Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 291

Action, begin!

A large banner belonging to the Xiang clan abruptly rose from the trees...

Before the commotion reached the command room, Zhang Han, who had received a report from the Shadow Guard, already knew everything. The shipyard prison's security was still being directed by the local general, and the Shadow Guard was waiting for the right opportunity.

Currently, the prison's defenses seem to be crumbling due to the rebellion of the Chu people during the forced labor. The highly skilled martial artists among the rebels, such as Dao Zhi, Ji Bu, and Bai Feng, have also broken into the prison and caused chaos. However, the main gate remains firmly in the hands of the Qin army, which, under proper command and deployment, has not lost its composure.

If things continue like this, the Qin soldiers in the prison will probably be in a rather sorry state tonight, and the anti-Qin rebels will also be unable to achieve their goal of rescuing people.

Especially after the signal flare was fired, these rebels had to retreat before Qin reinforcements arrived.

Zhang Han was very satisfied with the current situation. Tonight, he did not leak the news that the enemy would launch a surprise attack in advance, and even cooperated with the rebellion to some extent. However, it turned out that the empire's military preparedness had not been relaxed because of the unification of the world. Before Xuanwu appeared, he did not need to show up in advance to alert the enemy.

Boom! Just as Zhang Han made his decision, he heard a tremendous crashing sound coming from the direction of the sea. The noise was so great that it even made the entire shipyard prison tremble. Gongshu Chou stood up with joy: "Xuanwu is here!"

"We can launch a counterattack now!" Zhang Han nodded decisively to his deputy, the Shadow Guard at the door, who knowingly pulled a lever beside him...

Behind the shipyard prison by the sea, after the smoke dissipated from the cracks in the massive wall, a huge, heavy, metallic turtle-shaped mechanical beast appeared. The enormous size of it caused several guards who had rushed over to look at each other in bewilderment. However, just as they were at a loss, a burst of violent sword energy instantly killed them all.

Wei Zhuang took the lead and leaped out, his Shark Tooth Sword no longer sheathed, coldly surveying their surroundings.

Gai Nie, Xiaoyaozi, and Gao Jianli stepped out one after another behind him, while Xuanwu took the opportunity to retreat back into the sea. Master Ban's voice came through the loudspeaker: "Time is limited, you must hurry."

"The location is close to what we predicted. This shipyard is still designed to Qin standards. The passage from there should lead to the renovated prison area." Gai Nie nodded to the glowing eyes of Xuanwu and then went to his junior brother Xiao Zhuang's side. He looked at the second floor of the plaza staircase not far away. After receiving the information, Wei Zhuang did not say a word, but jumped up and took the lead, killing two black-armored Qin soldiers who came out from around the corner.

Xiaoyaozi and Gao Jianli also had no time to speak and hurriedly followed.

Gai Nie remained where he was, his brows furrowed slightly. He felt the plan had gone too smoothly.

Although everything is reasonable, not everything that is reasonable is normal.

With his vigilance heightened, Gai Nie followed the group to cover the rear and finish off the remaining enemies.

The four quickly located the dozen or so nobles from the six states who were being held captive. Wei Zhuang even recognized one of them as a former royal noble from the old state of Han. These nobles held extremely high positions.

After cutting through the iron gate and releasing the people, Gao Jianli led them in a retreat.

There were even more ordinary prisoners in this cell block begging for help. The Xuanwu prison had limited capacity and it was impossible to rescue them all, but releasing them would obviously cause trouble for the Qin people. Therefore, Wei Zhuang and Xiaoyaozi opened all the cells without hesitation.

However, when these ordinary people, who were not their targets, tried to follow behind the four and ask for more, Wei Zhuang ruthlessly chopped off two of their heads on the spot. The splattered blood terrified the prisoners, who scattered in panic.

"Something's not right." Gai Nie stopped. He didn't say much about his junior brother Wei Zhuang's actions, but he knew that these people following him could bring trouble that involved life and death.

What he meant by something being wrong was that, apart from the few Qin soldiers he killed at the beginning, no other Qin soldiers came to stop him.

Logically speaking, given the noise generated by Xuanwu, even if the situation at the main gate was extremely critical, there should have been enough people to ensure the safety of the rear.

You must understand that this is a prison, and the primary responsibility of a prison is to ensure that prisoners cannot escape!

"They must have fallen into an ambush." ​​Xiaoyaozi, who usually had a kind and gentle demeanor, was expressionless.

