Aoyama

Chapter 273: No Step Back
The Tian Ce Army soldiers looked up at the man with a sword at the end of the stairs, thinking that he was also a Yulin Army soldier, so they picked up their swords and rushed upstairs.

On the narrow stairs, the armored soldiers of the Tian Ce Army swung their swords from bottom to top, aiming at Chen Ji's knees.

Chen Ji raised his sword and lightly swung it, causing the blade of the Tian Ce soldier to turn around. The soldier's eyes blurred, and the sword in his hand seemed to be sucked in, and it turned around and cut his left arm.

He looked up in astonishment, not understanding what was happening for a moment.

The Tiance Army soldier drew his broadsword from his left arm, roared with a flushed face, and swung his sword at Chen Ji again. But this time, as soon as he raised his hand, the five-foot-five-inch whale sword in Chen Ji's hand pierced his neck like a spear.

The whale knife was slowly retracted, blood spurted out from the neck of the Tian Ce Army soldier, flowed down the wooden stairs, and the corpse rolled down.

Chen Ji stood at the end of the stairs holding a whale knife, not saying a word.

The next moment, the soldiers of the Tian Ce Army once again rushed upstairs fearlessly.

Because the stairs were too narrow and only allowed room for one person to fight, two Tian Ce Army soldiers immediately jumped lightly, one on the left and one on the right, stepping on the handrails of the stairs and attacking Chen Ji from both sides as if walking on a tightrope.

The wooden handrail of the stairs was only as wide as a palm, but they walked on it steadily as if they were walking on flat ground.

There was one person on the stairs, two people on the handrails, the three of them were like a sharp arrow.

When they arrived in front of Chen Ji, the soldier on the left handrail leaped several feet high and chopped down on his head with a knife; the soldier on the right handrail flew forward and pounced on Chen Ji's chest and abdomen with a knife; the soldier on the stairs lowered his body and chopped horizontally, slashing down towards Chen Ji's ankles.

The murderous intent is revealed!
As long as Chen Ji retreated away from the stairs, no matter whether their attack succeeded or not, his colleagues behind him would follow and kill him, and Chen Ji would no longer be able to block the narrow stairs.

But at this moment, Chen Ji raised his foot and stepped on the horizontal sword from his lower body, firmly stepping on it and unable to move. The soldier on the stairs couldn't draw his sword, and subconsciously looked up, but Chen Ji didn't even look at him, and had already swung the whale sword to chop horizontally.

But there were two crisp sounds, and the swords in the hands of the two soldiers who rushed over from the stair railing were broken. Chen Ji's sword was still strong, and he used his arm strength to twist the blade and chop back, cutting the two soldiers in mid-air.

Chen Ji's feet loosened, and the soldier who was trying hard to draw his sword was caught off guard and fell backwards, rolling down.

With two thuds, the body of the flying soldier fell down, and blood spurted out of his body and flowed down the stairs.

Chen Ji swung his knife to smash the stair handrail, and the narrow staircase suddenly became like a high-hanging single-plank bridge.

In the main hall, the iron tower-like warrior was wiping the heavy sword in his hand and silently looking up the stairs. He saw the long whale knife in Chen Ji's hand dripping with blood, and he did not retreat a single step.

"There's actually a tough guy in the Dandy Army?" The iron tower-like soldier only took a glance, then lowered his head to wipe the heavy sword again, and said nonchalantly: "Whoever kills this man will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver, and whoever captures the Ning Dynasty prince alive will be made a marquis!"

The soldiers of the Tian Ce Army looked at each other, and then rushed up like crazy, wanting to fill the gap with their lives.

……

……

In the No. 2 room, Zhang Xia and Xiaoman opened the window and looked out, only to see Zaozao stamping his horse's hooves restlessly in the stable.

When someone tried to kill it, it untied the reins itself, kicked over two Tian Ce Army soldiers, and ran away, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Downstairs, a large group of Tiance Army soldiers were rushing into the inn.

Zhang Xia cast his gaze into the distance, trying to search for a glimmer of hope, but the Tian Ce Army's cavalry was rampaging in the city, and the lives of border troops and civilians were harvested by the Tian Ce Army like grass, and there was still no sign of reinforcements in the city.

Chen Liqin paced back and forth in the room. He looked at Zhang Xia and said, "Second Miss Zhang, do you think Chen Ji can stop those Jingchao thieves?"

Zhang Xia looked out the window and said without turning his head, "I can't stop it."

Chen Wenxiao trembled: "He is an official, how can he not be stopped!"

Zhang Xia said coldly, "The Tiance Army that came to assassinate the prince must have an officer, at least in the Xiantian realm... Even if there is no officer in the Tiance Army, even a great master in the Shendao realm cannot stop thousands of troops. You don't care about his safety, but only care about whether he can shelter you from the wind and rain? What have you been doing before?"

Time passed little by little, and everyone in the room felt like the day was a year long.

Chen Liqin struggled for a long time, and finally rolled up the bed sheet and threw it over the beam, tying it into a knot.

He hesitated for two breaths, then looked at Liang: "If the Jingchao thieves rush in later, you and I will..."

Liang said sadly, "Master, is there no other way? Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to do this?"

