[FGO]: 131 

Looking at the imperial guards forcefully gathered below, Ryou's feeling of a showdown at the peak of the Forbidden City only grew stronger.

The reason he had time for idle thoughts was that the pressure from the woman opposite him wasn't much to speak of.

At that moment, the woman spoke.

"I can see that you possess great skill. It would be a waste for you to die by my hand. I need a general to lead my army. Submit to me, and I shall spare your life."

Hearing this offer of recruitment right off the bat, a strange expression appeared on his face.

He began to believe more in her identity. That tone and attitude, clearly accustomed to giving orders, suggested that she was used to being in charge.

Frankly, it was an attitude born of arrogance.

Ryou almost wanted to ask her, "Big sister, where did you get the confidence to think you could control me?"

The Empress Dowager continued, moving from persuasion to threats.

"If you refuse, attempting to assassinate me is a crime of the highest order. I will have you torn to pieces to vent my anger!"

Ryou dismissed her offer, but the imperial guard commander below couldn't help but feel jealous.

He had worked diligently for decades, seizing the opportunity during the kabane chaos to gain the revived Empress Dowager's favor and secure his position as commander of the imperial guards.

Now, this random guy was about to leap to the top in a single bound.

At that moment, the commander desperately hoped the young man would reject the offer, giving him the chance to justifiably tear him to pieces!

It seemed like the heavens heard his wish.

Ryou let out a laugh.

"I'm not interested in being subordinate to a woman unless...?"

Then, he brazenly looked up and down the Empress' body as if appraising merchandise.

"But looking at your figure, it's not bad. Your appearance is still decent. You could serve as a maid to pour tea, warm the bed, and keep me company."

For a moment, the scene fell silent, as if even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

The imperial guards below looked at him as if he were a deity.

This... this person must be insane, to flirt with the notorious Empress Dowager!

This incredibly strong and domineering Empress Dowager did not expect him to reject her.

In her mind, he should have immediately bowed before her, thanked her for sparing his life, and willingly become her subordinate.

Ryou's vulgar words instantly ignited fury in the Empress' heart.

Her ample chest heaved, and her fair, delicate face flushed red. Her fingers, adorned with sharp protective covers, involuntarily twitched, as if she wanted to gouge out his eyes with her own hands.

"I will kill you!"

The Empress spat coldly.

Then, with an incredibly graceful motion, she kicked off her oddly styled high heels, discarded the gilt finger sleeves, and removed the Empress Dowager crown from her head.

Ryou's eyes narrowed as he noticed that after removing the finger sleeves, eight sharp, elongated nails were revealed.

Except for the thumbs, each of the Empress' nails was about five inches long, gleaming with a sharp, cold light, and faintly glowing with a ghostly green hue under the light.

It was almost like the classic witch zombie look from Left 4 Dead.

Without a doubt, this Empress Dowager had acquired extraordinary powers.

Recalling the original story where the protagonist possessed incredible powers, including telekinesis strong enough to overturn a hundred-ton armored train, Ryou immediately raised his vigilance to the highest level.

As a battle-hardened veteran, he naturally wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating his opponent.

It was clear that this enemy specialized in using poison, so he wouldn't engage in a direct clash.

Thus, he raised his eyelids, gathered his magic, and unleashed a smaller version of the Brahmastra.

His habit of attacking without warning caught the Empress off guard.

Seeing two golden beams shoot straight toward her, she was startled and instinctively dodged to the side.

However, she was slightly too slow, and the searing beams grazed past her head, scattering her neatly tied hair bun, with some strands even catching fire.

The Empress hurriedly patted out the flames in her hair.

His face showed a puzzled expression.

How could she be this weak? Was she pretending?

Ryou's vigilance immediately rose another level.

Without hesitation, he activated his [Descent Card], and a luxurious purple samurai outfit appeared on his body.

He leaned forward slightly, and in a flash, his entire body shot toward the Empress, who was twenty meters away, like an arrow leaving the bowstring.

