Chapter 459: Underground Deadly Plot

Prince Liang and Liu Yao were also notified. They hurried out to investigate, gazing doubtfully at the black wave in the distance. Suddenly, their expressions changed: "It's the rebel army! Prepare for battle!"

They couldn't understand why they would encounter the rebels in this location. While it wasn't too far from Lushui County, it wasn't particularly close either, with other prefectures separating them. How on earth had this rebel force suddenly appeared here? Were the guards in those prefectures along the way all dead?

Liu Yao instinctively wanted to retreat, but his subordinate generals firmly held him back. "General Wei, you cannot retreat now," they urged. "The rebels have already charged, and there are many cavalry among them. If we try to escape now, we won't succeed. Instead, our formation will collapse, leaving us defenseless and easily cut down from behind."

"Exactly. It's better to form a battle array and face the enemy. Although the rebels are numerous, their individual strength is far inferior to our elite Imperial Guards. As long as we hold out for a while, nearby prefectures will receive the news and send troops to support us. Then we'll be safe, and perhaps even achieve unparalleled merit." After all, the Imperial Guards were the most elite troops in the entire empire, and there was no shortage of discerning individuals among them, who urgently pressed their advice.

Liu Yao, feeling somewhat disoriented, hurriedly turned to Prince Liang beside him. "Your Royal Highness, what do you think we should do?" he asked.

Prince Liang, being a Grandmaster, remained calmer. "Then let's form a battle array and meet the enemy!" he declared.

"Form ranks, form ranks!" Liu Yao finally snapped back to reality and galloped around, shouting loudly.

The Imperial Guards quickly moved their carts and supplies to the outer perimeter, then formed ranks, holding shields and raising long spears, aiming them towards the charging rebels.

Prince Liang, meanwhile, flew into mid-air and quickly condensed two spheres of light in his hands, which he hurled directly at the charging rebels.

Boom! Boom! With two loud bangs, the charging rebels were sent sprawling, men and horses toppling. However, the rebel army was too numerous, and such a minor setback couldn't halt their charge.

Prince Liang quickly condensed two more spheres of light and hurled them down again. Without pausing, he immediately continued to condense and bombard with more light spheres.

The rebel ranks finally fell into disarray. Firstly, they were intimidated by the power of the exploding light spheres. Secondly, the previous explosions had caused their comrades to topple, and many couldn't stop their momentum during the charge, leading to an increasing number of fallen soldiers.

Watching from the prisoner cart, Zu'an gasped in amazement. Prince Liang's display was exactly like a bomber! It was like an air force fighting ground troops—he had every advantage.

Just then, a thin, transparent shield appeared in mid-air above the rebel ranks. Evidently, they also possessed a corresponding formation. Although it didn't appear as thick and solid as the Chu family's Red-Robed Army's shields, its advantage lay in sheer numbers and power, and it barely managed to withstand Prince Liang's bombardment.

Seeing this, Liu Yao also let out a cold snort. He drew his waist saber and stepped forward to assist, slashing a forty-meter long vital energy blade directly at the rebel shield. Coupled with Prince Liang's bombardment, the rebel shield quickly became precarious.

At that moment, a figure burst from the rebel formation and flew directly into the air. With a single punch, he shattered Liu Yao's vital energy blade and simultaneously blocked Prince Liang's attack.

As their fists and palms met, both sides recoiled.

"Traitor Lu Sanyuan, I didn't expect you to come in person!" Prince Liang's expression was grim. Although both had retreated significantly, seemingly evenly matched, the opponent had first repelled Liu Yao before clashing with him, clearly indicating his strength was superior.

"Lu Sanyuan?" Hearing the name, Zu'an paused, evidently unfamiliar with it.

Sang Hong, who was beside him, explained: "He is the rebel leader of Lushui County. The imperial court has sent large armies to suppress him several times, all ending in failure. Seeing him today, I didn't expect his cultivation to be so profound. No wonder the court's suppressions yielded no results."

Zu'an vaguely recalled hearing people discuss this man back in Brightmoon City, where he was described as a fierce, man-eating demon king. Yet, the middle-aged man now hovering in mid-air had a face like jade and flowing long hair, looking more like a reclusive hermit at peace with the world than a rebel leader.

