Just as Hong Chen had expected:
Faced with the tight security around the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting, even Thief Demon, Thief King, and Thief Commander didn't act rashly.
They chose to observe carefully first.
Including the position of each Imperial Guard.
The timing and pattern of changing shifts.
Armaments and equipment.
The three thieves even observed and recorded when the imperial guards were the most exhausted.
The main focus was still on the archers wielding the Divine Armament Meteor Crossbows.
These archers were the Snitches 'nemesis.
One had to know that Sima Zhaixing, who was once said to be the closest to God Thief, had not been able to escape death under the arrows of the archers.
Let alone them!
Be careful and you'll sail for ten thousand years.
After being a thief for so many years, the reason why he hadn't been caught by the officials was all thanks to his caution.
Just like that, they observed the guards for several days.
As the days passed, the imperial guards became more and more tired, and their nerves inevitably relaxed.
On the sixth night.
Hong Chen sneaked out of the Chen Residence and came to a restaurant near the Meridian Gate. He ordered a table of good dishes and a pot of good wine and sat there waiting to watch the show.
In the first five days, Thieving Demon, Thieving Ghost, and Thieving King didn't make a move.
It was now the sixth night, the final time limit.
The three thieves would definitely choose tonight to attack together.
At that time, Thief Demon, Thief Ghost, and Thief King would all fish in troubled waters. Whoever could steal the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting would depend on their own abilities!
"Hehe, let me see what you guys are capable of.”
Hong Chen threw peanuts into his mouth as he looked in the direction of the Meridian Gate.
On the Meridian Gate Square, the flames in the brazier burned fiercely. They rose to the height of half a person and burned vigorously.
Two hundred well-equipped Imperial Guards were guarding a painting that was worth fifty thousand gold taels.
A lieutenant of the imperial guards stood in front of everyone and said loudly,""Everyone, cheer up!”
"This is the last night. I know that you are tired, but you cannot let your guard down!”
"The last night is also the most important night. It's the night where accidents are most likely to happen.”
"As long as tonight is over and the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting is placed in the national treasury, there will be nothing for us!”
"Yes!" The Imperial Guards replied in unison.”
Another Imperial Guards captain shouted,"All crossbowmen, keep an eye on them. If any suspicious person approaches, shoot them all and kill them without mercy!”
The 40 archers replied in unison.
The imperial guards captain nodded and looked into the palace.
Time slowly passed.
In the middle of the night, everything was silent, and it was also the time when people were the most sleepy.
The imperial guards guarding the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting took over the last shift.
The previous Imperial Guards were removed and replaced with new ones.
One of the imperial guards silently approached the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting.
"Hey, don't you know the rules?!" The sharp-eyed Imperial Guards Lieutenant shouted. No one is allowed to get close to the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting, including us!”
The Imperial Guard nodded and retreated.
The Imperial Guards Lieutenant stepped forward and glanced at the Imperial Guard. He then asked him to take out his token and let him check it.
After checking that the token was correct, the guards captain didn't suspect anything.
At this moment.
A blazing fire lit up the palace, illuminating half of the night sky.
"Fire! Come and put out the fire!"
"Someone, quickly put out the fire. The Palace of Earthly Tranquility is on fire!”
The quiet palace was awakened from its deep sleep.
The fire caused all kinds of chaos.
The palace maids and eunuchs all woke up at once. They did not have time to put on their clothes and panicked to put out the fire.
Shouts, shouts, and curses were all in chaos.
The Imperial Guards Lieutenant's expression changed slightly.
He didn't expect the palace to catch fire at this critical moment!
Moreover, the place that caught fire was Kun Ning Palace.
The imperial guards began to stir.
" Everyone, don't panic!" The Imperial Guards 'lieutenant shouted." There will be people in the palace to put out the fire. We just need to guard the Five-clawed True Dragon Painting!"!”
At this moment, a clamorous shout came from the palace again.
"Someone come quickly! I found the arsonist, catch him quickly!”
"Someone set fire to Earth Tranquility Palace. Someone deliberately set fire to Earth Tranquility Palace.”
"Where are the imperial guards? Where are the imperial guards? Hurry up and catch the arsonist. Otherwise, if the arsonist runs away, can you take responsibility?”
The Imperial Guards Lieutenant's expression changed when he heard this.
The Palace of Earthly Tranquility was the closest to the Meridian Gate.
In other words, they were the imperial guards closest to Earth Tranquility Palace and possibly the arsonist.
If the arsonist really got away, the Imperial Guards, who were the closest to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, would be held responsible!
The imperial guards captain hesitated for three seconds before he gritted his teeth and said,""Send out ten archers and fifty imperial guards to support the palace. We must capture the arsonist!”
"Understood!"
Fifty Imperial Guards and ten archers followed the order and entered the Meridian Gate to pursue the arsonist who had set fire to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
Meanwhile, Hong Chen, who was eating delicacies and drinking fine wine in a restaurant far away, had his eyes light up.
The corners of Hong Chen's mouth curled into a smile.”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]