Jun Beiyue was the first to react, sweeping Ziqing up and vaulting onto his horse. But to everyone’s shock, the archers who should have been standing guard were nowhere to be seen—instead, several sharp arrows came flying straight at Emperor Tianhui!
The arrows rained down toward him, and Emperor Tianhui was so frightened his legs went weak—he couldn’t even manage to run.
Fortunately his personal guards rushed in to shield him, saving his life just in time!
Amid the rain of arrows and the ceaseless howling of wolves, black-clad assassins came bursting out one after another. In an instant the whole crowd was thrown into panicked flight, chaos erupting everywhere—the guards present were nowhere near enough to hold them back, and in a matter of moments the dead and wounded already lay scattered.
“Someone, protect the Emperor, protect the Emperor!”
Emperor Tianhui’s face had gone deathly pale, shouting in terror—even surrounded now by dozens of guards, he still couldn’t feel at ease.
Jun Beichen swept down with his sword drawn, landing beside him, twisting his body at once to block an arrow meant for the Emperor. Yet Emperor Tianhui paid him no mind at all, crying out in fear, “Beiyue! Protect me!”
Jun Beichen’s eyes went cold at once. He shot a glance toward Chu Tiange, who was putting on quite a show of fighting off attackers, and instantly every assassin turned and converged entirely on Jun Beiyue and his wife!
Jun Beiyue held Ziqing tight with one arm while wielding his sword with the other, striking down arrow after arrow with a series of ringing clangs—even though he stood some distance from Emperor Tianhui, he still managed to deflect a good number of hidden shots meant for him.
But Emperor Tianhui had no idea of any of this, crying out over and over in panic, “Beiyue, protect me! I command you to protect me!”
Wolves, a rain of arrows, assassins—such a terrifying assault, and yet his own archer guards were nowhere to be found. This was clearly a conspiracy, orchestrated from both within and without.
Someone wanted him dead. Someone wanted to seize the throne.
If he had to choose one trustworthy person among all his sons, it would without question be Jun Beiyue.
He didn’t know whether this son harbored any ambitions for the throne, but he knew for certain that this son would never resort to such despicable, underhanded methods!
Only Jun Beiyue could keep him safe!
In an instant, the attack converged entirely around Jun Beiyue—arrows raining down, assassins closing in—even the mightiest of war gods would have had no spare attention to give, let alone one who also had to protect Ziqing from harm. In the chaos of battle, Jun Beiyue’s arm had already taken two arrows, and his back three sword strikes!
Ziqing could see it clearly—every wound he took was from shielding her. If this went on, he would only be forced further and further into a losing position. And yet, the moment he had swept her up off the horse earlier, the tension holding her together had finally slackened—she had already gone weak all over, barely able to move.
The assault around Emperor Tianhui had already weakened considerably, with only three or four assassins left fighting his guards. Jun Beichen, wounded, still fought on stubbornly to shield him from arrows, yet he had no clear grasp of the overall situation, shouting endlessly, “Beiyue, come protect the Emperor! Quick!”
“Father, Fourth Brother is occupied protecting Fourth Sister-in-law!” Jun Beichen said in a low voice.
“You wretch, is Han Ziqing more important, or am I!” Emperor Tianhui snapped furiously—moments ago he’d been so proud of Ziqing, and now his mood had flipped entirely.
“Father, don’t worry—reinforcements have already been urgently dispatched. Even if this son dies, I won’t let anyone lay a finger on you!” Jun Beichen said earnestly, lunging forward to knock down an arrow flying at the Emperor’s right side.
Emperor Tianhui flinched and hurried to duck left, watching Jun Beiyue holding Ziqing tightly in his arms—his fearful expression finally twisting into open anger.
And at that very moment, a sudden wave of miserable, terrified screams erupted from in front of the tents to the right!
At once, everyone froze in shock—even the black-clad assassins stopped and turned to look all at once!
There, a great pack of wild wolves stood bristling with bared fangs, their bloody maws fixed on them, the corpses of people and horses strewn beneath their paws!
Instantly the whole scene fell silent—even Jun Beichen flinched back, retreating behind his guards. The black-clad assassins withdrew at once, and Chu Tiange, shielding Chu Feiyan, reined in his horse to stand alongside Jun Beichen.
