(On the first day of August, I am sincerely and earnestly asking for monthly votes as usual. Please cast your monthly votes for me. I will write seriously, not guaranteeing it will be good, but guaranteeing to put in my heart and effort. Thank you all.)

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The Qin family rebels, hindered by this, were forced to halt their cavalry's momentum. The formation, constricted by the streets and alleys of Kyoto, couldn't help but become somewhat chaotic. However, at that moment, several loud shouts rang out from within the army, clearly and forcefully issuing orders to stabilize the vanguard.

Immediately following, shield-bearers rushed forward from the rear, treading over the bloodstains on the long street. They bravely broke open the wooden doors of the residences on both sides of the street, charging into those dark spaces. For a time, the vicinity of the street was filled with shouts of killing, but the reality of the fighting remained unseen.

With a crash, a residence was breached, and a rebel soldier covered in blood was stabbed to death and thrown out. At this moment, within those residences, it was unknown how many soldiers were engaged in dangerous battles with the subordinates of the Overwatch Council ambushed there.

The rebel army's discipline was strict. After Qin Heng coldly ordered a counterattack on both sides of the street at the cost of a large number of soldiers' lives, the rain of crossbow bolts coming from all directions naturally weakened.

With the glint of blades, dozens of treacherous tripwires on the bluestone slabs of the street were swiftly cut. These black leather cords, like poisonous snakes with severed heads, limply lay on the ground, while the metal-gleaming poisoned needles above resembled the glistening liquid on snake skin.

Qin Heng, atop his horse, gazed ahead beneath the military banner, suddenly grabbing his riding whip and forcefully lashing down.

A fierce general beside him grunted, holding a long spear, and roared, "Kill!" He spurred his horse, leading hundreds of cavalrymen, charging into the long street once again. For a time, only the sound of horse hooves thundered like wind and thunder, creating an imposing aura.

At this moment, cries of agony still echoed on the long street, and the sound of blades entering bone still rang from within the residences, along with the muffled sound of bodies falling. However, it was difficult to see the figures of the Overwatch Council subordinates, only knowing that these people were carrying out their killing work within the residences alongside the street.

Gradually, blood seeped out from under the wooden doors.

The fierce general of the Qin family's vanguard ignored this, leading his subordinates to charge on the long street. He thrust out his long spear, stirring up a gust of wind, and with a "嚓" sound, it pierced into a wooden door beside his horse!

With a thunderous roar, the general pulled back his spear, only to see a black-clothed man impaled on the spear. Fresh blood dripped from the spearhead, which had pierced the chest and abdomen of that Overwatch Council spy!

The general beneath his armor grunted, and with a single arm shake, he threw the corpse on the spearhead away like a paper bag.

He, riding the lead horse, once again stepped over the corpses and bloodstains on the street, continuing to gallop swiftly. The black spear in his hand was entirely forged from steel, awe-inspiring and unmatched. The spear never missed its mark, and he pierced five wooden doors along the street, killing several people in quick succession.

Qin Heng, in the rear, coldly watched his most valiant general, waving his hand and ordering the entire army to press forward, preparing to directly suppress the Overwatch Council's snipers on both sides of the street with overwhelming force. Although nearly two hundred soldiers had been lost in the initial encounter, Qin Heng's mind remained unshaken. He never believed that the Overwatch Council's methods in the darkness could truly stop the advance of a large army.

An Overwatch Council official, holding a crossbow, appeared on the floor to the left front, aiming at that vanguard general through the window. Unexpectedly, before he could pull the trigger, an arrow had already shot into his eye socket. The official groaned and fell from the floor.

Immediately following, sounds of "嗤嗤" rang out in succession. Accompanying the vanguard general, dozens of his personal guards, galloping wildly on the street, held light bows, shooting left and right in rapid succession.

Many arrow holes immediately appeared in the small buildings and residences on both sides of the street. The Overwatch Council subordinates ambushed within, while preparing to kill the vanguard general with crossbows, were struck by arrows and fell one after another. Of the three great forces in the world, the Qing army's mounted archery was the strongest. Now, galloping down the long street and holding hard bows, they managed to prevent the Overwatch Council's crossbowmen from showing themselves in an instant!

Even if occasional crossbow bolts were shot out from both sides, they lacked accuracy, striking the general's heavy armor, unable to penetrate his body, only causing some splashes of blood.

In a short while, the Qin family general had led the vanguard out for about a hundred *zhang* (丈, a unit of length), and behind him was the mighty cavalry itself. He could see open ground ahead, and nothing could stop him from charging straight into the palace.

