Chapter 587: Breakout

Thump, thump, thump!

In the surrounding streets and alleys, heavy footsteps approached from far and near.

Two thousand garrison elites surged from every street like a black tide.

Among them were two hundred Black Feather Guards.

Ordinary Black Feather Guards focused on speed, mostly wearing light armor and riding fast horses, but this batch wore black iron heavy armor, each of them tall and sturdy, and even the Divine Fire Spears in their hands were a size larger.

Not only that, on the chest of everyone's armor, there was an embedded brass-carved protective talisman, almost identical to the one Li Yan had snatched from Xiong Baodong, though much bulkier.

This talisman was called the "Six Ding Six Jia Talisman."

It could protect the body and save lives, resist evil arts, and was often used in military formations. It was specially made by the Ministry of War of the Great Xuan Dynasty and worn by military officers of the fifth rank and above to prevent interference from evil arts.

Although it wasn't the genuine article, it could also simply resist sorcery.

This was the trump card force of the "Black Feather Guard," with heavy armor resisting blades and weapons, the "Six Ding Six Jia Talisman" protecting against sorcery, plus the more powerful Divine Fire Spears, they could be called god-slayers.

These charging soldiers looked as if they had appeared out of thin air.

Only tight deployment could achieve this.

The cold wind whistled, and the faces of everyone in the Commandery Prince's Mansion were ugly.

At this moment, everyone knew,

They had fallen into a trap!

Li Yan closed his eyes slightly and exhaled deeply.

Before coming, he had always felt some unease, but didn't understand what was wrong, until this moment, when he finally figured out the reason.

They had underestimated "Lu Sheng."

This was an old monster who had even deceived the First Emperor, triggered the burning of books and burying of scholars, and had secretly lived until now; how could he not see the flaws in his plan?

Where there were flaws, they were clearly fishing nets.

And today was the time to close the net.

He had even thought about following them out of the city, and while seeing the Prince of Shu, directly summoning the Yin soldiers to suppress and kill him.

But now it seemed, there was probably an even more terrifying trap outside the city......

On the main street opposite the Commandery Prince's Mansion, several garrison generals rode over.

The army of the Great Xuan Dynasty was mainly a garrison system, and the Regional Military Commissioner's Office was responsible for management in one state.

Following that were "Wei" (Guards) and "Suo" (Battalions).

Each "Wei" had about six thousand people, with one commander of the third rank, and "Suo" were divided into thousand-household battalions and hundred-household companies according to the number of people.

These generals were all garrison commanders.

The leader wore fish-scale chain armor, his eyes clear and cold.

But what the surrounding soldiers didn't notice was that under the thick scarf around his neck, dark red vein patterns were bulging, as if a blood centipede was hidden under the skin.

Li Yan's guess was correct.

These garrison commanders had not been cursed.

That day they were lured into the mansion by the Grand Commandery Prince, and after fainting, their whole families were poisoned, and they were promised titles and fiefs after the matter was settled as a sweet date.

From the beginning, they knew what they were doing.

The reason was simple: if they were under a soul-bewitching curse, although they would obey orders, because the curse affected their thinking, their actions would often be chaotic.

This was a taboo in the army where orders were strictly prohibited, and it would easily be seen by their subordinates, so the Prince of Shu had spent some effort.

Even these garrison soldiers knew what they were doing.

But some things, once started, couldn't be stopped, and combined with the Prince of Shu's reputation, it made them harbor lucky thoughts.

If they succeeded, their status would immediately be different.

"Surround them, don't let a single one go!"

"Blow up that rat hole for this official!"

The leading commander gave an order, and the dense crowd of soldiers surrounded the Commandery Prince's Mansion tightly.

Clatter!

In the rear military formation, all raised their fire guns.

Although they were not new-style firearms, their numbers made up for the power.

