Vermilion Gates Stained with Blood

"Who's there?!"

The soldiers guarding the estate's entrance suddenly raised their guns.

Night had fallen. The estate's huge lanterns hung overhead, illuminating the surrounding area while making the distance seem even darker.

They had heard that the footsteps were off, but their shout had been purely instinctive.

After all, Prince Ying's Estate held an exalted position in the capital, and they were all fierce veterans retired from the army.

For so many years, they had never heard of any petty thief daring to come harass the estate.

Yet that slight relaxation cost them dearly.

Just as they looked ahead, experts from the Commandery Commandant Office who had already circled around the wall suddenly sprang out.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Several consecutive muffled impacts rang out, and the soldiers guarding the gate were knocked unconscious where they stood.

Only afterward did the rustling of armor come from the darkness ahead.

Squads of elite soldiers clad in black fish-scale armor emerged, standard Wild Goose Feather Blades in hand, surrounding the estate.

Within the military formation, some carried heavy crossbows, while many others bore firearms.

These were all gunners transferred from the Divine Mechanism Camp.

Divine Firearms, precious everywhere else, were standard equipment for them.

That was also Luo MingZi's confidence.

The people the Emperor had assigned him included no grandmaster-level experts, but with so many Divine Firearm gunners, along with experts from the Commandery Commandant Office and the Enforcement Hall, they had the courage to face even a grandmaster head-on without retreating.

Black shadows flashed, surging and leaping.

Before long, every defense around the estate had been cleared.

Even the hidden sentries concealed in the trees were dragged out by the experts of the Commandery Commandant Office, chains cinched around their necks.

Yet they did not hurry inside.

Twelve yellow-capped Taoists emerged from