At this moment, the rebels had already charged forward. The Imperial Guards' formation caused heavy losses to the rebel vanguard, with a large number of corpses hanging directly from their spears.

However, there were too many rebels, and they all seemed to be on stimulants, their eyes bloodshot, howling as they stepped over the corpses of their comrades and continued to charge forward.

Soon the two sides clashed. At first, the Imperial Guards tried their best to maintain a formation of several men per group, but they could not withstand the continuous surge of rebels. In addition, Liu Yao was tied up and without unified command, they soon fell into fighting each other.

Huang Huihong used the Soul-Hooking Chain to send the nearby rebels flying. He and the other Embroidered-Clad Envoys tightened their defensive line, surrounding the prison cart carrying Zuan and the others.

Because they were in the very center of the formation, only a minority of the rebels were able to break through.

Despite this, Huang Huihong's expression was still somewhat grim, because it was only a matter of time before the rebels surrounded them on a large scale.

"Commander, what do we do now?" another embroidered-robed messenger asked anxiously.

Huang Huihong glanced at the situation and said in a deep voice, "Let's retreat to a safe place first."

Zuan couldn't help but say, "Wouldn't you call this desertion in the face of battle?"

"Shut up!" Huang Huihong snorted. "My primary task is to get you safely to the capital. I can't and don't want to worry about anything else."

Sang Hong, who was standing to the side, spoke up: "Commander Huang, how about we lift the restrictions on us? As an official of the imperial court, I have a responsibility to do my part in the fight against the rebels. Besides, I have family in the capital, so there's no need to worry that I'll take the opportunity to escape after I recover."

"Yes, Lord Sang is at least an eighth-rank cultivator, so he should be able to influence the battle situation." One of the embroidered-robed envoys whispered to Huang Huihong, clearly feeling uneasy about the current battle situation.

"No!" Huang Huihong refused decisively, unwilling to take any risks. "Let's go!"

After saying that, he led the two carriages to retreat to the other side. As long as they reached the nearest prefecture or county, they would be safe and could even mobilize troops to come and help them.

Seeing them leave, the rebels immediately sent a group to chase after them, but the Imperial Guards quickly stopped them. Clearly, the Imperial Guards were aware of their mission; if something happened to Zu'an and his men, even if they survived the battlefield, they would not escape death upon returning to the capital.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Huang Huihong and his group hurriedly fled into the nearby mountains and forests.

Seeing that they were out of the battlefield, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, several sharp swords suddenly emerged from the ground and accurately pierced the lower bodies of the embroidered envoys.