Joy of Life

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Qin family’s rebel army was stopped by the situation. The riders were forced to pause. The figures trapped by the Jingdou streets fell into an involuntary panic. Suddenly, a number of roars came from within the army, giving orders in a clean and powerful voice. It steadied the vanguard of the attack.

Immediately after, the soldiers holding shields caught up from the back and stepped into the bloody puddles on Chang Street. Courageously, they broke through the wooden doors of the private residences on either side of the street and charged into the dimly lit space. For a moment, the sounds of killing came from the left side of the street, but the actual situation could not be seen.

With a crash, a large hole appeared in one of the residences. A rebel soldier covered in blood was stabbed and fell out. There were an indeterminable number of soldiers fighting viciously with the Overwatch Council officials lying in ambush.

The order of hierarchy in the rebel army was strict. When Qin Heng coldly gave the order to carry out a counterattack on both sides of the street with a large number of soldiers’ lives as the price, the rain of arrows around them naturally decreased.

Bright knives flashed past as the dozen sinister tripwires on the street were quickly cut through. These black tripwires were like a venomous snake with their head chopped off. They lay motionlessly on the ground while the poisonous needles with a metallic sheen were like the shiny fluids on a snake’s skin.

Qin Heng sat on his horse below the flag and fixed his eyes on the front. Raising the horsewhip ferociously in his hand, he brought it down forcefully.

A fierce general at his side grunted and lifted a long spear in his hands. Roaring in a loud voice, he said, “Kill!” He squeezed the horse with his legs and led hundreds of riders once again through the long street. For a moment, all that could be heard were the crashing of hooves like rolling thunder. The aura was imposing.

More wretched cries rang out on Chang Street, as well as sounds of knives sliding into flesh in the private residences. Bodies fell to the ground with a muffled thud. It was difficult to see the figures of the Overwatch Council officials. They only knew that these people in the neighboring residences were carrying out killings.

Gradually, blood seeped out from under the wooden door.

The fierce general in the Qin family’s vanguard did not pay it any attention and led his subordinates in a charge. His long spear stretched out and sent up a gust of wind. With a screech, it pierced through the wooden door beside the man and horse.

With an earth-shattering roar, the fierce general drew back the spear to find a black-clothed man at the end of it. Fresh blood flowed from the spear as it pierced through the chest of the Overwatch Council secret agent.

The fierce general under the armor gave a cold snort and shook his shoulder, tossing aside the body on the tip of the spear like a paper bag.

He rode his horse ahead and once again stepped past the puddles of blood on the street and rode ahead quickly. The black spear in his hands was completely cast from metal. It was ferocious and struck fiercely. Along the street, he stabbed five wooden doors and quickly killed a number of people.

In the back, Qin Heng coldly watched his general. Waving his hand, he ordered the army to follow in order. He planned to use their superior military power to suppress the attack from the Overwatch Council from the sides of the streets. Although they had lost 200 soldiers earlier, there was still not a single tremble in Qin Heng’s heart. He never believed that the dark and sinister methods of the Overwatch Council could truly stop the progress of a large army.

An official of the Overwatch Council, with a crossbow in his hands, appeared on a tower to the front and left. He took aim at the general in the lead. Unexpectedly, he didn’t have to time to pull the trigger because an arrow had already pierced through his eyes. The official gave a muffled groan and fell off the tower.

Immediately following that, a number of whistling sounds came after the fierce vanguard general. It came from a dozen soldiers with bows in their hands riding wildly on horses. They fired from the left and right. Their arrows moved quickly.

Immediately, many holes appeared on the towers of the residence buildings on the two sides of the street. The Overwatch Council officials, who lay in ambush and were about to fire their crossbows at the general, were all hit by the arrows. Of the three great powers in the world, the Qing army’s riding archers were the most powerful. At this time, the riders moved down Chang Street with powerful bows in their hands. In just a moment, the Overwatch Council officials no longer showed themselves.

Even when the occasional crossbow bolt flew out, it wasn’t well aimed. The ones that landed on the general’s armor were unable to penetrate deeply and only caused some light bleeding.

Only an instant was needed for the Qin family general to lead the guard in charging forward about 300 meters. Behind him were the majestic riders. In front of him was wide open land with nothing between them and the Royal Palace.

A chilling signal arrow went up in Chang Street. With a series of bangs, the windows on all of the homes on the two sides of the streets were closed. Although the killing continued in the homes, Chang Street recovered its unusual calm.

