Chapter 1028: Capturing the King Before the Thieves

The Embroidered Envoys were a taboo presence for the citizens of Great Zhou. Often, when children misbehaved, parents would intentionally frighten them by saying that if they kept crying, an Embroidered Envoy would take them away, which would immediately silence the children.

While this might seem an exaggeration, it clearly illustrates the sense of oppression the Embroidered Envoys instilled in most people.

That was merely the case for ordinary Embroidered Envoys, let alone the legendary Golden Embroidered Envoy.

"Golden Eleven!" Sang Hong and the others exclaimed, instantly feeling much more reassured upon seeing him.

Zu'an even took the lead, shouting, "Lord Eleven is here! Lord Eleven is here!"

The morale of all the Imperial Guards immediately soared.

Conversely, Dong Jin's expression turned grim. However, with things having come to this point, he couldn't simply surrender.

"He's just one person, no matter how formidable!" Dong Jin sneered, while secretly preparing for a sudden attack.

Just then, the Golden Eleven appeared to pick up a musical instrument and plucked its strings.

A sound similar to a pipa resonated, like a silver vase suddenly shattering and water bursting forth, or iron cavalry charging with clanging swords and spears.

Everyone present felt their minds jolt, and a sharp pain immediately shot through their brains.

Sang Hong was startled. He quickly circulated his internal energy to regulate his breath, suppressing the discomfort.

He urgently scanned the area and saw that most people were clutching their heads in agony. Only a handful of highly cultivated individuals, such as Gao Ying and Pei You, were barely able to withstand it.

"What kind of technique is this?" Sang Hong was utterly shocked. He subconsciously looked towards Zu'an, wanting to see if he was safe, but Zu'an's figure was nowhere to be seen.

It was then that the sound of rushing wind reached him. He quickly turned his head and saw a white figure already streaking towards Dong Jin.

At that moment, Dong Jin was also terrified. The soul-shaking impact had caused him a momentary daze. Although he had good cultivation and suppressed the discomfort immediately, just as he recovered, he saw a figure charging directly at him.

"Form a formation!" he commanded his soldiers, simultaneously drawing his saber. Unfortunately, his soldiers were in disarray at that moment and unable to follow orders.

Having no choice, he swung his saber at his opponent.

Having spent years in Yunzhong County suppressing bandits and fighting demon beasts, he had developed a fierce and unyielding nature.

In that instant, he had already determined that the opponent's cultivation was superior to his. He didn't expect this one strike to halt them.

Instead, he aimed to trade his life for theirs.

He was gambling that, given their clear advantage, the opponent would be unwilling to risk mutual injury.

If the opponent hesitated or dodged even slightly, he could seize the opportunity to create distance. By then, his subordinates would have surely reacted, making it difficult for the opponent to capture him.

Even if the opponent ignored his move, taking someone down with him before he died wouldn't be a loss.

He had just broken through to the Seventh Rank not long ago and had absolute confidence in this life-risking saber strike.

However, his eyes immediately widened, as the opponent showed no sign of dodging; instead, they extended two fingers.

Dong Jin was immediately filled with a sense of absurdity. Two slender, delicate fingers—a mere flesh-and-blood body—actually intended to parry his sharp saber head-on?

His expression turned cold, and he directly aimed the saber's edge at the opponent's fingers.

From years of battles in Yunzhong County, he knew that in a life-or-death struggle, one could not hold back even the slightest bit of strength, or it would be easy to be overturned.

But his eyes soon widened in disbelief. His incredibly powerful saber strike was gently clamped by those two fair fingers.

Unwilling to give up, he tried to twist the saber to sever the opponent's fingers, but the blade didn't budge. All his strength vanished as if a clay ox had plunged into the sea.

He was greatly alarmed, instantly realizing he had met an insurmountable obstacle. Instinctively, he wanted to abandon his saber and retreat.

Unfortunately, it was too late. He felt a suction force emanating from the saber hilt, preventing him from releasing it. Moreover, his entire body's vital energy seemed to be dispersing.

It was like someone accustomed to climbing stairs for years; if one day a step were slightly higher or lower, that person would likely stumble and fall.

Cultivators, even more so. Accustomed to the smooth coordination of their vital energy circulation and movements, the sudden draining of energy in that instant left him breathless, and his blood and qi surged uncontrollably within him.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a major issue; a single breath would be enough for him to regulate his energy and recover.

Unfortunately, the opponent seized precisely this fleeting opportunity, pressing forward and directly poking a finger into his chest.

In an instant, the clothes on his back burst open, and he felt as if he had been struck by a charging behemoth.

He violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, feeling as though his internal organs had been displaced.

He subconsciously tried to use the recoil force to create distance from his opponent, but a sticky force seemed to emanate from the opponent's hand, keeping him firmly bound.

Immediately after, the opponent's large hand clasped onto a major acupoint on his shoulder. His entire body went limp, and he was completely unable to resist.

