Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Since the general leading the Great Jade Kingdom's army in the Dragon Pass was not Rolando, Shawn felt a bit relieved. If
Rolando himself was there in person, Shawn knew that he and his army would not stand a chance. So somehow, he was grateful
that he would only be faced with Toby.
"Your Highness, Shawn is hiding inside the city and doesn't respond to our attacks. Also, the Dragon Pass is not an easy place
to conquer but a place easier to defend due to its terrain. If we continue with our current attacking plan, we would suffer
unimaginable losses." For three consecutive days. the generals of different battalions gathered together to revise their plans of
attack on the Dragon Pass, as they still had not broken through the Bright Dynasty's defense. In addition to that, they had
already suffered great losses.
"How many of Shawn's men have we killed? Indeed, the Dragon Pass is easy to defend and extremely difficult to be conquered.
Shawn knows what he is doing, and he is making sure none of our plans can break through their sturdy defense. But no matter
whatever it costs, we need to conquer that city," Toby said calmly.
The generals were still at a loss for how to effectively tackle their problem. If they tried to force an attack, there was a high
possibility that most of their men would be killed. When the former prince Kevin was still guarding the Dragon Pass, it had been
not as difficult to attack as it was now. Unfortunately, his rebellion failed and Shawn took over the Northern Expeditionary Army.
He then was in charge of guarding the Dragon Pass, making it become a solid border with a hard barrier. Aside from that, the
defensive forces that were put around it had become ten times stronger.
"I don't think a sudden and front attack is a good idea..."
"But what other choice do we have?" Toby asked coldly. He had been talking big to Rolando, but after three days of attacks, he
still had no result to show him. The Dragon Pass still hadn't been conquered. If Rolando knew about it, he would laugh at him.
"Your Highness, if I may ask—doesn't His Majesty want to announce the Bright Dynasty's Princess Lilian as his empress? If so,

why is he attacking the Bright Dynasty? Wouldn't that create unwanted tensions and conflicts between the two kingdoms?" one
general curiously asked. Well, it made sense—why would the king of one kingdom attack the kingdom where his queen hailed

from? To say that it was incredibly strange would be an understatement. "Princess Lilian is an assassin sent by the Bright
Dynasty to kill His Majesty. They did offer a marriage alliance, but it was in name only, revealing the fact that they just wanted to
get close to His Majesty. Once they succeed in doing that, they would murder him, which would throw the Great Jade Kingdom in
endless turmoil. If that happened, they would go in and try to wrestle
the throne away from its righteous inheritor. This plan deeply hurt His Majesty. Because of that, we must make the Bright
Dynasty pay. We have to seek justice for our king," Toby explained. "Was... His Majesty injured?" "Yes." "The Bright Dynasty has
gone too far!" "We must continue attacking the city tonight so that by tomorrow, the Dragon Pass would be already ours!" Since
Toby successfully riled up all of his generals, a menacing grin graced his lips. "Make sure you catch Shawn. We have to kill him
to worship our flag!" "Yes, Your Highness!" Though the Great Jade Kingdom's attacks and advancements against the Bright
Dynasty in the Dragon Pass wagered on, Shawn didn't feel any kind of pressure. He felt nothing looking at his enemies
continuously toiling on the other side of the fortress, trying to break in, as everything on their side was peaceful. The common
people inhabiting the area would even go up
to them from time to time to offer delicious homemade food or help in carrying their soldiers' weapons.
"General, you haven't slept for three days and nights. Please go and take a rest first. If you continue doing this, you won't be able
to hang on. The Great Jade Kingdom seems to be intent on conquering this area, so I think it will be a long-last battle," the
deputy general said, concerned.
Shawn shook his head and replied, "Judging by the current situation, the Great Jade Kingdom is determined to defeat us here
and take over the Dragon Pass. Their attacks will be relentless, so we have to keep a close eye on the situation. I do not want us
to be lax and lose this battle—our kingdom needs us. They are counting on our victory."
"But you have to take a rest!"
"I know, but it is not the time to rest now." Shawn then noticed the many flickering lights just outside the city limits. With brows

furrowed, he thought, 'Is Toby really going to attack the city tonight? A very good idea, I must say. I should send him a big gift.'.

"Go and fetch the things left by Princess Harper when she left." "The things left by Her Highness? Are you referring to that black
box?" the deputy general inquired. Shawn nodded. "That's right. Go ahead and get it. I think it's time for us to use it."
The deputy general was confused by what Shawn was ordering him to do, but since he was a soldier, his primary mission was to
obey. Without asking any more questions, he ordered his underlings to take the said box out of Shawn's room and put it in front
of the city gate tower. As he climbed up, the deputy general noticed the sheer number of soldiers seemingly advancing towards
them. He felt his blood freeze with fear.
Shawn immediately reached out his hand the moment he saw the box. "Firelighter," he ordered.
"Firelighter?" the deputy general asked. Seconds later he realized that Shawn was asking him for a firelighter, and so he went on
to try every pocket on his clothes to find one. Unfortunately, he didn't find any, so he immediately asked someone else to fetch
one. Within a few moments, a firelighter was placed on Shawn's waiting palm.
Shawn then opened the box and saw that it was chock full of black mud balls. He took out one ball, ignited it with the firelighter,
and threw in the direction of the oncoming enemy soldiers.
The side of the deputy general's lips twitched when he saw what Shawn was doing. 'General, are you going crazy because you
haven't slept for three days and nights? What would a mud ball do in this situation, exactly? Even if you ignite the whole box and
throw down, it wouldn't kill anyone! It probably would just make a mess—' Bang!
The fiery mud ball emitted a sound so loud that it actually shook the ground. Smoke filled the air, and the moment it cleared, a
spine-tingling scene came into view: a huge hole on the oncoming swarm of enemies had appeared, with numerous soldiers
spotted to either be extremely bloodied or blown up.
Everyone from the Great Jade Kingdom was taken aback by the sudden explosion. Their confusion was worsened by the blood
bath unveiled in front of them. They didn't see anyone approach them, so where was the enemy?
As the general realized what happened, he immediately gave out an order, saying: "There has been an attack but please keep
calm! Be mindful of yourselves and your fellow soldiers, and most of all, don't mess up the array!" However, as soon as he
finished speaking, several more mud balls were thrown into their general direction. Flames and explosions began to happen and
appear everywhere, with bits of human flesh and dust flying and filling the air after every loud bang. Soon enough, no one could
hear a thing as their eardrums were blown out by the loud sounds of the mud ball explosions. The fires of their torches also
started to flicker due to the impact each bomb had.