Catching Monsters

Chapter 467 God-killing Crossbow

"You don't seem that angry?" Jiang Yun asked with a smile.

Linglong calmly replied, "I didn't grow up in the capital. Although we are siblings, we have no feelings for each other. It's normal for him to want to kill me."

“It probably won’t be peaceful once we return to the capital.”

Hearing Linglong's words, Jiang Yun's heart stirred slightly. She turned to look at Wen Chen and whispered a few words in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Wen Chen's face showed shock. He had never expected that Jiang Yun would tell him these things.

Then, Jiang Yun took out the Boundless Grass: "I'm entrusting this to you for safekeeping now, Wen Chen. Just do as your master instructs."

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Wen Chen rode his horse along a narrow path on the left after the group had traveled a few more miles.

……

In the capital, at the Crown Prince's residence, Xiao Jingfu was not in the mood to review the memorials. Instead, he sat restlessly in the courtyard, wondering about Huang Pingfeng's situation.

This matter is of utmost importance. If it is exposed and Father finds out...

Soon, the guards from the Crown Prince's residence rushed over, each carrying a carrier pigeon. They then took a small piece of paper from the pigeon's leg and respectfully handed it to Xiao Jingfu.

The note even had some bloodstains on it.

Upon seeing the bloodstains, Xiao Jingfu sensed something was wrong.

Upon reading the contents, Huang Pingfeng indeed stated on the note that Jiang Yun had not followed the plan to kill Linglong and hand over the elixir.

Instead, they severed one of Huang Pingfeng's arms and then sped towards the capital.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingfu narrowed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth.

He clenched his fists, and the muscles in his face twitched from time to time.

He then looked at the guard who had delivered the message and said loudly, "Go and have Zhang Yao come to see me. Also, have his Imperial Guards strictly guard the Imperial City. Without my permission, not even a mosquito can enter the Imperial City."

"Also, take a thousand Imperial Guards and follow me to the South Gate!"

Upon hearing this, the guard who delivered the message looked at Xiao Jingfu in surprise, not understanding what major event had occurred that His Highness the Crown Prince would actually mobilize the Imperial Guards.

However, the guards dared not say anything more and quickly turned around to go find Zhang Yao.

Upon receiving the news, Zhang Yao immediately rode his horse towards the Crown Prince's residence. He was in a great hurry, dressed in the uniform of an Imperial Guard commander. When he arrived at Xiao Jingfu's courtyard, he loudly proclaimed, "Your Highness, are you going to mobilize the Imperial Guard?"

Xiao Jingfu narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the courtyard where only he and Zhang Yao were present, and then said, "That's right, did you follow the instructions I gave you earlier?"

A troubled look appeared on Zhang Yao's face, and he said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, I have arranged for the Imperial Guards to guard the palace strictly and not allow anyone to enter or leave. I have also dispatched a thousand Imperial Guards to the south gate of the capital."

“But…” Zhang Yao said in a low voice, “Doing this is not in accordance with the rules. The Imperial Guards are His Majesty’s private army. Without His Majesty’s approval, no one can mobilize them at will…”

Xiao Jingfu gave Zhang Yao a cold look and reprimanded him, "I am already the Crown Prince. Besides, my father's health is deteriorating day by day. How many more days can he hold on? I am the future emperor. What's wrong with mobilizing the Imperial Guards in advance?"

"If Commander Zhang finds it difficult, I can find someone else to do the job."

Zhang Yao naturally heard the deep dissatisfaction in Xiao Jingfu's voice. He lowered his head, quickly forced a smile, and said, "Your Highness is joking. If I were afraid, why would I have already dispatched a thousand men to the South Gate?"

"I will do whatever Your Highness says."

Xiao Jingfu nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

"However, His Highness the Crown Prince has even mobilized the Imperial Guards. What is his intention?" Zhang Yao asked.

