After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 57

57: Execution Day (5)

The old emperor was originally enveloped in an energy shield.

Jiang Youbai held a laser handle against the old emperor’s carotid artery, while the mech on her other hand quickly transformed into a matte-black dagger.

She raised her hand and lightly tapped the energy shield with the dagger. The shield shattered into fragments, dissolving into scattered points of light.

The guards watched this scene, growing increasingly panicked. They jostled each other, slowly retreating as a group.

Not a single one dared to step forward. Fearful of the old emperor’s posthumous wrath, the guards didn’t dare to flee outright either. They could only stare nervously at Jiang Youbai’s figure.

Jiang Youbai pressed the handle harder against the old emperor’s neck unconsciously.

The emperor’s pupils shrank in terror, vaguely reflecting Jiang Youbai’s silhouette.

She looked down at the emperor’s frightened expression, her voice as cold as a chilling spring: “Your Majesty, where are Lou Huaiche and the others?”

Fear and hallucinations overlapped in the old emperor’s mind. The figure before him twisted and warped, gradually morphing into the image of the former Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess seemed to have returned to her youthful appearance, a gentle smile playing at her lips: “Where is the head of the Chi family? Why do you always argue with her?”

The old emperor wheezed out a laugh, his expression sinking into delirious madness: “Dead, they’ve long been dead. Sister, you must die too—you and your bastard child, you all must die—”

“No, you’re already dead. Your child is dead too. She must die again! No one can kill me, no one can take my throne from me!”

Jiang Youbai wiped all expression from her face. She glanced coldly at the old emperor, the corners of her lips curling into a faint, mocking smile.

She pressed the switch on the handle and flicked her wrist. The laser sword burst into a dazzling light, sweeping through the night air and leaving behind a bloody afterimage.

The old emperor’s voice abruptly cut off.

The laser handle exhausted its last bit of energy and automatically shut down, the light blade vanishing in an instant.

Jiang Youbai sidestepped, leaping away as the old emperor’s head rolled to the ground with a dull thud, a fountain of hot bl00d spraying out.

The emperor, who had ruled the empire for seventy years, met his end in such a sloppy manner—utterly disconnected from the grand, tragic demise he had once described in public.

In the final years of his reign, this emperor had issued countless absurd and paranoid decrees, his mind clouded by delusions and hallucinations in his dying moments.

He was the empire’s nightmare for the past twenty years, and Jiang Youbai’s personal nightmare since the day she was born.

This man—her nominal uncle, her biological father—had single-handedly crafted nearly all the misfortunes and tragedies of her life.

Killing the emperor was something Jiang Youbai had once thought impossible, a feat as difficult as reaching the heavens. Yet today, she accomplished it effortlessly with a casual flick of her hand.

So understated, devoid of any superfluous emotion or sensation.

Jiang Youbai turned away, a streak of bl00d splashed across her face. She wiped it away absently and murmured with a sigh, “So your bl00d is warm too, huh.”

The guards stood frozen, guns in hand. It took them a moment to process what had happened.

Someone whispered in disbelief, “His—His Majesty was assassinated?”

This remark sent shockwaves through the crowd, and hushed murmurs broke out among the guards.

“Kill the assassin!”

“Who can kill her? What do we do?”

“Report to the Crown Princess—quick, report this to the Crown Princess!”

Jiang Youbai looked over, her voice eerily gentle, carrying an oppressive, terrifying weight: “Where is the Crown Princess?”

With the emperor dead, the guards stationed here had no reason to remain loyal. Survival mattered more than allegiance now.

The guard she stared at hesitated for a few seconds before stammering, “In the southeast direction…”

The southeast direction—that should be the location of the imperial private hospital, complete with laboratories and other facilities.

A flicker of doubt crossed Jiang Youbai’s mind. Lou Huaiche’s main objective today was to retrieve Ning Yunze. Was Ning Yunze in the royal private lab?

She suppressed her confusion for now, calculating the distance and estimating how much energy her mech had left.

After a large-scale slaughter of guards earlier, Jiang Youbai had used both her mech and the laser handle. The mech’s energy was now at 30%—undoubtedly insufficient.

Her gaze fell on the unmanned patrol drone hovering above the study.

Using the grappling hook, she leaped lightly onto the drone. She swiftly opened the hatch and climbed inside.

Once seated, Jiang Youbai first checked the control panel, quickly dismantling the empire’s tracking and self-destruct mechanisms.

Even after removing these, she wasn’t entirely at ease. She double-checked for any overlooked components before piloting the drone toward the royal hospital in the southeast.

She pressed a button on her goggles, activating the telescopic function, and carefully scanned the area for Lou Huaiche’s figure along the way.

As she neared the hospital, she spotted Lou Huaiche and her squad engaged in combat with imperial guards at the entrance.

Clearly, Lou Huaiche and her team were locked in a fierce battle.

Thick, congealed bl00d pooled at the hospital entrance. With every step, dark red droplets splattered underfoot.

Lou Huaiche, clad in black bulletproof gear, fought desperately amidst the crowd. Jiang Youbai could clearly see the bl00d staining her clothes.

With so much bl00d on the ground and her body, it was impossible to tell how long Lou Huaiche had been fighting.

Unfamiliar with the patrol drone’s combat systems, Jiang Youbai worried about accidentally harming Lou Huaiche and her team. She set the drone to hover automatically, opened the hatch, and jumped down.

