Chapter 2786: Assault Chapter 2786: Assault Prince Zhenjin was of lofty stature. There was no lack of experts protecting him. The de facto leader of his entourage of experts was a Western Xia monk named Yang Lianzhenjia. He'd defected to Mongolia after Mongolia conquered Western Xia. He was a prodigy in Buddhist studies and martial arts. He was from Esoteric Buddhism, but he belonged to a different school than the Red Sun Reverend. He didn’t bother vying over the position of Esoteric Buddhism’s number one expert with the Red Sun Reverend, for he was already known as the Southern Desert’s number one expert. As such, he had the highest position among the experts protecting Prince Zhenjin. That was also why he could address the prince in a casual tone as if they were friends. He hadn’t made a move despite Firework’s incredible show of power, as he knew his primary mission was to protect Prince Zhenjin. He was initially unfazed when another figure suddenly charged out of nowhere at the prince. He thought that it was ridiculous enough for a woman so young to be so skilled in martial arts—there couldn’t be a second one in this world—but his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets the next moment. That figure easily subdued all the Mongol soldiers standing in his path, arriving before Prince Zhenjin in the blink of an eye. Yang Lianzhenjia couldn’t remain still anymore. He thrust his palm forth to jolt the figure aside. To his astonishment, however, the figure easily neutralized his palm strike. Then, a bizarre force hurled him backward, causing him to crash into the Mongol soldiers rushing in to reinforce them. The figure continued charging at Prince Zhenjin. Alarmed, Yang Lianzhenjia shouted, “Master of the Vajra School, protect His Highness!” “Alright!” An unseemly monk stepped forward to protect Prince Zhenjin. He formed a simple palm seal that caused his body to glow with a golden light. The figure seeking to reach Prince Zhenjin was Zu An. He couldn’t stop Firework from making a move, so he could only sneak into the midst of the Mongol soldiers while she was distracting the others. As soon as a chance emerged, he hadn’t hesitated to make a move. While he didn’t agree with Firework’s recklessness, he had the same idea in mind. As long as they could hold Prince Zhenjin hostage, they could disregard the dangerous Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber Plan. Everything proceeded smoothly. He barged through the Mongol soldiers before they had time to react. He successfully launched a sneak attack against the lama protecting Prince Zhenjin, knocking the latter aside. He also didn’t think the monk with discolored patches on his head could stand in his way. With his prowess, he should have been able to send the monk flying within a couple of moves. But much to his surprise, the monk was unfazed by his attacks. It was as if he were a mountain that couldn’t be moved. He was referred to as the Master of the Vajra School earlier. Could it be the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art? Zu An finally realized he had made a miscalculation, but it was all too late. Yang Lianzhenjia had already recovered from the earlier shove and was rushing in with other experts to protect Prince Zhenjin. This left Zu An with no choice but to retreat to Firework’s side. “You waited so long just for this farce?” Firework scoffed. Zu An replied bitterly, “I missed my chance. I didn’t expect there to be such a hardy guy beside the prince.” It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to overcome the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art if he could do it all over again, but everything had happened so quickly earlier that he had no time to react. Clearly, the Mongols wouldn’t slip up a second time either. A Mongol soldier whispered into Prince Zhenjin’s ear. The prince was startled. “You’re the Guo third master. The Golden Saber Prince Consort is amazing indeed. His children are all top-notch martial artists.” Even the Red Sun Reverend remarked, “I doubt that Guo Jing and the so-called Five Greats are any stronger than these two.” The others knew that the Red Sun Reverend was merely salvaging his reputation, but they had to agree with him. Several of them had met Guo Jing, and they agreed with those words. It was baffling to them how two youngsters could be so strong. Prince Zhenjin continued, “I’ve treated you with courtesy. Don’t you think you should return the etiquette?” Zu An sighed. “Pleasantries are meaningless when our paths diverge.” Defecting to the Mongols can’t possibly be the way to clear this trial. “Very well, I won’t hold back either. Once I hold you two