Your Majesty, We’re Counting on You to Ruin the Country! 64

Chapter 64: Incident

When the army was still, and the sun had not yet fully risen, they awoke. Zhou Wuxin believed that the head of the dilong was at the top of the mountain, so everyone was now carrying light luggage and hurrying upwards.

“Crack.”

It was the sound of someone stepping on a branch.

Except for Qin Zhaohuang, everyone else stopped in their tracks in tacit understanding, on full alert.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Zhaohuang was startled and withdrew the foot he was about to take, looking at the others in confusion.

Wen Ning’an said, “Zhaohuang, come behind me.”

“I’ll go and take a look.” Zhou Wuxin drew his sword and walked quietly towards a patch of grass at the side.

Just as Zhou Wuxin was about to push aside a patch of grass that had been dyed red by autumn, he felt a cold wind coming from behind him.

“Senior, be careful!”

Zhou Wuxin’s reaction was also extremely fast. He turned around and, with a backhand, cut down a cold arrow with the speed of lightning.

This was just the prelude. Then, countless men in black, holding weapons, appeared from all around. They surrounded Wen Ning’an and his group from all directions and rushed at them like a swarm of bees.

Wen Ning’an, Feng Qi, and Li Huaisheng all had shadow guards with them, who now all appeared to block the fierce enemies for their masters. The imperial shadow guards’ sword techniques were sharp and grand, while the shadows of the Left Army and the Li family’s army had moves as unpredictable as ghosts. Coupled with the fact that Feng Qi and the others were all highly skilled in martial arts, although they were outnumbered by more than half, they were still able to cooperate flawlessly and be on equal footing with the enemy.

Wen Ning’an knew that his body was a little weak recently and that it was a little strenuous to fight against others, but he was more than capable of protecting people. So, he did not want to fight for long and pulled Qin Zhaohuang, trying to withdraw from the battle.

Seeing that the enemies were flooding in like a tide, Wen Ning’an took out a signal flare from his robes.

A blue firework, trailing a long tail, shot into the sky. This was a distress signal for the fifty-man team stationed at the bottom of the mountain. Ruanzhou was some distance from this mountain, so to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Wen Ning’an had dispatched thirty men from the army to follow them. Although they did not go up the mountain with them, they were stationed at the bottom as backup. After Feng Qi found out, he insisted on increasing it to fifty men, which now came in handy.

“…Ning’an!”

With Qin Zhaohuang’s cry of alarm, Wen Ning’an immediately reacted and swung his sword at the assassin who was about to ambush them from behind, cutting off one of his arms. Fresh blood gushed out, and Qin Zhaohuang felt the nauseating smell of rust at the tip of his nose.

Wen Ning’an glanced around, then pulled Qin Zhaohuang and was the first to head for the high hill.

“To the high ground!”

The assassins coming from above were unexpected and difficult to defend against. It was better to just go to their stronghold and wipe them all out.

The clang of swords clashing was incessant, and the scene before them was a blur of flying shadows and flashing blades. Qin Zhaohuang’s brow twitched. Looking down from the high hill, besides them, there was only a dense mass of shadow guards. He felt a sense of unease in his heart.

Why haven’t the reinforcements arrived yet?

“Click.”

The study was a little dim, but since the person using it was just playing chess and not reading or writing, it didn’t matter.

“Lord Li, I heard that you have dispatched all of this king’s shadow guards?” Feng Ji frowned, his arms crossed as he stood at the desk, questioning.

Li Yuxi replied in a voice as flat as stone, “Yes.”

“Did you ask for this king’s opinion?” Feng Ji stared at the man playing chess with himself, feeling as if he had been schemed against.

“No.” Li Yuxi put down the chess piece in his hand. “Your Highness, this subject is doing all this for your sake. Your Highness just needs to sit and wait. This subject will take care of everything for you.”

Feng Ji looked at Li Yuxi with a cold face, his hands slightly clenched into fists.

“Is Lord Li trying to make this king a figurehead?”

Li Yuxi, as if he had heard a joke, shook his head and smiled. “Your Highness, you are overthinking it. Do not let your imagination run wild, and do not do things that Your Highness should not do and demean your own status.”

