In the distance, someone held a telescope high, watching the three battle zones.

Another said: “The Crown Princess has left her original formation.”

Someone said: “Her gifted abilities are truly formidable.”

One person said: “Still couldn’t fool her. With just one glance, how did she see through the fake king?”

Silence followed for a long while before someone said: “What good is finding the right one? Finding the right one only means walking into a death trap.”

The person holding the telescope laughed: “Yes, over ten thousand cavalry, already prepared. How could one person break through formations? Even if the Three Maniacs and Five Emperors came personally, they might not succeed. Moreover…”

One person said: “Moreover, there are so many backup plans waiting for her and Da Qian!”

Another said: “Father King, though victory is assured today, your son believes letting Murong Yi assassinate the Crown Princess could have variables. What if these two collude against Father King?”

After a moment of silence behind: “Then what do you think should be done?”

That person said ruthlessly: “Cut grass and eliminate roots! Xiao Shiba is ambitious and disrespects his elder brothers and royal father. Not killing him isn’t enough to appease public anger, not killing him isn’t enough to comfort the spirits of the brothers in heaven. If Father King cannot bear it, your son can do it for you…”

“Cut grass and eliminate roots?” The person behind laughed playfully. “Hmm? What roots?”

The speaker was choked into silence.

“Originally of the same root, why the urgent mutual destruction?” The person behind said coldly. “Though Eighteen lacks respect for ruler and father, you also lack brotherhood and kindness.”

“…Father King, forgive me!”

In deathly silence, after a long while, someone said faintly: “Bringing you to observe today’s battle isn’t for you to meddle and eliminate dissidents. I only want to tell you that having ambition is fine, but the bottom line must be loyalty to Liaodong. Once disloyal, the consequences are self-evident. Second Brother is so, you are so, and Murong Yi is also so.”

…

High above, cold wind whistled.

Figures flashed continuously in the air.

Tie Ci left her previous formation alone.

Just when she and Dan Shuang both dove beneath their horses’ bellies.

At the moment of charge, she had looked carefully—the person under the central army banner might not be Prince Da’an.

That person was indeed commanding the battle throughout and had the highest level of protection, but the reason she charged at the front, flipping onto her horse’s head several times, was to see the opponent clearly earlier.

She focused on the opponent’s shoulder. She remembered reading Prince Da’an of Liaodong’s biography, which said he was once pierced through the shoulder bone by a stray arrow in battle, with a wound large as a child’s fist that took a year to heal.

Such an injury would definitely leave scars on the bone.

However, the person under the banner had completely undamaged shoulder bones.

When she flipped down from her horse’s head for the last time, she decisively disappeared.

She left the assassination to Dan Shuang.

Dan Shuang wore the treasure armor—when Qi Yuansi hurried back to return it, she had a sudden inspiration and forced Dan Shuang to put it on.

Anyone who could command under the central army banner, even if not Prince Da’an, was a Liaodong general. Killing a general was also good.

This was her own decision, made without consulting anyone, so Blood Cavalry also remained there to completely deal with that main camp infantry.

Her rescue of her beloved could not be cushioned with ordinary soldiers’ lives.

She believed in herself.

The moment she left, Qi Yuansi, who had been following her charge, noticed something. Looking up, he saw the golden-armored woman on the white horse ahead had indeed disappeared.

Looking around, seeing no trace, he sighed slightly in his heart.

Just like this—impossible to pursue, leaving one powerless.

An enemy blade slashed toward him. He dodged, drew his blade, the blade light swirling into a white vortex that ground out a bloody head from the whirlpool.

Someone beside him shouted in joy. He sheathed and drew his blade again, smiling slightly as he remembered Rong Pu’s words back at Fushan.

Yes, not being able to catch up to her didn’t matter. Staying in place, blooming with his own light—she would surely see it, wouldn’t she?

…

Figures flickered seemingly present and absent in the air—that was Tie Ci.

Her chest suddenly tightened, her vision blurred slightly, and she appeared at the very rear of that Liaodong cavalry unit.

So the guards and Blood Cavalry who had followed her charge were now separated from her by an entire army. She had to rely completely on herself to fight through.

She sighed slightly in her heart, not surprised.

Long-distance rushing, repeatedly using teleportation, plus using lightning abilities—the consumption was too great, and problems finally arose.