The general’s face was covered with blood stains. He wore a baleful expression. He drew back the long spear and placed it behind him. He then charged straight to the opening of the street like a mountain-splitting ax. Although he noticed the strange behavior on the sides of the street, he didn’t feel a glimmer of fear. The surprise attack was already complete. How could the Overwatch Council stop the progression of the army with their ghostly tricks?

Scoundrels. He thought disdainfully.

Qin Heng led the army down Chang Street. He looked at the suddenly peaceful Chang Street with an icy expression and thought mockingly that, in the end, the Overwatch Council still could not bear to see the light.

At this time, an order suddenly rang out on Chang Street. The order was only one word.

“Wait!”

This word was simple and clean, but it contained boundless danger. Qin Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly as his brow twitched.

The rebel soldiers drew their bows and sent countless arrows flying out toward the place the order had come from. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. It sounded like heavy rain was hitting the city. Immediately, the wooden tower was pierced with countless holes. A long arrow broke through the air. There was only a muffled groan. The Overwatch Council member who had given the order had died.

Immediately after, there was only the sound of horses’ hooves and killing. An arrow flew through the air. The order rang out again.

“Wait!”

Qin Heng’s face became gloomy. He held the reins and charged along Chang Street. He didn’t know what the Overwatch Council’s call of “wait” meant. At this time, he could have chosen to split his soldiers and go around Chang Street, which was heavily ambushed by Overwatch Council soldiers, or chosen a more dependable method. However, military orders were as weighty as a mountain. Since his father had commanded him to be the first to reach the Royal Palace, he had to maintain this speed—even if he had to pay a larger price.

He ferociously waved the horse whip in his hand. The thousands of rebel soldiers on Chang Street cried out uniformly, “Kill!” Like a flood, the lightly armored rebel soldiers surged toward the seemingly empty but dangerous Chang Street.

They broke through to the tail end of Chang Street. Zhengyang Gate, which was behind him, was lit up by the rising sun. In front, the wide and expansive land called to him. Faintly, he could see that the Royal Palace was still waiting for him to attack it. He was filled with heroism and courage.

He suddenly heard the thundering of horses’ hooves and saw 200 or so riders appear at the empty space at the end of Chang Street. He didn’t know when these riders had appeared. They wore light armor and were fitted with long swords. They waited silently and coldly for the rebel army’s arrival.

Beside these riders, there were over 10 random bodies. These were the bodies of 10 or so scouts the Qin family had sent out. Not only where the scouts dead, even the horses had fallen onto the ground.

The vanguard general of the Qin family narrowed his eyes. He knew that these riders had to be powerful to catch and kill over 10 of his subordinates without them making any sound.

It was the Imperial Army.

At this time, there was no way to stop. The general of the vanguard held his spear tightly in his hands. The roughness and coldness of the spear made him feel boundless confidence. He squeezed his heels and led the dozens of riders behind him straight into the Imperial Army.

The general of the Imperial Army was enveloped in armor. Only his eyes were exposed. These eyes held no other emotion other than calm, indifference, and determination. They showed indifference for his own life and determination to complete the mission the Commander had given him.

He raised his saber high. The blade glinted with light, making one shiver in fear. Squeezing his heels, the warhorse beneath his body moved forward like an arrow from a bowstring.

Hundreds of riders charged forward like this with boundless courage. It was like two different colored floods about to crash into each other.

…

…

Another Overwatch Council command suddenly rang out over Chang Street, which had just fallen silent. “Release!” The Qin family general of the vanguard watched with red eyes as the imperial riders charged toward him at a high speed. With a roar, his horse suddenly accelerated. Just as he was about to charge out of the street, his ears suddenly heard the cry of “release!”

His state of mind was determined. There wasn’t a glimmer of panic or any reduction in his speed. He didn’t care at all about the scoundrels of the Overwatch Council. He only cared about the valiant Imperial Army in front of him. He had to make a path of blood for the Commander that led toward the Royal Palace.

A black shadow suddenly flew out of the residences on the side. It just happened to appear in the air in front of the vanguard general’s horse.

The fierce general squeezed his elbow and poked out with his spear. The tip of the spear flashed with light. With a series of tears, the black shadow was immediately torn apart. The cloth flew wildly while the powder contained within flew into the air. Some of it scattered onto the general’s body but most of it landed on the horse.

