Ms. Diviner: The Prodigal Daughter's Return Chapter 1427: Are You Courting Death?

"Beining Pass can hold out! Just a bit longer, and we will survive." The Fifth Prince’s will to survive surged anew as he swung his half-shattered sword at the encroaching Exotic Beast...

Mu Hanyan also observed the young figure atop the Beining Pass city wall. Though stained with blood and staggering from exhaustion, his gaze remained resolute, and the broken sword in his grasp still wielded a formidable ferocity.

It appeared that not only Qu Fengting had undergone a transformation, but he had as well. A smile of quiet satisfaction touched Mu Hanyan’s lips.

To safeguard both Beining Pass and him, she absolutely refused to let him perish here; Mu Hanyan resolved with unwavering determination.

"Mu Hanyan, I offer you one final opportunity. If you merely…" Dan Tai Xuan addressed Mu Hanyan.

He perceived the dire state of Beining Pass, far more severe than Qingyang Pass. Despite the intense conflict, thousands of Exotic Beasts relentlessly assaulted the defenses. Half of these possessed martial prowess equivalent to a Sword Master, with some even reaching the Great Sword Master Realm. While Mu Hanyan, Huayue, and a select few demonstrated exceptional skills against these formidable foes, the rest clearly lacked the capacity, and their numbers were vastly outnumbered by the beasts. Without their combined might, rescuing Beining Pass seemed an insurmountable task.

This time, he felt assured that Mu Hanyan would not refuse his terms.

"Charge!" Regrettably, his calculations were once again flawed. Mu Hanyan acted as if his words were unheard, drawing the Cold Sky Sword and initiating a fierce assault.

Dan Tai Xuan was left speechless, his unspoken words receding as he swallowed them back with a grim expression.

"Attack! Annihilate these beasts for me," Dan Tai Xuan bellowed in vexation, leading the young elite forces from the Five Great Families towards Qingyang Pass.

The moment their engagement commenced, Dan Tai Xuan discovered that the Exotic Beasts attacking Qingyang Pass were far from the weakened state he had anticipated. They had previously been restrained, conserving their full strength while holding back the pass’s defenders.

Witnessing the offensive, the formerly lethargic Exotic Beasts unveiled menacing visages, unleashing furious roars as they surged forward.

Two formidable waves collided with savage intensity.

"Ah…" A cascade of screams erupted as, within a single clash, over a dozen young nobles were cut down, falling into pools of blood, their familial origins lost in the chaos.

Following this, Dan Tai Xuan, alongside more than a hundred Holy Court elites and over a thousand young nobles, found themselves plunged into a brutal and desperate struggle.

It was only then that they grasped the sheer savagery of the battle that had unfolded beneath Lu’an City prior to their arrival. The Exotic Beasts they had previously vanquished were merely remnants, exhausted forces incapable of matching the prime combat strength of these current adversaries.

The Exotic Beasts confronting them, while not overtly exceptional in appearance, had sustained minimal prior injuries. Their inherent ferocity, coupled with robust defenses, amplified their combat capabilities exponentially.

Fortunately, Dan Tai Xuan and his retinue of over a hundred subordinates, as well as the young nobles from the various distinguished families, represented the cream of Anyun’s younger generation. Not only were their martial skills honed, but their longswords were superior artifacts, with some even wielding magical treasures that augmented either their defense or offense.

After an initial onslaught, hundreds of Exotic Beasts lay slain by their blades, yet the cost was steep, with over a hundred lives lost on the spot.

"Lord Tantai, these Exotic Beasts are overwhelmingly powerful. Perhaps we should… consider a temporary retreat?" Mo Yanhong, already drained and lacking true combat experience, trembled in sheer terror, having never witnessed such an onslaught.

"Have you forgotten the purpose of your mission to Lu’an City? Should you retreat now, how will you ever face your family?" Dan Tai Xuan rebuked him with evident disdain.

Truth be told, observing the formidable nature of these Exotic Beasts, Dan Tai Xuan himself harbored thoughts of strategic withdrawal to evade their relentless assault. However, retreat was not an option; Mo Yanhong and the others were bound by their families’ directives in Lu’an City. As a Holy Court Steward, he too bore significant responsibilities. A retreat under these circumstances would be indefensible before the Holy Court.

"Fight! Persist and annihilate them all!" Dan Tai Xuan gritted his teeth, brandishing his longsword and shouting with stern resolve.

Yet, the morale of the young nobles under his command had already been shattered following the events in Fengchi City. Any flicker of confidence they had managed to regain in Lu’an City was now utterly extinguished by the ferocity and might of the Exotic Beasts before them. Each individual was consumed by fear, prioritizing their own survival above all else, resembling a scattered pile of sand, utterly incapable of cohering into a force that could withstand the savage onslaught of the Exotic Beasts.

With another fierce assault, a multitude of young nobles were now swimming in crimson pools, their lives extinguished permanently. The remaining warriors, their spirits crushed, began a silent, strategic withdrawal.

Dan Tai Xuan's despondency deepened with every passing moment. Despite the unwavering resolve of his hundred-plus Holy Court elites, their diminished numbers rendered them insufficient to turn the tide of the ongoing conflict. Should this grim situation persist, their only options were a humiliating retreat or annihilation by the ravenous Exotic Beasts.

If their formidable contingent of over a thousand faced such dire straits, how much more perilous must Mu Hanyan's predicament be, commanding a mere few hundred and lacking a decisive strength advantage? A sudden realization struck Dan Tai Xuan, prompting him to instinctively cast his gaze towards Beining Pass.

What greeted his eyes left him gaping in utter disbelief.

Beneath the formidable walls of Beining Pass, Mu Hanyan and her contingency had launched a daring rear assault. This maneuver unexpectedly provoked a colossal Angry Dragon Beast, which broke from the horde and charged with furious abandon directly at them, with Mu Hanyan positioned at the very forefront of its path.

This formidable creature, standing several meters tall and possessing immense physical power equivalent to a human Great Sword Master, instilled a palpable sense of dread even from a distance within Dan Tai Xuan.

Not far off, Luo Pengcheng, the esteemed City Lord of Lu’an City, who had arrived promptly to offer aid, was equally astonished. He had never anticipated the presence of such a staggeringly powerful entity amidst the ranks of Exotic Beasts threatening Beining Pass.

Drawing upon his extensive combat experience, he knew that confronting a beast of this caliber required the combined might of several heavily armored Sword Masters acting in concert to merely contain it. Regrettably, their late arrival precluded any possibility of such a coordinated defense.

As he watched the Angry Dragon Beast hurtle towards Mu Hanyan's beleaguered group, Luo Pengcheng found himself drenched in a cold sweat of apprehension.

His strategic hope rested on Mu Hanyan's forces successfully securing Beining Pass, thereby enabling a unified defense of Dead Ningluo City. The potential demise of Mu Hanyan before this crucial victory would undoubtedly shatter the morale of all involved, casting serious doubt on their ability to salvage Beining Pass at all.

"Star Fall, Eight Desolates!" Amidst Luo Pengcheng's mounting anxiety, Mu Hanyan’s clear, resonant voice cut through the chaos. With a powerful leap, she ascended into the air, her sword poised to strike the charging Angry Dragon Beast.

Astonishingly, two other figures surged forward, positioning themselves ahead of her.

"What are they doing, seeking their own demise? If you wish to perish, there are far less foolish ways to achieve it." Luo Pengcheng, whose life had been dedicated to the defense of Lu’an City and who bore the scars of countless battles, had never before witnessed such audacious, seemingly suicidal, recklessness.