The Empress's No.1 Lackey

He patiently explained.

This is naturally because of the special identity of the other party.

This "Fan Long" monk is a martial arts expert from a temple of the Divine Dragon Temple by the Huai River.

The main altar of the Divine Dragon Temple in the Capital was destroyed, but branches remain scattered across various places, especially in areas occupied by the rebel army.

Fan Long Monk came at the request of Prince Mu to protect General Su Dan.

Fan Long clasped his hands together, a look of lament on his rugged face: "Amitabha Buddha."

Hypocrite... Su Dan smiled without speaking.

Suddenly, a messenger reported from outside the hall: "General, a group of over a hundred soldiers from the defense unit of Wenshui County has fled to the outskirts of the city, claiming that Wenshui County has been breached by the court's Commander of Divine Machine Camp, Shi Meng, using firearms! The garrison was tragically killed!"

What?!

Su Dan's smile froze on his face, and a sense of unease finally emerged!

After careful questioning, he murmured, "The new firearms, breaching the Qingzhou Army's Divine Machine Camp, are indeed formidable..."

He swiftly moved to the map on the inner wall of the hall, observing carefully, his expression growing more grim.

The location of Wenshui County is quite strategic; once occupied by the court, it could cut off his retreat.

This makes his plan to withdraw with the troops today difficult to implement because once evacuated, even if Ning'an County is burned, the route would still be exposed.

Xue Shence only needs to break through the refugee blockade to advance unhindered, while the Yunfu army is also blocked by the Divine Machine Camp in Wenshui County...

Facing enemy from both sides, this is a major taboo in military strategy!

"Send orders! The entire army is to defend the city, using the natural barriers to resist Xue Shence. Also, escort the detained civilians near the city gates; if they use the cannon, this will force them to restrain themselves."

Su Dan immediately commanded:

"Further orders, the Eastern Front troops are to cooperate with the cavalry in withdrawing and opening an evacuation route!"

The evacuation route does not require passing through Wenshui, so as long as the cavalry, which is not good at city defense, can restrain the Divine Machine Camp, withdrawal is still possible.

Fan Long Monk seeing this, lowered his gaze, a sense of unease rising in his heart.

...

Meanwhile, in Ning'an County town.

In a deserted residential area, "Sikong," a member of the Mu Prince's assassin organization "Embroidered Robe Envoy," looked warily at a group of mysterious figures that suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

A youth around seventeen or eighteen was very thin, but with exceptionally long arms, and eyes that darted around with lively intelligence. At this moment, he held a handleless dagger, staring at the group of cloaked intruders: "Who are you?"

The leader, a head taller than Sikong, looked down at the youth, casually extracting a token from his waist and tossing it over, coldly saying: "Where is Embroidered Robe Envoy Nie Yurong?"

He knows about the eldest sister's existence? Sikong was surprised, quickly catching the token and examining it carefully, seeing the prominent "Mu" character on it.

The many anti-counterfeit details also matched.

This was a token only Inner Ministers of the Mu Prince's Manor would possess!

Sikong dared not be careless, respectfully bowing: "Nie the Embroidered Robe Envoy is currently infiltrating the enemy camp, not knowing for what purpose does the lord come here?"

"Not here, hm..." The leader frowned but still lifted his hand to remove his hat, revealing a thin, long face: "We are here under the Prince's orders to assist General Su in repelling the enemy."

As he removed the hat, Sikong finally saw that this person was carrying a peculiar wooden bow on his back.

The youth was stunned for a moment, blurting out: "Lord Lu Tong?!"

He recognized this man's identity, the foremost archer in Mu Prince Manor's household, known as the "Bow of Heaven," a Worldly Realm master archer, Lu Tong.

...

...

As the two armies began to mobilize, on the verge of a great battle.

In the Taicang Prefecture, within the Lu Mansion's estate.

Zhao Douan watched as the array inside the house gradually dimmed, with strands of flame being frantically absorbed and drawn into the Red Flame Saint Armor.

For two whole days, he continuously smelted, almost throwing into the "furnace" of the Red Flame Saint Armor all usable strange objects he had scavenged from the gentry within the city.

And the effect was very significant, for at this moment, the color of the Red Flame Saint Armor had changed from red to white.

This change occurred after the mana inside reached a certain limit.

"At this moment, the mana within this armor absolutely exceeds the World, likely entering the Heavenly Human Realm."

Zhao Douan raised his hand, bringing the armor over, its surface warm to the touch, yet just touching it gave a thrilling sense of danger.

It felt like a blazing furnace, capable of exploding and incinerating everything at any moment.

He donned the "fully-powered" Red Flame Saint Armor, covering it with clothes, and stepped out of the courtyard, raising his hand.

From the pool, an ancient seal also spun towards him, shrouded in misty water vapor, this was the Mystic Turtle Seal.

Its color was now nearly pure black, in stark contrast to the pure white Red Flame Saint Armor.

"Who would have thought that inside this seal is almost an entire underground river? Yet it has also reached its limit. If it were my true cultivation, I wouldn't be able to use either of these Suppressing Objects to their full potential."

Zhao Douan murmured softly.

Suddenly, he looked at a certain part of the courtyard wall and said: "Come in."

A shadow then twisted and jumped into the courtyard, gradually forming the appearance of Tributor Song Jinxi, this assassin eunuch bowed and said: "Sir, the scholar has returned with intelligence, and the subordinate believes it is necessary to inform you."

Two days ago, Zhao Douan had him inquire about intelligence regarding Bai Sun from the Gold Shadow Guard Scholar.

"Speak," Zhao Douan said indifferently.

Song Jinxi said: "The scholar said that Bai Sun has already been captured by the Mu Prince's Embroidered Robe Envoy, most likely dead, so the Bai Sun in the government office should be fake, possibly an impersonation by the Embroidered Robe Envoy."

Zhao Douan was unsurprised, saying: "Go to report."

Jinxi said: "The scholar said that Bai Sun has already been captured by the Mu Prince's Embroidered Robe Envoy, most likely dead, so the Bai Sun in the government office should be fake, possibly an impersonation by the Embroidered Robe Envoy."

Zhao Douan was unsurprised, saying: "Go to report."