Shen Le gripped the dagger and slowly raised his head.
A power both heavy and weightless settled into his palm, making it icy cold and burning hot at once. Instinctively, he sucked in air and exhaled as hard as he could:
"Hah, hah, hah..."
Flashing blades still seemed to flicker before his eyes. The fighting in the great hall of Xianyang Palace, shifting figures, furious shouts, splattering blood...
The guards stirred restlessly. Without an imperial command, they could not step onto the stairs with weapons in hand. Countless eyes fixed on Qin Wuyang below the palace steps...
Long dagger-axes closed in from every direction. Those guards, who had received no order from the King of Qin, could not climb the steps to help stop Jing Ke, but they could hunt down the man below!
No one would believe that the deputy envoy below the steps was not part of the assassination plot. As far as these guards were concerned, killing him would earn them some merit-
Or at least give them something to cover their disgrace when the King of Qin demanded, "Why did no one protect me?" Perhaps that would save them from being killed in his thunderous rage?
So, under the circumstances, he-or rather, Qin Wuyang-might die even sooner than Jing Ke up in the hall...
Move!
Get moving!
You can't just sit here and wait to die!
Shen Le roared inwardly.
Perhaps because the King of Qin was under attack, or because the Yan State's national destiny was burning fiercely too, the black tiger atop the palace turned its attention elsewhere.
At the very last moment, he could finally move. But even if he used every martial skill he possessed, carving a path to survival through this crowd...
It was too difficult. Far too difficult. With