Xiao Jingfu calmly said, "I received a secret report that Jiang Yun, the garrison commander of the Eastern Garrison, and Princess Ningyi, Xiao Linglong, are colluding with the demon race and preparing to bring poison back to the capital to poison my father, the Emperor."

"I'm going to capture them both and throw them into the Imperial Guard camp."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao earnestly advised, "Your Highness, Jiang Yun is, after all, the Commander of the Eastern Garrison, and besides, he has the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion behind him."

"If we arrest him, what will happen when the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion demands an explanation?"

"What should we do if the Embroidered Uniform Guard demands an explanation?"

Zhang Yao remained relatively calm, after all, he didn't know what had happened. However, in his opinion, directly capturing Jiang Yun was a terrible idea.

It was the least rational and calmest decision.

Xiao Jingfu took a deep breath, his eyes red, and said only one sentence: "If Jiang Yun enters the palace, I'm afraid I'll lose my position as crown prince, do you understand?"

After Xiao Jingfu finished speaking, he walked towards the door, and Zhang Yao was slightly surprised.

"By the way, Commander Zhang," Xiao Jingfu turned to Zhang Yao, "your youngest daughter is still unmarried, isn't she? Once I ascend the throne, I'll bring her into the palace as a bride, what do you say?"

Zhang Yao had previously mentioned this matter privately to Xiao Jingfu, intending to strengthen the bond between the two.

As the commander of the Imperial Guards, Zhang Yao marrying her youngest daughter would normally be a double blessing.

However, Zhang Yao was a big, burly man, and his youngest daughter inherited his looks.

He was extremely ugly.

Xiao Jingfu then put the matter aside.

Seeing Xiao Jingfu make a promise, Zhang Yao took a deep breath, nodded, and quickly knelt down to pledge his loyalty: "I am willing to serve His Highness the Crown Prince to the death."

Xiao Jingfu also knew that many things could no longer be kept from Zhang Yao, so he quickly stepped forward to help Zhang Yao up and said, "Lord Zhang, you will be my future father-in-law in the future. How can a father-in-law kneel before his son-in-law?"

"In addition, there are many things I need to tell you."

At this point, Xiao Jingfu took a deep breath and slowly recounted the truth of the matter in detail.

……

As evening fell, Jiang Yun, Linglong, and their group hurriedly arrived at the south gate of the capital.

But as soon as they reached the city gate, they realized something was amiss.

It's too quiet outside the south gate.

It was eerily quiet.

Although it was already evening, there should still be some merchants and carriages queuing to enter the city through the south gate of the capital.

Even the vendors on both sides of the road had completely disappeared. The guards of the military garrison on the city walls had also vanished without a trace.

"It's too quiet." Seeing this, Jiang Yun couldn't help but reach out and grasp the Three Pure Ones Flying Brush.

A brush sound.

On the city wall, many soldiers who had been crouching beforehand suddenly appeared, drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the dozen or so people.

Meanwhile, soldiers who had been lying in ambush in the bushes on both sides suddenly rushed out.

These soldiers were all dressed in black armor, with a black, flower-like pattern carved on the left side of the armor.

Linglong immediately recognized the origins of these soldiers and reminded Jiang Yun in a deep voice, "They are all soldiers of the Imperial Guard."

Jiang Yun nodded slightly, his expression solemn, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

At the same time, the city gate slowly opened, and Zhang Yao, dressed in full armor, rode out on horseback and said loudly, "Jiang Yun, Princess Ning Yi, the evidence of your collusion with the demon kingdom is conclusive."

As he spoke, Zhang Yao produced a yellow imperial edict and loudly proclaimed, "His Majesty has decreed that you be captured."

"If you dare to resist, it will be the end for both of you."

As soon as he finished speaking, more than ten God-Slaying Crossbows on the city wall slowly turned around and aimed at them.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Who are you? Are you sure you have His Majesty's imperial edict? Do you know what the crime of forging an imperial edict is?"

Jiang Yun and Linglong, of course, did not believe that Xiao Yuzheng would order their capture.

