Based on his current speed, the b.u.t.terflies would catch up in another 15 minutes.

"How much longer?" Ren Baqian shouted.

"The mountain ahead!" the leading winged cavalry warrior said as he rode his jumping goat. All of the winged cavalry warriors here were from the earliest batch and were riding jumping goats.

When Ren Baqian looked ahead, all he saw was a vague silhouette in the darkness.

He completely couldn't tell the distance.

However, what he knew for sure was that the closer it seemed, the further it was.

This was especially the case when they were being pursued.

A sudden cry was heard from behind. A jumping goat got its hooves stuck inside the crevice of a rock and immediately fell over. The winged cavalry warrior that was riding it spun in the air and adjusted his posture before landing.

Another warrior stretched out their arm, grabbed him, and swung him onto his mount

Now with one more person, the jumping goat immediately slowed down.

Upon seeing this, the warrior who had just fallen chose to jump back to the ground and continued running on his own.

A winged cavalry warrior was very strong. As such, this guy managed to keep up with the troops and didn't fall behind.

"Pa.s.s me your gear!" another guy shouted at him.

The runner took off his bag and his weapons and tossed them to a comrade, which helped him gain a little more speed.

There were many rocks around the mountains here. By rus.h.i.+ng in the dark, more than a dozen people wiped out after falling down or other reasons. Some were injured from getting thrown off their mounts while others that managed to continue running got their legs caught in the rocky crevices.

In normal times, such injuries wouldn't matter. However, those b.u.t.terflies were catching up fast.

"Don't worry about us. Your Majesty, brothers, we'll go obstruct them!" The people who fell simply stopped running, gathered together, and pulled out their blades before turning toward the oncoming green cloud!

The others turned their heads and looked back. There were more than a dozen figures in the dark wielding their blades. Their eyes were filled with fury as they faced the oncoming b.u.t.terflies.

In a flash, some of the b.u.t.terflies swooped downward. Those warriors simply screamed and disappeared.

The empress didn't look back, and her face was sullen. Ever since she ascended to the throne, she hadn't suffered such humiliation.

Worried about her, Ren Baqian turned to her and consoled, "Your Majesty, we will avenge them."

15 minutes later, the glowing green cloud was almost on their tail. Everyone could see the jade-waisted slaves packed densely together when they turned back to look. The distorted faces on their bodies were bloodthirsty.

A faintly discernible fluttering sound started to engulf the group like maggots feeding on corpses.

They finally arrived in front of a mountain cliff. About eight meters above them was a cave with some vines hanging at the entrance.

"Your Majesty, it's just ahead!" the leading winged cavalry warrior shouted loudly.

The empress raised her voice and yelled, "Leave your mounts and go into the cave!"

Even though many of the winged cavalry couldn't bear it, they knew that they had no other choice. They leaped off their mounts, dashed forward, and made their way into the cave.

The empress turned her head and saw that the jade-waisted slaves had already plunged into the people at the tail end. A flash of green swept across her face as she dashed toward the green cloud.

"Your Majesty!" When the winged cavalry warriors saw this, they stopped in their tracks, drew out their blades, and were ready to rush to her aid.

"You guys, get in the cave!" The empress's voice sounded timely, but in the blink of an eye, she was surrounded by demonic b.u.t.terflies. A huge swath of them immediately fell like raindrops.

"Pa.s.s me those two boxes. The rest of you, get into the cave and stop delaying!" Ren Baqian shouted at the top of his lungs.

Two of the winged cavalry warriors carried the boxes to him, and the trio started to throw the pesticide-filled gla.s.s bottles at the b.u.t.terflies.

The liquid from the bottles spilled out and paved a trail between the trio and the empress.

Ren Baqian held a lighter, and felt slightly relieved.

"Your Majesty, Fireball Technique! Withdraw!"

At this moment, the empress had been completely surrounded by the jade-waisted slaves and she couldn't even see anything around her. The b.u.t.terflies at the back were still rus.h.i.+ng in the direction of the trio.

"Scram!" The empress's furious voice could be heard from within the layers of jade-waisted slaves.

She simply punched around with her fists.

The jade-waisted slaves around her got thrown out and vacated a s.p.a.ce around her.

The empress took this opportunity and retreated toward the trio in a flash.

However, at this moment, a gap suddenly appeared among the jade-waisted slaves behind her. Immediately after that, a long whip shot out and wrapped around her feet.

