"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Shouts of battle filled the sky, roaring like clashing metal and charging cavalry. A murderous aura surged upward as countless soldiers fearlessly charged toward the top of the hill.
"Boom!"
Another lightning soul-tool shell blasted downward.
Keke clutched the Thunder Heavy Cannon, bending over weakly and gasping for breath. Her face was pale; it was obvious that her soul power was nearly exhausted.
Looking around, Keke slowly shook her head.
All their teammates were already dead. On the vast hilltop, only the two of them remained.
She turned to the woman beside her and forced herself to speak energetically.
"Juzi, this time we really miscalculated. Our main army will need at least twenty more minutes to arrive…"
"But it looks like we can't hold out that long anymore…"
"Keke… this is all my fault. I dragged you into this life-and-death situation."
The woman in white waved her hands, sending several yellow-orange tangerines flying out. They exploded among the soldiers who were about to reach the summit, blasting them away.
There was an unnatural flush on her pretty face, and a trace of guilt flashed in her orange-red eyes.
After Duke Huihuang rebelled, she had wanted to annihilate his main legion in one stroke. So she personally led a small squad into the trap, intending to lure out Zhao Yang's army and then coordinate with the follow-up troops to surround and destroy them.
The good news was that she had succeeded.
The bad news was that there was a spy beside Xu Tianran who exposed her identity as the Crown Prince's fiancée.
Because of that, Zhao Yang mobilized his entire army, desperately trying to capture her.
Out of the original squad of dozens, only Juzi and Keke remained alive. Everyone else had died in battle. Their army simply could not arrive in time.
They were now completely trapped in a desperate situation.
"What's there to be afraid of? At worst I'll blow myself up with them!"
Keke puffed out her chest, pulling out two Level-6 fixed-installed soul cannon shells, one in each hand.
Her small white tiger-like teeth showed as she glared fiercely at the enemy army below.
Juzi sighed softly. Standing back-to-back with Keke, they leaned against each other.
"Father… it seems Juzi won't be able to personally avenge you…"
In order to quickly rise through the military ranks and avenge her father, she had used such a risky strategy.
But if she were captured by Zhao Yang now, even if she didn't die, everything she had worked for would vanish like smoke in the wind.
Having stayed beside Xu Tianran for so many years, she knew his personality very well.
He valued profit above all else.
After such a disastrous mistake, she would likely never again have the chance to personally kill the White Tiger Duke.
"I'm not reconciled… I really can't accept this!"
A look of unwillingness appeared on Juzi's face, only to be replaced moments later by a tragic smile.
Things had already reached this point.
There was nothing else she could do.
The enemy numbered over ten thousand soldiers. Among them were more than a hundred soul engineers above Level 4, and their leader Zhao Yang was a genuine Soul Sage.
Could it be that a divine soldier would suddenly descend from the heavens to turn the tide?
Beside her, Keke's eyes showed a trace of loneliness.
She hadn't expected that before dying, she wouldn't even get to see her junior brother one last time.
Years had passed, and everything had already changed…
Halfway up the hill, Zhao Yang looked at the hilltop that had resisted attack for so long. His expression turned anxious as he roared:
"Move aside! I'll do it!"
With a shout, Zhao Yang slammed the bright yellow banner in his hand into the ground.
Using the flagpole's rebound force, the man in golden armor shot upward, charging directly toward the summit.
Behind him was the imperial army sent to suppress the rebellion.
Capturing the Crown Prince's fiancée alive was his only path to survival, and the only hope for Duke Huihuang.
The rebellion of Duke Huihuang was inseparable from him, the heir. One could even say he was the biggest reason why the duke attempted to establish an independent state.
He had believed that the Sun Moon Empire's old emperor was gravely ill and the crown prince half-paralyzed, so they wouldn't dare send troops against them.
But when the imperial army began its campaign to suppress the rebellion, he realized how ridiculous his thinking had been.
Suppressing a rebellion only required coordinates.
"Die!"
Keke shouted sharply, firing one of the Level-6 fixed-installed soul shells straight at Zhao Yang in the air.
"Violent Golden Bear!"
Zhao Yang roared.
His heavy armor burst off instantly as his body expanded. His height shot up to over 2.2 meters, and golden fur grew across his body.
Two yellow, two purple, and three black—seven soul rings rose from beneath his feet.
He was a true Soul Sage.
"Boom!"
The Level-6 shell exploded violently.
A storm of soul power swept through the area, engulfing Zhao Yang.
Hope flashed in Keke's eyes.
A Level-6 fixed-installed soul shell… it should work, right?
But as the thick smoke dispersed in the wind, Zhao Yang appeared again.
He looked somewhat battered, his golden fur partially burnt and his face dusty.
However, after taking the shell head-on, he had suffered almost no serious injuries.
The Violent Golden Bear possessed the bloodline of the Darkgold Dreadclaw Bear, ranking among the strongest bear-type martial spirits.
The light in Keke's eyes faded instantly.
"Hehe… that was enjoyable. But it's all over now!"
"I, Zhao Yang, am still the final winner!"
Excitement flashed through his eyes.
As long as he captured Juzi, the Crown Prince's fiancée, he would have leverage to negotiate.
His gaze swept toward Keke.
"As for you—the one who injured me earlier—die!"
This woman who wounded him had no value. He had no intention of letting her live.
Zhao Yang stretched out his massive hand toward Keke, cruelty filling his eyes.
Keke showed no fear on her face.
Only regret.
She prepared to detonate the second Level-6 shell.
But this time, instead of throwing it, Keke charged directly at Zhao Yang, holding the explosive shell.
"Keke!"
Juzi's expression changed. She reached out, but the only thing she caught was a fragment of torn cloth.
"Crazy woman. Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish."
Zhao Yang snorted.
His fourth soul ring lit up. His body expanded again as his sharp fur bristled, rushing toward Keke.
Perhaps because of a final trace of fear toward death, Keke closed her eyes slightly as she neared Zhao Yang.
At that moment—
"Senior Sister, something that dangerous… you shouldn't be touching it."
A cool voice sounded.
Ripples spread through space itself.
A slender hand extended outward, instantly tossing the Level-6 shell from Keke's hand into the sky.
A deafening explosion erupted above them as violent soul power burst like fireworks, scattering sand and flame across the sky.
Immediately afterward, a noble figure in black robes stepped out of the distorted space and slammed his hand onto Zhao Yang's heavy shoulder.
"Boom!"
The ground beneath Zhao Yang's feet instantly cracked, fissures spreading outward in every direction.
Zhao Yang suddenly felt a crushing force like a towering mountain pressing down on him.
His legs trembled and bent under the pressure.
His face turned red with shock, and his originally towering two-meter body was forced down to barely one and a half meters.
"Long time no see, you two."
"Huh?!"
Keke stared at her suddenly empty hand, then looked at the familiar, slightly unruly figure standing before her.
Her beautiful eyes lit up instantly.
"Jiang Jue!"
"Jiang… Holy Son? Why are you here?"
Juzi looked at him with surprise, a trace of hidden joy in her voice.
Jiang Jue's gaze shifted slightly, the corner of his lips curling upward.
"So… are you suppressing a rebellion…"
"…or being suppressed?"
Before the two could answer, a strained voice interrupted them.
"Who… are you?"
A horrifying sound of shattering shoulder bones came from Zhao Yang's body.
Struggling to lift his head, he stared at Jiang Jue while gasping for breath.
A cold light flashed in Jiang Jue's eyes.
"Since when… do insects get to interrupt conversations?"
(End of Chapter)