Chapter 1118: Kill and Burn
Qianye stepped over the groaning warriors and entered the city lord manor. This time, a group of people rushed out from within, and there were finally some proper-looking experts among them.
Qianye’s eyes fell upon a well-groomed man in his middle ages. “I thought you would endure for a bit.”
The middle-aged man’s brows rose high, and his expression was dignified and calm. “You’re also an expert. What’s the meaning of attacking ordinary warriors? How can you hope to take the city lord position with such moral conduct?”
Qianye wasn’t interested in batting an eyelid at such tricks. “Who are you?”
“This seat is called Du Yuan!”
Qianye shook his head. “Never heard of you.”
Du Yuan was furious. He was the commander of the city guard and a top expert in the army, someone only below Luo Bingfeng in authority. Even messengers from the heavenly monarch had to give him some face.
It was fine if Qianye was just mocking him, but claiming not to know him was just outrageous.
After sizing up Du Yuan, Qianye said, “You’re somewhat capable, but why are you still alive when Luo Bingfeng is dead? It seems you’re quite apt at staying alive.”
Du Yuan was so angry that his face turned red. He had fought with his life against the empire, but he was finally rendered unconscious with heavy injuries. His trusted aides had dragged him off the battlefield, and the fight was over when he regained consciousness.
It was only recently that he had recovered from his injuries and his strength wasn’t at its peak just yet. Everyone, including himself, believed that he had done his utmost. Who would dare say they could stop the empire’s great momentum back then?
Hence, Qianye’s mockery sounded extremely harsh in his ears.
His brows rose as he took a step forward. “Thief! I haven’t even settled the score with you for scheming against the city lord, yet you dare come bully us at our door! Do you really think there’s no one here in Tidehark?”
Qianye’s expression was ambiguous. “Are you really treating Zhang Buzhou’s words as rubbish?”
“Who allowed you to randomly call upon Heavenly Monarch Zhang’s name?” Du Yuan raised his voice a fair bit. One could see his skill at avoiding calamity from how he had avoided Qianye’s verbal trap.
However, whether or not Du Yuan took the bait didn’t change anything. Qianye didn’t raise his voice, but its range expanded further as he said, “I’m Qianye, the city lord of Tidehark City, officially announced by Zhang Buzhou. This is my last warning to whoever that does not recognize me, or slights Heavenly Monarch Zhang. Don’t blame me for being merciless!”
With that, Qianye glanced at Du Yuan. “Do I make myself clear? Do you plan to throw away the life you got back from the last battle?”
Du Yuan couldn’t quite yield under everyone’s eyes. He said furiously, “Such insolence! How dare you act so rudely toward the heavenly monarch? Someone of your cultivation rank has no right to act like this in Tidehark! Today, I must teach you how to act like a decent human being!”
He took a step forward but didn’t draw his own sword. Instead, he drew the sword of a bystander and pointed it at Qianye. The message was that he could destroy Qianye with any random sword.
Qianye wasn’t about to care whether the man was truly stupid or just acting. East Peak appeared with a swipe of his hand, accompanied by the sound of dense, rolling thunder.
Du Yuan felt that things weren’t looking good when he heard the thunderous noise. It was as though a primordial beast was awakening in front of him!
Before he could decide if he should keep going at it or throw away his face and retreat, Qianye’s wrist moved ever so slightly, bringing East Peak down upon him!
The slash came with absolutely no warning. It moved almost weightlessly, and even the direction of the blade seemed to be drifting, making people wonder whether Qianye was drunk.
However, Du Yuan and a handful of powerful experts were immediately shocked. They could see that the slash wasn’t drifting because it was weak. The s.p.a.ce around the blade was actually being distorted from the terrifying strength behind it.
Within moments, Du Yuan realized that he couldn’t block this attack.
It was just that he couldn’t retreat, either, because if he were to lose his momentum, he might not even last one attack. Du Yuan unleashed an odd cry as he swung his blade at East Peak, but his blade immediately broke into two.
East Peak was incomparably st.u.r.dy after its recent refinement, and its sharpness had also reached new heights. Not to mention the random sword in Du Yuan’s hands, even his own sword would not escape the same fate.