At the same time, soldiers under the guidance of evil sorcerers rushed into that inn, hacked the martial arts people guarding the door to death with chaotic blades, and threw dynamite packs into the secret passage.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a huge roar, the inn collapsed, and dust and broken tiles flew everywhere.

Hearing this, everyone in the Commandery Prince's Mansion felt even more despair.

"There's still a chance!"

Seeing this, Wuxiang Young Master tore off the sleeve of a corpse, used the bloodstains to quickly draw a map of the nearby terrain, and marked several circles.

Although it was crude, everyone could see it clearly.

Three streets away from the Commandery Prince's Mansion, there were new secret passage entrances, and there were four of them!

For a time, everyone regained hope for life.

"Everyone, bring out your best skills, prepare to break out!"

Wuxiang Young Master was full of killing intent, his features constantly distorting.

This time, even he might not survive.

Thump!

A muffled sound.

It was the Grand Commandery Prince who, at some unknown time, had moved to the door, suddenly crashed open the side door, and rushed out.

He was covered in dust and blood, his crown was crooked, and he had lost one of his golden silk shoes, stepping barefoot on the snow, waving his hands while running:

"Uncle, save..."

Bang!

A loud noise, his head exploded directly, and the headless corpse fell to the ground.

The leading commander looked indifferent, put away the smoking flintlock pistol, and said faintly: "The evil person harmed the Grand Commandery Prince, act!"

The Grand Commandery Prince was also naive, seeing that things were not right, he immediately rushed out, wanting to say he was being held hostage.

Losing his wealth and throne was better than losing his life.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that this uncle who had loved him most since childhood had long been full of hatred for him.

Killing the Grand Commandery Prince, the soldiers beside him didn't care at all.

In the surrounding team, two people rushed out from all directions, carrying bamboo ladders.

Bang, bang, bang!

The sound of bamboo ladders hitting the wall rang out, and the soldiers in the rear began to climb.

The Commandery Prince's Mansion was wealthy, its area was not small, and the surrounding walls were high, and these soldiers didn't know light-body techniques, so they could only use the method of attacking a city.

At the same time, the soldiers in the rear holding strong bows also drew their bows and shot arrows, and arrow after arrow fell into the mansion.

Not seeking to kill the enemy, just to provide cover.

"Protect me!"

It was Granny Jin who spoke directly.

Everyone knew she was going to cast a spell to break out, so they didn't talk nonsense and rushed toward the wall, braving the rain of arrows.

At this moment, soldiers had already climbed onto the wall, preparing to lift their firearms.

"Hit!"

A big man dressed as a butcher gave a violent shout, leaped into the air stepping on the wall, and performed a "Heart-Piercing Elbow" of the Baji style.

He was tall and sturdy, although not as big as Wu Ba, he had also stepped into dark energy, and his power was astonishing.

Thump!

Accompanied by a muffled sound, the soldier's chest armor shattered, and the whole person flew backward, falling heavily to the ground, vomiting blood continuously.

This big man didn't even look, backhanded and grabbed the wrist of the soldier beside him, shook his arm, and accompanied by the sound of bone cracking, twisted his arm bone into a twist with the "Great Entangling Silk."

Bang, bang, bang!

Before the soldier's screams could fall, the dense sound of firearms had already rung out.

The big man dressed as a butcher was instantly covered in blood, fell heavily from the wall, blood bubbling from his mouth, and his eyes gradually lost their spirit.

This was the change brought about by firearms.

The big man was named "Zhu Laosan," a famous hero in the alleys of Shuncheng Street in Chengdu, with extensive connections in the martial arts world.

Not only did he learn Baji, but he also had a body of hard qigong.

With his breath and energy, flying arrows and hidden weapons were hard to hurt him.

But his old habits had killed him.

Of course, at this moment, no one had the time to pay attention.

The Commandery Prince's Mansion was too large, their numbers were insufficient, and they could only guard around the front hall. In the backyard of the Prince's Mansion, soldiers were constantly climbing in, lining up to fire, and attacking the front hall.

