One Man Holds a Thousand Paces, Alone Defending Lin Jiang

To hold more than a thousand paces of city wall alone, sealing it so tightly not even a drop could get through—even an Essence Refining Realm cultivator would be hard-pressed to manage it.

But Lin Yan had chosen another method!

Divine Ability! Demon Quelling!

With towering Sha Qi!

With his illustrious ferocious might!

Wherever he passed, demons and monsters were slain, and the darkness was torn apart!

He slaughtered the fiends within the darkness until fear took root in them, driving them to retreat!

With the Demon Quelling Divine Ability and its suppressive effect, the fiends in the darkness dared not invade so long as they caught sight of this Banner Bearer of Impermanence!

Thus, wherever he went, he left behind a false body created by Paper Cut into Horse, standing with blade in hand and intimidating all directions.

Under normal circumstances, even one at the peak of the Essence Refining Realm, though capable of Paper Cut into Horse, would find it difficult to achieve such a feat.

Yet the Demon Quelling Divine Ability Lin Yan wielded was even more terrifying to the fiends in the darkness than an Essence Refining Realm cultivator at the peak.

"This stretch of wall, over a thousand paces... is secured."

Lin Yan drew a deep breath and looked down at his feet.

There lay a city-defending soldier, his soul devoured after being corroded by Wandering Spirits.

Though his body remained, his spirit had already vanished.

From now on, he would be nothing but a living corpse.

With a sigh, Lin Yan raised his hand and lit the last Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp, saying softly, "Possessing this lamp does not mean you can rest easy without worry."

He recalled the armored man from earlier.

The man had claimed to have been sent by Zhao Zhou's Grand Commander to assist him in reinforcing the city defenses.

Yet that man had suddenly drawn his blade against him.

Lin Yan had not had time to question him and could only kill him.

But thinking back on it now, the matter was full of doubts.

Still, at this very moment, he had no leisure to ponder it carefully... After a brief rest, he looked behind him.

Toward Lin Jiang Ward.

Copper gongs rang out, while bells and drums sounded throughout the ward.

Every household had lit its Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp.

But once fiends entered the city, it meant that their hunger for the city's flesh and blood, as well as its incense offerings, had surpassed their reverence for Willow Venerable.

The Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps had not entirely lost their effect, but on this night, that effect had become exceedingly faint.

Lin Yan's expression grew increasingly grave.

By all rights, the various wards within the city had already prepared manpower to deal with fiends that broke in.

But now, it seemed the invading fiends were stronger than expected.

The Patrolling Squads dispatched from outside to reinforce Lin Jiang Ward appeared to have suffered one defeat after another... Flares calling for aid rose in succession.

And the aid flare now rising was already on the second street of Lin Jiang Ward.

In other words, that powerful monster had already broken into the first street of Lin Jiang Ward.

"..."

Lin Yan wiped down his long blade, then abruptly leaped over the battlements and jumped from the six-zhang-high city wall.

Bang!

He landed safely, shattering the blue bricks beneath his feet!

In the blink of an eye, his figure had vanished, leaving only dust spraying into the air.

The street closest to the city wall had already been overrun by fiends, and several nearby households had met with disaster.

The squads originally assigned to patrol had been responsible for clearing out fiends that entered the city streets.

Because the casualties ahead were too severe, the city garrison office of the Outer Southern District had ordered a retreat, effectively abandoning Lin Jiang Ward.

"Retreat!"

Liang Hu spoke with a solemn expression.

He was the Banner Bearer of Qing Shan Ward, but had been ordered to support Lin Jiang Ward.

Now, a Bear Demon comparable to the Essence Refining Realm had broken into Lin Jiang Ward. Its body was massive and powerful, impossible to resist.

They could only retreat to Qing Shan Ward, rebuild their defenses, and wait for the important figures of the Inner City to come to their aid.

He thought to himself, I wonder whether that Impermanence has already died? If I am still the one acting as the Banner Bearer of Lin Jiang Ward tomorrow...

After the devastation of this night, the Inner City would certainly rebuild Lin Jiang Ward starting tomorrow.

The immense profits involved—if he could swallow even a portion of them, three generations of his descendants would want for neither food nor clothing!

More importantly, he had only just handed the authority over Lin Jiang Ward to Wuchang today. Even if those above held someone accountable, it would have nothing to do with him.

Instead, if he once again took temporary command of the Lin Jiang Department and handled the aftermath, it could be considered turning the tide in a crisis—a tremendous merit.

"This Wuchang is truly my lucky star."

"The moment he arrived, all responsibility for Lin Jiang Ward falling would be heaped onto his shoulders."

"If he dies atop the city walls, then tomorrow, when I retake control of the Lin Jiang Department, every benefit will fall into Liang's pocket."