Chen Liqin was silent for a moment: "When the city is captured, it is a blessing to be able to die with dignity."

Liang cried and complained, "Master Zhang advised you not to come to Guyuan, but you refused to listen. What should I do now?"

Chen Wenxiao trembled and said to Chen Liqin: "Father, they want to capture the prince alive, not to kill anyone. You might as well reveal your identity, and they will definitely not kill us..."

Chen Wenzong was furious and said, "I can sacrifice my life, but I will never give up my integrity. How could you have the idea of ​​surrendering to the Jing Dynasty? When did my Chen family produce such a disloyal, unfilial, shameless bastard like you?" Chen Wenxiao also blushed and retorted, "It is better to live a miserable life than to die. Brother, you and my father have studied poetry and books for decades. Are you willing to be slaughtered like an animal in this frontier?"

Chen Wenzong said angrily, "The Jingchao thieves haven't even come in yet, and you're so panicked?"

Chen Wenxiao said anxiously: "There are so many Tiance Army soldiers downstairs, how can Chen Ji stop them alone? It's only a matter of time before they come to kill us..."

Zhang Xia stood by the window and said without turning his head: "Don't panic, everyone. Today, if Chen Ji can stop the Tiance Army, we can live. If he can't stop them, the worst that can happen is that we die together."

……

……

At this time, everyone in the Tianzi room was guarding the prince.

The prince slowly woke up, and when he heard the sound of fighting outside the door, he suddenly sat up: "Mr. Liao! Protect the emperor!"

Qi Zhuozhu was startled and said quickly, "Your Highness, Mr. Liao has gone to ask for reinforcements."

The prince came back to his senses and looked around: "Wasn't I knocked out by Chen Ji? Why am I still in the inn? Has the Tiance Army already reached downstairs?"

Qi Chenzhuo's face was grim: "Your Highness, the inn has been surrounded. The Jingchao Tiance Army came out from the secret passage of the inn and blocked the stairs. Now Chen Ji is guarding the stairs and fighting with them. We..."

The prince stood up and stood by the window, gazing at the setting sun in the distance.

He saw the Yulin Army rushing to Xuwei Lane and fighting with the Tiance Army. Although the Yulin Army had a group of officers, they were still defeated by the Tiance Army.

Fortunately, Li Xuan was looking after him, so he was not killed by the Tian Ce Army immediately.

The prince sighed, "The Yulin Army has been pampered in the capital and has become slack. There are obviously several people like Chen Ji, who are in the Xiantian realm, but there is a world of difference between them."

Qi Zhuozhuo behind him was immediately ashamed, clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, the Yulin Army failed to protect you. I will never refuse even if I die."

The prince turned around and looked at him, smiling and saying, "Deputy Envoy Qi, don't blame yourself. I guess it's my bad luck that I can't shoulder the responsibility of this important national destiny. Please help me get a cup of tea. I need to take my medicine."

As he spoke, he took out a white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured out a black pill.

Qi Zhuozhuo was stunned: "Your Highness, what are you doing..."

The prince sighed, "Now the thieves of Jing Dynasty have got the news and want to capture me alive. I can't let them catch me like a pig or a dog, can I? Then I will become a joke for all eternity, and my Ning Dynasty will also lose face. As the crown prince, how can I do this?"

Qi hesitated for a moment and said, "If you hadn't sent Mr. Liao to ask for reinforcements, perhaps..."

The prince shook his head: "There aren't so many ifs."

Qi Chenzhuo said solemnly: "Prince, you must not commit suicide. I will definitely protect you here."

The prince laughed: "Deputy Envoy Qi, if you can really return alive, you must change your bragging habit. Although you have the protection of the Qi family, a real man is born in heaven and earth. Doesn't Deputy Envoy Qi want to make a career for himself?"

Qi Chenzhuo lowered his head in shame and said, "Your Highness, is what my brother-in-law said true? Am I really useless?"

The prince stared out the window in a daze and said, "Although you were under the protection of the Qi family, you grew up like a grass; although Chen Ji was just a bastard of the Chen family, he grew up like a tree."

Qi Zhuo was silent for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I realized it just before I die. Isn't it a little too late?"

The prince patted him on the shoulder and said, "It is never too late to hear the truth in the morning and die in the evening."

However, at this moment, he suddenly looked up and said, "No, Your Highness. Normally, Chen Ji is the only one blocking the stairs, and the Tiance Army should have come up long ago. But the shouting and killing has not stopped yet, and no Jing Dynasty thieves have come up from the third floor. Could it be that there are some masters hidden in this inn who have resisted the attack of the Jing Dynasty thieves?"

The prince's expression changed, and he immediately walked out of the house: "Go and take a look!"

He hurried downstairs to check.

But the next moment, the prince and Qi Zhuozhuo were both stunned on the stairs.

Chen Ji swung his sword like rain, blocking the sword flashes of the Tiance Army soldiers like water could not get in. Corpses were lying on the stairs, and blood was dripping down from both sides of the stairs like a curtain of water.

The shouts of the Tian Ce Army shook the sky.

From beginning to end, Chen Ji was the only one on the stairs.

(End of this chapter)