At the moment he issued the order.
"Father!" Chen Zihuan suddenly called out to him.
Chen Zihuan had also recognized the king.
Unexpectedly, the king was not disabled.
Presumably, the King of Chu didn’t know either.
Had they known earlier, they wouldn’t have lowered their guard so much.
At that moment, he even recalled the two suspicious individuals he saw at the gates of Hezhou City, and upon closer scrutiny, they appeared to be the king!
He had let the king escape right under his eyes!
Bearing the frustration in his heart, he whispered into Chen Hezhi’s ear, "Don’t kill the king yet. First, delaying will mean although Pang Nan’s forces are not many, it will inevitably cause us some losses in casualties. Losing more troops now will only put us in greater jeopardy. Second, completing the orders given by the King of Chu is crucial, otherwise, we can’t explain ourselves to him. And there’s a third point."
Chen Zihuan spoke hurriedly.
He paused for a moment, took a breath, "When we release the arrows, it happens just when the king is at the scene, making it more credible that it was his command!"
Hearing Chen Zihuan’s words, Chen Hezhi quickly nodded in agreement.
Indeed, his son thought more comprehensively than him.
No wonder the King of Chu valued him and had repeatedly mentioned that he should nurture his son well for future achievements.
Chen Hezhi stopped the chatter, his expression grew cold, "All archers, get ready!"
The layers of archers surrounding the temple were already prepared, all poised for action.
"Release the arrows!"
The arrowheads were all aflame!
The flames shot directly into the temple!
Innumerable flames instantly set the temple ablaze.
The sudden command by Chen Hezhi took Xiao Jinxin and Pang Nan by surprise.
Their purpose here was naturally to buy time.
The Bai Family’s army was already drawing close.
Xiao Jinxing had specifically instructed Xiao Wu to lead a contingent of elite troops into the city; they should arrive within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, barring any mishaps.
With him and Pang Nan delaying from front and back, they could buy some time.
But they had not anticipated Chen Hezhi’s resolute decision.
Without entangling with them further, he simply ordered the release of arrows to ignite the temple.
Xiao Jinxing watched the temple fiercely as it was consumed by the countless flames.
With no Bai Family army arriving, he was powerless!
All he could do was bear with it in silence!
Seeing the king make no move, Pang Nan didn’t dare to act rashly either.
The queen was still inside!
Does the king really not care?!
Even if he cared, Pang Nan was well aware that they couldn’t change anything at this moment, and any careless move might even lead to fatal danger.
But people have emotions, didn’t the king feel any compassion knowing the queen was inside?
He didn’t even see the slightest bit of other emotions on the king’s face.
All there was, was just a suppressed anger for not being able to prevent what was happening.
Pang Nan clenched his fists!
The temple in front of him was now completely ablaze.
The flames were vast, the fire raging fiercely.
Unknown how long it would take for the Bai Family’s army to arrive.
At this rate, it was highly likely that those inside would meet their demise!
Pang Nan didn’t think any further.
He suddenly turned and rushed straight into the temple, now a ball of fire!
Xiao Jinxing was slightly taken aback.
He hadn’t expected Pang Nan to rush in directly.
He narrowed his eyes, taking no action at the moment.
Chen Hezhi, seeing Pang Nan entering, was clearly also shocked.
He was about to speak.
Chen Zihuan quickly called out to Chen Hezhi and whispered in his ear, "Father, let Pang Nan rescue a few people exactly to implicate the king."
The temple fire grew fiercer!
Stripping off his official robe, Pang Nan wrapped it around himself and plunged into the temple.
Inside the temple, it wasn’t as chaotic as he had imagined.
As he entered, he saw people continuously trying to extinguish the fire at the door. Although their efforts were meager, due to the presence of a water source, not everything inside was ablaze, and breathing wasn’t as painful as imagined!
Moreover, at this moment, everyone was covering their mouths with their clothes and squatting on the ground, surprisingly composed, which even stunned Pang Nan.
It needs to be said, because everyone didn’t run about or create a ruckus, it was not as chaotic as seen from the outside and wasn’t as dangerous as imagined.
The arrival of Pang Nan also drew everyone’s attention.
Ye Qichi naturally was the first to see Pang Nan.
She quickly got up from the ground, dodging the falling sparks, and swiftly walked up to Pang Nan.
"Miss Ye." Pang Nan called her excitedly.