East Peak’s descent wasn’t affected by this parry. The old man’s budding desire to retreat burst into action—as an experienced combatant, he borrowed the force from the clas.h.i.+ng blades to flash backward and managed to escape the calamity.
A pale Du Yuan stood ten meters away, staring intently at Qianye with half a sword in his grasp. n.o.body could remain composed after narrowly escaping death.
He was just about to retreat when he felt a ticklish sensation on his face. He noticed a drop of blood roll down between his brows and drop off at the tip of his nose.
Trembling, Du Yuan raised his sword in front of his face. In the reflected image, he could see a red line running between his brows and a drop of blood seeping out of it.
His hand trembled with greater intensity. That line of blood wasn’t an illusion; it was solid proof that he had just rolled away from that thin line between life and death. If he had acted just one moment later, he would’ve been slashed into two and become a corpse.
Du Yuan’s origin power rank was still above Qianye’s. The old man knew the latter was famous for fighting people above his level, but the situation called for him to take action. If he had submitted without action, his name would be utterly destroyed. On the other hand, he felt that he could hold his own against Qianye for a while and that someone else would take action meanwhile.
Those who wanted to teach Qianye a lesson the most weren’t Luo Bingfeng’s old subordinates.
However, he would’ve never imagined this outcome, that he had almost died to a single move.
Qianye didn’t mind missing one slash. Du Yuan had followed Luo Bingfeng for so many years and was one of the few powerful experts below the divine champion realm. He had also overdone his posing just now. Qianye concluded that he still couldn’t kill such experts in one blow; he would need at least three or four consecutive attacks.
Since he had already attacked, Qianye had no intention of stopping without an outcome. He followed up with a forward step and slashed sideways at Du Yuan’s waist.
Qianye had already channeled Excavator at this point. The surging power was almost indefensible as the sword whipped toward Du Yuan’s waist.
The attack was so fast that the old man simply had no time to defend. He barely managed to evade the strike when East Peak was whistling down on his head once more.
Du Yuan threw away the broken sword, but he didn’t even have time to draw his own blade. The only choice he could make right now was the direction in which to flee. He clenched his teeth and jumped into the crowd around him! Chaos ensued.
Qianye calmly adjusted East Peak’s direction and fired a wisp of scarlet gold sword energy. The energy shot out several dozen meters as it went after Du Yuan, ignoring everyone around it.
The old man moved swiftly, but Qianye’s sword energy was faster. Those watching the show nearby were thus drawn into the calamity—the people in the periphery threw themselves to the ground, but those close to Du Yuan simply had no time to run or hide. All they could do was swing their weapons in a futile attempt to block the incoming sword energy.
A wave of blood burst out in the crowd as those who were swept into the attack were ground up.
Du Yuan roared frantically as blood spurted out of his back, but he actually ran away at extreme speeds.
Qianye did not give chase. He simply put away his blade and turned to look at the street in front of the manor, his gaze—intentionally or otherwise—moving over the building and its windows. He then stepped over the crowd of dead and injured people, and into the residence.
Moments later, Qianye was seated in the central hall of the city lord’s manor. A platform had been raised here, on which a tall chair had been placed to represent a throne.
In the past, Luo Bingfeng had always lived in seclusion atop the holy mountain and never in his residence. Hence, the place had largely become an administrative office for the city guard and other civil departments. The conference hall was equipped with a long table and chairs, which Qianye asked the attendants to clear away. He had no intention of “conferring” with anyone.
Qianye was seated high above the ma.s.ses, but the only problem was that there were only a handful of people below, and most of them were just small leaders. None of the higher-ranked characters were here. Qianye didn’t mind because most of the city guard’s experts had probably been wiped out during the two occupations. He also believed that random people weren’t going to jump out and challenge him after Du Yuan was injured.
”Have you cleared away the corpses outside? What are the casualties?”
”Sire, a total of eleven people fell in battle, fifty-five have suffered grave injuries, and a hundred and twenty have suffered light injuries.”
Qianye sneered. “Fall in battle? Does that mean your city lord is the enemy?”
