Chapter 570: Zhu Wushi Defects

“What is happening? What is that sound?”

Seated upon the dragon throne, Zhu Houzhao questioned the crowd, his face filled with panic.

At that moment, the Iron-Fisted Marquis, Zhu Wushi, responded in an icy tone, “Your Majesty, this is the strength of the Great Ming Empire.”

“If the battle continues, I fear everyone present here will be annihilated by the artillery of the Great Ming Empire. Therefore, this humble official dares to request that Your Majesty surrender immediately.”

Clearly, when Zhu Wushi heard the Great Ming Empire's army beginning their siege, he stepped forward once again to urge the Emperor of the Ming State to surrender!

However, despite this, Zhu Houzhao’s attitude remained incredibly stubborn.

“Shut up!”

“Zhu Wushi, if you dare to disturb the morale of the army again, do not blame me for being unkind to you!”

Zhu Houzhao roared at the Iron-Fisted Marquis in a fit of rage. Seeing how furious the Emperor was, the latter immediately fell silent.

Then, the Grand Eunuch Cao Zhengchun spoke up to Zhu Houzhao, “Your Majesty, since things have come to this, we can only have the martial arts masters take the field immediately!”

“If we delay any longer, I fear the capital may be breached by the Great Ming Empire!”

As Cao Zhengchun’s voice fell, Wu Longhui, who was heavily wounded, limped into the Fengtian Hall. Upon seeing his arrival, the civil and military officials were naturally shocked, and all eyes instinctively fell upon him.

Upon the dragon throne, Zhu Houzhao was equally shocked to see Wu Longhui in such a state!

Without hesitation, he spoke immediately, “Wu Longhui... what exactly is going on?”

Facing Zhu Houzhao's interrogation, Wu Longhui explained while gasping for breath, “Reporting to Your Majesty, this general... this general is no match for the Great Ming Empire!”

“At this moment, the capital has been breached! I implore Your Majesty to move the capital immediately!”

Undoubtedly, as soon as Wu Longhui finished speaking, the vast Fengtian Hall erupted into a flurry of discussion among the Ming officials.

“Ah, how could it be breached so quickly? What on earth are the Imperial Guards doing!”

“It's over, our Ming State is truly going to perish!”

“The strength of the Great Ming Empire is simply too terrifying. At this point, we must move the capital immediately!”

“Indeed, if we don't move the capital now, the nation may truly fall!”

On the dragon throne, Zhu Houzhao’s expression grew solemn as he listened to the officials. Just then, bursts of cannon fire rang out once more!

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The sound of the bombardment grew louder and louder, drawing closer to the Imperial Palace.

Hearing these sounds, Zhu Houzhao’s composure completely shattered!

“Wu Longhui!”

“How many troops are left within the Imperial Palace?” the Emperor pressed, his voice trembling with tension.

Seeing this, Wu Longhui did not dare to hesitate and immediately replied to Zhu Houzhao, “Reporting to Your Majesty, currently... there are only about fifty thousand troops left!”

“However, even these fifty thousand cannot hold out for long. At this moment, the Ming State should move the capital immediately; only then can we survive!”

After these two encounters with the Great Ming Empire, Wu Longhui had gained a clear understanding of their strength.

He knew very well that for the Ming State, only one path remained: a swift retreat!

Only then might they have a chance at victory!

However, after Wu Longhui finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao showed no intention of moving. Clearly, Zhu Houzhao still wanted to clash head-on with the Great Ming Empire!

“Move the capital? Retreat the army?”

“Even if we retreat this time, do you think the Great Ming Empire will let me go?”

After Zhu Houzhao spoke these words, the entire hall fell into silence. Clearly, the officials knew that what Zhu Houzhao said was quite correct.

The reason the Great Ming Empire was attacking the Ming State was to wipe it out entirely.

Therefore, even if Zhu Houzhao chose to move the capital, a final decisive battle with the Great Ming Empire would eventually be inevitable.

But by then, because the capital had already been moved, morale would surely be shaken. It would be better to fight this desperate battle now!

Immediately after, Zhu Houzhao said to Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Wushi, “You two, lead the martial arts masters at once to kill the enemy!”

“No matter what, you must not allow the Great Ming Empire's army to break into the Imperial Palace!”

At this point, Zhu Houzhao had no way out; he could only dispatch his strongest combatants to fight a life-and-death struggle against the Great Ming Empire's army!