"The renowned Prince Liang is nothing special," Lu Sanyuan declared. "If you surrender to me today, I can spare your life. Otherwise, this day next year will be your death anniversary." He stood in mid-air, hands clasped behind his back, exuding an indefinably arrogant aura.

Under the gaze of all eyes, Prince Liang couldn't afford to lose his composure. He gritted his teeth and retorted, "Hmph, I think today is the day your traitorous head will be taken!"

"How bold!" Lu Sanyuan's face turned cold, and he lunged towards Prince Liang like a great roc spreading its wings. As he moved, the winds and clouds behind him changed, and black qi surged, vaguely forming a giant devil's head.

Prince Liang's expression changed. He swiftly waved both hands outwards, and a transparent membrane quickly enveloped him, making him resemble an egg.

The two quickly collided, and surging black qi soon enveloped Prince Liang.

Liu Yao, who was nearby, originally wanted to leave, but he too was surrounded by black qi. Clearly, Lu Sanyuan didn't want him to free his hands to deal with the rebels below.

The three of them fought back and forth in mid-air. Even though Prince Liang and Liu Yao joined forces, Lu Sanyuan was not at a disadvantage at all; in fact, he was primarily on the offensive.

Black qi filled the mid-air. Prince Liang and Liu Yao's figures could only be glimpsed occasionally, like two small boats in a raging sea, liable to be overturned by huge waves at any moment.

Zu'an couldn't help but remind Huang Huihong, who was beside him, "Aren't you going to help? Last time, that impressive imperial decree of yours—quickly summon it again to suppress this Lu Sanyuan!"

To his surprise, Huang Huihong didn't move an inch. "Prince Liang and General Wei can hold their own," he said.

Zu'an remarked, "I suspect you're selling out your teammates."

Huang Huihong just gave a noncommittal grunt and ignored him.

By this time, the rebels had already charged. The Imperial Guard's formation inflicted heavy losses on the rebel vanguard, with many corpses impaled directly on their long spears.

However, the rebel numbers were simply too great. One by one, they seemed to be on stimulants, their eyes bloodshot, howling as they stepped over their comrades' corpses and continued to surge forward.

Soon, both sides engaged in close combat. At first, the Imperial Guards tried their best to maintain their small group formations, but they couldn't withstand the continuous surge of rebels. Furthermore, with Liu Yao entangled and no unified command, they quickly devolved into individual combat.

Huang Huihong used his Soul-Hooking Chain to whip away nearby rebels. He and the other Embroidered Uniform Envoys contracted their defense line, surrounding Zu'an's prisoner cart in the center.

Because they were at the very center of the formation, the rebels who could break through to them were, after all, a minority.

But even so, Huang Huihong's expression remained grim, as it was only a matter of time before the rebels surrounded them in large numbers.

"Commander, what do we do now?" another Embroidered Uniform Envoy urgently asked.

Huang Huihong glanced at the overall situation and said in a deep voice, "Let's first retreat to a safe place."

Zu'an couldn't help but say, "Does this count as deserting in battle?"

"Shut up!" Huang Huihong snorted. "My primary mission is to safely deliver you to the capital. I can't control anything else, nor do I want to."

Sang Hong, who was beside him, spoke up. "Commander Huang, how about removing the restrictions on us? As an imperial official, I also have a responsibility to contribute against the rebels. Besides, I have family in the capital, so you needn't worry about me taking the opportunity to escape after I recover."

"Indeed, Lord Sang is an eighth-rank cultivator after all; he should also be able to impact the battle," an Embroidered Uniform Envoy whispered to Huang Huihong. Evidently, the current battle situation made them somewhat uneasy.

"No!" Huang Huihong flatly refused, unwilling to take any risks. "Go!"

With that, he led the two carriages away, retreating in another direction. As long as they reached the nearest prefecture or county, they would be safe and could mobilize troops to assist.

Seeing them leave, a portion of the rebels immediately broke off and pursued them. But soon, Imperial Guards intercepted them. Evidently, the Imperial Guards were also aware of their mission's importance: if anything happened to Zu'an and the others, even if they miraculously survived the battlefield, they wouldn't escape death upon returning to the capital.

Huang Huihong and his party seized this opportunity to hastily escape into the nearby mountain forest.

Just as they thought they had escaped the battlefield, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, several sharp swords suddenly shot out from the ground, accurately piercing the lower bodies of the Embroidered Uniform Envoys.