The officer was drenched in cold sweat. “I wouldn’t dare! But… Sire, they were all acting under orders and had no other choice. Besides, you can kill these weaklings with one hand, why would you take them to heart? How about we help them treat their injuries, then give them stern punishments?”
Qianye tapped the armrest lightly. “Which family is so lenient toward the rebellion?”
Sweat rolled down the man’s forehead when he heard the word rebellion. He fell to his knees and said, “Sire, they were truly confused because someone had led them astray. Also, killing them will just tarnish your name.”
“It seems my name in Tidehark was never good. Why should I care?”
“You should! Of course you should!” The petty officer said repeatedly, “Many people were absent not out of disrespect but out of fear. I believe they will come around very soon.”
Qianye glanced at the man with a spurious smile. This person was still able to talk well even though his back was drenched. “You’re quite considerate of me, aren’t you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you in anger?”
The officer replied, “I have no talent, killing me will only stain your hand.”
Qianye broke into a laugh. “You’re quite bold. Fine, I’ll spare them out of consideration for your fearlessness, but they won’t escape punishment. Drag the corpses out of the city, they’re not allowed to be buried. Treat the injured and exile them.”
“Yes, Sire!” The subordinates responded swiftly. After some discussion amongst themselves, they split off to execute the orders.
Qianye simply watched and allowed them to act on their own. These lowly officers were experienced in such matters—they probably felt that Qianye wouldn’t be city lord for long and that their comrades could return once he was gone.
Qianye laughed coldly. “Notify all the clan lords, have them meet me at the city lord manor in the afternoon. Absence will be considered an act of rebellion! Also, gather the city guard and take me to Commander Du’s residence.”
These orders were suffused with killing intent, but who would dare say no when Qianye had injured Du Yuan so easily?
Within moments, several military vehicles left the city lord manor and drove toward Du Yuan’s residence.
These vehicles were modified cargo trucks and not off-road vehicles usually used by officers. There were only a handful of soldiers on the vehicles. Numbering no more than thirty including the drivers, the lineup looked rather pitiful. The higher-ranking officers were nowhere to be found, and the lower-ranking officers were only there to offer lip service.
Qianye sat in the front pa.s.senger seat of the leading vehicle. As his gaze swept through the streets, he could occasionally sense malicious gazes from the surrounding buildings, but to his disappointment, no one actually dared to ambush him.
Du Yuan’s residence was on the western side of the city, a manor occupying half a street block. It boasted high walls, big courtyards, and looked rather dignified from a distance. However, the entire residence was in chaos at the moment, with no shortage of people crying and screaming. From time to time, there would be people running out from the compound with heavy luggage, disappearing into the alleyways.
Qianye jumped down from the truck and looked up at the residence signboard. It was a black plate decorated with golden words, not one bit less dignified than the city lord’s manor.
“Halt! This is the commander’s residence. How dare you barge in? Are you not afraid of death?” The two guards at the gate were quite dutiful despite the chaos inside.
Qianye couldn’t be bothered to argue. Two sanguineous threads shot out from his fingertips and pierced into the guards’ chests. The attack was withdrawn almost immediately, but the two soldiers collapsed to the ground, pale and lifeless.
Qianye led the officer and a couple dozen warriors into the courtyard, slas.h.i.+ng down the gates in the process.
People dressed in servant’s attire were running in, out, and about the messy courtyard. There were clothes and other items strewn across the floor, almost as though a robbery had taken place. Qianye grabbed a servant and asked him about Du Yuan’s whereabouts.
The servant went limp from the fright but was fortunately able to speak clearly, “The master came back a while ago, covered in blood, and ordered everyone to pack up and leave. He himself left with the young masters. After his departure, the mistresses also packed up their things and fled.”
Qianye broke into a laugh. “This fellow sure runs fast! Luo Bingfeng is a hero of the generation, how could he have appointed such a commander?”
Qianye’s evaluation was a bit off. Du Yuan could be considered a fierce and capable general who had led the city guard with great stability, enjoying a good reputation throughout his career. However, he had been set back time and again, surviving the siege on Luo Bingfeng just to brush against death again under Qianye’s blade. The two near-mortal experiences just now had exhausted whatever heroism he possessed.