Soon, Cao Zhengchun, Zhu Wushi, and the others joined Wu Longhui and his army outside the palace to make a final stand!

However, even with the assistance of martial arts masters, they were no match for the Great Ming Empire's army.

The armies led by Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Guo Zhen had already defeated all the Ming State forces within the capital. Now, over a hundred thousand troops of the Great Ming Empire had surrounded the Imperial Palace so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

Furthermore, the Pterosaur Legion was monitoring from the skies!

In short, the Ming Emperor was currently in a position from which escape was impossible.

When Cao Zhengchun saw the Great Ming Empire's army equipped with live ammunition, his face naturally showed tension and confusion.

“Is this the Great Ming Empire's army? What kind of weapons are those black objects in their hands?”

As Cao Zhengchun spoke, the Ming Grand General Wu Longhui, standing beside him, hurriedly said, “Eunuch Cao, those are firearms, and they are far more powerful than ordinary muskets!”

“You must be extremely careful not to be wounded by the bullets fired from them!”

Just as Wu Longhui finished his warning, Guo Zhen, the Commander of the Great Ming Empire's Imperial Guard, suddenly issued the order to attack!

“Fire!”

In an instant, the soldiers of the Great Ming Empire raised their submachine guns and pulled the triggers at maximum speed!

*Bang bang bang bang!*

Immediately, countless bullets flew toward the Ming army. Almost instantly, a large number of Ming soldiers collapsed to the ground!

“This... how is this possible!”

To be honest, at this moment, when Cao Zhengchun saw the scene before him, his face was filled with disbelief.

For a long time, Cao Zhengchun had not understood why the Great Ming Empire's army was so invincible, but upon seeing the power of the submachine guns, he finally understood the terror of their military!

“Redcoat Cannons!”

“Prepare!”

“Fire!”

In an instant, hundreds of Redcoat Cannons were loaded. Following Guo Zhen's command, the cannons immediately fired shells at the Ming army!

Seeing this, Wu Longhui panicked and shouted to his soldiers, “Retreat! Quickly!”

But Wu Longhui was a step too slow.

In an instant!

The shells fired from the Redcoat Cannons crashed directly into the ranks of the Ming soldiers.

In that moment, the Ming army suffered massive casualties.

Even the walls of the Imperial Palace were blasted open by the cannon shells.

Seeing this, Cao Zhengchun did not dare to hesitate. He stepped forward and immediately mobilized the true qi within his body.

Clearly, after witnessing the advanced weaponry of the Great Ming Empire, Cao Zhengchun knew that the current military strength of the Ming State was incapable of resisting.

Therefore, to protect the Ming Emperor, he naturally had to step up.

Cao Zhengchun directly activated his technique, *Ten Thousand Rivers Returning to the Sea*.

Simultaneously, the true qi within his body was released frantically, forming a massive true qi shield over the walls of the Imperial Palace.

Consequently, when the Redcoat Cannon shells struck the walls, they were immediately deflected.

Seeing this, Wu Longhui hurriedly praised, “It is all thanks to Eunuch Cao's assistance! If you hadn't acted, the Imperial Palace would surely have been completely leveled by the Great Ming Empire's artillery.”

Meanwhile, as Guo Zhen, Mu Ying, Lan Yu, and the others saw Cao Zhengchun take action, their expressions also turned somewhat solemn.

Although these three were top-tier generals, there was still a gap between them and Cao Zhengchun in terms of martial arts cultivation.

However, at this critical moment, Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Fisted Marquis of the Ming State, suddenly mobilized the true qi within his body.

Clearly, Zhu Wushi no longer intended to keep up the act.

Zhu Wushi roared directly at Cao Zhengchun, “Since you still dare to oppose the Great Ming Empire's army, Cao Zhengchun, you are simply seeking death!”

Having said that, Zhu Wushi struck out with a palm of true qi.

Fortunately, Cao Zhengchun's reaction was timely, and he easily dodged the strike with a quick movement.

However, Cao Zhengchun never expected that Zhu Wushi would actually turn against him.

“Are you mad? To actually attack this Eunuch? Zhu Wushi, have you perhaps been in secret collusion with the Great Ming Empire?”

