Chapter 1579: Just You By Yourself?

The scar-faced man didn’t continue to attack, instead looking at the two of them proudly. He said, “Your cultivation ranks aren’t bad. If you surrender to me, I can spare your lives.”

Wang Bolin replied furiously, “We are court officials. How can we live as traitors?!”

“Indeed! If you surrender to the court, I might be able to speak up for you to make your sentence more lenient so you can serve the court,” Zhang Zijiang also said in agreement.

Even though their official ranks weren’t too high, they were still proper members of the court. They were normally treated very well, so why would they ever become bandits? That wasn’t even factoring the fact that their families were in the capital. If they became bandits, their families would all be executed without exception.

When he heard their reply, Yang Shen’s expression darkened. The scar on his face was like a sinister centipede as he replied, “You’re courting death!”

He slashed toward them again with his blade. A tremendous streak of blade energy flew forth, filled with such power that it looked as if the entire mountain would be cleaved in half.

The two deputy generals remained inside the Armed Escort Division formation. They knew that if they just relied on their own strength, they wouldn’t be able to block such a terrifying blade attack. As such, they could only order their subordinates to withstand the blow.

Soon afterward, light blue, transparent runes appeared above them, facing the huge blade. As soon as the blade energy struck, the formation began to crack.

The two deputy generals grimaced inwardly. If they had over a thousand people, they might have had a chance of stopping a master rank, but they only had a hundred right now. Not even the most elite Armed Escort Guards could continue to stop such attacks, let alone the fact that their formation was already weak from the earlier battle.

When she saw that the formation runes were about to shatter completely, Xie Daoyun’s hands quickly formed a seal. A rune quickly flew outward and stuck to the cracking formation, and only then did the formation avoid instantly breaking.

However, the formation soon continued to crack audibly. Many of the guards felt their legs buckle, their bodies swaying unsteadily from side to side. At the center of the formation, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang were in an even worse state, each coughing out a mouthful of blood.

Xie Daoyun, who was supporting them from one side, wasn’t having a good time either. Her face was incredibly pale. She felt that she had exhausted way too much mental strength. Her head was in so much pain that it felt as if it would explode. She knew she had already used up quite a bit of her very source’s energy. For cultivators like her, the most important thing was mental strength; if her mind sustained harm, there would be irreversible repercussions.

Fortunately, however, the blade that carried terrifying killing intent stopped eventually. The scar-faced man gave Xie Daoyun a look of surprise, clearly recognizing the importance of her role in the battle. As the Armed Escort Division had already lost its ability to resist, and he still cared about his status, he didn’t continue to attack. Instead, he sent his subordinates out while ordering, “I want that woman alive!”

“We got it! That woman belongs to the big boss, haha! No one is allowed to steal her,” some rebels remarked, and the rest of the rebel army roared with laughter.

This woman really did have a special sort of scholarly air to her, like that of a precious, delicate, and sweet daughter. She was really different from the kinds of women they normally interacted with. This was the kind of woman they yearned for even in their dreams. However, as their boss had already given the word, who would dare to try and compete against him? At worst, they could just wait for a while until their boss got tired of her. Then, all of them would have a chance to get a sip of such delicious soup.

When they thought of that, all of them excitedly rushed toward the Armed Escort Division soldiers. They wouldn’t be able to fight over the woman, but wasn’t everything else completely up for grabs? Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang in particular were dressed in all sorts of good stuff. The rebels definitely had to strip them clean.

Several minor leaders began to target the two deputy generals. Meanwhile, the others knew their own limits and went after the other normal soldiers. Those people’s equipment was also enviable, and they definitely carried other things such as cultivation resources and pill medicines. For this rebel army, all of it was good stuff.

The scar-faced man frowned. The reason he wanted Xie Daoyun was naturally not for sexual gratification, but rather because the significance of having a runemaster like that for an army was immeasurable. That was why he had insisted on capturing her all this time. Of course, there was no reason for him to explain all that to his crude soldiers.

