"Shoot!"
Seeing that the two groups had finished their shifts, and were now at their most relaxed, Pei Zi Yun gave the order. Following this order, a series of sharp whistles could be heard, breaking the silence of the rainy night.
The black robed guards couldn't be said to be unprepared. When they heard the order, they immediately drew their swords. It was just that the speed of the arrows was extremely fast. In a split second, the arrows pierced through the crowd, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
"There's an enemy!" Seven to eight black robed guards fell to the ground, their bodies riddled with arrows.
One of the Daoists reacted slightly slower, and was hit by five or six arrows. He turned into a porcupine, and no matter how many Dao arts he had, he couldn't execute them in time, and died instantly.
There was another Daoist who reacted extremely quickly. He touched the weapon on his body, and with a "buzz", inscriptions appeared on his robes. A bright light flashed, and the arrow pierced through the barrier, causing a muffled sound. However, the arrow was deflected by an inch, and carried with it an aura of death.
The Daoist shouted out, "There's an enemy attack!"
As soon as he shouted out, his shadow flickered, and like a ray of light, a sword flashed. The protective barrier had already been broken by the arrow for the second time. This time, there was no resistance at all, and a head flew off his neck, spitting out a meter of blood.
County Magistrate, Small Hall
A gust of wind blew past, and the sound of the rain could be heard throughout the courtyard. It was quiet and secluded. The old Daoist then said, "Actually, Ji Bei Hou wasn't that confident. Although he and his two sons didn't make a move, his third son and his grandson boarded the boat, and they even carried some silver with them."
"Oh, how much silver?" Xie Cheng Dong was just making small talk, but his interest was piqued. Under the heavens, who didn't lack silver? Sometimes, he would listen to dramas where the Emperor or a Daoist would give out a thousand taels of silver.
Xie Cheng Dong leaned closer to King Lu, and read through the details. Land tax was 20 million taels, grain 7 million stones, farmland 500,000 taels, grain 3 million stones, palace grain 200,000 stones, salt tax 6 million taels, and the newly opened customs tax was 450,000 taels. The rest of the taxes from tea, gold, silver, copper, iron, land tax, and other taxes added up to less than 500,000 taels.
There were 27 million taels of silver in the world, and they were used for the government officials, the army, and the construction of the Imperial Court. The Emperor himself could only use one or two percent of it. Every year, the Ministry of Revenue had a surplus of one or two million taels of silver. Who could casually give out a thousand taels of silver?
As for Dark Altar Sect, they only had a few tens of thousands of taels of silver. Hence, Xie Chengdong was very interested in them.
The old Daoist laughed, "We've had some dealings with Ji Bei Hou. Since we're trying to save face, we've received some news. I'm not sure of the exact figures, but it seems like they've moved tens of thousands of taels of silver."
"Tens of thousands of taels, that's not a small amount …" Xie Cheng Dong sighed, "King Lu only earns tens of thousands of taels a year."
The old Daoist smiled, "This is moving the treasury. It's fine if it doesn't succeed, but if it does, we'll have to move it back. Marching and fighting are all money!"
Xie Chengdong nodded. "That's right …"
Before he could finish his words, there seemed to be a shout coming from outside. The bracelet on Xie Cheng Dong's body vibrated, and his expression changed. "Something happened outside!"
A shout was heard, "Shoot!"
The courtyard was filled with screams and screams. Suddenly, a man covered in blood smashed through the door. He fell in but did not die immediately. He shouted, "Enemy attack, enemy attack, it's heavy crossbows."
"What?" Xie Chengdong and the Taoist were both shocked.
Night fell. The lanterns hanging in the inner courtyard swayed in the wind, bringing with it a chill. Pei Zi Yun stopped in his tracks. After the massacre, his body was boiling hot, and the water vapor was evaporating.
"Pu pu pu!" Another black robed guard was pierced through by the heavy crossbow. Fresh blood dripped from his body as he was pinned to the wall.
"Peng, peng" The sound of the crossbow hitting the wall could be heard. Another black robed guard and a Daoist were killed. None of them managed to escape.
Pei Zi Yun waved his hands, and the soldiers all took up their crossbows, forming the largest defense and attack range possible.
"Reporting, it's an attack from the army. They're using heavy crossbows. We've suffered heavy casualties!" The captain of the black robed guards peeked out and reported.
Xie Cheng Dong replied coldly, "Get into formation, raise your shields, and gather all Daoists."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Young Master, this could be an attack from the army. We cannot fight them head-on. We have to break out of the encirclement." A Daoist spoke out, his expression was one of panic.
Xie Cheng Dong looked at him coldly, "What's there to panic about? There's a large army, why do we need to launch a sneak attack? Let's just charge straight in. Since they haven't launched a full-scale attack, it must be a small group!"
The old Daoist looked out and nodded his head, "There's indeed some weak military Qi. Although it's condensed, it can't defend against Dao arts. Looks like it's not a large army."
The thirty black robed guards within the inner courtyard had already raised their shields and formed a formation. They had just been ambushed. Now that they were prepared, everything was different.
Xie Cheng Dong looked at the Daoist and raised a hand, "The army outside isn't important. There aren't many of them. Listen up, the government office can't suppress our powers. Let's use our Dao arts together. Don't be stingy, and cooperate with the soldiers to kill them all!"
"I want to see who dares to attack us!"
"Dao Master, there's no movement inside." Outside the courtyard, the captain whispered. Pei Zi Yun looked into the room and laughed coldly. He then purposely raised his voice, "Killing these people is as easy as flipping our palms. Men, go and find some kerosene and prepare to throw it."
