How can you rule the world if I'm just a substitute for you?

His sharp gaze swept across the chaotic crowd, locking onto Lin Xuan, who stood tall and clad in fish-scale armor.

But he quickly scanned the entire room and couldn't see Qin Zheng anywhere.

Qin Zheng frowned and shouted angrily, "This Qin Zheng must be hiding from the fight!"

His eyes flashed with ruthlessness, his killing intent overwhelming: "No matter! I'll kill the Crown Prince first, then settle accounts with you!"

"All troops, listen to my command! Kill them!"

A thousand private soldiers roared and charged into the chaotic battle.

But Lin Xuan remained calm, his eyes showing no emotion, as if he had already anticipated Lin Xuan's appearance.

Before the enemy soldiers could get close, two squads of the Crown Prince's Guard immediately turned their formations and faced Qin Zheng's thousand-man army head-on, blocking them out and preventing them from getting close to Lin Xuan.

Seeing this, Qin Zheng was extremely anxious and roared, "A squad of personal guards, come with me! Whoever kills the Crown Prince today will receive the greatest credit!"

After saying that, he drew his sword and charged towards Lin Xuan's location, but was blocked by the Crown Prince's guards.

The moonlight spilled through the woods, illuminating the entire area.

Lin Xuan looked in the direction of the voice and immediately recognized the person as Qin Zheng, the eldest son of Qin Zhongshan.

A cold smile slowly crept onto his lips.

After acting for so long, I've finally caught the biggest fish myself.

Lin Xuan delayed no longer and shouted in a loud voice, "All troops, launch a full-scale counterattack!"

He turned to Zhang Shitou beside him and ordered in a deep voice, "Shitou, capture Qin Zheng alive! Make sure he's taken as a witness!"

Zhang Shitou grinned, his fighting spirit surging: "Your Highness, rest assured! We weren't using our full strength when we were fighting those two thousand rabble! We deliberately held back to stall for time, waiting for the person hiding behind to finally reveal themselves! And sure enough, we lured out this eldest son of the Qin family!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the thousand Crown Prince's guards were completely unleashed and no longer held their ground in a stalemate.

Everyone instantly changed battle formation, cooperating in pairs and forming ten teams to create a chain crossbow formation!

The front-line shield infantry are as solid as a rock, while the back-line crossbowmen deliver precise attacks. The formation rotates and alternates, with perfect teamwork.

A dense barrage of crossbow bolts rained down once more, instantly doubling their destructive power!

The already routed two thousand private soldiers were completely crushed by this decisive counterattack.

In their panic, the remaining soldiers hurriedly turned to look for their commander, only to find that Qin Zheng had not been seen at all during the entire battle!

Someone suddenly yelled, "The commander has run away! The commander has run away!"

One sentence instantly shattered the last vestiges of morale among all the private soldiers.

The Qin family's private soldiers had completely lost the will to fight. They abandoned their armor and weapons and fled in all directions, suffering a complete rout.

On the other side, Qin Zheng, who was fighting desperately, could clearly hear the shouts of the fleeing soldiers all around him.

Qin Zheng ran away?

He was momentarily stunned, his mind went blank, and his heart trembled violently.

Just as he was lost in thought and his mind went blank, a figure rushed straight at him!

Zhang Shitou roared furiously, "Qin Zheng! Surrender! Where do you think you're going to run to today!"

Qin Zheng felt a sudden chill run through his body, as if his liver and gallbladder were about to burst, and finally realized...

It seems I've fallen into a trap!

Terrified, he screamed hoarsely, "Protect me! Protect me!"

His personal guards immediately swarmed forward, blocking Zhang Shitou's path.

Qin Zheng was no longer the smug and arrogant man he had been. He roared, trembling, "Everyone, hold them off!"

After shouting, he turned and fled into the dense forest behind him, wanting nothing more than to escape the battlefield immediately.

Enraged, Zhang Shitou slashed down a private soldier who was blocking his way, and seeing Qin Zheng about to escape, he immediately drew his sword and chased after him!

