Less than a month after Helen led the army in person, Tianjuan had already received news of victory. So, while Cleo was feeling proud, she also had murderous thoughts.

She hated Woolley because it was Woolley who killed her sister Maria, but the reason why Cleo hated Woolley was not because Woolley took her sister's life, but because Woolley's act of killing Maria made it impossible for her to prove that she was better than her sister Maria in her life.

Cleo had always wanted to kill Wulai to vent her anger, and she almost did it on the road - that time she stabbed Wulai in the thigh. But in the end, Cleo restrained her impulse because she knew that there were still many things in Wulai that Helen wanted, just as she knew the relationship between Helen and Wulai during the Assyrian territory.

If she was bolder or crazier, maybe she would try to find out whether Helen was still a virgin, because a saint cannot lose her virginity.

But Cleo didn't dare, because the consequences of Helen not being a virgin would be very serious. Not only would Helen lose everything amidst a sea of ​​curses, but even Petra's family would be despised and expelled by the people of heaven.

However, Helen has now become the emperor and has issued an edict that there will no longer be any saints favored by heaven. This inevitably makes Cleo feel that Helen must have had something with Woolley and that she did this to cover up her tracks and avoid being held accountable.

This is why she wants to kill Wu Lai, and another reason is Helen's successive victories.

The territory of Kimo was short of troops, and half of the remaining troops "surrendered", so the three armies of Tianjuan were invincible. Byzam, Iverson, Glyndwr, and Agaea were successively defeated within half a month, and Cyrene, Pibon, and Nidu surrendered voluntarily. Now only the main city of Beaume and its acropolis Fleur are still struggling, but it is only a matter of time before the city is broken, because after Helen left the rear army to attack Beaume and Fleur, she led the front and middle armies to advance to the border between Kimo and Hurlit, and conquered the main pass, completely cutting off the way for the Kimoans to return for help.

In less than a month, 80% of Kimo's territory fell. This excited the people of Tianjuan, but also made Cleo more worried.

She was worried that Helen would pardon Wu Lai and then take him into her boudoir. Anyway, there was no restriction of the title of saint now, so Helen could basically do whatever she wanted.

The more Cleo thought about it, the more she felt that this possibility was too great. She could foresee that once such a situation occurred, Wu Lai, who had become a new noble favored by heaven, would definitely try his best to seek revenge. By then, it would not be as simple as a stab in the thigh. Maybe no one would even know how she died.

So Cleo felt that it was time for her to take action. Although killing Wu Lai would most likely lead to Helen's punishment, it would undoubtedly be much better than leaving this scourge behind. After all, she and Helen had a deep blood relationship. As for the fact that Wu Lai was useful to Helen, the successive victories of the Tianjuan army basically showed that Wu Lai's use was icing on the cake, and his presence or absence would not have much impact on the situation.

But Cleo didn't intend to make it too obvious. At least, she didn't want others to see that she was the one who took the initiative...

…

"Banquet?" Wu Lai frowned. He couldn't believe what the guard said.

"Yes, a feast, that's what General Cleo said." The guard replied as he opened the gate.

"Okay, let's have a banquet." Wu Lai nodded, "Bring High Priest Shelley with you, otherwise, I won't go."

The guard was startled, and after a moment's pause, he closed the gate again: "Please wait a moment, I will go and ask General Cleo for instructions."

"Go ahead." Wu Lai nodded again.

After a while, the guard who returned in a hurry opened the gate for the two of them.

"Wu Lai, something seems wrong." Shelley held Wu Lai's arm.

"Well, something is wrong." Wu Lai glanced at the corridor. Except for the three gates standing quietly, the other place was empty and unusually quiet. It was already late at night. Wu Lai didn't think that Cleo's banquet had any good intentions. However, this was also a good opportunity to walk out of the corridor. At least it was much easier than expected.

The two didn't say anything else, but as they were led out of the corridor hand in hand with Shelley, Wu Lai scratched Shelley's palm, and then scratched it again.

Shelley coughed twice lightly.

In front of the top of the stone steps was a small open area, about the size of a dozen houses. Four small bonfires were lit on it. In the flickering light, Wu Lai could clearly see a total of four small arrow towers on both sides of the open area, two on each side, each about twenty cubits high. There were two archers on each arrow tower, watching eagerly.

There was a wooden suspension bridge in front of the open area. When Woolley and Shelley approached, the guard waved a torch to signal them to let down the bridge. The bridge was more than ten cubits wide and nearly forty cubits long. It was pitch black under the bridge and they couldn't see clearly what was under it, but it was obviously impossible for human power to jump directly to the other side.

What a close call, no wonder the tunnel was unguarded. Wu Lai couldn't help but frown. In his original plan, he planned to rush out of the tunnel with Shelley at night, and then climb the stone steps to find a way to escape. Now it seems that the biggest problem is not whether he can open the four gates to rush out of the tunnel and stone steps, nor how to deal with these arrow towers after running up, but to let the drawbridge fall.

But now we know it. Knowing it in advance, we can come up with ways to deal with it.

"Why didn't they give us masks today?" Shelley suddenly asked in a low voice.

Shelley's words made Wu Lai frown again.

As soon as they crossed the suspension bridge, more than ten guards surrounded them. Four at the front and two on the left and right surrounded Wu Lai and the other man, and then escorted them onto the stone road connecting to the other end of the suspension bridge.

