The Siege of Jiashan Lifted, the Prince Assassinated? Breaking Out

Having realized the gap in strength—and that they had already been delayed here for far too long—Kabu Lin guessed that this cavalry force was likely the vanguard of the enemy reinforcements.

Realizing that if he persisted, his army might be annihilated, Kabu Lin decisively gave the order to scatter and retreat.

All the imperial guards and demon soldiers immediately turned and fled like a receding tide.

Although Lin Junyu wanted to give chase when he saw the enemy retreating, rescuing Zichuan Mingri was the priority.

Lin Junyu rode to where Zichuan Mingri lay, dismounted, pulled out the spear that had pierced his body, and lifted him up.

He checked for signs of life. Though extremely faint, they were still there.

Lin Junyu placed the quick-acting life-saving pill rewarded by the system into his mouth. The medicine's potent effects slowly began repairing his body, temporarily pulling him out of danger.

After helping Zichuan Mingri onto a horse, Lin Junyu summoned the leader of the five hundred cavalrymen and instructed him to safely escort Zichuan Mingri back to the main camp to recover. As for himself, of course, he was going to seek revenge.

Once he had finished giving his orders, Lin Junyu mounted his horse, spear gleaming with golden light in hand, and led eight hundred Imperial Guards in pursuit of the retreating demon army.

Watching the figures riding away and the power gradually fading from their bodies, the remaining five hundred soldiers wore expressions of envy, respect, and admiration.

They too wanted to follow this godlike lord into battle and avenge their fallen brothers.

"Where is my son? How is he?"

The five hundred cavalrymen safely escorted Zichuan Mingri back to the main camp. Upon receiving the news, Zichuan Shengxing hurried over anxiously to check on him.

"General Zichuan, your son has suffered serious injuries to his internal organs, including his lungs. Fortunately, his heart is naturally on the right side, and it seems he took some kind of medicine. A tremendous medicinal force is repairing his body from within. He is blessed with great fortune, and his life has been saved, but he will need a long period of recovery!"

Hearing that his son was all right, Zichuan Shengxing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had heard from soldiers who had just withdrawn from the battlefield that a general clad in golden armor had led a cavalry force straight through the demon army, forcing the entire demon army to retreat.

All the soldiers deeply respected and admired that golden-armored general. If the battle had continued, the exhausted men would undoubtedly have been divided and slaughtered by the demon army. He had not only saved Zichuan Mingri, but every soldier on the battlefield as well!

Naturally, Zichuan Shengxing knew who that general was. It was the Empire's Third Prince, whom he had once looked down upon. He had never expected that this time, Lin Junyu would save the lives of the entire army and his son. Moreover, he had brought an army of one hundred thousand men, resolved the crisis at Jiashan, and saved the entire Empire.

Now he had even heard that Lin Junyu was leading eight hundred cavalrymen in pursuit of the demon army. That was still an army of fifty thousand men. Eight hundred cavalrymen chasing them down—unless an emperor personally intervened, such a thing was almost unheard of in this age.

After assembling his army, Qu Tairan immediately headed for the highlands.

They had all assumed a hard battle awaited them. Yet when he arrived at the highland battlefield in full splendor with one hundred thousand soldiers, he found himself reduced to cleaning up the battlefield.

The Third Prince had led eight hundred Imperial Guards through the demon army, and all the demon forces had already retreated. They had still arrived too late—not even a sip of hot soup had been left for them.

Zichuan Shengxing warmly received Qu Tairan. After the two sides exchanged information and he learned that this army of one hundred thousand had been brought by Lin Junyu in defiance of the emperor's orders, his feelings became exceedingly complicated.

The swift arrival of this army of one hundred thousand had saved the entire Empire, but had it not also saved him?

Defying a royal decree was a capital crime. Lin Junyu was essentially trading his own life for the lives of Zichuan Shengxing, more than twenty thousand soldiers, and the future of the entire Empire.

The two armies merged. After discussion, it was decided that Zichuan Shengxing would lead the remaining force of more than twenty thousand Zichuan soldiers back to Jiashan Fortress to rest and defend it, preventing the slaves there from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. Qu Tairan would leave fifty thousand troops to guard the highlands and lead another fifty thousand to the Southeastern Plains to see whether something had happened to Prince Lin's side—and why there had still been no news from the five hundred thousand Southeastern Legion troops.