Qianye put down the servant and walked around the manor.
The Du Residence looked quite grand, but it was fairly crude in the details. Overall, it was a copy of an ancient imperial garden, but it was far from comparable to the major clans in terms of artistry. Everything in the compound was a mess, with nothing useful to speak of. Those that were truly valuable had probably been taken away by Du Yuan or his concubines. Whatever remained would’ve been plundered by his subordinates.
Qianye had no designs on the residence, so he wasn’t disappointed. After touring the place, he said, “Burn this place down.”
“What?” Everyone thought they had heard wrong. The Du residence was a big mansion of extraordinary worth. Now that the owner had fled, it made sense to just occupy it rather than burn it down.
Qianye said, “I said, burn it down.”
“...Yes.” The small officer had already realized that this was Qianye’s style. He shot a meaningful glance at his comrades, who had split off to set the place on fire.
Fire rose up in several spots, and the rolling flames swept through the entire residence within moments. Everyone in the city could see the dense smoke.
Qianye stood outside the manor, gazing at the raging flames for a while. He even had the extra time to command the city guard to form a parameter, lest the fire spread to other parts of the city. He only left after seeing the Du Residence completely devoured by flames.
The officer followed him and asked cautiously, “Sire, where do we go now?”
Qianye stopped and looked back at the timid man. “It’s quite disappointing that no one came to extinguish the fire.”
Everyone looked rather awkward, including the officer. Qianye asked, “What’s your name?”
The man replied, “I’m called Du Xinchu, a distant nephew of the commander.”
Qianye hadn’t expected this. He glanced at the officer curiously, saying, “Are you not afraid I’ll kill you?”
“It’ll only dirty your hands, there’s no meaning to it.”
Qianye nodded. “So tell me, why do you think no one came to fight the fire?”
Du Xinchu said after a moment of silence, “News of you making short work of the commander has spread far and wide. No one will come and throw away their lives without sufficient preparation.”
A laughing Qianye entered the car and called Du Xinchu to his side to continue with the questions. “Why do you think those people don’t want me as city lord?”
Du Xinchu replied, “There are three reasons. Firstly, they think you’re not strong enough. A city lord has to be a divine champion in order to placate the ma.s.ses. Secondly, Tidehark is just like any other city in that it is rather divided internally, with numerous factions vying for power. Now that many posts had opened up after the two battles, people naturally started to feel that they had a chance. Some people wanted important positions, while others wanted to take a shot at being city lord. Finally, the heavenly monarch doesn’t want you in this position. He has probably pulled some strings behind the scene.”
Qianye was surprised at how candid the man was. “You probably shouldn’t have told me so much.”
Du Xinchu sighed. “I have no other skill, but I’m quite observant. The might of your sword tells me that all the experts in the city added together can only serve as training dummies. Tidehark has lost most of its power and cannot withstand more torment. Having you as city lord trumps being swallowed up by the Wolf King.”
Qianye smiled indifferently. “You’re quite confident in me, aren’t you?”
He shot a glance forward and said, “Stop the car.”
The vehicles came to a halt in quick succession as Qianye walked out toward a certain intersection.
There was a long road before him with stores lining each side. The signs and flags in front fluttered in the wind, but there were few pa.s.sers-by and customers. Mostly, it was just the staff doing their work.
The road was long and narrow with tall buildings on either side. The sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly from the other end of the pa.s.sage, but leaden clouds bore down upon the area and stifled everyone therein.
Qianye made a sharp turn after a single glance and walked into the street with confident strides. Du Xinchu’s expression changed slightly—he wanted to stop Qianye, but the latter was already gone by the time he stretched out his hand. Du Xinchu remained frozen in place, glancing between his hand and Qianye’s receding figure ten meters away. His expression became solemn.
Once inside the street, killing intent rushed into Qianye’s face, and the area turned even darker. The wind pa.s.sing through the buildings was suffused with a bone-deep chill.
He didn’t need to walk far before the third-floor windows on either side shattered and several dark figures swooped down from above! At the same time, the store staff on the ground floor pulled away the tablecloths to reveal, not a table, but boxed ballistae!