"Hahaha, in that case, what else is Your Highness waiting for?" After hearing Lin Xinjue's agreement, Qian Wu's wicked smile became even more sinister.
He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling. Although he was not a hunter who was keen to play with his prey, why wouldn't he be elated to see an internal conflict erupting in the Great Xia Empire's royal family?
"I'm sorry, Father!" Lin Xinjue gritted his teeth again, his eyes becoming clouded and cold. "Listen up, Palace Guards. Whoever kills Lin Mubai shall be rewarded with generous amounts of wealth and property!"
"Hualala!"
At Lin Xinjue's command, the kneeling Palace Guards all stood up and drew their long bows. Countless arrows flew straight for Lin Mubai, shimmering with an eerie cold glow under the moonlight.
"Good, very good! Another traitor! I've seen countless types of people during my rule, and although I admit that I've not accomplished anything significant, I still made some considerable contributions, but I still could not understand my own son!" Lin Mubai looked at the army of Palace Guards with bows fully drawn, looking slightly dejected.
The Crown Prince committed treason!
This was something he found out long ago, but King Duan's revolt was still unexpected, and another excruciating stab into his already wounded heart.
No pain is greater in life than the betrayal of your relatives and children. Yet, Lin Mubai has been confronted with the consecutive betrayals of the Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and King Duan Lin Xinjue. How could he be fine?
"Hahaha … I never expected Sixth Brother to obey the Northern Barbarians. I've really underestimated him!" The Crown Prince Lin Tianrong became slightly maniacal after listening to their exchange of words.
He may have committed treason, but he would never become another person's puppet.
But … Lin Xinjue did just that. How could he not resent his brother?
"Your Highness, do you really want to kill His Majesty?" The Dragon Protection Squad's first Dragon Envoy Yan Qing looked at Lin Xinjue standing in front of the Palace Guards, still in disbelief.
"Fire!" Lin Xinjue ignored Lin Tianrong's words and Yang Qing's question, instead relying on his actual actions to convey his message to everyone.
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
"…"
A storm of arrows shot up into the sky, travelling across a graceful arch before raining down on Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua.
"Protect the Emperor!"
A few rays of light fired out from the Dragon Protection Squad, creating an enormous light screen in the air which blocked the cascading storm of arrows.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Two beastly bellows sounded as two gigantic figures pounced towards Lin Mubai and Chen Feihua amidst the rain of arrows.
"Leave here now, Your Majesty!"
The Dragon Protection Squad did not retreat after seeing the advancing beasts, and instead charged towards their assailants without anyone bearing any thought of escaping. However, they too knew that everything they were doing now was merely to buy time.
And the effect?
If everything goes according to plan, the delay would pay off.
But now … their efforts may very well end in vain, because the four gates of the Imperial Palace were already secured by the Palace Guards. Without any backup, what use would their efforts be regardless of how much time they bought?
"Roar!"
The beast's razor-sharp claws instantly sent a soldier from the Dragon Protection Squad flying backwards.
At the same time, Qian Wu's gaze slowly turned towards the approaching Fang Zhengzhi, Ping Yang and Yan Xiu. A sinister smile appeared on his face.
"Kill Fang Zhengzhi and capture the other two alive!"
"Yes!" A few people in black in the Rebirth State instantly acknowledged Qian Wu's order. In a flash, they rushed towards Fang Zhengzhi.
"Eh? Both of you are about to be captured alive!" exclaimed Fang Zhengzhi after hearing Qian Wu's words.
"That's still better than dying!" Ping Yang pouted indignantly.
"Um." Yan Xiu nodded softly. No one knew whether he was replying Fang Zhengzhi's question or conferring with Ping Yang's opinion.
"I'd rather die in glory than live in dishonor. Let's give everything we've got for the sake of the Great Xia Empire!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled, appearing extremely courageous in the face of imminent death.
Of course, his words drifted into the ears of the Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad.
There's an ancient saying: it's much easier for people's feelings to resonate with each other, even those at odds with one another. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi's expression was tragically heroic.
