232: The source of terror

Hai City. Eastern part. Along the coast, fortresses stood like inverted mountains, filled with various powerful technological and elemental weapons, all pointed towards the sea.

Martial Artist soldiers in blue military uniforms patrolled back and forth in pairs of ten.

This was the border of Great Xia, and also an extremely important battlefield and fortress.

Failure was absolutely not allowed.

In addition to a King stationed here, there were also three King-level commanders, and over thirty other high-level Prefecture Lords.

Two hundred thousand Martial Artist soldiers were stationed here year-round, not retreating a single step, guarding the homeland.

"For this ruin development, our 3rd Column took the main credit, so of course, we should get the lion's share!"

"Bullshit, it was clearly our 7th Column that killed the BOSS, so naturally, we should get the most."

"Our 10th Column also contributed significantly..."

Inside the command center, a group of powerful commanders were arguing fiercely, their faces red and necks thick, vying for benefits.

Ming Xiao, one of the three Quasi-Kings, sat in the highest position, leisurely drinking tea.

His hair and beard were half-white, he wore round-rimmed glasses, and his thin and frail appearance was like that of a scholar.

But he was the Hai City war zone's publicly acknowledged most overbearing person.

King Zhenhai and the other two Quasi-Kings generally wouldn't show up unless it was a critical moment; he basically oversaw the military and commanded all border defense matters on a daily basis.

"Alright," Ming Xiao said.

Everyone instantly fell silent, showing the depth of his prestige.

Ming Xiao: "For this ruin's harvest, all four columns contributed significantly. The 3rd Column performed the best, getting forty percent. The remaining three columns each get twenty percent. Let's settle it this way."

"Next time we attack a ruin, the 7th and 10th Columns will lead the charge. Any objections?"

The commanders exchanged glances but said nothing.

Ming Xiao lightly tapped the table with his finger, causing ripples: "Since we're done with the division of the ruin's spoils, let's talk about the next matter. Recently, some things have happened in Hai City that give me an uneasy premonition."

"Are you referring to the dozen or so disappearance incidents in Hai City recently?"

Ming Xiao nodded.

A one-eyed commander said dismissively, "What's that? It's either a cult at work or some illegal Martial Artists causing trouble. I'll send people to investigate, and they'll be caught."

"I already sent people to investigate, but the strange thing is they've vanished like mud oxen into the sea, losing contact as soon as they went. Among them was an eighth-rank Prefecture Lord under my command."

Ming Xiao said slowly.

"Even before disappearing, he didn't send me any message at all. Don't you find this incredible?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions couldn't help but become solemn.

Killing an eighth-rank Prefecture Lord wasn't a big deal, but making him unable to send out even a single message...

"It seems it's indeed not as simple as we thought," said a short-haired female general named Ge Xiao, crossing her arms. "Should I go investigate?"

Ming Xiao was just about to say something.

Suddenly, a terrifying Aura swept across.

"Swish!" Everyone in the entire room stood up simultaneously, looking towards one direction with solemn expressions.

"What a terrifying Aura."

"It's in the Hai City suburbs, very close!"

"Who exactly is this Aura from...?"

Ming Xiao looked towards that direction with an extremely solemn expression, muttering, "This unfamiliar Aura is practically exceeding the Quasi-King realm, and it's still rising. Who in the world could it be?"

He looked at Ge Xiao and said, "Ge Xiao, take overall command of the entire army in my place. I need to go see. The rest of you, fulfill your duties and are not to leave the battlefield!"

After speaking, he didn't wait for her or them to reply.

Ming Xiao used a teleportation item, and his entire body instantly disappeared from the room.

...Song Family.

"Dad, Mr. Wu suddenly left just now. Could it be that You'er encountered danger during his trip outside the city this time...?"

A beautiful woman with a graceful figure asked the old man fishing by the lake with concern.

"It's nothing," the old man said. His hair was completely silver, but his appearance was middle-aged, his eyes like deep wells, and he held a white jade fishing rod in his hand. His Aura was surging, and his life force was extremely vigorous.

Song Zhengshao, one of the four great Quasi-Kings of Hai City outside the military, an S-rank talent Martial Artist, the ancestor who revitalized the Song Family, and one of the top talents who contended with Northern Lord in the past.

Even in Hai City, which was dozens of times larger than South River City, he could absolutely be called a magnate! No one dared to underestimate him.

"You'er went to the Hai City suburbs, which isn't inherently dangerous. At most, one or two sixth or seventh-tier ferocious beasts might appear. Since Wu Shouchen has already rushed there, there's no need to worry."

Song Zhengshao said nonchalantly.

"As long as the sea battlefield to the east isn't pressured, this Hai City is an impregnable iron plate; absolutely nothing will go wrong."

"With me here, absolutely no one would dare to harm a descendant of my Song Family."

Listening to his domineering words.

The woman breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I can rest assured..."

Wearing a top-brand qipao, she slightly bent over, outlining her beautiful figure, just about to pour tea for the old man.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and ripples spread across the lake.

The woman looked up in surprise, asking doubtfully, "Earthquake?"

Swish. The old man suddenly stood up, his body standing firm like a mountain. The fishing rod in his hand was also lifted upwards because of his movement, erupting with terrifying power and pulling out all the thousand tons of lake water from the center of the lake.

"Splash!" A large koi fish over ten meters long flew out in terror with the lake water, arcing over the surface, and then heavily crashed back into the lake.

"Plop!!" The woman looked on in surprise.

"Dad?" But she found the old man staring in the direction outside the city, his expression unprecedentedly solemn.

"What a terrifying Aura. What on earth is going on?"

"Swish!" A flash of light and shadow appeared in the sky. A figure, like an invisible person, appeared above the Song Family.

Song Zhengshao looked at him, "You felt it too?"

That person sneered, "Nonsense! If I couldn't even feel such a strong Aura, would I still be in this position?"

The woman looked at the Magician's robe the person was wearing, her expression slightly changing. She lowered her head and respectfully said, "Greetings, Guild Leader Li."

Li Yibai, the Guild Leader of the Hai City Magician Association, a Quasi-King existence with a high status, lightly nodded, then said to Song Zhengshao, "Want to take a look?"

"Of course, this old man wants to see who dares to be so bold and impatient, openly provoking the entire Hai City!"

Song Zhengshao sneered.

"Go open the Family's Formation and wait for me here!" After dropping this sentence to the woman.

The old man turned the ring on his hand, and his figure instantly transformed into a yellow light soaring into the sky.

As for Li Yibai, his figure concealed itself in the void, and with a few leaps, he arrived outside the city.

It wasn't just them.

Some other important figures within Hai City also felt that distant yet terrifying pressure, and they all stood up, their expressions either solemn or astonished.

Some people couldn't help but want to find out the truth and rushed to the city suburbs.

In less than a moment.

Three Quasi-Kings and seven Ninth-Order Grand Masters appeared in the sky outside the suburbs, each with a vast and surging Aura, full of power.

However, these beings at the pinnacle of Hai City, upon seeing the tall figure in black robes fluttering in the high sky, all widened their eyes slightly in unison.

Could such a young boy actually be the source of that terrifying Aura?!