184: City Siege

The Imperial Palace.

Huang Chengche walked up to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have a question."

"Teacher, there are no outsiders here. If you have any instructions, please feel free to speak directly."

Huang Chengche looked at the familiar expression and the familiar words, but those eyes were no longer warm and gentle; they were as fierce as blades.

When did this change begin?

Ten years ago?

Thirty years ago?

Or the day he ascended to the throne?

After a brief moment of distraction, he asked with a heavy heart.

"I have heard that in ancient times, hunters would cook their hunting dogs once the cunning rabbits were dead. Yet, I just heard of a hunter who cooked his hunting dogs first. Why is that?"

Huang Chengche did not mean to imply that Liu Rufeng and the others were hunting dogs, but rather used the metaphor to question why the Emperor would cut off his own support instead of eliminating the monsters.

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked" is a satire on the heartlessness, cruelty, and cold-blooded nature of ancient monarchs.

In today's society, cooking the hunting dog first deserves, at the very least, the label of being unwise.

The Emperor's face instantly turned cold.

"A hunter naturally has a hunter's own thoughts. Teacher, having not endured the hunter's hardships, how can you know that the hunter is in the wrong?"

"Teacher, please return. I have a mountain of memorials to review."

He was blatantly chasing him away.

Huang Chengche pretended not to hear and continued, "I have heard that in ancient times, there were famous scholars..."

"Grand Tutor, you are tired. Withdraw!"

Not only was he chasing him away, but even the form of address had changed.

Huang Chengche gave a miserable laugh. "In my life, I have always admired the poet Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river. Today..."

Before he could finish, the Emperor flew into a rage. "Someone come! The Grand Tutor is ill. Take him home to recuperate for three months."

Old fool, at the verge of death, you actually want to trade your life for a good reputation? Where does that leave me?

He deserves to die, he truly deserves to die!

...

Ninth District.

South-Facing Gate.

Hundreds of corpses of city guards lay in pools of blood, their faces filled with astonishment.

Huang Zhishan and other female Professionals watched as everyone piled the corpses together, saying nonchalantly.

"Why are these city guards so weak? Can we hold this city?"

"Hold? Why would we want to hold it?"

"Ah? Then what are we..."

Huang Zhishan had been undercover inside the God Descent Cult for over a decade, helping the Great Wall Guard Army disrupt some terrorist activities, but most were minor, and she had never managed to enter the higher echelons.

This attack was inexplicable, so she tried to inquire for information from a more senior companion.

"Heh, this is a grand ceremony! Only by experiencing such a ceremony can you understand the greatness of the Venerable God." The companion looked expectant, hands clasped together, face full of reverence.

Huang Zhishan thought to herself, This is bad, this is a blood sacrifice.

But this was one of the nine great human cities. How dare they? Just relying on the less than a thousand Cultists around them?

Even so, she secretly pressed her special communication device to contact the Great Wall Guard Army.

But there was no response.

A Formation Flag was thrust into the pile of corpses. The leading Elder waited for nearly half a minute before activating it. A rich, blood-red color dissolved into the air, drifting toward the center.

Sensing something, Huang Zhishan took out a Heaven-Connecting Talisman to check. She discovered that the entire great city, with the City Lord's Mansion as the eye of the Formation, and thirteen city gates and three bustling shopping malls as pivot points, had its Qi interconnected, laid out as a massive sacrificial Formation.

The corpses beneath the Formation Flag crawled up and began attacking the city's residents.

The residents who were attacked would soon turn into blood zombies, attacking all living things around them.

This would snowball, and soon the entire great city would be completely sacrificed.

"I must destroy this Formation Flag!"

Everyone began to gather. Leaving twelve elites to guard the Formation Flag, the leading Elder led the group carrying blood Talismans behind the blood zombies, killing anyone who blocked their path.

Huang Zhishan followed at the very back, secretly using an Invisibility Talisman and a Qi-Concealing Talisman to hide on the side, preparing to destroy the Formation Flag.

The blood zombies in front suddenly stopped and looked in Huang Zhishan's direction.

Huang Zhishan's heart sank; the Qi-Concealing Talisman had also hidden the scent of the blood Talisman, and she was instantly discovered by the blood zombies.

As she was thinking of a solution, a few passersby looked curiously in this direction, drawing all the blood zombies' attention toward them.

As the blood zombies began to slaughter the ordinary people, Huang Zhishan sneaked toward the Formation Flag and took out a Forbidden Curse.

This had been distributed to her the day she became an undercover agent; she had kept it for decades for the sake of more people's safety.

I'll risk it!

She activated the Forbidden Curse.

Meteor Fire Rain!

Meteors filling the sky, carrying intense heat, smashed toward the elite squad. Under normal circumstances, most of them would have been able to rush out of the rain of fire's range, but now they had to guard the Formation Flag.

They all gathered under the Formation Flag, casting Skills to bombard the meteors filling the sky.

One second.

Two seconds.

Ten seconds.

The twelve-man elite squad also carried many Talismans and items. Although the Forbidden Curse was immensely powerful, only three of them suffered minor injuries, and the Formation Flag remained completely unharmed.

Huang Zhishan looked in the direction the Elder had left. Gritting her teeth, she cast the "Sweet Charm" Skill on one of them. That person's spirit was momentarily dazed, and the Formation Flag was struck by a meteor.

"Someone is ambushing us!"

The man screamed. Someone immediately cast a Reveal-Invisibility Spell. Although Huang Zhishan was well hidden, she was quickly discovered.

The gap in Rank was too large.

She had barely reached Rank 56, while the group opposite her were all Rank 80 entities.

...

"Brothers, the shameless Cultists have assassinated the City Lord. Today is the day to defend our home."

"Kill!"

Zhong Qianxiong led the Public Security Bureau's elites charging into the street. He did not immediately go to wipe out the blood zombies. There were only over four hundred people on duty today, and it would be very difficult for them to protect the entire city.

He began to gather people everywhere. Wherever there were many experts, he went. Once he gathered ten thousand people, even if they couldn't defeat the entire God Descent Cult, they could at least cripple them.

Just as they turned a corner, over a hundred shadows burrowed into the shadows of the crowd. Instantly, those hundred-plus people could not control themselves and attacked those around them.

The same scene played out in other parts of the city. Once anyone began to organize resistance, those shadows would soon arrive and easily wipe them out.

...

Little Sparrow transformed into a giant falcon, its speed could reach 30 times the speed of sound. It took only ten minutes for him to bring Xu Le to the sky above the Ninth District.

He thought of the great city with tens of millions of people; even if it were tragic, the vast majority should be able to survive.

But the tragic sight before his eyes gnawed at his heart, and tears could not help but well up.

Too tragic!

The entire Ninth District was a massive killing Formation, blocking all outsiders from entering.

Little Sparrow flew straight to the South-Facing Gate. "This is the weak point of the entire Formation. We can try to break through from here."

"Great Emperor, help me. Let's strike together."

Little Sparrow silently shook its head. "Believe me, me not striking is better for your rescue operation."