But the remaining Qin family private soldiers rushed forward relentlessly, entangled with him, and held him back.

After Zhang Shitou slashed down two men in succession, he looked up and saw that Qin Zheng had already run dozens of steps away.

The evening breeze rustled along the mountain path.

Lin Xuan stood amidst the chaos of the army, silently watching Qin Zheng's hasty retreat. His eyes were filled with chilling coldness, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"run?"

"Where do you want to run?"

Just as Qin Zheng was frantically running towards the mountain path behind him, a sudden burst of flames appeared at the exit of the mountain path!

Xiao Ce, clad in armor and wielding a long spear, personally led a thousand imperial guards to the scene and immediately sealed off the exit of the mountain path.

The Imperial Guards formed a neat battle formation, their spears forming a forest, completely blocking Qin Zheng's escape route.

Zhang Shitou, who was still chasing after them, was in front of Xiao Ce's thousand imperial guards, and his retreat was completely cut off.

Zhang Shitou desperately shook off the Qin family's private soldiers who were entangled around him and strode after them, getting closer and closer to Qin Zheng.

Xiao Ce reined in his horse and stood in the middle of the mountain road. His sharp gaze swept across the area and instantly locked onto Qin Zheng, who was panicking and running for his life.

When he received the Crown Prince's message ordering him to lead a thousand Imperial Guards to reinforce Black Wind Mountain, he was still somewhat dismissive of it.

He always felt that no matter how arrogant the Qin family was, they would never dare to take the risk of publicly assassinating the crown prince.

But now, seeing Qin Zheng personally leading his private army to ambush and cause chaos, the last shred of hope in his heart completely vanished.

The Qin family is truly desperate and is plotting a rebellion to assassinate the heir!

Xiao Ce pointed his long spear forward, its tip gleaming coldly, directly at Qin Zheng, and shouted sharply:

"Qin Zheng! Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

Qin Zheng's entire body was drained of color, and his face was as pale as paper.

With the Imperial Guards blocking their way in front and the Crown Prince's guards pursuing them from behind, they were completely trapped in a dead end.

He glanced around frantically, his gaze settling on the deep, dense forest on either side. He clenched his teeth and muttered to himself:

"It's not a dead end yet... I can still run!"

In his desperate situation, his eyes turned completely red, and he roared madly:

"Everyone, charge! Fight your way out!"

His few hundred remaining private soldiers, looking at the dense array of Imperial Guards with their long spears, were all terrified and their legs trembled.

The Imperial Guards were regular elite troops, fully armored and in a strict formation. How could these private soldiers possibly stand against them?

Retreat means death, while charging offers a glimmer of hope.

The private soldiers could only grit their teeth and roar as they charged towards the Imperial Guard's lines.

A hint of disdain and coldness flashed in Xiao Ce's eyes as he uttered a single, deep voice:

"kill!"

A thousand imperial guards marched in unison, their formation as immovable as a mountain, their spears thrusting forward in unison, instantly meeting the charging private soldiers.

The sounds of spears piercing and screams filled the air as Qin's private soldiers at the forefront fell to the ground in droves, proving utterly ineffective.

Seeing this, Qin Zheng dared not fight head-on. Taking advantage of the lull in the fighting between the two armies, he led a few close and trusted guards and turned to plunge into the depths of the dense forest on the right, desperately trying to escape.

Enraged at the sight, Zhang Shitou raised his foot to give chase, shouting, "Where do you think you're going! Chase after him!"

Just as they were about to lead their men forward, dozens of dark figures darted out from the other side of the dense forest.

Lingyue and Shenhu, leading the Qiyue Pavilion assassins, had already taken the lead and were in hot pursuit of the direction Qin Zheng had fled.

Lin Xuan stood in the center of the battlefield, his gaze steady, and immediately gave a loud order:

"Stone, Qin Zheng is being pursued by Ling Yue and the others. You immediately lead your men to cooperate with Xiao Ce and wipe out all remaining private soldiers!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shitou immediately stopped and replied, "Yes!"

The battlefield situation is now completely clear.