Chapter 371
Chapter 371
Whether they had participated in last night's looting or not, every household met with disaster. Besides having all their family assets and valuables stolen, any slight resistance was met with brutal suppression. The lucky ones suffered broken bones; the unlucky lost their lives. If there were any beautiful women in the family, the city guards of Zhenyuan might have held back, but the wandering warriors from the Western Regions committed unspeakable, beastly acts. The tears of blood shed by the people of Zhenyuan City were enough to overflow and soar to the heavens.
Countless grievances and rage steadily built up in the hearts of all the people of Zhenyuan City. If no one ignited that anger, they, being mere commoners, would have endured all that injustice and fury until their deaths. But the moment someone lit that fuse, the flames of their pent-up rage would be more than enough to burn down all of Zhenyuan City. Su Lin, well aware of this fact, had only ordered the looting of the people after being certain of Shen Lang's death. The Su Clan was preparing to rebel soon, so they had to suppress all uncertain elements. That was why they used the most powerful means—brute force—to make the people tremble in fear.
‘How dare you loot the shops of the Western Region merchants! Do you have a death wish?!’
* * *
At the same time.
Outside the Zhenyuan Prefect's mansion, someone gave an order.
“Attack! Kill every one of Shen Lang’s people inside the mansion. Annihilate them all!”
*Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip.*
A dozen catapults and heavy crossbows fired madly toward the Prefect's mansion.
*CRASH.*
A dozen massive stones slammed violently against the mansion's walls. The mansion's walls were not like city walls; they were neither sturdy nor thick. So, when the giant stones struck, they created cracks at best and gaping holes at worst. In an instant, the mansion was riddled with holes, and half of its outer wall had collapsed. Half of the buildings inside the mansion were also reduced to ruins by the flying stones.
“Fire! Fire! Fire!”
A Su Clan military officer shouted the order, and over two thousand warriors began to fire their bows fiercely. Showers of arrows rained down on the mansion, one volley after another.
“Switch to fire arrows! Fire! Fire!”
A moment later, flames soared high into the sky from within the Zhenyuan Prefect's mansion. At the same time, the sounds of wailing from every house shook the heavens. The entire city seemed to have descended into hell. The situation was beyond critical.
“General Wuyue, we can’t hold out much longer. Why don’t we just charge out? The entire mansion is on fire. If we stay trapped here, we’ll all be wiped out.”
“General Thirteen, when did Young Master Shen say he would return?”
Thirteen, with smoke rising from his body as if his clothes were on fire, answered loudly.
“Soon, very soon. The Master will return shortly and lead us to sweep through Zhenyuan City.”
Wuyue shouted.
“Everyone, listen! We hold the mansion! Even if it’s down to the last man, we do not abandon our post!”
“Yes, sir!”
Outside, the Su Clan warriors continued to fire their catapults and rain down arrows. Their assault shook the ground, and flames shot high into the sky.
A Su Clan chiliarch said calmly.
“The people inside must all be dead by now! Even if some are still alive after all this, there can’t be many. If they didn’t burn to death, they must have died of fright.”
He raised his hand, and all the catapults and archers ceased their attack.
“The troops will assemble and charge forward. Let’s kill every last one of Shen Lang’s people! Kill them all!”
Two thousand Su Clan warriors charged into the Prefect's mansion without hesitation.
* * *
Inside Su Lin's main residence.
Here, the only one who could match Sword King Li Qianqiu in martial arts was the Ascetic Monk Kunan of the Great Calamity Temple. Ascetic Monk Kunan stood some distance from the center of the fight, staring intently at Li Qianqiu like a viper searching for the right moment to strike. But Li Qianqiu gave him no such opportunity. Over a hundred masters charged at him, but he cut them down with such speed that they hardly troubled him.
On the other side, a hundred warriors rushed at Big Dummy, but they, too, failed to cause him any trouble. From the start of the battle to its end, in merely a quarter of an hour, all the masters from the Western Regions and the warriors of the Great Calamity Temple were killed by Li Qianqiu, while the hundred warriors of the Su Clan were slain by Big Dummy.
The ground was littered with corpses, and the stench of blood pierced the sky. Ascetic Monk Kunan faced Li Qianqiu from a hundred meters away. After killing over a hundred warriors, Li Qianqiu let out a long breath, switched his sword to his left hand, and shook out his right hand a few times.
“Great Monk, are you coming?”
Ascetic Monk Kunan looked at Shen Lang with a cold gaze and said.
“Sword King Li Qianqiu is truly formidable. But you must have expended a great deal of your vital energy killing over a hundred men. You cannot kill me now. Of course, I cannot kill you either.”
Li Qianqiu said.
“How would you know without trying?”
Ascetic Monk Kunan said.
“There’s no rush! I will go to the Great Calamity Temple now and bring back more masters and monk soldiers! Li Qianqiu, Shen Lang. You have provoked a powerful enemy! From this day forward, this fight will not end until either the Great Calamity Temple or you are destroyed.”
In the blink of an eye, Ascetic Monk Kunan vanished without a trace. The people of the Great Calamity Temple were as cunning as ghosts. Only then did Sword King Li Qianqiu breathe a sigh of relief. He was not like Big Dummy or Qiu Yao'er, who possessed monstrous, innate bloodlines. His vital energy was finite, and despite using it sparingly, he had expended a considerable amount of it and his internal energy fighting over a hundred warriors. If Ascetic Monk Kunan had attacked him in this state, it would have been truly troublesome.
