Xuanyuan Mo and Fang Yunheng were both shocked when they saw this.

"Someone come!" Xuanyuan Mo roared, "Quickly pull General Pingxi down from the city wall and protect my queen!"

"Hua Ling! What did you do to Hua Ling?" Fang Yunheng's voice was filled with anxiety and fear: "Xuanyuan Mo, is this how you protect her?"

Xuanyuan Mo knew he was in the wrong, so he shouted at Zhan Tingfei, "General Pingxi, I order you to put Hua Ling down."

Zhan Tingfei remained unmoved. Since he dared to hijack an entire country, he had already prepared for the worst and had already disregarded life and death.

Xiao Wu repelled the enemy's attack and looked towards the tower, angrily saying, "Let go of Hua Ling. The battlefield is a man's business. You are a general of the Great Zhou. How can you be a hero if you threaten a woman?"

This sudden change caused both sides to stop fighting, and the originally fiercely fighting battlefield suddenly fell into dead silence.

Thousands of eyes were fixed on the graceful figure on the city wall, and countless questions surged in their hearts. When did the emperor have a queen? And she was so beautiful, even in her distress, her elegance remained undiminished.

What is Zhan Tingfei's intention in doing this at this time?

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Zhan Tingfei showed no fear.

He held the dagger tightly in his hand, with the sharp blade across Hua Ling's slender neck, emitting a cold light.

He warned: "If anyone of you dares to take another step forward, I will kill her immediately!" The determination and coldness in his eyes were chilling.

Everyone was frightened by Zhan Tingfei's threat and stopped, not daring to act rashly.

For a moment, the whole scene became extremely tense, and the atmosphere was so heavy that it seemed to crush everything.

"What on earth do you want to do?" Xuanyuan Mo roared, "Kidnap the Queen! You are committing a heinous crime punishable by the death of your entire clan!"

"Your Majesty, I don't want to do this either, but the world is in chaos now, and someone must pay the price. I have received news that the Queen is Fang Yunheng's weak spot. If I can use the life of a woman to exchange for the lives of countless soldiers and restore peace to the world, I think it is worth it."

Xuanyuan Mo reacted instantly, his face livid: "Did Wen Qinning say that? That vicious woman, I must kill her."

Zhan Tingfei did not deny it. He looked at Fang Yunheng's face calmly and said with a smile, "Now it seems that I did the right thing."

Xiao Wu's expression was stern. "Why do you think capturing a woman can influence the outcome of the war? The soldiers didn't sacrifice their lives because of Hua Ling, and the responsibility for world peace shouldn't be placed on Hua Ling. Hua Ling did nothing wrong, so why are you hurting her?"

"She did nothing wrong." Zhan Tingfei said as he gently shook Hua Ling in his hand, as if he would mercilessly throw her off the towering city wall in the next second.

"What a pity! She's the one Fang Yunheng cares about. As the Art of War says, attacking a city is inferior to attacking the enemy's heart. The truly powerful strategy should be attacking the enemy's heart. So, what's wrong with me capturing her?"

"You are so shameless!" Xiao Wu was so furious that he threw the spear in his hand to the ground and looked at Hua Ling, whose life was hanging by a thread, with a worried look on his face.

Her pale lips were stained bright red, and her beautiful glass eyes were half-closed, making her look extremely weak and haggard. The wind blew her hair, and she was like a fallen leaf in the wind, fragmented and extremely desolate.

Seeing this scene, Xiaowu's heart was filled with endless pain and resentment, and he wished he could take his place.

Fang Yunheng had already reached the foot of the city wall. He suppressed his inner anxiety and said calmly, "Tell me, what do you want in exchange for letting her go?"

"I want you to die." Zhan Tingfei smiled coldly: "As long as you end your own life, I will release the queen."

Xuanyuan Mo was stunned. Although he was worried about Hua Ling, he also wanted to know what Fang Yunheng would choose.

Fang Yunheng looked at Hua Ling, and she was also looking at him. Her beautiful face had lost its former luster, like a lifeless rag doll.

Fang Yunheng felt a pain in his heart and dismounted without hesitation, ignoring the soldiers of the Great Zhou holding weapons. His steps were firm, steady and powerful, and the soldiers of the Great Zhou were frightened by his momentum and retreated step by step.

At the same time, Zhan Tingfei narrowed his eyes and slowly moved the sharp blade towards Hua Ling's neck. With just a light touch, bright red blood flowed out of the wound.

Fang Yunheng's heart tightened, and he said in a low voice: "I agree to your conditions, you release Hua Ling."

"Your Highness, absolutely not." The soldiers advised Fang Yunheng: "We have fought for a year and sacrificed countless lives. How can we fail because of a woman?

Fang Yunheng said, "She is more than just a woman. She is my lover and the mother of my child." He closed his eyes in pain. "If I can't even save her, what's the point of ruling the world?"

Xuanyuan Mo was shocked. When did Hua Ling become the mother of his child?

He clenched his hands slightly, took a deep breath, and said to Zhan Tingfei: "I say it again, let Hua Ling go. If you stop now, I will spare your entire clan the death penalty."

Zhan Tingfei's face was filled with morbid madness. "I am not afraid of death. My family is the same. They will definitely be proud of what I did today."

Xuanyuan Mo was furious: "I'm not afraid of the nine clans, but what about the ten? No matter whether they are three-year-old children or seventy-year-old men, countless people will be buried with you because of your impulsive behavior. The lineage of the Zhan family will be cut off, and you will become the sinner of the entire family."

Zhan Tingfei was slightly moved, and his grip on Hua Ling relaxed for a moment, but he quickly said firmly, "No matter how you threaten me, it's useless. Today, I will only let Hua Ling go if Fang Yunheng dies. If it's any later, I can't guarantee that she will still be alive."

The blade moved slightly, Hua Ling clenched his teeth tightly, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, his brows were deeply furrowed because of the pain, and his body trembled involuntarily.

More blood flowed out.

"Wait!" Fang Yunheng's heart almost stopped, and he hurriedly stopped her: "I can die, but you must release Hua Ling."

After saying this, he turned to face the group of soldiers who had followed him for many years. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, and he said in a tragic yet firm tone: "I have failed you. If I die today, you will find another good master."

"Your Highness..." The soldiers revealed a look of grief. "We followed you voluntarily. No matter what decision Your Highness makes, we will stand firmly behind you."

They shouted, "We will follow the prince until death!"

Xuanyuan Mo looked at Fang Yunheng with a complicated expression. He did not deny that Fang Yunheng had the talent to govern the country and lead the army, but there could not be two tigers in one mountain. In the Great Zhou, only one person who was supported by the people was enough.

Zhan Tingfei threw down a dagger and said, "Your Highness, please."

"I hope you'll keep your promise."

Fang Yunheng bent down and picked up the extremely sharp dagger beside him, gripped the hilt tightly, and felt the cold metal touch through his palm.