Even before Ren Baqian could tell her to watch out, she groaned and shouted, "Courting death!"

In an instant, the empress's face was covered with purple veins. She turned around, grabbed the whip, and tugged, only to see a 12 year old child being pulled out from the cloud of b.u.t.terflies.

The whip was actually the child's left hand.

This child had a sinister look on his face. His other hand transformed into an awl and stabbed toward her.

The empress twisted her body and swept her palm over.

Thump!

Blood filled the sky.

The entire upper body of that child disappeared into a b.l.o.o.d.y mist, and all that remained was the whip in the empress's hands.

Upon seeing this, Ren Baqian was finally relieved.

Boom!

When he ignited the lighter in his hand and tossed it forward, the air in front of them suddenly turned into a sea of fire.

The jade-waisted slaves that were chasing the empress were turned into c.o.ke.

When the flames dissipated, Ren Baqian and the empress had already entered the cave.

The entrance of the cave was three meters wide and four meters high, and everyone crowded around waiting for her.

"Your Majesty!" Everyone bowed.

They then opened up a path for her to enter.

The empress turned her head and glanced at the jade-waisted slaves that rushed over. With a swat of her palm, a violent gust of wind swept across. Those that were approaching were thrown off balance.

"Retreat a few meters back. Form into groups of five, with two groups per team. Everyone will take turns to block the enemy." She walked into the cave without turning back.

After witnessing the vigor of the empress, the two ladies from Mount Gongmu were almost seeing stars.

The winged cavalry warriors immediately arranged themselves. After that, ten men went to block the entrance of the cave. Three men stood in front while the others supported them from behind. They obstructed the enemies as they alternated among themselves and slowly retreated a few times before they gained a firm foothold.

The others were ready to take over in s.h.i.+fts. Most of them followed the empress into the cave.

Ren Baqian order the winged cavalry to open the remaining two boxes that were filled with bottles of pesticide. They smashed a few bottles in the cave, causing the odor of bitter almonds to immediately pour into everyone's noses.

The jade-waisted slaves that flew in slowed down tremendously after just a moment. The winged cavalry subsequently took them down as they swayed in the air.

Ren Baqian placed one box a few meters behind the line of defense. He then informed the winged cavalry to toss out a few more bottles if the pesticide in the air started to weaken. This was to maintain the concentration level of the pesticide within the cave.

After he was done briefing them, he looked up at the entrance of the cave and saw that it had completely turned green. Countless jade-waisted slaves filled the entrance as dozens of them flooded into the cave every second.

With this intensity, their defenses will crumble if they ran out of pesticide.

Under circ.u.mstances where they still had enough pesticide, every set of three men could hold out for up to two minutes before retreating and swapping places with those behind them.

Ren Baqian ascertained that the line of defense was temporarily stable and walked into the cave.

After walking more than 20 meters into the cave, he saw that it was extremely s.p.a.cious and could easily accommodate thousands of people.

The cave was covered in moss and fungi that emitted a faint blue light, allowing enough light for people to see in the cave.

There was a curved spring in the center of the cave, and the faint chill above the spring turned into a mist that was visible to the naked eye.

Apart from the winged cavalry, Qishui, the crow general, and the two multicolored eagles were in the cave as well. The jumping goats had been left outside the cave and had probably been reduced to blood by now.

"Go guard the entrance!" Ren Baqian patted the crow general's head and pointed at the entrance of the cave.

There were experts among the enemies, creatures just like that child, which appeared vulnerable, but actually had the strength of a Cardinal Heaven expert. If it wasn't for the empress unleas.h.i.+ng her power, it would have taken a lot of effort for the others to take that child down.

Ren Baqian looked around before asking the winged cavalry warriors if they were certain that there were no other entrances to the cave. He then walked to the empress who was standing by the spring and thinking deeply.

"Your Majesty, with these people guarding the entrance, our only way out is to wait until daylight," he said.

"All of the winged cavalry warriors' mounts have already been abandoned. Even if they retreat during the day, we can't escape their pursuit. Rather than risk them catching up to us in the wilderness, it's better to stay here where we have the advantage of the terrain," the empress replied faintly.

Ren Baqian smiled. In their current situation, they seemed to be trapped like a turtle in a jar.

The empress noticed the smile on his face and turned around to ask, "Aren't you nervous?"

"Not at all!" Ren Baqian shook his head. "Currently, they may not know what it means to hold the banner of harmony and build a harmonious environment, but they will definitely understand soon!"