The Crown Prince's Death

Arrows arrived in the blink of an eye at such close range.

These arrows had undergone special forging, designed specifically to pierce the armored Imperial Guard.

"Protect His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Someone roared.

The Tu Clan martial artists guarding Crown Prince Zhao Hongli all sprang into action, circulating their True Qi and intercepting as many incoming arrows as possible.

The arrows were too dense, however. Some failed to evade in time and had their shoulders pierced through.

The Imperial Guard, who had maintained their formation until then, fell into disorder beneath this sudden rain of arrows.

Some were struck in the ankles, some in the eyeballs, some had their hearts pierced by a single arrow...

There were all kinds of injuries.

Yet most remained unscathed and had not suffered much harm.

After the rain of arrows, Shen Xishan charged forward at the head of the force and met the leading battalion commander, Zheng Xiangbing.

Just as Zheng Xiangbing chopped down the last arrow, Shen Xishan came at him head-on.

Bang!

Their blades collided. Zheng Xiangbing's tiger's mouth went numb from the impact, cracks even splitting open across it as blood seeped out.

After just one exchange, Zheng Xiangbing knew he was no match for this Chu Country man.

This man's cultivation was undoubtedly a whole level above his.

The instant Zheng Xiangbing was distracted, an arrow lying on the ground suddenly shot up and flew toward his back.

Cold sweat broke out all over him as he rolled sharply to one side.

That roll happened to split apart his formation, leaving him isolated and alone.

Before he could even catch his breath—

Two long blades came whistling in on a bloody wind.

Two Chu Country soldiers seemed to have been waiting for this moment, merely awaiting Zheng Xiangbing to walk into their trap.

Gritting his teeth, Zheng Xiangbing blocked twice with his saber, buying himself a sliver of opportunity to slip out through the gap between them.

Though neither blade struck him, they had been wielded together by two Martial Warriors, carrying three to four hundred jin of force and tremendous impact. The shock made it feel as if his internal organs had shifted out of place.

Zheng Xiangbing was, after all, an experienced Imperial Guard with considerable cultivation, already at Aperture Opening Ninth Grade. The moment he broke free, he spun and slashed twice in succession.

The two Chu Country Martial Warriors behind him were cut down by Zheng Xiangbing's two blows.

He had only just dealt with those two Chu Country Martial Warriors when three more seized the chance, giving him no opportunity to breathe. They pressed forward in close coordination, attacking again and again.

Zheng Xiangbing was hard-pressed to deal with them.

This was a strangling formation used in the army specifically against high-level Martial Warriors. Through rapid, intense attacks, it gave a Martial Warrior no chance to catch their breath.

Then it would drain away the Martial Warrior's True Qi, reducing them to an ordinary person.

So long as there were enough people and their morale did not break, this method could continue without end. Zheng Xiangbing being surrounded and killed was only a matter of time.

A Martial Warrior's flesh and blood body was strong, but people had their limits.

Bang!

With one strike, Zheng Xiangbing knocked several soldiers back. He kept trying to break free of the Chu Army's formation, but every time, he was forced back down.

A flash of ruthlessness passed through Shen Xishan's eyes as he waited at ease for his exhausted enemy. Seizing the moment, he urged his horse forward in a killing charge.

Two arrows on the ground came with him, driven by Shen Xishan's Divine Soul.

Caught off guard while struggling to fend off the attacks, Zheng Xiangbing was struck in the eye by one arrow.

He let out a miserable scream.

Then Shen Xishan swung the Mo Dao in his hand, adding the speed of the horse's charge.

Zheng Xiangbing's body was like paper. Man and armor alike were cleaved apart by Shen Xishan's blade, half his body sheared away.

Blood rained down.

His upper body traced an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Zheng Xiangbing did not die immediately. Blood poured from his nose and mouth as he watched, wide-eyed, his body not far away being trampled into a pulp.

Even at the moment of death, he still could not understand.

Why had such a force appeared in Daliang? These soldiers were plainly Chu Country elites.

The same scene was unfolding all around Crown Prince Zhao Hongli.

With twice the Imperial Guard's numbers, the Chu Army held a tremendous advantage.

The Tu Clan martial artists around the Crown Prince fell one after another. Every Martial Warrior of the Aperture Opening Realm was lost.

Only one Innate Martial Artist remained, still faithfully carrying out his duty.

"Lord Shen, if you don't let me come out soon, it'll all be over."

