After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Shadows flickered within the woods.

"what!"

A scream rang out.

A young man named Zhuang Doukui was shot in the thigh with an arrow. Xu Cheng, a member of the Imperial Guard, rushed forward and severed Zhuang Doukui's right hand, blood splattering everywhere! Zhuang Doukui writhed on the ground in agony, whimpering and screaming, "Ah ...

Xing Kaiyang roared in grief and indignation, "Senior Brother!" and rushed forward.

"Whoosh!" Another terrifying arrow came flying, and he had to dodge it.

The remaining two Imperial Guards seized the opportunity, one on the left and one on the right, sweat beading on their foreheads. With a rolling slash, they tore open two large gashes on Xing Kaiyang's thighs. Xing Kaiyang gritted his teeth and fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

From the moment they started fighting until they finally dealt with the two thieves, the time was less than sixty breaths, yet they lost a total of four men!

Xu Cheng and the other two Imperial Guards were filled with resentment.

"Walk!"

He shouted, intending to help Vice Commander Qin deal with the Right Protector.

I turned around.

But what he saw was astonishing.

Four of the six brothers responsible for surrounding and killing the Right Protector have already fallen to the ground, their fate unknown.

Even Commander Qin was on the verge of death, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, yet he stood there, while the other two each stood in a different direction.

"Lord Qin!" Xu Cheng shouted.

The three men, swords in hand, were about to charge!

"Don't come any closer!" Qin Yuanyao had been slashed on the right shoulder, the cut so deep that the bone was visible. Blood stained her clothes, and her eyelids were heavy. When she saw Xu Cheng and the other two approaching, she quickly shouted.

The three men, their faces contorted with resentment, stopped in their tracks, knives raised.

Across from her, Mu Ziying held a knife she had picked up from the ground and watched her quietly.

Qin Yuanyao's face turned pale, and she secretly lamented that she never expected this person to be so skilled in martial arts. Just now, she was caught off guard and her right shoulder was slashed.

Mu Ziying glanced at her left arm, where there was a knife wound, but it wasn't deep enough to penetrate the bone.

Back in the north, he had infiltrated the Green Standard Army and fought against the Rakshasa people for three years, accumulating merits to become a chiliarch. Later, he rebelled and fought against the Tartars for many years, navigating life and death for so long, before finally developing extraordinary martial arts skills. Naturally, these few people could not kill him.

Mu Ziying looked up and said, "You still have an archer."

The archer was quite capable; seeing that his three arrows couldn't hit him, he went to help the Imperial Guards who were surrounding and killing his two disciples. However, without the archer to hold him back, the Imperial Guards on this side were no match for him.

Qin Yuanyao, swaying precariously, roared, "Xu Cheng! You three, retreat!"

Xu Cheng and his two companions were startled and called out, "Lord Qin!" Xu Cheng understood that when Lord Qin said "retreat," he meant to retreat with the archer.

The moonlight reflected off the knife in Mu Ziying's hand as she shook her head and said, "We can't retreat. You're all doomed."

Qin Yuanyao held her sword horizontally in front of her, gave a bitter laugh, and said, "That's not necessarily true."

Just then, a sigh came from the woods.

Qin Yuanyao was startled and cried out, "Don't come any closer!"

The person who sighed said, "There's no other way; you can't aim accurately unless you get close."

A dark gun barrel emerged from the woods.

Master Ning, his forehead covered in sweat, slowly walked out, his hands steadily holding the musket with the lit matchlock.

He glanced at the middle-aged man in black holding a knife in front of him and smiled bitterly to himself. He used to think that dark-skinned women were not human, taking people's heads at the drop of a hat and having unbelievably high martial arts skills. He never expected to see such a thing today.

Mu Ziying looked at him: "Young Master Ning?" He frowned.

Ning Nan nodded and smiled, "Greetings, Right Protector."

He didn't know when the other party had visited him in that cage earlier today, but now it was his turn to point a gun at the other party. However, even though he was holding the gun, his palms were sweating profusely.

Mu Ziying said, "I thought today's efforts would be in vain, but fortunately," he looked at Ning Nan, his expression softening, "Young Master Ning actually came to us in person."

A bead of sweat dripped from Ning Nan's forehead as he chuckled, "I never imagined the Right Protector's martial arts were so formidable. If I had known, I should have sought out a master when I was a child."

Mu Ziying shook his head: "Martial arts are useless, Young Master Ning, you are right."

Ning Nan glanced at the figures lying on the ground, their fates unknown, and said, "Right Protector, it's a bit insincere of you to say such things."

"I have practiced for twenty years and can only kill seven or eight people, at most twenty. If more than twenty people form a formation to surround and kill me, or more than ten riders chase me, Mu Ziying will still be doomed."

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes and placed his hand on the trigger: "Right Protector is too modest, but I have learned something today, and I must not make such a mistake again."

He continued, "Just now, I fired three arrows, and the Right Protector dodged them all. I was truly amazed. I just wonder... at a distance of three zhang, could the Right Protector dodge a musket?"

Mu Ziying glanced at him calmly: "I've never tried it before, but I'll give it a try today."

"very good."

Ning Nan said softly, holding the gun in his right hand.

Just as he aimed.

A deep voice came from behind: "No need."

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

He pointed his gun at Mu Ziying, then turned around.

A man in black wearing a red and black mask emerged from the forest. Ning Nan slowly stepped back, and Qin Yuanyao immediately drew her sword to protect him. Pang Ting and another Imperial Guard also came over, but they were staggering and clearly at their last gasp.

Seeing the opportunity, Xu Cheng and the other two quickly ran over and stood guard in front of Ning Nan.

Ning Nan glanced at it and saw that the person was wearing a mask that looked like Guan Yu's.

Behind the man in black wearing a Guan Gong mask.

A man dressed in shorts and a female Taoist priest were also following behind, supporting a man covered in blood and gore as they came out.

Upon seeing this person.

Mu Ziying, who had always been calm and composed, finally showed a slight change in his expression.

The Guan Gong mask depicts a tall and upright figure with a youthful voice.

"You lost," he said. "Ge Jianhong has already been killed, but we rescued Zeng Tianchu."

The young man, covered in blood and barely alive, opened his eyes, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Master...we...lost...we're dead...all dead...the entire army wiped out..."

Mu Ziying's expression returned to normal. After thinking for a moment, she looked at the Guan Gong mask, pointed at Ning Nan, and said, "As long as I take him down, I won't lose today, and I'll still have a chance."

The Guan Gong mask shook his head: "He has a musket. You can't dodge at this close range. There are still a few of them. Your men have all gone over there. There are too few people here... Once he fires his musket, you'll be dead... Give up... You can't take him down. There's no point in trying."

Mu Ziying said, "If you help me after I die..."

"I can't help you..."

Guan Yu shook his head, took out an iron plaque from his robes, and threw it toward Ning Nan.

"He is the new leader."

Clang!

The metal plaque fell to the ground.

It made a loud thud in the forest.

……

……

"call……"

On the grassy hillside, Zhu Cuiwei rode a chestnut horse, slightly raised her head, looked at the moonlight in the sky, and silently took a breath.

Several men in armor escorted a person forward hastily.

The man appeared to be middle-aged, with disheveled hair, a blank expression, and numerous knife wounds covering his body, his clothes soaked in blood.

Liu Xinghan, his armor covered in blood, followed behind, sweat beading on his forehead. He stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"General, this man is Ge Jianhong."

Zhu Cuiwei withdrew her gaze from the moonlight, hummed in agreement, and glanced at Ge Jianhong:

"Tell me, where is my husband?"