Chapter 829: Do You Dare to Fight Against Me?
Bi Linglong’s face paled, but she still held her head high. “Do you think you’ve already won? We were even able to kill a ninth ranked beast just now; it’s hard to say who would come out on top if we fought. I advise you not to make that huge mistake. If we really fight, we might not be your match, but letting one or two people escape won’t be too difficult. Once we leave the dungeon, King Qi’s schemes will be known to the world and his majesty will have enough reason to end him. Then, all of your prospects will be finished as well.
“So why don’t you renounce the darkness and seek the light? If you surrender to us, I’ll not only let bygones be bygones, but also consider you the greatest contributor to bringing down King Qi. Whether it’s time, authority, wealth, or cultivation resources, all of it will be yours. That has to be better than just being a follower of King Qi Manor, and then falling together with him, right?”
Wei Pingyang was surprised. “I have to say, crown princess, your words are quite tempting. Even I’m a bit moved.”
Bi Linglong didn’t feel happy hearing those words at all, because his words implied that he would still refuse her proposal.
“If I really let you all go, killing you and the crown prince will indeed lose meaning. However, since King Qi set up this kind of plan, how could he not have made other preparations?” Wei Pingyang sighed. “Crown princess, are you rambling on here because you want to stall for some time, so your subordinates can recover a bit? But since I’ve seen through your schemes, why do you think I’m still chatting here with you?”
Bi Linglong’s expression finally changed. Don’t tell me…
Wei Pingyang cracked a grin, revealing his yellow teeth. “The crown prince already ran away earlier. Say, why do you think he returned?”
Gao Ying was shocked. “Then don’t tell me the sudden appearance of those beasts was because of you?!”
“Of course. We secretly chased those beasts to where you would have to go.” Wei Pingyang looked rather proud of what he’d done. “We wanted those beasts to just finish you all off, but I didn’t expect your group to have some skill, fighting fearlessly the entire time. In that case, I had no choice but to intervene personally.”
The group’s spirits sank to rock bottom when they heard Wei Pingyang’s words. They couldn’t even win against these people in front of them. Judging from what he was saying, there were even more people…
Suddenly, a figure quickly rushed out of the encirclement with a scream. The Meng clan’s camp was in chaos, because the one who was running was their own young master, Meng Pan! They were currently completely trapped. The clans’ warriors were supposed to act in coordination with their own young masters, but the crown prince and princess were here. If Meng Pan ran, wouldn’t that make him a deserter?
“Bastard Meng, do you have any sense of shame?!” Zhao Xi exclaimed furiously, pointing at Meng Pan and cursing.
They were already at a disadvantage, and Meng Pan was one of their strongest members. But he was running? Unfortunately, they had to concentrate on Wei Pingyang and the others’ attack right now and didn’t dare to chase after him. Otherwise, their formation would become disorderly and everything would collapse. They could only hope that Wei Pingyang’s men would stop Meng Pan now. For better or for worse, that might exhaust some of the enemy’s men.
Bi Linglong felt dispirited. She wasn’t all that upset, because at this point, having Meng Pan with them or not didn’t make much of a difference. On the contrary, if he really managed to escape and talked about the things that had happened here, leading his majesty to take revenge, that would be worth it.
That was why she instead looked expectantly in the direction Meng Pan was running in. She had to admit that for a sixth rank cultivator, Meng Pan was quite fast. He had rushed out of the ‘barbarian’ encirclement in just a few moments.
But what was strange was that no one from Wei Pingyang’s side tried to stop him. His subordinates didn’t seem to see Meng Pan at all and only focused on the remaining people.
Meng Pan was overjoyed. He had carefully chosen this moment to run because he knew that King Qi Manor’s people would have to deal with the crown prince and princess first. Those who had come to assist the crown prince were all the best warriors of the different clans. Even though they had just fought a great battle, they still retained some strength. Furthermore, with someone as powerful as Zu An here, even if Wei Pingyang was at the master rank, it wouldn’t be that easy for him to win.
That was why he figured they probably wouldn’t have the time to bother with him. As for whether or not his escape would affect their morale, that was already none of his business.
Hmph, at the very least, the Meng clan’s warriors are staying behind to help. He continued to console himself. He had already begun to think about how he was going to explain things to his majesty once he escaped alone.