"We're less than a hundred meters away from mission success." Wei Zhuang glanced at the two of them, then simply uttered this sentence before continuing to chase after Gao Jianli.

Gai Nie understood his junior brother's meaning: the enemy had indeed set up a trap, but with the strength of the four of them, could they really not get through a mere hundred meters?

Even if they didn't know why the enemy was prepared in advance, they had a general idea of ​​the forces that Qin could mobilize.

The worst-case scenario is simply that we can't save these powerful and wealthy people; it wouldn't be difficult for them to leave if they wanted to!

However, when they walked out of the passage and arrived at the square, the two extremely eye-catching figures of the four men, as well as the powerful and influential people who had become timid as mice under years of beatings, all turned pale.

"This prison isn't even finished yet, and so many rats already want to move in?"

Behind the four men, Zhang Han stood triumphantly in front of the three-tiered railing. Fifty elite Shadow Guards, some wielding short daggers and others brandishing iron chains, surrounded them in a three-dimensional formation. At the same time, with a clanging sound, the passage back to the prison area was blocked by an iron gate.

"Ghost Valley Masters, the Human Sect's Xiaoyaozi, and the new leader of the Mohist School, Gao Jianli—do you prisoners of your caliber know how much they're worth on a bounty poster?"

"With just this few men and two clumsy iron balls, do you think you can stop us?" Zhang Han, who should have been in Sanghai City, arrived in person. The reasons behind this are too complicated to think about now. Wei Zhuang knew that with such a force, it was impossible to escape with those useless people who only had status and bloodline. Yet, the four of them were still able to return to Zhao intact.

"Ghost Valley's power is truly impressive." A childish voice suddenly rang out from the passageway on the other side of the square. After Gai Nie saw who it was, his heart sank even deeper: Xinghun, the left protector of the Yin Yang School, and the elder and younger Siming of the Wood Department.

As soon as Xinghun appeared, he raised his palm with a wicked smile. The pressure of his internal energy, which he had gathered into a blade, caused Gao Jianli, who did not recognize him, to be unable to resist thrusting ice shards out from the hilt of his Water Cold Sword.

The two Yin-Yang School members were invited temporarily by Fusu's orders. Although Xinghun knew that the anti-Qin alliance was useful to Lu Wei, these people could be discarded compared to the Mirage Project.

Before completing the Mirage Project, Xinghun will not reveal any suspicion of being an enemy of the Qin State.

"You will soon witness the might of Guigu." Wei Zhuang remained unfazed.

However, through the gap created by Xuanwu's attack, Xiaoyaozi's pupils dilated sharply: on the high seas, a 'city' was approaching the shipyard prison.

The Mirage has returned from its sea trial!

Chapter 348 Ji Yan Xiaomeng

The return time of the Mirage has always been an imperial secret, and the combat power on it cannot be ignored. The fact that Gongshu Chou appeared in the shipyard prison instead of debugging various mechanisms on the Mirage already indicates something.

However, the four members of the anti-Qin alliance were unaware of this, as Gongshu Chou had not yet appeared when the two Potu Sanlangs appeared.

With a whoosh, sword energy appeared simultaneously on Yuanhong and Shark Tooth. Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang suddenly launched an attack on the Gongshu family's mechanical beast that was blocking the crowd and the mechanical Xuanwu: The time is now on the Qin side, and they cannot be held back.

As soon as the two moved, the Shadow Guards on all sides reacted swiftly and instantly shot out a dozen iron chains to try to block their sword strikes. These Shadow Guards' chains were all infused with meteorite iron, and because the chains themselves combined strength and flexibility, they were not at a disadvantage even when dealing with famous swords.

This level of offensive is still far from enough to deal with the Horizontal and Vertical Alliances, but they don't need to be the main attackers; they can simply harass them with their numerical advantage.

Forced to sheathe their swords to defend against the chain attacks from all directions, Zongheng deliberately feigned a slightly disheveled state as they locked eyes, successfully luring the two Potu Saburos to pounce. However, as soon as they dodged, the Potu Saburos did not continue their pursuit but retreated to their original position to guard the gap.

Clearly, Zhang Han had given the pilots inside the mechanical beasts orders in advance to stay in their positions.

