Isolated town in northern border region

The three men, Lao Sun and Lao San, fought the enemy in formation, almost entirely relying on their heavy armor to exchange wounds for wounds.

Old Sun slashed his sword diagonally, severing a burly man's arm!

In Lao Sun's mind, the burly man in front of him should be screaming and clutching his severed hand at this moment, and all he needs to do is stab him in the neck to end his suffering.

But what Lao Sun didn't expect was that the burly man opposite him seemed to feel no pain at all, and his expression didn't change at all. His other hand's mace slammed into Lao Sun's shoulder without any pause!

click!

Old Sun was leaning on the knife; half of his body was completely numb.

He heard the sound of his shoulder bone cracking when that mace hit him.

His entire left arm hung down at his side, swaying with inertia.

Almost the instant Old Sun fell, the girl's arrow pierced through the gaps in the formation and stabbed Zhao Xiaohu and Ma Sanzhu.

Zhao Xiaohu and Ma Sanzhu each had half an arrow shaft stuck in their shoulders, while the other had an arrow piercing his calf, with blood flowing down his boot.

The three men stood back to back, their shields askew, but their eyes remained sharp as they stared intently at the leather-armored strongmen who were closing in.

The girl stood a few steps away, a hint of seriousness in her eyes.

"I'll ask one last time."

Her voice turned cold.

"How many of you are left?"

"What brings you to Qingzhou?"

Old Sun spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, but didn't say anything.

Zhao Xiaohu gripped the knife handle tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Ma Sanzhu gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain in his shoulder, and cursed under his breath.

"Kill me if you want, stop talking nonsense."

The girl raised an eyebrow slightly.

She wasn't angry; instead, she smiled.

That smile held a hint of admiration and a hint of regret.

"He certainly has backbone."

The girl smiled and praised, but her words were full of coldness.

She reached out and grabbed the arrow shaft on Ma Sanzhu's shoulder, stirring it vigorously as if pounding medicine.

Ma Sanzhu convulsed in pain, but he still gritted his teeth and didn't even utter a sound of pain.

Seeing his brother being humiliated, Zhao Xiaohu grabbed his knife and slashed at the girl.

The girl moved extremely quickly, raising her left arm to parry with a hard bow, then flicking her wrist to remove the steel knife, the bowstring directly strangling Zhao Xiaohu's neck.

"What deep camaraderie!"

The girl slowly stood up, lifted Zhao Xiaohu's head as if it were a bag of garbage, and then stomped down on it with a sudden kick.

"I'll ask you one more time, how many of you are there? What are you doing in Qingzhou!"

Ma Sanzhu pulled the arrow from his shoulder and began to curse loudly.

"Fuck your mother! You filthy bitch!"

"The prince will definitely avenge us!"

The girl sneered as she lifted the hard bow and spun it sharply, the bowstring tightening so much that Zhao Xiaohu's face turned blue!

"I don't know how long he can hold out, you'd better be sensible!"

Zhao Xiaohu gripped the bowstring tightly with both hands and turned to look at Ma Sanzhu.

That resolute gaze was filled with a final plea.

Ma Sanzhu held the arrow he had just pulled out, his tiger-like eyes filled with tears.

"Brother! I'll be there soon!"

Ma Sanzhu roared and raised the arrow, aiming it at Zhao Xiaohu's throat, ready to stab him!

In the blink of an eye!

A cold light pierced the wind from behind him, like a bolt of lightning, brutally severing the blood-stained arrow and the bowstring around Zhao Xiaohu's neck!

The bowstring snapped and the bow broke; the girl lost her balance and stumbled backward, the flying sword grazing her toes before embedding itself in the ground.

"Ma Sanzhu!"

What is the first ironclad rule of the Trapped Camp?

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ma Sanzhu shuddered and roared reflexively.

"No matter what, do everything you can to survive!"

Xiao Lie strode out from the shadows of the trees.

"Damn it! Get well soon and go back to school!"

After cursing, Xiao Lie turned his gaze to the girl opposite him.

"Dare to touch my people?"

"You're tired of living."

Xiao Lie was not wearing heavy armor, only a dark-colored close-fitting outfit. The Taiping Blade in his hand was snatched from Le Duo, and its blade gleamed coldly in the morning light.

Behind him followed Ledo and four soldiers, all lightly armed and panting, clearly having come at full speed.

The girl's gaze lingered on Xiao Lie for two seconds, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

"You're the King of the Northern Frontier?"

Instead of retreating, she looked at Xiao Lie with great interest.

"That's interesting."

"Judging from your appearance, you don't seem like the offspring of that good-for-nothing Xiao Mu!"

"He does indeed possess some of the charisma of Emperor Wu of old!"

Xiao Lie didn't waste any words with her. His gaze swept over the three men, Old Sun and the others, lying in pools of blood, and his voice was as cold as a knife.

"Release them, and I'll let you die a peaceful death."

"Otherwise, you will be executed by slow slicing!"

Xiao Lie didn't take the dozen or so burly men in leather armor in front of him seriously at all.

The fighting strength of the Vanguard Camp is far beyond what these chickens and dogs can possibly compete with.

The girl scoffed.

"Hmph! You think you can take me?"

"If you were wearing heavy armor, I would have to put in some effort, but now..."

"They're nothing but a bunch of short-lived ghosts!"

Then, she gently waved her hand.

"kill!"

A dozen or so burly men in leather armor silently pounced on them.

Ledo was the first to rush forward, swinging his pair of maces with great force, smashing down the two who were charging at the front.

