Chapter 373

The word "Kill" was said heartily, but the several black-clad masked eunuchs didn't get close, only looking coldly at the soldiers approaching Huagai Hall.

Li Miao.

They hated this name to the bone, but also feared it like a tiger. When it came to the understanding of Li Miao, except for the missing Ji Tianrui, the entire Great Dashuo probably counted these eunuchs.

But the more they understood Li Miao, the more they feared him.

So even though Li Miao had appeared just now, all the Heaven-Men present could see that his state was wrong and he was heavily injured, but before he closed the door, no one dared to say a word or take a step forward.

Let's put it this way: even if Li Miao were dead, as long as his corpse was still whole, these people wouldn't dare to get close, only fearing that Li Miao would suddenly smile at them.

Fortunately, they didn't have to test it themselves.

The military formation pressed toward Huagai Hall, moving extremely swiftly and in an orderly fashion, the formation not showing the slightest disorder, and there wasn't a trace of human voice, operating like a gear made of refined steel and sword tips.

The Flag-Bearer Guard, only second to the Embroidered Uniform Guard among the Twelve Guards.

Behind the military formation, hundreds of warhorses wrapped in raw iron armor were neighing and stamping their hooves, the knights on their backs wearing chainmail, long sabers at their waists, firelocks resting on their arms, pairs of eyes staring fixedly at the doors and windows of Huagai Hall.

The Brave Cavalry Right Guard, the elite left behind after the Ancestor moved the capital.

If not for the corruption of the Great Dashuo's guard stations, if not for the Garrison Commander Eunuchs operating in Nanjing for many years, if not for the imperial edicts left by the Emperor, if not for the massive amount of gold and silver looted over these years... without any one of these, they couldn't have gathered this group of elites.

Right now, however, it was time for Li Miao, this Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander, to test this batch of colleagues, the most elite among the Twelve Guards.

After blocking all the doors and windows of Huagai Hall, the Flag-Bearer Guard officer lifted a fist—and swung it down fiercely!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Sabers and swords split the doors and windows, and dozens of suits of armor leaped into the hall.

And then, there was no sound.

The Flag-Bearer Guard guarding outside the window suddenly stood up, the fire ropes on the three-eyed guns burning to the end, the starlit gunpowder ignited, and the lead bullets were ready to fire!

At this very moment—Splash!

A tide, a scarlet tide, splashed out from the doors and windows! The Flag-Bearer Guard outside the window only had time to close their eyes before being drenched through from head to toe by the blood!

When they opened their eyes, their vision first focused on the fire ropes that had been extinguished, then slowly moved toward the sleeve cuffs that were constantly dripping blood, and finally, looked into Huagai Hall.

Swish.

Not living up to their reputation as elites, the sound of their retreating footsteps was uniform.

"This!"

The officer who ordered the door to be broken turned pale.

"What is this, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?"

"Is this still the Great Dashuo, can this still be considered human!"

His eyes twitched, looking toward the few black-clad eunuchs, but saw that the other party didn't have any reaction, only looking over with cold gazes, as if nothing had happened.

The officer gritted his teeth: That's right.

Since they had come, they were on a pirate ship.

Whether the other party was demon or monster, god or Buddha, they only had one choice—you die or I live.

"Second team!"

He waved a fist: "No need to achieve merit, just be the first to ascend. Protect yourselves!"

A series of "Yes!", and dozens more suits of armor leaped into the hall.

Compared to the first batch that leaped into the hall, they were a bit better; the officer's order played some role—they emitted half a wail, choked off in their throats.

"Ah-er!"

No more sound.

The officer glanced, and saw that quite a few subordinates had already retreated a few steps, their gazes dodging, even the hands gripping their sabers turning white and faintly trembling.

For these elites, death was not terrible. The unknown and the bizarre were what were truly terrible. The officer knew that their courage was lost; even if he ordered more people to go in, the performance would only be worse.

But this didn't mean he had no way.

"Fire the guns! Just shoot from outside, smash everything in the hall!"

Boom boom boom—

The pungent smell of gunpowder, the suddenly exploding dust and smoke, and the sound of gunfire lasted for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

The officer calculated in his heart, suddenly stood up, kicked the door with his saber, and went in! His subordinates swarmed in, following him into the hall!

As soon as he entered, the officer felt his vision darken.

There were no lights in the hall, and the depths were a piece of dimness.

Then his feet slipped, bringing up sticky water sounds, the smell of rust drilling into his nasal cavity, condensing into a piece of blood red in his mind.

The officer lifted a hand, and his subordinates lit a fire.

The firelight flickered, illuminating the figure in the center of the great hall.

Li Miao.

Leaning on the seat in the center of the great hall, his left leg stepped on the chair, his left arm across his knee, holding a piece of paper in his hand. His right hand was placed on the armrest, supporting his face, his expression hidden in the firelight.

Tap, tap, tap.

His toes lifted and fell, knocking out a rhythmic sound on the ground.

The sound was extremely light, yet it felt like a great bell knocking on the hearts of the Flag-Bearer Guard—because they saw the surroundings clearly.

Dozens of comrades who had leaped into the room were standing around them, surrounding them. Their armor was completely undamaged, their long sabers still gripped in their hands, only their faces were lowered.

Drip, drip, drip.

The remaining blood dripped one by one from their armor, sleeve corners, and saber tips, falling into the pool of blood accumulated on the ground.

Gulp.

The officer swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his feet involuntarily retreating half a step, emitting an extremely subtle sound.

He regretted it; he shouldn't have come in.

Must leave.

At this very moment, his footsteps stiffened in mid-air.

Ahead, that face hidden in the dimness slowly lifted.

It gave him a smile.

————————

Several black-clad eunuchs looked at each other.

"No, this thief is indeed ferocious; if this continues, we are just sending soldiers to him to be killed in vain."

"How about... burn! Light Huagai Hall, force him out!"

"Are you crazy! This is the palace city! The people watching were already driven away by us; if the fire spreads, it's possible the entire palace city will be burned to the ground!"

"So what, do you think this is playing house! Think first about the problem of how we can leave a whole corpse for ourselves if we can't kill him today!"

The arguing sound gradually lowered.

Finally, one of them said coldly.

"Burn! The Emperor has been harmed, and the Zhu family's world has also been plotted away by him; what is there to worry about the palace city now? Burn!"

Swish swish swish—

Fire arrows shot from the knights' bows toward mid-air, drawing an arc before falling toward Huagai Hall, sparks splashing at the points of contact.

The fire gradually rose.

The soaring firelight twisted the air, and the heat wave swept over.

Several black-clad eunuchs watched the burning Huagai Hall with full attention, their palms slightly sweating, waiting for the figure to rush out from within.

But as time passed, until Huagai Hall slowly turned into charred black, nothing happened.

"Dead?"

"Impossible."

"Could it be—he has already escaped!?"

"It's possible! We were bluffed by him!"

"Chase!"

Their feet paused, and the black-clad eunuchs were about to chase.

Suddenly, a piece of warm liquid splashed behind them, splashing on the ground in front of them with a swish sound.

They turned their heads suddenly.

They saw a horse corpse, along with the knight on it, split from the very middle, red, white, and yellow all rolling out and falling to the ground.

Through the corpse split in two, they saw Li Miao.

He lifted his hand, and a piece of rice paper filled with handwriting flew up, rolled by the heat wave into the high sky, starting to burn from one corner, turning into pieces of flying ash in mid-air.

"I finished reading."

Li Miao said with a smile.

"What about you?"

"After making such a fuss for so long, are you ready to be reincarnated?"

(End of chapter)