The position of those two large carts was at the front of the formation. She had appeared at the rear of the formation. With the formation turning to surround her, fighting all the way through would be quite difficult.

She used herself as bait to lure Prince Da’an forward, then used deep iron weapons to entice him to appear. Yong Ping army’s use of deep iron weapons proved Zhao San’s words—capturing this Yong Ping army and capturing her would get the weapons.

As long as Prince Da’an listened to Zhao San’s words, even with only thirty percent belief, he should bring Feiyu and definitely carry him personally.

Finding Prince Da’an meant finding Feiyu.

Killing Prince Da’an would save Feiyu.

At this moment, someone turned around, discovered an extra person behind, and cried out loudly.

The well-trained Liaodong army immediately had the front ranks become rear ranks, while archers split left and right to surround Tie Ci.

But before the encirclement formed, the person surrounded in the middle had already disappeared.

The next moment, Tie Ci appeared in the crowd with fast-moving cavalry on both sides.

A cavalryman was charging toward his target when he suddenly felt something wrong. Turning his head, he saw golden armor beside him. Instinctively raising his spear to stab, the cavalryman on Tie Ci’s other side also noticed and thrust his spear like lightning.

Tie Ci reached out, grabbing both spears with left and right hands. With an aerial flip, she caused both mounted cavalrymen to flip as well. Swinging both arms, she simultaneously hurled both cavalrymen out, scraping past the spear points of cavalrymen ahead. Iron armor and spear points created a trail of sparks from metal friction, toppling a continuous line of men.

Tie Ci mounted a horse, one hand still controlling another horse. Nearby cavalrymen charged over and were again disarmed by Tie Ci. With a backhand spring, she knocked the cavalryman off his horse, and the reins of another horse also came into her hands.

She transferred all reins to her right hand, taking a coil of rope from her back with her left hand, shaking it open with a whoosh.

Rope shadows created vortex-like light patterns in the air. Under the vortex, riders closed their eyes and lowered heads. Unexpectedly, their arms tightened—the outermost two riders’ spear points were already entangled by rope circles. The riders hurriedly tried to retrieve them, but Tie Ci yanked with one arm. The riders felt tremendous force surge forth, watching helplessly as spear points slipped from their hands. The rope writhed like a serpent, whistling in a circle, retracting, and a bundle of spears flew skyward. Tie Ci’s arm shook, and those spears rained down like human-thrown projectiles toward the circle of riders behind, actually creating howling wind sounds.

The cavalrymen watched with pounding hearts. Never had they imagined someone could be so divinely brave. Even as enemies, they couldn’t help cheering while raising spears to deflect and spurring horses backward.

The riders inside the circle whose spears were swept away weren’t so lucky. The rope circle descended like a giant serpent, snapping hard against many horses’ rumps. Those horses jumped in startled pain, countless people fell from horses. Tie Ci’s long rope wound around the outermost warhorse’s head, the rope stretched taut, pressing down on an entire row of horses.

With one rope, she controlled about seven or eight horses in a row, herself mixed among them, all galloping together.

An entire row of horses forcibly created the momentum of thousands, rolling toward the rear.

No one could contend with seven or eight charging horses. Cavalrymen could only part like flowing water left and right. Tie Ci and that row of horses were like a huge broad axe, pushing forward with magnificent momentum. Wherever they passed, horses fled and formations scattered.

She alone created the momentum of a cavalry squadron.

Over at the ice waterfall, the battling forces, elevated by terrain, vaguely saw this side’s battle. Da Qian soldiers erupted in tremendous cheers while Liaodong soldiers looked at each other in dismay.

At this time, from behind the high and low earthen slopes on the ground emerged countless soldiers in camouflage matching the terrain colors—Da Qian soldiers who had used this terrain to hide here early, wearing specially made shoes to cross slopes and streams, beginning to outflank the Liaodong soldiers above the waterfall.

Barring the unexpected, the Liaodong soldiers’ ambush at the waterfall would fail.

But Tie Ci’s side wasn’t as easy as imagined.

Using this unheard-of method, she seized the initiative and charged several li into the cavalry formation. But on flat terrain, cavalry had geographical advantage. Cavalrymen who were scattered, as long as not severely wounded, could flow to the rear and regroup.

