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"Old Tian, you’re indeed here!"

A rugged voice emanated from afar. Tian Heng immediately saw a tall man riding a Dragon Horse, leading dozens of elite riders charging towards him. It was one of the Duke of Qin’s deputy generals: Meng Hao, the Marquis of Zhongwu!

He was also the strongest among the Duke of Qin’s deputies, his strength almost infinitely close to that of the Dukes themselves, with only his family’s low bloodline preventing him from breaking through his ultimate limits.

Although Tian himself was born into a lower bloodline family, a mutation occurred midway, awakening the ancient bloodline of the Dragon Clan from his ordinary Dragon Turtle lineage, becoming the overlord with the Dragon Turtle Bloodline, and thus he squeezed into the ranks of the Dukes.

"How’s the western front?" Seeing that it was Meng Hao, Tian Heng’s heart lifted slightly, and he quickly asked.

The western front was the main defensive line guarding the entrance to the West Sea, originally to prevent sudden monster attacks from the sea. It was the most forward defense line, the red line, but now it seemed it would become their retreat path!

"We’re being squeezed hard!" Meng Hao didn’t even dismount; he spoke with urgency: "I’m here seeking reinforcements. Old Tian, the Imperial Court has gone mad, colluding with demons, turning the Golden Dragon Guards into monsters!!"

"It’s not necessarily the Imperial Court..." Tian Heng shook his head, if it was a trap set by the Emperor, the person who took action just now would definitely have been him, not the Princess Royale risking impersonating His Majesty with the flame blade.

Who could have expected that the heroic woman warrior of those days would become such a madwoman!

But now, digging into the causes was meaningless. The urgent matter at hand was to try and save as many of their troops as possible!

"Let’s not talk about that. Do you have a safe retreat route there?"

"That..." Meng Hao seemed troubled: "The attack there was fierce, several undead creatures possessed the capabilities of Super First Rank warriors.

Although their means of attack are simple, their physical strength is extremely high.

The West Sea line has been overrun by a large extent.

I came here for reinforcements, so if we consider retreating there, we must be extra cautious not to get caught in a pincer move! "

"Right, Old Tian, where are your troops?"

Suddenly, Meng Hao sensed something amiss. This was supposed to be the other’s camp, so why was there not a single shadow in sight?

"Cough... Let’s talk about that later." He really couldn’t bear to tell his deputies right now that his troops had been lured away by a young upstart, so he could only say: "The line to the southwest has almost completely collapsed.

We can only retreat through your side. What about the southeast?

Did you send someone over there to ask for reinforcements? "

Upon hearing this, Meng Hao’s face turned grim: "I’ve just come from the southeast front... Over there, it has basically collapsed. By the way, where are the other Dukes?"

"Duke Hong and Duke Chu have been assassinated, if you are looking for a Duke, I am the only one left."

"How... how is that possible?" Meng Hao’s first reaction was disbelief.

"The Princess Royale and the Chief of Staff set a trap and ambushed us!"

Meng Hao’s eyes widened in shock. This time... he believed it. If it was indeed the Princess Royale who made a move, in coordination with the Shen Family’s most powerful magicians, and it was an ambush, it indeed could be possible!

"So... what do we do now?"

"Retreat into the West Sea!" Tian Heng made a decisive call: "The southeastern and southwestern fronts have collapsed, two Dukes are dead, and we are leaderless.

The nature of the undead seems specifically aimed at our bloodline progeny.

Gathering the remnants is no longer possible.

We must enter the West Sea and warn Mr. Heiyun at all costs, we must preserve the last batch of the Black Dragon Guards! "

"Alright!" Meng Hao wheeled his horse around: "Duke, please mount up. Let us two go ahead and open up a way!"

"Alright!" Tian Heng responded without hesitation, immediately mounting the other’s Dragon Horse. He turned to his deputies behind him: "Follow Marquis Zhongwu’s troops and catch up as fast as you can!"

"Yes, my lord!" They had just nodded in agreement when in the next second, their expressions drastically changed: "My lord!!"

Tian Heng stiffened and turned around, staring blankly ahead.

Upon the Dragon Horse, the Meng Hao whose back was turned toward him had a pitch-black arm that pierced straight through his chest, along with his chest itself!

Meng Hao’s bloodline was that of Ancient Iron Demon Ape. Though not top-tier, his arms were as strong as refined meteoric iron. Even for one with a bloodline as defensively formidable as his own, without prior preparation, it was impossible to defend against such strength!

But why?

"You...."

"I didn’t want to do this, Duke..." At this moment, Meng Hao’s eyes had, for some reason, turned scarlet, and his voice carried a metallic, chilly undertone: "But the road ahead in this world is too narrow. I am not you, fortunate enough to have your bloodline mutate by itself. If I don’t seize the opportunity, I will remain a mere subordinate for the rest of my life. "

Tian Heng: "....."

"General!"

The deputies, with blood boiling in their eyes, rushed forward with their bloodline powers fully unleashed, trying to rescue him. Behind Meng Hao, his own troop of deputies was taken aback, watching their unrecognizable superior, unsure of who to help...

Pierced through the heart, Tian Heng looked at his old friend, his face familiar yet strange, and not sure if it was due to the rapid loss of blood, he felt unprecedentedly cold...

You’re right, the human heart is indeed terrifying, Lord of Qin...

