This felt more impactful than being struck by a giant hammer. No one present wanted to face it head-on, and they even had to protect the Queen. The rhythm of the three attackers was immediately disrupted.
The officials in the side hall grew anxious as well, standing up and rushing toward the door. Among them, Wang Yuan was the oldest and had the largest belly, but in this critical moment, he ran no slower than the others.
When powerful cultivators fought, it was best to keep as far away as possible, especially now with the addition of a fierce tiger!
Fu Lingchuan had no intention of letting them leave. With a mere thought, one of the giant armadillos formed from his elemental energy split off to block the officials, rolling over with a rumble to obstruct the doorway.
If they wanted to escape, they would have to survive its claws that were longer than sickles!
Wang Yuan retreated step by step with the other two officials. Suddenly, he threw something toward the window and shouted: “Turn away!”
The other two immediately turned their heads. A tremendous explosion erupted outside the door, generating violent air currents that disheveled the beards and hair of the three high officials!
A blast talisman.
Feng Miaojun, though momentarily distracted by her observations, was surprised to see that the seemingly gentle State Minister carried such a dangerous item. When he threw it toward the empty space outside the window, the armadillo blocking the door became the first casualty of the blast, immediately reverting to its original form and dissipating into wisps of blue smoke that drifted back toward Fu Lingchuan.
However, protective barriers appeared around the three ministers, blocking most of the blast’s force—otherwise, ordinary mortals would have been knocked unconscious immediately. Feng Miaojun had given them protective talismans when bringing them to witness Fu Lingchuan’s capture.
While gunpowder smoke still filled the study, the three mortals seized the opportunity to escape through the breach, racing toward freedom.
Fu Lingchuan, entangled with several cultivators, couldn’t free himself to stop them. At this moment, he shouted fiercely, “Go!”
The fierce tiger immediately turned and pursued the three officials.
With a beast of elemental energy assisting him, Fu Lingchuan found it much easier to handle the attacks from the three opponents. Hu Yanbei had just dodged an armadillo claw attack when he heard the Queen cry out behind him: “Watch out!”
As soon as the words reached his ears, he felt a chill in his back. Hu Yanbei grimaced in pain, tightened his back muscles, and slid sideways. The sharp weapon that had struck from behind pierced through his lung, entering from the back and exiting through the front.
Fortunately, it missed his heart.
Thinking another enemy had appeared, he cried out in pain and unhesitatingly swung his sword in counterattack, but Zhao Hongyin blocked it with his staff: “The Queen is being controlled!”
Hu Yanbei glanced back with his peripheral vision and indeed saw the Queen biting her crimson lips, the blood-dripping awl still in her hand, thrusting toward his face with extreme speed.
She was being controlled by Fu Lingchuan’s puppet command seal, and her actions were involuntary. Though she wasn’t using spiritual power, the Star Piercer was incredibly sharp, easily breaking through Hu Yanbei’s protective energy and severely wounding him.
Her mouth shouted “Move aside!” yet the awl’s tip remained fixed on the vital points of both men. Zhao Hongyin and Hu Yanbei were furious to the point of coughing blood, but they dared not truly harm her, suddenly finding themselves on the defensive.
The only one who remained free to maneuver was Chen Dachang, stationed at the outer perimeter. However, when the fierce tiger rushed out of the study, he turned back to pursue it, temporarily unable to assist in the battle. Those three ministers were witnesses specifically invited by his mistress—she had countless opportunities to ambush Fu Lingchuan but chose not to kill him, instead going to great lengths to lure him into this trap. Wasn’t it all for the testimony of these eyewitnesses?
He couldn’t allow Fu Lingchuan to silence them.
Thus, Feng Miaojun’s side was left with only Zhao Hongyin and Hu Yanbei, with the latter severely wounded. Yet with two mystical beasts assisting in battle, the scales of victory seemed to tip toward Fu Lingchuan.
At this moment, the sounds of horse hooves, neighing, and the tiger’s roars came from outside—a large contingent of troops was rapidly approaching.
Whose reinforcements would these be?
Feng Miaojun suddenly said, “Hold on, you two. Fu Lingchuan is about to collapse.”
Although Fu Lingchuan fought with increasing ferocity, his face had turned ashen white with a bluish tinge, his lips bloodless. Others might not understand why, but Feng Miaojun knew it was the “Marrow-Extracting” property of the Star Piercer continuing to take effect, steadily draining Fu Lingchuan’s life force.
The Star Piercer had grown with her, and its ability to absorb life force had increased. Only she knew that with each passing second, Fu Lingchuan was suffering tremendous losses. If he were an ancient beast like the Spiral Crab, perhaps he wouldn’t care about this level of drain.
Unfortunately, he was still human.
This fierce battle was already perilous, rapidly consuming his physical strength, and he still had to control three spirit creatures. How could he withstand such fundamental depletion? It was like a reservoir with not only its normal floodgates open but also two additional breaches, causing the water level to drop rapidly.
It was only because he was the State Preceptor, able to borrow elemental energy far beyond normal people and even use it to enhance himself, that he could still persevere.
Zhao Hongyin shouted: “Who goes there? State your name!”
Everyone present had excellent hearing and could tell that a large army had surrounded them. Judging from the chaotic footsteps, there were at least a thousand soldiers. White Horse Lake wasn’t large—a thousand men would be enough to fill the area.
A voice answered from outside the study, cutting through the night air, bringing joy to Zhao Hongyin and the others while causing Fu Lingchuan’s heart to sink:
“General Xu Linghai arrives with troops to rescue Your Majesty!”
It was Princess Changle’s army, not the city guard under Fu Lingchuan’s command!
In that instant, Fu Lingchuan recalled the messenger who had delivered the secret report, and the illusion that Changle had previously set up here. How coincidental that just as he returned to take action, a group of ministers happened to be sitting in the side hall, perfectly positioned to catch him in the act of rebellion!
This was all a trap she had set long ago, just waiting for the moment when he could no longer endure and would explode!
At that moment, Fu Lingchuan finally hated her to the marrow of his bones, truly wanting to disregard everything and perish with her.
But…
The armadillo formed from blue smoke was badly wounded, and now Hu Yanbei had stabbed out one of its eyes with his sword, greatly reducing its combat effectiveness. Fighting three opponents alone, with Feng Miaojun continuously draining his life force, Fu Lingchuan was not made of iron—his steps grew increasingly heavy.
He took an elixir pill himself, his eyes flashing with fierce light, and lunged directly toward Feng Miaojun.
He had one last chance: if he could capture her, today’s chaotic battle would end.
Zhao Hongyin and Hu Yanbei positioned themselves in front of Feng Miaojun, now showing no mercy as they engaged him. However, the armadillo on the ground suddenly transformed into blue light, attaching itself to Fu Lingchuan’s body, and in the second before the staff and sword fell, it suddenly became armor covering his entire body!
“Clang—” The collision even produced the sound of metal striking metal.
The blue armor held, remaining unpierced.
While it absorbed most of the force, the residual power from the two martial commanders was still difficult to withstand. Fu Lingchuan’s chest and abdomen felt as if struck by a giant hammer. He couldn’t suppress the sweetish taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
But at the same moment, his fingertips touched Feng Miaojun’s robe, and then with a quick movement, he grabbed her shoulder!
“Everyone stand down!” Having succeeded in one strike, he immediately pulled her in front of himself as a shield and shouted fiercely, “Or I’ll take her life!”