Facing Cao Zhengchun's interrogation, Zhu Wushi let out a cold laugh, “This King has warned Zhu Houzhao many times to defect to the Great Ming Empire. Unfortunately, our Emperor is far too stubborn and unwilling to part with his power. As the Iron-Fisted Marquis of the Ming State, I must naturally think of the future of the Ming State. Cao Zhengchun, if you are wise, surrender immediately and join the Great Ming Empire. This King can grant you mercy.”

As Zhu Wushi's voice fell, not only was Cao Zhengchun shocked, but even Wu Longhui was visibly shaken.

All this time, Wu Longhui had believed that Zhu Wushi would serve the Ming State no matter what. This was the confidence that allowed him to continue resisting the Great Ming Empire.

But seeing Zhu Wushi defect on the spot, his heart was extremely conflicted; at this moment, even Wu Longhui wanted to rush to join the Great Ming Empire.

Just then, Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and Shangguan Haitang all stepped forward.

Although these three were Ming secret agents trained personally by Zhu Wushi, they did not follow in his footsteps upon seeing his betrayal. Instead, they stood directly in front of Cao Zhengchun.

In particular, as the leader of the Four Great Secret Agents, Duan Tianya spoke to Zhu Wushi in a booming voice, “Marquis, you are a Prince of the Ming State; how can you defect to an enemy nation? If you truly join the Great Ming Empire, we naturally cannot follow you.”

Seeing Duan Tianya and the others standing on his side, Cao Zhengchun gained a bit of confidence.

He then shouted to Zhu Wushi, “Things have come to this, and you still have a chance to repent. If you continue to be obstinate, you will become a traitor to the Ming State!”

To be honest, after Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, Zhu Wushi's mental state had already completely exploded.

He said to the crowd in an icy tone, “Hmph! Relying on just the few of you to take down this King? You are simply seeking death!”

Clearly, at this moment, Zhu Wushi had completely let himself go.

In Zhu Wushi's view, if he did not defect quickly, he would lose all opportunity once Zhu Ying arrived. Therefore, he needed to help the Great Ming Empire conquer the Ming State before Zhu Ying arrived to earn Zhu Ying's trust.

At this moment, the Great Ming Empire's army had not yet moved; Lan Yu, Guo Zhen, Mu Ying, and the others were instead standing there watching the spectacle.

Seeing that Zhu Wushi showed no signs of repentance, Cao Zhengchun stopped wasting words.

He immediately mobilized his true qi once more to perform the *Heavenly Gang Boy Technique*.

This was Cao Zhengchun's signature skill.

In an instant, true qi enveloped Cao Zhengchun's body, emitting a dazzling, purplish-red light.

“Zhu Wushi, today I shall let you know the power of the Heavenly Gang Boy Technique!”

As his voice fell, he directly unleashed the technique and appeared before Zhu Wushi. Then, two currents of purplish-red true qi forcibly surged into Zhu Wushi's body.

Unfortunately, Cao Zhengchun's realm was only at the Grandmaster Realm, whereas Zhu Wushi had already entered the Martial Supernatural Realm.

Although Cao Zhengchun's Heavenly Gang Boy Technique was immensely powerful, it appeared fragile before the higher-realm Zhu Wushi.

Zhu Wushi merely waved his hand, and a much denser wave of true qi rushed forward, successfully blocking Cao Zhengchun's attack.

Following that, Zhu Wushi stopped wasting words with Cao Zhengchun and directly used his ultimate weapon: the *Great Skill of Absorbing Qi*.

Zhu Wushi extended both hands and exerted force simultaneously, causing an invisible torrent of true qi to erupt.

Cao Zhengchun was well aware of Zhu Wushi's prowess. Seeing him use the *Great Skill of Absorbing Qi*, he immediately mobilized his own true qi to clash with it forcefully.

*BOOM!!*

As the two currents of true qi collided, a massive explosion erupted in the sky.

In the next second, Zhu Wushi's *Great Skill of Absorbing Qi* proved superior; Cao Zhengchun's true qi began to flow uncontrollably toward Zhu Wushi's body.

“Not good! Eunuch Cao is no match for the Marquis! We must help him immediately!”

Seeing this, Duan Tianya was visibly panicked. As Zhu Wushi's disciple, he knew exactly how terrifying his master's strength was.

Duan Tianya exchanged a glance with Guihai Yidao and Shangguan Haitang, and the three of them unleashed their true qi and ultimate moves, charging toward Zhu Wushi.