"Boom!"
With a deafening explosion, a strong force blasted open a large hole in the stone wall of the King's Hall. The Mastanian soldiers, who were focused on protecting the king's party with their shields, obviously didn't expect the wall to suddenly explode. Startled by the unexpected loud noise, they instinctively abandoned their attack and turned their heads towards the direction of the explosion.
Soon after, amidst the dense dust and water jets spraying from the shattered wall, the Mastanians saw a purple lightning wrapped in blood-like energy. This lightning swiftly spun towards the unprepared Mastanian soldiers and pierced through several nearest ones like a skewer, one after another. Immediately after, the bodies of these Mastanians were ignited by the purple electric current, causing them to writhe on the ground in futile struggle.
Seeing their comrades instantly killed, the other Mastanians woke up as if from a dream, realizing they were under sudden attack from the enemy. Without further ado, they all picked up blow arrows and launched attacks towards the direction where the lightning had shot out. At the same time, two dark figures dashed out from the hole in the wall, dodging the arrows shot by the Mastanians.
Having previously clashed with the Mastanians and learned from Captain Tie Zhu that their arrows could release toxins, Haoyun and Dao Lao activated the defensive shields of their Di Yin Spirit Realm Battle Armor again before launching their attacks. This layer of protection not only blocked the toxin-laden arrows but also utilized the energy released from its surface to evaporate any residual toxins.
Although Haoyun and Dao Lao's Di Yin Spirit Realm Battle Armor now only had about nine percent of energy left, it was still sufficient to withstand the attacks of the Mastanians in the King's Hall. However, the two dared not be complacent because these Mastanians all had a misfortune level of four stars. To prevent any unexpected occurrences and ensure they could complete their mission as quickly as possible, both immediately maximized their attack intensity, aiming to eliminate the enemies in the King's Hall in the shortest time possible. In the meantime, they did not spare the heavily armored guards of the Eternal Star who swung weapons at them, swiftly killing all these guards in the process.
The small stature of these Mastanians made it easy for Haoyun and Dao Lao to directly attack their heads with overwhelming combat capabilities. Dao Lao wielded the Demon-Extinguishing Staff, shaped like a double-headed spear, jumping into the formation and instantly knocking off the skull caps of the Mastanians around him. Haoyun, on the other hand, dual-wielded the Blades of Speed and Passion, launching elusive strikes among the enemies, causing those Mastanians who brushed past him to be instantly decapitated.
Considering the limited strength and fragile bodies of these Mastanians composed of materials akin to straw, Haoyun and Dao Lao intentionally dissipated the photon energy on their weapons after a round of attacks, conserving their mental strength as much as possible during the battle.
However, equipped with artifacts from the Realm of the Spirits and aware that the Mastanians' greatest weakness lay in their heads—a severe blow to which would result in their complete death—Haoyun and Dao Lao, even after intentionally reducing their attack intensity, continued to inflict tremendous damage on the Mastanians in the King's Hall. This forced the surviving Mastanians to scatter and hide behind the stone pillars in the hall, attempting to engage Haoyun and Dao Lao in long-range combat to save their lives.
Although Dao Lao, with Haoyun's significantly enhanced strength after the Battle of the Elf Planet, quickly caused the Mastanians in the King's Hall to be defeated in quick succession, the two did not allow any slack in their spirits. Because this was the Mastanians' territory, after the sudden commotion caused by the two, it was estimated that the Mastanians would soon dispatch more troops to support them.
Thus, after severely defeating the Mastanians in the King's Hall and continuously repelling the Eternal Star heavy-armored guards who attempted to enter the hall for reinforcement, Haoyun shouted towards the heavily armored Eternal Star man still hiding in the protective shield, "King Erl, we're here to rescue you! Can you still move?!"
However, the burly Eternal Star man whom Haoyun and Dao Lao mistook for King Erl, after understanding the situation in front of him, pointed above the throne of the King's Hall and shouted, "No! I am not King Erl! King Erl is over there! Warriors, be careful!"
The reminder from the Eternal Star man hiding in the protective shield left Haoyun and Dao Lao bewildered. However, after they turned around and looked in the direction indicated by the Eternal Star man, both couldn't help but be surprised. Due to the limited view of the King's Hall they had from the hidden spout earlier, Haoyun and Dao Lao had not seen the situation above the throne. Therefore, when Haoyun and Dao Lao launched their sudden assault on the hall, they did not notice that several meters above the throne in the King's Hall, there was a protruding platform. On that platform, there was another throne, and at this moment, a young Eternal Star man wearing heavy armor, a crown on his head, with a rugged yet extremely handsome face, was sitting on this throne.
"What... what's going on!?" Haoyun asked, thoroughly confused by the scene before him.
"That person is our King Erl of Eternal Star! However, His Majesty the King is now controlled by the Mastanians! His Majesty the King sacrificed himself to protect Eternal Star, his body now contaminated by misfortune energy! Warriors, you must bring back the news of King's plight to Her Majesty the Queen! Eternal Star, Eternal Star has fallen! You must make sure that Her Majesty strengthens the defenses and does not let her guard down!" the elderly Eternal Star man said urgently.
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"That is our King El Er of Yongmu Star! However, His Majesty is now under Mastanian control! His Majesty sacrificed himself to preserve the Eternal Star Body! Warriors! You must deliver the news of the King's tragic corruption by Mold Spirit energy to Her Majesty the Queen! The Eternal Star Body, the Eternal Star Body has fallen! You must warn Her Majesty to be cautious! Strengthen the defenses of Mu Star Body, do not be careless!"
The elderly Yongmu Star person spoke with urgency.