But this narrow area was not conducive to firearm attacks.

Just as these soldiers rushed past the gatehouse, Salt Gang men hanging upside down from the beams dropped down, stabbing them through the throat with water-splitting daggers.

The water-splitting daggers had blood grooves, and when pulled out, they even tore out half of the throat... but in the blink of an eye, the Salt Gang men were shot to death by chaotic gunfire...

"Hit!"

The blind old Daoist of the Gold Sect showed high-level martial arts at this moment.

He flicked his horsetail whisk, actually wrapping it around three crossbow arrows, listened to the wind to identify the position, and took advantage of the momentum to flick them onto the roof, shooting a soldier to death, but the sound of gunfire followed.

Bang, bang, bang!

Gunfire continued, but the blind old Daoist wasn't injured.

It was his somewhat foolish medium who used his massive body to block in front, falling to the ground covered in blood holes.

"Silly child!"

The old Daoist gave a mournful cry and took a black jar from his bosom.

This was a Soul-Wandering Jar, wrapped in layers of red rope, pasted with yellow talismans, and also used several suppression coins, clearly sealing some evil object inside.

The old Daoist was blind and knew he couldn't escape death, so he wanted to take a few with him.

!

Crack!

The black jar smashed to the ground and shattered, and rolling black smoke rose up.

Even in the daytime, one could hear strange hissing sounds inside.

"Find them!"

The old Daoist gave a roar of anger, used a knife to slash his face into a mess, and then continuously chanted mantras, pointing forward.

Whoosh~

A violent wind rose, and the black smoke rushed toward those soldiers.

But just at this moment, the Black Sect Lama Dorje Zha Xi outside the gate on the main street gave a cold sneer, took down the human bone prayer wheel from his waist, and while shaking it, chanted the scriptures backward.

"He Zuo Ri Ba Sa Pa De..."

This was his original Black Sect heritage, originally used to pray for blessings and drive away evil, but this old demon chanted it backward, and it became a fierce evil art.

That mass of black mist instantly rolled back, pouncing on the blind old Daoist, and as the black mist dissipated, the old Daoist also became a dried corpse.

"Kill!"

Wuxiang Young Master was full of killing intent, his movements like a ghost, dodging arrows while killing seven or eight people in succession.

At this moment, he was full of hatred.

These martial arts people who died, although they were all underworld figures, could be considered his good friends who had helped him through the most difficult times.

He hadn't expected them to die here today.

Li Yan also didn't show any mercy.

If he used escape techniques, he might have a chance to escape, but if he fled, the so-called resistance alliance would become a complete joke.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at the main hall.

Only to see Granny Jin with a gloomy face, already standing before the dharma altar that hadn't been dismantled, wearing the Zigu Nuo mask, taking out pottery jars one by one from the basket beside her, and placing them on the dharma altar.

As the old woman danced the Nuo dance, the pottery jars shattered one after another.

All kinds of poisonous insects swarmed out, including red centipedes, tiny poisonous flies, poisonous snakes the length of chopsticks... pouncing in all directions.

These poisonous insects were quite spiritual and fast, and in the blink of an eye, they bit the soldiers until their faces turned black and they died of poison.

The remaining ones surged toward the gate.

The Nuo Altar's "Five Poisons Opening the Way" technique!

Li Yan was somewhat surprised, and hope rose in his heart.

He had heard Long Yaner talk about this kind of sorcery; it was very powerful.

However, the Lama Dorje Zha Xi blocking the gate shook the human bone prayer wheel again and threw seven bone beads from his sleeve.

Slap, slap, slap!

A series of crisp sounds, actually embedding themselves in the stone slabs in front of the Prince's Mansion gate, clearly a high-level hidden weapon technique.

The bone beads landed and turned into a Big Dipper formation.

This was not the Mystic Sect's Seven Star Formation, but the "Seven Star Lock" created by this evil monk practicing evil arts.

Hum, hum, hum!

