Chapter 457: Dragon Language Spirit

A group of people hastily retreated from the battlefield. Only after they reached a forest did the sounds of pursuit behind them finally fade away.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zu An, however, looked puzzled as he asked Sang Hong, "Aren't the Embroidered Uniform Guards empowered to act on behalf of the Emperor? If they just present the Imperial Decree, wouldn't all the demons and monsters be suppressed? Why do we need to flee in such a hurry?"

The scene in Brightmoon City last time, when they invoked the Imperial Decree, was still fresh in his memory. Three thousand elite Red Robe soldiers, whose combat power was certainly no less than, if not superior to, these rebels.

Sang Hong replied, "Only a few people have ever seen the Embroidered Uniform Guards take action, let alone repeatedly. In my opinion, they can't simply invoke the Imperial Decree whenever they wish; it must come at a great cost."

"Furthermore, the Embroidered Uniform Guards are meant to ease the Emperor's burdens. If they had to ask the Emperor to intervene in every matter, wouldn't it show their own incompetence? So, unless it's absolutely necessary, they likely won't invoke the Imperial Decree."

Hearing his analysis, Zu An largely understood the situation. The Imperial Decree was like a nuclear weapon: primarily for deterrence, not for conventional warfare.

Huang Huihong snorted, "Lord Sang, please don't make wild guesses..."

Just then, several long swords suddenly shot up from the ground, piercing directly through the horses' bellies and then striking at the Embroidered Uniform Guards on their backs.

The attackers had chosen their moment perfectly: just as the Embroidered Uniform Guards had let their guard down, their attention drawn by Sang Hong's words.

This sudden assassination caught them completely off guard. Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards were well-trained and quickly jumped from their horses to evade, two of them were a step too slow and were impaled by the sharp swords along with their horses.

Zu An gasped, instinctively covering his backside. "How much must that hurt?" he wondered.

However, the Embroidered Uniform Guards who had jumped into the air weren't safe either, as several dark projectiles suddenly shot through the air.

Zu An's eyes narrowed. He was all too familiar with these dark projectiles; it was the same type that had almost killed him with an arrow in Jibei City last time.

"Could it be that the rebels are trying to kill me?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guards in mid-air swung their Soul-Snatching Chains, attempting to deflect the incoming arrows. But Night Elves, once they strike, always draw blood.

Their bows had been drawn and held for a long time, and they were fired only when the targets had ascended into the air to evade the underground assassination.

This timing perfectly caught many Embroidered Uniform Guards when their old strength was depleted and new strength had not yet emerged, making it impossible to evade.

Screams echoed as two more Embroidered Uniform Guards were instantly struck in the chest by the sneak attack arrows and killed on the spot.

The remaining few, though they managed to evade, were all wounded.

Huang Huihong quickly called his companions to his side, huddling tightly by the prisoner cart, his expression grim.

There had only been ten Embroidered Uniform Guards in total on this mission. Two of his comrades had died inexplicably back at the inn in the town, and now, four more had perished in this recent ambush. Including himself, only four Embroidered Uniform Guards remained.

At this moment, the enemies slowly revealed themselves. Several Night Elves emerged from the ground, while others leaped down from distant trees, all converging on the prisoner cart.

Zu An quickly counted, noting there were eight Night Elves in total—five males and three females. They were dressed entirely in black, with black veils covering their faces. Their eyes were slightly different from human eyes, with red pupils.

Sang Hong, standing beside him, sighed, "The Night Elves truly excel at assassination, just as the legends say. That ambush just now wiped out nearly half of the Embroidered Uniform Guards in an instant. It seems we're in a difficult situation today."

Despite his grim expression, Huang Huihong showed no fear. He coldly stared at the approaching figures, asking, "Who sent you? Do you know that abducting an imperial prisoner will result in the extermination of your entire clan?"

"Entire clan?" one of the Night Elves sneered. "Our homeland was long ago destroyed by you humans. What clan do we have left?"

