409: Chapter 409 Your Highness, you look terrible.

Shifting the focus back to the Imperial City, at the Princesss Mansion.

At this very moment, this mansion, which was once adorned with carved beams and painted rafters—a symbol of the highest favor from the Great Zhou imperial family—had long since transformed into an Asura purgatory.

More than half of the tall, vermilion courtyard walls had collapsed, and the originally clear water of the moat had been dyed a jarring, dark crimson by fresh blood.

The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood, and amidst the broken walls and ruins, corpses clad in Imperial Guard armor were piled up in a chaotic mess.

A full army of thirty thousand soldiers had surrounded this sprawling estate so tightly that not even a fly could escape.

However, it was eerie.

Despite the massive army bearing down, a complete vacuum zone had formed within a radius of a dozen meters outside the main gate of the Princesss Mansion.

Not a single soldier dared to step even half a foot into this area.

A boundary line marked in blood was drawn on the ground, and everyone stood pressed tightly against the perimeter of this line as if avoiding a plague god, their Legs shaking uncontrollably.

The reason was simple.

Whenever anyone dared to cross that boundary line by even half a step, faint golden ripples would appear in the surrounding air.

Immediately afterward, the intruder's flow of time would be forcibly stripped away!

To an outsider, that person's movements would become as slow as swimming through thick glue.

And in the next second, an illusory jade-colored pair of scissors, swung from nowhere, would appear out of thin air and cleanly sever that person's head!

At this moment, standing at the very front of this trembling group of Imperial Guards were three imposing figures.

All three were fully armed, their bodies radiating the formidable vital energy belonging to peak Tier 5 Ability Users.

The person on the left wore a brocade python robe and held a pure gold coiled-dragon staff; he was a top expert from the Imperial Chaplain Pavilion.

The two on the right were the Imperial Guard Commander and his deputy, clad in heavy black iron armor with sabers hanging at their waists.

The three stood in a row, their vital energy soaring to the heavens; the mere shockwaves they emitted forced the soldiers behind them to retreat repeatedly.

Yet, these three seemingly awe-inspiring big shots were currently standing outside that death boundary line, staring at each other with wide eyes, neither of them having any intention of taking even half a step forward.

"Ahem."

The Imperial Chaplain cleared his throat, turned his head to look at the Imperial Guard Commander on his left, and tried to make his voice sound more dignified:

"Commander Wang, the new Emperor has issued a strict order: the Princesss Mansion must be taken before sunset today."

"As the Imperial Guard Commander, with heavy troops in your hands, if you don't lead the charge now, when will you?"

Commander Wang's mouth twitched fiercely, and his heavy armor emitted a sound of friction.

He sneered, his fingers gripping the saber hilt turning white from excessive force: "Chaplain, you jest. With my meager skills, how could I dare to make a fool of myself in front of you?"

"Your cultivation and strength are the highest here, Chaplain, so you should naturally lead the charge. I will lead my brothers to provide support from behind!"

"Bullshit!"

The Imperial Chaplain's face twitched, and he cursed out loud:

"Do you take me for a fool? Yesterday, two of my junior brothers rushed in, and without even making a splash, they were chopped into two pieces by that girl with a single snip! Their corpses are still hanging on that threshold, eyes still wide open!"

"These old bones of mine cannot withstand the cutting of the Time Law!"

The deputy commander beside them swallowed a mouthful of saliva, cold sweat dripping from his forehead:

"My lords, please stop arguing."

"The Fourth Princess's Innate Divine Ability is truly wicked. As soon as you get close, time is forcibly slowed down. We have all this peak Tier 5 strength, but it's useless if we can't hit anyone!"

The three of them bickered and pushed the responsibility onto each other, yet not a single one dared to be the first to stick their neck out.

Everyone here was an old fox; nobody needed to talk to anyone about loyalty to the country.

Although The Fourth Princess was trapped, those Time Scissors were an unreasonable meat grinder.

Whoever rushed in first would have to pay with their life to fill that chasm of time!

"However..."

Commander Wang narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at the crumbling gate of the Princesss Mansion, a glint of sinister calculation flashing in his eyes:

"Although her time ability is invincible, the spiritual energy and vital energy it consumes must be astronomical."

"She is just a pampered princess. After being worn down by our thirty thousand troops in rotation for two days and two nights, I don't believe she is made of iron!"

The Imperial Chaplain nodded in deep agreement: "That's right. It's just a trapped beast struggling. We will just wear her out here, filling the gap with human lives! Once her spiritual energy is completely exhausted, and she doesn't even have the strength to summon the Time Scissors, we will go in and close the net!"

Having made up their minds, the three exchanged glances, reaching a shameless tacit understanding.

Commander Wang suddenly drew his long saber, pointed the blade forward, and turned to shout at the pale-faced soldiers behind him:

"Pass on my orders!"

"All of you, charge in and capture the traitor! Anyone who retreats will be beheaded on the spot according to military law!"

"Charge!!!"

Military orders were like mountains.

The rear supervision team immediately drew their gleaming sabers and held them against the necks of the soldiers in the front row.

Those ordinary soldiers had deep despair in their eyes, but they could only grit their teeth, raise their spears and shields, let out a shrill battle cry, and brace themselves as they charged toward that dozen-meter-wide death zone.

"Boom!"

The moment the first batch of soldiers crossed the boundary line, golden ripples surged in the air once again.

Miserable screams rang out one after another, and fresh blood once again dyed the front gate of the Princesss Mansion red.

...

Meanwhile, while the outside world was filled with sky-shaking battle cries and was like a purgatory.

In the deepest part of the Princesss Mansion, inside an airtight inner hall.

The doors and windows of the hall were tightly shut, and the faint candlelight flickered unsteadily.

The Fourth Princess, who used to love wearing light pink fairy dresses and whose eyes would curve into crescents when she smiled, was now sitting slumped on the ground, her back against a cold, red-lacquered pillar.

The hem of her dress had long since been stained by blood and dust, making its original color unrecognizable, and there were several jarring bloodstains on her fair cheeks.

She was panting heavily, her chest heaving violently, and those once clear and innocent big eyes were now filled with weary bloodshot veins.

Two days and two nights.

From learning of the Emperor's passing and the Crown Prince's usurpation of power, to the army bearing down and her mansion guards being wiped out.

She had single-handedly managed to hold up this crumbling mansion.

"Your Highness, those Imperial Guards outside are about to launch another charge!"

An aged but vigorous voice rang out in the inner hall.

The speaker was an old nanny from The Fourth Princess's mansion.

She was wearing a dark gray martial outfit, holding a dragon-headed cane made of refined steel, and her body radiated the formidable aura of a peak Tier 5 expert.

Nanny Zhao.

She was one of the secret guards most trusted by the late Emperor during his lifetime, later specially bestowed upon The Fourth Princess to serve as her personal bodyguard.

For these past two days, it was precisely she who, in coordination with The Fourth Princess's Time Scissors, had repelled several waves of assassins attempting to scale the walls in the inner courtyard.

Nanny Zhao walked to The Fourth Princess's side, her aged face full of concern and anxiety:

"Your Highness, your complexion is terrible right now."

"Leave that pack of jackals outside to me! Even if I have to risk this old life of mine, I will hold off this round of attacks for you. Close your eyes quickly and take this time to rest for a while!"