Mo Chuan pondered for a moment, finally deciding to use his sole skill point to unlock the defensive skill first from the two skills:
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill [Shattered Remains] (Modified)
Passive: Stores 45% of the damage dealt by yourself and 15% of the damage taken (maximum storage is equivalent to 50% of your maximum HP).
Active: Gain a shield equal to the stored damage value. You can cast this skill again to restore HP equivalent to the remaining shield value. (Shield value decays continuously at 1% per second.)
And when you release the shield at its maximum value, you will summon a phantom of [Ironhide Hellion], gaining a 10% all-attribute bonus and a 20% size increase, and all normal skills will be enhanced:
[Hammer of Ruin]: A rift connecting to hell is generated at the impact location, exploding after 3 seconds and causing the rift to disappear.
[Soul-Severing Grasp]: Skill range is expanded."
Mo Chuan looked at his status and found that he could use the skills of Ironhide Hellion here.
This meant his basic assets were: [Hellwalker], [Shattered Remains], [Soul-Severing Grasp], [Demonous Shadow], [Innate Charm].
After dealing with these, Mo Chuan continued to ponder the last piece of information:
The general responsible for defending Anjiyan City seemed to have the intention of surrendering.
…
[The驸马 Mo Chuan and Princess Ronnie led the army to Anjiyan. After communicating with the defending general, Milluth, it was finally decided: the Imperial Guards would replace the tired defending army, with the former responsible for confronting the Xiongnu vanguard, and the latter managing logistics and rear security.] (Although Anjiyan has mountains to the east and west, the western mountain range is not very long, and a detour would not take more than a few months.)
[Mo Chuan, as the recognized inheritor of the former emperor's armor, gained immense prestige among the populace and the army, allowing for faster establishment of defenses.]
[Ten days later, small Xiongnu scouting parties encountered patrol troops. After a charge, one Xiongnu soldier was captured alive. Mo Chuan personally interrogated the captured Xiongnu and learned that the main Xiongnu force would arrive at Anjiyan in ten days.]
[Mo Chuan informed the defending general Milluth of this matter. The latter's expression slightly changed but not for long, and all of this was noticed by Mo Chuan.]
[Three days later, Mo Chuan hosted a banquet for the high-ranking officers of the army, launched a coup, executed Milluth, and presented evidence of Milluth's collusion with the Xiongnu. Subsequently, the army's logistics and supply tasks were handed over to Ronnie.]
[On the fifth day, Ronnie suddenly began to feel nauseous and vomit. The army doctor confirmed she was pregnant.]
[That night, Ronnie fully confessed her feelings to you and presented a token of their love: the Bronze Phoenix Mirror.]
[Mo Chuan obtained the equipment: Bronze Phoenix Mirror (Increases Spirit Power Cap and Spirit Power Recovery, reduces skill cooldown time).]
[On the seventh day, Mo Chuan dispatched five hundred soldiers to escort the elderly, weak, women, and children out of the city.]
[On the eighth day, the Xiongnu vanguard suddenly launched an attack. Mo Chuan supervised the battle from the city walls, and the Xiongnu's first attack failed.]
[On the ninth day, the Xiongnu vanguard launched two attacks in one day, damaging the west city wall. Mo Chuan sensed that the troop strength of this attack was unusual, believing the main force had already arrived, and began to intensify defensive efforts.]
[On the tenth day, the Xiongnu besieged the city and launched three attacks in one day. Although the city was not breached, the defending forces suffered heavy casualties, and the Imperial Guards also lost nearly half their strength.]
[On the night of the tenth day, the Xiongnu forces conducted small-scale harassment, keeping most of the defenders awake all night.]
[On the eleventh day, the Xiongnu launched four attacks. The west city wall was breached. Mo Chuan personally engaged, barely repelling the Xiongnu.]
[On the twelfth day, the Xiongnu launched three attacks. The outer city walls were completely breached. Mo Chuan led the remnants into the inner city to continue the defense.]
[On the thirteenth day, the Xiongnu began to besiege the city without attacking, simultaneously cutting off Anjiyan's supplies. Mo Chuan assessed the city's supplies and knew that the defending troops could only hold out for three more days.]
[On the night of the thirteenth day, Mo Chuan, using Ronnie's unborn child as a reason, requested to send Ronnie out of the inner city to escape back to the Loulan Palace.]
[Ronnie refused, saying, "If you do not abandon me, I will follow you through life and death."]
[On the fourteenth day, the Xiongnu continued to besiege the city. Mo Chuan attempted to break through with his men but failed.]
[On the fifteenth day, the Xiongnu displayed the heads of King Harvey VIII, the Empress, and other princes and princesses at the front of their formation, claiming the Loulan Palace had fallen and demanding Mo Chuan and Ronnie's surrender.]
[Mo Chuan refused and announced Ronnie as the new Loulan Emperor, Harvey IX.]
[On the sixteenth day, the Xiongnu continued the siege. Food supplies in the city became critically low, and some soldiers mutinied, but Mo Chuan suppressed them in time.]
[On the night of the sixteenth day, Mo Chuan, realizing that holding out was meaningless, counted the remaining three hundred Imperial Guards and ordered them to protect Ronnie and break out.]
[Unexpectedly, Mo Chuan's breakout plan was leaked in advance by a spy. The Xiongnu successfully ambushed them on the road, and Mo Chuan was forced into a desperate battle.]
…
"Capture that Da Teng驸马 and the Loulan royalty, and you will be richly rewarded!" From not far away, the excited shouts of the Xiongnu echoed throughout the valley, and the ground-shaking sound of hooves grew closer.
"駙马! Please quickly change into Imperial Guard uniforms with Her Majesty. We will attract the Xiongnu's attention!" Mo Chuan's personal guards helped him up from the ground, saying urgently.
"No…" Mo Chuan wiped the blood from his face and looked at Ronnie, who was panting on her horse in the distance, and said, "How long can you escort Her Majesty to escape if I hold them off for you?"
"駙马!? You…"
"Answer my question! How long will you need?"
"...As long as you can hold them."
"Good…" Mo Chuan steadied himself, leaning on the nail hammer in his hand, and said to his personal guards, "You immediately gather all the personal guards who can still move and escort Ronnie away."
After seeing the personal guards leave, Mo Chuan quickly approached Ronnie and said, "Your Majesty… no, Ronnie, listen to me."
"What is it? My dear?" Ronnie looked at Mo Chuan, who was covered in blood, and tried to dismount, but Mo Chuan gently held her arm to stop her.
"Listen to me… you must immediately run forward with the personal guards. I will lead most of the men to distract the Xiongnu. You must seize this time to break out, reach the designated location, and then wait for me to arrive with my men, do you understand?"
"No! I want to be with you…"
"Obey me!" Mo Chuan gently held Ronnie's soft hand gripping the reins and said, "Don't worry, for the sake of the child, I will definitely reach the destination alive."
"…" Ronnie rubbed her eyes, which had inexplicably filled with tears, bent down and kissed Mo Chuan's forehead, then rode off without looking back to find the personal guards who were already prepared.
Mo Chuan then pulled over a personal guard and whispered, "Keep running, don't stop. If Her Majesty tries to wait for me, knock her out and take her."
"...Yes…"