Chapter 274: Exhaustion

Wang Gui lay on the ground, covering his waist. He writhed like a shrimp just pulled from the water, curling and stretching, curling and stretching, yet still unable to escape the piercing pain.

He cursed non-stop: "Little slut, I'll kill you!"

At this moment, Zhang Xia lay on the edge of the inn roof, looking down. She saw dozens of Tian Ce Army armored soldiers, having removed their armor, holding knives in their mouths, lining up one by one to climb up.

"Not good, they want to climb to the third floor."

Hearing this, Wang Gui no longer cared about the pain. He got up and restacked the tables and chairs to climb up, finally making it just before the Tian Ce Army soldiers climbed up and squeezed into the roof crack!

Wang Gui lay on the roof, cursing loudly: "Chen Ji and that little slut!"

Zhang Xia said angrily: "Shut up, do you want the Tian Ce Army to find us hiding here?"

Saying that, she lay at the crack and peeked inside, only to see the tables and chairs still stacked!

As long as someone entered this room, they would immediately suspect someone was hiding in the roof!

Zhang Xia gritted her teeth and slowly lowered her body, wanting to push down the stacked table and chairs, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't reach!

Qi Jian Zhe, squatting beside her, said: "I'll do it."

Zhang Xia got up to make way. Qi Jian Zhe removed a tile and smashed it towards the chair. The chair clattered and fell to the ground!

Just as Qi Jian Zhe was about to say something, Zhang Xia pulled him back by the collar: "Be quiet."

The next moment, a Tian Ce Army armored soldier stuck his body out of the window of the Tian Zi Jia Number Room, looking vigilantly inside the room!

When he heard the sounds of Chen Ji fighting with people inside the room, he immediately flipped into the room and rushed into the corridor with his knife!

He didn't even glance at the roof crack again!

Behind him, Tian Ce Army armored soldiers filed in one after another, as if endless!

Zhang Xia looked anxiously towards Gu Yuan City. Chen Ji was buying time for them, but how long could this delay last? She saw the large fire spreading inside the city. More than half of the houses in the city had been burned down by the Tian Ce Army, like a chessboard where black pieces had already occupied half the territory!

In the distance, the Jing Chao Tian Ce Army iron cavalry was like a black flood, wantonly crisscrossing under the guidance of the flag orders, repeatedly forcing back the frontier army!

The frontier army and the Yu Lin Army, at the Xu Wei Lane line, were moving bricks, stones, and earth blocks to build up defensive lines, stopping the horizontal rush of the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry!

But the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry didn't charge hard. They would rush to a distance of a dozen steps, then bend their bows and draw their arrows, shooting down a section of the frontier army like cutting grass in a single volley!

The vine armor of the frontier army armored soldiers was fundamentally no match for the iron fetus arrows of the Tian Ce Army!

The frontier army also bent their bows and drew their arrows, but their range was more than ten steps less than the Tian Ce Army!

The Tian Xiao Army knew this exactly and only moved their horses within this ten-plus step range!

When archers met archers, a range of more than ten steps was already like a chasm!

In the distance, bowstring vibrating sounds came again. Li Xuan, hiding behind an earthen house, was panting. The weapons of the Gu Yuan frontier army were shocking; there was a heaven and earth difference compared to the three imperial front camps. Not to mention firearms, they didn't even have a proper hard bow.

He suppressed himself and looked at the frontier army soldiers hiding arrows beside him. He couldn't help but ask: "In the battle at Qu Wu Mountain in the 25th year of Jia Ning, how did you win with fewer troops? What killing tricks did you use? What tactics?"

The old frontier army soldier spat a mouthful of saliva on the ground and eyed him askance: "My lord from the capital still isn't awake. Where on the battlefield are there so many fancy things? We fill it with lives."

"Fill it with lives!" Li Xuan took a deep breath, feeling a trembling warmth surge from the depths of his heart. He quietly flipped onto the roof and soundlessly made his way towards the cluster of Tian Ce Army iron cavalry!

Long Men Inn!

Chen Ji panted heavily as he passed through the ring-shaped corridor carrying his whale knife!

Dark clouds above his head followed him as he leaped over beam after beam, one person, one cat, one above, one below, like shadow following form!

As Chen Ji passed by the Tian Zi Yi Number Room, a Tian Ce Army armored soldier just rushed out the door and swung his knife towards his side face!