He cut off his breath. Both his eyes were red as blood. He knew the Overwatch Council had powerful poisons, but he was not afraid at all. As long as the poison couldn’t reach his heart, for now, he would be able to fight back the imperial soldiers getting closer to him. He was worried about his stead. Hardening his heart, he struck the rump of the horse with the rear of the spear. The horse was startled and once again accelerated.

Tu. Tu. Tu. Tu. A series of springs rang out. Crossbow bolts once again flew through the long silent street. The vanguard general of the Qin army huffed coldly and swung out with his long spear to protect his vital regions and the head of his horse. The spear whirled as he knocked countless arrows to the ground. Occasionally, a few arrows would strike his armor and fall to the ground with a crisp ding.

The fierce general suddenly realized that there a few smears of inauspicious red amongst the rain of arrows.

Red?

Fire?

…

…

With a thud, three arrows struck the heavy armor of the vanguard general and head of his horse. There was fire cotton wrapped around the arrow. It sparked with flames. The red was not very noticeable in the rising sun, but it was particularly fatal.

The spark touched the powder on the heavy armor and burst into flames with a whoosh. From the horse’s head to the heavy armor to the helmet, wherever there was powder, the spark would immediately extend to there. In just a moment, the fire was burning hotly and enveloped the entire general within the fire.

A wretched roar came from the blazing fire. At this moment, the still valiant vanguard maintained their charging posture while he had already become a flaming torch.

He gave a horrifying cry and threw down the spear in his hands as he tried to smother the flames on his body. It was something he would never be able to accomplish. A fire by the Overwatch Council could not be put out so easily. The general knew it was over for him. He felt incomparable fear in his heart.

The horse was in great pain and running wild. The rider and horse enveloped by the flames charged toward the front of the Imperial Army.

The general of the Imperial Army stared indifferently and mockingly at the man on fire charging toward him. As the two riders passed each other, the general of the Imperial Army pulled out his long knife with a shing. The knife moved without sound. It passed through the fire, and sliced through the vanguard general’s neck.

With a crack, the head was severed. Held in by the neck armor, it burned in the flames.

The burning horse gave a wretched cry and charged blindly with its headless master on its back. It ran straight into a wall on the side of the street. With a heavy crash, the man and horse fell to the ground with a tragic cry.

No one looked at them. The 200 or so riders in imperial armor maintained their present speed. They passed the bodies of the vanguard soldiers, who had been shot full of holes or burned to a crisp, and headed straight for the middle of the army to Qin Heng.

…

…

Qin Heng had no idea what kind of shameless and sinister murder the vanguard he valued had suffered through. When he heard the Overwatch Council’s second cry of “wait,” he had already ordered his army to begin pressing forward toward the two sides of Chang Street because the Overwatch Council’s second attack had already begun.

After a long silence, the two cold cries of “wait” rang out. The rain of arrows falling on the rebel soldiers grew denser. More of them were aimed at the center, where the battle standard was, particularly where Qin Heng was among his camp.

“It’s a repeating crossbow!” Finally, a rebel soldier yelled out in fear. A batch of arrows flew through the air. The cry seemed particularly startling. A dense row of strikes rang out. One arrow could be blocked, but what about the second or the third?

A dozen or so soldiers bravely stood in front of Qin Heng’s horse. They only had shields in their hands. They were woefully inadequate for blocking such dense and quick arrows. Using their own bodies and the large bodies of their warhorses, they made a shield of flesh around Qin Heng.

Chang Street was filled with people falling and horses tumbling. Wretched screams rang out endlessly. Countless rebel soldiers had an arrow in their faces. The fresh blood mixed with the sweat. Chaos was everywhere.

In an instant, half of the people around Qin Heng died. Qin Heng knew that the target of the Overwatch Council was himself. His face was covered in bloodstains. Under the blood, his face was unusually calm. It was not until this moment that he finally confirmed why Fan Xian had the Overwatch Council lie in ambush at Zhengyang Gate. It was not only to retaliate and stall for time. Fan Xian was fighting desperately to make sure that he left this life here.

Although he didn’t know why Fan Xian placed such an importance on his life, he was still not afraid. He looked at the initially peaceful Chang Street, which was now filled with the loud twangs of crossbows, and at his subordinates bravely and pointlessly doing battle with the poisonous powder and hidden crossbow bolts. A tendon rose near his temple as a rage-filled his chest. These scoundrels only knew how to fight with such lowly methods. Did they dare think that it could hold him?

