In the Right Prime Minister's residence, Li Linfu listened to his subordinates' report with a gloomy expression.
"You mean the Sage is currently at the Imperial City Guard, with only a dozen or so guards besides that barbarian Lu Xuan?" This question was actually a bit redundant, because the soldiers who should have been at the Imperial City Guard were all outside his house.
"It's absolutely true, this is a message that just came from the Imperial City Guard."
Li Linfu's already gloomy face now looked as if it were about to rain. Having navigated the Tang Dynasty's political arena for many years, he knew the taboos of imperial power. Some things weren't a matter of whether you did them or not, but rather whether those above thought you did them or not. And now, he faced just such a situation.
In the dim candlelight, Li Linfu paced back and forth in the room, his hands behind his back, seemingly hesitating about something. But after only a few steps, a ruthless expression flashed across his face, as if he had finally made up his mind.
"Please invite the generals outside in. Tell them I have important matters to discuss."
------------
Chapter Eighty-Six: Loyal and Brave Captain Lu
The Imperial City Guard had been broken into yet again. But this time, it wasn't a saint who broke in. A group of fully armed, battle-hardened veterans suddenly stormed the Imperial City Guard. A dozen guards and twenty constables were completely powerless to resist and collapsed at the first touch.
Then the gates of the Imperial City Guard were opened wide. The ants rushed in with unstoppable force.
This time, the entire Ants clan assembled. There were about eighty people left. This was all the strength Long Bo had. The rest had been lost to Lu Xuan.
"Captain Lu, we meet again."
Long Bo's sarcastic voice appeared again. Li Longji trembled in fear. This voice was his nightmare. He had never imagined that he, the emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty, would be driven to such a state by a mere commoner.
Lu Xuan, his face grave, stood guard in front of Li Longji, sword in hand. Plans can't keep up with changes; this situation perfectly illustrates the saying "things can't keep up with changes." According to his plan, Long Bo should have arrived later, at least until some of the Bad People arrived, creating a stalemate. But things didn't go as planned. Long Bo found them sooner than expected and breached the Imperial City Guard.
“My great Emperor. This Commandant Lu beside you has killed more than a dozen of my men along the way. Now, how many more do you think he can kill?”
As Long Bo spoke, the ants around him swarmed forward. The few remaining guards drew their swords and protected Li Longji. Unfortunately, judging from their trembling hands, it was clear that this group was unreliable.
Lu Xuan gently reached out and stopped Li Longji and Yang Taizhen, pushing them into a corner to prevent the three of them from being attacked from both sides. As for Song Hun, no one cared whether he lived or died. He himself understood, so he simply lay on the ground and pretended to be dead.
"Alright, it seems Commander Lu is prepared to hold the pass alone. Brothers, give him a good welcome."
"I'll go." A tall, muscular ant wielding two hammers stepped forward and charged towards Lu Xuan.
"Hah..." the two roared simultaneously. Their bodies brushed past each other. The burly man slowly lowered his head, looking at the deep wound in his chest. His heavy armor hadn't been able to withstand Lu Xuan's blade. He had been almost cleaved in two, man and blade.
The sword in Lu Xuan's hand was the horizontal sword crafted by Master Mao Shun, a gift from the Crown Prince. It was the finest sword of this era. With his superhuman strength, piercing armor was a piece of cake.
He killed the enemy with a single blow. A brief moment of chaos ensued among the ants. But then, the samurai wielding the heavy chain mace stepped forward.
Lu Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly. The chain hammer in this guy's hand, and Long Bo's powerful bow, were among the very few things that Lu Xuan could sense as dangerous.
A chain hammer, weighing at least thirty pounds, was swung by the enemy. The whistling wind made Yang Taizhen almost scream. Li Longji quickly reached out and covered her mouth. He knew that Lu Xuan needed to concentrate on fighting the enemy, as his life was at stake, and he couldn't let his woman disturb him.
With a deafening crash, the heavy chain hammer slammed onto the floor of the Imperial City Guard, sending shards of stone flying. Lu Xuan's body suddenly accelerated, charging towards the burly man in the gap of his opponent's swing. But then, two spears shot out from either side, aiming straight for Lu Xuan's chest. This time, his opponents didn't intend to fight Lu Xuan one-on-one. Instead, they formed a three-man team, launching a coordinated attack.
The three veterans had clearly been working together for a long time. They formed a perfect defensive and offensive network, with virtually no weaknesses. This was Lu Xuan's first time facing such a well-established military formation. He had a vague feeling that it would be somewhat tricky. Fortunately, he unleashed all his forces.
With a whoosh, the burly man grabbed the chain, preparing to retract the hammer. But as the chain flew through the air, it was caught by a hand. Who would dare catch a thirty-pound hammer in flight with their bare hands? But Lu Xuan caught it. He gripped the chain, sidestepping the flying hammer. With his bare body, he forcefully withstood the enormous impact.
The burly man felt an overwhelming force emanating from the chains. He was forcibly pulled towards them by that force. Lu Xuan charged forward to meet him. His right elbow lashed out with a powerful strike. The burly man's chest armor was instantly dented by the immense force.
