"Crack-boom!"
Wen Zhai sat astride his horse, coldly watching as the buildings before him collapsed under the charge of the iron cavalry, engulfed in roaring flames.
The cavalry shouted as they advanced:
"Wen Xian is without virtue, the Saint brings divine punishment, Jiangnan shall rule, those who do not submit shall be slain!"
"Jiangnan shall rule, those who do not submit shall be slain!"
This slogan had been spontaneously created by the army following Wen Zhai, used to proclaim their cause and boost morale.
Originally, Wen Zhai believed that his operation in Zangfeng Prefecture would proceed effortlessly. The common people, he thought, must already be deeply dissatisfied with that utterly useless emperor.
All it would take was a single call to arms, and countless would respond.
Even if not to that extent, at least no one would try to stop him.
But Wen Zhai had not expected that, even with his army pressing at their doorstep, so many would still choose to support Wen Xian, or rather, to support the current sitting emperor.
Earlier, a scholar had even stepped out and denounced him as a treasonous rebel, a hedonistic prince who had forgotten his ancestry and dared to rebel against the throne!
But before he could shout more than two sentences, the scholar's head was promptly cut off by a soldier, falling to the ground, his blood spilled in loyalty to the emperor he served.
"Looks like these years I spent sullying my own name weren't for nothing. My clever elder brother certainly didn't waste the opportunity, he's taken everything that should've been mine."
Fame, prestige... no one remembered anymore the Jiangnan King who once rode through the southern frontier and struck such fear into the Blood Affliction Sect at the borders that their very name would tremble.
Over the years, even Wen Zhai himself had nearly forgotten what he used to be.
In a daze, he felt as though he had become nothing more than an old man, gradually rotting away in a life of comfort and indulgence.
Wen Zhai sighed.
"Wen Xian, you've really done me a disservice."
He patted the side of his horse's neck, muttering:
"Oh steed, tell me, who should the realm of the Yang Kingdom truly belong to?"
The horse, naturally, did not respond, only snorted loudly.
Wen Zhai gave a soft laugh, then squeezed with his legs. His gaze grew sharp and cold as the battle steed charged forward through the burning street.
No matter what happened, today would be the first step toward his ascension to the throne.
No one could stop him!
The Elixir of Immortality, he would have it, no matter what!
As Wen Zhai charged forward, a great wave of cavalry followed.
Then came the infantry, spreading in an encircling formation. From above, the flowing wind and blazing fires stretched across nearly half of Zangfeng Prefecture alongside the overwhelming march of troops.
At this moment, the entire encirclement had already swept past the area surrounding Xuni Pavilion and the Golden Phoenix Pavilion.
A soldier rode close to report:
"Xuni Pavilion has been leveled to the ground. There's no one left in Golden Phoenix Pavilion. We've searched every nearby house, he's not there. He must have escaped."
Wen Zhai sneered:
"He won't get away."
He looked up at the sky, where a faint golden sheen shimmered above, that was the barrier sealing the entire Zangfeng Prefecture.
No entry, no exit.
Until everything was resolved, no one could leave.
Suddenly, Wen Zhai reached out, grabbed a nearby battle flag, and raised it high, letting it flutter in the wind as he shouted:
"Soldiers! Follow me, flatten Zangfeng Prefecture!"
The soldiers roared in unison:
"Flatten Zangfeng Prefecture!"
Their cries were like rolling thunder, reverberating through half the prefecture.
"Hmph. Flatten Zangfeng Prefecture? What, do you think Zangfeng Prefecture is, some remote, uninhabited wilderness?"
A mocking snort came from the side.
Wen Zhai turned his head and saw a figure standing on a rooftop, holding a red parasol. Beneath the parasol was a very ordinary-looking woman, sneering coldly.
It was none other than Red Umbrella, a senior elder of the Mountain-Sea Alliance.
Wen Zhai narrowed his eyes:
"Mountain-Sea Alliance... You demons, what business do you have meddling in this? I don't recall Wen Xian offering you anything."
"Wen Xian may not offer benefits, but..."
A childish voice sounded from the other side:
"You will certainly bring disaster."
Wen Zhai turned his head again and saw a child standing atop a stone, slowly rising from the shadows of a house.
No, that wasn't a stone.. It was a massive serpent head!
As the sunlight illuminated the delicate, doll-like child, the enormous, fearsome, green serpent beneath his feet was fully revealed.
Hiss hiss...
The snake's head rose high, its lantern-sized vertical pupils glowing with terrifying light. Its enormous body, dozens of zhang long, coiled and occupied several streets.
