The third batch of troops had already appeared at the valley entrance. Earlier, Lieutenant Liu had signaled her subordinates to guide them in.

For days now, Princess Taikang had been chopped unconscious with a hand blade by Yang Su almost every morning upon waking. Her repeated protests meant nothing to him. She even threatened to report him to the Emperor after returning to the Imperial Capital—but Yang Su wasn’t afraid. *Report all you want. If you can actually get me removed, I’ll be impressed.*

When facing someone you can’t overpower, sometimes you have to match scoundrels with scoundrels.

“They’re in,” Suryehok raised his right hand high—a signal for the assault. This gesture meant everyone must prepare.

“The person inside that palanquin is Princess Taikang,” Shao Bu whispered. His sharp eyes had caught a glimpse of someone inside pulling back the curtain to look out—the very person he’d seen Yang Su knock out with a hand blade days ago.

“Ready!” Suryehok held his breath. Precisely at moments like this, he couldn’t afford to lose his composure.

The third batch of troops drew closer to the designated spot…

Jiang Huoer noticed the horses beside him pawing the ground restlessly under their riders’ commands. The battle was about to begin.

For Jiang Huoer, the show was about to start.

The last two soldiers of the third batch crossed the target point.

“Kill!!!”

Everything happened too suddenly.

Only the thunder of countless hooves and an overwhelming roar of battle cries filled the air.

Yang Su never expected a small gap near the cave entrance—one the Mystic Divination Art had failed to seal completely. That gap was the key to breaking Duermu’s grand formation, but Yang Su had missed it.

“Protect the Princess!!!” Yang Su drew his side sword and activated his War God Mark. Behind him, the mark’s center blazed with a massive sword—not like the Master Scholar’s jade-carved scroll, but a blade radiating searing Battle Will. This sword embodied the Five Armies Camp, their guardian War God.

Lieutenant Liu activated her own War God Imprint and charged forward behind Yang Su.

Suryehok and Arslan wouldn’t let the two strongest fighters reach the center. Shao Bu had already rushed to seize the princess; their task was to pin down Yang Su and Lieutenant Liu.

Both activated their Iron Cavalry Seals. Suryehok’s heavy sword clashed against Yang Su’s massive blade, while Arslan’s curved saber met Lieutenant Liu’s Flowing Oriole Spear.

“Overbearing Body!” Yang Su roared. This unique art of the Five Armies Camp tripled physical strength. Combined with the War God Mark, its power doubled. He held the massive sword horizontally before his chest—it wasn’t his preferred weapon. His Divine Mechanism Workshop-made blade, a counterpart to the Flowing Oriole Spear, was still under maintenance in the Imperial Capital. This sword was merely serviceable. “Eight Trigram Slash!!!”

This technique disoriented opponents, making attacks seem to come from all directions at once, leaving no room to defend.

“Worthy of General Yang of the Five Armies Camp!” Suryehok wasn’t easily outmatched. His assignment here proved the Supreme Commander’s trust. “Asura Overlord Blade!!” While Mongol Iron Cavalry typically wielded sabers, maces, or curved blades, mastery of the heavy sword was rare. Suryehok’s Asura Overlord Blade rivaled the Quicksand Overlord Blade and Dragonsummon Tyrant Blade—among the Mongol Troops’ top secret techniques.

Victory hinged on the depth of one’s Qi Sea. At equal ranks, the warrior with greater Qi reserves dominated.

Arslan’s Iron Cavalry Seal was Third Tier, Fifth Rank; Lieutenant Liu’s War God Imprint was Third Tier, Seventh Rank. On paper, she held the advantage—especially with the Flowing Oriole Spear. But Arslan’s raw strength constantly forced her spear aside. Her Flowing Oriole Art emphasized speed, precision, and ruthlessness; she hadn’t yet mastered that final element. Their duel remained deadlocked.

Their true goal, however, was capturing the Little Princess. Killing the others was secondary—fate would decide. Suryehok and Arslan focused only on defense, conserving energy for the main objective.

Yang Su noticed this but couldn’t break free—every strike was parried.

*This is troublesome…* Panic scattered his focus. *Princess Taikang is nothing but trouble. Your Majesty, just imagine your grief if she’s captured!* Yang Su’s fury blinded him to the obvious: if the princess fell, his position as Grand General of the Five Armies Camp would vanish.

Lieutenant Liu tried to disengage to aid Yang Su, but Arslan pressed her too fiercely.

“Damn it!!!” She thrust her spear upward. “Flowing Oriole Eight Forms—Singing Book Thrust!” The spear tip vibrated left and right, lunging straight for Arslan’s heart.

Arslan shouldn’t have dodged it. Suryehok’s heart sank—but…

“Hssssssss—”

Arslan’s body lurched sideways as his warhorse collapsed beneath him.

“!!!” Lieutenant Liu froze in shock. *I haven’t even struck yet—how?*

“Hssssssss—” Before Suryehok could react, his own mount crumpled, throwing him off balance.

Identical horse cries erupted across the valley. Dust billowed into the air.

Then came the stench—a foul odor that made one want to vomit the moment it hit the nose.

“What is this smell?!” Yang Su stood baffled. One instant he’d been overwhelmed; the next, his enemies were collapsing.

“Why does it reek?!” Zhu XiuRong covered her nose and pulled back the carriage curtain. Outside, chaos reigned in a haze of dust.

Then she heard it—a boy’s voice, seeming both distant and near.

“Get down!!!”

Yang Su heard it. Lieutenant Liu heard it. And then—

“BOOM!!!”

“BOOM!!!”

“BOOM!!!”

Three cannon blasts shook the valley. Yang Su saw three iron balls plummeting from the sky.

“Run————————!”

Those were his last words before he cracked his whip.