"My Xu Jiao, not Yagyu Piaoxu."
Xu Jiao sneered and leaped backward.
Not long ago, the Red Queen sent a secret letter to Xu Jiao.
The content is very simple: a character for "dragon" and a quadratic equation in three variables.
Even if Zhang Jinjiu, the Number One Under Heaven detective, came, he wouldn't understand the meaning of this letter.
Only Reincarnation Temple beings like Xu Jiao can understand it.
It was around that time that Xu Jiao learned the Red Queen's identity and that she was an underling of her younger brother, Xu Long.
That's how the current situation came about; at a crucial moment, he betrayed Iron Courage Divine Marquis.
"Was this all a setup?"
Seeing the surging eunuchs and guards, Zhu Wushi, the Iron Courage Divine Marquis, turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
The Thirty-Six Heavenly Dippers and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends who had been secretly training did not appear, nor did Duan Tianya, who was most loyal to him.
And just to see himself, this "dead man," one last time, they mobilized over ten thousand Second-rate experts.
That's right, all the palace's top experts and elites were deployed to deal with the Iron Courage Divine Marquis.
The Great Ming, possessing the entire Central Plains, had incredibly abundant resources, making it far easier to cultivate experts than any martial arts sect.
Iron Courage Divine Marquis cultivates the Energy Absorption Great Art, and it seems that the more people there are, the more advantageous it is for him.
But that's not the case!
The Energy Absorption Great Art has its limits; it's impossible to absorb another person's Internal Force indefinitely.
Furthermore, even immense Internal Force cannot alleviate physical fatigue; after a prolonged battle, even the Iron Courage Divine Marquis would eventually succumb.
Of course, the main purpose of the group beating was to injure him.
Ten thousand Second-rate masters, one bloodstain on each would be enough.
Once Iron Courage Divine Marquis is wounded to a certain extent, or all ten thousand Second-rate experts have died in battle, the battle should be over.
While absorbing Cao Zhengchun's Internal Force, Iron Courage Divine Marquis was struck by Xu Jiao's sword.
Although they avoided a vital organ, they were still injured.
If this drags on, even if Iron Courage Divine Marquis has profound Internal Force to stop the bleeding, his injuries will continue to worsen.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The roar echoed through the sky, and the murderous aura almost solidified into a tangible form.
With numerous experts surrounding him, Cao Zhengchun, who had narrowly escaped death, felt much more at ease.
Absorbing Internal Force takes time, and Cao Zhengchun neither confronted the Iron Courage Divine Marquis -on nor gave him the opportunity.
Whenever Iron Courage Divine Marquis absorbs someone else's Internal Force, Cao Zhengchun rushes over and launches Onslaught.
When Iron Courage Divine Marquis stopped absorbing Internal Force, Cao Zhengchun quickly retreated.
As the saying goes, old people are shrewd and cunning, and Cao Zhengchun was no exception, as he was full of schemes and tricks.
Whenever Iron Courage Divine Marquis tried to rush out and kill the Red Queen, Cao Zhengchun would stop him.
It must be said that the gang-up tactic is remarkably similar to the "firepower cult".
If the defenses can be breached, then a lack of quality can be compensated for by an extremely large quantity.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! You all deserve to die! Aaaaaah!"
The Iron Courage Divine Marquis roared to the sky, having schemed his entire life, only to be outsmarted in the end.
His subordinates were either dead or betrayed.
He thought he was about to succeed and would soon sit on the throne, but he never expected to end up like this.
Iron Courage Divine Marquis lived up to his Iron Courage Divine Marquis; the battle lasted a full four hours, with over 6,000 of the more than 10,000 Second-rate experts dying before he finally exhausted himself.
"I... I hate it..."
His roar was filled with despair and resentment, before Cao Zhengchun smashed his head with a single palm strike.
Iron Courage Divine Marquis died, not from being surrounded and attacked, but from being dragged to death.
The injuries left by Xu Jiao, the injuries inflicted by Cao Zhengchun, and the injuries from being ganged up on.
There was no time for treatment, and the constant fighting caused the wound to worsen.
It took them a full four hours to finally kill this top expert of the era.
"Hahahaha! Iron Courage Divine Marquis, you're finally dead. This humble one is truly the Number One Under Heaven!"
Cao Zhengchun was laughing wildly, but before he could enjoy the fruits of his victory, a cold voice came from afar.
"Everyone, listen to my command: Kill Cao Zhengchun!"
"What?"
Cao Zhengchun turned his head to look into the distance, where the Red Queen, disguised as the emperor, had an indifferent expression.
"What... did I do wrong...?"
Cao Zhengchun couldn't believe that the emperor wanted to kill him, given his utmost loyalty.
"You are holding back the Iron Courage Divine Marquis, but the Iron Courage Divine Marquis is also holding you back. If he dies, your life will be meaningless."
The Red Queen explained.
Reality is cruel; the very enemy he's always wanted to kill is also the reason he's still alive.
"This servant... understands..."
Cao Zhengchun was filled with sorrow. He did not resist, but let the guards' swords slash his body.
Although he was not dead, his heart was filled with utter despair.
Cao Zhengchun looked at the Red Queen and spoke each word carefully.
"This servant... never even considered rebelling..."
[Side Quest 2: Kill Cao Zhengchun! Completed! 6000 points awarded!]
"Oh, that's truly tragic!"
Xu Long stood up, his expression very complicated.
Despite all his faults, Cao Zhengchun would not rebel.
If it weren't for his own health condition, Xu Long wouldn't have wanted to kill Cao Zhengchun.
Unfortunately, there were still more than six months left before the mission ended, and Xu Long couldn't afford to leave any potential problems.
According to the original plan, he pretended to be injured, so that Iron Courage Divine Marquis would fight Cao Zhengchun.
After Cao Zhengchun died and the Iron Courage Divine Marquis was seriously injured, he stepped in to clean up the mess.
Unexpectedly, her older sister Xu Jiao was so capable, striking Cao Zhengchun with a sword while Iron Courage Divine Marquis was absorbing his Internal Force.
The original plan deviated from its intended course and developed in a better direction.
Xu Long didn't even need to intervene; Iron Courage Divine Marquis was worn down to death, and Cao Zhengchun gave up the struggle.
"My dear brother, no wonder you've earned four S-rank ratings in a row. You managed to outwit and kill those two old bastards who were full of schemes and tricks."
Xu Jiao came to Xu Long's Xu Long and gently stroked his wrinkled face, her eyes filled with amazement and tenderness.
"You must have suffered a lot in the past year or so!"
Xu Jiao pressed her face against Xu Long's chest. This younger brother, whom she had watched grow up since childhood, had become so unfamiliar.
"Either fight your way forward or die behind; there is no third option."
Xu Long smiled. With both Iron Courage Divine Marquis and Cao Zhengchun dead, he felt much more at ease.
And we even saved a whole Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, it was a steal!
Xu Long nearly wiped out the entire Fusang Country, and also killed many masters from the Central Plains.
His Internal Force has long surpassed C-rank, and might even reach B-rank.
The gains were enormous, but the costs were also considerable.
His blood vessels were depleted, his organs were decaying, and he looked like a decrepit old man.
If he were to engage in a fierce battle with the Iron Courage Divine Marquis, he would surely be on the verge of exhaustion, only able to cling to life by the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom.
"This time, we'll get at least 100,000 points, right?"
Xu Jiao had very mixed feelings. She had originally planned to take good care of her younger brother who was not related to her by blood, but in less than half a year, Xu Long had transformed from a delicate and cute little chick into a giant eagle that even she could not contend with.
I can't believe it!