"In that case, tomorrow Liang will personally go collect his corpse."

As Liang Hu thought this, secret delight stirred in his heart. He waved his hand and said, "Return to Qing Shan Ward!"

But the middle-aged man behind him could not help hesitating. "Then what about Lin Jiang Ward?"

Under the glow of the lamps, twelve junior banners stood behind Liang Hu.

Ordinarily, Liang Hu was the Banner Bearer of Qing Shan Ward. He should have brought Qing Shan Ward's six junior banners here as reinforcements.

The other six junior banners would remain behind to guard Qing Shan Ward.

However, the original Twelve Junior Banners of Lin Jiang Ward had all been his subordinates.

Thus, he had come alone, with no need at all to mobilize Qing Shan Ward's manpower.

"Lin Jiang Ward is finished."

Liang Hu said flatly, "Once the city walls have fallen, it means even more demons and evil entities will come pouring in afterward!"

"I know most of you came from Lin Jiang Ward, but given the current situation..."

"Either stay behind and wait to die!"

"Or follow me back to Qing Shan Ward!"

"If you can preserve your lives today, then tomorrow, under my command, you will enjoy riches and glory enough to last a lifetime!"

As his voice fell, he turned and left without the slightest attachment.

The remaining twelve exchanged looks. In the end, seven or eight of them suddenly gritted their teeth, turned, and hurried after him.

The rest all fell silent.

They had homes and families, sons and daughters, all within Lin Jiang Ward.

The night wind was bitterly cold, making them shudder.

Yet this silence seemed to cast another layer of gloom over everyone's hearts.

"Go home, each of you. Move quickly, take your families with you. If you are lucky, perhaps you can escape successfully to Qing Shan Ward."

After a moment of mute silence, a middle-aged man suddenly turned and left, heading toward his home with swift steps.

The other was a young man. He, too, had married and had children, while his parents were still alive at home.

But after taking a deep breath, he finally made up his mind. Rather than heading home, he chased in the direction Liang Hu and the others had gone.

"Fang Yang has parents, a wife, and children at home. It seems he abandoned his family to follow Banner Bearer Liang."

Of the three remaining men, the eldest was missing a piece of his left ear. His expression complicated, he tilted his head and asked, "Xiao Hui, you have no family. Why aren't you leaving?"

"I grew up on East Street in Lin Jiang Ward, eating food from a hundred households."

The young man named Xiao Hui was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a scar across his right cheek.

With the Night-Illuminating Lamp in one hand and a steel saber in the other, his face was exceptionally calm. He said in a muffled voice, "I'm nothing but a worthless life anyway, with no future to speak of. If I stand by and watch my fellow townsfolk die, there won't be much point in living afterward either. If I die with them, at least I'll earn myself a name..."

The middle-aged man missing part of his left ear looked toward the other young man. "Zheng Liu, what about you?"

The young man named Zheng Liu spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice. "My old mother is elderly and can't walk. I have to go home and protect her. If our luck runs out... if demons and evil entities enter the house, then I'll accompany my mother on the road."

After saying this, he clenched the saber in his hand, gritted his teeth, and prepared to leave.

But he suddenly stopped.

The man who had just been prepared to abandon his family and follow Liang Hu had actually turned back.

"Fang Yang?"

"Look over there..."

Lowering his voice, Fang Yang said, "Isn't that the newly appointed Banner Bearer?"

At his words, everyone turned to look.

In the direction of the city walls, a figure was racing along.

Clad in black robes, a long saber in hand.

He had no Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp, nor any incense or candle flame.

He moved like a gale, swiftly crossing the streets.

With nothing but a single saber, he cut down evil entities all along the way.

Evil entities that gave even inner-strength martial artists a headache vanished in an instant beneath his blade!

At the same time, a roar suddenly erupted ahead, ferocious and savage.

Yet Fifth Master did not slow. He had already leapt into the long street, charging straight toward the source of the roar.

That was where the Bear Demon was!

The giant bear was hulking and brawny, strong enough to tear tigers and leopards apart with its bare claws. Earlier, it had already ripped two Patrolling Squads to pieces.

Banner Bearer Liang Hu had only taken one distant look before his face went pale, and he hurriedly led them in retreat.

This newly appointed Banner Bearer was actually charging straight at the Bear Demon?

"He's abandoning his post without authorization!"

Fang Yang's eyes brightened as he said excitedly, "He's in charge of guarding the city wall, yet he's fleeing from battle at this critical moment. If we preserve the evidence, the Heavenly Supervision Department headquarters can convict him tomorrow!"

"Once his head falls, we'll have rendered great merit before Banner Bearer Liang Hu. Then..."

With a wet squelch!

At that moment, the young man named Xiao Hui suddenly revealed a fierce expression and drove a blade through his chest.