With a "poof," he coughed up blood. His nearly two-meter-tall body was sent flying almost half a meter into the air by Lu Xuan's immense force.
Two long spears struck from the side. Lu Xuan retreated. The spears crossed, grazing past his chest. He crossed his hands and grabbed the two spears. Lu Xuan's muscles contracted violently, his hands unleashing terrifying strength. He pressed down sharply, simultaneously thrusting his knees upward. A crisp crack was heard. The tips of both spears snapped in two.
With a snap, Lu Xuan casually tossed aside the spearhead in his hand, picked up the horizontal sword beside him, and stood in place.
"Good..." Li Longji, watching from behind, was filled with excitement. He couldn't help but shout "Good!" In his youth, he too had been incredibly brave. Now, seeing Lu Xuan so fierce, he couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration. Lu Xuan gave a helpless smirk. *I'm risking my life here, and you're just watching the show.*
Long Bo, watching from the opposite side, was also utterly astonished. He truly hadn't expected Lu Xuan's martial prowess to be so high. His subordinates were all skilled warriors in the army. The three who had just attacked were the cream of the crop. He had thought that no one in the world could stop them working together. Yet, Lu Xuan had defeated them single-handedly. The burly man, nearly two meters tall, was now spitting blood, and the huge dent in his chest suggested he wouldn't survive.
"Impressive, impressive. Lieutenant Lu, if you had been in our Eighth Regiment back then, perhaps more of our brothers could have survived. I should have treated a warrior like you with respect and given you a fair chance to fight... Unfortunately, time waits for no one, I'm sorry."
Having said that, Long Bo raised his hand, and one of the ants handed him his longbow. At the same time, a full twenty ants raised their short crossbows. The two sides were only a dozen meters apart. These military crossbows posed a great danger even to Lu Xuan, who was wearing light armor. Lu Xuan pushed off with his feet, lifting a shield from the ground to protect himself. He was already thinking about a way out.
If this wave becomes unstoppable, he will abandon Li Longji without hesitation. After all, there was no mention of him sacrificing himself in the plan. However, at this moment, the sounds of fighting came from outside the Imperial City Guard.
All that could be heard was Zhang Xiaojing shouting from afar.
"Zhang Xiaojing, the leader of the Wannian County Bad Guys, is here!" Zhang Xiaojing's shout naturally made Long Bo wary. When he arrived, he realized he was a little late. So he preemptively made his move to distract Long Bo.
Lu Xuan breathed a slight sigh of relief, then straightened up, continuing to stand in front of Li Longji. His posture suggested that as long as he lived, the emperor would be completely unharmed.
------------
Chapter 87 The Resentment in My Heart
Long Bo wasn't surprised by Zhang Xiaojing's arrival. After all, that Captain Lu had been planning this for a long time. Even though he had altered some of the actions on his own, it wasn't enough to completely ruin the entire plan.
The arrival of the Bad Guys made all the Ants tense. Some turned to fight Zhang Xiaojing, while others rushed towards Lu Xuan and his group.
This was a chaotic melee without any restrictions. Lu Xuan wielded a knife in one hand and a shield in the other, dodging and blocking attacks from all sides. The remaining guards also held shields, protecting Li Longji fiercely. Lu Xuan glanced at them.
"You lot, protect His Majesty." With that, he threw down his shield and charged forward. Relying on the sharpness of his weapon, Lu Xuan broke into the crowd, slaying five or six people amidst flying flesh and blood.
The sound of crossbow bolts whistling filled the air. Amidst the chaos, a few crossbowmen still managed to lock onto him. Lu Xuan casually dragged an ant over and used it as a shield, charging forward. A dozen or so ants, wielding various weapons, surrounded him, activating their invincible mode.
Li Longji swore he had never seen such a valiant man. Those thugs were all seasoned veterans. Just look at the Imperial Guards around him; they were utterly helpless against them, and you'd know how dangerous these thugs were. Yet, these formidable thugs were utterly helpless against Lu Xuan.
However, at that moment, a crisp clang rang out. A brief silence fell over the scene. Everyone watched as a fragment of the flying blade fell to the ground. It was Lu Xuan's blade. That hundred-refined treasured sword... was broken.
There was no way around it; all the enemies on the field were heavily armored, and many were wielding heavy weapons like warhammers. If there were fewer enemies, Lu Xuan could handle them calmly, attacking where their armor was weakest. But with dozens attacking him, he mostly had to parry. His physical strength was formidable, so it wasn't a problem. However, the steel saber in his hand ultimately couldn't withstand such intense, continuous impacts. In the chaos of battle, it snapped in two.
Lu Xuan, unarmed, dodged a warhammer attack with some difficulty. He picked up a broadsword from the ground and continued hacking away. However, these standard weapons were clearly no match for his treasured sword. Faced with the overwhelming onslaught, Lu Xuan was finally wounded.
First, he was struck by Long Bo's arrow, which he nearly missed, leaving a graze on his neck. Then, another crossbow bolt pierced his light armor and lodged in his back.