Chapter 850

"Ah!!!"

With the help of 【Unfortunately Not】, the burly guard who had suffered a fatal kick let out a scream, immediately dropped his weapon, clamped his legs together, and collapsed to his knees with a thud, utterly incapacitated.

Through this encounter, Li Ang not only seized the weapon from him but also discovered the key to dealing with these iron-clad guards.

After their bodies turned to iron, these guards became astonishingly sturdy—neither feeling pain nor fearing death, each more troublesome than the last; to make them stop blocking him, he'd likely have to dismember them one by one.

But now that he'd equipped the "Kick Egg" badge, he didn't need to go through all that trouble—just kick each one's egg, one after another, and they'd drop instantly, lying flat for at least five minutes before they could even stir.

Perfect!

After mentally giving himself a thumbs-up for his sharpness, Li Ang, his injuries fully healed, locked onto another target, yanked the guard's weapon aside, disrupted his balance, then delivered a solid kick—his chosen victim screamed and collapsed, following the same fate as the burly guard.

Now that he'd found the solution, everything else became simple.

Amid the repeated "thud" and "ah!" cycles, one by one, the iron-clad guards, each as sturdy as young oxen, knelt on the ground with their backsides up and legs clamped shut; the entire corridor echoed with the groans of fallen guards.

"No! No!"

As over twenty guards had mostly collapsed, someone finally gave up resistance, hurled away his weapon, clamped his legs, and cried out in terror:

"I… I surrender…"

"Thud!"

"Aaaah!!!"

Li Ang pried open the surrendering guard's clenched legs and kicked him, sending him to join the Wudang squad; finally free from the entanglement, he sprinted toward the staircase, silently apologizing to the iron-clad guards in his mind.

Don't blame me for kicking hard—I'm actually doing you a favor.

If I didn't do this, I'd have to use even heavier force to break free—but after this anomaly is lifted, who knows if those who lose their heads can even survive? Better to have your small head burst than your big one, right?

"He's out!"

"Someone!"

"Don't let him reach the upper floor!"

Seeing Li Ang break free from the guards' entanglement, the reinforcements rushed forward, trying to hold him back and prevent him from reaching the iron-clad Princess Wang Nuwei upstairs.

In the relatively spacious study, the guards could still hold him off in numbers—but the staircase was far narrower, allowing at most two or three to face him at once, and they were quickly taken down one by one.

The rhythmic "thud-ah-thud-ah" of egg-kicking echoed up the staircase, reaching the iron-clad Princess's ears.

Damn it! How could they fail to stop him so quickly?

Realizing Li Ang was nearly upon her, the iron-clad Princess clenched her fist and snapped at the flag officer beside the tower:

"Still not ready? Send word to the garrison—do we really need this long?"

"This… we should've already notified them… but the flag officer on the other side seems… off…"

Gazing at the flag signals from the distant barracks, the flag officer's iron face wore a blank expression:

"I signaled that we're under attack and need support; they replied with flags saying they're all fine; then I signaled that the palace is under assault and demanded immediate deployment; they replied with 'situation stable'; 【30】 Just now I signaled again—urgent, immediate action required—and they replied with 'Long live the Kingdom'… I don't understand what's going on…"

I just tried contacting them again, told them it was an emergency requiring immediate deployment, and they replied with "Long live the Kingdom…" I don't even know what's going on…

What the hell is this?

Snatching the telescope from the flag officer's hands, the iron-clad Princess checked the barracks' signals and confirmed they were indeed "reading but replying nonsense"; she gritted her teeth and cursed the old King and the barracks commander in her mind.

A bunch of idiots!

How could such a crucial post as palace defense be entrusted to such fools? Even the flag officer guarding the palace can't understand basic flag signals? This damned kingdom is utterly rotten!

Forget relying on the garrison to arrive—it's no longer realistic.

Hearing the growing noise drawing closer from below, knowing Li Ang was nearly upon her, the iron-clad Princess stamped her foot, tossed the telescope to the flag officer, ordered him to keep signaling, then sprinted toward the other staircase, preparing to escape the bedroom first.

The total number of guards inside the bedroom was only a few dozen, but the two rotating palace guard units combined numbered eight or nine hundred, and adding the four patrol squads outside, even more!

If she could escape the bedroom, she could rally the palace guards to temporarily hold off this nuisance, then head straight to the garrison camp, lead the troops to slaughter every royal member—facing a full military unit, he'd be utterly powerless to stop her!

…

Through the Black Goat's soul vision, Li Ang noticed the iron-clad Princess's movement and immediately ran down after her—but the staircase was blocked by a pile of fallen guards, and new iron-clad guards kept entering the bedroom; he was suddenly trapped inside the staircase.

Looks like he'd have to take another route.

After descending a single floor, he found another large group of soldiers blocking the way below; the iron-clad Princess's soul had already escaped the bedroom. After a brief hesitation, in front of the stunned iron-clad guards, Li Ang literally flipped over the staircase railing.

"Crash!"

With a thunderous crash, Li Ang plummeted headfirst from six stories up, slamming into the first-floor ground and shattering several stone tiles beneath him.

Hearing the impact, the Princess spun around in horror and saw Li Ang staggering to his feet, swaying as he chased after her; her scalp prickled with dread.

Damn it! How can he be this persistent?

"Guards!"

Seeing Li Ang risk jumping from the building just to catch her, fearing she'd be caught before completing her mission, the iron-clad Princess screamed as she ran:

"Someone! Come quickly!"

"Rebels are trying to kill me! Guards!!!"

Yet strangely, despite her prolonged shouting, no one responded; the guards who should've been stationed throughout the palace had inexplicably vanished—no matter how loudly she called, none appeared.

What's going on? Why isn't a single guard here?

Unaware that Li Ang had already sent all palace guards to practice diving in the garden pond, she shouted for a while, received no answer, and found Li Ang closing in rapidly; she gritted her teeth and turned, sprinting straight for the palace gates.

No guards? Fine—there are still people outside on the streets! Let them delay him too!

Determined, the iron-clad Princess ran for the palace gates with all her strength—but behind her, Li Ang had fully healed, his heavy footsteps growing louder with every step, each one crushing her heart, sinking her spirit deeper.

No good! The palace grounds are vast, and beyond lies a square; under current conditions, she'd be caught before she even reached the gates or could summon help from outside—what should she do?

But just as the iron-clad Princess was about to sink into despair, fate seemed to lend a hand—large numbers of armed civilians suddenly stormed into the palace, entering the range she could command.

Saved!

Without time to wonder why so many ordinary people had breached the palace, the iron-clad Princess, overjoyed at the reinforcements, pointed frantically at the approaching Li Ang and shrieked:

"Quick! I order you—capture him!"

"…"

Huh???

Upon seeing "Princess Veronika" running out unharmed, the intruding rebels were initially overjoyed—but after hearing her command, their elite faces filled with deep confusion.

"Your Highness…"

Watching the iron-clad Princess sprint up to them, shouting for them to seize Li Ang, the bald woman who led the rebels scratched her head, then pointed at the distant Li Ang, bewildered:

"You want us to capture our own leader?"

"…"??????