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Chapter 732: The Imperial Palace Breaks, the Emperor Falls (V)

Jiang Pengji gave her horse an order, and the horse excitedly ran into the crowd of soldiers as if it had just been given some stimulants.

Jiang Pengji slashed away the arrows that were being shot at her and the horse. This horse was always fast, but now it sped up even more beneath the oncoming shower of arrows.

One kick of the hooves meant a soldier’s life gone. This one horse and its master were like a god of war descending to earth.

The imperial troops in the surroundings were holding back the enemy troops and couldn’t spare a moment to fight her. Under these conditions, Jiang Pengji could swing her lance with even more ease as the number of lives that fell before her increased. Both she and Huijun were almost fully covered in blood but remained uninjured.

“Give me my bow!”

The young general spat out another mouthful of saliva. His right hand that was carrying the weapon was almost completely numb.

He watched as Jiang Pengji’s silhouette began to grow smaller in the distance. He set his bow and arrow as he locked his aim on Jiang Pengji’s back.

The heavy bow was like a feather in his hands. The arrow pierced through the sky. It was a dazzling shot.

Aside from him, there were a few dozen additional archers who also fired at the same time.

Jiang Pengji frowned as she blocked some arrows and dodged the ones aimed at her vitals and Huijun in her arms.

In the end, the single arrow that was supposed to pierce her back scratched her arm as it flew by.

Huijun witnessed this scene and noticed that Jiang Pengji’s arm had been injured by the arrow. Her eyes widened in shock as she clenched her fist tightly. She developed a strong feeling of hatred and vengeance for the general who’d captured her earlier. She said with a trembling voice, “Langjun, you’re hurt.”

Jiang Pengji answered carelessly, “It’s just a small cut, it’ll heal within a day or two.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t dodge this arrow, it was that her horse couldn’t keep up with this extreme speed pace. Jiang Pengji also had to care for Huijun.

She was hurt, but it was only a very minor injury.

If the arrowhead had been dipped in poison, it would have been a bit more troublesome for her. Fortunately, the arrow wasn’t poisonous, so she didn’t need to mind the injury too much.

Jiang Pengji’s horse quickly escaped the shooting range of the enemy troops and dashed into allied territory.

“My lord!”

Li Yun’s horses weren’t as fast as Jiang Pengji’s, and most of the troops relied on their own legs to run. How could they catch up like that?

They were all on their toes as they desperately made their way out, running as if their lives depended on it, only to then see their lord return without any injuries.

With such an unrestrained and selfish lord, the subordinates all felt that they’d just lost a few years of their lifespan. They were tired and wanted to quit their jobs already.

“I’m alright.” Jiang Pengji wiped the blood from her lance and said calmly, “The emperor’s chariot and the ministers are just ahead.”

Meng Hun and his men heard this and immediately knew that their target was just up ahead. They then proceeded to charge in with their troops like powerful predators onto the battlefield.

The imperial army thought that their defeat was inevitable, so how would they know that they would have backup troops to save them?

As if they’d been given a shot of steroids, their lowly spirits were reignited. The new momentum from the arrival of their backup rose steadily.

Everyone’s battle spirits lifted as they charged a counterattack towards the enemy troops. The balance of the battle once again began to tilt in favor of the imperial army.

The enemy general’s facial expression darkened as he witnessed the turn of events.

Just as he was about to pick up his weapon to join the battle, a young general with a cold expression appeared before him.

Li Yun immediately sensed the danger of this man and chose to be his opponent to prevent this enemy from massacring normal soldiers.

“Another lance-wielder!”

The general had just lost against Jiang Pengji, and now another young soldier had appeared before him. This brought the fury inside his heart to its boiling point.

Li Yun rebutted the general’s comment rebelliously.

“What’s wrong with wielding a lance? Did it rob your house or something?”

He learned this line from his own lord. It was most effective for provoking others’ anger.

