Ren Jun looked towards the distance as he heard the sound, and indeed, he saw many desperate men charging towards them.
The vagrants, acting on the orders of the Jin family's shopkeeper, mistook the figures ahead to be the Four Great Medical Halls and the Sen family transporting medicinal herbs. As they charged forward, they brandished their long sabers and spears without a word.
Outside the carriage, the soldiers' roars and screams were incessant.
The Second Prince, Xie Jingxi, who had not anticipated being ambushed halfway, turned pale with fright and trembled uncontrollably within the carriage.
Ren Jun knew very well that this Second Prince, despite his outwardly fearless demeanor, was nothing but an inexperienced dandy when it came to warfare. Back in Luoyi, he had repeatedly cowered in the military camps, soiling his pants more times than anyone could count.
"Your Highness, please rest assured, your subordinate will protect you with my life," Ren Jun said, preparing to jump down from the carriage.
Xie Jingxi, as if afraid Ren Jun would flee, immediately grabbed his arm tightly. "You can't leave! If you leave, who will protect my safety?"
Ren Jun's arm ached from Xie Jingxi's pull. Helplessly, he could only crouch on the carriage, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
At the foot of Phoenix Mountain, the clash of spears and sabers was unending.
The vagrants bribed by the Jin family could not match the regular army in a head-on fight. However, the crucial factor was that these men were desperadoes, ferocious and utterly indifferent to the blades that landed on them.
Yet, despite the crushing defeat in Luoyi, the remaining army was still far larger in number than the vagrants hired by the Jin family. Therefore, before these vagrants could even get close to the carriage carrying Xie Jingxi, half of them had already fallen.
Seeing this, the soldiers were about to launch a fierce assault when they suddenly saw something break through the air in the darkness.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh... swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..."
Arrows, whistling through the wind and rain, flew towards the army like a downpour, one after another.
"Clang, clang, clang—!"
An uncountable number of arrows struck the carriage carrying Xie Jingxi, terrifying him to his knees.
Not far away, Chen Gang, who was observing the situation, was also stunned.
He turned to see Xin Bi and Wang Can, led by Sun Zhiting, raising their bows and arrows. It didn't matter where they aimed, or if they could even aim properly; as long as they drew the bow and released the arrow, wherever it landed was wherever it landed.
Chen Gang looked at the three behind him as if they were lunatics. "You... are having quite a lot of fun?"
Sun Zhiting looked towards the Second Prince's entourage, shrouded in an ominous aura, and said, "The vagrants hired by the Jin family are simply not enough. A few of us will lend them a hand."
Chen Gang, "..."
Oh, so the Jin family should be thanking the three of you.
Seeing that with the assistance of Sun Zhiting and the others, the vagrants hired by the Jin family were already closing in on the carriage, Chen Gang stopped interfering.
It was only now that Chen Gang understood. The mastermind intended to use the Jin family to intercept the Second Prince's return to the city. Although he felt this plan was too risky, and the Jin family alone could not hold back the army for long, since it was the mastermind's arrangement, they had to help, even if they had to bite the bullet.
Zhang Ji, standing on the other side, also understood Chen Gang's concerns. While the vagrants were still able to hold their own against the army, he quickly ordered the guards beside him to unload the wooden crates from the carriages and surround the army with them. Suda Novel Network
The army, having just suffered a devastating defeat in Luoyi, was already demoralized. Now, encountering these vagrants who were throwing their lives away, they were even more panicked. Coupled with the arrows that were constantly flying from an unknown source, the dwindling army was not only unable to attack, but they didn't even know how to defend themselves.
In an instant, the army surrounding the Second Prince's carriage completely dissolved into a scattered mess.
Inside the carriage.
Xie Jingxi tightly gripped Ren Jun, almost shouting, "What should we do? Think of something!"
Ren Jun was also at his wit's end. Reluctantly, he said, "If only the men of the Ji family were here."
When it came to leading troops in battle, if the Ji family did not claim second place in Yu Lin, no one else would dare to claim first.
Whether it was the old generals of the Ji family or their young commanders, they all possessed the ability to boost morale and lead the army forward against the odds. If the men of the Ji family were still here, with their skills, the army would likely have already broken through the encirclement.
Instead of sitting and waiting to die like headless flies.
Xie Jingxi trembled, his rapid breaths causing his brain to be starved of oxygen.
By now, he too understood the importance of the Ji family.
But what was the use of regretting it now? The Ji family had all perished in Luoyi.
The glint of swords, the terrifying war cries.
Ren Jun gritted his teeth, suddenly poked his head out of the carriage window, and roared, "This is the Second Prince's retinue returning to the city! Harming a prince and obstructing an army is a capital offense!"
Xie Jingxi's eyes lit up. He quickly pulled Ren Jun back and then leaned out of the carriage window himself. "Open your dog eyes and look clearly! This is the military token my father gave me! I am the current Second Prince! If you dare to harm me even a hair, I will exterminate your entire family!"
Upon hearing this, both Zhang Ji and the shopkeepers of the Four Great Medical Halls were startled.
They had only intended to trap the Second Prince here, but they had forgotten what would happen if the Second Prince revealed his identity. Looking at the Second Prince leaning out of the carriage window, holding the military token, it was too late for them to even try to shut him up.
"What should we do?" Several guards approached Zhang Ji and asked.
Zhang Ji gritted his teeth and signaled for everyone not to panic.
Having worked with the young lady on so many occasions, Zhang Ji had long experienced her depth of calculation and methods.
The young lady hated the Second Prince to the bone, but she would never act impulsively and endanger everyone's lives. Therefore, he believed that since this plan was devised by the young lady, she must have anticipated the Second Prince revealing his identity beforehand.
However, looking at the hand that kept holding up the military token, Zhang Ji's right eyelid twitched. Although he believed the young lady would never betray them, he couldn't figure out how she planned to...
"What Second Prince? Where is the Second Prince!"
"Don't think you can fool us so easily!"
"Brothers, charge! Don't forget what the Jin family promised us, one hundred taels for every person killed!"
The vagrants, whose eyes were already bloodshot, paid no heed to Ren Jun's words. Some even swung their weapons directly at the hand holding the military token.
"Swish—!"
A cold glint flashed.
Fortunately, Ren Jun's reaction was swift. He yanked Xie Jingxi's hand back into the carriage, otherwise, it wouldn't have been just the military token falling to the ground.
Xie Jingxi looked at his intact hand, his lips trembling with fear. "Madmen... they are all madmen!"
Zhang Ji, watching the vagrants launch another assault on the army, suddenly widened his eyes.
Could it be...
Had the young lady already accounted for this possibility?!