Seeing the hatred in their eyes, Huang Huihong knew that peaceful resolution was impossible today. He quickly assessed the combat power of both sides: the enemy had the upper hand in terms of both numbers and average cultivation level.

He said in a deep voice, "You should be aware that we act on behalf of the Emperor. Once the Imperial Decree is invoked, you will all be annihilated."

He genuinely did not want to invoke the Imperial Decree unless it was absolutely necessary, for reasons similar to those Sang Hong had analyzed earlier.

"The Imperial Decree?" The Night Elves all laughed contemptuously, seemingly unfazed.

Huang Huihong's heart skipped a beat. He felt that something was amiss today. Without hesitation, he knelt facing east, respectfully holding his hands before him. "Your humble servants have encountered enemy obstruction ahead. I request His Majesty's sacred..."

Zu An, standing nearby, felt a surge of excitement. He could finally witness the Imperial Decree's suppressive power again. It couldn't always be their side taking a beating; he wanted to see this ultimate weapon used to overpower others.

But just then, an aged voice suddenly commanded, "Rise!"

Hearing this voice, Huang Huihong, who was kneeling and performing the invocation, involuntarily stood up, and the ritual was naturally interrupted.

The other Embroidered Uniform Guards stared at him in confusion, not understanding why he had suddenly risen.

Huang Huihong was equally perplexed and instinctively turned to look in another direction.

At that moment, an old man slowly emerged from deeper within the forest, leaning on a dragon-headed staff, his body trembling as if he might fall at any moment.

However, ever since encountering Old Man Mi and Wei Dan, Zu An no longer dared to underestimate these seemingly frail old men who looked like they could be blown over by a gust of wind. They were all more sinister than anyone else, likely deliberately adopting such a harmless appearance to lull their enemies into a false sense of security.

At the same time, he strangely glanced at the old man's head. On both sides of his head, above his ears, were a pair of horn-like growths. Unlike the horns of ordinary herbivores, these were not large, appearing more like decorative ornaments, yet they possessed an inexplicable aura of power.

At this point, Huang Huihong's expression drastically changed. He knelt again and restarted the invocation ritual, but this time both his movements and speech were much faster than before.

If his previous attempt had a hint of ostentatious display, now there was an overwhelming sense of urgent panic.

Then the old man pointed his dragon-headed staff at Huang Huihong and commanded, "Silence!"

Huang Huihong's voice instantly vanished. He could only be seen continuously opening his mouth, but no sound came out.

"What in the world is happening?" Zu An watched, utterly shocked.

Sang Hong, beside him, explained, "That old man must be a high-ranking Dragon."

"A Dragon?" Zu An glanced at the old man's thin frame. He didn't look like one at all. "Do they think I've never seen a dragon before?"

He still vividly remembered the red dragon from Dragon Concealment Mountain.

As if sensing his confusion, Sang Hong replied, "Most Dragons need to cultivate to an extremely high realm to transform into human form, and even then, there's significant risk. But high-ranking Dragons don't; they can almost instantly take human form from birth."

Zu An suddenly realized, finally understanding why the pair of horns on the old man's head looked so familiar.

At this point, Zheng Dan, who was also nearby, asked curiously, "Why did Commander Huang suddenly lose his voice?"

Sang Hong looked at the Dragon elder in the distance. "This is another innate ability of high-ranking Dragons: Dragon Language Spirit."

"Dragon Language Spirit?" Zu An suddenly recalled Shang Liuyu mentioning it to him back at school. The Dragon race possessed a secret art of 'speech spirit' that was the envy of other races.

By simply uttering a few words, they could turn them into reality. In a sense, it was like their words became law.

Zu An felt a surge of envy. "Isn't 'words becoming law' supposed to be the exclusive domain of keyboard warriors?" he thought. "When will I gain such an ability?"

"I didn't expect the Dragon race to get involved," Sang Hong said, giving Zu An a complicated look. "You really have quite the influence."

Zu An felt a chill down his spine. "Weren't we told that the Emperor was the strongest in the world? Why are his subordinates now being beaten so thoroughly by various other forces?"