Only then did he get a clear look at his opponent's face: it was the most handsome young man from the imperial envoy delegation.

Although he had witnessed him parrying Xiao Yao's sword at the welcoming banquet, that sword was formed from wine. Coupled with the fact that the young man was brought by the Vice-Governor, it was highly probable that Xiao Yao had deliberately held back. Therefore, Dong Jin had figured that even if the young man's cultivation was superior to his, it wouldn't be by much.

After all, the young man was far too young and looked like a mere pretty boy, making it difficult to associate him with the image of a master.

But it was only at this moment that he truly understood how profoundly mistaken he had been. He thought to himself, "How foolish I've been."

Holding Dong Jin, Zu'an's voice, amplified by his vital energy, echoed across the entire field: "Dong Jin has been captured! Considering that you were unaware of the truth and coerced, if you lay down your weapons now, all past offenses will be forgiven. Otherwise, you will all be charged with rebellion!"

He secretly congratulated himself. He had first used Daji to play the "Demonic Enchantment Melody" on the pipa, throwing the less cultivated individuals on the field into chaos. He then seized the opportunity to ambush Dong Jin, their leader.

If he had allowed them to form a military formation, he wouldn't have succeeded so easily.

He also had to be grateful that the other side had rushed there and hadn't brought all their equipment. Otherwise, in a direct confrontation on the battlefield, they could have used war drums to counter Daji's Demonic Enchantment Melody.

Military drums were specially crafted, often engraved with magic arrays, and their extremely loud, battle-filled sound could effectively counter Daji's melody.

The Yunzhong County soldiers exchanged glances. With their commander captured like a chicken, how could they possibly fight?

Witnessing Zu'an's ghostly footwork and his instant subjugation of Dong Jin, combined with the menacing gaze of the imperial envoy on the other side and the unfathomable Golden Embroidered Envoy, everyone's resolve immediately faltered.

Instinctively, they wanted to lay down their weapons. But then someone shouted, "Don't believe him! If you pick up your weapons, there's still a sliver of hope. If you lay them down, it's a dead end! Have you forgotten these years of fighting the demon beasts?"

Everyone's hearts stiffened. They remembered that in their battles with demon beasts, the enemy would often initially declare that those who surrendered would not be killed, but once weapons were laid down, they were invariably slaughtered.

Later, they themselves did the same when capturing demon beasts, first tricking them with false promises to make them lay down their weapons, then finding opportunities to kill them one by one.

Over time, no one trusted such words anymore.

Zu'an's eyes narrowed. He had noticed that these specific individuals in the crowd were fanning the flames; otherwise, the two sides wouldn't have started fighting.

These individuals clearly had higher cultivation than the other soldiers around them. While others were still dazed by Daji's Demonic Enchantment Melody, they had fully recovered.

He threw Dong Jin into the Imperial Guard's ranks and instantly lunged towards these few individuals.

Sang Hong evidently had the same idea and also pounced on them.

"They're killing people! They're killing people!" those few screamed in panic, swinging their sabers in defense.

Unfortunately, their cultivation was far inferior even to Dong Jin's, so they were no match for Zu'an and Sang Hong.

They were subdued almost in the blink of an eye.

Sang Hong's heart trembled slightly; he had only managed to subdue one, while Zu'an had subdued the remaining four.

Although he had been a little further away, the disparity was still too astonishing.

Just then, he heard Zu'an exclaim, "Dead?"

He quickly looked at the man he had subdued and saw black blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating he had bitten a poison capsule to commit suicide.

"Death warriors!" Sang Hong's heart stiffened. They had clearly subdued the man, yet he had managed to bite the poison hidden in his teeth the moment they lunged. Such resolve and ferocity, he wondered what kind of power could cultivate individuals like this.

He had originally intended to capture them and interrogate them about the mastermind, but now it seemed his efforts were in vain.

Meanwhile, the other county soldiers remained oblivious. They had only witnessed two figures pouncing on their comrades, who then immediately died. Coupled with the panicked shouts of "They're killing people!" they instinctively believed that Zu'an and Sang Hong were responsible.

One by one, they instinctively picked up their weapons, and a chaotic battle seemed on the verge of erupting once more.

Just then, an urgent voice cried out, "Stop! All of you, stop!"

A group of people came running from a distance, led by Vice-Governor Xu Yu.

He hurried to the center, standing between the two groups. Seeing the chaotic mess and the heavily injured Dong Jin, he couldn't help but pull a long face, exclaiming, "What is going on here? What is going on?!"

Sang Hong stated grimly, "Officer Xu, you've arrived just in time. Is Yunzhong County planning a rebellion?"

Now that they had control of the situation, Sang Hong wouldn't hesitate to purge the entire officialdom of Yunzhong County if Xu Yu made even a slight misstep in his reply.

Over the years, his imperial colleagues had privately called him "Cold-Faced Yama," and he was certainly not known for his leniency.