Cavalrymen continuously charged over. Unable to approach Tie Ci, they killed horses. The seven or eight horses Tie Ci drove continuously fell. Finally, when Tie Ci was about a hundred zhang from those two carts, except for the horse beneath her, all horses were dead.

Ahead, a cavalry unit turned to form ranks, spears angled forward.

Behind, arrow rain like a waterfall.

Tie Ci dared not teleport easily again. She hadn’t yet seen Feiyu and didn’t know how much more expenditure would be needed. She couldn’t afford problems from overusing true force now.

As arrow rain struck, she dismounted, pressed against the horse’s belly, and whooshed into the opposing cavalry formation.

But the cavalry formation already had methods to deal with her. The front cavalrymen dismounted, contracting together to form human walls, giving her no opportunity to seize horses or control people.

Human walls packed densely, cavalrymen behind the walls brought down a snow-rain of spears from the air.

The only plan now seemed to be forcing through.

But fighting through so many people one by one, even Da Luo Golden Immortals would be exhausted before reaching those carts.

Revolving warfare by massed armies had always been the killer of experts.

…

In mid-air, Dan Shuang suddenly saw who was grabbed and held in front of the general.

She instinctively reached out, as if trying to recall that lightning-shot arrow.

But arrows released were hard to recall. She could only watch helplessly as that deep iron arrow capable of cutting gold and stone, carrying killing intent and icy wind, continuously shearing the tops of people’s hair wherever it passed, raising small clouds of black mist, reaching Mu Si in the blink of an eye.

“No!” Dan Shuang’s cry was heart-rending.

But Mu Si’s head at this moment suddenly crashed backward, hitting the old man’s hand gripping him.

The old man cried out in pain, blood appearing on his hand, his grip loosening.

Mu Si fell.

The next instant, the deep iron arrow grazed his scalp and struck the iron armor on the old man’s chest.

Iron armor was like paper before deep iron. The heart guard instantly shattered, a section of dark arrow head silently pierced through the old man’s spine, blood and flesh attached.

With remaining force, it knocked the old man bodily from his horse.

Mu Si, somehow having freed his bound hands, sat sideways on the horse and spurred toward Dan Shuang’s direction.

His hair was stained with blood, a point of blue-green light faintly glowing.

That was a hair crown made of deep iron, but with a sharp protrusion. Normally the protrusion faced inward toward his hair knot, but when needed, turned outward to become a weapon capable of injuring people.

It could injure but not kill. To avoid drawing attention, the protrusion was very small, creating wounds insufficient depth, making fatal injuries difficult.

This was something Murong Yi had forcibly given him back at Fushan.

When Murong Yi made this hair crown and gave it to him, he had said this couldn’t serve as a weapon, only as an unexpected attack object to buy time at some critical moment.

He didn’t know what his master was thinking then, whether he foresaw later changes and left him this final lifeline.

After being captured, all weapons were taken from him, leaving only this final inconspicuous hair crown that looked like just an iron ring, attracting no attention.

He had many opportunities to use it but ultimately didn’t.

He endured until today.

Finally waiting for the best opportunity.

Ahead, Dan Shuang’s tears instantly flowed.

She spurred her horse, her form like an arrow, leading the fire-like Blood Cavalry, charging toward the opposing formation, toward Mu Si’s direction.

“Kill!”

…

Liaodong cavalry layered before her eyes like an instantly built high wall.

Tie Ci suddenly drew her hand across her body.

A point of bright light at her fingertip.

She wore golden iron armor, thin armor plates all made of refined iron. With this stroke, fine electric light meandered down along the armor plates. Wherever it passed, the golden armor generated even more brilliant light.

At this moment, shrouded in subtle electric light, she seemed almost not of this world.

The Liaodong soldiers, having seen little, stared dumbfounded.

Taking advantage of this shock, Tie Ci crashed into the crowd with no technical content.

Truly crashed—head down, bang! The golden armor had already contacted the frontmost soldier.

That soldier cried out loudly, looking down to see the fine white lightning had reached his body, his iron armor crackling as his whole body went numb.

Cavalrymen also wore half-body iron armor. Metal conducting electricity, in a blink he also became electrified.