Suddenly, his eyes bulged out and he frantically clutched his throat, his legs kicking from side to side. It seemed as if there were an invisible hand clutching his throat.
Wei Pingyang revealed a relaxed smile, saying, “You’re finally here.”
A voice slowly said, “If I hadn’t come, you would have let a living mouth get away.”
A tall figure slowly walked out of the woods. He was dressed in white robes, his long beard flowing in front of him. He gave off an aloof and majestic presence.
Bi Linglong’s entire body trembled. There was a bit of despair in her voice as she exclaimed, “Lu Xiao!”
The one in front of them was the head of King Qi Manor’s guardians, the one who was rumored to have reached the mid stage of the master rank, Lu Xiao!
Two more individuals appeared from other directions just then. One of them had a huge red mark on his face; his appearance was sinister and ugly. With such distinctive traits, he could naturally be none other than King Qi Manor’s fifth guardian, the mid stage ninth ranked Mu Ping. The other one had a big head and had a mischievous expression on his face. This was King Qi Manor’s third guardian, the peak stage ninth ranked He Li.
Bi Linglong laughed in distress. “Four of King Qi Manor’s five guardians were sent out at the same time? Looks like King Qi really is showing us quite a bit of respect here.”
It wasn’t just the four powerful guardians; there were many strong warriors here as well. In reality, such an army alongside any one of the guardians would have been enough to completely wipe out the group, let alone this powerful lineup!
Lu Xiao smiled. “King Qi never fights battles he doesn’t have confidence in winning. Our king always holds back until there’s a chance to strike, making t hat the fatal blow. This old one originally thought he was being a bit excessive, but after witnessing the crown princess’ courageous command, I had to praise King Qi’s foresight once again.”
Bi Linglong had a bitter smile on her face. “I’m but a young junior; I don’t deserve such praise from a powerful master.”
At the same time, she transmitted her voice to Zu An. “Ah Zu, you should find a chance to run. Inform his majesty about the things that happened here. You’re the only one out of all of us who has a chance of accomplishing this.”
Zu An said with a serious expression, “I’ll bring you with me!” He couldn’t be bothered with everyone else. Furthermore, he didn’t have a high chance of getting away, even if he just took Bi Linglong alone. There were two master ranks, two ninth ranks, and a whole army. If Mi Li helped him here, there might still be a chance, but she didn’t pay him any attention even when he tried to talk to her.
Bi Linglong shook her head. “The crown prince is here, and all of my men are here. How can I run by myself?”
Suddenly, there was a resounding crack. The struggling Meng Pan was crushed into a lump, and then flung into the air, landing at Bi Linglong’s feet.
Lu Xiao said indifferently, “I’ve always despised these cowardly people the most, so I’ll return him to the crown princess out of my respect for you.”
Zu An shivered inwardly. Lu Xiao’s hands had been behind him the entire time, yet the mid stage sixth ranked Meng Pan had been grabbed by a pair of invisible hands. He hadn’t had the slightest bit of strength to resist.
Killing a sixth rank expert was even easier for Lu Xiao than slaughtering a chicken; he didn’t even have to use his hands. Was this the power of a master rank expert?
Bi Linglong said coldly, “I was the one who gave young master Meng the order to escape and make a report to his majesty. How could he be someone greedy for life? On the contrary, you killed a loyal official. This is a crime deserving of a thousand deaths.”
She knew the other party was saying that on purpose to lower the Meng clan soldiers’ morale. After all, if even their master was cowardly, then what were they even supposed to fight for as subordinates? That was why she quickly deflected the accusations toward Meng Pan and immediately steadied their hearts.
Sure enough, the dispirited Meng clan warriors were immediately filled with fighting spirit. Their eyes burned with anger as they stared at Lu Xiao. This person had killed and slandered the Meng clan’s young master!
Lu Xiao was stunned, but then he chuckled and said, “The crown princess is wise as expected. Unfortunately, all tricks are meaningless before absolute strength.”
“Absolute strength?” Bi Linglong had a strange expression on her face. “Since your distinguished self believes that you possess absolute strength, do you dare fight against me in a fair battle?”