Zuan carefully observed the changes in these assassins. This technique, similar to the Blood Burning Technique of the Demonic Cult, involved burning one's essence blood to increase combat power in a short period of time. However, it was clearly much more advanced than the Blood Burning Technique. These people's strength had already increased dramatically, but now it had doubled again.
The path to annihilation is indeed somewhat tricky.
At Zhao Yuan's command, the group around him formed a sword formation and attacked Zu An. Each sword strike unleashed a unique flame, which was filled with violent power.
With one side gaining and the other losing, Zuan also found it rather troublesome.
The others at Fenglao Pass could only see streaks of light constantly rushing towards Zu'an in the sky; the speed of those elite assassins had already exceeded the limits of what their eyes could perceive.
Bi Linglong's palms were sweaty. She had already joined up with the central army of the imperial court. She asked the two dukes of the Qin family, "Can the army's array masters be used to assist the Regent?"
The two dukes exchanged a glance, and Qin Zheng spoke up: "Their current level is far beyond our comprehension. It is difficult for the formation masters in the army to participate in battles at this level. Even if they rashly cast spells, it may be easier to affect the Regent."
Bi Linglong frowned, her mind racing, and immediately said, "Have our people withdraw from Fenglao Pass, the farther the better."
"Then wouldn't this place be full of rebels, leaving only Sister... the Regent alone here?" Murong Qinghe asked with a worried expression.
Zhang Zitong said, "General Murong, His Majesty is right. Since we can't help if we stay here, the rebels can't help either. On the contrary, if we stay here, it will only make it easier for the Regent to be restrained."
Murong Qinghe wasn't stupid. Considering Zhao Yuan's remarks, staying here was indeed not a good idea.
Soon Bi Linglong organized the imperial army to leave the battlefield, while she and a few high-ranking officials climbed a distant mountain to keep an eye on the great battle.
The rebel princes were initially considering whether to pursue them, but after the recent turn of events, apart from a few die-hard loyalists, everyone else remained indifferent.
Three taels of silver a month, why risk your life?
Seeing that the others weren't following, and that their own small force would only be a casualty if they went up, the loyalists simply let the imperial army break away.
They still had some doubts as the imperial army retreated further and further away, even after they had withdrawn from Fenglao Pass.
But their objective in this operation was to capture Fenglao Pass, and now that they have obtained it without lifting a finger, it is ultimately a good thing.
Many princes excitedly directed their troops to guard key points of Fenglao Pass to prevent the imperial army from regretting their decision and launching a counterattack.
They had just witnessed the Regent's return and were in utter despair. Now, things had taken a turn for the better. Zhao Yuan, leading his powerful subordinates, seemed to have used some secret technique to suppress the Zu family.
They didn't care about Zhao Yuanyou's identity as the Shadow Pavilion Master. After all, he was surnamed Zhao and belonged to the Zhao royal family. They were sure they wouldn't treat everyone unfairly.
On the contrary, it was this non-royal person, Zu'an, who truly wanted to kill these vassal kings!
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but cheer for Zhao Yuan in the sky.
Above, Zuan, while deflecting the sword formation attacks from the elite assassins, said, "Those people down there seem to really want you to win."
Seeing his relaxed tone and leisurely joke, Zhao Yuan's expression became extremely serious: "Why are you acting like nothing happened after being hit by so many Annihilation Marks?"
He was full of confidence because his forces had just been greatly strengthened after the sacrifice.
At first, the battle unfolded exactly as he had anticipated, reversing the previous downward trend. The sword formation they formed put pressure on the opponent, who could only launch passive counterattacks and could no longer kill them as easily as before.
But as the game progressed, he gradually realized something was wrong. His team's attacks were going very well, but they hadn't translated into a real victory.
The opponent always manages to defend against their attacks in various ways. No, rather than defending, the opponent seems to be using this opportunity to learn about their various skills.
How is that possible!
The opponent was hit by the fifth layer of the Annihilation Mark, which weakened their strength by half. After killing three of them, they suffered a backlash from the curse, losing at least 30% of their life force. In addition, they were injured by the self-destruction just now. From any perspective, the opponent should be at their last gasp.
What exactly went wrong?
He suddenly remembered a sentence that Zu'an had said when he killed the four Eight Dukes: "Your vision is too narrow now. You see me as frogs in a well looking at the moon. That is what gave you the courage to fight against me. If you are fortunate enough to improve your cultivation, you will know that seeing me is like an ant seeing the blue sky."
He suddenly trembled slightly. At that moment, he had a vague feeling that the other party was as vast and profound as the blue sky, and was impossible to measure.
No, I have obtained the power of a true god. How could he, a mere mortal, possibly compare to me?
He must be bluffing, trying to create this illusion to undermine our fighting spirit.
As the king of assassins in the underworld, his will was exceptionally firm.
Thinking of this, he roared, "He's just at his last gasp! Everyone, give it your all, he won't be able to hold on much longer!"
To become a top-tier assassin, one must possess unparalleled fighting spirit. Upon hearing this, their morale surged even higher, and each of them charged towards Zaun like a burning meteor.
Every time Zaun blocked their attacks with the Tai'a sword, large bursts of flame would erupt, with some scattered flames falling down.
Once it landed among the rebels, the small flame suddenly burst into a terrifying burst of power, spreading almost instantly from one to ten, then to a hundred. Soldiers and even experts who were covered in flames tried to extinguish the fire on their bodies, but the fire could not be put out and was soon burned to ashes.
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