The first to notice Jiang Youbai was Jiang Qingxian.

Standing on the hospital steps, surrounded by fully armed imperial guards, she had already noticed the approach of the emperor’s personal patrol drone.

When she saw it was Jiang Youbai who disembarked, Jiang Qingxian frowned.

If Jiang Youbai was here, the emperor was likely dead. A flurry of thoughts raced through Jiang Qingxian’s mind. Within seconds, she issued a command:

“Attention, fugitive Jiang Youbai has appeared. Priority is to eliminate Jiang Youbai. The killer will be promoted four ranks.”

Jiang Youbai was almost certainly the one who killed the old emperor. With multiple heirs in the capital, eliminating Jiang Youbai now would significantly boost Jiang Qingxian’s chances of succession over the Crown Prince’s—almost guaranteeing her victory.

The gentle, frail-looking Crown Princess, with her delicate curls and impeccably tailored formalwear, stood on the hospital steps and calmly issued her orders.

Despite the chaos of battle, her voice carried clearly to everyone present.

Hearing this, Jiang Youbai narrowed her eyes and smirked mockingly. “Well, well. Long time no see, Your Highness. Not only have you grown more imposing, but you’re also becoming more like your dear father.”

With that, she flicked her grappling hook and leaped into the crowd, kicking two imperial guards to the ground in one sweeping motion.

Lou Huaiche only registered Jiang Youbai’s voice belatedly. Realizing Jiang Youbai had joined the fray, she paused mid-action and rasped, “Why are you here?”

Jiang Youbai could tell at a glance that Lou Huaiche was at her limit. She quickly steadied her, kicking away a nearby guard and snatching the gun from his hands.

With her mech’s energy running low, she had to conserve what little remained.

Firing one-handed, Jiang Youbai dealt with the surrounding guards while guiding Lou Huaiche to a less crowded area.

“Miss Lou, didn’t you say we’d die together? If you’re not here to die with me, there’s no reason for me to die without you.”

Lou Huaiche had been clinging to her last shred of strength. With Jiang Youbai supporting her, that final bit of energy dissipated. She leaned heavily against Jiang Youbai.

Lou Huaiche looked far more haggard than before Jiang Youbai’s imprisonment—thinner, covered in wounds, drenched in the metallic scent of bl00d, both her own and others’.

A heavy exhaustion and desolation clung to her, but her eyes burned with an intense emotion.

She let out a bleak laugh and enunciated slowly, “I know. But if we can live, we shouldn’t die.”

Then she asked, “Where’s Chi Ruo?”

“Safe and sound.”

“Good.” Lou Huaiche staggered away from Jiang Youbai, forcing herself to raise her laser handle and help fend off the encroaching guards. “I haven’t found Ning Yunze yet. He’s in the lab—dead or alive, I can’t leave him here.”

She glanced at the Federation soldiers present. “They followed me here. I can’t let them die… Take them and go.”

Jiang Youbai swung her grappling hook, pulling Lou Huaiche to another spot. “Right now, the one who can’t leave is me, Miss Lou. Friendly reminder—Jiang Qingxian is offering a four-rank promotion for my head.”

The mech on her arm extended, transforming into another laser handle in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, a brilliant golden light blade materialized.

She cut down two guards who lunged at her, her voice laced with amusement. “Miss Lou, even if I told you to leave first, you wouldn’t. Seems we’re destined to advance and retreat together.”

Lou Huaiche lacked the energy to respond. Her mind sluggishly processed Jiang Youbai’s words before she finally let out a soft, “Mm.”

Jiang Youbai shielded Lou Huaiche as they fought back-to-back against the imperial guards.

Amid the skirmish, she keenly noticed that Jiang Qingxian’s guards were far more formidable than those she’d encountered earlier. It seemed the Crown Princess was already the empire’s uncrowned ruler.

The Federation’s weapons were high-energy, high-efficiency, but short-lasting. Several Federation soldiers had already resorted to seizing imperial weapons to continue fighting.

This war of attrition was only a matter of time before they were completely wiped out.

Yet, in this setting, the thick scent of bl00d stimulated Jiang Youbai’s innate sadistic tendencies, unleashing the violent instincts buried deep within her.

Her emotions soared to unprecedented heights, climbing toward euphoria.

Their side was losing ground, shifting from offense to defense, struggling more and more against the imperial guards’ assaults.

Nearly all firepower concentrated on Jiang Youbai. With genuine mortal danger looming, she teetered on the edge of death’s cliff, the madness in her eyes growing wilder.

This intense sensation electrified her soul. A chilling, eerie smile slowly spread across her lips as she engaged the imperial guards, her movements as graceful as drifting clouds, as agile as a startled dragon.

Under the cloak of night, the laser sword in her hand drew all eyes.

She didn’t seem to be fighting for her life on a battlefield, but performing a solitary dance on stage.

Every movement vividly embodied her immersion and enjoyment of the moment.

Catching a glimpse of Jiang Youbai’s increasingly ferocious combat, Lou Huaiche thought hazily that Jiang Youbai seemed born for such scenes.

She was forever chasing thrills, reveling in all things frenzied.

This was Jiang Youbai’s true nature.

Even more raw than when they traded barbs—a naked display of her monstrous, demonic essence.