Chapter 272: Unwavering

The Tian Ce army armored soldiers looked up, watching the person leaning on a saber at the top of the stairs. They only thought this was another Yu Lin army soldier, so they held their sabers and rushed upstairs.

In the narrow stairs, Tian Ce army armored soldiers swung their sabers upwards from below, slashing towards Chen Ji's knee.

Chen Ji held his saber, lightly shifting it. He deflected the edge of the Tian Ce army armored soldiers' saber back. The Tian Ce army armored soldier's vision blurred. The saber in his hand seemed to be stuck, turning in a circle and chopping his own left arm.

He lifted his head in surprise, unable to understand what had happened!

The Tian Ce army armored soldier pulled the plain saber out of his left arm, his face flushed red, and roared angrily. He swung his saber again to chop at Chen Ji!

But this time, as soon as he lifted his hand, the five-chi-five-zhang whale saber in Chen Ji's hand had already pierced through his neck like a long spear!

The whale saber slowly withdrew. Blood sprayed from the Tian Ce army armored soldier's neck, flowing down the wooden stairs. His corpse rolled downstairs!

Chen Ji stood at the top of the stairs, holding the whale saber inverted, not saying a word!

The next moment, the Tian Ce army armored soldiers again charged upstairs, valiant and fearless of death!

Because the stairs were too narrow for only one person to fight, two Tian Ce army armored soldiers immediately leaped lightly, one left and one right, stepping on the stairs' handrails. Like walking on a tightrope, they moved towards Chen Ji to attack from both sides!

The stairs' wooden handrails were only palm-width, yet they walked steadily and firmly, as if walking on flat ground!

One person on the stairs, two people on the handrails, three people like a sharp arrow!

Just as they were about to reach Chen Ji, the armored soldier on the left handrail leaped several chi high and chopped down with his saber from above. Then the armored soldier on the right handrail flew forward, pouncing, and chopped towards Chen Ji's chest and abdomen. The armored soldier on the stairs crouched down and made a horizontal slash towards Chen Ji's ankle!

Their three-in-one killing formation was fully exposed. As long as Chen Ji retreated and opened the stairs, whether their attack succeeded or not, their comrades behind would follow closely to kill. Then Chen Ji would no longer block these narrow stairs!

But in that instant, Chen Ji lifted his foot and stepped on the horizontal saber that was slashing his lower body, holding it firmly underfoot so it couldn't move!

The armored soldier on the stairs who couldn't pull out his saber subconsciously lifted his head to look. But Chen Ji didn't even glance at him; he had already swung up his whale saber and made a horizontal chop!

Then came two crisp clanging sounds. The plain sabers in the hands of the two armored soldiers who had pounced from the stairs' handrails broke into pieces!

Chen Ji's saber momentum didn't stop. He used his arm strength to forcibly twist the saber blade back to chop, cutting the two armored soldiers in mid-air!

Chen Ji's foot loosened. The armored soldier who was pulling his saber with force suddenly lost his balance and leaned backward, rolling and falling down!

With two thuds, the corpses of the armored soldiers who had flown and pounced fell down. Fresh blood sprayed from their bodies, trickling down the stairs. Chen Ji swung his saber and smashed the stairs' handrails. The narrow stairs suddenly became like a high, suspended single log bridge!

In the main hall, the iron tower-like armored soldier was just wiping the heavy sword in his hand, silently looking up at the stairs.

He saw Chen Ji's long whale saber dripping with blood, not retreating a single step.

"There's actually a tough guy in that foppish army," the iron tower-like armored soldier only looked for a moment, then lowered his head again to wipe his heavy sword, saying casually: "Chop this person, reward one hundred silver taels." The Tian Ce army armored soldiers looked at each other, then rushed up like madmen, wanting to fill the stairs with their lives to overwhelm Chen Ji!

In the Di character room, Zhang Xia and Xiao Man pried open a window crack and looked outside. They only saw Zao Zao in the stable restlessly stomping his hooves. Downstairs was a dense mass of Tian Ce army armored soldiers who had just rushed into the inn!

Zhang Xia cast his gaze towards the distance, wanting to find a ray of hope. But the Tian Ce army iron cavalry were rampaging in the city. The lives of the border army and common people were being harvested by the Tian Ce army like grass. There were still no traces of a relief army in the city!

Chen Li Qin paced back and forth in the room. He struggled for a long time, finally rolled up a bedsheet, threw it over the room beam, and tied a dead knot!

He hesitated for two breaths, then looked towards Liang Shi: "If the Jing Chao thieves rush in later, you..."

Liang Shi said sorrowfully from the side: "Old Master, are there no other ways? Why has it come to this, why has it come to this!"

Chen Li Qin was silent for a moment: "When the city is broken, to be able to die with dignity is already great fortune!"

Liang Shi cried: "Earlier, Zhang Daren advised you not to come to Gu Yuan, but you stubbornly refused to listen. Now what are we to do!"

