared furiously. Qin Chuan scoffed, "You'd better protect yourself first. It would be a joke if you got yourself killed here too." "Break the formation! Break the formation! I didn't break it before because I wanted to play around with you. Since it's not fun, then let's stop. Break the formation by force!" the man shouted. Before, breaking the formation by force might have been possible, but now he didn't know that the formation had undergone a complete transformation. Forcing it now was a joke. Qin Chuan laughed rudely, a mocking laugh: "What an idiot! Is your brain full of water? Trying to break the formation by force? Come on, break it for me! If you can't, you're my grandson! It's shameful to have a grandson like you." This infuriated the other party. Without further ado, he waved his hand, and more than ten people, each wielding a long, spear-like object—thinner and longer, translucent black— attacked the formation from a strange position. Qin Chuan's eyes lit up. What was this? Good heavens! That thin, long weapon was actually made of demon-slaying stone, and their position was the Seven Stars of Heaven and Earth! This was the legendary Seven Stars Formation-Breaking Formation! The Seven Stars Formation-Breaking Formation! This was a legend, because Qin Chuan was encountering it for the first time. It was a kind of momentum, perhaps not the Dao, but another form of the Great Dao. Momentum is like water flowing downhill, water using its height to create momentum. The Seven Stars Formation-Breaking Formation was said to utilize the power of the weapon and the seven stars in the sky. This was a truly magical power, wielded only by those who could connect with its power. Qin Chuan was utterly astonished that his opponent could use such power. This was the first time Qin Chuan had directly witnessed something that could communicate with the power of the stars, completely overturning his understanding. He had believed in such things before, but had never actually witnessed it. Silent and still! Qin Chuan watched the attack; it was utterly silent, completely still, without any movement. However, Qin Chuan knew that this kind of attack was extremely damaging to formations. Therefore, Qin Chuan had been paying close attention, and soon he breathed a sigh of relief.