Chapter 816: Likes Fat or Lean Meat

Upon witnessing this scene, the Crown Prince, who had been eating melon some distance from the pool, stood with his mouth agape, not even noticing the melon he held fall to the ground.

"We can't see anything," he said, bewildered. "Should we get a bit closer?"

Gao Ying and Pei You quickly stopped him. "Your Highness, absolutely not!" they urged. "It's incredibly dangerous in there now. You must not go near it."

Just a moment ago, they had witnessed the form and oppressive aura of the Azure Moon Dragon emerging. Both were exceptionally experienced and reacted faster than Zhao Xi and the others to the sudden change: the rank-seven target had become a rank-nine creature. How could they possibly fight now?

Pei You quickly said, "Quickly get the Crown Prince far away from here, lest he encounter danger later."

He knew very well that the emergence of a rank-nine beast sealed the mission's failure. Those inside were likely doomed, and staying here would only lead to certain death.

Pu Duandiao and the others immediately grew anxious. "The Crown Princess and Sir Zu are still inside!" they exclaimed. "How can we abandon them?"

Gao Ying sighed. "Everyone, don't act on impulse. The dragon inside is now a rank-nine beast. Even if we join them, we'd just be throwing our lives away. The top priority is to ensure the Crown Prince's safety. After we leave the secret realm, we can explain the situation to the Emperor, ensuring the Crown Prince's mission isn't considered a failure. If they can hold on long enough, we might even be able to summon reinforcements to rescue them."

Jiao Sigun indignantly retorted, "A few days ago, Brother Zu saved both your lives, and the Crown Princess has been immensely kind to both your families. Your actions are far too heartless and ungrateful!"

Gao Ying's face flushed. "Do you think we want to be such scoundrels? My uncle's beloved son, Liu Xian, is also inside. I failed to protect him, and the Liu family will surely not tolerate me when I return. But I know very well that even if we go there, it will only be to our deaths. Going to get reinforcements, on the other hand, offers a glimmer of hope."

Although he said this, he knew in his heart how formidable a rank-nine beast was. Even if Zu An was incredibly powerful and supported by experts from all major families, they could at most hold out for a day or two.

However, it had taken them almost ten days to get from the secret realm's entrance to this point, making it impossible for them to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Nevertheless, he was a rational person who understood which choice was most reasonable under the circumstances.

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun could only look to the Crown Prince for help. "Should we rescue the Crown Princess? Please instruct us, Your Royal Highness."

They were cunning here, not mentioning rescuing Zu An but instead using Bi Linglong's name. After all, the Crown Prince had been deeply cared for by the Crown Princess over the years and was very fond of her.

The chubby Crown Prince pondered for a while, then asked, "Does that dragon eat people?"

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun hadn't expected him to ask such a question after so long, but they dared not conceal the truth. "Yes, it does," they replied.

"Does it prefer to eat fat people or thin people?" the Crown Prince continued to ask.

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun looked bewildered. How would they know its preferences?

Gao Ying instantly understood his meaning and quickly replied, "Ferocious beasts prefer to eat things with more fat and higher calories, so the Azure Moon Dragon most likely prefers to eat fat ones."

The fat on the Crown Prince's face trembled. He scrambled to his feet in a panic. "I'm not watching anymore! Quickly, back to the palace, back to the palace!"

With that, he frantically ran back the way they came, and the other Eastern Palace guards quickly followed.

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun's faces turned pale, then ashen, but in the end, they still dared not defy the order and could only follow.

Pei You said to the two of them, "Sir Zu is so powerful, perhaps a miracle will happen. You don't have to be completely without hope."

"A cat crying over a mouse," Pu Duandiao sneered, not accepting his comfort.

Jiao Sigun also echoed, "Hypocrite!"

Pei You's face was as still as water. Holding his sword, he turned and walked toward the pool.

Gao Ying was startled. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I owe Sir Zu a life," Pei You said calmly. "Naturally, I must repay him."

Gao Ying's expression shifted between conflicted emotions, but he still pulled him back. "I also owe Sir Zu a life," he said, "but now is not the time for impulsive actions. The path we came on is fraught with danger, and those people alone may not be able to protect the Crown Prince's safety. Therefore, we have both the necessity and responsibility to escort the Crown Prince out safely."