Xiao Lie followed closely behind, slashing down with his Taiping Blade, cutting a deep gash from the left shoulder to the right rib of a burly man in leather armor, revealing the bone.

Blood gushed out, splattering all over his face.

But the burly man didn't even utter a sound, and with a backhand slash, he cut Xiao Lie's neck.

Holy crap! This guy's cheating!

Xiao Lie was startled and dodged to the side, simultaneously retaliating with a swift, sweeping strike. The blade struck the burly man's waist knife, snapping it in two.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xiao Lie slashed horizontally with his sword, and the burly man's head rolled to the ground.

"Your Highness! These people don't know pain!"

Ma Sanzhu shouted hoarsely from behind.

"Be extremely careful!"

Xiao Lie felt a chill run down his spine.

He glanced back at the other battlefields.

Ledo broke the leg bone of a burly man, who knelt on one knee, using his broken leg to support himself on the ground, and continued to slash with his knife.

The other four warriors were caught off guard and were also ambushed. They raised their shields to defend themselves and were immediately suppressed.

The girl stood not far away, her bow now with a new string, and she was taking an arrow from her quiver.

Xiao Lie caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye, only to see her suddenly freeze in her movements.

Although a hint of doubt flashed through his mind, Xiao Lie still raised his voice sharply.

"Everyone!"

"On my command! Form ranks!"

"Forward thrust!"

Four soldiers responded to the call and quickly formed a small circle, charging forward with all their might. They then immediately protected the three seriously wounded soldiers in the middle!

Ledo retreated into the formation, holding his mace horizontally across his chest.

Xiao Lie stood at the front of the formation, the tip of his sword pointing to the ground, his gaze fixed on the girl.

The girl didn't react at all; her action of drawing the bow and nocking the arrow seemed to have been paused!

Her gaze was fixed on the late emperor's sword that Xiao Lie had thrown at the beginning, and she couldn't move it even an inch!

The dragon pattern on the sword hilt was exactly the same as the tattoo on her neck.

She seemed to have thought of something, and she trembled with excitement.

"stop."

Her voice cracked slightly.

All the burly men in leather armor seemed to be pulled by invisible threads, and suddenly stopped attacking.

Someone is swinging a knife down, the blade hovering in mid-air;

Some people were charging forward, but their feet were frozen in place;

Even one of the recruits, with his axe blade already held above his head, strangely stopped his downward strike.

They all stepped back a few paces, surrounding the girl, and remained silent as stones.

Xiao Lie narrowed his eyes to slits and frowned into a deep frown.

Is this something a human can train to do?

Even with strict orders, it's impossible to achieve this level of compliance.

Xiao Lie neither pursued nor lowered his knife.

He stared at the girl, his Taiping sword pointing steadily at her.

"What do you mean by that?"

The girl's gaze shifted from the sword hilt to Xiao Lie's face.

The indifference in her eyes vanished, replaced by a look of surprise.

"To think they could train such elite troops... I wonder which prince of the Great Chu is on the other side?"

Xiao Lie drew a circle with his left hand beside him.

That was the signal from the Trapped Camp, indicating that the surrounding comrades should disperse and complete the encirclement.

Ledo and his men moved their feet silently, and quietly cocked their crossbows.

"I am Xiao Lie, the King of the Northern Frontier of the Great Chu."

Xiao Lie's voice was steady and cold.

"Who are you? State your names."

The girl was jolted when she heard the name "Xiao Lie".

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You...you are the only son of Emperor Wu of Great Chu?"

"The former Crown Prince—Xiao Lie?"

Xiao Lie's eyebrows twitched.

What is meant by "former Crown Prince"?

If you can't speak, you don't have to!

You presumptuous fellow!

Although he was extremely unhappy, Xiao Lie still agreed.

"It is indeed I, the King."

The girl's expression changed.

She turned her head sharply and whispered something to a burly man in leather armor beside her.

The burly man immediately pulled the sword from the tree trunk, held it with both hands, walked quickly to Xiao Lie, knelt on one knee, and raised the sword high.

"Your Highness, please."

The girl reached out and pushed the burly man in front of her away, took two steps forward, and knelt down on one knee.

"This humble general, Tie Muyun, is a captain of the Third Battalion of the Panlong Guard."

"By order of my adoptive father, I went into hiding in Qingzhou to train warhorses..."

Her movements were swift and deliberate, without the slightest hesitation.

She raised her head and looked at Xiao Lie. The indifferent arrogance in her eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by an almost fanatical reverence.

"This humble general, Tie Muyun, greets Your Highness."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"The Panlong Guard is Emperor Wu's personal army. We have been hiding throughout the Great Chu for many years, waiting for Your Highness!"

"It's all our fault for not managing our communications well, and for taking so long to gather our followers, which is why we couldn't submit sooner!"

"By the time our Panlong Guard had gathered its forces, that old bastard Xiao Mu had already mobilized his troops and stationed them south of Cangzhou. We dared not make a sound and could only hide in the mountains and forests of Qingzhou, serving Your Highness..."

She hadn't finished speaking.

Behind Xiao Lie came a dense sound of footsteps and the scraping of armor.

Hundreds of soldiers from the Vanguard Camp emerged from the dense forest, their armor in perfect order, their swords and shields arrayed in a forest.

Hmph! The advantage is mine! Let's see how you escape!

Xiao Lie took the sword, but his right hand still held the Taiping Blade pointed at her brow.

"Was the great plague in Qingzhou caused by you?"