Zhao Jing's Cause of Death, Wuchang's Battle Report

On the city walls.

A bloody stench permeated the air.

Every so often, they would see the severed limbs of the city defenders, as well as the corpses of Demonic Creatures like birds and beasts.

Some, with intact bodies, were dazed and confused.

These were the ones possessed by Malevolent Spirits, their minds clouded.

Those who were lucky might gradually recover over time.

The less fortunate, even if they recovered partially, would inevitably be left mentally impaired.

And the most severe cases had their souls scattered by the Malevolent Spirits, their spirits devoured. Their bodies still had life, but they had become living dead.

"..."

At this moment, Zhao Zhou and the others proceeded along the city wall.

Everyone's footsteps were hurried, their expressions solemn.

Soldiers cleaning up the aftermath, personnel from the outer city yamen, medical officers, coroners, and others, all offered salutes.

But none of the high-ranking city defense officials like Zhao Zhou responded, rushing forward.

The location of the sixtieth Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp!

That half of a severed body was still on the city wall.

Grand Commander Zhao Zhou suddenly slowed his pace.

He seemed to have lost all strength, his face gradually turning pale.

Then, the elderly Grand Commander was seen to close his eyes slightly and say in a low voice, "It's him."

Although it had been preliminarily determined that this half of a severed body was Zhao Jing, hearing Grand Commander Zhao Zhou's confirmation now still made everyone's hearts sink.

It wasn't just because Zhao Jing was the Grand Commander's adopted son.

It was also because Zhao Jing possessed the cultivation of Inner Strength.

The highest cultivation among the city defense forces was only at the Inner Strength realm.

The fact that a Martial Artist with Inner Strength cultivation had also died on the city wall made people feel complex emotions.

"From here onwards, it's the city defense position of the Lin Jiang Department?"

Grand Commander Zhao Zhou slowly raised his head.

In an instant, everyone's expressions turned grim.

Zhao Jing, with his Inner Strength cultivation, along with twenty personal guards, had all died here.

Then how could the new Banner Bearer of Lin Jiang Ward possibly hold that three hundred and sixty paces?

Everyone already knew that this section of the city wall had fallen last night, and many Demonic Evils had crossed the battlements, breaking into Lin Jiang Ward, causing heavy casualties among the city's cleanup teams.

If it weren't for the intervention of a mysterious expert, the entire Lin Jiang Ward would likely have turned into a living hell.

Zhao Zhou and the others exchanged glances, their expressions complicated.

In their hearts, they had basically concluded that the young Banner Bearer, whom the Heavenly Supervision Department had placed great hope in, had died during the night.

If he was lucky, perhaps he was killed by Malevolent Spirits, leaving behind a complete corpse.

If he was unlucky, most likely only a mangled corpse would remain.

Even worse, he might have been completely devoured by Demonic Evils, leaving nothing but a pool of blood.

Just as they were thinking this, they saw city defense soldiers clearing their way from the other end of the city wall.

"What's the situation ahead?" Deputy Commander Zhou stepped forward and asked, "Have you seen the Banner Bearer?"

"Haven't seen him," the captain in the lead replied, bowing.

"Alas..."

Grand Commander Zhao Zhou sighed with melancholy.

He looked at Zhao Jing in front of him.

Although cut in two, at least half of his body remained.

It seemed that the Wuchang Banner Bearer had not left anything behind at all.

The high-ranking officials of the city defense forces all had the same thought, feeling quite regretful.

However, the three deputy commanders exchanged glances and felt that it was not surprising for the new Banner Bearer, who had been so arrogant and self-important yesterday evening, refusing the Grand Commander's life-saving items, to meet such an end today.

And just then, footsteps were suddenly heard from behind.

Everyone turned to look and saw a man in a long robe approaching, panting.

"I am Xie Jin, a scribe from the Sky Gazing Tower in the inner city, sent here to verify the post-battle situation in the southern area of the outer city."

The Dharma Mirror of the Sky Gazing Tower, a replica of the Divine Mirror in Phoenix Perch Prefecture City, could observe the divine light, Demonic Evils, strange energies, and so on in this world, but it could not see all scenes clearly.

Therefore, whenever an anomaly occurred, verification, registration, and archiving were necessary.

Grand Commander Zhao Zhou sighed and waved his hand.

Soon, he heard the assembled people report the previous night's battle situation and casualties one after another.

"From here forward, over a thousand paces, the positions of more than thirty Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps have all been lost."

"Wait..."

Hearing this, Xie Jin couldn't help but pause and asked, "Is this the location of the sixtieth Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp?"

"Precisely."

"From here on, it's the defensive position managed by the Lin Jiang Department?"

"That's right."

"But according to our Sky Gazing Tower's observations last night, within the city defense perimeter of the Lin Jiang Department, all twelve Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps were intact, with no breaches."

"What?"

Everyone present was taken aback, their faces filled with astonishment.

Xie Jin flipped open his record book, frowning as he said, "Instead, on both sides of the Lin Jiang Department's area, extending outwards, over twenty consecutive positions have been lost."

As his voice fell, he noticed the extremely strange atmosphere. He looked around and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"The Banner Bearer of the Lin Jiang Department defended this 360-pace defensive range?"

The high-ranking city defense officials present finally reacted, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

"More than that! We defended the city by facing only the darkness directly ahead, but after both flanks fell, he still had to face the invasion of Demonic Evils from the sides..."

At this moment, a captain named Meng Lu spoke with a grave expression.

He was a Martial Artist at the Marrow Washing realm, already at the peak of the second major stage of Martial Arts.

Yet, he believed that facing such a dire situation, he would absolutely not have been able to hold the line.

Threatened from three sides, his only options would have been to abandon his post and flee for his life, or die.

"And..."

He paused before continuing, his brow furrowed, "Zhao Jing's half-severed body was clearly not torn apart by claws, but was cut by a sharp weapon. It was done cleanly and swiftly in a single blow!"

"He didn't die at the hands of Demonic Evils?"

Xie Jin, from the Sky Gazing Tower in the inner city, exclaimed in astonishment, "He was killed by someone?"

The atmosphere in the hall instantly turned frigid, plummeting to its lowest point.

In that single moment, one thought surfaced in everyone's minds.

Did the Banner Bearer of the Lin Jiang Department kill Zhao Jing, who had come to support them?

And Zhao Jing possessed Inner Strength cultivation. If he was cut down in one blow, just how powerful was the assailant?

But according to previous information, this person was likely at the Blood Refining realm, at most Marrow Washing, belonging to the second stage of Martial Arts.

Instantly, a shadow fell upon everyone's hearts.

And at this very moment, Deputy Commander Zhou, whose temperament was relatively fierce, suddenly roared, "I will immediately send people to surround the Lin Jiang Department and take his head to pay for Zhao Jing's life!"

He drew his saber and turned to leave.

But at this time, an aged voice rang out.

"Stop!"

Grand Commander Zhao Zhou shouted, "The matter has not yet been investigated, what do you think you're doing? This matter..."

He took a deep breath and said, "Chief Clerk Xie, please inform the inner city!"

As his voice fell, he added solemnly, "Seal the city gates. No one may enter or leave today!"

—

Meanwhile

At the Outer Southern Department's high tower.

"Yang Wang, the Chief Clerk under the Lin Jiang Department, has sent Wuchang's personal battle report."

"Hmm? Shouldn't he be handing over command to the Grand Commander of the Outer Southern city defense at this time?"

Commander Han was somewhat surprised. He took the report, opened it, and his expression changed slightly.

In the span of a few moments, his face shifted back and forth.