Li Yuxi pointed to the chessboard in his hand and sighed. “Your Highness, look. The reason this general is safe and sound is because the chariots, cannons, and pawns beside it are risking their lives to defend it. Especially the advisors beside the general. When the enemy is at the gate, it is they who deal with them. It is not hard for Your Highness to imagine that if these small pieces were gone, how lonely and helpless this general would be. Wouldn’t he be just a piece of meat for the enemy to kill at will?”

Feng Ji’s chest heaved violently.

Li Yuxi, this old fox…!

Li Yuxi patted the back of Feng Ji’s hand, which was resting on the desk. “Your Highness, please be calm. This subject has dispatched the elites by your side for a great cause.”

Feng Ji gritted his teeth. “What… cause.”

Li Yuxi made a slitting motion at his own neck, a confident smile on his face. Feng Ji was very familiar with this smile. This was the triumphant smile of a fox showing its tail.

“Your Highness, after His Majesty’s death, the Li family, along with the ministers in the court, will support you to the throne.”

“Our good days are just around the corner.”

“Boom—”

Wen Ning’an felt the hill under his feet shake violently, and his eardrums were ringing from the shock. Then, he saw a wisp of green smoke slowly rising, and then the green smoke was replaced and covered by a thick fog. Li Huaisheng, who had not yet managed to climb the hill, barely managed to roll away and dodge the explosion.

Wen Ning’an was greatly alarmed. These assassins had actually brought gunpowder? Although the quantity was not large, the damage to their troops was still great.

Qin Zhaohuang asked doubtfully, “Why haven’t the reinforcements arrived yet? Could it be that they didn’t see the signal flare?”

“Impossible,” Wen Ning’an said. “Is a signal flare something that can’t be seen? They are soldiers. Besides, we have released three. Unless…”

Wen Ning’an stopped there, but Qin Zhaohuang also understood.

Then wouldn’t that mean…

“Ning’an!” Li Huaisheng looked up. “The reinforcements are late. I’ll go down myself to take a look!”

If all these reinforcements have been killed, someone must go and ask for help from the grand army stationed outside Ruanzhou City.

Wen Ning’an nodded and at the same time, called two imperial shadow guards to secretly follow, in case Li Huaisheng was really as Feng Qi had said. Then, not only would they not get reinforcements, but they would also attract more enemies.

At this moment, they had been mostly cleared out, and they didn’t have many shadow guards left.

Wen Ning’an bent down and prostrated himself, his ear to the ground.

The rumbling sound of vibrations came to his ear from time to time. He couldn’t help but frown. There are more assassins!

Feng Qi and Zhou Wuxin’s martial arts were higher than his, so they had naturally also noticed this. Thus, they did not linger in the fight, retreating when they could.

“Down the mountain!” Feng Qi leaped to Wen Ning’an’s side and fought side by side with him.

“Alright.”

Just as he was speaking, he heard the familiar “swoosh” sound. He suddenly looked up and saw a red signal flare streak across the sky.

Wen Ning’an frowned. “It’s from Brother Li.”

“Red?” Feng Qi also frowned.

Could it be that he’s telling them not to go down?

Li Huaisheng’s shadow guard returned, his tone urgent. “General! The rebel army is down below. General Li is surrounded!”

“Rebel army?”

The shadow guard said, “General Gao led a small army and killed all our men. General Li and the person who sent the message for help have also been intercepted by them!”

General Gao, Gao Lan…

Wen Ning’an’s vision went black. It was actually him?

That was a brother to whom he had entrusted his back for decades! And he looked honest and filial. How could it be?

Qin Zhaohuang said anxiously, “The message can’t get out, and we’re surrounded by enemies. What should we do now!”

Wen Ning’an suppressed the sorrow in his heart and rubbed his temples. “First, dispatch some shadow guards to support Brother Li and get him back safely.”

After the shadow guards left, Wen Ning’an thought for a moment and said, “If we can’t get out, we can just use a carrier pigeon to send a message to the distant army.” With that, he whistled to the sky.

A short while later, a pure white carrier pigeon flew over from not far away and landed on his shoulder. In the military camp, generals, to deal with emergencies, all had their own trained carrier pigeons. These pigeons would always follow their masters even if they were not on a mission.