After walking for a while, Wu Lai and Shelley entered the room where they met Ye Renwu. The furnishings inside were still familiar to them, except that there was a small dining table and three chairs. On the table, there was a plate of barbecue, a plate of bread, a bottle of wine and three sets of cups and plates.

Judging from the portion, this doesn't feel like a banquet.

Cleo, dressed in a white robe, sat on one of the chairs. When she saw the two men staggering in, she waved her hand, dismissed the guards, and pointed to the two empty chairs without standing up. "Sit down."

Wu Lai and Shelley looked at each other and sat down with a smile.

"Oh, you're in a good mood now that you see some delicious food and drinks, right?" Cleo sneered.

Shelley immediately frowned, but Wu Lai laughed and asked, "Why can't I be in a good mood?"

"That's right. If I don't know, I won't be in a bad mood." Cleo nodded, glanced at the two of them, and said, "You two, I tell you responsibly that you should eat as much as you can on the table, and drink more wine, because this is your last meal."

Shelley was startled and subconsciously looked at Wu Lai.

"The last meal? What do you mean?" Wu Lai frowned.

"I just received an edict from His Majesty the Emperor. Our army is winning victory after victory. You two are no longer useful. Execute you on the spot to prevent future troubles." Cleo said with a cold smile.

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"Victory after victory?" Wu Lai frowned again. On the surface he was asking, but in fact he was stalling for time to think of a countermeasure.

"I almost forgot. You are imprisoned and know nothing about what is happening outside. Well, it doesn't hurt to tell you. His Majesty the Emperor has led the army in person. Now, Kimo Territory has been owned by Tian Juan." Cleo said, pushing the bottle of wine in front of Wu Lai, "Drink some, and then you will die obediently. I have to present your heads to His Majesty the Emperor for his inspection. After drinking, your death will be less painful, and the faces of your heads will naturally look better."

"Was it really Helen's order?" Wu Lai asked again.

"If it weren't for the Emperor's order, who would dare to kill you?" Cleo smiled slightly. "Woleglindo, even though I hate you to the core, I dare not do anything to you in private. At most, I can make you suffer a little."

Wu Lai nodded, and suddenly felt a little sad in his heart. After a moment's silence, he asked, "Tell me, how do you plan to let us die?" Shelley, who was standing by, felt bitter when she heard him ask this, and subconsciously grabbed Wu Lai's hand.

“Hang him.” Cleo’s eyes turned cold, and she stood up and said, “Please enjoy your meal, I won’t disturb you. You two are very close, so please take the time to have a few more private words.”

After saying that, a hint of cunning flashed across Cleo's eyes. She was creating a chance for Wu Lai to escape. She even designed an escape route for him - all the doors in this room had been closed and could not be opened from the inside. There were guards guarding the main door, but the floor-to-ceiling windows could be opened with a push, and it looked empty from here.

Cleo concluded that once she left, Wu Lai would find a way to leave. So, as long as Wu Lai lifted the curtain, pushed open the French window and jumped into the garden, her archers and guards ambushed in the corners of the garden would shoot arrows at the two of them. At that time, she could explain to Helen that Wu Lai and the other two were shot and killed by the guards during their escape...

Cleo was very proud at this time, because this method could get rid of Woolley without letting Helen punish her. After things here were settled, she could join the army to fight in all directions without having to stay here under house arrest.

But the smile on Cleo's face froze immediately, because as soon as she straightened up, her vision suddenly blurred, and then her neck was strangled by a strong big hand.

When pain and suffocation instantly enveloped her whole body, Cleo felt an uncontrollable panic in her heart. She struggled to pry Wu Lai's left hand apart while trying to shout.

However, she could hardly breathe right now, so how could she shout out?

How did he do it? Cleo's eyes were filled with surprise. The copper shackles that locked Wu Lai's hands and feet were not only thick, but also extremely strong. In particular, the copper chain of the shackles on his hands was very short, less than an elbow when unfolded. But now Wu Lai was strangling himself with only his left hand.

"Don't move, otherwise I won't be able to control the strength. Shelley, go bolt the door." Wu Lai said coldly, and he exerted force with his legs. With a slight "clang" sound, the shackles on his feet loosened.

Cleo was not used to sitting there and waiting to die. She couldn't breathe, so she simply held her breath, pulled Wu Lai's left wrist with both hands, and struggled backwards. At the same time, she raised her right knee and slammed it hard into Wu Lai's left waist.

Before launching this attack, Cleo had already calculated that if Wu Lai retreated to avoid her knee strike, his hands would not be able to take care of him. If she struggled with all her strength, she would definitely be able to break free from his control. Then she would roll on the ground and scream loudly, and the guards outside the door would naturally break in. If Wu Lai chose to take the blow head-on, Cleo was also confident that he would let go of her hands in pain. In terms of martial arts, Cleo was rarely rivaled.

But she miscalculated, because she was facing Wu Lai. She couldn't even compare to him in terms of fighting skills or awareness...

When Cleo raised her knee to charge, Wu Lai's left hand suddenly increased its strength. Cleo felt a buzzing in her head, and her eyes went dark, and she knew nothing. Her knee, which was less than an finger's distance from Wu Lai's waist, paused immediately, and then drooped limply.

"I told you not to move." Wu Lai said to himself.