Destroyed Land

Lin Xiao let out a great shout and took the lead in charging toward Ironwood Manor. Dozens of riders immediately followed behind him, kicking up clouds of yellow dust that soared into the sky. Before long, they had reached the gates of Ironwood Manor.

"Stop right there! This is an important stronghold of the Lei Family. Unauthorized persons are forbidden from entering!" Several cold glints appeared atop the towering walls, and one of the guards shouted down at them.

"An important stronghold of the Lei Family? Hmph. From today onward, this place will be an important stronghold of the Lin Family!" Lin Xiao sneered disdainfully, his voice amplified by Yuan Power until it rang across the entire area.

"Lin Xiao, why are you in such a hurry? Things have to be handled step by step." Two figures slowly appeared atop the wall. One of them grinned frivolously. "You need to go to the relevant department, find the appropriate personnel, and complete the handover procedures before coming back~"

"Lei Qiu, Lei Yi?"

Seeing the two men on the wall, Lin Ken and Lin Xiao raised their brows slightly. Both were core members of the Lei Family, and both had reached the early Heavenly Origin Stage. It seemed the Lei Family had prepared for this long ago.

"You two, my Lei Family has always kept its word. Since we said we would do it, we will. Why the rush? Why not return first and wait another five days? After five days, my Lei Family will definitely hand Ironwood Manor over to you. How about it?"

"Lei Yi, if I remember correctly, didn't you say the same thing a month ago?" Lin Ken suppressed his anger so fiercely that his eyes had nearly narrowed into slits.

Seeing this, Lin Changqiang quietly slipped over to Lin Dong's side and gave him a "spoiler." "Lin Dong, could they be planning to destroy all the Ironwood before we take over Ironwood Manor?"

Lin Dong had already been suspicious. Hearing this, his pupils contracted. "Very likely! Uncle Yan, Changqiang, come with me! Let's see if we can climb into Ironwood Manor from somewhere else."

With that, he urged Xiao Yan into the forest to one side. Lin Changqiang immediately followed.

"Young Master!" Yan Shuangying froze and moved to stop them, but just as he was about to object, he suddenly remembered that the two youths before him were not helpless children. They were two Earthly Yuan Stage experts.

He hesitated for a second, then waved his hand and led the other two after them.

The five of them swiftly darted through the woods, moving farther and farther from the main gate. Before long, they found an unguarded section of wall and leaped into Ironwood Manor.

Everything inside the manor was exceptionally quiet. Recalling the location of the Ironwood they had seen from the slope, they immediately rushed in that direction.

When the five finally reached the area where the Ironwood stood, a single glance was enough to make Lin Dong and the others breathe heavily with rage, fury surging in their chests.

Even Lin Changqiang, who had been prepared for this, could not help clenching his fists. Silently, he swapped out the Scholarship Gem and Boots of Swiftness for two Thunderclap Blades.

"I have never seen such shameless people!" Yan Shuangying gritted his teeth in fury. "They're trying to leave us with a ruined manor!"

Before them, the area that should have been covered in vast stretches of Ironwood was now almost entirely barren, with only countless black stumps remaining! There were even messy axe marks on the stumps, clearly left by hurried chopping.

Of course, what made their faces turn livid was not merely the Ironwood that had been cut down, but the figures in the distance who were pouring basin after basin of foul-smelling medicinal liquid onto the ground!

The Lei Family did not merely want to take away all the Ironwood. They also wanted to destroy this land so that Ironwood could never be planted here again!

"Other than those laborers pouring out the medicinal liquid, the thirteen people standing around them should be Lei Family guards."

Yan Shuangying frowned, sensing that the situation was rather troublesome.

"I recognize one of the two leaders. His name is Payne. He used to be a bandit, but somehow became a guard of the Lei Family later on. His strength is comparable to mine. He is at the early Earthly Yuan Stage, and the other one should be the same!"

"Uncle Yan, fire the Signal Flare immediately and notify my father and the others!" Lin Dong said without the slightest hesitation.

"Young Master, are you sure? Once we fire the signal, we'll be discovered immediately!" Yan Shuangying was somewhat alarmed. Five against thirteen? How could they dare?

"Uncle Yan, have you forgotten? A month ago, I could already easily defeat Lei Li, who was at the early Earthly Yuan Stage." Lin Changqiang chuckled. Not to mention the early Earthly Yuan Stage—even someone at the late Earthly Yuan Stage was no longer worth his attention. "Fire the signal. I'm here."

"Ahem, a poor memory comes with age." Yan Shuangying's old face reddened. Only then did he realize that the ones who should be worried were the enemy!

With that, he pulled a Signal Flare from his robes and lit it. Instantly, a streak of red light shot into the sky and exploded overhead.

"Who is it?!"

The moment the signal was fired, the Lei Family guards in the distance reacted at once. The gloomy-faced man at their head abruptly turned around, his vicious gaze fixed on the thicket where the group was hiding. With a sweep of his hand, the other twelve figures immediately surrounded them.

Roar!

A mighty tiger's roar suddenly rang out, followed by a fiery-red figure bursting forth.

"A Fire Python Tiger! It's a Fire Python Tiger!"

The Lei Family guards recognized Xiao Yan at a glance. They were instantly terrified beyond measure and wished they could flee on the spot.

"Don't panic! This Fire Python Tiger is still far from adulthood!" The man Yan Shuangying had called Payne was startled at first as well, but he quickly came to his senses. "Old Eight, attack with me and kill this beast! The rest of you, drag out the people hiding behind it! I want to see who dares cause trouble at Ironwood Manor!"

Old Eight and Payne exchanged a glance, then lunged at Xiao Yan without another word. But at that very moment, two figures leaped out of the thicket and blocked their path. Two iron fists, carrying dense Yuan Power, smashed fiercely toward Old Eight and Payne!

The sudden attack took Payne and Old Eight by surprise, and they immediately mobilized the Yuan Power within their bodies.

Bang!

The four figures collided in pairs, and a shockwave erupted, blasting away all the loose stones nearby. Then everyone stared in astonishment. The two figures who had suddenly charged out did not move an inch, while Payne and Old Eight staggered back several steps!

"Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner, let alone when beating a tiger." Lin Changqiang spoke calmly, carrying himself like a true master. He had been about to blast the enemy into scraps with the Fireball Technique, but a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he swapped his two Thunderclap Blades for two pieces of Cloth Armor.

"Lin Dong, I'll handle Payne. Old Eight is yours!"

"Attack!" Seeing Lin Changqiang and Lin Dong hold back the enemy's two Earthly Yuan Stage fighters, Yan Shuangying shouted and charged toward the remaining guards with the other two. He was still quite confident when it came to bullying a few Body Tempering Stage fighters.

Xiao Yan turned its head, looking at the Lei Family guards before looking at the laborers in the woods. Its eyes immediately lit up.

With a domineering roar, it charged directly at the laborers. The laborers hurriedly threw down their buckets of medicinal liquid and scattered in panic, clutching their heads.