Scourge Messenger

Chapter 401 Passing the test
Heavy cavalrymen, cloaked in capes, galloped through the rain, their hooves pounding heavily on the blue bricks of the palace road. Each soldier in this cavalry was a seven-foot-tall, fully armed second-rank messenger, and each warhorse was a demonic beast capable of charging while clad in a hundred-pound armor. When they charged, they were an unstoppable torrent of steel!
Duan Dexian rode at the very front. He glanced back at the expressionless army behind him, his heart filled with surging ambition.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the three great rulers of the Qi Kingdom, who once followed Emperor Shenwu and dominated the Central Plains, each commanded an invincible iron army. But times change, and people's hearts change. A hundred years is enough to dim all glory and decay honor. Hou Gujing is cunning and treacherous, and Huli Ming is devoted to cultivation. Only Duan Xiaoxian has always strictly disciplined his army for a hundred years, preserving the 'Zhongwu Army' system from a hundred years ago to this day.

Today, the Chungmu Army seems to have traveled through a century of time and is once again loyal to the Shenmu Ying family.

And it will become even stronger!
Under the command of the "heart of the people," all soldiers become absolutely obedient killing tools, fearless of death, painless and undaunted, and strictly disciplined. This is the army that any general dreams of, where their will can be extended and executed to the greatest extent!
This is only the most superficial level of "the hearts of the people," far inferior to the innate superhuman strength, imperviousness to swords and blades, and protection from thorns of His Majesty's directly controlled Imperial Guards. But Duan Dexian could already imagine himself commanding this army to conquer the Central Plains. Under the leadership of His Majesty and the three great leaders of Qi, they would surely accomplish the great feat that Emperor Shenwu had not yet accomplished—unifying the Central Plains!

The Duan family has been waiting for five or six generations, for over a hundred years!

However, despite his excitement, Duan Dexian was not without worries. Although he had been on duty in the palace these past few days, he had heard about the bloodshed that the Baibao Imperial Guard had wreaked in the surrounding counties. Some said that only tens of thousands of people had been killed, while others said that hundreds of thousands had been killed, and some even thought that the four surrounding counties had been completely slaughtered. Duan Dexian did not believe it at first, after all, the surrounding counties of Nevernight City were also the places where most high-ranking officials, aristocratic families, and even messengers had lived for generations. Most of the Baibao Imperial Guard had chosen to settle down and start families in the counties!

How could they possibly send people to slaughter their own homeland?
Duan Dexian once mentioned this matter to the ancestor by saying that he had heard rumors. He thought that the ancestor would refute or even reprimand him. However, the ancestor just remained silent, simply told him not to talk nonsense outside, and then there was no more talk.

Duan Dexian could only try to imagine a glorious future, the Qi state's horses trampling the world, and the Duan family's glory lasting for eternity.

He didn't consider himself a moral gentleman. In his youth, he had done all sorts of things, including bullying men and women. He had some talent and cultivated all the way to the third level. He kept more than a dozen wives, concubines, and beautiful maids at home. He was quite annoyed with his eldest son, but liked the ninth son born to his concubine. He was planning to secretly train the ninth son all the way to the second level of messenger...

He hadn't slept with his elderly wife for six months, and every night he had to sleep with his beautiful young maids in his arms. Holding their delicate bodies made him feel young again...

He was just an ordinary man. Over the past ten years, he had heard about His Majesty's tyranny, but what did that have to do with the Duan family? Mortals are like weeds, constantly growing back after a year. Duan Dexian just thought that His Majesty was really idle, and occasionally he would think to himself that she must be so irritable because she didn't have a man to satisfy her.

He never believed in the benevolence and kindness written in books and classics, and thought that the rule of the strong was the only law. But looking at the blood and qi flying everywhere, Duan Dexian was still struck by a kind of emotion deep in human nature that transcended everything. Just like when he looked up at the summer starry sky when he was six years old, some things can give anyone the same shock without words.

He recalled how, when he was young, his ancestors had scolded him as a "domestic dog of a prosperous age." He was indignant at the time and wanted to prove something, which is why he ventured into the secret realm and cultivated all the way to this day... Now that he thinks about it, being a domestic dog isn't so bad. You only need to take care of yourself and don't need to or have the right to consider the common people.

He suddenly missed his nine sons at home, remembering that he had promised to go hunting with them last time. But he had no right to leave; he was Duan Dexian of the Duan family, and he had to stand with his ancestor through thick and thin.

Life is like a tide, and who isn't swept along by it?

