#353 - Precarious
Before the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, rebel formations advanced in an orderly fashion, shields raised.
“Loose the arrows!”
On the city walls, Commander Yu directed the defending troops, unleashing a volley of ten thousand arrows.
The dense arrows, emitting sharp whistling sounds, rained down like a torrential downpour, tracing long parabolic arcs from the sky, covering all the attacking rebel formations.
Instantly, a cacophony of metallic clashes echoed through the night sky.
The majority of the arrows were blocked by the rebels' shields, with only a small fraction penetrating the gaps between the shields, successfully piercing the rebels' bodies.
The formations momentarily paused, but quickly resumed their advance.
A single volley resulted in only a few hundred rebel casualties.
Among them, only a little over a hundred died.
Each rebel possessed cultivation at the Acquired Realm, making it difficult to incapacitate them unless a vital spot was struck.
These were all elites selected from the army by the Four Great Clans and Four Great Families.
While their individual combat capabilities were far from comparable to the Xuanjia Army, each possessed Late-Stage Acquired Realm cultivation, making their vitality far superior to ordinary people.
“Ready, draw your bows!” Commander Yu raised his hand high, and when the archers had nocked their arrows, he commanded: “Loose!”
A skyful of arrows howled, a dark mass that swooped down upon the attacking rebels.
Wave after wave of arrow rain significantly hindered the rebels' advance.
“Daring to resist with merely ten thousand troops!”
Murong Bo sneered repeatedly, gesturing to the officer beside him.
The officer immediately spurred his horse to the prepared siege crossbows, raised the command flag in his hand, and pointed it towards the Imperial Palace: “Fire!”
One after another, five-meter-long, arm-thick steel crossbow bolts, emitting sharp whistling sounds accompanied by sonic booms, shot towards the Imperial Palace walls and gates with terrifying penetrating power.
Bang!
The entire city wall trembled slightly, and stone fragments flew.
The massive crossbow bolts pierced through the sturdy city wall, embedding themselves two to three meters deep.
The ends of these bolts were connected to specially made ropes, forming rope bridges between the city wall and the rebel siege crossbows.
One rebel after another, shield in left hand and spear in right, leaped into the air, stepping on the ropes towards the city wall.
The Imperial Palace gates, made of solid, heavy metal, were riddled with deep arrow holes.
The terrifying impact of the siege crossbows caused the areas where the gates connected to the city walls to loosen.
“Commander, things are bad! The rebels' siege crossbows are too powerful, the city gates are starting to come loose! If we take a dozen more volleys, the gates will surely collapse!”
Several lieutenants hurriedly reported the situation.
“Immediately gather all officers, except for the centurions, and have the rest go to the city gates under my command! Use your true energy to reinforce the city walls, and do your best to deflect the impact of the siege crossbows on the gates!”
“Commander, but what about here…?”
“I, this commander, and the centurions are enough here! Go quickly! If the city gates fall, I will hold you accountable!”
“Yes! Your subordinate obeys!”
Several lieutenants hurried away.
…
At the same time.
Ji Beilan, on his way to the Imperial Guard camp, was intercepted halfway.
This was already the third route he had attempted.
Without exception, the necessary points of each route were filled with rebels, each location having several thousand soldiers, as well as a Starsea Realm early-stage general and several Stellar River Realm late-stage lieutenants.
“Eighth Prince, it's so late, where are you going?”
The military general leading the troops rode forward, his battle spear pointing diagonally at the ground, the tip gleaming with cold light in the darkness.
“Get out of the way!”
Ji Beilan's eyes were cold, and he drew his battle sword with a clang.
“Get out of the way?” The general's lips curled slightly upward, and he laughed contemptuously, saying: “Could it be that you still think you are the Eighth Prince you once were? Tsk tsk, how noble is the identity of a prince. It's just a pity, in my eyes, you are nothing!”
“Hmm, I really want to try to see what it feels like to personally kill a member of the royal family.”
Several lieutenants said with loud laughter.
“You bastards!”
Ji Beilan trembled with anger.
“Alright, stop acting like a prince here and issuing orders to us. You are not worthy!” The general said with a sneer: “You were just born well, born to be a prince, relying on your father's imperial power and your imperial sister's prestige, otherwise what are you? Just a snot-nosed brat, hahaha!”
“I say, Eighth Prince, quickly scurry back to your Imperial Palace and wait obediently for death with your father, maybe you can see this world a few more times. If you don't listen, the battle spears in our hands and the spears of these soldiers have no eyes.”
Several lieutenants laughed loudly, as if they were scolding and threatening a child.
“Do you think you can stop this prince?”
The true energy within Ji Beilan's body suddenly erupted, and he charged forward with his sword, the violent true energy stirring up waves of air.
“Form the formation!”
The general shouted, and he himself, wielding his spear, met the attack with several lieutenants.
Instantly, a fierce battle erupted.
…
Zongwang Mountain at night had lost its usual tranquility.
Thousands of artisans were building day and night without stopping.
The Zongwang Mountain of today was no longer the desolate place it once was, with halls and pavilions connected in one piece.
The peak Sect Kings guarding Zongwang Mountain had not rested and were gathered together, drinking and chatting.
The arrival of the Medicine King Sect's Hall Master in a hurry surprised them slightly.
“Su Jin, what happened?”
Everyone looked at him, wondering if something had happened since he had come here so late at night?
“Everyone, has Young Master Jun retired for the night?”
He scanned his surroundings, not seeing Jun Wuxie's figure, and couldn't help but ask anxiously.
“You're looking for Little Brother Wuxie?” The others were stunned, saying: “We thought you were looking for Old Brother Su Ji. If you are looking for Little Brother Wuxie, then it's not convenient. I'm afraid you'll have to wait. He entered the Spirit Void Realm some time ago and has not come out yet.”
“This…”
Su Jin suddenly froze.
An idea couldn't help but emerge in his mind.
Since Jun Wuxie was in the Spirit Void Realm and it was unknown when he would come out, should he really tell him about the crisis facing the Great Zhou Imperial Palace?
Now, it could basically be confirmed that someone must be planning this event from behind the scenes, otherwise, based solely on the Four Great Clans and others, giving them ten times the courage would not be enough for them to dare to attack the Imperial Palace.
Not to mention anything else, there were 750,000 Imperial Guards stationed in the capital.
But these 750,000 Imperial Guards had not made a single move.
This further proved that a force that the Great Zhou Imperial Family could not contend with was involved.
Although he did not want to see the Great Zhou Imperial Family perish like this, he even more did not want Jun Wuxie to step into a trap set by others because of this matter.
Jun Wuxie's safety was far more important to him than the Great Zhou Imperial Family.
That was someone who could help their Sect King Academy in the future.
However, if this matter was concealed and Jun Wuxie found out about it later, would he alienate the Medicine King Sect because of his actions?
“Su Jin, what is the purpose of your coming to Zongwang Mountain so late?”
Just as he was struggling and hesitating in his heart, Su Ji pushed open the door and walked out.
“Elder!”
The moment Su Jin saw Su Ji, his tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxed.
With the Hall's Elder in charge, how to handle this matter should be decided by the Protector Elder.