In a place like a battlefield, losing one’s cool was perhaps one of the most fatal mistakes one could make, and provocation through words was also considered a strategy.

The man laughed in extreme anger and prepared himself to give Li Yun a lesson on manners.

There’s nothing wrong with being young and frivolous, but one must also be aware of their own limitations. In terms of battle experience, the general was naturally the veteran.

However, he’d just suffered in a fierce battle against Jiang Pengji and lost more than half his strength, how was it possible for him to fight against a rapidly maturing and growing Li Yun?

Li Yun’s steed was quite fit for battle but was still leagues behind the enemy’s fierce horse. It certainly couldn’t hold a stalemate in the battle. However, the result of the war wasn’t something that could be determined by these two men. With the joint effort of the imperial army and the backup troops, they’d destroyed Prince Changshou’s troops.

The man glared furiously in the direction of Li Yun and Jiang Pengji. He used a fake move to trick Li Yun away while he turned around and ran off.

“Come back!”

Li Yun felt ashamed as he realized he’d just been tricked by the enemy. Just as he was about to chase after the man, having realized that he’d been tricked, he was stopped by Meng Hun who just happened to rush over.

“Han Mei, don’t chase after him.”

Li Yun held in his anger. “Why can’t I go after him?”

Meng Hun could only answer hastily, “I know that person. You’re still not strong enough to face his surprise attacks.”

If Li Yun ran after him, he would not be successful. It was more likely that he and his horse would have been cut down by the general.

Li Yun didn’t believe it until he closely examined the way the general had retreated. He clenched his right fist, almost scaring him into a cold sweat.

“So we’re just going to let them escape?”

Li Yun was upset. Had his rare military exploit just flown off before his eyes like that?

Without a military exploit, he wouldn’t be able to get the hefty bonus. Without the hefty bonus, what would he use to find a wife?

Remembering Shangguan Wan’s background on top of this, how could Li Yun’s upsetting feeling be described in just a simple word right now?

“He’s just a stray dog without a master now, we’ll have our chance.” Meng Hun sighed lightly as a hint of reminiscence and complex feeling flashed across his eyes. “Let’s go clean up the battlefield and report back to the lord.”

On the other side, Jiang Pengji was also facing a difficult situation because of Huijun.

“Lang-Langjun... I just killed the emperor...” Huijun had hesitated a little before finally revealing the truth.

If she hadn’t acted at the time, the emperor would’ve fed her poison or choked her to death with white silk.

She knew the emperor too well. He would have rather destroyed himself than let Huijun live.

Why?

Because he didn’t want other men to even put a finger on Huijun. Rather than let her live, he would have rather killed her with his own hands.

Until death, Huijun was determined to protect his innocence.

“You killed him?” Jiang Pengji frowned.

She had expected the emperor to die at the hands of Prince Changshou, not to be sent to hell by Huijun’s dagger.

Huijun was about to repent. “Langjun, I....”

If her death could protect Jiang Pengji from trouble, she would gladly give up her life.

However, Jiang Pengji only responded, “Never mind, if he’s dead then he’s dead. He’s a piece of trash that was going to die sooner or later anyway, dying sooner just means he can reincarnate earlier. It’s not like this man alone can be emperor forever. Even if he dies, there are hundreds of thousands of people waiting in line to become emperor, there’s no rush.”

To her, having the emperor dead was better than having him alive.

With the emperor dead, she would have more freedom to control the situation.

For example, letting the alliance troops elect a young puppet emperor that could be easily controlled and manipulated.

At the same time, this would benefit her in regaining her identity.

And what about serving the emperor?

She’d come to serve the emperor for business and poaching opportunities on the side while also obtaining the Wanzhou Magistrate title. The plan hadn’t included having the emperor remain alive, so Huijun killing the emperor helped her a lot.

However, as the killer of the emperor, Huijun’s existence must be well-hidden until the wind died down. They’d have to wait before they could plan other things.

Jiang Pengji had promised to protect her many years ago and wouldn’t break the promise that easily.