There were now just two groups before the camp: on the right, the guards clustered protectively around Emperor Tianhui, Consort Yi, Xuanyuan Lige, the Seventh Prince, the Tenth Prince and others, together with Jun Beichen and Chu Tiange’s group.
On the left stood Jun Beiyue shielding Ziqing, along with Yingzi and guards like Ouyang Chi.
For a moment the whole scene fell into a tense standoff, no one daring to move. The wolves’ green eyes glowed with menace, watching hungrily, ready to attack at any moment. This pack numbered at least a hundred strong—even with archers and assassins, it would take time to respond, and if they all charged at once, no one there would be able to call for help from heaven or earth.
“Why would fire-fearless wild wolves from Western Jing appear here!” Chu Tiange murmured.
“Never mind that now—what do we do?” Jun Beichen asked anxiously.
Emperor Tianhui simply stared fixedly at Jun Beiyue’s grave expression, seeking his judgment, not daring to raise his voice further.
The killing intent, the reek of blood—so thick, so familiar. Ziqing’s brow furrowed; even with her whole body drained of strength, the blood in her veins couldn’t help but surge. This kind of stillness before a slaughter was something she had lived through nearly every day of her past life—no one could predict the outcome more accurately than she could.
Given Jun Beiyue’s martial skill, he could only shield and escort one person to safety.
Who would he choose?
In the deathly silence, the wolf king at the head of the pack suddenly took a step forward!
Everyone’s breath caught at once. Ouyang Jingqin nearly cried out in alarm, and it was only thanks to the Seventh Prince clamping a hand over her mouth in time that she stayed silent. Meanwhile, the Tenth Prince spread his arms wide, shielding Xuanyuan Lige behind him!
Young Master Xuanyuan was someone he himself had invited—he absolutely could not let him come to harm here in Great Zhou!
Xuanyuan Lige watched silently, a flicker of warmth passing through his otherwise cold, indifferent eyes, yet he betrayed nothing outwardly.
As the wolf king took that one step forward, the pack behind him seemed to receive some unspoken command, suddenly beginning to fan out in every direction!
Ziqing’s heart lurched—she could clearly sense the stiffness in Jun Beiyue’s large hand as well. The guards and archers still hadn’t arrived, and once the wolves spread out, the attack would begin.
What could they do?
“Emperor of Great Zhou, this humble prince has a clever plan,” Chu Tiange said quietly.
“Out with it, quickly!” Emperor Tianhui said, so frightened he was nearly beside himself.
“Have someone shoot down the wolf king—it will draw the entire pack after them. That will buy us the time to escape,” Chu Tiange said earnestly.
The moment he said this, nearly everyone’s eyes turned toward Jun Beiyue!
And at the very same moment, Jun Beiyue had already made his decision. Gripping several silver needles, he murmured, “Yingzi, Ouyang, protect your lady well.”
The instant he finished speaking, he flung his hand up in a sweeping motion, large enough to instantly draw the whole pack’s attention—and in that same moment, the silver needle shot out, striking true right between the wolf king’s eyes!
“Awoo—”
With one anguished cry, the wolf king dropped dead on the spot. In that instant, it felt as if the whole world had frozen still—only Jun Beiyue leapt up in a stunning arc from the blood-sweating horse, landing on the horse he had ridden before, wheeling it around, and bolting away.
And exactly as expected, the wolf pack went utterly mad, howling in unison as they surged after him in pursuit.
Countless wild wolves streaked past on either side; even Ziqing couldn’t help a chill running down her spine—she never could have imagined this would be Jun Beiyue’s choice.
He could easily have simply taken Emperor Tianhui and fled. Chu Tiange, even while shielding Chu Feiyan, could also have escaped unharmed. Everyone else meant little enough to him.
The wolves howled on; Yingzi and Ouyang Chi flanked Ziqing on either side, not daring to move an inch, and even the blood-sweating horse seemed frozen stiff with terror, its whole body rigid.
In a matter of moments, the entire wolf pack had gone streaming off after Jun Beiyue, and at once the whole clearing stood empty.
Only then did Emperor Tianhui come back to his senses, crying out in fear, “Flee!”
Ziqing’s eyes turned cold, and she was just about to speak when, without warning, the blood-sweating horse suddenly wheeled around and charged straight after the wolf pack—Ziqing instinctively threw her arms around its neck!
Yingzi and Ouyang Chi were stunned. By the time they came back to their senses, there was no longer any trace of the horse or its rider…