Chapter 3: A Resurrected Killing Blow! I refuse to believe... that I cannot kill you!

The remaining ten black-clad assassins were blinded by rage. They had already lost twenty of their own, and this debt was one they were determined to settle with the deposed emperor.

Their leader spoke again, "The master has issued a final order: if the deposed emperor does not die, our time is up."

"You all know what must be done, don't you?"

"Rest assured, Chief, we will spare no effort."

"Yes! We will complete the mission, even if it costs us our lives."

"Good—come! Charge!"

"Kill them!"

"No survivors!"

"Charge!"

The ten assassins, abandoning all caution, exposed their fatal weaknesses as they lunged toward Li Muchen and his three shadow guards.

At this moment, Li Muchen realized the truth. These men were a group of death-sworn warriors. He wondered whose they were. Who could hold such a grudge against him that they would pay such a heavy price? In the Great Zhao Kingdom, cultivating even one death-sworn warrior was no easy task, let alone thirty.

The spectacle of ten elite black-clad masters clashing against three top-tier experts was beyond description. The shockwaves of internal energy radiating from their battle nearly knocked Li Muchen and his retinue over. Fortunately, the guards and handmaidens managed to retreat two hundred meters in time.

In the end, the ten assassins were no match for the three elite shadow guards. All ten were killed on the spot. The assassination attempt had failed. Although Li Muchen’s side emerged victorious, all three shadow guards were wounded to varying degrees. His party was now filled with the lightly and severely injured. Fortunately, thanks to a system reward, he was able to deploy the Magic Carpet of Aladdin. Its speed was incredible, and within five days, they arrived in the Southern Barbarian lands.

In the Great Zhao Imperial Palace, Wu Shanggui hurried to the Royal Study to seek an audience with the new emperor, Li Jiahuo.

"Your Majesty, they have failed. The deposed emperor has escaped."

"What?! You let that deposed emperor escape?!" The new emperor slammed his desk in fury, a new scheme brewing in his mind.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Barbarian territory, after a few days of rest, Li Muchen completed the coronation ceremony for his new empire, guided by the system. He named his country the Great Tang Empire and chose the era name "Zhenguan." He was now officially the Emperor Zhenguan of the Great Tang. His mother was titled Empress Dowager Dou Wende, and his sister was titled Princess Pingyang.

Once the ceremony concluded, the system provided him with a population of NPC citizens across various trades and professions. It also granted the Great Tang a government office, along with initial officials and bailiffs to manage the operations of society.

As the dust settled, the system issued his second main quest: [Congratulations, Host, you have triggered the second main quest. Within ten days, locate one thousand disaster victims, provide relief, and incorporate them into the Great Tang’s household registry as new citizens.]

Seeing that the city was operating normally, Li Muchen took his three shadow guards and boarded the magic carpet, flying eastward.

After flying for a day and a night, Li Muchen finally discovered a large number of starving people on the verge of death in a small city within a human kingdom in the east. His eyes lit up. "Heh heh! I was just wondering where to find those thousand disaster victims. Haven't they come to me themselves?"

Li Muchen steered the carpet down from the sky. A commotion erupted among the starving masses.

"Look—they must be gods!"

"They are flying in the sky; they must have come to save us!"

"Yes! The gods have come to save us!"

"We are saved! We won't starve to death!"

As soon as Li Muchen landed and recalled the carpet into the system, the starving people knelt before him in droves, crying out, "Lord God, save us!"

"We haven't eaten for so long. We're about to die."

"Great God—please grant us some food!"

Li Muchen looked at their desperate pleas and thought: If I take them back to the Great Tang Empire and provide them with food, won't I complete the second main quest?

Assuming a dignified and solemn posture, he gazed down at the kneeling crowd. "I am the Emperor of the Great Tang Empire... Last night, the gods spoke to me in a dream, telling me that there were many hungry people by the eastern sea on the verge of starvation."

"The gods, in their mercy, have granted me a magical carpet to bring you back to my Great Tang Empire to live. Are you willing to leave this place with me and become citizens of my Great Tang Empire?"

Before his words had even faded, the crowd began to kowtow wildly. "We are willing! We are willing!"

"It truly is a god sent to save us!"

"We are saved! We are willing to be citizens of the Great Tang!"

Li Muchen conjured the magic carpet and used his mind to expand it infinitely, until all the survivors were within its reach. He then steered the carpet back toward the Great Tang. A day and a night later, they landed. He had his officials and bailiffs register the new arrivals and settle them into vacant housing. He retrieved ten system-rewarded granaries filled with food and organized the palace staff and city guards to help boil porridge.

After three days and nights of busy work, all the survivors were officially registered.

Exhausted, Li Muchen returned to the palace and collapsed onto his bed. Just then, the commander of the Imperial Guard burst in.

"Your Majesty—something is wrong! The soldiers on the city walls have spotted an army approaching our borders from the distance. Your Majesty—what should we do?!"

Li Muchen sprang from his bed, his eyes flashing with intensity. "How many troops are approaching?"

Before the commander could answer, Li Muchen hurried out of the palace. "Go to the city gate; tell me on the way!"

Along the way, he issued several orders: "Move all the palace guards to the city gates. Call upon all the government bailiffs and the newly registered citizens to the gates as well. The three shadow guards and three personal guards are to remain in the palace to protect the Empress Dowager and the Princess."

Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang out...