The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 373 Forced into the Palace
The word "kill" was uttered with gusto, but none of the black-clad, masked eunuchs stepped forward. They merely watched coldly as the soldiers approached the Hall of Literary Glory.

Li Miao.

They hated this name to the core, yet also feared it like a tiger. When it came to understanding Li Miao, aside from the missing Ji Tianrui, these eunuchs were probably the best in the entire Da Shuo.

But the more they learned about Li Miao, the more afraid they became.

So even though Li Miao had just appeared, and all the celestial beings present could see that he was not in good condition and was still recovering from serious injuries, no one dared to say a word or take a step forward before he closed the door.

To put it simply, even if Li Miao were dead, as long as his body was still intact, none of these people dared to approach him, for fear that Li Miao might suddenly smile at them.

Fortunately, they didn't have to test it themselves.

The army pressed towards the Hall of Literary Glory, advancing with extreme speed and order, its formation showing no sign of disarray and without a single sound, moving like gears made of fine steel and blades.

The Flag Bearer Guard was second only to the Embroidered Uniform Guard among the Twelve Guards.

Behind the army formation, hundreds of warhorses covered in cast iron armor were galloping and neighing. The knights on their backs wore chainmail, long swords at their waists, and muskets on their arms. Their eyes were fixed on the doors and windows of the Hall of Literary Glory.

The Right Guard of the Valiant Cavalry was an elite force left behind after Emperor Chengzu moved the capital.

If it weren't for the corruption of the Dashuo Garrison, the years of management by the eunuchs in Nanjing, the imperial edict left by the emperor, and the massive amounts of gold and silver amassed over the years... without any one of these, they would not have been able to win over this elite group.

Now, it is up to Li Miao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to test the most elite group of his colleagues among the twelve guards.

Once all the doors and windows of the Hall of Literary Glory were blocked, the flag bearer officer raised a fist and swung it down suddenly!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Swords and blades cleaved through the doors and windows, and dozens of suits of armor leaped into the hall.

Then, there was no sound.

The guard standing outside the window suddenly stood up. The matchlock on the three-barreled gun had burned down to the last bit, and the gunpowder was ignited. The lead bullet was ready to be fired!
Just then—whoosh!
The tide, a crimson tide, poured out from the doors and windows! The guards outside the window only had time to close their eyes before they were drenched in blood from head to toe!
When he opened his eyes, his gaze first focused on the extinguished fire rope, then slowly moved to the sleeve that was dripping blood, and finally looked into the Huagai Hall.

Brush.

As expected of elite troops, even their retreating footsteps were perfectly synchronized.

"this!"

The officer who ordered the door to be broken down turned pale.

"What is this, some kind of ghost story?"

"Is this still Da Shuo? Can this person even be considered human?!"

Her eyes twitched as she glanced at the black-clad eunuchs, only to find that they made no response whatsoever, merely looking at her with cold eyes as if nothing had happened.

The officer gritted his teeth: Yes.

Since we're here, we're already on a pirate ship.

Regardless of whether the other party is a demon, a monster, a god, or a Buddha, one only has one choice—it's a fight to the death.

"Second team!"

He clenched his fist: "No need for glory, just be the first to reach the summit. Protect yourselves!"

A series of "Yes!"s rang out, and dozens more suits of armor leaped into the hall.

Compared to their comrades who jumped in first, they fared somewhat better; the officer's orders had some effect—they managed to utter a half-choked wail.

"Oops!"

No more sound.

The officer glanced around and saw that many of his subordinates had already taken several steps back, their eyes darting away, and their hands gripping their knives were clenched so tightly they were turning white and trembling slightly.

For these elite soldiers, death was not frightening. The unknown and the uncanny were what truly terrified them. The officer knew that their courage had been lost; even if he ordered more men in, their performance would only be worse.

But that doesn't mean he has no other options.

"Fire! Fire right outside! Smash everything inside the hall!"

bang bang bang-

The pungent smell of gunpowder, the sudden bursts of dust and smoke, and the sound of gunfire lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The officer did some mental calculations, then suddenly stood up, drew his sword, kicked open the door, and rushed in! His subordinates swarmed in behind him and followed him into the hall!
Upon entering, the officer felt a sudden darkness before his eyes.

There were no lights inside the hall, and the interior was shrouded in darkness.

Then my foot slipped, bringing with it a viscous sound of water, and the smell of rust filled my nostrils, congealing into a blood-red hue in my mind.

As soon as the officer raised his hand, his subordinates behind him lit a fire.

The flickering firelight illuminated the figure deep within the hall.

Li Miao.

He leaned back in the seat in the center of the hall, his left leg resting on the chair, his left arm across his knee, holding a piece of paper in his hand. His right hand rested on the armrest, supporting his face, his expression hidden in the firelight.

Tap, tap, tap. Toes lifted and fell, making rhythmic sounds on the ground.

The sound was extremely soft, yet it struck the hearts of the flag bearers like a resounding bell—because they had seen their surroundings clearly.

Dozens of their comrades, who had scaled the walls of the house, stood around them, surrounding them. Their armor was undamaged, their long swords still clutched in their hands, but their faces were bowed.

Tick, tick, tick.

The remaining blood dripped, drop by drop, from the armor, the hem of the clothes, and the tip of the knife, falling into the puddles of blood on the ground.

grunt.

The officer swallowed hard, and his feet involuntarily took a half step back, making a very faint sound.

He regretted it; he shouldn't have come in.

I'm leaving.

Just then, his steps froze in mid-air.

Ahead, the face hidden in the darkness slowly lifted up.

She smiled at him.

--------

The eunuchs in black exchanged glances.

"No, this thief is indeed fierce. If we continue like this, we will only be sending our soldiers to be killed in vain."

"Why not... burn it! Set fire to the Huagai Hall and force him out!"

"Are you crazy! This is the palace! We already chased away the guards, and if the fire spreads, the entire palace might be burned down!"

"So what? Do you think this is child's play? Let's think about how we can at least leave ourselves with a complete corpse if we can't kill him today!"

The arguing subsided.

Finally, one of them said in a cold voice.

"Burn it! His Majesty has already been murdered, and the Zhu family's empire has been seized by him. What's the point of worrying about the palace now? Burn it!"

shhhhh--

The rockets shot into the air from the knights' bows, arcing through the air before falling towards the canopy, sparks flying at the point of contact.

The fire gradually grew.

The towering flames distorted the air, and a wave of heat swept in.

Several eunuchs in black watched intently as the Huagai Hall burned, their palms slightly sweaty, waiting for the figure to rush out from within.

But as time went by, and the Huagai Hall slowly turned black, nothing happened.

"died?"

"impossible."

"Could it be—that they've already escaped!?"

"That's probably true! We've been fooled by him!"

"Chase!"

They paused, and the black-clad eunuchs were about to give chase.

Suddenly, a splash of warm liquid came from behind them, splashing onto the ground in front of them with a soft splatter.

They suddenly turned around.

Then there was a horse carcass, along with the rider on it, split open from the middle, and red, white, and yellow parts rolled out and fell to the ground.

Passing through the body that had been split in two, they saw Li Miao.

With a flick of his wrist, a sheet of Xuan paper covered in writing flew up, swept by the heat wave into the sky, where it began to burn from one corner, turning into ashes in mid-air.

"I'm done reading."

Li Miao said with a smile.

"what about you?"

"After all this commotion, are you ready to be reincarnated?"

(End of this chapter)