Chen Ji took a step back, evading the blade, and crouched down, his hand skinning a stab. The knife edge pierced through the Tian Ce Army armored soldier's skull from under his jaw!

He withdrew the knife and continued forward. As he passed the door of the Tian Zi Bing Number Room, a Tian Ce Army armored soldier just came out the door. Before he could even lift his hand to swing his knife, Chen Ji casually swiped, a vague whale force sweeping across his neck, bringing out a streak of blood that splashed on the corridor wall!

Chen Ji's physical strength was nearing exhaustion. He sought to kill in one strike and not get entangled in prolonged fights!

But the climbing Tian Ce Army armored soldiers were increasing. Tian Ce Army armored soldiers rushing out of the guest rooms one after another were like whack-a-mole; they could never be finished off!

Chen Ji could only fight and retreat, but this inn was an octagonal building. The upstairs corridor was like a huge ring. Retreating and retreating, he would retreat back to the starting point, with enemies in front and behind.

He stopped his steps and slightly bowed his body!

The tip of the whale knife pointed down, a drop of blood condensed, then fell onto the wooden floor with a sound!

One drop, then another drop!

Chen Ji slowly lifted the whale knife, looking at the black mass of Tian Ce Army armored soldiers in front of him, then coldly turned his head to look at the black mass of Tian Ce Army armored soldiers behind him. Countless armored soldiers surrounded him in the middle of the corridor!

He took a step forward, and the black mass of Tian Ce Army armored soldiers moved one step with him!

He took a step back, and the armored soldiers followed him one step again!

A heavy voice came from behind the crowd; it seemed that the Tian Ce Army armored soldier with the special heavy sword had also come to the third floor: "Your knife is already slow, and your legs are heavy. Surrender or not?"

Chen Ji looked around on all sides, grasping the handle of the whale knife tightly with both hands. Sweat dripped from his forehead: "Not surrender!"

The voice from behind the crowd opposite let out a cold laugh: "You think everyone else is hiding on the roof, right? Those southern officials hid fast, yet no one came to care about you. Is it worth serving this kind of people?"

Chen Ji said calmly: "Nameless junior, only daring to hide behind the crowd to speak?"

The opposite side was silent for a moment, then coldly said from behind the crowd: "Kill him!"

In an instant, all the Tian Ce Army armored soldiers surged towards Chen Ji together. Chen Ji swung up the whale knife. He no longer cared about killing; he could only block left and parry right, barely resisting!

When Chen Ji resisted the frontal attack, an extremely fast knife light splashed out, heavily chopping onto his back, leaving a long blood mark, deep to the bone!

Fresh blood flowed down his back spine, a piercing pain stabbing into his marrow!

Chen Ji chopped back, but the opposite side had again hidden into the crowd of men, waiting for an opportunity!

He could only endure the pain and kill his way forward, forcing the black mass of Tian Ce Army armored soldiers to retreat repeatedly. But within a few breaths, his back received another knife wound!

The next moment, the Jing Chao official hidden in the crowd struck again. Just as the knife edge was about to chop onto Chen Ji's body, a bright knife light suddenly splashed down from the roof beam. One knife chopped off the Jing Chao official's arm!

With a clang, the hand and knife fell to the ground together!

The Tian Ce Army armored soldiers suddenly looked up and saw a black cat jump down from the beam, landing lightly on Chen Ji's shoulder, staring coldly at everyone!

In the dim corridor, countless enemies, and still one person, one cat, one knife!

Chen Ji panted: "Didn't I tell you to hide properly?"

Bird Cloud meowed: "If I hid again, you would die!"

Behind the crowd, someone said doubtfully: "What official path is this? Let me pass."

The Tian Ce Army armored soldiers behind Chen Ji suddenly dispersed to both sides like waves, and they saw that iron-tower-like armored soldier swing up his heavy sword, chopping down overwhelmingly.

A black shadow flashed out from inside the Tian Zi Wu Number Room!

The iron-tower-like armored soldier fixed his eyes and saw it was a Taotie with ram's horns on its head, propping up its own heavy sword.

Xiao Man rushed into the corridor. She looked at the dripping wounds on Chen Ji's back: "Young master, you..."

"Man Tuo Luo Secret Seal, Taotie."

The armored soldier slowly withdrew his heavy sword: "Where did you get our northern official path!"

Xiao Man said angrily: "What business is it of yours!"

The iron-tower-like armored soldier gave a cold laugh: "Kill them together!"