Upon seeing this, Xiaoyaozi immediately stood up and silently recited the Daoist scripture, intending to use the "Snow After Clearing" technique. However, as soon as he wrote the first stroke in the air with his fingertips, an invisible and pure internal energy suddenly appeared beside him. In Xiaoyaozi's vision, a blue moon quietly rose in the shipyard prison.

The Heavenly Sect's 'Heaven and Earth Lose Color'!

Thinking to himself that something was wrong, Xiaoyaozi changed his move to "Rejuvenation of All Things," and the stagnation of his internal energy instantly dissipated. However, because of this pause, the iron chains of the extra Shadow Guards seized the opportunity to sweep over. He blocked them one by one with his sword. After recovering, the sect leader of the Human Sect saw a woman dressed as a Taoist nun carrying a whisk slowly land in front of him.

Although it was their first meeting, the inner energy belonging to the Heavenly Sect and the autumn sword silently revealed the identity of the newcomer.

A sudden thought struck him. Without changing his expression, Xiaoyaozi turned his back to Xueji and said calmly, "Has Junior Sister Xiaomeng already willingly become a henchman of the Qin Kingdom?"

"Today's battle concerns only you and me." Xiaomeng glanced at the Shadow Guards who had surrounded her, her gray-white eyes cold and clear. She elegantly drew Qiuli and thrust it out without saying another word.

Xiaoyaozi waited solemnly, leaping onto a high point in the shipyard. Xueji countered each move, fighting and retreating as if trying to escape the main battlefield and venture deeper into the shipyard.

The Shadow Guards glanced at their commander, Zhang Han, and after receiving a shake of his head in signal, they obeyed and left the matter alone.

Zhang Han naturally saw that Xiaoyaozi had something on his mind, but Master Xiaomeng of Tianzong had already said beforehand that he did not want outsiders to disturb him. In addition, Xiaoyaozi's rebellious act had been caught. Even if he escaped today, he could put pressure on Renzong directly when he returned to Xianyang. There was no need to offend the leader of another sect of Taoism for such a trivial matter.

Taking down the three remaining rebels and the main rebel force outside the shipyard's main gate is enough to declare today's encirclement and suppression a great success!

Commanding his Shadow Guards to tighten the encirclement, Zhang Han drew his Dragon Soaring Sword and personally engaged Gao Jianli in combat.

On the other side, Xinghun gathered energy in both hands, forming blades, and charged towards Zongheng. With the support of the Shadow Guards and Shao Siming's ranged attacks, he surprisingly held his own for a time...

If this drags on, and the mirage arrives and the Qin army and Yin-Yang School disciples descend from it, none of the three will be able to escape.

Meanwhile, the deafening sound of horses' hooves outside the shipyard no longer alarmed the three: if Zhang Han could lay such an ambush here, even bringing in experts from the Yin-Yang School and the Daoist Heavenly Sect, then there must be others outside the shipyard as well. They were now in grave danger...

Master Ban was extremely anxious inside Xuanwu. He looked at the strategists and the Grand Master who were at a disadvantage, as well as the prisoners of the six states who had been recaptured by the excess Qin army. He gritted his teeth and directly activated the attack system of Xuanwu.

Xuanwu certainly possesses offensive capabilities. Beneath the carapace of the mechanical Xuanwu are numerous weapons resembling octopus tentacles that can extend. However, this offensive capability is mainly concentrated underwater: the excessive size of Xuanwu makes these tentacles extremely heavy. If the tentacles are used to launch attacks in the air without the buoyancy of water, it will cause great damage to the mechanical Xuanwu itself.

Given the current reserves of mechanical parts in the Mohist school, it is highly likely that they will be unable to repair Xuanwu for a very long time.

It could even directly affect the subsequent underwater escape.

But at this point, there's no time to worry about that... Xuanwu, activate!

Master Ban pulled the attack switch.

"Heh heh, they're cornered." The weak-armed Gongshu Chou didn't show himself on the battlefield, but instead hid in a safe place, observing the overall situation from behind an iron gate.

When the armor of the mechanical Xuanwu opened and its thick mechanical tentacles extended, Gongshu Chou's extensive experience in researching lethal mechanical arts made him even clearer than Master Ban about the burden that using Xuanwu's weapons in the air would place on this mechanical beast.

If we continue with the strategy of stalling, this Xuanwu will eventually self-destruct.

Thinking of this, Gongshu Chou pressed the button on his right side, and the urgent alarm sounded throughout the shipyard. The two pilots of the shipyard immediately understood their leader's intention and manipulated the mechanical city to take the initiative to meet Xuanwu's attack.

