At the third watch of the rabbit hour, dawn was just breaking and the morning mist had yet to disperse as absolute stillness gripped the bluestone street outside the crimson lacquer gates of the Carefree Prince's Estate.
Suddenly, a chaotic and heavy sound of footsteps echoed from afar, instantly shattering the morning tranquility.
Accompanied by these footsteps came the clanging of metal and heavy panting, a baleful intent pressing in like rolling waves.
Looking from a distance, one could see two men dressed in dark martial attire walking in the very front with bold, sweeping strides.
Their steps were vigorous and their pace extremely fast.
The waists of these two men bore gleaming longswords, the scabbards and hilts flashing with a cold light in the dawn.
Their gazes exuded cruelty, and their entire bodies radiated a chilling aura.
Right behind these two men followed a crowd of burly, thick-waisted men.
Some of these people brandished wolf-tooth clubs while others carried mountain-splitting axes, each one looking fierce and malevolent—at a glance, they were clearly up to no good.
The sound of their footsteps caused the ground to tremble slightly, their weapons looming indistinctly in the morning mist and exuding an air of slaughter.
This group surged grandly down the street like a black torrent, their target pointing straight at the Carefree Prince's Estate.
Soon, this group of uninvited guests arrived before the prince's estate.
The copper studs on the crimson lacquer gates gleamed coldly in the dawn while the stone lions on either side of the entrance held their heads high in majestic defiance, as if guarding this noble manor.
Two guards stood rigidly in front of the estate.
They wore fine steel chainmail that flickered with cold light under the sunlight.
The longswords at their waists were exceptionally sharp, emanating a spine-chilling murderous aura.
These two guards stood as straight as pines, making it evident at a glance that they possessed martial cultivation.
Seeing that the arrivals were aggressive, their gazes instantly grew watchful, turning vigilant.
One of the guards nodded slightly and exchanged a glance; the other guard understood tacitly, quietly turning to rush inside the estate to report.
Meanwhile, the remaining guard braced himself, pressed a hand against his sword hilt, stepped forward, and shouted sternly, "This is the estate of the Carefree Prince. What people are you? How dare you cause trouble here!"
His voice rang out like a giant bell, echoing through the air and making the listeners' eardrums ache.
Yet, facing his interrogation, the two leading martial men showed not a shred of fear.
They exchanged glances, and a look of contempt simultaneously surfaced at the corners of their mouths.
One of them mocked without the slightest concealment, "We are looking for the Carefree Prince himself!" His words were filled with utter disdain.
Before his voice faded, the other man suddenly struck like lightning.
He violently raised his foot with wind-like speed, stirring up a fierce gale.
This kick contained his profound true qi, and its power was astonishing.
With a muffled bang, that guard did not even have time to react before he was sent flying directly like a kite with a broken string.
His body traced an arc through the air and then heavily crashed against the gates of the Carefree Prince's Estate.
With a resounding boom, those sturdy gates instantly burst apart, countless wood splinters scattering everywhere like snowflakes.
Accompanied by this loud crash, that guard flew backward like a severed kite, vomiting a mouthful of blood and crashing heavily onto the ground. After twitching a few times, he stopped moving entirely, the luster in his eyes gradually fading away—he was clearly dead.
"Charge!" Following a furious roar from the leading martial man, the mob of thugs behind him rushed forward like starved tigers pouncing on prey, howling as they brandished all manner of weaponry and charging straight into the estate like a surging torrent.
At this very moment, the alarm bell within the estate had already been struck, its rapid and loud clang-clang-clang echoing throughout the entire manor.
Hearing the alarm, the guards of the estate reacted with unusual swiftness. They rapidly assembled like a sudden gale, clutching various weapons and rushing toward the gates as if facing a formidable enemy.
At the very front of these guards was none other than Xiao Lie, the guard captain of the estate.
He was robust in build, standing over eight feet tall with a tiger-like back and bear-like waist.
Across his face ran a hideous and terrifying scar that stretched from the corner of his eye all the way to his chin, making his expression somewhat ferocious.
Yet, far from making him look ugly, this scar added a few parts of overbearing dominance to his presence.
Xiao Lie tightly gripped a thick Mò Dāo in his hand, its blade flashing with a chilling gleam under the sun.
"What petty scoundrels are you, daring to trespass upon the Carefree Prince's Estate!" Standing in the center of the estate's front courtyard, Xiao Lie spoke with a voice like a great bell that was deafening to the ears.
Facing Xiao Lie's furious bellow, the two leading martial men not only showed no inclination to retreat, but instead wore faint, contemptuous smiles on their faces.
One of them even sneered, mocking unmercifully, "With just a petty martial master like you, you dare vainly attempt to stop us? Truly overestimating your capabilities!"
"If you know what's good for you, quickly hand over the Carefree Prince. Otherwise, not a single piece of armor will remain intact in this estate today!"
Hearing this, Xiao Lie was instantly consumed by rage. His eyes widened like copper bells and he roared in absolute anger, "You group of madmen, cease your wild ravings! With me, Xiao Lie, here today, don't even dream of harming a single hair on the Prince's head!"
Before his voice finished trailing off, he violently raised the Mò Dāo in his hand high and shouted loudly, "Kill!"
With this furious roar, the estate guards shouted in unison, rushing fiercely toward the intruders like a surging, overwhelming tide.
In an instant, blade lights and sword shadows crisscrossed and flashed, the cries of battle were deafening, and the entire estate was enveloped in the thick atmosphere of fierce combat.
The estate guards were well-trained on ordinary days and maintained a tacit understanding with one another; they swiftly formed a tight battle formation, tightly surrounding the group of intruders in the middle.
Yet, despite the vast number of estate guards, these intruders were no ordinary figures. The vast majority of them possessed even slightly superior strength, and moreover, these people were all fierce desperados, causing both sides to find themselves in a stalemate for the time being.