At this moment, he heard a sharp signal arrow sound on the long street. "啪啪啪啪," the windows of the residences on both sides of the street all closed. Although the fighting in the residences continued, the long street returned to calm, an extremely strange calm.

The general's face was covered in blood and a look of ferocity. He straightened his long spear behind him, piercing the street entrance like a mountain-splitting axe. Although he noticed the abnormal signs on both sides of the street, he felt no fear. At this moment, the momentum had been established, and how could the Overwatch Council's tricks stop the army from advancing?

"Vermin," he thought contemptuously.

"Vermin," Qin Heng, leading the army, pressed forward on the long street, coldly looking at the suddenly quiet long street, thinking with a slight sneer that the Overwatch Council was ultimately unable to be seen in the light.

At this moment, on the long street that had returned to calm after the signal arrow, a command suddenly rang out. This command was only one word.

"Hou!" (侯 - "Wait")

This word "Hou" was extremely simple, clean and decisive, but contained endless killing intent. Qin Heng's pupils constricted, and he raised an eyebrow.

The rebels drew their bows together, and countless arrows were shot out, directly piercing the place where the command had been issued. "笃笃笃笃," like chaotic rain hitting a city, the wooden building was immediately pierced with countless holes. Arrows broke through the wind and entered, and a faint groan was heard. The Overwatch Council official who issued the order was already dead.

However, immediately following, in the long street where there was only the sound of hooves, muffled killing, and the sound of arrows breaking through the air, that command rang out again: "Hou!"

Qin Heng's face turned gloomy. He rode on the long street, not knowing what the Overwatch Council's "Hou" meant. He could have chosen to divide his troops at this time, bypassing this long street ambushed by the Overwatch Council's heavy forces, and could have chosen a more secure approach—however, a military order was like a mountain. Since his father had ordered him to be the first to reach the palace, he had to maintain his speed, even if... it meant paying a greater price.

So he suddenly lashed his riding whip, and thousands of rebels on the long street roared in unison, "Kill!" Like a flood, the lightly armored rebel troops advanced on the empty and dangerous long street.

The vanguard general, with the long spear in hand and no one daring to stop him, had already led dozens of his personal guards to the end of the long street. The Zhengyang Gate behind him gleamed in the morning sun, the open space in front of him was attracting him, and the vaguely visible palace in the distance was still waiting for his attack, so he was full of pride and unparalleled bravery...

However, he suddenly heard thunderous hoofbeats, and then saw, at the end of the open long street, more than two hundred cavalrymen suddenly appeared. These cavalrymen, having appeared here at an unknown time, were clad in bright armor, holding long sabers, silently and coldly awaiting the arrival of the rebels.

Beside these cavalrymen, there were more than a dozen scattered corpses, which were the dozen or so riders of the Qin family rebels who had been sent out as scouts. Not only were the scouts dead, but even their warhorses had fallen to the ground.

The Qin family vanguard general's pupils constricted. He knew that these cavalrymen were tough opponents, otherwise they could not have killed more than a dozen of his subordinates without making any noise.

It was the Imperial Guards!

At this time, it was impossible to stop. The vanguard general tightly gripped the iron spear in his hand. The roughness and coldness of the spear shaft gave him boundless confidence. Then, he spurred his horse and charged towards the Imperial Guard's army with the dozens of riders behind him!

The Imperial Guard's general was entirely enveloped in armor, revealing only his eyes, and in those eyes, there was no other emotion at this time, only calmness, indifference, and determination—indifference to his own life, and the determination to complete the task assigned by the commander.

He raised the saber in his hand high, the blade flashing with light, making people shudder. He spurred his horse, and the warhorse beneath him suddenly bucked, shooting out like an arrow from a bow.

Hundreds of cavalrymen charged forward with unparalleled courage, like two different-colored torrents, about to collide head-on!

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...

At this moment, on the long street that had just been quiet for a moment, an order from the Overwatch Council suddenly rang out again – "Release!"

The Qin family vanguard general, with bloodshot eyes, watched the Imperial Guard cavalry charging at high speed, roaring loudly. The horse suddenly accelerated, about to rush out of the street entrance, but he suddenly heard this word, "Release."

His mind was firm and resolute, without a trace of panic or deceleration. He didn't care about the Overwatch Council's vermin at all. What he cared about were the extremely powerful Imperial Guards in front of him. He had to carve a bloody path for the general, a bloody path to the palace.

A black shadow was thrown from the residences beside the street, appearing exactly in mid-air in front of the vanguard general's horse.

