Wuqiu immediately took one and handed one to Shidong, and the bodies crushed by fear and despair once again surged with strength. The little girl, seeing they all knew what to do, walked towards the Masked Mansion Soldiers, loudly shouting, "If you get back up after being defeated by me, your only option is to die."

"Brat, don’t be arrogant. Let me, Tong Lei, deal with you!"

A Team Leader charged towards the little girl on horseback, seemingly possessing a Rare Token that allowed his mount to reach maximum speed instantly. In just five or six steps, his mount had already accelerated to full gallop, as if it could crush everything ahead!

Seeing that the crossbow arrow couldn’t harm the little girl, Team Leader Tong Lei naturally realized she was a messenger with a defensive token, therefore he held nothing back, the long spear in his right hand ready to strike. Even if the little girl dodged, he would pierce her with the spear!

The Mansion Soldiers rode tall, mighty horses, making them nearly nine feet high. Adding their armor-clad horses and riders into the equation, their charge was like that of a chariot; by comparison, the little girl’s body was so frail, her longsword, nearly as tall as her, seemed like little more than a toothpick.

Faced with such a ferocious onslaught, the little girl not only didn’t dodge but confronted it head-on. But with a defensive token, she wouldn’t be crushed into mincemeat, at most she would be knocked away... Wuqiu and Shidong squinted their eyes, unable to watch the little girl meet her end, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Whoosh!

In the moment before collision, the little girl suddenly jumped up. The longsword slashed through like a hot knife through butter, instantly slicing the warhorse, armor and all, sending it flying even before the sword stroke ended, and with precise aim, she slashed at Team Leader Tong Lei’s neck, tossing him off the horse and slamming him heavily to the ground!

But for the Face Covering Armor token, that strike would have been enough to decapitate Tong Lei! Yet even so, he was extremely uncomfortable, his head spinning, as vomit flowed out from the openings of his armor.

No one was aware of his condition, all the Mansion Soldiers fixated on the blue-glowing longsword in the little girl’s hand, eyes filled with greed and fear.

"A Rare Token!"

"It can cut through Fine Iron Armor in a single stroke, could it be the power of a Rare Longsword?"

"How can someone so young be a messenger? Is she not a child at all, but a dwarf?"

The Mansion Soldiers’ attention was absorbed by the Rare Longsword, while the expressions of Pharmacist’s Wish and Helan Que in the battle changed subtly, one with ecstasy, the other with gravity.

Though not distracted by observation, they instantly recognized the little girl’s true strength: a Second-Turn Messenger!

The intensity of qi blood she just unleashed was definitely at the Second-Turn level, and with her defensive token and Rare Longsword, even the two Second-Transformation Tooth Generals that came with Helan Que might not be her match!

Indeed it was true, facing encircled by the Mansion Soldiers from all directions, the little girl displayed mature combat skills entirely unlike her apparent age. Already small in striking area, and further skilled in evasion, the Mansion Soldiers struggled to attack her, yet she moved effortlessly through them, slicing through soldiers and horses alike.

Ears filled with the sounds of battle, eyes witnessing a chaotic storm of blood and iron as the soldiers and warhorses tangled in chaos, the two maids followed the little girl, occasionally spattered with scalding hot blood.

Moreover, the little girl didn’t neglect them at all. Whenever Mansion Soldiers dared to attack them, the blue glow on her longsword would blaze fiercely, her speed so fast that only afterimages could be seen, piercing the throats of the Mansion Soldiers, cleaving through the Face Covering Armor token.

"Impossible, how can the Face Covering Armor not withstand..."

"A Second-Turn, she’s a Second-Turn Messenger! And her longsword is a Second-Transformation Rare!"

In a mere dozen steps, a dozen headless warhorse corpses lay fallen, the hot horse blood soaking into the dirt road. Wuqiu and Shidong walked on, like navigating a deep crimson carpet, still feeling as if in a dream as they watched the little girl carve a path of blood ahead. They even began to suspect the little girl might be a avatar of Buddha or Bodhisattva, for it was difficult to understand how she could be so young and so powerful.

The Mansion Soldiers rode ahead, preparing to engage at range with their steel crossbows.

The warhorses, driven by fear, dared not approach the little girl, and neither did they.

The little girl kept her word; any soldier who dared to rise and continue fighting was met with a throat-piercing strike, their blood splattering from the Face Covering Armor, bubbles of blood emerging from its openings. They were called Mansion Soldiers and Team Leaders, but away from the Military Town, with only a token or two of the most ordinary First-Turn, how could they contend with a Second-Turn Messenger?

The two Tooth Generals hesitated at the periphery, their horses slain earlier, making any attempt to engage the little girl invite certain impalement.

As personal guards to Duke Heyang, their defensive tokens were rare level, but could they withstand a Second-Transformation Rare Longsword’s assault? They weren’t sure, and considered using crossbows to deplete the little girl’s spiritual power as safer.

However, although they stayed away, the little girl had her own means. She led Wuqiu and Shidong into the nearby woods, cutting a path through the dense underbrush with her sword.

The Tooth Generals realized the situation turning unfavorable; once within the underbrush, the girls could crouch and hide with the woodland as cover unless the Mansion Soldiers followed them in, outside visibility was nil! But who dared confront the little girl’s piercing strike?

"Are you idiots? Cut the legs off those two maids!" Helan Que took a moment to survey the situation on their side, and seeing such crucial bait about to be rescued, he was furious, roaring a reprimand, but the next second was struck back by Pharmacist’s Wish.