Though both Haoyun and Dao Lao were bewildered by the scene before them, they were certain that the elder's words held no falsehood. By now, they had noticed that after their eye contact with King El Er sitting on the high platform, his handsome face gradually contorted with muscles, becoming incredibly ferocious. Yet, what surprised Haoyun and Dao Lao was that despite the king's fierce expression, his eyes were filled with conflict and confusion. The King seemed to be uneasy and hesitant about his current demeanor, as if trying to convince himself to show anger and dissatisfaction towards Haoyun and Dao Lao.
"Brave warriors! While King El Er has not yet acted against us, you must find a way to escape!" The elder urged anxiously when he saw that Haoyun and Dao Lao had not moved after seeing King El Er.
"No! Our mission is to rescue you! Even if we cannot save King El Er, we must get you out!" Dao Lao said resolutely, despite being caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
At that moment, more guards stationed nearby had already heard the news and were attempting to rush into the palace through several entrances. As expected by Haoyun and Dao Lao, they were surprised to find not only Mastanians among the guards trying to enter the palace, but also Yongmu Star soldiers who looked no different from normal.
"Damn it! The Yongmu Star people here are indeed suspicious!" Dao Lao shouted loudly, swinging the demon-slaying staff, which had transformed into a huge baseball bat, and forcefully knocked a team of guards pouring in through the main gate out. To further delay the guards from entering the palace, Dao Lao concentrated again to infuse divine power into the demon-slaying staff, then used its light to directly smash several doors leading to the King's palace, temporarily blocking more guards outside.
Under tremendous stress, Haoyun once again used the Ghostly Dance Steps of the Phantom Sting to kill more than a dozen guards in succession, saying, "The number of enemies is increasing! We better retreat quickly! Are you guys coming or not?"
"Let's go!" The elderly Yongmu Star man saw the formidable combat power of Haoyun and Dao Lao and responded without hesitation. Then, he patted himself and immediately the protective shield covering the Yongmu Star people disappeared.
It was only then that Haoyun and Dao Lao noticed that the elderly man was also wearing a Yin Spirit Realm battle armor. It was just because this elderly man also wore a gorgeous cloak that Haoyun and Dao Lao couldn't detect the set of armor he was wearing just now. Upon seeing the elderly man wearing this Yin Spirit Realm battle armor and seeing him pat on the armor to cancel the solid protective shield, Haoyun and Dao Lao were surprised. Because Haoyun and Dao Lao were very sure that the Yin Spirit Realm battle armor could not create such a powerful protective shield. So after seeing the situation in front of them, their first reaction was that this set of Yin Spirit Realm battle armor had also been modified.
Could it be that the elderly man's armor had also been modified by the Countess? Could it be that the elderly man's armor had been modified by some other expert? Haoyun wondered. But there was no unique green electric light flowing on the armor of the elderly man, which made Haoyun feel that his armor was not modified by the Countess.
"Haoyun! Focus and quickly escort them out!" Dao Lao shouted loudly, bringing Haoyun's thoughts back. Although Dao Lao was also full of doubts about the Yin Spirit Realm battle armor worn by the elderly man, he knew it was not the time to think about these issues.
"Brave warriors! Let's quickly find a way to retreat to the back palace of the palace! We can use the teleportation array there to leave here!" The elder called out to Haoyun and Dao Lao. At the same time, he and the other Yongmu Star people, after canceling the protective shield, quickly formed a defensive formation with their weapons and engaged in fierce combat with the guards rushing towards them.
"Can you use that teleportation array?" Haoyun assisted these Yongmu Star people in repelling the enemies around them and asked.
"Yes! While the enemy's large forces have not yet arrived, we should find a way to retreat quickly!" The elderly man replied, coordinating with his own people to form a defensive formation and retreat towards a large door behind the throne of the King's palace. In the meantime, the elderly man also glanced regretfully at King El Er sitting on the high platform again with a responsible gaze, as if bidding farewell to his own king for the last time.
Just then, King El Er's gaze also fell on Haoyun and his group withdrawing from the palace. Then, King El Er suddenly stood up, struggling to raise his hand and pointed at Haoyun and his group, hysterically shouting, "You guys ——, you all stop! Stop for me! Go! Let them out! Let them ——, uh ——, you guys! Quickly ——, go!"
Then, something strange happened. Under King El Er's deafening roar, the guards who had come to protect him immediately stopped fighting and looked at King El Er with a puzzled and fearful expression.
King El Er then collapsed back onto his throne only after seeing all the guards stop. At the same time, as if struggling with himself, he continued to shout in pain, "You guys, go! Quickly go! I ——, can't ——, I must stay! Uh —— ah ——!"
Haoyun and his group, though unclear about what was happening, didn't dare delay under such urgent circumstances. They quickly seized the opportunity when the enemy ceased all attacks and rushed out of the King's palace. However, just as they had exited the palace, they heard King El Er's agonizing roar once again. The guards, who had been compelled to suspend their attacks, swiftly brandished their weapons and charged at Haoyun and his companions once more.
Although the number of guards surrounding Haoyun's group continued to increase, with Haoyun and Dao Lao leading the way, they managed to escort the rescued Yongmu Star people unhindered along a corridor towards the rear garden where Dream Jia and Captain Tie Zhu were hiding. Yet, upon entering this enclosed rear garden surrounded by high walls, the situation once again became uncertain. While the entrances into the garden were few, guards kept pouring in incessantly from the direction of the King's palace. And let's not forget, there were Mastanians and griffins to contend with.
Thus, upon entering the palace garden, Haoyun and his group discovered that dozens of griffins had already been deployed there, each carrying nearly a hundred fully armed soldiers. These soldiers formed a tight defensive line that cut through the middle of the garden, completely blocking Haoyun's group's path forward and encircling them together with the guards chasing from the direction of the King's palace.