The Empress had just extinguished the flames in her hair, and seeing him charging at her, she quickly raised her sharp claws, clumsily slashing through the air in front of her in a flurry of cold glints.

She hoped to stop him from approaching, but little did she know that his aggressive charge was just a feint.

Just as he was about to reach her, he suddenly pushed off to the side, swiftly circling behind her, and then swung his blade down hard on her back.

Blood splattered, and the Empress let out a shrill scream, staggering forward a few steps.

Was this a trap? Purposefully getting injured to feign weakness and lure me in?

A flash of coldness crossed Ryou's eyes.

His body moved like a ghost, darting left and right around the Empress, occasionally striking her with his blade.

Five minutes later.

Ryou was covered in blood but completely unharmed.

In contrast, the once confident Empress, who had grandly declared that she would spare his life if he submitted, was now kneeling on the ground. Her luxurious attire was slashed into tatters, revealing deep, bone-exposing wounds all over her body.

Ryou finally realized one thing... This woman was really weak!

Her physical strength was dozens of times that of an ordinary person, and her speed was nearly on par with him.

And her hands, with those highly toxic, razor-sharp claws, were deadly weapons.

Ryou had personally seen her claws shred the eaves on the roof into pieces, with the remaining parts corroded by the poison in her nails.

With her terrifying speed and poison claws, she could easily mow down ordinary people.

But... her battle experience was severely lacking!

Her combat style relied entirely on overwhelming her opponents with superior attributes, but when faced with someone like Ryou, who had even better attributes and rich combat experience, she was instantly exposed.

All my caution, all my wariness, and in the end, I was outsmarting myself, fighting against thin air?!

Faced with this outcome, Ryou couldn't help but feel a little amused.

However, in the eyes of the imperial guards below, the once invincible Empress Dowager had been easily defeated by a random guy. This person was terrifying beyond belief!

For a moment, the entire scene was silent.

Hundreds of imperial guards stared in shock at the figure standing atop. To them, the Empress Dowager had seemed almost divine, yet she was defeated in an instant. Could this man truly be a god descended to earth?

None of the imperial guards, including the commander who harbored deep jealousy toward Ryou, moved.

"You are incredibly weak. I can't believe I was so cautious for nothing..."

Ryou sighed.

As expected, the more beautiful a woman is, the better she is at deceiving people.

Seeing her earlier domineering attitude, he had assumed she was an extraordinary master, remaining constantly vigilant—only to face such a disappointing result. It left him speechless.

Hearing his words, the Empress' delicate face displayed extreme shame and anger.

She had confidently declared that she would spare his life, yet in the end, she was the one who needed sparing.

Had she known it would come to this, she would have ordered everyone to rush him at once. At the very least, they could have bought her some time to escape.

Thinking of this, the Empress hurriedly shouted at the imperial guards below.

"What are you all standing there for?! Hurry up and save me!"

The imperial guards suddenly snapped out of their daze, hastily forming human ladders and searching for tools. But compared to their swift actions earlier, they were now clumsy and ineffective. The human ladders couldn't be formed, and they couldn't find the tools they needed.

Seeing the obvious lack of effort from the guards, the Empress, already seriously injured, became so furious she almost coughed up blood.

At that moment, Ryou grabbed her by the hair and lifted her.

"You might as well stop wasting your energy. They don't come up to save you. You'd better just come quietly with me."

Ryou didn't bother to hide his words, and the imperial guards below couldn't help but show traces of embarrassment on their faces.

He was too lazy to deal with these cowardly men. He simply tucked the Empress under his arm and flew away.

The imperial guards, seeing this, only made a few half-hearted shouts.

"Criminal, put down the Empress Dowager!"

Then they just watched as he flew off with the Empress.

After returning to the Shimakaze, he unceremoniously tossed her onto the deck.

the Empress cried out in pain.