At that moment, the peerless beauty Ha Yingying stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the corpses littering the ground. Shen Lang, meanwhile, was meticulously suturing Su Lin's wounds. He had just been stabbed so many times and castrated; if the bleeding wasn't stopped immediately, he could die from blood loss.
Shen Lang smiled and said.
“Brother, you never would have imagined that I would kill all your people without suffering a single casualty, would you? I heard you ordered hundreds of your guards and Western Region warriors to go from house to house in Zhenyuan City to recover the stolen goods. The people of Zhenyuan must be weeping tears of blood and drowning in sorrow right now!
I am truly grateful for your help. Just as a tiny spark can set a prairie ablaze, you have helped me by pouring a bucket of oil on the fire. You have made all the people of Zhenyuan City burn with the flames of rage, and now, they will become my people. I will lead these enraged citizens, sweep through Zhenyuan City, and then sweep through the entire White Night Army's territory. Now, I alone can stir up the Su Clan's domain until it is turned upside down and thrown into chaos!
Big Dummy, carry Su Lin. We’re returning to the Prefect's mansion immediately!”
Big Dummy easily lifted Su Lin onto his back, and Shen Lang's group rushed out of the main residence at top speed.
* * *
As soon as he emerged from the main residence, Shen Lang shouted at the top of his lungs.
“People of Zhenyuan City, young and old! I am your Prefect, Shen Lang. Su Lin is finished. The men who lorded over you have been utterly destroyed by me. I know the disaster you have just suffered. The wicked invaded your homes, burning, killing, and plundering. They stole the assets you have accumulated over decades. They killed your parents, defiled your women, and tormented your beloved daughters. How should such a bone-deep, profound hatred be repaid? A blood debt must naturally be paid in blood! Big Dummy, lift Su Lin up!”
Big Dummy broke a ten-meter-high flagpole, tied Su Lin, the master of Zhenyuan, to it, and raised it high.
“Do you all see? This is Su Lin, the former ruler of Zhenyuan City. I have killed all his men, and now he hangs limp like a dead dog, in my hands.”
All the people of Zhenyuan City saw it with their own eyes. Su Lin, the supreme ruler of Zhenyuan who used to look down from on high, was now truly hanging from a flagpole like a dead dog. He had been castrated, and there was even a knife stuck between his buttocks.
Shen Lang shouted loudly.
“People of Zhenyuan City, your property has been stolen. Your parents have been beaten to death, and your women have been violated. Do you intend to let this blood debt go unpaid? Will you seek revenge with me, or not?”
With every word Shen Lang spoke, Big Dummy repeated it, his voice like a clap of thunder.
“We will have our revenge!”
The son of Wang Laoshi embraced his father, whose bones were broken, with his left arm, and his battered mother with his right.
“We will have our revenge. We will fight them to the death. We will repay this blood debt!”
A tiny spark can set a prairie ablaze. Today, the people of Zhenyuan City had suffered disaster in every home, and they were suppressing the endlessly rising flames of vengeance. Shen Lang shouted to them.
“Brothers, bring your weapons. A woodsman’s axe is fine, a sickle is fine, even a pickaxe will do. Follow me and let’s kill our enemies. Let’s kill all the corrupt officials of Zhenyuan and the Western Region warriors. Let’s kill all the beastly city guards and the lackeys the Su Clan planted in Zhenyuan. After we wipe the enemy clean from Zhenyuan City, we will advance on the White Night Army and kill them all!”
Big Dummy raised the ten-meter-high flagpole, with the limp body of Su Lin hanging like a dead dog, and ran forward. As Shen Lang, Li Qianqiu, and Big Dummy sprinted madly down the wide street, the people of Zhenyuan City came rushing out one after another, following behind them. One, two, three, ten, a hundred, then over a thousand people rushed out, until a dark mass of ten thousand able-bodied men from Zhenyuan City had gathered behind Shen Lang. Every one of them had eyes filled with the flames of vengeance.
“Kill the enemy, kill them!”
Leading over ten thousand enraged citizens, Shen Lang charged toward the Su Clan army outside the Prefect's mansion like a surging black tide. He would slaughter his enemies in such numbers that the world would be turned upside down and the heavens and earth would tremble.
* * *
Qiang Kingdom.
Crown Prince Arutai had still not ascended the throne. Logically, he should have declared himself king long ago, so this was an abnormal situation. The previous Qiang King had fathered a dozen sons in total. Excluding the five youngest princes, four had died of smallpox, leaving only four adult sons.
The fifth prince, Arucho, had been ordered by Arugang to suppress Princess Aruna, but not long after departing with his soldiers, he heard the news of the Qiang King's sudden death. Upon hearing the news, he did not proceed to the Great Snow Mountain but immediately turned toward the Snow Mountain Divine Temple. The Snow Mountain Divine Temple was, in fact, also a fortress. With Ascetic Monk Ku'hai and his monk soldiers all dead, the fortress happened to be empty, so Arucho decided to station his troops there.
After he garrisoned the Snow Mountain Divine Temple, the other two adult princes also led their personal troops and stationed themselves there. Eventually, the three sons of the Qiang King, with a total of five thousand soldiers, occupied the Snow Mountain Divine Temple and entered a standoff with Arutai from a distance.