The fierce general flicked his elbow, the tip of his spear flashed, and with several "嗤嗤" sounds, the black shadow was torn to pieces, cloth flying everywhere. The powder mixed inside was thrown into the air, with a small amount sprinkled on the general's body, but most of it was sprinkled on the horse.

He held his breath, his eyes blood-red, knowing that the Overwatch Council was skilled in using poison, but he was not afraid at all. As long as the poison couldn't enter his heart for a while, he could repel the Imperial Guards getting closer and closer to him. But he was worried about his mount, so he hardened his heart and struck the horse's hindquarters hard with the end of the spear. The mount was startled and accelerated again!

"突突突突," a series of sounds of springs rang out. On the street that had been quiet for a long time, crossbow bolts arrived again. The Qin family vanguard general snorted coldly, drawing his spear and protecting his vitals and the horse's head. A gust of spear wind swept out, and countless crossbow bolts were knocked to the ground. Occasionally, a few crossbow bolts struck his armor, with a crisp "叮当" sound, falling weakly to the ground.

However... the general suddenly noticed that among the rain of crossbow bolts, there were a few streaks of ominous red.

Red?

Fire?

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With a "嗤" sound, three crossbow bolts struck the vanguard general's heavy armor and the horse's head respectively. The crossbow bolts were tied with fire cotton, burning with flames. They were not obvious in the red morning sun, but they were... particularly deadly.

As soon as the flames touched the powder on the heavy armor, they ignited with a "倏" sound. From the horse's head to the heavy armor and then to the helmet, wherever the powder touched, the flames spread in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the fire raged, enveloping the vanguard general in the flames!

"嗤嗤…" A tragic roar came from the flames. At this moment, the unstoppable vanguard still maintained his charging posture, but he had become a burning torch!

He roared in horror, threw away the spear in his hand, and tried to extinguish the fire on his body. However, this had become something he could never do. The fire released by the Overwatch Council was not so easy to put out. He knew he was finished and felt immense fear in his heart.

The horse, in great pain, ran wildly. The horse and rider, enveloped in flames, ran terrorizingly to the front of the Imperial Guard's line.

The Imperial Guard general coldly and mockingly watched the fire man running towards him. As the two riders passed each other, he swung his saber with a "锃" sound. The saber came out silently, passed through the fire, and severed the head of that vanguard general.

With a "喀" sound, the head was severed, tied to the neck guard, burning in the flames.

The burning horse neighed tragically, running blindly, carrying its headless master towards a wall beside the street. With an extremely heavy thud, the horse and man fell to the ground, screaming in a most miserable manner.

No one looked at them. Only the Imperial Guard squad of more than two hundred riders was maintaining extremely high speed, crossing the corpses of the rebel vanguard, which had been shot into beehives and burned to charcoal, and charging towards Qin Heng's central army!

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...

Qin Heng did not know what kind of shameless and insidious murder his most trusted confidant vanguard had suffered. After hearing the Overwatch Council's second command, he had ordered his army to press towards both sides of the long street, because the Overwatch Council's second wave of attack had begun.

After a long silence, after those two cold commands, the rain of crossbow bolts shooting towards the rebels became even more intense, and even more were aimed at the central abdomen where the military flag was located, especially the location of Qin Heng's personal guard battalion.

"It's repeating crossbows!" A rebel cavalryman finally shouted out in fear. Amidst the whistling sound of crossbow bolts breaking through the wind, this shout seemed particularly shocking. "咄咄咄咄," a series of dense impact sounds rang out. One crossbow bolt was blocked, but what about the second and third?

More than a dozen personal guards bravely stood in front of Qin Heng's horse. They only had elbow shields in their hands, which were simply not enough to resist such a dense and rapid rain of crossbow bolts. They used their bodies and the tall bodies of their warhorses as shields for Qin Heng.

The long street was full of people and horses falling, and miserable cries rang out repeatedly. It was unknown how many rebels had crossbow bolts embedded in their faces. Blood and sweat were mixed together, and distress calls came from all directions.

In just a moment, most of Qin Heng's personal guards around him had died. Qin Heng knew that the Overwatch Council's target was himself. His face was covered in blood, and the complexion in the bloodstains looked particularly hideous. Only at this moment did he finally confirm that Fan Xian had the Overwatch Council ambushed under the Zhengyang Gate not only to block and delay time, but to prepare to risk his old life…to leave his life here!