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—”

Arrows flew past them. Wen Ning’an pulled Qin Zhaohuang to dodge, while Feng Qi swung his sword to cut down these cold arrows, his sword qi powerful, intercepting the rain of arrows in one fell swoop. If not for the two of them reacting extremely quickly, they would have already become hedgehogs.

“Find a place to hide first!”

The remaining assassins were still relentless, and they didn’t have many men left. If not for the high martial arts of the few of them, they would have been injured long ago by these endless assassins.

The few of them headed deep into the forest, with Zhou Wuxin covering their rear, and the assassins were still in hot pursuit.

After pushing aside a curtain of leaves and branches, what appeared before them was a cliff.

“Jueyan Cliff…” Zhou Wuxin’s eyes were dark and unreadable.

“What’s wrong?”

Zhou Wuxin sighed. “The place where Murong Ya was executed back then.”

It was also here that, to prevent Murong Ya’s body from being desecrated by the people of the martial world, he had thrown it off the cliff. Jueyan Cliff’s terrain was treacherous, and the bottom of the cliff was bottomless… or rather, there was no bottom. It was a place where people couldn’t go, only ghosts could reach.

“The assassins have caught up!”

Qin Zhaohuang was exclaiming when he saw… by the cliff, a neat line of the You King’s army. Although it was not a complete army, there were at least two hundred men.

The majestic rows of the You King’s army wore hard armor and held spears and shields, vowing to take the lives of Wen Ning’an and the others.

Wen Ning’an sighed. “No matter how fast the carrier pigeon is, it can’t be faster than these people… Zhaohuang, I’m really sorry.”

Qin Zhaohuang said in surprise, “What are you talking about! What’s there to be sorry for! I’ve already done a divination. You will live a long life, surrounded by auspicious clouds. It’s impossible for you to fall into the hands of these petty people.”

“Kill—”

The army charged at them. Zhou Wuxin drew his sword, his presence like a rainbow as he looked at them, showing no fear.

He would definitely protect these young ones.

“Zhaohuang.” Unexpectedly, Feng Qi pulled him to his side and whispered in his ear, “Don’t let Yixin do anything foolish.”

“Your… ah!” Qin Zhaohuang’s eyes widened, his heart going cold. Before he could react, he was suddenly pushed by Feng Qi into Wen Ning’an’s arms.

Feng Qi had used all his strength in this push. The thick inner energy sent the two of them, who were unprepared, flying back, drawing an arc in the air and putting a great distance between them and him.

When Wen Ning’an came back to his senses, he saw the distant Feng Qi, his eyes bloodshot, the whites of his eyes like blood, his pupils even deeper and darker. A dark red light surrounded his body, and the overwhelming inner energy made even the enemies around him feel oppressed.

His presence was overwhelming, like an Asura from hell.

“Your Majesty…!” Zhou Wuxin didn’t know whether to stop him or not. Feng Qi was clearly deliberately letting himself lose control, releasing all his inner energy. It must be to defend against the enemy?

“Ahhhhhh—”

Feng Qi was like a beast released from its cage, recklessly unleashing all his power.

He swung his sword, and the heavens and earth shook.

As Feng Qi fiercely plunged his sword into the ground, the ground began to crack from around the sword. Small cracks connected to form large gashes, and a dull “rumbling” sound came from their ears. Wen Ning’an was startled. He pushed away Qin Zhaohuang, who was on top of him, and struggled to his feet, wanting to get close to Feng Qi, but he saw the ground in front of him crack open. The crack spread rapidly, slipping past the ground not far from his feet. The earth was quaking. Wen Ning’an couldn’t help but fall, unable to go any further.

The ground had split.

Wen Ning’an looked up and saw Feng Qi and those large armies standing on the piece of land that had split from the cliff, falling down together… Cries of alarm and screams sounded, but were gradually covered by the thick fog. Feng Qi’s figure also grew smaller as he fell, and finally disappeared completely.

“Huaitian—”

The last thing he saw was Feng Qi, who had not yet recovered from the evil technique, turning back to smile at him with a wild expression.