Outside the city, fifty thousand Di soldiers stood arrayed in a dense, dark mass. Five Origin-Opening Realm experts hovered in the air, their pressure as heavy as a mountain.
On the city wall, the Seventh Prince stood at the very front, his moon-white robes snapping in the wind.
His face was pale, but his eyes burned with fierce battle intent.
He drew his blade and pointed its edge toward the city gates. His voice boomed like thunder, carrying across the entire army:
"Soldiers of North-Rejecting City!"
Everyone looked toward him.
"Today, the Di have come in full force, intent on trampling our city flat!"
His voice rang with passion, every word pounding against their hearts.
"But who are we? We are soldiers of Great Zhou! Behind us are the people of Great Zhou, and the land of Great Zhou! We cannot retreat one step! We cannot lose this battle!"
He paused, his gaze flashing like lightning as it swept across the crowd. Each word came as sharp as a blade:
"I'll make this clear today—anyone who flees will be executed without mercy!"
"Anyone who deserts in the face of battle will be beheaded!"
"Anyone who cowers before the enemy will be beheaded!"
"Anyone who undermines the army's morale will be beheaded!"
Each of the three commands struck harder than the last, making everyone's heart tighten.
The Seventh Prince turned around and looked over every face, his eyes filled with resolve.
"Today, I stand with all of you! As long as the city stands, I stand; if the city falls, I fall with it!"
A roar shook the heavens as it erupted from the city wall!
"Kill!!!"
"Kill!!!"
"Kill!!!"
Li Jinshui stood among the crowd, raising his blade and shouting along with everyone else, louder than any of them.
But in his heart, he was cursing like mad.
Yanmen Pass had already fallen, and the entire army of a hundred and fifty thousand was finished. How the hell were they supposed to hold North-Rejecting City?
Five Origin-Opening Realm experts, more than a dozen Pulse-Opening Realm experts, and an army of fifty thousand—what could they use to defend the city? Their lives as bricks to plug the breach?
He sneaked a glance at the soldiers around him, their blood running hot, then looked at the impassioned figure on the wall. His heart sank.
He wanted to run.
He really wanted to run.
But the Seventh Prince had just said anyone who fled would be executed without mercy.
Whoever ran would die.
If he ran now, he'd be the first one cut down.
He gritted his teeth and suppressed the urge.
No, wait.
The Seventh Prince wasn't a fool.
If he dared to stay and fight to the death, he must have some trump card, right?
Could Elder Chen take on five men by himself? Were reinforcements on their way from the Capital? Or did the prince have some Mystic-Penetration Realm treasure hidden away?
Li Jinshui watched the Seventh Prince's back, rapidly turning it over in his mind.
The Seventh Prince had treated him so well, giving him a cultivation technique and a jade token. He couldn't have done that just to let him die here, could he?
He had to have a trump card.
He definitely did.
Li Jinshui took a deep breath, gripped the Black Iron Blade tightly, and charged down from the wall with the crowd.
As he passed the Seventh Prince, he deliberately slowed his steps and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Your Highness! I swear to follow you to the death! As long as the city stands, I stand! If the city falls, I fall with it!"
The Seventh Prince looked down at him and gave a slight nod, a hint of approval in his eyes.
Li Jinshui was delighted.
He'd buttered him up just right.
There was a trump card. There had to be.
He charged even harder.
The war drums thundered.
The city gates swung wide, and the Zhou Army surged out like a flood!
The two armies collided once more!
This time, the slaughter was fiercer than ever before.
The Di Army's Pulse-Opening and Origin-Opening Realm experts didn't attack right away. They simply hovered in the air, coldly watching the slaughter below.
They were waiting for the Zhou Army to wear itself down before swooping in to claim victory in one fell swoop.
Li Jinshui charged at the very front, unleashing the White Tiger Blade Technique with all his strength, his blade flashing like snow!
The first Di soldier fell.
The second, the third...
[+9] [+3] [+1...]
But in his heart, he kept waiting.
Waiting for the Seventh Prince's trump card.
Waiting for the miracle that could turn the tide for North-Rejecting City.
Half an hour passed.
For a full half hour, the fighting never stopped.
Corpses piled into mountains, and blood flowed like a river.