And to block Tie Ci, cavalrymen pressed extremely tightly together. Once he was electrified, those beside him immediately became electrified too.

In a blink, a whole area fell before Tie Ci.

She glowed with golden light, wherever she passed, electric light flashed and writhed like serpents, people crying out and falling.

In the end, no one dared approach within a chi of her.

In a flash, Tie Ci advanced ten zhang, like a sharp knife splitting the dense human wall.

Viewed from above, the golden figure was like a chainsaw—zzt! Electric light scattered, crowds bloomed like flowers and fell.

The spear-throwing cavalrymen behind opened their mouths wide, everyone as if in a dream.

Tie Ci had already reached the front, electric light on her body gradually dissipating.

She glanced at those two carts—roughly fifty zhang remained.

She leaped onto the frontmost rider’s horse head, kicking to break his spear and hand.

The rider fell down. Tie Ci landed on the horse back, facing the vast army.

She spread both arms, shaking them once. Her bracers fell away, revealing sword shapes.

She wielded dual swords, walking on horseback, jumping from one horse’s head to another horse’s head. From her elevated position, she fought with grand sweeping moves. The golden dual swords danced into flowing heavenly rivers. Wherever they passed, spears and halberds all broke, countless cavalrymen’s tiger’s mouths split as they tumbled from horses.

Pure martial force without flourish was even more terrifying.

Excessive impacts wore down the dual swords. Tie Ci backhandedly sheathed them at her elbows—again becoming solid bracers.

She reached behind her shoulder, this time magically drawing out a long whip. Armor scales covered the long whip. With a shake in the wind, it straightened, one lash sweeping away a whole area.

The whip’s sound was crisp and sharp. Three lashes cleared the area in front.

She charged forward several more zhang.

Crowds surged over again. When inconvenient to use the whip, she backhanded a swing, the whip winding diagonally from behind her shoulder to her waist, again becoming one with the golden armor.

Over ten spear points stabbed toward her. She ducked, and with two clicks, broke off armor guards from both sides of her legs. Falling into her hands, they were actually two steel shovels.

She could even use steel shovels—pointing, prying, flicking, slapping, shoveling… The steel shovels broke countless fine horses’ legs and also shoveled off countless riders’ heads. Blood continuously splashed forward along that golden line, falling to the ground to be trampled into soft mud by countless chaotic boots and hooves. That patch of earth became pale pink, blooming rubus flowers all along the way.

She advanced all the way forward.

One suit of golden armor transformed into countless weapons.

No one could stop her progress.

In the intervals of fierce battle, she looked over spear forests and blade rains, her gaze piercing through the cold iron-black net, seeking the large carts ahead.

Wanting to see the person in the carts.

Intuition told her he was there, he must be there.

However, having killed until now with such commotion, those carts ahead still showed no reaction.

Unease flashed through her heart.

…

Outside, fierce battle continued without rest. Inside the large cart, it was quiet.

Rich Temple Tribute incense burned, this fragrance famous for its intensity and ability to mask all other scents.

Also famous for making people hot-blooded and irritable after prolonged exposure.

The person sitting in the cart had both eyes blindfolded and ears plugged.

On his left and right sat two people, each holding swords pressed to his neck.

One of them also tightly gripped a protrusion on the cart wall with his other hand.

The other person had a jade bottle beside him.

One person was writing character by character in the middle person’s hand.

He wrote: “Da Qian’s Crown Princess is leading troops in battle with our army. You’re sitting in the Great King’s cart. The Crown Princess is leading people charging over.”

“We’ll let her through. Next depends on you.”

“Weapons will be given to you at the last moment when she approaches. The antidote will also be given then—it only works for a quarter hour. The Great King said, kill the Crown Princess and naturally the final antidote will be given to you. Don’t make any unusual moves, don’t leave the cart, or you’ll die first.”

In the dimly lit large cart, only a crack by the window let through thin rays of light, reflecting on the dark red flying bird hairpin of the person in the cart.

…

Ten zhang remained.

The army suddenly parted as someone shouted loudly: “Useless! All move aside!” Charging forward with billowing dust.

This was a general—bald, huge in stature, both arms as thick as Tie Ci’s calves. Not holding reins, relying only on legs to grip his horse as he charged wildly, wielding dual hammers. Obviously an external martial arts expert who had reached the pinnacle.

