246: Chapter 246 A Night of Madness

High Priest Shang Yuleng originally couldn't figure out why Zheng Duo would suddenly call him.

But ten minutes later, when he found Tang Long and the other two, he was shocked.

The three were hiding in a foul-smelling small heavenly change space; Tang Long and Red Hand were both blinded, and Zheng Duo was heavily injured.

"Your Excellency, Chief Zheng, Red Hand, how did you end up like this?"

Tang Long let out a huff, "Don't ask. The Sect sent the Seventh Apostle to kill me, and it happened that the Blasphemers also sent two Hetero-blood Spirit Map users over. It was a chaotic battle, and all parties suffered."

"The Blasphemers' Hetero-blood Spirit Map users! Then why didn't Your Excellency summon Lv Yang and the others?"

"There wasn't time then. As for afterwards... I had them go elsewhere to put on a show and attract attention. Stop chatting, take us back!"

Even if High Priest Shang Yuleng was curious, he knew this wasn't the time to ask for details, so he immediately took them back to the city at top speed.

In fact, even if he asked, Tang Long wouldn't tell him many of the details.

Information isolation is very important.

Besides, to be honest, today's outcome was vastly different from what was predicted; it would be embarrassing to talk about.

Tang Long had already taken an Evil Eye spell for Zheng Duo and Red Hand, letting them pursue, and had specifically instructed them that the Blood Fiend could be killed, but the Evil Eye should just be driven away.

And it would be best to let the Blasphemers take out the Seventh Apostle.

As for the Spirit-Rectifying Blood Spear he wanted most... as long as the Seventh Apostle died, he definitely wouldn't be able to return to Huai Capital, and there would be opportunities later.

But Red Hand, that reckless brute, was too stubborn and tried to keep all of them. It forced the Evil Eye into a corner, and it hit him with another spell.

Just then, another mysterious Spirit Map expert appeared, who not only instantly killed the Seventh Apostle and snatched the Spirit-Rectifying Blood Spear, but also wanted to kill them all.

If Zheng Duo hadn't arrived in time, his life would have been over.

Zheng Duo was also no match for that mysterious Spirit Map expert; if he hadn't relied on the Open-Ring Forbidden Method to unleash a powerful Spirit Blast and injure the opponent, he probably would have been done for.

The mysterious expert retreated, and the Evil Eye seized the opportunity to take away the Blood Fiend, whose life or death was unknown.

Tang Long even worried that the enemy might have a bigger plan; coming with just one bishop might not even guarantee a safe return to the city.

He had Liu Zhiming, Lv Yang, and the others create a diversion first, and only after several hours did he quietly find High Priest Shang Yuleng, who hadn't been in the city for the past two days, to pick them up.

So the current result was really unsatisfactory.

When they returned to the Jinyue Martial Arts Hall, it was pitch black, and the other three bishops and Elder Zheng had already been waiting for a long time.

Soon, Shi Chengyu and Qiguang Sect also rushed over to visit.

Seeing them in this state and hearing about their encounter, everyone was extremely shocked.

Not only were Red Hand and Zheng Duo severely injured, but an apostle had also died, and the bishops all felt the situation was serious.

But who was the culprit?

This was not an easy topic to discuss.

Everyone was silent for a good while before Qiguang Sect spoke first.

"That mysterious Spirit Map expert is indeed terrifying. With Chief Zheng and Bishop Red Hand's strength, they were completely outmatched; it is highly likely they are at the Peak of the Spirit Map."

"There probably aren't many such people in Dongyu."

Speaking of this, he paused and glanced at Shi Chengyu, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

It wasn't just that there weren't many Spirit Map Peak experts in Dongyu; if one were to count carefully, there were actually fewer of them than Huagai Realm.

Don't look at how you can grab a handful of Lower Realm and Middle Realm Spirit Map users in any city; the hurdle from the Middle Realm to the Upper Realm is exceptionally difficult.

On the surface, Song City didn't have a single one.

Feng City might have one, the Duke of Fengcheng, Ye Baiming, who advanced to the Upper Realm ten years ago, but no one knows if he reached the Peak.

The two cities of Sangyu didn't have any either.

Huai Capital did have a few: the Pope's Archbishop Meng Ping counts as one, the Imperial Academy Libationer Ritual Master Yu Hai counts as one, the Crown Prince's Guardian, Grand Preceptor Qian Wenzhao, counts as one, and the current Military Chief Zhao Jixian counts as one.

