Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2856

Chapter 1369 Showdown

After annihilating Li Zicheng’s breeding camp, the Manchus continued to carry out the will of the Ancestor of Annihilation, relentlessly attacking the Southern Ming.

The Order camp was now in a state of constant panic, with the remaining high-ranking members blaming and attacking each other, each with their own strategies and directions, and no one willing to submit to anyone else.

Because the First Elder was dead, the Second and Sixth Elders had surrendered, and the Fourth Elder had betrayed them, the Merchant Guild’s prestige had plummeted, and the others no longer respected it.

Isabella wanted to rebuild its strength, but it was completely impossible.

In this chaotic situation, how could it possibly resist the army of Annihilation?

The Conqueror King led his army south, almost unstoppable, capturing Nanjing in a short time, and the Southern Ming regime collapsed.

Amidst the chaos, Zu’an entered Nanjing and rescued Isabella.

“Brother Zu, you saved me again,” Isabella said outside the city, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Zaun frowned. “Bella, come to my side. Disguise yourself, and I should be able to protect you.”

“Brother Zaun, I dream of being with you, but…” Isabella shook her head slightly, tears welling in her eyes. “The Order I believe in… now my family, my uncles and aunts, have all died in the war against Annihilation. How can I possibly side with Annihilation?”

“It’s not about sidelining, it’s just…”

Zaun was interrupted before he could finish. “I know what you mean, Brother Zaun, but I simply can’t stay in Annihilation’s camp, not even pretending.” Zaun

fell silent. Order and Annihilation were mortal enemies, a soul-deep imprint, and Isabella was the most steadfast believer in Order.

“So what do you plan to do in the future?”

“I don’t know, but I will continue to organize the remaining forces of Order to resist Annihilation.” There was a brief moment of confusion in Isabella’s eyes, but it quickly hardened again.

“But now that the order has been lost, there’s no point in you persisting.”

“Brother Zu, there’s a saying, ‘To do what you know is impossible.’” Isabella smiled slightly. “Even if we fail in the end, we can at least die for it.”

Zu An was somewhat lost in thought. The once innocent and gentle little girl seemed to have grown up.

“By the way, Brother Zu, I saw Sister Chu a few days ago.” Isabella suddenly said.

Zu An was overjoyed: “Where is she? How is she?”

“Just as our previous intelligence indicated, she is now in the Zheng family in Taiwan. In this world, she is Zheng Zhilong’s daughter. We even joined forces against the Annihilation faction before, but we didn’t expect our side to be defeated so quickly.” Isabella then added, “We talked about you before. She was very shocked when she learned that you surrendered to Annihilation, but she believes that you must have your own reasons.”

“Sister Chu really loves you.”

Zu An felt a warmth in his heart. Although he had known through various intelligence that Chu Chuyan was in Taiwan, now that he was sure she was safe, he was finally completely relieved.

“Brother Zu, I used to resent you a bit, but then I understood. You must have your own reasons, so let’s both strive for our ideals.” Isabella waved to him, her figure disappearing into the distance.

Zu An sighed and returned to Nanjing.

The Conqueror King appointed him as “Grand Secretary of Military Affairs, Governor-General of the South,” stationed in Nanjing to recruit and accept surrenders.

On one hand, he had rendered great service in dealing with Wu Lu Zhi Xian and later Li Zicheng, so it would be unreasonable not to reward him. On the

other hand, the Conqueror King was also wary of him; his previously displayed military talent made him extremely apprehensive.

This position was used to remove him from the army, preventing him from cultivating cronies and creating a situation where he couldn’t be controlled. After all

, he wasn’t part of the Annihilation faction!

Not having to fight the Order faction head-on, Zu An was happy to accept it.

In the following days, he recruited and accepted surrenders, pacified Jiangnan, and tried his best to save the lives of the people and some righteous men.

During this time, he also specifically sought out Wu Sangui, also known as the Second Elder Hermes.

“What brings you here, sir?” From the beginning, Hermes had no goodwill towards him, especially since he had noticed that Chen Yuanyuan seemed to have a rather close relationship with this guy.

“I’m very curious why the Second Elder betrayed Order and sided with Annihilation.” Thinking of Isabella’s dejected appearance before, Zu’an felt extremely displeased. If his uncles and elders were more reliable and didn’t have so many traitors, how could Order have fallen?

“Don’t you know best why I surrendered?” Hermes sneered. “If it weren’t for your actions that led to Chen Yuanyuan falling into Li Zicheng’s hands, why would I have betrayed you?”

Zu’an smiled slightly: “The idea of ‘fighting for a beauty’ might fool ordinary people, but do you need to put on an act in front of me? Who are you? The renowned Second Elder of the Universal Merchant Guild. Who in all the realms doesn’t know that you’re not interested in women? How could you betray the Merchant Guild and the Order faction for a woman in this world?”

“What exactly do you mean by all this? Didn’t you betray them yourself?” Hermes’ face was frosty.

“I’m not part of the Order faction; I’m a believer in memory. Even if I joined the Annihilation faction, it would be to better record history,” Zu’an said dismissively. “Let me guess, your former sweetheart wouldn’t happen to be the legendary Goddess of Love and Beauty, would she?”

Hermes’ expression changed: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do either. Chen Yuanyuan was a believer in the Goddess of Love and Beauty, but she wasn’t the real Goddess of Love and Beauty. Would someone like you transfer your love to someone who resembles her?” Zu’an was puzzled. He had previously orchestrated the illusion that Chen Yuanyuan had been captured by Li Zicheng, yet it had so easily angered Hermes and led to his surrender to Annihilation. He felt something was amiss.

“You’re too much of a conspiracy theorist. If there’s nothing else, I won’t keep you company. I need to go to the front lines to eliminate the remnants of the Southern Ming.” Hermes snorted and turned to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Zu’an was thoughtful.

His reaction proved that he might have guessed something, but unfortunately, the information was insufficient to determine the other party’s true purpose.

Fortunately, Yu Yanluo is currently in the capital, under the care of the Little Demon Queen and Jiang Luofu, and with her special beauty skills, she is not in any danger.

Next, the Conqueror King led the army of Annihilation in a relentless attack on the remaining forces of the Southern Ming.

Prince Tang, Zhu Yujian, with the support of Zheng Zhilong, declared himself emperor in Fujian;

Prince Lu, Zhu Yihai, was regent in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, relying on the Qiantang River defense line to resist;

unfortunately, they were no match for the army of Annihilation and were quickly wiped out.

Seeing that the situation was settled, the Conqueror King sent his generals and other princes to lead troops to clean up the remaining battlefields, while he himself returned to the capital.

During this time, he had shaken the world and established unparalleled merit; he was to formally inherit everything from the String of No Law—his name, his power, and… his woman.

Meanwhile, Zu An had already secretly returned to the capital; this day was finally coming.