Ten-some Great Zhou Navy ships appeared up and down the river, many soldiers of the divine crossbow camp on board.
Many experts of the Imperial Court stepped ashore and began to chase towards Fengyang City.
A few Taoists in fluttering green robes flew out from the forest on the other side of the river. They tapped lightly on the ship and landed on the riverside.
These blue-clothed Daoists had cold expressions and unfathomable cultivations. They carried Daoist swords and came from Luoyang's Monastery of Eternal Spring.
Worn leather boots stepped on the stone steps that were still wet from the morning dew.
The tea merchants and pedestrians on both sides of the stone steps subconsciously retreated when they saw the figure walking over. It was unknown whether it was because of fear or shame.
Xiao Zhang did not even glance at these people, nor did he pay any attention to the experts of the Imperial Court rushing over. Raising his spear, he expressionlessly continued up.
Several cries of alarm came from some corner of the street and quickly faded away. In the slightly disorderly crowd, one could faintly make out crossbow bolts gleaming with cold light.
Those blue-clothed Daoists flew up the stone steps like cranes and came behind Xiao Zhang. Their expressions were solemn, ready to strike at any moment.
The road from the riverside to Seven Treasures Stronghold in Fengyang City was entirely made of stone steps. Some busybody had counted them and found that there were more than seven thousand steps.
An ordinary person would need a very long time to walk them all.
But for a person like Xiao Zhang, even if he was heavily injured, he still did not need too much time.
A few moments later, he reached the middle section of the stone steps. On the side of the street was a very small grassy garden.
Several dozen people stood on the grass and under the winter trees, looking at him with complex emotions, somewhat afraid and somewhat uneasy.
Suddenly, an extremely dim and barely noticeable sword glow pierced through the vegetable basket held by one of the people and stabbed at Xiao Zhang.
This was a position that no one would have expected. It was an extremely sinister attack.
Xiao Zhang seemed to have been prepared. With a low snort, the spear in his hand flew through the air, carrying with it a fierce gust of wind as it accurately struck the sword glow.
With a clap, the sword glow was instantly shattered into countless pieces. The assassin hidden in the crowd miserably retreated and crashed into the winter tree.
The leaves fell on the assassin's body and were dyed red by the blood that spurted out.
The assassin's face was filled with fear. He wanted to stand up and flee, but he no longer had the strength to do so.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Zhang only glanced at the assassin and ignored him, continuing to walk up the stone steps.
Chen Chang Sheng and the others had already left the teahouse and were standing behind the crowd.
Seeing this scene, Tang Thirty-Six praised, "Good move."
On the night of the coup of the Mausoleum of Books and in the days that followed, Xiao Zhang had always been an extremely thorny foe of the Orthodoxy, but ever since he saved Wang Po by the Luo River, the situation had changed. At least in Tang Thirty-Six's view, this expert who should have been at the top of the Proclamation of Liberation was a powerful external aid that his side had to fight for. Of course, he was emotionally inclined towards him.
Hu Thirty-Two said nothing at Tang Thirty-Six's praise, but Zhexiu shook his head, clearly having a different view.
"His injuries are too severe." Chen Chang Sheng said worriedly, "More severe than we thought."
Tang Thirty-Six finally understood.
Based on Xiao Zhang's violent combat style, if he still had 60% or 70% of his combat power, even if the assassin was from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, he would still die from a single blow.
Even if the other party was lucky enough to survive, with Xiao Zhang's style of doing things, he would definitely add another shot to kill the other party.
Right now, the assassin was not dead.
This could only mean that Xiao Zhang's injuries were far more severe than they had imagined, so severe that he was not even willing to waste the strength to make another shot.
Just as expected.
Several experts of the Imperial Court took advantage of the slight confusion to attack Xiao Zhang.
Xiao Zhang had succeeded in pushing back those experts, but his body also began to sway as if he would collapse at any moment.
"There are new injuries, but there are even more old ones."
Zhexiu was the same as Xiao Zhang. They both viewed battle as their lives, and his gaze was extremely sharp, allowing him to clearly see Xiao Zhang's problem.
After being pursued by the Imperial Court for three whole years, fighting without rest or sleep, even if Xiao Zhang's body was forged from steel, he would still feel tired.
Once he was tired, his reaction speed would inevitably drop, making it easy for him to be injured.
Once he began to be injured, he would continue to be injured even more, until his true essence was exhausted and he was exhausted, no longer able to fight.
He was a peak Star Condensation expert of the Proclamation of Liberation, and it could be said that he was unrivalled beneath the Divine. He was like a solitary beast of the wilderness. Alas, after being pursued by the experts of the Imperial Court like scavenging vultures for so many days and fighting for such a long distance, there would eventually come a day when he would collapse.
Xiao Zhang finally arrived at the highest point of Fengyang City.
He stood in front of Seven Treasures Stronghold and narrowed his eyes as he gazed down at the river gorge.
The morning sun had already risen over the mountain peaks. The sunlight was very fierce, shining upon the mountains and rivers, dazzling the eyes.
He could clearly see that the experts of the Imperial Court and the crossbow soldiers had already surrounded all of Fengyang City.
Although he had no intention of causing trouble, he was still rather annoyed, like he was looking at a swarm of flies that he could not shake off.
A person like Xiao Zhang might truly feel that he was a solitary beast of the wilderness, but he would never admit that those experts of the Imperial Court who had pursued him for so many years were vultures. In his view, these fellows were just annoying mosquitoes that buzzed in his ears every day, making it hard for him to sleep, which was why he was so sleepy.
Yes, he was just a little sleepy.
He felt like he just wanted to sleep, or else why would his eyelids be so heavy, or else why would his lips be so numb, or else why would he be pursued by these people?
The drowsiness grew stronger and stronger, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Even he couldn't tell if they were closed or squinting.
The morning sun shone over Fengyang City and also on his face.
He swayed a few times and then fell to the ground.
But he did not roll down the stone steps.
With a muffled bang, the end of the spear heavily pierced into the ground. At the most dangerous moment, it helped him support his extremely exhausted body.
Upon seeing this sight, those people who had never forgotten the benefits Xiao Zhang had brought to Fengyang City found it difficult to continue watching and turned their heads away. A few people stood forward.
The first to stand was a tea merchant of Fengyang City, along with ten-some assistants of the tea shop.
"Protect Master Xiao!"
The tea merchant clenched his teeth and shouted. He led his assistants to the stone steps of the Seven Treasures Stronghold and stood in front of Xiao Zhang. They took out the swords and sabers that they usually used to protect themselves when selling tea, and even more took up the carrying poles that they usually used to carry goods and aimed them at the approaching experts of the Imperial Court.
As a tea merchant, it was inevitable that he would encounter some trouble when selling tea. In Fengyang City, it was inevitable that there would be a few conflicts between people of the same trade. However, this tea merchant had a swift and fierce personality, and his assistants were also extremely valiant. They were rather famous in the city, but how could these people stop the experts of the Imperial Court and the crossbow soldiers?
But soon after, even more tea merchants and commoners joined them.
The stone steps of the Seven Treasures Stronghold were quickly filled with people.
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