These four are all top-tier experts who have long since reached the Peak of the Spirit Map.

Among them, Grand Preceptor Qian Wenzhao happened to be in Song City, but he had been at the Governors Mansion all afternoon, and Qiguang Sect had been with him drinking tea and talking, so it was impossible for him to go out and act as an assassin.

The other three also held very high positions and were busy with affairs; would they have the time to do such things?

Striking and taking away the Seventh Apostle immediately, it definitely wasn't the Pope's side.

Military Chief Zhao was busy with military affairs, running around all day, and besides, there was no reason to do such a thing, so he could basically be ruled out.

As for Ritual Master Yu Hai... the Grand Secretary's thoughts are hard to fathom.

But Qiguang Sect couldn't speak recklessly.

He could only say, "Old Zheng, do you want to take A-Duo to my place for the night? I will call Jintang and Song Yu to protect you."

Elder Zheng shook his head, "Military affairs take priority. Don't make unnecessary arrangements; it's fine here."

"The four brothers from The Sect are all here; that person might not dare to come."

"Even if he really comes, hmph! I think that would be just fine!"

"I would like to see for myself what kind of expert can injure my A-Duo like this!"

Shi Chengyu also said, "Even if it is a Spirit Map Peak expert, it is impossible to be this arrogant and still cause trouble in Song City; they have probably already gone far away. I will stay tonight as well; Department Head Qiguang Sect need not worry."

"I hope I am overthinking it. I will leave first." Qiguang Sect nodded to everyone and then left.

Shi Chengyu originally wanted to chat a bit more with the four bishops.

But the three injured were resting, and the four bishops were all preoccupied and had no desire to talk. After perfunctorily saying a few more words, they each found a place to rest.

Shi Chengyu returned to his room and sighed to himself.

Because of what happened today, he also felt it was very likely the work of University Scholar Zong Liangchen.

After all, two Huagai Realm in one Huai Capital, plus an emperor, is indeed a bit crowded.

And before coming, his teacher didn't even say hello.

Also.

Tang Long lost an arm yesterday, and today he became blind, nearly getting killed again. It feels like in a few more days, even if he doesn't die, he won't be able to take care of himself. Should he still join his White Clothes Association?

This...

He felt a bit disappointed and bored.

He could only wash up casually and prepare to rest.

But just then, he suddenly felt a slight vibration in the building.

This wasn't a simple vibration, but a spiritual energy fluctuation from the clash of at least Spirit Map-level experts, neither too far nor too close.

It should be inside the city!

Qiguang Sect was right; something really happened again.

After a moment of thought, he flashed twice and reached the roof, finding Elder Zheng and the four bishops there, all coincidentally gazing in one direction.

The fluctuation quickly subsided, and there was no movement for a long while.

After a long while, Elder Zheng said in a heavy tone, "That is the direction of Old Qi's home."

The news arrived quickly.

Qiguang Sect was assassinated and died.

Xu Chaoyang's son, Xu Songling, was assassinated and died.

Next, the entire Song City military went crazy.

The whole city was under martial law for a massive search, and tens of thousands were arrested that night.

— — — —

Outside Song City, the Dragon Kingdom players were even crazier than Song City.

Today's battle at the scale of 100,000 people was already sensational enough; related report posts exceeded 1,000 within eight hours.

But that was just the beginning.

The presidents of the four major guilds, including Qingyun, posted a joint post on the forum, detailing the behavior of the Island Japanese players and calling on all Dragon Kingdom players to participate in the extermination of the Island Japanese.

This post was named the 'Exterminate Japanese Order'.

Once the Exterminate Japanese Order was issued, countless Dragon Kingdom players quickly airdropped into the gathering places of Island Japanese players such as Nanhe, Haixing, and several nearby Blue Sea island states.

According to rough calculations by war correspondents, the number of Dragon Kingdom players participating in the extermination of the Japanese tonight far exceeded the one-million mark.

Later on, those with Island Japanese names didn't dare to leave the safe zones at all; even in the safe zones, they were often taken down, and a considerable number of Island Japanese players had to log off.

Later, when there was no one left to kill, the Dragon Kingdom players still felt unsatisfied and even cleared out the monster spawning points near the safe zones completely.

Player groups from many Western countries condemned the Dragon Kingdom and voiced support for the Island Japanese.

So, the Dragon Kingdom players, who were about to retreat before dawn, went crazy one last time; they killed all the NPCs in the relevant camps, leaving not a single one behind.