"Yes!" These words were meant to scare them. However, the soldiers around him obeyed and went to search for kerosene. Within the room, Xie Cheng Dong's face turned ashen as he ordered, "Kill our way out."
"Peng!" The black robed guards rushed out, and the scouts were just about to shoot at them. All of a sudden, a bright light flashed before their eyes. It wasn't just one ball of light, it was several balls of light that exploded in the night. At that point, all the scouts were blinded. The black robed guards did not attack immediately. Instead, they closed their eyes and squatted down, raising their shields to protect themselves.
"Imprison!" Xie Cheng Dong led several Daoists as they rushed out. Although the scouts were scattered throughout the courtyard, these Daoists were all Yin Masters. Their spells were extremely powerful. With several of them, the dozens of scouts were immobilized.
"Shoot!" The moment the light flashed, Pei Zi Yun was shocked. He dodged to the side, but he didn't hear any screams or screams.
"Haha, it's you, Pei Zi Yun!" Xie Cheng Dong stared at Pei Zi Yun and laughed coldly, "I didn't expect you to walk right into the trap. Kill!"
Without waiting for Pei Zi Yun's reply, the black robed guards didn't have any crossbows. With a shout, their blades flashed like snow as they charged forward, intending to kill all the scouts who were immobilized.
"Imprison, imprison, imprison!" Several Daoists followed suit, casting their spells. This was to prevent anyone from breaking free from the restraints of their Dao arts.
The only one who could move was Pei Zi Yun. He let out an evil grin as he fished out a piece of paper from within his robes. Seeing this piece of paper, Xie Cheng Dong's entire body trembled as his hair stood on end. He retreated hastily as he shouted, "Retreat!"
Before he could even finish his sentence, the sound of a dragon's roar could be heard. The old Daoist was old and had been following behind. When he looked up, he saw four golden words in the air, "As if the Emperor himself has arrived."
As soon as he heard the roar, he felt as if his Dao arts had disappeared, and he couldn't use them at all. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Shoot!" Pei Zi Yun shouted.
The scouts who had a look of shock on their faces instinctively pulled the trigger, and realized that they could move again. They then heard a sharp whistling sound, as the sound of arrows pierced through the courtyard.
This type of crossbow could pierce through armor within twenty steps. The black robed guard who was charging at the front saw the arrow pierce through his mouth. The tip of the arrow pierced through his brain, causing blood to splatter everywhere. The black robed guard didn't even have time to scream before he fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
The remaining seven or eight black robed guards screamed out in pain as they fell to the ground.
"Shoot again!" The heavy crossbow had fired five shots in a row, and only two or three shots had been fired. Pei Zi Yun ordered.
One of the black robed guards broke out in cold sweat as he raised his shield to block the arrow. The force of the arrow was so strong that he couldn't hold on to it any longer, and the shield flew out of his hands.
"Xiu!"
Another arrow pierced through his body, piercing through his internal organs, causing him unbearable pain. He fell to the ground as he screamed in agony.
"Three shots!" Pei Zi Yun shouted.
"Xiu xiu xiu!"
After two shots, more than half of the black robed guards were killed, revealing the Daoists behind them. One of the Daoists in front of them burst into a mist of blood. He let out a groan as he flew through the air and slammed into a wall. He let out a heart-wrenching scream.
The arrow pierced through his internal organs, and even the Daoist screamed in pain as he rolled on the ground.
It wasn't just one Daoist. At least three Daoists in front of him died instantly.
"How is this possible?" Xie Cheng Dong raised his sword and blocked the arrow. He retreated a few steps, his face filled with disbelief, "As if the Emperor himself has arrived? That's a token, not a seal. "
The black robed guards in front of him had already died, and only a few were left. The Daoists who were charging at him were also left with only a few. At that point, the entire courtyard was littered with corpses.
"Xie Cheng Dong, you're too ignorant."
"As if the Emperor himself had arrived, it's a token, not a seal. However, I've borrowed it from the Imperial Court. Although the officials might not recognize it, it still carries some Imperial Qi. It's equivalent to at least a fourth or fifth grade Daoist." Pei Zi Yun laughed out loud as he recalled the preparations he'd made before he left.
Pei Zi Yun was about to give the order to shoot again when the officer reported, "Dao Master, we've shot all the arrows."
Pei Zi Yun looked around and felt that it was a pity. Just one more round and he would be able to kill everyone in front of him. He then ordered, "Throw away your crossbows and use your swords."
"Yes!" The soldiers threw away their crossbows and pulled out their swords as they charged forward. At that point, the sounds of killing could be heard.
Pei Zi Yun didn't charge towards Xie Cheng Dong, but instead charged towards a Daoist who was howling in pain. Xie Cheng Dong was enraged, "How dare you!"
Xie Cheng Dong charged forward, but it was too late. All he could see was the flash of a sword, and the howling of the Daoist was cut off. A head flew into the air as fresh blood splattered onto the wall.
"Zheng zheng zheng!" Pei Zi Yun had long been prepared for this. He turned around and struck out with his sword. All he could see was two shadows intertwining with each other. It was almost impossible to see them clearly. Moments later, the shadows separated, and the sword aura dissipated. Xie Cheng Dong was several feet away, his sword held up diagonally. There was a slit on his right rib, and blood was oozing out.
Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly, "Not bad, not bad. Xie Cheng Dong, it's been a while since I last saw you. Your sword techniques have improved again. But now, you're dead."
Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly as he watched the remaining black robed guards scream out in pain. They had all been slashed to death. The surrounding scouts surrounded them, all of them had cold expressions on their faces, and were filled with killing intent.
The officer in charge shouted, "Dao Master, I'm here to help you. Kill this thief!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