Southeastern Plains, Butler Province, Governor's Residence.

"How is His Highness the Prince? Is his life in danger?"

In the hall, the generals anxiously questioned the physician who had just finished treating the prince and entered the room.

"My lords, His Highness the Prince was gravely wounded this time. I fear he may not last more than seven days!"

"What? Say that again if you dare!"

"If you cannot save His Highness today, I'll cut you down! Go find someone who can save him."

Upon hearing this, the generals in the hall flew into a rage. Some had even drawn their sabers, glaring at the physician with hostile expressions.

"This old man has already exhausted every method at his disposal, but His Highness's injuries have damaged his heart meridians. Even with all my strength, I can only keep a thread of life in him. As for the rest, this old man truly can do nothing!"

"Ah, you quack! I'll kill you!"

"Fang Hao, calm down!"

A cool-faced woman among the generals stepped forward and grabbed Commander Fang, who was about to rush forward.

"Mingyue! Don't stop me! I'll kill him, then find a physician who can treat His Highness!"

"He is already the best physician in the entire province. Killing him will accomplish nothing!"

"That's right, Commander Fang, calm down. We are all deeply grieved that His Highness is in danger, but the most urgent matter now is this: without His Highness, how are we supposed to deal with the million demon troops besieging us outside the city?"

"Damn demons! They couldn't defeat us head-on, so they resorted to dirty tricks and sent assassins to murder him!"

"Sigh, His Highness is good in every way, except that he is too kind. Otherwise, that demon female assassin would never have found an opportunity!"

"Our army of five hundred thousand is now tightly surrounded, and we have almost completely lost contact with the outside world. We don't even know what is happening out there."

"Other than launching several waves of attacks at the beginning, the million demon troops surrounding us have made no further moves. They have merely kept us encircled. I fear they are plotting something!"

"Mingyue, you're the sharpest among us. His Highness is critically ill now. Quickly help us figure out why the demon army has surrounded us like this."

Everyone turned to look at the only female general among them. Her features were striking, her high nose bridge sharp yet not harsh, its rounded tip perfectly complementing her distinctly shaped lips. Her eyes were cool, the corners slightly raised, and her pupils were as dark and unfathomable as ink. Even beneath her armor, her proud figure could not be concealed. Her legs were long and powerful from years of military training. She was truly a peerless beauty and a valiant female general.

"My guess is that it is related to my father's side."

"Your father? Then that means Jiashan Fortress..."

"That's right, Jiashan Fortress! How did we not think of that?"

Everyone immediately came to the realization. Once they had been surrounded here, if the demons dispatched a separate force to suddenly attack Jiashan Fortress, then Jiashan Fortress would be in grave danger.

"No, I have to get the message out and rescue my father!"

Realizing that something had gone wrong on her father's side, Zichuan Mingyue was frantic with worry.

"Mingyue, calm down. We're surrounded by a million demon troops right now. We need to think this through carefully!"

After further discussion, they decided to launch a breakout at midnight and send the message out.

Since it was a breakout, quality mattered more than numbers. The breakout force was set at ten thousand men, carefully selected from the army.

The ten thousand men were divided into ten squads and would break out in ten different directions. Four hundred thousand troops in the city would deploy to tie down the main demon force and cover their escape. Zichuan Mingyue was chosen as the commander of the breakout force, because she was quicker-witted than the others and had a better chance of surviving.

With the plan settled, midnight arrived. The gates of the previously silent Bartley City opened, and army units poured out.

Seeing movement within the city, the demon army immediately assembled to meet them. Under the cover of night and the main army, the ten small squads quietly headed toward the weaker points in the demon army's encirclement.

The demon army's marshal was no fool. Once he realized the enemy was attempting a breakout, he immediately plugged the gaps. Even so, Zichuan Mingyue and three squads managed to break through.

In order to avoid affecting the Jiashan plan, the demon army's marshal immediately ordered four elite cavalry units of five thousand men each to pursue them.

He gave a strict death order: they had to catch up to and destroy these units trying to send a message. They absolutely could not allow them to disrupt the prince's offensive plans.