Xie Daoyun naturally didn’t know what he was thinking. She thought they just wanted to make her the boss’ woman. Ever since she was young, she had heard about how violent and cruel the rebel army was, and how the womenfolk of officials who fell into their hands were humiliated. When she pictured how bitter her life would be if she fell into their hands, she gritted her teeth. She took out a dagger and brought it up to her own throat.

Just then, however, a gust of wind swept over her with a clear sound. The short sword slipped from her grasp as she fell to the ground, her face incredibly pale. Could it be that she couldn't even end her own life?

Suddenly, someone remarked with a sigh, “Why does little sister Daoyun have to fret over such trifles?”

Xie Daoyun’s entire body trembled when she heard the voice. She turned to look in disbelief. When she saw a figure that couldn't be more familiar, she thought she was dreaming. How is this possible? Why is he here? Is this just some illusion I’m seeing before I pass away?

She had already been disappointed once before. If that happened again, she really wouldn’t be able to take it.

“General Zu!” Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang exclaimed, both overjoyed as well. They had thought they were dead for sure, and yet reinforcements had suddenly arrived. Even though they had looked down on him before, now they were about to cling to him and call him daddy.

Only when she heard the way they addressed him did Xie Daoyun realize that Zu An really had come. She was incredibly shaken. She was about to call out to him, but a feeling of weakness overcame her. She had been incredibly mentally and physically drained over the past few days and was just barely holding on. Now that she had seen someone she could rely on, she gave up her last traces of persistence. The entire world spun around her as she fell over.

Zu An was alarmed and quickly rushed over to catch Xie Daoyun. When he saw this woman, who usually cared so much about her etiquette, in such a sorry state, he realized just how much bitterness she had experienced. He quickly infused a bit of his own ki into her.

Xie Daoyun thus finally recovered a bit. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was in Zu An’s arms. Her face quickly turned completely red as she murmured, “I… I didn’t faint on purpose.”

She came from a distinguished clan and had read her fair share of romantic novels. There were always scenes of female leads fainting when the male lead appeared, upon which the man would come over to carry her. They often even spun a few times in the air. In the past, she had felt that such a thing was just too fake and cheesy, but today, she had actually played out that very cliche!

What if big brother Zu thinks of me as a woman who would play those kinds of tricks?

When he saw her alarm, Zu An couldn't help but laugh. He replied, “Whether or not you faint is something your body decides, not you. How can that be faked?”

Xie Daoyun sighed in relief when she heard him say that. She pushed lightly against his chest so she could stand up on her own, saying, “Thank you, big brother Zu.”

Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang looked to either side, but they didn’t see any other Armed Escort Guards. Their joy instantly turned to horror. They asked, “General Zu, where are the others? Did you order for them to encircle our enemy from other directions?”

When he saw the pair’s expectant looks, Zu An was stunned. He replied, “Why would I do that? I was worried that our trip to Violet Mountain would be affected, so I had them continue along. Meanwhile, I came here to look around alone.”

Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang both felt depressed, moaning, “We’re finished, we’re done for!”

If they had the Armed Escort Army, forget about the rebel army, they could even fight a master rank. However, if just a single person had arrived, they were dead for certain.

And he said we were reckless? For better or for worse, we came with a hundred soldiers! This guy didn’t even bring a single person! What the hell is this?!

At first, when they saw Zu An’s sudden appearance, the rebel army was given a fright. Just then, they all reacted, realizing that it was just one more person, so how could he be a match for all of them? Furthermore, they still had their big boss and second boss present. As such, they screamed as they charged again.

“Pretty boy, let go of the woman our boss has chosen!”

“This old one is going to cut up those filthy hands of yours!”

“You even dare to touch the madam of our Twin Dragon Mountains? Brat, are you tired of living?”

…

When she heard such filthy speech, Xie Daoyun felt both ashamed and angry. At the same time, she looked at Zu An with worry. Even though she knew he was formidable, no matter how strong he was, he was still just a single person.

Suddenly, her worry dissipated as she was left completely stunned, because she noticed layers of golden ripples appear in the sky behind Zu An. One after another, longswords began to appear from those ripples. Every single one of them exuded a terrifying pressure, as if they were all heaven-grade weapons!