In the forest, the two-meter-tall Zhang Biao was slowly approaching.

Standing there with a body nearly as massive as a mountain, he gave people the suffocating feeling that they could scarcely breathe.

Rumble!

Thunder roared in the sky. A flash of lightning illuminated him, making his terrifying build appear even more clearly before everyone's eyes.

The Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist guarding one side of the carriage saw that things had gone badly and shouted, "Get the Crown Prince back to the palace! I'll stay behind and cover the rear!"

The coachman realized the severity of the situation. Gripping the reins tightly, he stood and cracked his whip, driving the Five Horses to turn around.

"Trying to run? Can you get away?"

Zhang Biao found a millstone-sized rock on the ground. He weighed it in his hand, then gave a low shout and hurled it out.

It struck the coachman dead-on, smashing his body to pieces and completely wrecking the carriage.

The Five Horses scattered in all directions, only to be captured by the other Chu Country soldiers.

After landing that strike, Zhang Biao grinned and charged straight into the battle.

An Innate Realm Martial Warrior with such a massive body and terrifying defenses—Zhang Biao moved as though no one stood in his way.

After their earlier losses, the Imperial Guard could not stop him at all.

The Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist's face darkened. Gritting his teeth, he led the remaining martial artists into formation and charged forward. "You brat, how dare you be so arrogant!"

"Arrogant?" Zhang Biao grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "Against people like you, I don't even need to give my name."

As his words fell, his enormous body bore down upon them.

The Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist and the others attacked together.

Zhang Biao ignored the others' attacks completely. To him, they were no more than scratches.

He simply threw a punch at the Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist.

Bang.

A muffled impact mixed with a scream.

The Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist's arm shattered beneath Zhang Biao's punch.

"Even Innate Martial Artists who have entered the ranks have their strengths and weaknesses. I can't beat those above Seventh Grade, but against you... heh, it's a walk in the park."

Zhang Biao's huge fan-like hands reached down at incredible speed. He seized the Tu Clan Innate Martial Artist by the head, lifted him like a chick, then slammed him viciously into the ground.

The Innate Martial Artist's skull shattered. His mouth hung open, but he could no longer speak.

"What a bore." Zhang Biao casually tossed him into the Chu Army.

With perfect understanding, the Chu Army surged forward in a swarm and hacked him into several pieces.

A proud Innate Realm Martial Warrior had fallen just like that.

At this point, everyone in the convoy had completely lost the will to fight and scattered through the gap in the encirclement.

Shen Xishan ordered, "Do not pursue a desperate enemy."

All the Chu Soldiers obeyed at once and remained where they were.

Only Crown Prince Zhao Hongli and the Crown Princess remained at the scene.

As though he had foreseen something, Zhao Hongli trembled like a sieve. Forcing himself to walk out, he pleaded, "If This Prince surrenders, can you spare This Prince's life?"

Zhang Biao chuckled. "What do you think?"

"Then if you kill me, can you let her go?"

"A woman is even less likely to be let go." Zhang Biao walked forward step by step.

Crown Princess Gu Wei had long anticipated this possible outcome. She glared at Zhang Biao and said, "Crown Prince, if you die, I will die to preserve my honor. I will not let them have their way."

Zhang Biao came before the two of them.

Zhao Hongli and Gu Wei raised their heads to see Zhang Biao's cold, indifferent face.

"I hate the look in your eyes." Zhang Biao grabbed Crown Princess Gu Wei and gouged out one of her eyeballs.

"Ah?"

"I only plucked out one of your eyes. What are you screaming for?" Zhang Biao said impatiently, casually snapping her neck.

"Gu Wei!" Zhao Hongli cried out.

"Wei Crown Prince, you have forgotten your manners."

Zhang Biao's fan-like hand swung fiercely, slapping Zhao Hongli's head clean off. It smashed into the rocks and burst into pieces.

"What a bore, what a bore. Where are Wei Country's Innate experts?" Zhang Biao was thoroughly dissatisfied.

He looked at Shen Xishan and asked, "Lord Shen, whose carriage among the other princes is closest to us?"

"According to intelligence, it belongs to Wei Country's Fifth Prince."

"Good. Then let's go kill another round. What do you think?"

Shen Xishan swept his gaze around, looked at the nearly hundred soldiers still remaining, and weighed the situation. "Fine. But we have already achieved our objective. If we cannot take them down, we withdraw. If we encounter an expert, there is no need to fight to the death."

"Agreed!"

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