Late at night.
The mountain forest was tranquil.
On a hilltop of modest size, buildings were scattered in orderly arrangement.
This hilltop was where the Five Swords Sect stood.
As night deepened, the faint mist rising through the mountain forest also shrouded the Five Swords Sect.
Under night's veil, the Five Swords Sect gradually fell silent. Only a few indistinct voices drifted through the forest on the mountain wind.
Suddenly.
At the distant foot of the mountain, torches came winding toward the Five Swords Sect like a long serpent.
Illuminated by the torches was row upon row of Black Armor gleaming with cold light.
At the center of the long procession, several groups of soldiers carried Star Chasing Crossbows nearly the length of an arm on their backs.
Such military equipment was one of Great Xia's most strictly prohibited contraband items.
Any individual or faction caught privately storing a Star Chasing Crossbow would be sentenced to death.
That was because the Star Chasing Crossbow was reputed to be standard military equipment capable of threatening a Grandmaster.
Equipped with special arrows, this crossbow could pierce armor while easily breaking through True Essence and Gang Qi.
Its speed was even close to the speed of Sound Wave transmission. By the time one heard the sound of an arrow tearing through the air, there was hardly any time left to react.
Thus, the Star Chasing Crossbow was said to possess the power to threaten a Grandmaster.
Such formidable effects had also led the Imperial Court to classify the Star Chasing Crossbow as a forbidden weapon. No one outside the Imperial Court or the military was permitted to equip it.
This marching force, traveling under cover of night, had several units of Star Chasing Crossbow soldiers among its ranks. That alone was enough to