Chapter 113: Horseback Riding? Do I Need It? (3)

“Alright, hurry up and move on—don’t just stand there. I can’t have the front area leveled like this!” Ye Lang glanced at the group looking stunned and urged them on. “Let’s go!” Ye Yi was equally decisive, asking no further questions; this was not the time for that.

Of course, some did inquire later, receiving a surprising explanation: that beam of light was not particularly powerful—it merely disrupted the otherwise stable alchemical array, causing the energy within the city walls to become chaotic and leading to internal collapse.

Breaking this energy balance was an extraordinarily difficult feat. Every possible scenario had been anticipated and defenses established from the outset. Yet Ye Lang found a small flaw and exploited it with his alchemical cannon to achieve destruction.

Speaking of the alchemical cannon, it was a fascinating piece of equipment, capable of adjusting both power and elemental composition at will.

Ye Lang had precisely calculated the proportions, injecting a trace of magical elements into the alchemical array to cause its collapse.

What sounded simple was actually incredibly difficult—no, extremely difficult. Otherwise, this method to breach the city walls would have been discovered long ago.

Ye Lang had to calculate with absolute precision the exact amount of elements required, the energy necessary to deliver those elements, and the energy loss in the beam emitted by the cannon. None of these factors could be neglected.

Fortunately, he had done these calculations before; otherwise, it would have been impossible to achieve so quickly.

As for why he made these calculations, it seemed he had once considered using this method to escape—not from the entire empire, but just from the watchful eyes of the Ye family.

If anyone learned this, they would surely be embarrassed: destroying the city wall just to run away from home? Yet now, everyone was relieved that he had prepared for this possibility.

Returning to the present, the group continued their escape, diligently helping ordinary people who required care. Crossing the breach in the wall, it was fortunate that few untrained civilians were present here—most had at least some basic knowledge of magic, so the number of those needing assistance was limited.

Otherwise, this would have been a major problem even before reaching this point. Ordinary people grow tired after walking long distances. Magic users fare slightly better, but only just enough to endure.

Still, this remained a serious issue. They had a long way to go to escape the pursuing forces. Simply breaking out of the imperial city was not the end; they needed to get beyond the influence of the Soaring Sky Empire.

Note well: it was the empire’s sphere of influence, not just its borders. The Soaring Sky Empire extended its reach over numerous neighboring kingdoms. Only upon entering the domain of the Vermilion Bird Empire could they consider themselves relatively safe—though safety was never absolute.

In short, the journey was far from over.

As Niu Lang and the others exited the wall, they saw troops rushing toward them from both sides—a predictable development. With such a commotion, if the city guard could not respond swiftly, they truly were unfit for their role.

Everyone believed that the approaching city guards and the pursuing soldiers were shocked that Ye Lang had breached the once-impenetrable walls. They had been preparing for a decisive battle at the gates.

“Ye Lang, why have you stopped?” Zhen Xiaoyan’s voice drew everyone’s attention to Ye Lang’s unusual behavior. After leaving the city, he had been staring at the approaching troops without moving.

“Brother, what are you thinking now?” Ye Lanyu asked.

“We need horses, or we won’t be able to escape these pursuers!” Ye Lang frowned, watching the city guards galloping toward them and realizing the urgency of the problem.

“We know that, but there’s no time to deal with it now. Let’s just run first!” Ye Chengtian said helplessly.

Ye Lang shook his head. “No, we have to seize them now. They’re coming ahead of the main force, so we still have a chance to intercept them. If we wait for the larger army to catch up, it’ll be even more troublesome.”

Ye Yi and the others fell silent. They quickly understood—once they calmed down, they could see the logic clearly.

“Ah, I really regret it now. I once thought about building a flying ship. If we had one, we wouldn’t have to escape like this!” Ye Lang said with some regret, though the others didn’t understand what a flying ship was.

“Then why didn’t you build one?” Ye Lanyu asked directly.

“I wanted to, but I hadn’t planned it out, nor did I have the materials. The cost was just too high!” Ye Lang shook his head, resigned.

“If even you say the cost is high, then forget it!” Ye Chengtian said bluntly.

Ye Lang was notorious for squandering money. If he said something was too expensive, it must be astronomically so—perhaps even the entire Ye family couldn’t afford it.

“Damn, I’m so stupid! I really regret it! I should have spent all the Ye family’s wealth back then—after all, we don’t have any share now!” Ye Lang lamented, clutching his chest and stamping his feet.

“Don’t worry! They may have taken everything the Ye family owns in the empire, but they can’t take all of our family’s assets!” Ye Yi smiled mysteriously, wanting to keep some secrets to reveal later.

Ye Lang cleverly guessed, “I see—you must have prepared some assets and influence unknown to others! So, does that mean I can still keep squandering money? Great! I thought this time was hopeless, no more chances to blow money! When’s the time, and you’re still thinking about wasting money?”

But this reckless spending had a strange sort of charm. If it weren’t for the chaotic mess of resources he carried, this escape would have been far more difficult. At least now they had all come through unscathed.

“Let’s go—Dad, Grandpa, the three generations of us are going to seize some horses! Everyone else, follow a bit behind. Feifan, keep an eye on them!” Ye Lang ignored the others’ protests and ran straight toward the city guards.

He ran—not using any fighting spirit—yet his pace was swift, though it gave the illusion of not being fast, certainly slower than the martial artists.

Ye Yi and Ye Chengtian shook their heads and followed, channeling their fighting spirit beneath their feet to catch up.

At this moment, everyone realized that Ye Lang was not running slowly; he always stayed ahead of Ye Yi and the others.

Though Ye Yi and Ye Chengtian were not yet using their full fighting spirit, their speed was still unreachable for ordinary experts, let alone Ye Lang, who was not using any at all.

This was all quite strange. Due to the circumstances, no one pressed for answers—there were far more important matters to attend to.

There were so many oddities surrounding this boy—impossible to understand or fathom.