All the bone beads vibrated in unison.

Those poisonous insects seemed to be restrained by some kind of power, restless, scurrying around in the Prince's Mansion, but finding it difficult to get out the door.

Granny Jin gritted her teeth and continued to dance the Nuo dance.

However, her cultivation was still not as good as the evil monk's, and she immediately suffered a backlash, her face pale, blood spraying from her mouth.

Although that was the case, these poisonous insects had also poisoned all the soldiers who had invaded the mansion, blocking this wave of attacks.

"Bring that thing over!"

The leading garrison commander's face suddenly became gloomy.

The soldiers in the rear acted immediately, eight people exerting force in unison, carrying a short fire cannon, and placing it in front of the Commandery Prince's Mansion.

This fire cannon was forged from purple copper, the muzzle embossed with a fierce tiger head, supported by two beast claws in front; it was the "Tiger-Respect Cannon."

Several soldiers picked up gunpowder packs and stuffed them inside.

Li Yan smelled it, and his face changed drastically.

This "Tiger-Respect Cannon" was precisely the one they had lost, which had been taken by the people of the Prince of Shu's Mansion.

Forged with spiritual materials, it was enough to withstand new-style gunpowder.

And the gunpowder packs those soldiers were loading were also new-style, and judging by the concentration, it wasn't small; I'm afraid one shot could destroy the Commandery Prince's Mansion.

"Everyone close your eyes!"

At this point, Li Yan couldn't care about anything else, directly took out his official document, formed a seal with both hands, and chanted: "Qing Jia! Upper Black Heaven, Lower Black Earth, Black Heaven without light, Black Earth without a door..."

"Not good!"

The Black Sect Lama outside heard it and turned to run, his body wrapped in rolling black smoke, leaving the street in the blink of an eye.

It was the method of summoning the Yin soldiers of the underworld.

To be honest, Li Yan didn't want to use this trump card, but there was no choice now.

That Black Sect Lama had deep cultivation and blocked the gate, which might be able to break his escape technique, and more importantly, those Black Feather Guards wearing heavy armor had already lined up, standing in the distance.

Beside them was a gaunt man with huge eyes.

If there were no accidents, he would definitely have some kind of divine eye ability.

Two hundred Divine Fire Spears firing in unison, even ten great masters would die.

Hearing Li Yan's shout, Wuxiang Young Master and the others closed their eyes.

They naturally knew what this was; their fawning over Li Yan was precisely because this method was fierce.

Almost instantly, the surroundings fell into darkness.

Visible frost, wrapped in darkness, spread outward.

The garrison soldiers were somewhat suspicious and retreated cautiously.

They naturally didn't know what this was, and even those few garrison commanders were the same.

Neigh!

The warhorses beneath them wailed in fear and knelt directly.

These garrison commanders also had decent martial arts and landed in mid-air, but before they could react, they were swallowed by the darkness.

Vaguely, they heard the sound of chains, and then lost consciousness......

"Run!"

The evil sorcerers of the Prince's Mansion were also terrified, turning to run, each wishing they had grown wings.

Facing this kind of power, no sorcery worked.

The darkness spread rapidly,

Eyes watching as it was about to swallow those heavy-armored Black Feather Guards.

Li Yan could feel it and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

That Black Sect Lama had already fled, and these Black Feather Guards had become the biggest threat. As long as they were eliminated, everyone could escape smoothly.

Summoning Yin soldiers with the official document couldn't be done casually; suppressing demons was fine, but if too many people were killed, he would also violate the "Yin Law" and bring trouble upon himself.

These Black Feather Guards clearly felt the threat and scrambled to turn and run, but wearing heavy armor, their speed was slower than everyone else's.

Watching, the darkness was about to swallow them.

Just at this moment, a yellow silk ribbon whistled over and was nailed to the main gate of the Prince's Mansion by an arrow.

Something that terrified Li Yan happened.

The Yin soldiers began to retreat......

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 588 =====