Potu Sanlang is a powerful siege weapon, but it is not even as big as one of Xuanwu's tentacles in front of Xuanwu. However, it is like two lions besieging an elephant whose four legs are stuck in the mud. Xuanwu is too clumsy on land because it is trying to rescue Zongheng and Gao Jianli.

However, having their attention diverted by the two Sabururos greatly reduced the pressure on the two, who had to be constantly on guard against the deadly attacks of the mechanical beasts.

Now, with his hands free, Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang need not utter a word. Their combined attack, a hundred-step flying sword strike back-to-back and sweeping across all directions, caused Xinghun, whose Yin-Yang techniques had been enhanced by Lu Wei, to change his expression. However, he did not retreat; instead, he gathered his energy into blades with both hands, unleashing eighty percent of his power, and the blue-purple patterns on his face strangely ignited...

He wanted to take the attack head-on!

This is the obsessive madness of a star soul in the heat of battle.

'He's courting death!'

Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang remained calm. They intended to use this move to kill the Left Protector of the Yin-Yang School, thus ensuring that no one from the Qin Kingdom could stand in their way.

The Shadow Guards felt the unimpeded sword energy in the air and gritted their teeth as they threw out their iron chains. But this time, the two from Guigu Valley didn't need to defend themselves. The chains bounced off the sword energy and were completely ineffective.

Although Shao Siming remained expressionless beneath her veil, she wisely and proactively withdrew from the range of the crisscrossing sword energy. Before leaving, she even kindly wove a rope from leaves to try and pull Lord Xinghun along with her.

However, Xinghun refused.

Zhang Han and Gao Jianli, on the other side, retreated after their blades clashed, their eyes also drawn to the combined attack technique of the crisscrossing forces.

The black and white dragons in the ink painting swirl and surge with sword energy, their momentum as powerful as a rainbow, their dancing and echoing spirit as if true dragons have descended to earth.

The azure energy waves unleashed by Xinghun's eighty percent power, formed from his two hands into blades, were equally extraordinary, yet they were easily pierced by the combined attack of the black and white dragons...

Seeing the sword energy still rushing towards him with its remaining force, Xinghun hardened his heart and wanted to use his full strength again at all costs, but before he could do it, he was blasted away by the unstoppable sword energy after only releasing a small part of his inner energy.

Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang didn't have time to pursue, so they turned around and attacked the two Po Tu San Lang who were fighting with Xuanwu's tentacles. Most of the Shadow Guard soldiers were stunned by the combined attack and didn't have time to react. Zhang Han did react, but he was blocked by Gao Jianli and could only watch helplessly as the second combined attack of the Vertical and Horizontal forces severed half of the hind legs of the two Po Tu San Lang.

Master Ban seized the opportunity and unleashed a powerful whip from Xuanwu's tentacles. The two mechanical beasts, whose mobility had been reduced, were unable to dodge and were sent flying deep into the shipyard, where smoke swirled.

Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang were working themselves to the bone; both were pale and nearly collapsed. Although Gao Jianli's coordination with them wasn't great, he knew this was a rare opportunity. Taking advantage of the humid sea breeze, he used the Yi Shui Han technique at any cost...

With a light touch, Gao Jianli helped Zongheng up and forced his way towards Xuanwu.

The entire plaza was frozen solid by ice crystals. The Shadow Guards around the plaza and Zhang Han, who was closest to Gao Jianli's burst position, had their lower legs frozen and were unable to move for a short time.

Shao Siming was farther away and had slightly higher skill, so she managed to dodge the attack.

Facing the three fleeing figures, she lightly launched a row of leaf-shaped projectiles, but they were blocked by several tentacles of the Black Tortoise. By the time she wanted to give chase, it was too late.

After diving back into the Xuanwu, without waiting for Xiaoyaozi to return, Master Ban voluntarily abandoned the tentacles whose roots had already cracked and quickly submerged.

The arrows and crossbows from the twenty-odd bat-like mechanical beasts that belatedly arrived from the mirage had virtually no effect on Xuanwu. In the end, the Qin side could only watch helplessly as the battered Xuanwu escaped...

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Zhang Han, his face dark, received bandaging from the military doctor for the wounds cut open by Yi Shuihan's icy blades, while listening to his subordinates' reports.