Xiao Yuzheng was still waiting for him to bring back a miraculous elixir to prolong his life.

Zhang Yao did not reveal the contents of the imperial edict. Instead, he slowly put the edict away and gently raised his hand.

As soon as he lowered his hand, the numerous Imperial Guards surrounding Jiang Yun and Linglong would attack them.

Beside him, some of the old Jinyiwei guards who were accompanying Jiang Yun hurriedly spoke up to persuade him: "Sir, we cannot take action against the Imperial Guards. Without His Majesty's decree, the Imperial Guards would not dare to act rashly."

"Perhaps His Majesty has misunderstood us."

“We have all seen how hard you have worked at sea to find elixirs for His Majesty.”

"As long as we explain it to His Majesty, everything should be fine."

Many of the Imperial Guards around him shared this idea.

Many of them had served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years and knew the importance of rules.

If we were to resist now, we would be breaking the rules.

The consequences will be severe.

Jiang Yun always wore a faint smile, but her eyes held a hint of murderous intent.

Linglong, standing nearby, whispered, "So, what do you say, surrender or fight?"

"What do you think they'll do first after capturing us?" Jiang Yun replied without hesitation, "I'm afraid they'll execute us immediately, without giving us a chance to see His Majesty."

"If that's the case, then there's nothing more to say."

Jiang Yun gripped the Three Pure Ones Flying Brush, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a low voice, "Withdraw."

After saying that, Jiang Yun instantly flew up, waving the Three Purities Whisk in his hand. In an instant, the whisk's tail became extremely long, sweeping towards the soldiers on the city wall.

There was a loud bang.

In the few days since he returned, whenever he had a break, Jiang Yun would study the effects of the Three Purities Brush.

I have a basic understanding of some of the wonderful uses of the Three Pure Ones Whisk. For example, by infusing it with magical power, the whisk can be lengthened and used as a weapon.

Furthermore, ordinary swords and blades are simply no match for it.

However, Jiang Yun also knew that the wonders of this thing were probably not limited to these.

The Three Purities Brush was no ordinary weapon; with just a sweep, a long line of Imperial Guards soldiers on the city wall, armed with bows and arrows, were instantly killed or wounded.

Even the God-Slaying Crossbows were destroyed by Jiang Yun's attack, with three of them being destroyed.

Zhang Yao, standing below the city gate, was secretly pleased to see Jiang Yun attack the Imperial Guards. As long as this kid laid a hand on the Imperial Guards, he could justify whatever he said later.

"shoot!"

In an instant, arrows came whistling from all directions, shooting towards the group of more than a dozen people.

Fortunately, these Imperial Guards were all quite skilled, and if a fight broke out, each of them could take on five or six elite Imperial Guard soldiers.

They each held their weapons, fending off arrows shot from all directions.

At the same time, the God-Slaying Crossbows on the city wall were slowly activated.

The God-Slaying Crossbow is an extremely large and exaggerated crossbow bolt, with numerous intricate runes carved on its body.

Each one was crafted by the world's most outstanding craftsmen, commissioned by the Ministry of Works.

At this moment, the God-Slaying Crossbow was slowly drawn back, and the runes on it began to pulsate, emitting a blue light, as the crossbow bolt was about to be fired.

It also carried a blue light, and a terrifying power, ready to be unleashed, emanated from the God-Slaying Crossbow.

Even Jiang Yun sensed the threat posed by the God-Slaying Crossbow.

It's important to understand that the reason no cultivator dares to appear on the battlefield is because of terrifying things like the God-Slaying Crossbow.

Its power is such that even a third-grade expert can barely withstand it.

If there are enough of them, not to mention experts at the third rank, even experts at the second rank will have to give way.

Unfortunately, even within Zhou, this kind of thing is not very common, firstly because it is expensive to manufacture and takes too long to produce.

It requires top-notch craftsmen and takes three months to build one.

In an instant, the bolts from the God-Slaying Crossbow whistled as they flew toward Jiang Yun.

(End of this chapter)