"I'd rather die in glory than live in dishonor?!"
"For the Great Xia Empire!"
"Well said!"
The Royal Guards and the Dragon Protection Squad knew that Fang Zhengzhi was usually very shameless, but their suppressed emotions were now roused up again after hearing his battle cry.
After all, they were all in this state of mind.
Fight! What else could they do besides fighting?
"Charge! Take them all on!"
"Let His Majesty escape!"
The various Dragon Protection Squad soldiers and Royal Guards charged towards the approaching beasts with great vigor. A small group of them charged towards the Palace Guards instead.
The battle was becoming more chaotic than ever.
"You're courting death!" A few people in black looked at the Royal Guards and Dragon Protection Squad riled up by Fang Zhengzhi's words, their eyes shining with a cold glow. They rushed towards them at breakneck speed.
"Sh*t, such incredible speed. I can't overpower them, let us kill a few scapegoats first!" Fang Zhengzhi turned towards the approaching people in black, slightly stunned. Then, he suddenly stopped, pulled Ping Yang and Yan Xiu, and ran towards the Northern Barbarian army behind him.
"Eh? Stop them!" A few people in black were taken aback as well.
After all, Fang Zhengzhi's flippant allegiances were so unpredictable. One moment, he was sounding his war cry like a tragic hero, and the next moment, he was bolting away. These were the things that only people like Fang Zhengzhi were capable of doing.
However, with the Northern Barbarian army getting closer and closer behind Fang Zhengzhi, they were naturally unfazed by the possibility of Fang Zhengzhi switching sides again.
They quickened their steps and closed the distance.
Closer, closer!
Watching as Fang Zhengzhi led Ping Yang and Yan Xiu straight towards the Northern Barbarian army, a few people in black were as overjoyed as wolves seeing sheep enter their pack.
"Pass down Young Master's orders: Kill Fang Zhengzhi and capture Yan Xiu and Ping Yang alive!"
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, thousands of Northern Barbarian soldiers dressed in black hollered a reply in unison, lifting their flashing spears up high and charged towards Fang Zhengzhi without any hesitation.
Fang Zhengzhi finally stopped in his tracks once again.
Ping Yang also flashed her weapon - a scarlet spear with a tint of golden light flashing at its tip.
The Blazing Qilin Spear, one of the ten greatest treasures of the Great Xia Empire.
Yan Xiu stopped in his tracks as well, his body cloaked in a blood-red glow as an overpoweringly sinister aura emanated from his body.
After the few people in black took in this sight, their lips contorted into a smirk and speedily rushed behind Fang Zhengzhi.
"Die!" They attacked.
A lustrous radiance illuminated from their backs. As powerhouses in the Rebirth State, they had total confidence in their combat abilities, especially with their advantage in numbers.
But suddenly …
Fang Zhengzhi finally turned around.
The people in black saw the faint smile plastered on his face, but more importantly, his eyes taunted them strongly.
"Eh? Is he smiling?"
"How can he smile at this time?"
"This is bad!"
In a moment of hesitation, the few people in black subconsciously sensed impending danger. Then, they saw a devastating inferno enveloping the heavens and the lands.
It was the flames spitting out from the Blazing Qilin Spear.
And within those flames was a blood-red ray of light containing a sinister bloodlust, slicing towards their throats.
Such a turn of events certainly terrified the people in black, as Yan Xiu and Ping Yang were evidently resisting their attacks with their lives without regard for self-defense, hurling their spears at the Northern Barbarian army without any considerations.
Under such circumstances, they had only two options: either to take Yan Xiu and Ping Yang head-on in a deathmatch, or to avoid their attacks temporarily. Making a choice wouldn't take too much time as they would not possibly opt for a brutal deathmatch regardless of whatever considerations they have. Furthermore, Qian Wu ordered them to catch Yan Xiu and Ping Yang alive.
In a flash, the few people in black instantly dodged Yan Xiu and Ping Yang's attack, and following the inertia after their sprint, their bodies naturally avoided Fang Zhengzhi and rushed back into the Northern Barbarian army.