The Tooth General actually had this idea too, but did not dare to act rashly. If the maids bled to death, it would be tantamount to defying Helan Que’s orders. Now with the command, there was no more hesitation, and he directed the Mansion Soldiers to separate and form multiple shooting sequences, aiming to shoot at the maids’ legs from various directions.

With the strength of a First-Turn Messenger’s Qi Blood, the speed at which the Mansion Soldiers nocked their crossbows was quite fast. At this moment, it indeed made the young girl exhausted, leaving her with no choice but to keep blocking the crossbow arrows, causing the speed of clearing the bushes to slow down considerably.

The young girl and the maids seemed to be held back like this, but Helan Que knew this hunt was already on the verge of failure: crossbow arrows were limited! The Masked Mansion Soldiers would not, and need not, carry too many crossbow arrows; their regular equipment consisted of two bags of arrows, totaling twenty bolts.

Could these arrows really exhaust the young girl’s spiritual power?

Helan Que wasn’t sure, nor did he dare to bet, because he realized he couldn’t bear the consequences of the hunt failing!

Even though Helan Que had always overestimated Pharmacist’s Wish, he found that he still underestimated this unassuming daughter of Duke Jin. This year he was already forty-nine years old, nearly thirty years older than Pharmacist’s Wish, yet their combat skills were on par, as if he had lived all these years in vain. If not for the advantage of rare tokens and Qi Blood, he wouldn’t even be confident in capturing Pharmacist’s Wish!

If Pharmacist’s Wish were to escape and become a formidable figure of the Demon Dao, right from the start reaching the Third-Turn, and after years of struggle accumulating strength, the possibility of establishing the Foundation without a Foundation Establishment Pill wasn’t impossible. Though resources of the Demon Dao are scarce and competition fierce, the thought of having such an enemy was enough to keep the Helan Family sleepless at night!

Pharmacist’s Wish must be resolved!

Helan Que made up his mind and suddenly exited the battle circle, giving orders: "Dong Cai, Li Gu, you take people to hold off Pharmacist’s Wish, I will deal with this young girl who doesn’t know her limits!"

Are we going to deal with the Third-Turn Messenger? And a Third-Turn who is cornered and near madness?

Dong Cai and Li Gu knew this was a task destined for death, but Helan Que was their benefactor; without Helan Que, how could they have become high-ranking Second-Transformation Tooth Generals? They had no choice but to take the task through gritted teeth.

"Helan Que, you ungrateful beast who married your nephew’s mother, are you fleeing in defeat!?" Pharmacist’s Wish shouted angrily from behind, trying to break through the Mansion Soldiers’ encirclement. But with two determined Tooth Generals at the forefront, Pharmacist’s Wish was entangled for a moment.

Helan Que paid no heed, just as Pharmacist’s Wish would not be provoked by words, so did he not care. He focused on the young girl among the bushes, searching his mind to ensure he hadn’t met her, noting her clothing not resembling the style of the Zhou Kingdom but more like those from the Liang Kingdom.

Who exactly was she? How could she be so young yet possess such strength? What would be the consequences of killing her?

Many thoughts flashed through Helan Que’s mind, yet he hesitated not at all in action; he gripped the long spear firmly, its shaft glowing gold, revealing it to be an Exquisite Long Spear of the Third-Transformation!

With the Helan Family and Duke Wei’s Chu Luoyan on the opposing side, Pharmacist’s Wish had become a nemesis, and if this person had a profound background, there was even more reason not to let her associate with Pharmacist’s Wish!

Only to see Helan Que take a deep breath, muscles appearing like centipedes on his shoulders, arms, and back, his qi and blood boiling, evidently unleashing a Secret Technique that greatly consumed life force!

Secret Technique · Forest of Spears!

The long spear shot out countless spear shadows, pressing towards the young girl like a forest of spears! Helan Que chose this move not just because of its high damage, but because of its large range. If the young girl dodged, he could smoothly attack the two maids behind her.

However, the young girl did not dodge. She gripped her longsword and charged forward, evidently intending to face the full-force strike of the Third-Turn Messenger head-on!

Upon witnessing this scene, Pharmacist’s Wish felt a chill in her heart. From the earlier clashes, she knew Helan Que’s strength. If Helan Que were to fully unleash the power of the Exquisite Long Spear with a Secret Technique, even she could only avoid the sharp edge. As a top-tier Third-Turn of the Zhou Kingdom, Helan Que’s full-force strike was already very close to the Foundation Establishment level.

Even if the young girl’s defensive token could withstand this strike, how much spiritual power would she have left for the ensuing battle?

In the end, it’s still my own incompetence. If only I had the Heaven-Swaying Sword... if only I had performed better that night... if only I...

Zheng!

With a sharp, metallic sound, Helan Que suddenly withdrew from the bushes, his face filled with incredulity. When Pharmacist’s Wish and the other Mansion Soldiers looked over, almost everyone froze, their gaze all focused on the young girl’s hands.

More precisely, on the pair of legendary gloves she wore, glowing orange, engraved with ancient and noble designs.

"Legendary Gloves." Helan Que tightly gripped the long spear, his palms painfully strained: "Who exactly are you?"

"The Female Knight."

After so many words, after so many people had died, leaving so many corpses behind, they finally learned the young girl’s name:

"I am the Rabbit Heroine."