AUBTN -Chapter 46 Killing the Enemy in Perfect Sync

“Move.”

The Prince of Ning gave no extra words, merely flicking his sleeve lightly.

With that single command, it was like thunder striking the ground.

The surrounding soldiers surged forward like a tide, rushing straight toward the four people inside the hall.

“Get behind the altar table!”

Lu Yan barked sharply. The Xiuchun blade in his hand flashed out of its sheath, drawing a bright crescent arc of steel.

Su Hewan reacted quickly. Grabbing Yu Qing—whose legs had already gone weak with fright—she dragged her along as they scrambled into the corner between the altar table and the statue.

This was a visual blind spot.

And the only possible path to survival.

“We’re done, we’re done! This time we’re really boxed in!” Yu Qing hugged her head and shrank into a ball like a frightened quail.

【This is so unfair! Dozens of people ganging up on two? Are they treating us like a boss raid? I’m not even an NPC that drops epic loot!】

Su Hewan said nothing, but her face had turned deathly pale.

Through the narrow gap in the curtain hanging from the altar table, she stared intently at the battle outside, her mind racing.

【With this kind of encirclement, the survival rate of a frontal breakout is zero. Unless… unless a miracle happens.】

In the center of the hall, killing intent surged into the sky.

Shen Jue drew a flexible sword from his waist. His blade moved along unconventional angles, every strike vicious and ruthless.

But he was still flesh and blood—and his old wounds had not yet healed.

“So this is the capability of the Eastern Depot’s chief? Nothing impressive,” the Prince of Ning mocked as he stood outside the circle with his hands behind his back.

“Killing you is enough.”

Shen Jue sneered. His figure flickered like a ghost as he dodged a spear thrust from the side, then reversed his sword and sliced off the attacker’s wrist. Blood sprayed across his pale face, adding a strangely enchanting brutality to his expression.

At this moment, Lu Yan and Shen Jue—these two sworn rivals who had fought each other for half their lives—were forced by fate onto the same battlefield.

As the encirclement tightened, the two inevitably ended up back-to-back.

“Lord Lu, can you still hold on?” Shen Jue’s breathing grew heavier, but there was still a reckless madness in his voice.

“If your legs have gone weak, this Director can kindly send you on your way—so you won’t fall into that old bastard’s hands and be humiliated.”

“Worry about yourself, you dead eunuch.”

Lu Yan gritted his teeth. His Xiuchun blade smashed apart a shield, though at the same moment a deep gash—down to the bone—was carved across his left shoulder.

“Even if I die, I’ll die in battle. Not like you, who only knows how to run his mouth.”

Their mouths traded insults, yet their movements were astonishingly synchronized.

Lu Yan led the frontal assault—fierce and domineering, like a tiger descending the mountain—forcefully tearing open a gap in the iron-bucket-like encirclement.

Shen Jue guarded the flanks and rear—soft yet treacherous—blocking every hidden arrow and sneak attack aimed at Lu Yan.

It was a kind of tacit understanding that needed no words.

The result of countless clashes and a complete understanding of each other’s strength.

A long spear suddenly pierced through Shen Jue’s left arm.

He gave a muffled grunt. His body swayed slightly, but he used the surge of pain to his advantage, turning his blade and slicing open the attacker’s throat.

“Shen Jue!” Lu Yan felt the stagger behind him and his heart tightened. He swung his blade in a wide sweep, forcing back another wave of attackers.

“Don’t drag me down!”

“Won’t… die yet…” Shen Jue’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and his lips had lost all color.

“That edict… is still in my robes.”

As long as the edict remained, as long as he still had a breath left in him—he absolutely could not fall.

But the enemies were simply too many.

One wave fell, and another surged forward, as if endless.

With their stamina draining and the agony of their wounds worsening, the two men’s movements grew slower, their openings more frequent.

