Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

The walls of Luyang City.

When Lu Chen and Chai Hongyu arrived at the city gate, Jiang Chengdao, clad in heavy armor and wielding a long spear, was looking solemnly out of the city.

"Your Highness, Holy King."

Lu Chen walked to Jiang Chengdao's side.

"Here he comes."

Jiang Chengdao nodded in response, but his gaze remained fixed on Jiang Chengdao.

Following his gaze, Lu Chen immediately saw that two miles away from the city wall, tens of thousands of heavily armed enemy troops were rapidly approaching Luyang, accompanied by a large number of auxiliary troops. The dark mass of troops exuded a strong sense of oppression.

Their banners, besides the one with the character "Chu" on it, also included banners with characters like "Yan," "Zhao," and "Qian," clearly indicating that they came from prominent families in the Jiangnan region.

Meanwhile, among the infantry and cavalry, one could also vaguely see some figures dressed in black robes.

"That's quite a show of force."

Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh.

"The military force built by the combined efforts of the imperial family, aristocratic families, powerful clans, nobles, and sects, with its millennia-old heritage, is even more sophisticated than that of the regular army of the imperial court."

"They're nothing but clay chickens and earthenware dogs."

Jiang Chengdao said calmly, "Compared to their meaningless offensives, I am more concerned about the purpose of their attacks over the past few days."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen thought for a moment and then understood.

The King of Chu was no fool; he was a renowned and wise king.

Although this title is for cultivators, the fact that it has gained unanimous recognition from them must mean that it has something extraordinary about it.

The rebel army was also full of talented people. Not to mention anything else, the generals sent to help the army by several battle-hardened generals were not ordinary people, but top generals of the same level as Cang Yue.

These people couldn't possibly fail to see that with the Holy King personally guarding Luyang, they simply couldn't possibly take it by force.

Even filling the city walls with corpses wouldn't be enough to fill the extremely deep moat dug beneath Luyang City.

During this period, countless rebel corpses have sunk into the moat, and the water level has risen considerably.

Since they knew it was a futile effort, why did they persist in attacking?
Encircle and ambush reinforcements? Impossible. With the Holy King's strength, given enough time, it will only be the rebels who are worn down.

Trapping the Holy King here and then attacking other important towns? That's even more impossible. The Holy King can break through the enemy ranks single-handedly, and Chai Hongyu alone could hold Luyang for a long time.

If we bypass Luyang, the Holy King will cut off our supply lines with his elite troops in no time.

As long as the Holy King lives, they will have absolutely no chance.

There must be something fishy going on. Although Lu Chen could tell that something was unusual and had some guesses, he couldn't figure out what methods the enemy would use or how they would carry them out.

Chai Hongyu, now clad in light armor, walked to Lu Chen's side and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, should we go out of the city to meet the enemy, or should we defend the city?"

Luyang's military strength was considerable, with 60,000 armored soldiers, including 10,000 heavy cavalry and 20,000 Xingping New Army soldiers.

The heavy cavalry are the Xuanwu Guard, the most elite fighting force in Cangming Realm, while the Xingping New Army is the main force directly under Lu Chen.

In addition to the main force of armored soldiers, there were tens of thousands of garrison troops and strongmen to assist in the defense.

Although the rebels are very strong, if the Holy King of Cangming personally leads the Xuanwu Guard into battle, he may be able to break through the rebels directly. However, if they hold their ground, the rebels will not even have a chance to capture the barbican.

No matter what choice is made, Luyang has no chance of falling.

All she wanted now was to quickly drive back these damned rebels, just like before, and then go back to Lu Chen to get some answers.

She was willing to use any special means, even if it meant resorting to them.

The situation was urgent, and she couldn't worry about anything else right now.

Jiang Chengdao pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Cang Yue, whose expression seemed inexplicably resentful.

"Let me and General Cangyue go into battle together. Commander Chai, you can stay in the city and protect Junior Protector Lu."

Upon hearing this, Chai Hongyu and Cang Yue immediately nodded.

"Yes!"

Having made the decision, Jiang Chengdao took Cang Yue and left the city wall, temporarily entrusting the defense of Luyang to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen stood on the city wall, quietly looking out of the city.