Although he didn't know why Fan Xian valued his life so much, he wasn't afraid at all. He just saw, on the long street that had initially been calm but was now filled with the sound of crossbows, his subordinates bravely and helplessly fighting against the poisonous powder and hidden crossbows. A hint of a vein floated on his temple, and a burst of anger filled his chest. These vermin only knew how to use these inferior methods. Did they dare to dream of trapping him?

He drew the long sword from his waist, spurred his horse, and the horse leaped out like a dragon, darting out from the crossbow bolts, roaring: "For Qing, kill!"

The main general began to charge into the battle, risking his life. The rebel army's morale was greatly boosted, shouting the word "kill" in unison, and advancing into the depths on both sides of the street amidst the rain of crossbow bolts, suppressing the Overwatch Council's second wave of attack with their bodies and lives.

The rebels were, after all, numerous and powerful. As long as they could make face-to-face contact with those Overwatch Council officials hiding in the darkness, they would naturally achieve final victory.

However, at this moment, the Imperial Guards from the other side of the street had already charged over. There were only more than two hundred riders, but they sounded like two thousand, rumbling and full of killing intent, unstoppable!

Like a torrent, they rushed into the Qin family army, which had already been forced to disperse its formation. Both sides were clad in armor, with blades in hand, killing intent boiling to the sky. Although the Qin family army's formation was somewhat disordered, on the not-so-wide long street, this was a head-on collision with no way out.

The two cavalry forces, advancing at high speed, engaged in their first head-on collision on the long street under the Zhengyang Gate, like two big iron hammers slamming together heavily, causing a loud noise that made countless people's eardrums ache and feel extremely frightened.

In an instant, countless iron cavalry fell from their horses, were trampled miserably, and the people on the horses were speared to death, squeezed to death, hacked to death, and震死 (zhen si -震 is difficult to translate, but implies being killed by the sheer force of the impact/concussion).

Swords and spears clashed, iron armor clashed, momentum clashed.

Qin Heng watched this scene with a grim face, wondering how many people Fan Xian and the First Prince actually had, that they had ambushed so many people under the Zhengyang Gate?

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"I have smashed all the mobile subordinates I have into the Zhengyang Gate."

Fan Xian, staring at the smoke signals in Kyoto, said with a calm face: "Although I didn't guess that they were so powerful that they entered through the nine city gates, since I have smashed them into the Zhengyang Gate, I must make a commotion!"

The First Prince glanced at him, then looked at the rebel flags gradually approaching in the streets and alleys of Kyoto, unable to help but shrink his pupils slightly, and said: "In the end, it is only one route, and the general trend is irreversible. At that moment, if you had rushed out from the Zhengyang Gate, you might have really had a chance to break through."

"The Eldest Princess must have reserves outside Kyoto," Fan Xian said, "Break through? What do I have to break through with?"

"Didn't Jing Ge disappear into Kyoto with two hundred Black Riders?" The First Prince glanced at him.

Fan Xian did not respond, just looked at the square beneath the palace with a heavy face. This square was extremely large, and once lined up tens of thousands of people during the military parade. At this time, he could already faintly feel the trembling of the earth, presumably the rebel army of the eight routes was about to encircle here, such momentum, even though he had long seen through life and death, could not help but begin to tremble.

He raised his head and looked at the direction of Zhengyang Gate, knowing clearly that the strength that he and the First Prince left outside the palace was basically concentrated on that one route. Whoever wanted to reach the palace from there would probably have to pay an extremely heavy price.

If he knew that the second-generation leading figure of the Qin family was now struggling to break through in the crossbow bolts and poisonous smoke, he would probably laugh out loud. Fan Xian had always remembered the Qin family's assassination in the valley firmly in his heart—he just didn't know how many of those loyal Overwatch Council subordinates, and that suicidal cavalry unit in the Imperial Guard, would still be alive after a while.

However, as the First Prince said, a mere city gate was simply not enough to change the general trend.

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At the foot of the imperial city, a cavalryman appeared at the street entrance on the edge of the square. At this time, the Imperial Guard had already fully gathered into the palace, and the square outside the palace gate was empty, so the appearance of this cavalryman seemed so abrupt, as if an unharmonious black spot had suddenly appeared in the empty world.

Amidst the sound of hoofbeats, this cavalryman did not stop at all, and directly rushed from the edge of the square to the middle of the square, arriving in front of the imperial city.

Behind this cavalryman, a second cavalryman appeared, then a third, a tenth, a hundredth, a thousandth... the black mass of the Qin and Ye families' armies, after sweeping away the few resistances along the way, finally came to the front of the imperial city with a momentum of dark clouds pressing down on the city.

