Chapter 601: First Volume, Chapter 601: Capturing Hostages

First Volume, Chapter 601: Capturing Hostages

Just as the Palace Guards and Imperial Guard had reached Qin Feng, every heart in the crowd clenched in suspense—a thunderous roar echoed across the entire Execution Ground.

"Don't dare harm my brother Qin!"

"Ning Hu is here!"

As his voice fell, Ning Hu rode a warhorse, charged with fierce momentum, leaped over the fence, and surged straight toward Qin Feng.

Seeing Ning Hu appear, the Palace Guards were stunned and shouted low: "Kill Qin Feng quickly! Defend against Ning Hu!"

Compared to Qin Feng, a half-baked commander, Ning Hu was a true warlord—his threat to the Palace Guards was obvious.

The moment Ning Hu appeared, he became the center of attention.

Four Palace Guards, wielding long spears, rushed to block Ning Hu—but before they could raise their spears, a piercing horse scream rang out.

Ning Hu yanked the reins hard; the warhorse reared up on its hind legs, front hooves soaring into the air.

Seated atop the horse, Ning Hu gripped his lance and drove it downward with full force, striking precisely at the weakest point—the neck.

A chilling crack echoed.

The lance pierced straight through the neck guard armor, impaling the Palace Guard's throat—he died on the spot.

At the same moment, another Palace Guard raised his spear and thrust it toward Ning Hu.

Ning Hu reacted with rapid mobilization—he instantly released his lance, drew a short knife from his waist, and slashed the incoming spear in half.

"Giddyap!"

Ning Hu growled, squeezed his horse's flanks, and charged straight into the Palace Guard.

Boom!

The heavily armored Palace Guard, weighing two hundred jin, was flung over a yard away by the impact—he collapsed, vomiting blood.

Ning Hu showed no hesitation—he spurred his horse again and deliberately trampled the fallen guard.

Thud-thud!

The once-proud heavy armor shattered under the wild hooves—in the blink of an eye, the Palace Guard was crushed to death.

The scene fell deathly silent; everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they saw.

Two Palace Guards dead in an instant?!

Is this the terrifying strength of the Vice General of Beixi County?

Even the Minister of Justice was shaken to his core.

"Ning… Ning Hu! You wretch—do you want the Ning Family to be wiped out with you?!"

Seeing Ning Hu's unstoppable advance, the Minister of Justice shifted to psychological warfare.

"Turn back while you still can! Don't cling to delusion!"

In response to the Minister's plea, Ning Hu ignored him entirely—he grabbed a bow and arrow from his saddle and shot it straight at the Minister.

Snap!

The arrow grazed the Minister's scalp and buried itself into the plaque behind him.

The Minister trembled violently, scrambling under the table—his authority vanished.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Dali Temple watched with open contempt: "Your Excellency, is this not beneath your official dignity?"

The Minister screamed hoarsely: "They're all mad! Everyone's gone mad!"

The Chief Justice let out a cold snort, fixed his gaze on Ning Hu as he charged through the Execution Ground, and roared:

"Ning Hou, you are fearless and invincible—why not serve Shedynasty with loyalty? Associating with Qin Feng will only cost you your life!"

Ning Hu had retrieved his lance, pierced the Palace Guard blocking his path, lifted the two-hundred-jin body with both arms, and hurled it violently.

The corpse flew sideways toward the Supervising Execution Platform and crashed heavily before the Chief Justice.

The Chief Justice's eyes narrowed—he stared at Ning Hu without speaking.

Ning Hu roared: "Bullshit! The court is full of corrupt ministers, colluding to destroy loyal subjects and destabilize the realm!"

"Rather than be used by such traitors, I'd rather serve the Northern Border with loyalty!"

"Chief Justice—you old bastard are still decent; otherwise, I'd have shot you dead already!"

The Chief Justice's face turned ashen—both Ning Hu and Qin Feng were National Pillars, meant to serve Shedynasty with glory.

Now both had turned traitor—this was a devastating blow to Shedynasty.

Ning Hu, alone on his horse, surged forward with unstoppable momentum—killing men who stood in his way, slaying Buddhas who dared block him.

After several charges, he killed seven or eight Palace Guards.

The Vice Commander of the Palace Guards stared in shock—these Northern Border Generals were all this ferocious?

But soon, the Vice Commander recovered.

Capture the leader first!

Yet when he repeatedly ordered the other guards to kill Qin Feng first, he realized in horror—the Palace Guards and Imperial Guard surrounding Qin Feng had already been silently shot down!

"Where did those arrows come from?!"

Before the Vice Commander could react, figures leaped over the fence—it was the Tianji Camp Guards!

The guards advanced while shooting—volleys of arrows pinned the Palace Guards down, forcing them to cower.

Thirty guards divided into three units.

One unit reinforced the besieged Beixi Soldiers, one unit rushed straight toward Qin Feng, and the last unit had already reached the Execution Platform and cut the ropes binding the Xie Family father and daughter.

Only then did everyone realize:

Qin Feng was merely bait!

They used him to lure the Palace Guards away from the Execution Platform, giving the Tianji Camp Guards the chance to rescue the Xie Family.

With the Tianji Camp Guards entering the battle, the tide turned instantly and completely.

The Tianji Camp Guards did not engage the Palace Guards and Imperial Guard in close combat at all, instead relying on guerrilla tactics, using dense and precise arrow volleys to launch attacks.

Moreover, all of these arrows were armor-piercing arrows designed for specific targets.

In just a few breaths' time, the Palace Guards had already lost more than half their number.

The Tianji Camp Guards and Ning Hu arrived at Qin Feng's side almost simultaneously, helping Qin Feng up from the ground.

Looking at the blood streaming unceasingly from Qin Feng's shoulder, Ning Hu's eyes went wide as he growled in a low voice: "Brother Qin, how are you?"

Qin Feng shook his head. Although his complexion was somewhat pale from blood loss, his tone remained firm.

"How could such a minor wound amount to anything?"

Seeing that the father and daughter of the Xie Family had already, under the cover of the Tianji Camp Guards, broken out toward the outside of the Execution Ground.

Qin Feng could not help but heave a sigh of relief: "The tactical objective has been achieved; retreat at once!"

Following Qin Feng's order, the Tianji Camp Guards and Beixi Soldiers merged together, breaking out of the Execution Ground in successive batches.

The Vice Commander of the Palace Guards, seeing this, was beside himself with rage.

Qin Feng was not dead, and the father and daughter of the Xie Family had even been rescued — for the Palace Guards, this was simply a disgrace!

"Kill them for me! Under no circumstances allow Qin Feng and his chaotic faction to escape Jingdu!"

The Vice Commander held his bow and arrow, running while shooting in pursuit.

Compared to the thickened armor on Qin Feng's body, the armor of the remaining Beixi Soldiers was insufficient to withstand the MeiZhenArrow standard-issued to the Palace Guards.

Facing the Palace Guards' frenzied pursuit, Beixi Soldiers continued to be shot and killed.

At the same time, the Imperial Guard and Temple Soldiers also rallied, beginning to maneuver from both the left and right wings, intending to form a tactical encirclement and trap Qin Feng and the others within the Execution Ground.

With the breakout restricted, Qin Feng made a swift decision: "Tianji Camp Guards, hear my order — slay the Palace Guards, and capture the Supervising Execution Official!"