HLnovel Chapter 344: Continuous Fighting (Chapter 2!)
Chapter 344: Continuous Fighting (Chapter 2!)
The night was as dark as ink, oppressive and heavy. Even the stars and the moon were obscured by dark clouds, and the entire imperial city was shrouded in dead silence.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried horse hooves in the distance broke the silence.
The sound came from far away and gradually got closer. The guards of the imperial city had already been alarmed and were staring intently at the person coming.
On the city wall, countless bows and crossbows stretched out from all directions, all pointing towards the source of the sound.
A swift shadow broke through the darkness, and a horse galloped over.
The knight, wearing dust-soaked brocade robes and looking anxious, practically leaped from his horse. "Urgent military information, report to the palace immediately!"
When the imperial guards saw that the visitor was the Jinyiwei, they did not dare to be careless and quickly opened the door.
At this moment, Emperor Qing had not yet gone to bed and was reviewing memorials at his desk.
On the bird stand behind him, a pheasant with brightly colored feathers was squatting, looking drowsy.
"Your Majesty, something happened!" Huang Jin's voice came from outside the door.
Emperor Qing's expression hardened, and he raised his head: "Come in."
creak-
The sound of the door being pushed open scared Long Er so much that he staggered and almost fell down. He flapped his wings and barely managed to keep his balance.
Huang Jin looked anxious, and didn't even have time to salute: "Your Majesty, the Jinyi Guards report."
"Prince Yan and Prince Feng were attacked by assassins in the West Market after drinking at Heming Tower tonight. None of the Jinyiwei who were ordered to protect them survived!"
"The two princes are missing... their lives or deaths are unknown!"
As soon as the words fell, the hall fell into dead silence, and even the candlelight seemed to be suddenly stopped by the fright of the news.
Emperor Qing narrowed his eyes, clenched his palms, and said calmly, "West Market? The Ten Princes' Residence isn't there, what are they doing there?"
"It was the Duke of Wei. Seeing that Your Highnesses were drunk, he invited them to rest in his villa in the West Market."
Emperor Qing stood up, thought for a moment, and said decisively: "Continue the investigation. Summon all the Jinyiwei in the city, seal off the streets, and investigate every household!"
"Yes."
Huang Jin turned around and tried to leave, but Emperor Qing stopped him, "Come back!"
Emperor Qing stood up and gave several orders in a calm voice that was as cold as a blade.
"Let the palace guards seal off the imperial city!"
"Send an order to the three camps. All troops in the capital are on standby. Do not move without my personal order!"
"Send more personnel to the Eastern Palace and the Tenth Prince's Residence to ensure the safety of the other princes!"
"Order Pan Zhong to lead the imperial guards to blockade the camps where the Yan and Feng armies are located!"
"Summon Zhu Chun, Qiu Yu, and Wu Zhiting to the palace to see me immediately. No delay is allowed!"
When Huang Jin heard Emperor Qing's words, his heart was already filled with turmoil.
The first three are fine, but with such a terrible assassination incident happening in the city, sealing off the imperial city, controlling the army, and protecting the prince are all necessary procedures.
The last two points are intriguing. It is obvious that the victims are Prince Feng and Prince Yan, so why do we still have to control their armies?
There are also Zhu Chun and the other two, all of whom are nobles with the rank of Duke, and powerful figures in the army.
With the two princes missing, His Majesty is probably not as calm as he appears.
The world in this imperial capital is about to change!
"What are you standing there for? Go!"
"Yes! I'll go right now, slave!"
After Huang Jin left, Emperor Qing was the only one left in the Yangxin Palace.
He paced slowly, his brow furrowed in worry.
"Is it a bit too much, Emperor Qing murmured, with a hint of regret in his eyes.
Since ancient times, there was no other reason for the prince to be attacked except to fight for the throne.
The crown prince was incapable of the responsibility, so he deliberately allowed the princes to fight for the throne in order to select the most outstanding heir.
With the previous example of Emperor Yang, Emperor Qing knew very well how much harm a foolish ruler could do to the country.
However, he suddenly discovered that as the princes' open and covert struggles became more intense, the situation seemed to be beyond his control.
The figure of Emperor Qing was reflected in the flickering candlelight.
Long'er was still squatting on the bird stand, combing his messy feathers carelessly.
Emperor Qing withdrew his gaze and looked out the window.
