He held a bamboo flute in his hand, and the clear, melodious sound of the flute immediately echoed across the battlefield strewn with corpses. The music was graceful, calm and upright, filled with a sense of joy.

The wild ox stopped ten zhang away, and as it halted, the person on its back also removed the flute from his lips.

Edward Carter's chest heaved rapidly; he needed to gather some strength to chop this treacherous dog who ambushed him into dog meat paste.

It had to be said, the smile of this young man in hemp clothes was truly beautiful—clean, warm, and with a faint touch of ancient simplicity.

"My name is William Carter. Just now, I played a piece called 'Qing Ping Yue' for you. Do you like this tune?"

Edward Carter was stunned for a moment, lowered the horse lance in his hand, cleared his dry throat, and said in a low voice, "I prefer the Zen sound your head would make after being made into a wooden fish."

William Carter touched his own head and smiled even more brightly, pointing the flute at Edward Carter and said, "Ever since the order of heaven was thrown into chaos and time and space overlapped, you, Edward Carter, broke through Chang'an, burned Luoyang, slaughtered Puyang, diverted the Fei River to flood Shouchun, left corpses along the shores of Ju Port, filled the caves of the Great Wall with blood, piled up countless bodies, and even stopped the flow of the Fei River.

Beneath the city of Chang'an, you wielded your horse lance, regarding all the heroes of the world as nothing. Under your lance, there was hardly a single general who could stand against you. When you laughed proudly over the world, did you ever imagine you would end up like this?"

Edward Carter chuckled, "To the victor go the spoils, to the loser, disgrace. Life and death are but a moment. Now, prepare to die!"

Wangcai charged forward at full speed, while the wild ox beneath William Carter slowly retreated. No matter how fast Wangcai ran, the wild ox always kept a distance of ten zhang.

"Edward Carter, give up. You no longer have any soldiers to fight with, your body is already broken, and Wangcai beneath you has only one last fight left.

But I have a strong city ahead and countless troops behind. For this great calamity, I have prepared a thousand years earlier than you. What can you do to me?"

Edward Carter gritted his teeth and said, "I know you have endless wealth and countless fierce generals under your command. So what?

Even if I break all my teeth today, I will still bite off two taels of your flesh.

You treacherous dog, don't run, prepare to die!"

Edward Carter, in a fury, had Wangcai leap ten zhang forward, his horse lance sweeping down like wind and lightning toward William Carter's head.

William Carter's faint sigh was especially clear in the midst of the storm.

"Edward Carter, back then, the First Emperor, riding on the might of six generations, achieved victory in a hundred battles, unified the world, used imperial roads as ropes, and counties as locks, finally binding the map of China into one. After the First Emperor died, the condensed imperial dragon energy scattered across the nine provinces. You took away four very important strands, preventing me from completing the Imperial Dragon Diagram. This is a great crime.

If the Imperial Dragon Diagram remains broken for too long, the dragon energy attached to it will dissipate. If it continues to dissipate, the nine provinces will be torn apart. I respect you as a hero of your age, and have hesitated several times to kill you.

If you still refuse to repent, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Edward Carter's horse lance struck only air; William Carter and the wild ox seemed to have merged into one, drifting in the air like a willow catkin. No matter how Edward Carter attacked, he could not harm him in the slightest.

Edward Carter stopped his Red Hare horse, looked up at the towering, lifeless city of Shuofang, and said flatly, "You killed James Carter at Dahekou, Thomas Carter in Beijing, Stephen Grant in Jizhou, Robert Carter in Nanjing, and Charles Carter at the Liao River. The Yun clan has almost been wiped out by you alone.

Come on, kill me. You will complete the Imperial Dragon Diagram and achieve your everlasting enterprise. You can kill me and take the dragon energy from my corpse, but if you want me to hand it over willingly, dream on!"

William Carter sighed again and waved his hand lightly. From the ends of the earth came the sound of heavy footsteps, echoing from all directions.

Edward Carter looked around. To the north were black-clad, black-armored swordsmen and shield-bearers; to the south, red-clad, red-armored spearmen; to the west, blue-clad, blue-armored heavy cavalry; to the east, white-clad, white-armored heavy infantry.

They advanced on Edward Carter slowly, like mountains, like fire, like wind, like forests.

Edward Carter took off his wine pouch, raised his head and drank deeply, then let Wangcai drink as well. When the pouch was empty, he tossed it far away, held his lance across his horse, letting the wild wind whip his blood-red cloak, and called out to William Carter not far away, "Come on, once I die, there will be no more heroes in this world!"

William Carter said quietly, "When heaven stirs the will to kill, the stars shift; when earth stirs the will to kill, dragons and snakes rise from the land; when man stirs the will to kill, the world is overturned.

Heroes? They are the root of chaos. Only by killing all of you can the nine provinces be reunited and the people live in peace.

This Imperial Dragon Diagram was forged anew only by sacrificing the blood of heroes and the heads of kings. Edward Carter, die now. I will use your head to mend the first crack in the Imperial Dragon Diagram!"

Edward Carter laughed loudly, "You treacherous dog! It is precisely because of us that the dog emperor dares not do as he pleases. It is because we have been here that the powerful and noble dare not exploit the people too much, and the common folk have a sliver of hope.

Today, if I die in battle, eighteen years from now, we will return again..."

Edward Carter charged into the army ranks, throwing the once orderly formation into chaos. Dust and noise filled the air, severed limbs and heads flew, and blood flowed like a river...

William Carter finished a jug of wine, and the army formation quieted down. The chaotic ranks returned to order and calm.

William Carter looked down at Edward Carter's unyielding head in the wooden tray and said softly, "Why did it have to come to this?"

Edward Carter is dead, and the world is at peace.