As he advanced, crowds flowed aside like water. Tie Ci heard someone say: “General Tantai has come, good, good!”

Tie Ci remembered that under Prince Da’an’s command was a fierce general named Tantai Yong, currently leading three thousand troops in Ruzhou.

Tantai Yong stopped at half a zhang distance, staring suspiciously at Tie Ci, seeming to somewhat disbelieve she could fight her way to his presence.

Weighing the golden hammers in his hands, he said: “Either scram or die.”

Tie Ci smiled, reaching behind her waist with a snap.

This time her hands held a pair of golden axes.

Looking closely, the axes even had armor plate patterns, while her back armor was missing two waist-supporting plates.

She said: “Either die or die quickly.”

Before the words finished, Tantai Yong had already leaped up, golden hammers smashing down. The riders around him suddenly closed their eyes, hair flying upward.

Yet a golden slender figure leaped up even faster, also raising dual axes high, pressing down fiercely—exactly the same posture, a hard-against-hard move.

Everyone looked up, holding their breath.

A thunderous clang.

The sound was like countless people simultaneously striking huge gongs and drums, creating a metal tremor that made ears numb.

People on all sides momentarily lost hearing.

Some horses startled and jumped.

Distant battling armies couldn’t help but look back.

Overhead, brilliant sunlight. People squinted, unable to see clearly who had the advantage. Only vaguely seeing one person higher, one person lower.

The lower one was naturally being pressed down.

From height, build, gender, and strength, undoubtedly the one being pressed down should be Da Qian’s Crown Princess.

Moreover, the Crown Princess had already been fighting through formations for so long.

Liaodong soldiers felt admiration rise in their hearts.

Everyone had psychology of admiring strength, regardless of position.

General Tantai was one of Liaodong’s few fierce generals, born with divine strength, unmatched in power.

This Crown Princess of Da Qian could maintain momentum and clash with him directly—her courage was commendable. Not falling with one strike showed even better ability.

As for falling to a disadvantage, that was normal. How many ordinary generals weren’t one-strike opponents for General Tantai?

Another thunderous clang.

The strained sound of metal weapons barely resisting each other made teeth ache.

Vaguely, one of the figures was even lower.

“Clang clang clang clang clang.”

Giant sounds continued without pause. From mid-air to ground, the sounds grew closer. The entire plain seemed to echo with this rumbling sound. It was truly hard to imagine two people fighting could make such loud noise so densely.

Where did these two get such strength?

Everyone’s faces paled.

Soldiers with weaker constitutions already clutched their chests feeling their hearts about to shatter.

Everyone watched helplessly as one figure was forcibly hammered from mid-air to the ground, yet that thunder-like sound still hadn’t stopped, actually still hammering the person into the ground stroke by stroke.

Were they going to smash the person into a pit?

Treating a woman this way was too excessive.

Even Liaodong soldiers felt somewhat dissatisfied.

Finally the giant sounds stopped, the ground raising large amounts of dust from the battle.

Liaodong soldiers’ ears still buzzed, dizzy for a long time before gathering around.

Dust gradually cleared.

Someone walked out from the dust.

Ten thousand gazes converged.

Tall, slender, straight-backed, brilliant golden armor in glorious light.

Liaodong soldiers: “…”

Are my eyes seriously ill?

Yet at this moment, someone had already seen a pit in the ground with Tantai Yong planted inside. His iron hammers were flattened, seven orifices bleeding, his face frozen in shock even in death.

In this pure strength competition, Tantai Yong had actually lost.

He had been hammered into the ground alive by Da Qian’s Crown Princess, using his own specialty of martial force, axe stroke by axe stroke!

Liaodong soldiers instantly felt their legs weaken.

Everything before their eyes too greatly impacted their understanding, so much that people instantly lost courage to resist.

When Tie Ci walked forward again, crowds instinctively parted. The final ten zhang passed in a blink.

Two large carts finally appeared before her eyes like reefs after the human sea’s tide receded.

Two large carts, connected front and rear by iron pipes, identical in appearance—simple and solid style, the type that could transport goods or carry people.

But Tie Ci knew one must be a trap.

