The girl traveled through another world and forced the prince to take the imperial examination

The gunpowder failed to explode as intended.

Just as Yun Qing's elite troops stealthily reached the "Path to Heaven" pass and were about to ignite the fuse, the heavy gate of the Holy Domain suddenly opened.

It wasn't the garrison attacking—what poured out of the gate were hundreds of terrified civilians, mostly women, children, and infants. They were driven like lambs to the slaughter, serving as human shields and blocking the narrow mountain path.

Countless arrows shot out from the city walls, and a Holy Guardian stood behind the people, shouting loudly:

"Back off! Back off! Or we'll make them pay with their lives!" The savage laughter of the defending general echoed from the city wall.

Yun Qing's Black Armor Army and Pei Jingyuan's Chu Family Army were both seasoned warriors, yet none of them dared to wield their swords against the innocent.

In that critical moment of stagnation, the mechanisms inside the arrow slits on the city tower rang out in quick succession, and poisoned crossbow bolts rained down like a storm, instantly turning several black-armored guards in the front row into pincushions!

"Raise your shield—!" Pei Jingyuan's eyes were bloodshot.

Immediately afterwards, logs and boulders were thrown down from the city wall, crashing down the mountainside with a deafening roar. The civilians who had been driven out became the first victims; many were instantly smashed to pieces, while the remaining civilians clung to the city wall in terror or hid on both sides of the mountain path.

however……

The deafening shouts of battle shattered the night, and flames suddenly ignited from below the mountain path, illuminating a group of menacingly armored figures. The newcomer was none other than Cang Xu!

After he was seriously injured by Mingyuan and fled, he brought with him the remnants of the manor and his long-trained private army. While Yun Qing was attacking the mountain with all his might, he came to flank them from the rear!

"Xuanyuan Yunqing! Today is your burial ground!" Cang Xu raised his longsword high, his face filled with desperate madness. "There's no way forward, and pursuers are behind you. You're doomed! Kill them all!"

In an instant, Yun Qing's troops were caught in a pincer attack, trapped on a treacherous mountain path only a few dozen feet wide. Arrows rained down overhead, logs and rocks crashed down beneath their feet, and Cang Xu's cavalry had already cut into their rear like a wedge.

In an instant, corpses littered the field!

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and they were on the verge of despair.

"Oh no! The private soldiers that Emperor Yong'an kept on Black Reef Island have arrived!"

Yun Qing nodded, her expression calm, and said, "It must have been the fire on the island that attracted them here!"

A flicker of panic crossed Pei Jingyuan's eyes, but he quickly concealed it, and said in a firm and resolute voice, "Your Highness, there's no need to worry. They only number five thousand..."

However, only he knew in his heart that these five thousand men were elite soldiers and the last line of defense for Emperor Yong'an. He originally wanted to quietly eliminate the Holy Domain and then go back to kill these people, but unfortunately, things did not go as planned!

"Mo Yu." Yun Qing's voice was eerily calm.

“Here!” Covered in blood, Mo Yu slashed down an enemy soldier and rushed to Yun Qing’s side.

"Take men and intercept the rear—Leave Cangxu's life to me."

"Yes!" Mo Yu did not hesitate. He turned around and led a group of people to form a thin black human wall, which tried their best to block Cang Xu's army and temporarily gave the mountain road a chance to catch its breath.

Pei Jingyuan, his silver armor stained with blood, desperately deflected a stray arrow and cried out urgently, "Your Highness! If we can't break through the enemy lines soon, we'll lose everything..."

Mo Yu in the rear can't hold out for much longer either. Time is running out. What should we do?

Yun Qing remained motionless. He stood in the middle, able to see the crying women and children in front of him, hear the screams of his brothers behind him, look at the triumphant shouts of the guards on the city wall, and see the determined face of Cang Xu down the mountain.

He suddenly gave a very soft laugh.

"Your Highness, what should we do?..."

Yun Qing did not answer.

He bent down and picked up the six dark iron balls tied together on the ground—the gunpowder used for attacking the goal, which he hadn't yet thrown.

Pei Jingyuan was taken aback at first, but then he instantly understood his intention and turned pale with fright.

Yun Qing looked up at the city wall, her gaze like a cold arrow piercing through all the fog, aimed directly at the position of the guard.

"My lightness skill is not bad, I'll personally escort it up and see if I can open the gate!"

"...Your Highness! No!" He tried to snatch the explosives from Yun Qing's hand, but Yun Qing was much faster than him.

A dark figure flashed past Pei Jingyuan, its form as elusive as a ghost, skimming along the rock face! It narrowly avoided the dense rain of arrows and rolling stones. Yun Qing leaped left and right, as agile as a swallow. Fortunately, he was dressed in black, and it was nighttime, so he wasn't spotted by the guards on the city wall.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he arrived at the city wall where the group of women and children were hiding, and then rushed toward the tightly closed giant gate at an extremely fast speed!

Yun Qing glanced at her surroundings. The smooth stone walls didn't even have a crack, and the giant gate in front of her was four or five zhang high, making it really difficult to climb up.

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Quickly cover His Highness..." Pei Jingyuan roared in horror, while he took the initiative to draw fire.

An arrow nearly grazed Yun Qing's body, and a rolling boulder smashed a deep crater behind him. He pressed himself against the stone wall, lit the fuse of an iron ball, and hurled it high into the air. The ball landed on the city wall!

"Quick! Cover your ears and lie down!..." Yun Qing shouted to the ordinary people.

Then the second...the third...the iron balls were thrown into the sky and then fell back down.

*Swoosh*—a flash of sparks.

Rumble, rumble—!!!

A deafening roar shook the earth! Dazzling flames illuminated half the sky, and debris mixed with the remains of the defenders shot into the air and then fell back down!

Almost at the same instant the explosion rang out, Yun Qing used the blast wave to throw herself to the ground, rolling away to avoid most of the debris. However, she was still shaken, blood trickling from her mouth and nose, and her ears were ringing!

"It's still that voice... No wonder it's my Nuan Nuan!" Yun Qing wiped the blood from her nose and smiled.

The gunpowder-filled iron ball was so powerful that it caused a section of the city wall to collapse, and the crossbow formation on the city tower collapsed instantly!

Yun Qing threw several more iron balls toward the breach, and with a series of loud booms, a gap was finally blasted open in the city wall.

"The breach has been created—quick—charge in!"

Yun Qing was deaf at the moment. He shouted loudly, but he couldn't hear anything.

Behind him, a deafening roar of charging suddenly erupted.

Pei Jingyuan was the first to rush to him, supporting the swaying Yun Qing with one hand.

"Your Highness, how are you?..." He was truly shocked and frightened by Yun Qing's reckless bravery today. What if something really happened to him?

However, he was also stunned by Yun Qing's comeback!

"Your Highness, rest assured, I'll take care of the rest of the journey. You should rest here!" After saying that, he summoned Pei Yanji (Mo Xue), who was charging in, and asked him to stay and accompany Yun Qing.

The gates of the Sanctuary have been opened, but the real dangers have only just begun. Countless traps and poisons await them inside!

Mo Yu led his men like sharp knives, piercing into Cang Xu's chaotic formation, while Pei Jingyuan, with the main force, charged towards the fatal gap, stepping through the still swirling smoke and rubble!

The city gate commander looked pale as he watched the enemy troops surging in like a tide below, then looked at the swaying yet still upright figure on the mountain path.

Cang Xu's maniacal laughter froze on his face, turning into disbelief and rage.

In a desperate situation, Yun Qing used herself as bait, and what she blew open was not the city gate, but the entire seemingly impregnable deadly trap.

The counterattack has only just begun.