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"Young master, it’s dangerous, you can’t go!!"

Wei Gongyan desperately clung onto Weichi Feihu, who was about to rush into the fight with reddened eyes!

"Why are you stopping me? Don’t you see how urgent the situation outside is? Quickly fetch me my sword!" Weichi Feihu shouted angrily, but the other man was holding onto his wound, causing him so much pain that he momentarily couldn’t muster the strength.

"You can’t go!" Wei Gongyan struggled with all his might to hold back the other man.

Although he had thought about bewitching the young master to try to achieve merits on the battlefield, now was not the time.

He had just witnessed the situation outside; from all directions, terrifying monsters were rampaging, their combat prowess horrendously fearsome.

The direct troops of several dukes were beaten into a disastrous retreat.

Especially when he had just run back, he had seen with his own eyes a creature, its body emitting a green hue and somewhat resembling a member of the Weichi Clan, tear a lord’s deputy in half, alive.

With such terrifying combat strength, he feared it was not much less than that of the old lord himself, and what was key was that there was more than one of these monsters!

If the young master dared to rush over with his meager abilities, he would likely not cause even a splash!

"Get out of the way!" Being of pure-blooded Fei Peng lineage, the agitated and furious Weichi Feihu kicked Wei Gongyan and sent him flying, enduring the sharp pain in his buttocks.

Just as he was about to look for a weapon, he suddenly felt a numbness at the back of his neck as if something had pierced into his skin!

Weichi Feihu turned and threw a punch but looking back, he saw it was his own deputy, Wei Gongzhan!

Immediately he checked his punch, but it still caved in Wei Gongzhan’s face, sending him flying several meters away!

"What are you doing?" Weichi Feihu touched his neck and pulled off a silver needle, immediately feeling dizzy and bloated.

"You...."

"Young master, elder brother is right, you can’t go, you’ll die!"

"You bastard..." Weichi Feihu roared furiously, but was growing increasingly weak, collapsing to the ground. He glared at the other man with eyes that seemed to devour him!

"Elder brother... what are you waiting for?" Wei Gongzhan didn’t pay attention to his young master but looked toward the dazed Wei Gongyan behind: "Waiting to die? Why aren’t you helping the young master to leave?"

"Oh... right right right!" Hearing this, Wei Gongyan hurriedly nodded his head and carefully helped up Weichi Feihu, being extremely cautious as if afraid of getting his face beaten like Wei Gongzhan.

"Where are you planning to go, brother?"

A somber voice from Wei Gongzhan came from behind, startling Wei Gongyan who was helping up Weichi Feihu.

In his memory, this bastard half-brother didn’t possess as high a cultivation as himself, but the skills displayed when attacking the young master just now seemed different; this kid really knew how to hide his capabilities, just like Wei Gongcheng, another dishonest piece of work.

But now he was somewhat afraid to provoke him; this fellow was so crazed he’d even attack the young master—disagreeing with him might well lead to him attacking.

So he replied honestly: "We naturally plan to retreat toward the West Sea direction, where Duke Lu awaits alongside a hundred thousand strong army—it should be the safest place!"

"Twenty thousand Black Dragon Guards remaining here are not safe, so what makes the West Sea safe? If this place can be schemed against, couldn’t the West Sea be attacked too?"

"Then... what should we do?"

"Retreat towards Jiangnan!"

"Why head to Jiangnan?" Wei Gongyan immediately sneered: "Are you really relying on that minor magistrate from the Judicial Court?"

"Having some hope is better than none!" Wei Gongzhan retorted coldly: "These dukes can’t even protect their own deputies, and with no signs of them for so long, I fear they’ve already met with peril. The magistrate from the Judicial Court may be young but is one of the top magicians in the world, along with the heritage of Duke of Song’s Xixiang.

Such a person, having said he can protect the young master, surely won’t break his word! "

It sounded somewhat reasonable. Having someone specifically protecting him was certainly better than these few outsiders seeking refuge on their own.

The West Sea was originally a place of crisis, and these monsters might later enter to attack Duke Lu’s forces; rushing there may not be safer than going to Jiangnan.

The most crucial point was, Wei Gongzhan seemed somewhat dangerous now. If he disagreed, the kid might really attack him!

"Let’s follow your lead this time, but I warn you, if anything happens to the young master, you will bear an inescapable guilt, and regardless of the reason, you should never have taken it upon yourself to attack the young master.

It breaks the Wei Family’s rules; upon our return, you’ll have to accept the family discipline! "

"Alright!" Wei Gongzhan bowed his head without saying more. Injuring one’s superior, no matter the reason, was an act of insubordination and must be severely punished. Even if the young master didn’t mind this time, it’s likely he wouldn’t be able to stay by the young master’s side any longer.

Well then. As his mother said, living with an open and honest heart is enough. If it came to it, he would make the same decision every time.

Thus, the two men, one on each side, under Weichi Feihu’s furious gaze, supported the limp young master and headed directly towards Jiangnan...

In the twentieth year of Emperor Tianwu’s reign in Great Jin, which represented the most powerful era of Great Jin’s military, two of the Five Dragon Guard units—the Golden Dragon Guard and the Black Dragon Guard—perished in large numbers in the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley incident that very night.

This battle marked a turning point towards decline for the once-mighty and youthful dynasty of Great Jin.