Originally she guessed one cart held Prince Da’an, one held Feiyu. But the complete lack of resistance in the final ten zhang made her suddenly realize Prince Da’an definitely wasn’t in either cart.

Would Prince Da’an leave Feiyu alone for her? Also seemed unlikely.

A shadow passed through her heart.

In this situation, most likely what awaited her after fighting desperately to reach here were traps and assassins.

And now she had no time to distinguish—the army behind had only been stunned for a moment before surging like tide again.

Ordinary people would despair at this moment.

Fortunately, she had clairvoyance.

Focusing her gaze, she saw the rear cart was filled with block-like objects, outlines resembling stones, with no people.

She leaped up, stepping over the rear cart’s roof, directly attacking the front cart.

From the front cart suddenly rolled out two people, quite embarrassedly tumbling down and quickly fleeing.

Tie Ci’s heart leaped with joy.

Could it be Feiyu sensed her arrival and suddenly acted to coordinate with her?

…

Inside the large cart, when Tie Ci charged through the final ten zhang.

Inside the cart, one person quickly fed Murong Yi medicine while another thrust a deep iron dagger into his hand, but didn’t remove his ear plugs.

One quickly wrote a small note and unfolded it: “Our formation has withdrawn. The Crown Princess is eager for achievements and indeed charged over alone as expected.”

Another wrote: “Overly ambitious yet rash and impulsive—rumors are indeed true.”

Murong Yi glanced at it, sneered, and removed his ear plugs, saying: “Can’t we speak properly?”

However, he found his head slightly dizzy, voice hoarse, ears still as if underwater—dull and unclear. His tongue was bitter, and he couldn’t smell anything. His expression changed slightly.

Those two smiled, producing another note reading: “Effects of the drug—you’ll recover in half a quarter hour. Your martial power will recover first, then your five senses.”

The ground shook. Those two changed color and immediately rolled out.

The next instant, Murong Yi saw a lightning-like shadow sweep past the cart curtain, brilliant as gold, the curtain startled by wind, revealing a corner of bright light.

He said: “Who!”

But his voice came out hoarse, inaudible even to himself.

Tie Ci had now reached the cart front.

The cart curtain was half-raised by wind.

Murong Yi saw that brilliant royal golden armor.

Saw that person stride around the cart body.

Saw someone lunging, that person sidestepping, avoiding the spear behind, backhanding dual axes to split the attacking spear.

No teleportation.

No protective treasure armor.

Weapons he’d never seen.

His eyes turned cold.

Tie Ci severed the rear attacker’s spear, lunging to the cart front.

The outline of the person in the cart gradually became clear before her eyes.

Even sitting, one could see he was tall with long legs, bones not particularly robust but visibly male bones.

Shoulder bones bore injuries—

Tie Ci’s eyes also turned cold.

She said: “Rong Wei!”

No answer.

Tie Ci’s heart sank.

Prince Da’an!

If so, then kill the king!

Arm shaking, wrist blade sliding out—

Inside the cart, Murong Yi stared at the cart front, beneath the half-lowered curtain, those golden boots and golden armor blazingly ostentatious.

Not her style.

Slanted sunlight shot over, vaguely flashing bright light.

That was blade light!

Cold light flashed in his eyes.

Tie Ci held a blade in one hand, lifting the curtain with the other. The cart interior was dark. A gust of wind came, and in the darkness, a pair of red lips crashed into her sight.

Also crashing into Tie Ci’s heart.

She froze, wild joy surging up.

But at this moment.

“Hiss!” A sound rang out. The deep iron long dagger like a venomous snake, from an extremely cunning angle suddenly thrust its fangs, piercing through tiny gaps in the golden armor, silently shooting into her chest.

Blood sprayed. In the bright red, Tie Ci only saw five-clawed golden dragon royal robes and a jade belt inlaid with seven-colored pearls symbolizing princely status.

She had no time to think. The short sword in her other hand flashed white light, also fiercely stabbing into the opponent’s ribs.

Their mutually spraying blood crossed, obscuring vision.

At this moment, fireworks exploded behind them, seven colors brilliantly shooting skyward.

Countless people cheered behind.

“Congratulations to the Eighteenth Prince for slaying Da Qian’s Crown Princess in battle!”

“Congratulations to the Eighteenth Prince for slaying Da Qian’s Crown Princess in battle!”