What was even more horrifying was that, when one head rose, eight more serpent heads rose alongside it!
A total of eighteen eyes, all fixed on their enemy.
Xiangliu, a serpent with nine heads.
Atop one of those serpent heads stood a white fox with two tails.
From within the streets emerged hundreds of Mountain-Sea Alliance demon members, eyes cold and fierce.
Wen Zhai's face remained expressionless as he watched the scene, but then he suddenly laughed:
"Good, good, very good!"
He said coldly:
"A bunch of sewer-dwelling beastly filth actually think they can come onto the stage? Since you seek death, I'll gladly oblige!"
"Kill them all!"
The soldiers roared:
"Kill!"
BOOM!!!
Xiangliu's massive body rose high and then came crashing down. Its thick tails swept through the battlefield, crushing all in their path like dead leaves.
Countless were crushed to death, ground to pulp as the ground was painted red with blood.
Red Umbrella and Yu Xiangsi flitted through the soldiers like wraiths, slashing throats with daggers, piercing hearts with claws, so swift as to be almost invisible.
But these soldiers were not entirely helpless. They coordinated, one would restrain them with his life, and another would strike.
Some covered archers, aiming for Xiangliu's weak spots, its eyes, or the injuries already inflicted by a coordinated assault.
Without Spiritual Energy, the demon beast's natural defense was weakened as Xiangliu quickly sustained multiple wounds, and its stamina began to falter.
Bang!
One of the serpent heads finally fell.
Kui leapt down from atop it, transforming mid-air into a colossal beast!
This beast was bizarre in shape, like a dragon but hornless, with only one leg, shaped like a bull's hoof.
BOOM!
As it landed, it stomped upon the stone road of Zangfeng Prefecture, forming a massive crater, with spiderweb-like cracks radiating out several zhang!
Though it appeared somewhat bloated and had only one leg, it was incredibly agile.
In just a few breaths, countless soldiers were crushed, coughing blood and dying on the spot.
But the beast's dominance did not last long.
A pair of muscular hands suddenly grabbed its leg, one of Wen Zhai's soldiers turned out to be a body cultivator, with strength at the Sea-Cleaving Realm!
"Roar!"
Kui howled as he was lifted and thrown violently into the air!
BOOM-
The giant beast crashed through several buildings, surrounded and attacked, but was soon rescued by Xiangliu.
The battlefield descended into a stalemate.
Wen Zhai called over a unit of soldiers to withdraw and flank from the rear.
Though his face remained expressionless, his heart bled. These soldiers were his loyal elites, and by the end of this battle, he might lose a whole third of them!
Sigh...
Wen Zhai exhaled deeply.
No matter. Once these demons were dealt with, there shouldn't be many more obstacles left...
But he hadn't gone far when a man appeared at a street intersection, barehanded, clearly waiting for him.
The man's face was stern, and familiar.
Wen Zhai's expression finally cracked as he clenched his jaw:
"Cang Xing... Martial Saint Pavilion?! What does this have to do with you?!"
Cang Xing sneered:
"To lighten the Martial Saint's burden, this is my duty as his disciple!"
Wen Zhai frowned hard.
The Martial Saint? Weren't the Martial Saint and Chen Kuang mortal enemies?! He was here to capture Chen Kuang, shouldn't Cang Xing be on his side?
Why was everyone, every single one of them, standing against him?
It made no sense!
Could it be... he didn't know Chen Kuang was alive?
Wen Zhai relaxed and then said smugly:
"Seems like you're unaware... that Chen Kuang isn't dead! I'm here to capture him!"
But Cang Xing showed no surprise, instead, he seemed even more impatient.
"Yes, I know he's not dead."
Cang Xing gave him a look like he was watching a fool.
"I'm here to stop you from capturing him!"
...
At the border between Yong'an Prefecture and Zangfeng Prefecture.
Su Huaiying looked up at the golden barrier before her, her expression serious:
"So this is the work of a Saint..."
Zhang Zhizhou crouched down beside her:
"That's right. Once inside, all cultivation is nullified."
Su Huaiying gently touched the ancient bell at her waist:
"Are you certain he's still alive?"
Zhang Zhizhou nodded:
"I'm certain. And I also know, he's going to face a death calamity nearby. When that time comes... we'll need the Empress, Your Majesty to act."
Su Huaiying snorted:
"That guy really is a headache. Always needs me to come save him... but whatever, he has saved me quite a few times. I'll consider this paying him back."