"Admiral, Admiral, you're back!"

At this moment, Shimakaze's cheerful voice rang out.

Ryou's stern expression immediately softened, and he affectionately patted Shimakaze's small head.

"Shimakaze-chan, set sail to home."

"Yes~"

With Shimakaze's response, the ship's horn blared.

Hoooooonk!!!

The deafening sound echoed, waking countless Kabane from their dazed state. They all lifted their heads and turned in unison toward the sound, then began rushing toward it.

From above, one could see a grayish-black tide, dotted with flecks of golden light, surging out from every corner of the capital, converging and slowly flowing out of the city.

But by then, the Shimakaze had already made a graceful turn and was speeding back in the direction it had come from.

However, just as the Shimakaze was about to pass through the port, he ordered the ship to stop by a deserted island. He then took the Empress and flew onto the island.

"We're both smart people. You should understand what it means to fall into my hands."

Ryou casually tossed the Empress to the ground, treating her like nothing more than a piece of trash rather than a great beauty.

"Who are you? Why did you abduct me? What do you want!?"

The Empress glared at him with fierce determination, demanding answers.

Ryou sighed.

Shing!

Blood splattered as a long katana plunged into her hand.

The Empress immediately screamed in pain. She was, after all, the Empress Dowager Wu Zetian, accustomed to a life of luxury. No one had ever treat her this way.

The intense, unprecedented pain caused cold sweat to break out on her forehead.

"Shut up, unless you want to lose that hand as well," Ryou said coldly.

Although Wu Zetian was a great beauty, she was his enemy, and he had no intention of showing mercy to his enemies.

Despite the unbearable pain, Wu Zetian bit her lip and swallowed her screams.

With just one look, she knew that the man before her was a cold-blooded brute who wouldn't show the slightest mercy just because of her beauty or status.

Seeing that Wu Zetian had quieted down, Ryou nodded.

"Good. Now I'll ask, and you'll answer. If you say one extra word, I'll cut off one of your fingers. If you say too little or don't answer, I'll cut off one of your feet. You have two chances, so make good use of them."

Ryou's expression was indifferent and cold.

Wu Zetian, enduring the pain, nodded to show she understood.

"Now, tell me, who are you?"

"I am..."

Wu Zetian instinctively began, but seeing him raise an eyebrow, she gritted her teeth and responded more firmly.

"I am the Great Sacred Empress Zetian..."

Since she was as good as dead anyway, Ryou didn't bother correcting her self-important tone.

After listening to her account, Ryou quickly began to think.

According to her story, she was the infamous Empress Dowager.

As for how she was revived, she claimed she had already died but somehow came back to life in her tomb. She also mentioned that two other people had experienced the same thing.

One was the first Tsar of Russia, Ivan the Terrible.

The other was the first President of the United States, George Washington.

And the person who revived them was...

"You said the one who revived you was the Queen? What Queen?"

Ryou frowned and pressed for more details.

"The Queen, of course!"

But when talking about this mysterious Queen, Wu Zetian's eyes were filled with fanaticism and reverence.

That look was all too familiar to him—it was the same look his devout followers gave him.

"Who exactly is this Queen you speak of?"

Ryou couldn't help but frown. He thought he had uncovered the truth, but things were becoming more and more confusing.

A faint trace of cold light flickered in Wu Zetian's eyes. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I can tell you, but you must agree to one condition first..."

A faint smile appeared on Ryou's face.

"You don't seem to understand your position at all."

But Wu Zetian's attitude was surprisingly firm.

"At least hear my condition first."

Ryou found this quite amusing and nodded slightly.

He was now 100% certain that this woman was indeed the Great Sacred Empress Zetian, who had held immense power.

Even though she was utterly defeated, she still clung to her pride.

With a proud tilt of her chin, she said,

"I am the Great Sacred Empress Zetian, the Divine and Sacred Emperor. If you intend to kill me, at least let me die with dignity."