Chen Wen Xiao said tremblingly to Chen Li Qin: "Father, they want to capture the Crown Prince alive, not kill people. Why not reveal our identities? They certainly won't kill us!"

Chen Wen Zong said angrily: "Life can be lost, but we must never yield. How can you have the thought of surrendering to Jing Chao? When did my Chen family produce such a disloyal, unfilial, shameless bastard thing."

Chen Wen Xiao's face also flushed red as he retorted: "It's better to live poorly than die well. Brother, you and Father have studied poetry and books for dozens of years. Can it be that your heart is like a beast, allowing yourselves to be arbitrarily slaughtered in this border area?"

Chen Wen Zong said angrily: "The Jing Chao thieves haven't even killed their way in yet and you're already panicking like this!"

Chen Wen Xiao said urgently: "There are so many Tian Ce army armored soldiers downstairs. How can Chen Ji block them? It's only a matter of time before they kill their way up." As he said this, everyone in the room realized something was wrong!

They had originally thought the Tian Ce army would soon kill their way in, but they trembled with fear and waited for a long time. The shouts of killing outside the door still hadn't stopped, as if there were a thousand armies and ten thousand horses blocking the door, shielding them from wind and rain!

For so long, not one Tian Ce army soldier had killed their way up.

Chen Li Qin's eyes brightened: "Could it be that Li Daren led the Yu Lin army back and is fighting with these Jing Chao thieves?"

He quickly took a few steps, opened the room door, and looked. He suddenly saw Chen Ji blocking the Tian Ce army armored soldiers, who were rushing up in wave after wave!

From beginning to end, only Chen Ji was blocking the stairs!

Liang Shi looked at Chen Ji's back, shocked beyond words: "This..."

Chen Li Qin looked at Chen Ji with a complex expression, then looked at Chen Wen Xiao. For a moment, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. He roused his spirit and said to Chen Wen Zong: "Find anything useful around here, help Chen Ji!"

Zhang Xia stood by the window, not turning his head, and said: "Chen Daren, don't add to the chaos, and there's no need to panic! Today, if Chen Ji blocks the Tian Ce army, we can live. If he doesn't block them, at most we'll die together!"

At this time, in the Tian character room, the Crown Prince stood by the window, gazing at the setting sun in the distance, his fingers gripping the wooden windowsill tightly, his knuckles turning white!

He saw the Yu Lin army arrive at Xu Wei Lane and engage in fierce combat with the Tian Ce army!

But although the Yu Lin army had a large number of officials, they were still being pushed back step by step by the Tian Ce army!

Fortunately, Li Xuan was watching out, so they weren't killed through immediately by the Tian Ce army!

The Crown Prince sighed: "The Yu Lin army in the capital only seeks honor and enjoys itself, they are truly decadent!"

Behind him, Qi Jian Zhe suddenly felt ashamed and cupped his fist, saying: "Your Highness, the Yu Lin army is unable to protect you completely. This humble subordinate deserves ten thousand deaths!"

The Crown Prince turned around and looked at him, smiling: "Qi Vice Envoy, no need to blame yourself. Perhaps it is my fate that is thin, unable to bear this heavy burden of national destiny! Please help me pour a cup of tea. I want to take medicine!"

Saying this, he took out a white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured out a single black pill! Qi Jian Zhe was stunned: "Your Highness, this is..."

The Crown Prince sighed: "Now the Jing Chao thieves have gotten the news and want to capture me alive. I certainly cannot be caught by them like a pig or dog, can I? Then I would become an eternal joke and also implicate my Ning Dynasty in losing all face! As the heir to the country, how can I be like this?"

Qi Jian Zhe hesitated for a moment: "Your Highness, aren't you still with..."

The Crown Prince shook his head: "No matter how fierce he is, can he withstand these tens of thousands of Tian Ce army soldiers? There's no escape!"

Qi Jian Zhe said solemnly: "Crown Prince, absolutely do not seek a short-sighted solution. This humble subordinate will certainly protect you completely here!"

The Crown Prince laughed: "Qi Vice Envoy, if we can truly live to return, you must change some of the problems with yourself!"

Qi Jian Zhe lowered his head in shame!

However, just at this moment, he suddenly lifted his head: "Something's not right, Your Highness. According to reports, the Tian Ce army should have already killed their way up, but until now the shouts of killing still haven't stopped. Not one Jing Chao thief has killed their way up to the third floor! Could it be that there are still experts hidden in this inn, holding back the Jing Chao thieves' offensive?"

The Crown Prince's expression changed. He immediately went outside the room: "Let's go see."

He quickly went downstairs to check!

But the next moment, the Crown Prince and Qi Jian Zhe were both stunned on the stairs. Qi Jian Zhe exclaimed in a low voice: "Chen Ji!"

They only saw Chen Ji swinging his saber like rain, the blade light of the Tian Ce army armored soldiers' sabers was impenetrable!

Corpses lay across the stairs, and blood dripped down from both sides of the stairs like a water curtain!

The shouts of the Tian Ce army shook the heavens!