Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 844 - 822: High Priest

The Chaoyang Palace was surrounded by the Forbidden Army, impenetrable. Fang Chuning and the Shadow Guards protected Xie Jue at the center as they struggled to break through, the death of the King of Sannan igniting the hatred and rage of the Sannan Forbidden Army like oil on fire. At the command of the High Priest, they began to attack Fang Chuning and Xie Jue.

"Avenge the King, kill Xie Jue!"

"Avenge the King, kill Xie Jue!"

The Forbidden Army cried for revenge, their eyes bloodshot. Initially, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry was caught off guard, losing several men, and soon fell into a chaotic battle. The Forbidden Army encircled the entire Chaoyang Palace, forcing the concubines, princesses, and princes to evacuate, while constantly throwing fire oil towards the Chaoyang Palace, aiming to burn everyone inside as the surroundings turned into a sea of fire.

Fang Chuning was also frenzied with killing, while Xie Jue, though protected, joined the fray wielding a longsword. But this was, after all, enemy territory, and the Forbidden Army outnumbered them. They only had three hundred men, and the death of the King of Sannan drove the forbidden soldiers to madly tear at Xie Jue and Fang Chuning.

Arrows rained down on Xie Jue and Fang Chuning like a storm. Although the three hundred Ningzhou Iron Cavalry were guards and allowed to carry swords, the archers were too many. They had no shields and could only use their bodies to shield Xie Jue from the arrows, ready to die honorably. This group of selected Ningzhou Iron Cavalry knew the dangers before embarking on their mission. Each had received Xie Xun’s order to protect Xie Jue at all costs, knowing that if they survived and returned to the capital, honor awaited them. Thus, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry had all volunteered for the mission, knowing that in the event of battle, ensuring Xie Jue’s survival was their sole objective.

The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry was quickly reduced by half, shot down by the Forbidden Army. Xie Jue, glancing at the Shadow Guards around him, issued a stern order, "Kill the archers."

Ying Er hesitated, "But..."

In his protection, his master faced such peril for the second time; the first was during the rebellion at Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, and now this time at the Sannan Royal Palace. Xie Jue’s moon-white robes were almost stained red with blood, even his brow was splattered, lending him an air of wild danger, as the killing intent hidden deep within him surged out, overflowing his expression, "That’s an order!"

"Yes!"

On the unburned walls of Chaoyang Palace, two rows of archers continued shooting at them. Without resolving this, none of the Iron Cavalry would survive. After the Shadow Guards left, Xie Jue and Fang Chuning fought back-to-back towards the hall’s entrance.

The Shadow Guards moved swiftly to slay the archers on the wall. Seeing this, the eldest prince pointed at Xie Jue, saying, "His Shadow Guards have left, this is the best time to strike, kill him!"

The Forbidden Army’s eyes were bloodshot with rage, with their brothers killed by the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry and Fang Chuning. Now they heard nothing but the call for revenge and slaughter, ceaselessly attacking Fang Chuning and Xie Jue.

Fang Chuning’s wrist and palm went numb from the shock. Suddenly, an arrow shot towards him. Dodging it with a somersault and cutting it down, he glanced at Xie Jue, his eyes blood-red as if they could speak, conveying something to Xie Jue.

Unless absolutely necessary, he would not leave Xie Jue’s side, ready to shield him from any open or hidden threats. But he also knew that if they continued fighting like this without changing tactics, both he and Xie Jue would die in Chaoyang Palace. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The flames grew larger, licking at their clothing, burning several soldiers to death. The fire quickly engulfed them all, threatening to consume every conspiracy and murder. In the future, when others spoke of this massacre, they would say Xie Jue refused to marry Princess X for Fang Chuning and killed the King of Sannan. The Forbidden Army avenged the King by killing them in Chaoyang Palace. Even if Xie Xun was enraged and attacked Sannan, the entire Sannan populace would rise up in resistance, with the King’s death planting seeds of hatred in all the people of Sannan.

Xie Jue said, "Go!"

Without a word, they both knew what the other intended. Using the assistance of a Ningzhou Iron Cavalry member, Fang Chuning leaped, crossing over ten meters, and was suddenly in front of the eldest prince, raising his sword to kill him.

The eldest prince never expected that, despite being surrounded by the Forbidden Army, Fang Chuning could appear before him in an instant. Shocked, he retreated repeatedly, pulling a Forbidden Army soldier to shield himself. Fang Chuning’s longsword cleaved the man in two, spraying blood that blinded the eldest prince, soaking him from head to toe. When he finally reacted, Fang Chuning had grabbed his collar, his longsword across his throat, shouting, "Stop or I’ll kill him!"

"Retreat, retreat..." A Sannan General shouted, and the Forbidden Army around the eldest prince redirected their blood-soaked spears and longswords towards Fang Chuning.

Surrounded in the center, Xie Jue and the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry finally breathed a sigh of relief as the Shadow Guards had eliminated half of the archers on the walls, with Ying San and Five severely wounded in the melee, leaning on their brothers for breath.

"Fang Chuning, release the eldest prince. Even if you hurt him, you’ll die with him. You won’t leave the Royal Palace tonight." The Sannan soldiers threatened coldly, glancing at Xie Jue, "Prince Yan also!"

Fang Chuning’s nightwear was drenched in blood. He moved the sword slightly, smiling fiendishly like a demon, "Fine, then we’ll die together. It’s no loss for the eldest prince to accompany me in death. The more I kill, the more I gain!"

"You!" The general was under the eldest prince’s command, very cautious. The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry shielded Xie Jue as they slowly advanced towards the palace door, forcing back the Sannan Forbidden Army.

"Fang Chuning, our target is only Xie Jue, not you. Release me, and I might spare you a full corpse!" The eldest prince spoke sternly, "Do you really think you two are lovebirds, destined to live and die here together?"

Fang Chuning, provoked, slashed a line across his throat with the longsword. The eldest prince only felt pain in his throat as hot blood began to flow.

"Stop, stop!" The general shouted frantically, as he watched the eldest prince’s throat being slit, though not fatally.

Fang Chuning looked towards Xie Jue, whose waist and abdomen had been slashed, visibly so, though he said nothing, just clutching it with one hand. Fang Chuning saw blood continuously seeping from his fingers, growing more urgent inside, but remaining calm outwardly, "After tonight, the peace talks are over. I advise you to recognize the situation and not resist needlessly. Even if Xie Jue and I die here tonight, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry will flatten Sannan and avenge us. If you lay down your arms now, there’s still a glimmer of hope for peace. Otherwise, you’ll be the sinners of all of Sannan!"

"Don’t listen to his deceptive words!" A calm and cold voice slowly came, the High Priest dressed in white robes, wearing the distinct hat of the Sannan Priest, appearing sacred and ethereal amidst the flames and blood, aloof from worldly matters, "For Sannan, anyone can be sacrificed."

"So it was you!" Xie Jue coldly laughed, looking at the pristine High Priest, "I really misjudged you."