He pulled out the sword at his side and squeezed his heels. His horse leapt forward like a dragon and into the arrows. He roared out, “For Qing Kingdom, kill!”

The main general was risking his life in a charge. This revitalized the rebel soldiers greatly. They uniformly cried out “kill” a number of times and pushed toward the two sides of the streets, despite the rain of arrows. Using their bodies and lives, they suppressed a large portion of the Overwatch Council’s second wave of attack.

The rebel army still had the advantage of numbers. As long as they could come into contact with the Overwatch Council officials hiding in the darkness, they would win the final victory.

At this time, the Imperial Army at the other end of the street had already charged over. It was only 200 soldiers, but it seemed like thunder from 2,000 soldiers. The aura of killing was strong. Their power could not be stopped.

Like a flood, they charged into the forcefully scattered Qin family army. Both sides wore armor, held blades in their hands, and were filled with bloodlust. Although the Qin family army’s shape was slightly messy, the narrow Chang Street was a direct clash without any possible paths to retreat from.

The two groups of riders moving forward at high speeds carried out the first direct clash. It was like two large metal hammers crashing ruthlessly together. A horrifying and ear-piercing crash rang out.

In an instant, countless metal riders fell from their horses and were tragically trampled. The people on the horses were stabbed, squeezed, chopped, and shocked to death.

Weapons, armor clashed, and auras clashed.

Qin Heng watched all this with an ashen expression. He wondered just how many people Fan Xian and the Great Prince had to be able to lay so many people in ambush by Zhengyang Gate.

…

…

“I stashed all units that could move inside Zhengyang Gate.”

Fan Xian stared at the wisps of smoke inside Jingdou and said with a heavy expression, “Although we had not guessed that their forces would be so large and come through all nine city gates, since I placed them within Zhengyang Gate, I have to make sure they make some noise!”

The Great Prince glanced at him and then looked at the rebel army’s standard in the streets as it came gradually closer. Unable to stop his eyes narrowing slightly, he said, “In the end, it is only one path. The larger picture cannot be changed. Earlier, if you had charged against the flow in Zhengyang Gate, you might actually have had a chance to break out.”

“The Eldest Princess would certainly have a backup team outside Jingdou,” Fan Xian said. “Break through? With what?”

“Didn’t Jing Ge disappear with 200 Black Knights into Jingdou?” The Great Prince glanced at him.

Fan Xian didn’t reply. He only looked at the square below the Royal Palace with a heavy expression. This square was big. Back then, when the troops were reviewed, it had held tens of thousands of soldiers. At this time, he could faintly feel the shaking of the earth. Presumably, the rebel army of the eight different routes were about to surround this area. Even if he had long seen through the words of “life” and “death,” he still couldn’t help his heart trembling.

He raised his head and looked in the direction of Zhengyang Gate. He knew that most of his and the Great Prince’s forces outside the Palace had been gathered on that path. Regardless of who wanted to reach the Palace through there, they would probably have to pay a heavy price.

If he knew that it was the second generation military figure of the Qin family who was, at this moment, moving with great difficulty through the arrows and poison, he would probably have laughed out loud. Fan Xian had always remembered the Qin family’s attack in the valley. He didn’t know how many of the loyal Overwatch Council subordinates or how many of the riders, from what was essentially the suicide squad of the Imperial Army, would still be alive after a moment.

As the Great Prince said, a mere city gate was not enough to change the larger picture.

…

…

At the foot of the palace walls, a rider appeared at the opening of a street near the side of the square. The imperial soldiers had long retreated back into the Palace. There was not a single person on the square outside the palace gates. Thus, the appearance of this rider was abrupt. It was like an inharmonious black spot appearing between the expansive heaven and earth.

Amidst the clip-clopping of the horse’s hooves, the rider did not rest at all. He headed from the side of the square directly into the center of the square and came to a stop outside the Royal Palace.

Behind this rider, there were thousands of riders from the Qin and Ye armies. After the eight roads were swept clear of all resistance, they used a method called dark clouds to bear down on the city and come to a stop in front of the Royal Palace.

The dense rebel soldiers slightly surrounded the entire Royal Palace. The silence and speechlessness emanated an air of murder. This heavy atmosphere made the imperial soldiers on the palace wall tremble in their hearts without reason.