Li Jinshui was drenched in blood, some his own, some the enemy's. He couldn't tell which was which anymore. His eyes had gone bloodshot, and he only knew to swing his blade mechanically, again and again.
Where was the trump card?
Where the hell was it?!
He stole a moment to look back toward the city wall. The Seventh Prince was still standing there, motionless, as if waiting for something.
But he could afford to wait. The soldiers below couldn't!
They fought for another quarter of an hour. There were fewer and fewer men around him, while the Di soldiers kept growing in number.
Li Jinshui finally couldn't take it anymore.
Damn it, who cared about the trump card? If he didn't run now, it'd be too late!
He was about to call Monkey and Er Gou over to retreat—
Just then, a sudden cry of alarm rose behind him.
He whipped around and saw a figure spring into the air from the city wall, flying frantically south!
The figure was so fast, like a streak of light, instantly flashing over the wall and the buildings inside the city before speeding off to the south!
It was the Seventh Prince!
He flew with such haste, so fast that he didn't even look back.
His voice came from the distance, hoarse and hurried, yet clear as day in everyone's ears:
"Everyone! Scatter and flee! Meet up in North Plain City!"
The words had barely left his mouth before he vanished into the distance.
Li Jinshui froze.
His blade stopped in midair. He forgot to swing it down.
The soldiers around him froze, too.
What?
His Highness had run?
The man who had just stood on the city wall, saying, "As long as the city stands, I stand; if the city falls, I fall with it"—he'd run?
The man who had just said, "Anyone who flees will be executed without mercy"—he'd been the first to run?
Li Jinshui's mind went blank, then a tidal wave of fury surged through him.
"I'LL FUCKING CURSE YOUR ANCESTORS!!!"
He cursed with all his might, his voice hoarse, his veins bulging, spittle flying from his mouth!
"Didn't you just say you'd stand with the city, you bastard?! Didn't you say you'd stand with us?! You sent us to our deaths while you ran off?! And you said anyone who fled would be executed without mercy—you ran first!!"
As he cursed, it suddenly dawned on him.
The Seventh Prince had never intended to defend the city.
All those words, all that battle spirit, all that resolve—every last bit of it had been an act!
He'd put on a show for the Di, making them think he would fight to the death and keeping their Origin-Opening and Pulse-Opening Realm experts from attacking rashly!
He'd put on a show for the soldiers, too, getting them to obediently throw their lives away and hold back the Di Army!
Once everyone was tangled together, once the Di had their full attention on the battlefield, he'd wait for the right moment and use a secret art to flee in an instant!
That way, the Di wouldn't have time to chase him!
And the people he'd left behind—the ones who trusted him, the ones who had risked their lives for him—they were all just pieces on a board, all sacrifices!
Li Jinshui trembled with fury.
That protector—
He whirled around and looked up at the sky.
The old man was already soaring upward, his aura swelling in an instant, so violent it sent chills down the spine!
His stooped back straightened. Blinding light shot from his cloudy old eyes, and his true qi surged around him. His power was several times greater than before!
"Imperial Secret Art: Blood Burning Soul-Incineration!" Huyan Zhuo shouted in alarm from afar. "He's gone mad! This secret art can only sustain him for a quarter of an hour. After that, he'll die!"
The old man ignored him. He only looked back toward the direction the Seventh Prince had fled, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint, relieved smile.
He'd known all along.
He'd known the Seventh Prince's plan all along.
He'd stayed behind for this very moment.
He would trade his life for the Seventh Prince's chance to escape.
Li Jinshui watched the old man charge toward the five Origin-Opening Realm experts, saw the earth-shaking collision, saw the violent shock waves sweep outward—
Suddenly, a complicated feeling welled up inside him.
That old man had chosen this himself.
But what about them?
Had anyone asked if these soldiers, these abandoned men, were willing?
"BOOM—!!!"
The deafening blast shook the heavens.
The old man had taken on five enemies alone and held them back by sheer force!
But everyone knew he could only last a quarter of an hour.
After a quarter of an hour, he would die without a doubt.
And the Seventh Prince had already vanished into the distance.
In the sky, Huyan Zhuo trembled with rage and cursed furiously:
"Damn it! Damn it! He actually got away!"