Their flashing spears immediately avoided the bodies of the few people in black but at the same time, stabbed towards Fang Zhengzhi without any reservations.
"Did you think that you can take me down with you just by fighting with all your might? How naive!" They smirked again.
"Is that so?" Fang Zhengzhi turned towards them again, his lips still maintaining that faint smile with his gaze brimming with contempt.
And at this moment, the spears pointing at Fang Zhengzhi all slanted to one side even though the thousand Northern Barbarian soldiers did not halt their advance. The spears seemed to have taken lives of their own, completely avoiding Fang Zhengzhi.
"What?!" The few people in black were visibly astonished when they witnessed this spectacle.
The entire Northern Barbarian army avoided Fang Zhengzhi completely?
How is this possible?
Did they not hear their master's orders? Why would they not kill Fang Zhengzhi? What exactly is going on?
As they mulled over this, the few people in black shivered. They all felt a cold sinister aura.
"This is bad!"
"We've been tricked!"
In an instant, they regained their senses. Although they have not realized what was going on, the sense of foreboding danger made it clear that they had fallen into a trap.
Alas … it was too late.
The cold bloodlust had already arrived in front of them.
Two daggers as black as ink sliced their throats at lightning speed, creating fountains of gushing blood.
"Ah!"
"How evil!"
They quickly covered the wounds on their throats with their hands. Being in the Rebirth State, the healing abilities of their bodies were far greater than imagined.
Except for the strange red light from the Green Dragon Eye, nothing else can possibly decimate them in a single blow.
They immediately stopped the bleeding at their throats after pressing down on the wounds with their hands, but the wounds did not recover.
"Something's wrong with the dagger!"
A thought flashed through all their minds at the same time. Following that, a frightening power ferociously crashed into them from the side. It was as though they were hit by a mountain.
"It's a powerhouse in the Rebirth State!"
Their hearts suffered a second jolt from shock. After being ambushed and having their throats sliced, they could only use one hand to stop the bleeding and naturally could not retaliate with full strength. Under such circumstances, it would be fine if their opponents were ordinary soldiers.
But … If they were similarly in the Rebirth State, it would be a completely different story.
"Scram!" As they flashed their palms out, they released a splendid radiance which swept across the surrounding Northern Barbarian soldiers.
They needed a space where they would not be secretly attacked, but the Northern Barbarian army had no intentions to spare them such a space. As the light in their hands glowed, a few people rushed in front of them.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"..."
Their opponents countered their attacks with the same technique.
As their palms collided, lines of thick mud walls trapped the few people in black, isolating the blasts of air produced from the collision.
"There's more than one enemy in the Rebirth State!" Their bodies crashed into each other abruptly, and at the same time, they lost their grip over the wounds on the throats, causing fresh crimson blood to gush out of their wounds once again.
"Sh*t!"
"Why is this happening?"
"Who exactly are you?!"
The people in black pressed down on their wounds again. At this point, they certainly realized that their secret assailants were not the Northern Barbarian soldiers, because those soldiers would never ambush them and more importantly, the Northern Barbarians couldn't possibly be elite warriors in the Rebirth State.
They were enraged, but their opponents had no intention of replying them.
And at the same time, the cold bloodlust struck approached them menacingly from behind again. The people in back stepped back subconsciously, but the sinister chill was extremely close to their bodies.
"Stab!"
One of them finally stopped in their tracks. He wore an unfathomable expression, his eyes staring tightly at the dagger that pierced through his heart.
The frigid chill numbed his body.
"Who … Who exactly are … are you?!" He lifted his head to greet his opponent draped in black clothes. The pupils in his attacker's eyes were pitch-black.
He felt indignant, extremely indignant.
They were clearly holding the absolute advantage in this situation, an indisputable advantage. As long as he could survive this battle, he would become the one of the most accomplished officials of the Northern Barbarian Empire, but now, he was about to die.
To die …
How would he be willing to die like this?