The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 301 - 265, Watching the battle in the rain, enjoying the view at Buddhist Tao Daoist Temple

No one expected that on this day, the cavalry, which should have been charging on the battlefield, would suddenly appear on this street.

Even less known was that behind such a massive mobilization stood Zhao Douan, a man whose reputation had surged to prominence.

"Rumble rumble rumble..."

The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, distinctly crisp, causing the ground to tremble as well.

"Ah!"

A child squatting at the door, braiding their hair into pigtails and observing the oddities, instinctively opened their mouth wide in alarm, only to be swiftly silenced by an overprotecting mother.

"Inside, get inside quick!"

The middle-aged vendor suppressed his voice, his face stricken with fear, having no knowledge of what was happening.

But he vaguely reminisced about the winter three years ago.

On the day of the Xuan Sect coup, the streets were similarly overrun with iron-clad imperial guards thundering past.

Any who could not dodge in time were trampled under hooves, their bodies mingling with the snow, turned to mush.

It wasn't just him.

At this moment, all living persons inside the shops along both sides of the street were silently and unanimously closing their doors and covering their windows.

Visitors from other places were being bewilderedly dragged into the shops for cover.

In the blink of an eye, the long street fell eerily silent.

Yet there were pairs of eyes peering through cracks, watching tensely from inside.

Only then did they realize that at the other end of the street, another group of over two hundred cavalry had surged out, blocking both sides.

Leading them were not one, but several figures, either carrying swords or donning blades, all wearing light armor, and strong fighters of the military.

In the midst of the rumbling,

as the leader raised his hand,

suddenly, the sound of thundering hooves came to an abrupt halt.

One by one, well-trained elite soldiers dismounted in unison, their precise and orderly steps accompanying the raising of dark shields, designed to be pieced together revealing only slots for spears.

In an instant, walls of steel rose on both sides of the street.

The sound of swords being drawn was continuous.

And on the rooftops of the street, who knew when, grappling hooks were thrown out.

Then, swarms of crossbowmen ascended, each aiming their expensively crafted magic-artifact crossbows—worth hundreds of silver—at the targets below.

The entire ordeal, aside from the initial sounds of horse hooves and footsteps, was eerily silent.

No one spoke, there was not the slightest disturbance.

Yet the atmosphere was dense with a thick, persistent, and icy killing intent, filling and choking the area.

At a distance, no one dared to approach.

From utmost motion to absolute stillness.

As Chai Keqiao slowly lowered his hand, he realized he was encircled in an impenetrable siege.

"Clang."

The sound of iron armor shifting arose, and the dull voice of the leading Iron General struck everyone's heart like a hammer, making their eardrums tremble:

"The one ahead, are you Chai Keqiao from Martial Emperor City?"

Cloaked in a straw raincoat and wearing grass shoes, the young man appeared like a woodcutter from the mountains, his wheat-colored face showing no fear.

Unexpectedly calm, as if he had anticipated this spectacle,

he did, however, show a slight surprise at the grand scale of the operation.

He nodded and said, "It is I."

The armored strong man shouted authoritatively:

"Chai Keqiao, wanted for defying the court's decree, will be apprehended immediately! Who will step forth to capture this individual?"

In a moment, several lesser-known but battle-hardened individuals from within the ranks of the army were eager to try their luck.

Yet Iron General volunteered himself without waiting for a response:

"I'll go first!"

As he spoke, while still on horseback, he sank into an archer's squat, and the muscular horse beneath him, of an extraordinary size, let out a plaintive neigh before dropping to its knees.

The masked Iron General, fully enveloped in armor, leaped skyward.

He threw aside his iron spear, suited only for mounted combat and two meters long.

Bare-handed, he flew out of the shield and iron armor formation like a meteorite, crashing onto the damp street.

...

Not far away, atop an abandoned watchtower,

Zhao Douan stood with folded arms, gazing downward from this height at the brawl unfolding in the distance.

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Behind him were the submissive subordinates of Lihua Hall.

A gust of cold wind entered the watchtower, where Eunuch Hai, dressed as a well-off gentleman wearing a melon-skin hat and sporting frosty sideburns, appeared with a chuckle.

Looking towards the distant scene, he clicked his tongue in amazement:

"You're the expert at showing off, young man. His Majesty instructed that you should not let Capital City fall into chaos. Is this really how you use your authority?"

Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow and responded with a playful grin:

"Mr. Hai's lesson is well-noted. How about I order them to withdraw right now, and leave it to you to punish this rash man?"

Eunuch Hai gave him a sidelong glance:

"I'm teaching you cultivation, not to be your personal bodyguard."

Zhao Douan sighed lightly, his eyes still twinkling with humor:

"But all of this I've done following your wishes, had it not been, why would you appear again at this moment?"

Mr. Hai smacked his lips, feeling somewhat displeased.

Suddenly feeling that cleverness in a young man could be dreary, depriving him of much joy.

He now strolled leisurely beside him, squinting and smiling:

"Stop the pointless talk and pay attention. The clash between Martial Emperor City's direct disciple and Great Yu Army's powerful fighters is more precious to you than a contest of Buddhist Tao spells.

After all, you won't learn much from a Magician's duel.

But for you, my boy, how did you guess such an arrangement would please me?"

With a crafty smile, Zhao Douan looked far off, leaning on the balustrade:

"Eunuch Hai recently said that taking me to the teahouse to watch the martial artists fight was to accumulate experience for a breakthrough in the Divine Chapters, so this battle must provide even more," Zhao Douan murmured.

Maintaining face by commanding troops and making strategic moves was one aspect.