The night is like a huge mouth of the abyss, as if it wants to swallow me up.
Emperor Qing picked up the sword from the shelf nearby, walked to the gate and pushed it open.
Facing the silent darkness, draw your sword.
brush--
The machete in Li Lin's hand flashed, and a huge head was thrown high into the air.
He was breathing heavily, and the machete in his hand was stained with the assassin's blood that had not yet dried.
A cool breeze blew by, bringing with it a faint smell of blood and the chill of murderous intent in the dark.
"Left side! On the eaves!" Li Che's voice sounded beside him.
Li Lin immediately reached his hand to his chest, but felt nothing.
The throwing knives he carried with him were all used up, and the black shadow was already very close.
Clang——
The sword flashed like a rainbow and slashed straight towards the black shadow that was coming at an angle.
The assassin's movements were ghostly and he thought he was invisible, but Li Che's blade instantly caused a splash of blood on his chest and he let out a muffled scream.
However, at the same time that the assassin fell, three more shadows rushed out from the dark alley, holding daggers with flashing cold light and aiming directly at the hearts of the two men.
"Sixth brother, step back a moment and let me deal with them!" Li Lin shouted angrily. Instead of retreating, he advanced and the machete in his hand slashed out a cold light.
He attacked with ruthlessness and courage, leaving the enemy no room to breathe.
An assassin had no time to dodge and was instantly cut in half by the blade. Blood splattered on the wall, and the scarlet and the night were intertwined.
Li Che and his companion left earlier than the Jinyiwei, and the Jinyiwei ran to the imperial city to report the news, but the two of them had not yet made it out of the West Market.
There was no other reason, there were just too many assassins on the road, seemingly endless, coming in waves.
I had just killed off this wave of assassins and hadn't taken a few steps when another wave attacked.
Fortunately, these assassins did not have bows and crossbows. It must be because contraband such as bows and crossbows are difficult to obtain, and the people behind the scenes did not have many of them.
"Can you still hold on?" Li Lin smiled, with a hint of fatigue in his tone.
His forehead was covered with sweat. Although he had no wounds on his body because of the soft armor, he had exhausted his physical strength after the continuous fighting.
"Stop talking nonsense, we have to fight back together, sister-in-law and Xian'er are waiting for you!"
Li Che gave a cold glance back, and at the same time blocked the assassin's sharp blade with the spear in his hand, and subdued him with a sharp spin.
With the two of them working together, most of the assassins in this wave were killed or injured.
As if they knew that the assassination could not succeed, the remaining assassins suddenly turned around tacitly and retreated like the tide.
Murderous intent spread, and endless fatigue weighed on my shoulders.
Li Che gritted his teeth, feeling heavier in his heart.
Judging from the style of these assassins, they are obviously well-trained and can move forward and backward with ease.
It doesn't look like a killer, but more like a military style.
"Let's go! Turn the next intersection and you'll be out of Xishi." Li Che picked up his spear and said to Li Lin beside him.
Li Lin nodded and was about to stand up when his vision suddenly went dark. He stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
Li Che quickly supported him and said, "Fourth brother, how is it?"
Li Lin smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Sixth Brother, you go first. I want to rest here for a while."
He really couldn't kill anymore, even though only a quarter of an hour had passed since the assassination attempt.
But God knows how many assassination attempts they encountered, and the killers' moves were deadly. There were several times when even Li Che was almost hit in the vitals.
Even battlefield masters like the two of them gradually became unable to cope with this endless war of attrition.
"I'll carry you!" Li Che gritted his teeth and squatted down.
"Do not......"
Li Lin was about to refuse when he heard Li Che say unhappily, "Don't talk nonsense. Do you think I'm not tired of squatting?"
Li Lin had no choice but to climb onto Li Che's back.
He really couldn't muster any strength left and couldn't even hold the machete.
Li Lin struggled to stand up, threw away the long spear that was in the way, and only had a short blade left in his hand.
After running for a distance, I finally saw Xishikou.
Suddenly, torches lit up all around!
There was a rhythmic sound of footsteps in the distance - reinforcements, or more assassins?
Li Che stared at the front, his hand holding the short blade trembling slightly.
At this moment, a voice sounded from the front: "Who are you? It's curfew time, no wandering around!"
Li Lin behind him trembled slightly and said in surprise: "This voice... is the Marquis of Dongping!"