Now that someone has broken into the palace, he has to lead his troops to drive out the intruders. However, he is a little puzzled. This is the main city. How could anyone run wild here? But the sound of metal clanging is getting closer and closer. He can clearly hear the sound of the walls collapsing. It's as if a ferocious beast is rampaging through the palace!

boom!
Suddenly, a hole was punched through the palace wall beside them, and four figures burst out. They ignored the Zhongwu Army and continued charging towards the opposite wall. Duan Dexian glanced behind them and immediately understood: this group had actually smashed through the walls the entire way, without taking a single detour; they were practically invincible within the palace!
Duan Dexian suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Judging from the direction, these thieves must have broken in through the Taiji Gate, but there were six checkpoints between here and the Taiji Gate, with about two thousand guards brought by the three families stationed there!

"Stop them!" Duan Dexian roared, charging forward and thrusting his spear at the dog-headed mask in the lead. He had to shout it out loud, or he feared he would flee in panic! He circulated his qi and blood, activating the powers of all the tokens, pushing himself to his limit in a single breath!

But none of the intruders stopped. The dog-masked man at the front didn't even turn his head; he simply slashed at them with his sword.

A sword.

The heavily armored cavalry at the forefront were instantly thrown to the ground, their horses and riders cleaved in two by a single sword strike, splattering dark red blood and leaving only shattered remains on the ground. No matter whose husbands, sons, or fathers they were, no matter how grand their ideals or how small their wishes, at this moment, none of it mattered.

Since we've met on the battlefield, we can only become acquainted through death!
"We're almost there!" Ying said. After Yaoshi Yuan shattered another wall, they arrived at the central courtyard square. Above the steps was the altar, and inside the altar was the protective barrier! But the viewing platforms, palace walls, and eaves around the square were filled with archers. At a rough estimate, there were hundreds or even thousands of them, distributed in all directions. They seemed to have been waiting for a long time. As Yan Qing and the others rushed into the square, the first wave of arrows was already poised to be unleashed!

shhhhhh!
The sound of the bowstring vibrating was like the chirping of a thousand birds, and the rain of arrows was as dense as rain from the sky, covering the entire area around the intruder, leaving him nowhere to stop or escape!
However, the thieves did not falter in the slightest, nor did they even raise their weapons to parry. Instead, they strolled leisurely through the rain of arrows, charging straight towards the steps. A closer look would reveal that their defensive barriers barely budgeed; facing this ambush-like array of arrows, they were perfectly safe thanks to their agility alone!

This is the beauty of the Master of Footwork skill: it increases the player's base dodge rate and movement speed by 10%!

Movement speed goes without saying; anyone who plays games knows how important this attribute is. Players practically break the spacebar to increase their speed, even if jumping doesn't accelerate them, it's still better than doing nothing the whole time. Running around the map is the most hated part for players. If I want to waste my life, I can commute to work, not run around in a game.

After truly mastering the art of footwork, Yan Qing discovered an unexpected surprise: the 10% base evasion rate translated into an intuitive level of danger perception in reality. Against non-powerful, non-supernatural attacks like arrow rain, they didn't need to use their eyes; they could simply adjust their bodies according to their senses to find a relatively safe route through thousands of arrows.

More than two hundred heavily armored infantrymen stood in formation on the steps, their tower shields forming layers of steel walls that almost completely blocked the passage. Although their numbers were small, they were clearly elite soldiers of at least the second rank, a messenger group second only to the Hundred Guards.

But in the face of Yakushi's will, all defensive formations are nothing but paper tigers that can be easily broken!

【Dragon and Snake】!
The shockwave knocked them all off their feet, and no one could block the thieves' path. Even though they could ignore the pain under the control of [Heart of the Masses], the aftershock damage from ignoring their defensive barriers still directly injured their bones and internal organs. How could mortals withstand the power of a third-tier legendary artifact?

The thieves leaped up the stairs and finally reached the very top of the palace, in front of the altar where the emperor offered sacrifices to heaven!

As expected, but not unexpectedly, there were no heavy guards in front of the altar; only three generals were waiting there. Holding sharp blades and long weapons, they stood like pillars supporting the sky, bathed in the wind and rain. Time had given them white hair, but it had not taken away their spirit.

Duan Xiaoxian.

Huli Ming.

Hou Gujing.

"A thief's home," Duan Xiaoxian said in a deep voice, "We have been waiting for you for a long time!"

"The three great masters of Qi!" Yan Qing strode forward. "I've long admired your names!"

"Then, please go and rest for a while!"

Orange flames flickered on the fire pattern on Yan Qing's forehead. He didn't hesitate to sacrifice the durability of "Double Bright Eyes" and activated "Fire in the Eyes" and "Epitaph" three times in a row!
The three great masters of Qi Kingdom stared in astonishment as they were banished from the mortal realm and forced into a state of ethereal transformation. Their various tokens rattled and clanged, clearly indicating they were attempting to escape this state through various means. But how could such profound and mysterious powers be so easily broken? Even if they could break free, Yan Qing could simply imprison them again. He had a reserve of 20,000 True Spirit Jade; he feared no one in a war of attrition!

Now all they have to deal with is Ying Le, who is all alone!

(End of this chapter)