【This is bad… they can’t hold on much longer!】

Watching from behind the altar, Yu Qing’s eyes brimmed with tears from anxiety.

She might usually be cowardly as hell, but even she knew—

When the nest collapses, no egg remains unbroken.

She fumbled around in a panic and grabbed a heavy bronze incense burner. Gritting her teeth, she waited until a guard tried to sneak up on Lu Yan from the side, then hurled it with all her strength!

“Go die!”

Clang!

The guard was struck by the sudden blow from above, leaving him dizzy and momentarily stunned.

From the corner of his eye, Lu Yan noticed it. The corner of his lips curled up, and he followed up with a swift slash, cleanly finishing the man off and eliminating a hidden threat.

【I actually got an assist? Am I a genius or what?】

Although Yu Qing’s inner monologue was dramatic as ever, her hands were shaking like she had Parkinson’s.

Su Hewan wasn’t idle either. She calmly scanned the surroundings and called out in a low voice, “Behind the pillar on the right! That’s a blind spot for the archers! Fall back that way!”

Hearing her reminder, Shen Jue and Lu Yan exchanged a glance. Fighting as they retreated, they gradually moved toward the massive red-lacquered pillar on the right.

But Prince Ning had clearly lost his patience.

“A trapped beast’s struggle.”

He spat out the four words coldly.

“Release the arrows. I don’t care if they live or die.”

The sharp twang of bowstrings being drawn taut made one’s scalp tingle.

“This time we’re really done for…” Yu Qing shut her eyes in despair.

And just at that critical moment—

A dull sound of mechanisms turning suddenly echoed out—not from the main door, but from beneath their feet!

The seemingly seamless wall on the western side of the ancestral hall abruptly flipped open without warning, revealing a pitch-black opening.

In the next instant, several barbed iron crossbow bolts shot out from the opening with a fierce whistling sound, instantly piercing through the front row of archers who were preparing to fire!

“Who’s there?” Prince Ning’s expression changed drastically.

Before anyone could react, several black spherical objects were tossed into the center of the hall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The spheres exploded, and thick white smoke rapidly filled the air, choking people and making it impossible to open their eyes. The entire hall fell into chaos.

“Cough, cough… What the hell is this? Tear gas?” Yu Qing coughed while tears streamed down her face.

【Ancient black technology! Don’t tell me some other transmigrator invented this too?】

Amid the smoke, a squad of figures dressed in tight black clothing and masked with black cloth charged out like ghosts.

The leader was agile, wielding twin blades, and he rushed straight toward Lu Yan and Shen Jue.

“My lord! Your subordinate has arrived late!”

The familiar voice finally eased Lu Yan’s taut nerves for a brief moment.

“Zhao Cong?” Lu Yan wiped the blood off his face, a bloodthirsty smile curling on his lips.

“Perfect timing.”

As the Commander of the Jinyiwei, Lu Yan always kept a backup plan.

Before leaving the capital, he had already ordered his trusted aide Zhao Cong to secretly investigate the terrain of the ancestral temple. This long-abandoned secret passage from the previous dynasty was his final trump card!

“You had a backup plan and didn’t say anything earlier? Saving it for the New Year?” Shen Jue snapped irritably.

“Shut up, you dead eunuch!” Lu Yan shot back.

“Commander, Lord Lu—this way!”

Zhao Cong cut down a pursuer with one strike and escorted them toward the entrance of the secret passage.

Yu Qing and Su Hewan immediately rushed over to support the two injured men.

“Trying to run? Not that easy!” Prince Ning’s furious voice rang out through the smoke.

“Chase them! Kill them all!”

“Move!” Lu Yan roared.

The secret passage was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side—but it became the perfect defensive terrain.

Zhao Cong and his men stayed behind to cover the retreat, using the terrain to block the pursuing soldiers outside.

The four of them sprinted through the dark, damp tunnel.

With every step Shen Jue took, a shocking trail of blood was left behind on the ground.