The dense rebel army silently and coldly surrounded the entire palace. The killing intent revealed in this silence, this extremely steady momentum, made the Imperial Guard officers and soldiers on the imperial city involuntarily shudder.

Fan Xian and the First Prince finally did not chat to mask their inner tension, and silently watched everything in front of them.

After a moment, a banner fluttering in the morning wind appeared in everyone's sight. This banner came from the long street at the corner of the square, revealing a large Qin character on it.

Another rider sped from the other side of the imperial city, holding a large flag with the character Ye written on it.

Finally, a bright yellow flag appeared, empty of any words, but embroidered with a dragon soaring in the clouds with gold thread, its golden claws tearing apart auspicious clouds, stepping through the air.

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...

"Even the dragon flag has been openly displayed," Fan Xian finally spoke after a long silence. The Qin and Ye families' military power was too strong. Although he was a ninth-rank expert with an extremely strong mind, he still couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle in the face of the dense army.

"Are you afraid?" The First Prince looked at him expressionlessly.

"Anything that is too much will seem terrifying, so are ants, so are mice, so are cockroaches, let alone people?" Fan Xian summoned a subordinate and said something.

The three large flags advanced slowly, amidst the hot gazes of the rebels around the square, and the guarded and slightly fearful gazes of the Imperial Guard on the imperial city, arriving in front of the palace, behind the knight who first entered the square, fluttering in the wind.

"You have always insisted on not breaking through, I always thought you still had some trump cards," the First Prince looked at the few riders and flags in front of the palace with narrowed eyes, and said slowly.

"My trump cards are long gone," Fan Xian said without changing his face, "But I always thought that those old guys wouldn't be able to just stand by and watch, and always thought that since the rebels had already entered the city, they should jump out and play the part of Super Saiyans, but unfortunately... it seems like I guessed something wrong."

"What is a Saiyan?" The First Prince curled his lips and said, "I am also very puzzled, has Director Chen really been poisoned?"

Fan Xian looked at the mountain-like military power in front of the palace, and suddenly took a deep breath, slapped the blue bricks of the imperial city, and said, "Even if it's just the two of us, so what?"

The First Prince took a deep look at him and said, "I don't want to die with you."

The wind and rain were about to come, and the corners of the imperial city were full of sorrow. Two sorrowful people were telling jokes. The Imperial Guard commanders and soldiers around secretly watched this scene, listening to the young Duke and the Grand Commandant's hearty laughter. For some reason, they also felt that the rebels in front of the palace were not as terrible as they had imagined.

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...

The First Prince looked at the three lonely flags and the knight in front of the palace and said with a smile: "They are using this to oppress us with momentum, intending to make the Imperial Guard timid…my subordinates, how could they be so timid?"

"What were we doing when we smashed all the cards in our hands into Zhengyang Gate?" Fan Xian squinted at the four riders standing in front of the palace.

"It's to kill the opponent's sharpness and boost our own morale."

"Then how can we allow these four riders to stand in front of the palace and demonstrate so arrogantly?"

"According to military tradition, the first cavalryman to arrive will receive unparalleled glory."

Fan Xian stared at the knight who looked like a black dot, and after a while, suddenly said: "Then let him gloriously drop."

The First Prince frowned. As the Grand Commandant of the Western Expeditionary Army, he had a natural respect for the military traditions of Qing, and although he hated the few riders who were silently flaunting their power in front of the palace, he had not thought of doing anything, and the position where the other party was standing was excellent, and it was extremely difficult for arrows to reach.

Fan Xian said decisively: "I am not a soldier, and I don't understand glory, I only know that this is a matter of life and death, and if he is still standing in front of me at this time, then that is…"

Before he finished speaking, his hand had already waved down. The city-defending crossbow in the corner of the imperial city, which had been silent for countless years, suddenly let out an extremely shrill cry, as if it was trying to awaken all the wronged souls who had died in this palace.

咔… after a huge sound of the spring mechanism, a crossbow bolt as thick as a child's arm, like lightning, detached from the crossbow machine and shot out along the set trajectory.

The few riders and flags standing alone in front of the palace, although lonely, were arrogant, coldly and contemptuously looking at the Imperial Guard soldiers on the imperial city, conveying a powerful deterrence and oppression.

All of this was broken by the sound of the crossbow machine.

The knight who first entered the imperial city area did not even have time to raise his head. The huge crossbow bolt pierced through his body, shot into the body of the warhorse, and with a huge splash of blood, nailed the man and the horse firmly to the stone slabs of the square!

At this time, Fan Xian also finished his sentence: "...idiot."