hostage, breaching Xiangyang won’t be a problem.” Prince Zhenjin’s eyes heated up. Xiangyang was the biggest hurdle standing in the Mongol campaign against the Song. If he could contribute toward that, he would have a much greater stake on the throne. “I’ll confer on anyone who captures those two the title of Mongolia’s Number One Hero!” The eyes of the Mongol soldiers lit up. Zu An and Firework were powerful, but even ferocious tigers feared wolf packs. Not to mention they had powerful experts on their side as well. There was no need to fear these two. Mongolia was well on its way to conquering the world. Claiming the title of Mongolia’s Number One Hero would grant tremendous honor and riches not just for them, but also for their next few generations to come. Even the Quanzhen Sect’s disciples were revved up. This was an opportunity for them to revitalize the Quanzhen Sect. Sensing the ravenous gazes, Zu An and Firework pressed their backs against each other. “Shall we break out of the encirclement?” They had the upper hand in solo duels, but the Mongols had them far outnumbered. They had only been able to hold their ground thus far because they caught the Mongols by surprise, but now that they were encircled, the situation had become very difficult for them. Needless to say, the Mongols wouldn’t grant them a second chance to approach Prince Zhenjin. On top of that, Firework had greatly depleted her inner energy from the earlier fight. As powerful as Zu An and Firework were, they were constrained by this trial world’s laws. “You stall the others. Give me ten seconds to kill him before we leave.” Firework eyed the Red Sun Reverend with cold eyes. How dare a mere ant covet my body? Zu An understood her temperament. “Alright.” He charged at Prince Zhenjin. Unsurprisingly, most experts rushed to stop him. The more they fought, the more alarmed the experts became. Since they had the numerical advantage and at least five of them had inner energy on par with the two assailants, they initially thought they could subdue Zu An with ease, yet they struggled to breach his defense! The way Zu An channeled his inner energy and moved was shockingly ingenious. Meanwhile, Firework found an opening to charge at the Red Sun Reverend. After witnessing Daoist Bai Sun injuring Firework earlier, the Red Sun Reverend had regained his composure. This woman is nowhere as powerful as I thought. Our inner energy is on the same level; she only has the advantage in terms of moves. So, he decided to leverage his strengths and abandon the battle of skill for one of inner energy, knowing Firework wouldn’t dare to face him like that. Otherwise, she could be stuck in place and left vulnerable, to the extent that even a simple Mongol soldier could claim her life. But his eyes soon narrowed. Much to his astonishment, Firework decided to face his palm. “You’re courting death!” The Red Sun Reverend felt slighted. Does she think she can defeat me instantly in a clash of inner energy? She has greatly exhausted herself; I have no need to fear her. Others will tear her apart if I can just stall her for even a moment. As they met palms, the Red Sun Reverend poured out all his inner energy right from the start, hoping to catch Firework off guard and inflict severe injuries on her right away. To his surprise, however, Firework’s palm felt soft like cotton; there was no force whatsoever. The next second, he felt a tremendous force rebounding onto him. It contained not just Firework’s inner energy, but the inner energy he'd unleashed earlier as well. How did she do it?! The Red Sun Reverend was horrified. He quickly used his Death Seal to retreat from the clash, but it was all too late. The terrifying force tore through his veins, causing him to die on the spot. Zu An was awed. As expected of Firework. She really only took ten breaths to execute a top expert whose inner energy was on her level. But his eyes quickly narrowed. A Mongol soldier suddenly emerged from the crowd and unleashed a palm strike on Firework’s back just as she was inflicting the killing blow on the Red Sun Reverend. The impeccable timing and the immense force of the attack made it clear he was no ordinary Mongol soldier. He was an expert on par with the other Mongol experts. Zu An had never expected the enemy to copy his maneuver. It was unbelievable how neither Zu An nor Firework noticed the anomaly until that Mongol soldier made a move. The other party must have been a top-notch assassin who had been lying in wait all this time. Firework realized what was going on, but the limitations imposed on her made it impossible for her to dodge this attack. She spurted fresh blood and crashed forward.