He suddenly turned and roared at the Di Army's Pulse-Opening Realm experts below:
"What are you standing there for?! Go! Chase down those fleeing Pulse-Opening Realm experts! Don't let a single one escape! Especially that woman in purple—she's from the Yun Family. Take her alive!"
The dozen or so Di Pulse-Opening Realm experts snapped out of it and scattered in pursuit!
Li Jinshui suddenly came to his senses.
Now wasn't the time to curse!
He had to run!
He turned and raced into the city.
"Monkey! Er Gou! Come on!"
Monkey and Er Gou stood rooted to the spot, their faces full of despair. At his shout, they instinctively followed him.
The three of them ran like mad against the flow of the rout.
The first to react was Yun Ruoxi.
She stood not far away, her face ashen. She gritted her teeth and turned to run! She unleashed the full power of her Pulse-Opening Realm cultivation, darting off like a gust of wind!
The other four guest retainers reacted as well and fled in different directions!
Then the Pulse-Opening Realm officers, the Inner Strength Realm squad leaders, and the Body Forging Realm soldiers—
Everyone was running!
A complete rout!
"His Highness ran!"
"Run!"
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Screams, cries, and curses blended into one!
The Di Army's Pulse-Opening Realm experts finally moved. They raced through the air and chased after the fleeing Zhou soldiers, slaughtering them with a single palm strike apiece!
One fleeing Pulse-Opening Realm guest retainer was caught and had his skull smashed by a palm strike. His body flew three zhang away.
Another was cleaved in half by a single stroke, his innards spilling across the ground.
Another man was caught. He let out a scream and never got up again.
Li Jinshui ran for his life. With his Inch Step mastered, he darted left and right through the crowd, but the screams behind him drew closer and closer!
He glanced back and saw a Di Pulse-Opening Realm warrior chasing in his direction. With a single palm strike, the man sent a soldier running behind Li Jinshui flying!
The soldier screamed as he flew through the air and crashed to the ground. He never moved again.
Li Jinshui's scalp prickled. He ran even faster!
The city had already descended into chaos.
The civilians still had no idea what was happening. They only saw countless soldiers pouring through the gates, their faces filled with terror, shouting, "They've fled!" "The prince has fled!" "Run!"
Some began to weep, some started snatching things, and others desperately ran south!
But the southern gate was still closed!
The guards had fled long ago. With the gate shut, a crowd had packed itself against it, wailing and crying out to heaven!
Li Jinshui charged up to the gate, sliced through the crossbar with his blade, and kicked the gate open!
"Run!" he roared at the civilians. "Head south!"
Then he took Monkey and Er Gou with him and plunged out of the city, sprinting south!
Behind them lay fleeing soldiers as far as the eye could see, screams and cries, the Di Army in pursuit, and the city on the verge of falling.
As they ran, a deafening boom erupted behind them.
He glanced back.
In the distance, the old figure was still battling five Origin-Opening Realm warriors, but his aura had begun to weaken.
The quarter-hour was nearly up.
Then the figure suddenly exploded, dissolving into a vast cloud of blood mist.
The five Origin-Opening Realm warriors were sent staggering back by the shockwave, their faces dark with fury.
But they paused for only an instant before Huyan Zhuo pointed south and roared:
"Pursue them! I want every last one of those Pulse-Opening Realm warriors! Not one of them gets away! Especially that man surnamed Yun!"
The five Origin-Opening Realm warriors all raced after the Seventh Prince.
Li Jinshui turned his eyes forward and kept running.
His eyes stung badly. He didn't know if it was sweat or tears.
But he had no time to wipe them away.
He knew only this: the man who had said, "I stand with you," was the first to run.
The man who had said, "Any deserter will be executed without mercy," had run fastest of all.
The man who had given him a cultivation manual and a jade token had used every one of them as a pawn to buy himself a chance at life.
And he still fucking had to thank him.
Because the jade token was still against his chest, and the cultivation manual was still there too.
He had to survive.
Only by surviving could he master the cultivation manual.
Only by surviving could he go to the Heavenly Cloud Sect.
Only by surviving could he—
He clenched his teeth and forced the surge of emotion back down.
Run.
Run for his life.
Run to North Plain City.
Run to somewhere he could survive.
Behind him, the Di Army's battle cries drew closer and closer.
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