They charged toward the rebels at full speed, with no mounts to aid them, yet their pace was astonishingly swift...
These were the warriors of the Chiyi Tribe. Most of their mounts, the Linjiao Xi, had been lost during the defense of Yunjing. The few remaining dozens had been sequestered on Qiu Mountain outside the city walls. Although Zhuge Yi Shi had suspected the Crown Prince might rebel, those few dozen Linjiao Xi would have made little difference...
Without their mounts, the Chiyi warriors were the strongest heavy infantry in the world. Under the command of Chi Yixiu, they surged toward the enemy with every ounce of speed they possessed...
The rebel archers naturally drew their bows, but the incoming arrows were utterly incapable of harming the fully armored Chiyi warriors.
"Quickly, quickly! Miao Dao, lead the Imperial Blade Guards and intercept these barbarians..." Seeing the charging Chiyi warriors intent on destroying his artillery, Qin Yunxiao once again made a decisive judgment...
At least a hundred men clad in black instantly lunged forward. These were the formidable fighting forces the Crown Prince had secretly amassed over the years; the weakest among them were Martial Masters, and a third had already attained the Grandmaster level. Such power unleashed upon the battlefield was an absolutely terrifying force...
And leading them was Miao Dao, a supreme expert who had already broken through to the Great Grandmaster realm...
Under Miao Dao’s direction, this contingent rapidly closed the distance with the Chiyi warriors. A thousand meters might as well have been the space of a few breaths to these highly skilled individuals...
Spotting the careening masters, Chi Yixiu, gripping his Heaven-Rending Battle Axe, swung directly at Miao Dao, who was at the forefront. Perhaps sensing the terrifying power of Chi Yixiu, Miao Dao wisely avoided a direct clash. His figure flashed, evading the axe strike, while his long saber flickered repeatedly, sending arcs of saber energy flying. These strikes shredded the armor of the surrounding Chiyi warriors and smashed their very flesh to pieces...
Behind these hundred-plus fighters, Qin Yunxiao deployed another contingent of a thousand men, swiftly enveloping the barbarian warriors. Relying on constantly shifting formations and the distraction provided by the hundred elite masters, they managed to impede the advance of Chi Yixiu and his vanguard...
Of course, these warriors were born for battle. If they had not already been utterly exhausted by days of constant fighting, this smaller force alone would have been incapable of holding them back...
"Sshh-sshh-sshh..." Everywhere there was the sound of steel cutting into flesh, the clash of weapons against metal...
Enemies were cleaved in two by an axe blow; comrades were pulverized by a saber strike. Blood and shredded meat splattered everywhere...
Yet, whether rebel or Chiyi warrior, neither side showed any inclination to retreat. Especially Chi Yixiu, whose eyes were locked on the distant artillery; he pressed forward with frantic intensity...
He knew that if those cannons were not destroyed, the Imperial Palace would fall in an instant. Therefore, he had to eliminate the artillery immediately...
The Heaven-Rending Battle Axe in his hand emanated streams of black light as the massive axe swept through the air with a roaring whoosh toward the rebel soldiers blocking his path. Facing such ferocious power and such a sharp blade, even Xiantian realm masters found it difficult to withstand...
"Hiss..." With another strike, a full three rebels were cleaved clean in half by Chi Yixiu’s axe. The upper halves of their bodies began to slowly slide downward while Chi Yixiu had already charged past them...
At this moment, fully seven or eight long spears simultaneously thrust toward Chi Yixiu. Facing the swift assault of the spears, Chi Yixiu didn't even spare them a glance, continuing his direct rush forward...
"Clang, clang, clang..." The spears struck his armor, sending showers of sparks flying. Occasionally, a few spears pierced the gaps in his plating and sank into Chi Yixiu's flesh, but such common weaponry could not harm his robust physique, which had achieved Level Six might...
His entire body was stained red with blood, covered in tattered shreds of flesh. Chi Yixiu seemed like a solitary god of slaughter, driving deeper into the rebel ranks alone...
Meanwhile, atop the city walls, due to the deterrence exerted by Hu Yanqi, the rebels found themselves temporarily unable to ignite the artillery...
Fifty zhang remaining... Chi Yixiu watched the cannons, ceaselessly swinging his battle axe, hacking down every enemy who dared to stand before him...
Thirty zhang...
Ten zhang...
Five zhang...
Three zhang...
Just as Chi Yixiu was about to reach his goal, a streak of light suddenly flashed across the void. The utterly exhausted Chi Yixiu could not evade this fatal strike...
With a sharp "Sshh," an arrow, also dark in color, pierced directly through his armor and lodged deep into his chest cavity...
Immediately following, four figures sprang up from the crowd. Four brilliant arcs of sword energy tore through the air, slamming directly into Chi Yixiu's armor...
"Crack-snap..." That was the sound of armor shattering. The four sword energies left four long gashes across Chi Yixiu’s body...
Blood sprayed forth, revealing pale, tender flesh as it flipped outwards. The immense pain caused Chi Yixiu’s mouth to twist...
"Kill..." he roared, digging his feet hard into the ground. He launched himself upward like a colossal cannonball, rocketing toward the dozen or so cannons...
Still airborne, he raised his battle axe with both hands...
"Shatter for me!" Chi Yixiu shouted, bringing the Heaven-Rending Battle Axe down with tremendous force...
"BOOM..." A deafening explosion followed. The cannons, forged from black iron, bronze, and other metals, were split in two by his single swing. The cannonballs hidden within the barrels detonated entirely, sending a colossal pillar of fire soaring skyward, instantly igniting the surrounding artillery pieces...
"Rumble, rumble..." Successive, massive sounds echoed out. Several bursts of fire erupted simultaneously, instantly engulfing the surrounding rebel soldiers—and along with them, Chi Yixiu, who held the battle axe...
"No..." From atop the city walls came Hu Yanqi's desperate cry...
Furthermore, the remaining hundreds of Chiyi warriors let out a unified, tremendous shout...
Nangong Shang, Bieli, Ying Xiaoxiao, Ye Longyi, and the others felt as if their eyes were bleeding tears. To destroy those cannons, Chi Yixiu had completely disregarded his own life...
For what? Why did he do it? He was not a subject of the Nanyun Empire; he had no ties to the Imperial Family. He could have simply stood by and watched, yet not only did he refuse to stand aside, he willingly sacrificed himself for the safety of the Palace. What was the reason? Was it merely fealty to Ye Jingyu?
This question flashed through everyone's mind. At that very moment, the figures of Ye Jingyu and Ni Bo appeared precisely there, catching sight of that earth-shattering scene...
"Xiu..." A fierce roar erupted from Ye Jingyu’s lips, and his body shot straight toward the massive explosion, plunging into the sea of fire that sought to claim the life of the Chiyi warrior...