The sudden turn of events threw the area near the Greenwood Gate into chaos. The Black Sword Knight riding toward them had clearly not communicated with the sentries near the gate beforehand, so the latter reacted half a beat too slowly—and that gave Hao Ren and the others a chance to break through.
The "magic carriage," which was nothing more than a false shell, suddenly burst into powerful acceleration that defied common sense. The three vehicles thundered forward and smashed into the barricades being raised ahead and the Gatekeepers hastily gathering there. At the same time, the personal guards disguised as caravan escorts on the three vehicles drew their weapons and began fending off the spears and swords stabbing in from all directions.
With a deafening bang, the barricades blocking the convoy's path were smashed to pieces by the carriages, while the imperial soldiers guarding them were sent tumbling through the air.
"Close the gate! Lower the barrier!"
The imperial officer in charge of guarding the gate shouted loudly. As his voice fell, the Spellcasters activated the magic device controlling the gate. Accompanied by tremors from the ground and the creaking of machinery, the several-dozen-meter-tall green Door leaves began to close slowly. At the same time, a pale-green energy barrier appeared out of thin air as the Rune Stone Bricks near the gate lit up, then rapidly descended from above.
"Leave no survivors!" one of the Black Sword Knights roared. Seeing that the targets were about to pass through the Greenwood Gate, he leapt directly from his warhorse. Complex golden-red patterns surfaced across the black steel armor covering his body, while two indistinct magic-energy wings seemed to support him like actual wings as he glided through the air. In midair, the knight raised the black sword in his hand and