But the second, less known aspect was that it served to lay bricks and mortar for one's own cultivation, edging closer to the goal of the Divine Chapters.

Unbeknownst to him, Chai Keqiao and the elite of the imperial guard had become a part of Zhao Douan's play.

It provided nourishment for his breakthrough in heart realm.

Eunuch Hai looked at him deeply, remaining silent, and pointed ahead, saying,

"The Martial Emperor City lineage is the most orthodox and pure path of martial artist cultivation. Those who come from there are a bit touched in the head.

As for the masters in the military, their way is entirely different from the martial artists'. Look at that Iron General—if he were in Jianghu, he would seem cumbersome and awkward.

But in a military formation on the battlefield, when you force the enemy into a corner they can't escape, then you see how formidable he is.

Just the weight of that iron shell-like heavy armor must be over a hundred catties. Only a soldier with robust vitality and vigor can wear it."

Zhao Douan narrowed his eyes and said pensively,

"Let's see just how impressive it is."

…

Cold rain drifted down.

With a mighty "thud," the Futu warrior crashed to the ground, causing the earth beneath his feet to "crack" and split.

Without any superfluous words, the Iron General with the face guard took large strides forward, approaching Chai Keqiao like a small mountain.

"At last…" Chai Keqiao muttered under his breath. With a twist of his wrist, a golden-colored ginkgo leaf spun out.

Different from the general, whose every move seemed to cause mountains to crumble and a fearsome uproar,

This single leaf was thrown as silently and inconspicuously as village smoke or mountain campfires.

Soundlessly, it twirled through the fine cold rain for over ten yards.

The Futu warrior did not dodge or avoid it, his actions undisturbed.

He let the golden leaf slice against his sturdy armor, sparking a series of blinding sparks, without any consideration.

He just punched out.

Chai Keqiao's pupils constricted, yet he did not reach for the iron axe at his waist. Instead, he met the challenge with bare hands.

His legs trembled slightly as his body twisted and turned in the narrowest of margins, dodging the head-on strike of the armored iron fist. He spread his right hand and lightly covered the iron fist, twisting his wrist!

It was as if...

Just as he had twisted the ginkgo leaf's stem not long ago!

"Crack, crack, crack…"

A ripple-like force traveled up his arm and into the Iron General's limbs.

The fish-scale armor on the general's arm chinked crisply.

Like ripples in water, scales linked by fine threads, each piece of iron the size of a fish scale, splayed out at once.

"Hmph!"

Below the face guard, the eyes of the veteran who had fought mammoths of the Gu Clan on the border turned cold, and his Qi Sea burst out with a metallic, thunderous roar.

"Tss, tss—"

In an instant, scalding steam sprayed from the open gaps in the splayed scales.

An immense force generated from nowhere shook Chai Keqiao's arm off violently.

He took advantage of the momentum, tiptoed and leaped up, striking the enemy's face with a fierce kick from his straw sandals.

Eunuch Hai narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in memories, and remarked,

"This Diamond Leg may seem mediocre, but if it hits, even rocks will explode."

Zhao Douan grunted,

"If it can't even beat a rock, tonight I'll go and smash the Jin Wu Commander's door."

"Bang!"

A muffled boom, in a flash, the Futu General used his arms to block.

His body, as heavy as a small mountain, was actually kicked back several yards by this single blow.

Sparks flew as his feet scraped against the ground before he steadied himself.

Meanwhile, Chai Keqiao was violently flung upwards by the force and tumbled through the air like a kite in the wind.

…

"Is this the woodcutter taught by the incarnation of Wu Xiankui? Doesn't look like much, not flashy at all,"

From a much further rooftop.

A short and plump figure in a wrinkled priest robe, carrying a large bamboo tube on his back, Gongshu Tianyuan watched the battle wearing special "glasses."

Above his head, a handleless umbrella spun on its own, sheltering him from wind and rain.

"Hehe, not at all, not at all. The strength of a martial artist does not lie in the mysterious and brilliant Magic, but in those seemingly ordinary punches and kicks.

It's normal for the Heavenly Master Mansion, which solely focuses on divine Spells, to not understand this.

My Buddhist monks from the Divine Dragon Temple are also half martial artists; if Gongshu Priest is interested one day, this monk could lend you some Martial Arts Scriptures."

On the same rooftop.

Bian Ji, the handsome white-robed monk with a gentle smile, patiently explained with his hands clasped together.

Standing silently on the rooftop, the wind and rain parted around him as they approached.

As a Martial Artist in the "World" Great Realm, Bian Ji was a full realm higher than Gongshu Tianyuan.

His words carried a hint of a senior teaching a junior.

The little chubby Gongshu Tianyuan snorted dismissively, mocking,

"Do you die if you don't talk, bald donkey? Don't think you can lecture me just because your cultivation is higher. If you're so capable, go and talk your nonsense to my Senior Brother in Martial Emperor City, and see if he doesn't smash you down."

His Senior Brother was the eldest disciple of Old Heavenly Master Zhang Yan Yi, who wasn't in the Capital City.

Known as Little Heavenly Master, he was said to have a dreadful and hideous appearance, like a demonic fiend.

Back when Bian Ji was traveling Jianghu, he had an unexpected encounter with the Little Heavenly Master, leading to a fight.

It was rumored that after returning, Bian Ji secluded himself for three whole months.

"…Amitabha,"

Bian Ji said with a smile, "This monk is also eager to spar with the Little Heavenly Master once again. Oh?"

Just then, he turned his head to look, noticing that the distant battle had taken a new turn.