Chapter 445: What Is That

Chapter 445: What Is That

On the city wall, Xiao Feiyan’s eyes reddened with fury as she watched the civilians below hesitate for a moment before being stabbed by the soldiers behind them. "These animals!"

"Third Brother, Fourth Brother, they've brought so many civilians here. Let’s go out and fight!"

Xiao Silang’s face was also contorted with rage as he tightly gripped his red-tasseled spear.

Xiao Sanlang’s eyes also blazed with fury at Rong Wang’s army, but he rarely shouted in a stern tone, "Feiyan, no impulsive actions. Follow General Xie’s orders! As a soldier now, if you disobey orders, I’ll have you bound and sent back to Yanjing!"

"Third Brother!" Xiao Feiyan’s eyes welled with tears, but she swallowed the rest of her words. "Feiyan obeys!"

Even so, when she turned around, she could see the terrified and confused civilians beneath the wall. Some of them kowtowed to Rong Wang’s soldiers. But as soon as they dared to stop, the soldiers’ weapons would ruthlessly stab them, drawing bloodstains.

Xiao Feiyan bit her lip until it bled, and she turned to look at Xie Yuan, hoping he would come up with a good plan soon.

Finally, after a long silence, Xie Yuan spoke in a cold, grave voice. "Zhe Jing, gather all the shadow guards. Prepare to follow me as the vanguard and open a path for the army!"

Zhe Jing, standing beside him, looked anxious. "My lord, there are too many enemy troops outside the city. Leaving now would mean almost certain death..."

Even if my lord is a born genius, he cannot fight ten thousand men!

The shadow guards’ lives were expendable, but their primary duty was to protect their master’s safety.

"My lord, allow me to go. I have learned much from you over the years and can adapt to battlefield situations just as well as you. Moreover, I am alone in this world with no family ties... but my lord, there is still your wife waiting for you at home... and Great Shen cannot afford to lose you!"

With a thud, Zhe Jing knelt on both knees, showing no intention of getting up unless Xie Yuan agreed.

He had no family left in this world, and his only attachment... was Jin’er.

Anyway, now that he was by Jin’er’s side, he was nothing... and they hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Jin’er must have become estranged from him already. He could go into battle with peace of mind.

Since the day Zhe Jing learned of Rong Wang’s rebellion, he knew he couldn’t give Jin’er a stable life. After some inner struggle, he finally made up his mind.

Since he couldn’t give her a peaceful life, he shouldn’t have gotten involved with her.

Seeing that Xie Yuan didn’t respond, Zhe Jing bowed his head deeply. "I beg my lord to grant my request! My lord, every moment we delay, countless civilians will suffer and die!"

The three Xiao siblings felt a sourness in their noses.

Just when the three thought Xie Yuan would agree, they saw him suddenly turn around and order, "All shadow guards, follow me out to meet the enemy!"

"My lord!" Zhe Jing was startled and knelt forward, "Allow me to go!"

Xie Yuan looked at him deeply, his tone firm and unquestionable. "Zhe Jing, follow my order and go out."

Zhe Jing opened his mouth, then closed it and clenched his fist. "I obey the command!"

The young man rose abruptly and followed the tall figure of the man ahead.

The sky alternated between dark and dull white. At that moment, the direction Xie Yuan was heading towards was brightly lit. For a moment, Zhe Jing felt that although he was a shadow guard, he was following the light in this world.

In a blink of an eye, he saw a strange shadow rising slowly from the center of the city. Zhe Jing was startled and thought he had seen wrongly. But after blinking, he realized he hadn’t been mistaken. A huge shadow shaped like an inverted water droplet was indeed rising higher and higher.

"What is that?"

Zhe Jing was perplexed, staring at the enormous object rising. A rare look of shock appeared on his face.

Xie Yuan also stopped in his tracks.

Not only the two of them, but more and more people also began to notice this strange object rising from the ground, gaping in astonishment as they were too stunned to react.

As the object drew closer to their direction, Zhe Jing immediately drew his sword and positioned himself in front of Xie Yuan.

However, the next moment, he heard a familiar voice.

"Brother Zhe Jing!"

Zhe Jing was momentarily stunned, his body trembling as he stared intently at the object. Finally, he saw two figures standing on it.

One of them was Jin'er, calling out to him, while the other was... Lady!

"Lord, this... Lady is up there!" Zhe Jing was speechless. As a shadow guard, he had faced many storms in his life and thought nothing could shock him anymore, but at this moment, he lost his composure, stuttering for a moment.

What on earth were Lady and Jin'er doing up there?! And what in the world was this thing?!

For a moment, Zhe Jing was dazed and confused, and as the object rose to a certain height, he could no longer see Lady and Jin'er. He couldn't help feeling anxious. "Lord, what should we do now?"

Xie Yuan's fingers clenched for a moment before he immediately turned back toward the city wall. "Everyone, listen to my command! Concentrate all attacks on the enemy soldiers targeting the hot air balloon."

So that’s what it’s called—a hot air balloon?

Zhe Jing reacted immediately and conveyed the order to everyone.

If Lord were injured, he wouldn’t show any emotion. But if Lady were to suffer even the slightest harm—

He didn’t dare to think about what might happen.

Inside the hot air balloon, Jin’er’s heart pounded. "Miss, what do we do now? Should we drop it now?"

Initially, she had been excited when the balloon started to rise, but as they went higher, her vision expanded, and the sensation of suspension grew stronger. The pressure in her ears made her increasingly nervous.

Su Youyue had ridden in a hot air balloon before; it was one of the weapons her mother had researched. But the one in the Capital had been smaller and hadn't flown this high.

Originally, the balloon was meant for reconnaissance, so when it arrived, she had only mentioned it to Xie Yuan and hadn’t shown him its capabilities yet.

But now, with the situation urgent, she couldn’t care less.

Seeing two more hot air balloons following behind, she steadied herself and grabbed Jin'er's trembling hand. "Jin'er, relax. In a moment, we’ll blow up these treacherous beasts. Are you happy?"

Hearing this, Jin'er felt a little less nervous and exhaled a puff of hot air. "Happy! I’d be even happier if we could blow up Prince Rong!"

Meanwhile, the soldiers of Prince Rong's army, who were attacking fiercely, looked up at the strange flying object, dumbfounded, voicing their confusion.

"What is this?"