Fan Xian and the Great Prince finally stopped using conversation to cover the tension in their hearts. They silently watched everything in front of them.

A moment later, the banner that had been snapping in the morning wind appeared in the people’s field of vision. This banner came around the corner from Chang Street. There was a giant “Qin” character on the banner.

Another rider rode up quickly from the other side of the palace. He held a large banner in his hands, which had the “Ye” character inscribed on it.

At last, there was a bright yellow banner without a single character on it. There was only a dragon flying through the clouds embroidered with gold thread. The golden claw grasped the shattered auspicious cloud and stepped into the sky.

“Even the dragon banner is openly displayed.” Fan Xian finally spoke after a long silence. The Qin and Ye family armies were too powerful. Although he was a ninth-level ace and endlessly determined, when faced with the dense army, he couldn’t help but feel numb on his scalp.

“You’re afraid?” The Great Prince looked at him expressionlessly.

“Too much anything will always appear scary.”

Fan Xian then summoned a subordinate and said a few words.

The three large banners slowly moved forward. They approached the front of the Royal Palace under the heated gazes of the rebels around the square and under the slightly fearful gazes of the imperial soldiers in the Royal Palace. It came to a stop behind the first rider to enter the square and fluttered in the wind.

“You refused to break through the barricade. I always thought you had kept back some trump card.” The Great Prince’s eyes narrowed at the riders and banners in front of the Royal Palace.

“My trump card is gone,” Fan Xian said without any change in expression. “I had always thought that those old men wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. I always thought that since the rebel army had already entered the city, they would jump out and play the part of a super Saiyan person. It’s a pity. I think I guessed something wrong.”

“What is a Saiyan?” The corner of the Great Prince’s lips twitched. “I am also very confused. Has Director Chen really been poisoned?”

Fan Xian looked at the mountain-like army in front of the Royal Palace and suddenly took a deep breath. Slapping the bricks of the palace wall, he said, “It is just us, so what?”

The Great Prince looked at him deeply and said, “I don’t want to die with you.”

As troubles approached, the building was filled with worry. The corner building of the Royal Palace had two worried people, but they were joking with each other. The leaders of the Imperial Army around them stole looks at this sight. They heard the young master’s and Commander’s easy laughter. For some reason, they felt that the rebel army in front of the Royal Palace was not as scary as they had thought.

The Great Prince looked at the lonely three banners and the foremost rider. He smiled slightly. “They are using an imposing aura to suppress us and trying to scare the Imperial Army. How could my subordinates be so timid?”

“We played all our cards against Zhengyang Gate for what?” Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at the four riders standing in front of the Royal Palace.

“So that we could kill off some of their spirit and intimidate their hearts.”

“Then how could we allow these four riders to stand so arrogantly in front of the Royal Palace as a sigh of power?”

“According to military tradition, the first rider to reach the enemy would win endless glory.”

Fan Xian stared at the rider that looked like a black dot. A moment later, he suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Then we will give him his glory.”

The Great Prince furrowed his brows. As a Commander of the Western Expedition Army, he had a natural respect for Qing Kingdom’s military traditions. Although he loathed the riders standing silently in front of the Royal Palace and showing off their strength, he hadn’t thought of doing anything. Furthermore, the other side stood in a good position. It was difficult for an arrow to reach them.

Fan Xian said resolutely and decisively, “I am not a military man. And, I don’t understand glory. I only know that this is a matter of life and death. To stand in front of me at this moment, then that is…”

He hadn’t even finished speak when his hand had already waved down. The city guarding crossbow, which had been silent for countless years in the corner of the Royal Palace, suddenly gave a chilling cry as if waking up all the resentful spirits that had once died within the Royal Palace.

Crack! After a large spring lock sound passed, a crossbow bolt the thickness of a child’s arm left the crossbow like lightning and traveled along a pre-destined path.

The riders and banners stood alone in front of the Royal Palace arrogantly. Coldly, they looked disdainfully at the imperial soldiers atop the palace walls and conveyed a powerful force of suppression and pressure.

All of this was broken by the sound of the crossbow.

The first rider to enter the boundaries of the Royal Palace didn’t even have time to raise his head before the giant crossbow bolt went through his body and entered his warhorse’s body. Accompanied by a large spray of blood, the man and horse were pinned viciously against the stone pavement of the square.

Fan Xian then finished what he was saying. “Stupid.”

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