Soon, Jiang Chengdao's tall figure came into Lu Chen's sight. He rode the jet-black Shadow Steed, leading ten thousand Xuanwu Guards clad in heavy black armor, galloping swiftly towards the rebel army's twenty thousand vanguard. Like a sharp sword released from a bow, the chilling killing intent even caused the surrounding air to distort violently, blurring the view around the Xuanwu Guards.

Behind the Xuanwu Guard, Cang Yue led 20,000 Xingping New Army soldiers, tempered by blood and fire, closely following behind.

This force, composed entirely of semi-cultivators, is also quite powerful, even stronger than the Xuanwu Guard. However, Jiang Chengdao possesses a sacred secret technique that can significantly enhance the overall combat strength of the Xuanwu Guard, so the Xuanwu Guard currently holds a clear advantage over the new army.

However, this gap is getting smaller and smaller, and it's only a matter of time before the new team surpasses them.

The army of the King of Chu.

Seeing the Holy King once again personally lead the Xuanwu Guard in a surprise attack, Xuan Ping, who was in charge of the troops, showed no panic on his face, but instead gave a cold smile.

"Fully strung!"

"The entire army is on alert!"

"Vanguard, prepare for battle!"

"."

Orders were issued swiftly, and all the rebels sprang into action.

Soon, the moment the Xuanwu Guards entered the archers' firing range, the first volley of arrows from the Chu King's army, imbued with spiritual power, filled the entire sky and then rained down on the Xuanwu Guards.

Seeing this, Jiang Chengdao's expression remained unchanged. He simply raised his hand abruptly, and the Nine Netherworld instantly emitted a pale purple light.

"disease!"

The power of the Holy Path was activated instantly, and the surrounding air suddenly moved rapidly, forming a hurricane that continuously dispersed the arrows in mid-air.

Then, Jiang Chengdao's right hand, which was gripping the spear, suddenly tightened. The power of the Holy Path instantly changed its form, and the surrounding air currents began to gather wildly above the Xuanwu Guard, quickly forming a thick air wall that blocked the second wave of arrows.

After two volleys of arrows, the Xuanwu Guard suffered no casualties, and given their speed, the enemy had no chance to fire a third volley.

"kill!"

Jiang Chengdao roared, and his horse Jueying suddenly accelerated, leaving the Xuanwu Guard's formation. He took the lead and, just as he was about to reach the vanguard of the Chu King's army, Jueying leaped up.

Seeing this, many generals of the Chu army felt a chill run down their spines.

They had seen this scene before.

In mid-air, Jiang Chengdao stood on horseback, his right hand gripping the hilt of a spear, the power of the Holy Path constantly converging on the blade.

"Die!"

The moment the words were spoken, the spear was hurled out and transformed into a streak of purplish-black light, falling rapidly towards the Chu army below.

Rumble!
The spear fell to the ground without any obstruction, pinning a tall, heavily armored cavalryman and his horse to the ground. At the same time, violent energy exploded instantly, transforming into powerful shockwaves that destroyed everything around them in an instant.

"what!"

"Ah!! My legs!"

"No, no!!!"

"."

The Chu army soldiers caught in the blast screamed in agony, countless limbs and fragments flew everywhere, and soon a large pile of mutilated corpses appeared on the cracked ground.

With a single strike, over a hundred heavily armored cavalrymen, armed to the teeth and enhanced by celestial-level magic arrays and spiritual power, were rendered useless.

The power of the Holy King is terrifying.

Bang!
The horse's hooves landed on the ground with a loud, crisp sound.

Jiang Chengdao, on horseback, reached out and took the spear that was nailed to the ground.

The surrounding Chu army was terrified by his single blow, gripping their weapons tightly but daring not to attack, instead retreating in fear.

Seeing this all-too-familiar scene, Jiang Chengdao did not feel any relief; instead, his expression became even more serious.

Meanwhile, at the Chu King's army's command camp.

Watching the Cangming Saint King charge into the vanguard formation, slaughtering everyone like a war god and moving through an empty field, Xuan Ping remained calm. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them from time to time.

A moment later, he suddenly took out a top-grade communication talisman from his pocket.

"Junior brother, the time has come. We can prepare to activate the Immortal Slaughtering Formation." (End of Chapter)