Seeing that Pei You remained unmoved, he had no choice but to say, "If anything happens to the Crown Prince, our respective families will be doomed forever."

If anything happened to the Crown Prince and Prince Qi ascended the throne, it was easy to imagine the fate of their families, who belonged to the Crown Prince's faction.

Pei You's expression finally changed. He could repay Zu An with his own life, but he couldn't repay him with the lives of his entire family.

He gazed deeply at the distant water curtain, then resolutely turned to protect the Crown Prince and depart.

Meanwhile, inside the water curtain, everyone was fleeing in panic.

The water curtain looked transparent and fragile, but Zhao Xi, who was running the fastest, crashed into it and was bounced straight back.

"Ouch!" Zhao Xi cried out in alarm. He was hit so hard that his vital energy surged, and he almost spat out blood.

Refusing to believe it, he quickly channeled all his cultivation into his weapon and struck at the water curtain. Unfortunately, he felt his full strength hit a mass of cotton, as a strange force on the water curtain dissolved his attack.

The others, also refusing to believe it, charged at the water curtain blocking their path. Unfortunately, the water curtain shimmered, completely ignoring their attacks.

"It's over!" Meng Pan said in despair, his face even paler than usual.

Trapped here by a rank-nine beast, this group of people was certain to die.

He was not the only one in despair. Countless faces were utterly ashen. Just a second ago, everyone had been full of vigor, but in the next, they had turned from hunters into hunted.

"Haha, cowardly and despicable humans! You are all so prone to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. It's truly a joy to behold your ugly panic," the Azure Moon Dragon chuckled from mid-air. It was not in a hurry to attack; instead, it watched the people within the water curtain mockingly, as if the more terrified they became, the more it enjoyed itself.

Zu An couldn't help but inwardly grumble: Had this Azure Moon Dragon been abused by humans when it was weak? Otherwise, where would such intense resentment come from?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. This secret realm was a reserved area for the academy, where students were often sent for training.

A creature like the Azure Moon Dragon, if it were rank seven, wouldn't be too high or too low in rank, making it perfect for many people to practice against.

For the Crown Prince's grand examination, the imperial family first thought of it, clearly indicating their familiarity with it and that they knew it wasn't a particularly dangerous mission, which is why they made these arrangements.

Tsk tsk tsk, it seemed it really had a miserable time in the secret realm over the years.

Since the imperial family said it was rank seven, that should have been correct. So why had its cultivation improved so much in such a short time?

At this moment, Bi Linglong, standing nearby, said loudly, "Everyone, don't panic! We are well prepared for this trip. Since things have come to this, prepare to fight. There might still be a glimmer of hope!"

Zu An secretly admired her. Among so many men present, the calmest was actually a woman.

Zhao Xi and the others secretly complained. They had indeed made preparations, but they were for dealing with a rank-seven Azure Moon Dragon, not the rank-nine one currently before them.

However, they were, after all, the elites of their respective families and knew that now they could only fight with all their might.

A group of people quickly gathered around Bi Linglong, forming a battle formation. Then, many crossbow bolts were shot directly at the dragon in the air.

These crossbow bolts were not ordinary; they were armor-piercing bolts enhanced by magic arrays, capable of piercing the armor of a rank-seven fierce beast.

Unfortunately, this time they were facing a rank-nine fierce beast. When the crossbow bolts struck its body, they only produced clanging sounds, at most leaving a shallow white mark on its armor, utterly unable to harm it.

However, it was still enraged. "A bunch of ants dare to offend this king!" it roared.

It roared loudly, then spat out four water spheres from its mouth.

Those shining water spheres quickly fell to the ground, and then everyone finally saw clearly: each water sphere seemed to contain a fierce beast, but the expression on each one's face was full of pain and resentment.

"Golden Barbarian Ox, Ice Giant Bear, Iron-Maned Black Boar, Sky-Quake Thunder-Devouring Tiger!" Bi Linglong's face drastically changed. "They are all rank-seven fierce beasts it has devoured, whose souls it then refined into its own water-elemental puppets. These puppets retain most of their strength from when they were alive. Everyone, be careful!"

To deal with the Azure Moon Dragon this time, she had naturally researched its skills. She had originally thought they would only have to deal with some rank-six puppets, never imagining they would suddenly become rank seven. The difficulty had increased exponentially.