And yet, Prime Minister Pon-Wai felt a strange sense of unease. "They're only a few people! What are you doing? Hurry up and capture them already! The first to capture the Imperial Princesses or Imperian Qiang will be titled a Hou-Dan Noble!" he shouted to the soldiers' excitement.
A Hou-Dan Noble was the third of the six nobility ranks in the Xingyuu Empire and the upper limit for a commoner to reach without extensive background. For these soldiers to become a Hou-Dan Noble was like rising to a king in one step, their life would be smooth sailing after that! It was an extremely attractive offer to anyone! The soldiers renewed their assault with tremendous vigor. Despite that, the prime minister kept a pensive face.
"Is something the matter, Your Excellency?" the captain asked.
"How many people are fighting currently?"
"We have sixty participating, and another sixty-five guarding the perimeter."
"Send another forty."
"But this is already…"
"I said, do it!" the prime minister snapped.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" the captain squealed.
Prime Minister Pon-Wai returned his gaze to the battlefield. He was not going to leave anything to chance. He was going to crush them with overwhelming strength! Looking at the Imperial Princesses and Imperian Qiang, he wanted to see what they had planned. Could they possibly turn this around? Meanwhile, Protector Chang glanced at his brother, the prime minister, and felt hurt. In the end, his brother never said anything to him and never even looked at him. It might have been years since they last saw one another, and yet his brother showed zero interest in a reunion. It was like he never existed in his brother's eyes at all… More than any physical wound, Protector Chang felt hurt and betrayed. Did he mean nothing to his older brother? Was their bond this worthless? What was Prime Minister Pon-Wai thinking?
"Protector Chang, now isn't the time to be distracted!" Cardinal Hui shouted.
The boy instinctively raised his sword to parry an incoming blow. "My apologies!"
"Good, let's begin as planned! Lady Mingyu!" As expected, the former leader of the Four Cardinals and the Imperial Sentinels had an outstanding charisma and leadership skill that put everyone to shame. He naturally assumed the role of leader on the battlefield.
Lady Mingyu cracked a wicked smile, flipped the grip on her sword, and accelerated. Her movements resembled a ghost as she wove in-between the bamboo forest with unbelievable dexterity, flexibility, and speed. It was though her body were weightless. There was zero resistance in her movements! Her physical mastery might have exceeded Cardinal Hui and Sir Winstin, both peak Perception Realm Masters and symbol for the pinnacle of strength. She might be the closest person to Half-Instinct Realm without Martial Energy! The strange thing was that she did not attack anyone and instead, she aimed her sword at the dense bamboo forest surrounding them. Her sword slashed through the thick bamboo effortlessly as she chopped down over a hundred of the tall plant in an instant.
Her actions were met with confusion by their enemies, but the Imperial Princesses and Protector Chang did not hesitate to join her. Brilliant light flashed as two swords, one saber, and one spear annihilated the forest. As the bamboos came crashing down onto the hard soil, they created deep indents and minor tremors. Anyone could tell how heavy they were with a glance. They could easily kill if they caught someone underneath! However, their enemies gracefully outmaneuvered the hazards with their Perception Realm level senses. As an eruption of leaves and dust blew into the air, the once clear forest transformed into a messy and chaotic battlefield. Everyone found their vision clouded by the plumes of debris.
"Is this their plan?" Prime Minister Pon-Wai frowned. This might have worked against a normal Fundamental Realm soldier, but everyone here was a Perception Realm. It was impossible to hide against their senses! The Imperial Princesses should understand this too so what was the point? What did they want? He turned to the captain once more and said, "Tighten the perimeter. I don't want them to escape!"
"Rest assured, Your Excellency. None of them will escape." He could not fathom why the prime minister might be so anxious. Their side outnumbered their opponents by almost three to one, and not to mention, their soldiers were all Perception Realms wielding Martial Energy. No matter how he saw it, failure seemed impossible.
Their soldiers felt the same way as their courage swelled. They charged ahead boldly! What Imperial Princess? What Li Family? Forget about that, they simply saw the opportunity to become a Hou-Dan Noble before their eyes! They had to be the ones to capture them first! With their rivalry out of control, their Martial Perception erupted in full force, showering the entire forest in a hectic aura storm. The oppression of a hundred Perception Realms was not to be taken lightly! Ten enemies in front, twenty behind them, twenty aiming their bows, and another fifty closing their flank. Against these impossible odds, Lady Mingyu could only laugh wildly as her blood boiled. She loved a challenge more than anything! Her crazy attitude and aura terrified the soldiers facing her, who resembled a demon more than a human! The woman then stomped down hard enough to deform the earth and create a minor shockwave before catapulting herself across the battlefield at unimaginable speeds. Even Perception Realms failed to track her movements!
Fearing for their lives, the soldiers facing her reflexively loosed arrows and flying strikes at her. They could not let this monster come closer! Over twenty flying strikes and twenty arrows closed off her path to advance. It was a fatal attack! Lady Mingyu smiled and jumped. Although she had less than a second to react, her instincts were even faster than that! She twisted her body freely, letting the flying strikes and arrows glide over her limbs in a single refined motion. Her clothing was quickly dyed red, since she could not dodge everything perfectly, and two arrows had impaled her shoulder and right thigh too; however, each injury was surprisingly shallow. She survived by the narrowest of margins! Her enemies could not believe what they saw. Lady Mingyu then locked eyes with a pesky archer, wound her arm back, and threw her sword like a spear! Splat! It impaled her target right in the head. Since she lacked the range, she would create it! It was as simple as that. With the recoil momentum, she rebounded off a bamboo towards her enemies. Covered in blood, she looked scarier than ever without her sword!
An unarmed woman would normally be easy prey but sadly, Lady Mingyu was someone who transcended common sense! Using her superior speed, she pounced on a nearby soldier, crushed his hands, snatched his sword, and kicked him away before battling his four companions. Despite being outnumbered, she dominated the opposition with overwhelming power. It required the effort of five Perception Realms and Thousand Storms, a Perception Realm Master, in the Battle of Liguang to match her. Here though, without that additional pressure, she could dominate freely. The four soldiers were killed in a flash!
Protector Chang and the Imperial Princesses followed her lead and repelled the other enemies. Truth be told, they were not thrilled about the circumstances since it violated every principle they had. It was one thing for the kingdom to fight their people, but it was an entirely different feeling to do it themselves. They felt deeply conflicted. Fortunately, they did not let those thoughts distract them from the battle. Facing Perception Realms, the slightest error could lead to death! They had to commit everything they had, even if they hated the idea. They steeled their resolve once more.
Drawing his second straight sword, Protector Chang swung them in a slow, but gentle arc. Three Perception Realms attacked him simultaneously. They aimed to cut down this famous protector in one blow, yet something strange happened next. Their sword trajectories, which should have been straight, were suddenly diverted by a mysterious force and thrown aside. None of them could touch him! They were shocked because their Martial Perception missed what happened. It was too sharp and quick for them to notice. As it turned out, this mysterious effect was caused by Protector Chang's peculiar swordsmanship style that allowed him to redirect and deflect attacks with absolute precision. Akin to a strong current, his defense was malleable and intangible! It was impenetrable! How ironic was it that his swordsmanship style complimented the Shui Family's guiding philosophy. Protector Tai used to tease him over that. With their attacks ending, Protector Chang began his counterattack.