ebookland Chapter 21 Battle of the Castle
Chapter 21 Battle of the Castle
Xuanyuan Che and Su Yao led their guards on a non-stop journey to the abandoned castle in the west. Along the way, fierce winds raged, and yellow sand filled the sky, seemingly foreshadowing an even more devastating storm to come.
The ancient castle stood majestically in the desert, its outer walls covered with withered vines, exuding an aura of antiquity, decay, and eeriness. The heavy doors were tightly shut, and the open space in front of them was littered with messy footprints and dark red stains that looked like blood.
Xuan Yuanche signaled the guards to stop and cautiously observed their surroundings. Su Yao, on the other hand, took out the castle layout map she had found in a hidden compartment in Murong Xuan's study and began to study it carefully. "Your Highness, the entrance to this castle appears ordinary, but it is actually equipped with hidden mechanisms. According to the map, the safe passage must be opened from a loose stone in the right corner," Su Yao said in a low voice.
Xuanyuan Che nodded and sent two agile guards to probe the area. The guards cautiously approached the right corner and gently pressed on a slightly protruding stone. A low, rumbling sound of a mechanism turning was heard, and the ground in front of the gate slowly cracked open, revealing a narrow, dark passage.
The group filed in, the dark passage filled with a pungent, putrid stench, and the walls flickered with eerie green phosphorescence. Midway through, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from above. Looking up, they saw countless sharp iron spikes raining down. Xuan Yuanche shouted, "Watch out!" He brandished his longsword, creating a barrier of light that deflected the approaching spikes. Su Yao directed the guards to link their shields together, forming a makeshift protective shed, and they slowly advanced.
After finally navigating the secret passage, they entered the main hall inside the castle. The hall was filled with flickering candlelight and interplay of light and shadow. Murong Xuan sat regally on a high chair at the far end of the hall, a black-robed strategist standing beside him, surrounded by a group of desperados.
"Xuanyuan Che, you've finally come." Murong Xuan looked at them coldly, a hint of madness and smugness on his face. "Murong Xuan, your scheme will not succeed. Surrender obediently!" Xuanyuan Che glared angrily.
"Hmph! Let's see if you have the ability!" Murong Xuan waved his hand, and the desperate men around him surged forward like a tide. Xuan Yuanche led his guards to bravely meet the enemy, and for a moment, shouts of battle and the clash of weapons echoed in the hall.
Su Yao closely observed the battle from the rear. She noticed that although the attacks of these desperate men were fierce, they seemed to lack coordination. She shouted to Xuan Yuanche, "Your Highness, they are fighting individually. We can concentrate our forces and defeat them one by one!" Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanche changed tactics, leading his guards to form a tight battle formation and launch a fierce attack on the enemy.
In the fierce battle, Xuan Yuanche's sword moved like a dragon emerging from the sea, felling enemies wherever it went. But suddenly, the black-robed strategist formed hand seals and chanted incantations. A dark power surged from his hands, enveloping a portion of the enemies. These enemies, empowered by the dark power, instantly became incredibly strong, their attack power greatly increased, and the pressure on the guards suddenly intensified.
Seeing this, Su Yao took out a spirit pearl she had obtained earlier from her bosom. The pearl emitted a soft light in her hand. She directed the light towards the enemies empowered by dark forces, and the dark forces gradually dissipated wherever the light touched. The black-robed strategist, seeing that the spirit pearl could actually counter his evil magic, flashed a hint of surprise and ruthlessness in his eyes. He moved swiftly and pounced towards Su Yao.
Sensing Su Yao's danger, Xuan Yuanche shook off his enemies and leaped to shield the black-robed strategist. The two engaged in a breathtaking duel. Xuan Yuanche's swordsmanship was fierce and ruthless, while the black-robed strategist's sorcery was unpredictable and unpredictable; for a time, it was difficult to determine a winner.
On the other side of the hall, seeing the battle at a stalemate, Murong Xuan quietly made his way deeper into the castle. Su Yao noticed his movements and, disregarding the danger, crossed the battlefield to give chase. Deep within the castle, Murong Xuan arrived before a massive magic circle, attempting to activate it and unleash an even greater catastrophe.
Upon arriving, Su Yao engaged in a battle of wits with Murong Xuan. Using her understanding of magic arrays, she repeatedly disrupted Murong Xuan's activation process. Enraged, Murong Xuan drew a dagger from his waist and lunged at Su Yao. Su Yao dodged the attack with a swift movement, then unleashed her defensive techniques, engaging Murong Xuan in close combat.
At the crucial moment, Xuanyuan Che finally defeated the black-robed strategist and arrived to support Su Yao. The two joined forces and subdued Murong Xuan. With Murong Xuan captured, his followers surrendered one after another. This decisive battle in the ancient castle finally ended in victory for Xuanyuan Che and Su Yao.
However, just when they thought the crisis was finally over, the magic circle suddenly activated on its own, and a massive pillar of dark energy shot into the sky. It turned out that once triggered, this magic circle was difficult to stop unless a legendary sacred artifact was found to seal it. Xuan Yuanche and Su Yao stared at the dark energy pillar before them, a new worry rising in their hearts. They had to find the sacred artifact within a limited time, or the entire nation would face annihilation.