Tanyang State Governor.
Surrounded by pavilions and towers, and along the edges of Rockery.
State Governor Sun Qinghong stood with his hands behind his back, his face grim, in the center.
Around him, skilled soldiers dressed in the armor of a Thousand Households Office garrison were drawing their curved swords.
These subordinate officers and generals, who should normally obey his orders, now all turned their blades on him.
Several High Grade Expert also positioned on the surrounding walls, aiming crossbows at him.
Even High Grade Expert skills could see that someone of lower rank or skill level could still pose a significant threat if they could keep up with the crossbow bolts.
Sun Qinghong could never have imagined that Tanyang, whom she had always thought she had under control, would end up like this.
"Brother Lin Li, what do you mean by this?!" Sun Qinghong's gaze was like a knife as he stared intently at the burly figure directly in front of him.
That figure was none other than Lin Li, the Thousand Household Commander of the Thousand Households Office, who was second only to him in the entire Tanyang army.
Lin Li, it is not allowed for troops to be brought into the city at will.
But this time, without his orders, they actually led troops to surround his State Governor without authorization!
In the Great Ling, there is only one possibility for such a strange event to occur.
That is, there was a superior, one level higher than him, the State Governor, who directly ordered the troop deployment.
Sun Qinghong did not believe that the Thousand Households Office would betray the country.
Given Lin Thousand Household Commander's current wealth and background, there is no way he could betray the country.
This does him no good.
Lin Li was over 1.9 meters tall, with a bear-like build, especially his exaggeratedly thick waist and back. His martial arts skills had already reached the Ninth Grade.
Once they donned a full set of thick armor and went onto the battlefield, one can imagine the immense destructive power they would unleash.
The same applies to Great Ling; the higher the rank, the larger and more robust their physique. This is because they are better equipped to carry heavier and more powerful full-body armor.
The only way to deal with such heavy tanks is usually through long-range attacks.
Unfortunately, the generals of the Great Ling generally have very basic requirements.
That means one must be proficient in archery.
Many of the high-ranking military officers were even skilled archers.
This is one of the reasons why the Great Ling is invincible in land battles.
"We're both Ninth Grade, Brother Qinghong, you'd better not try to take any chances." Lin Li's voice was hoarse, as if he had injured his throat before.
"Now that the Cloud Smoke Death Warrior have entered the city, the entire Tanyang is under the surveillance of the Golden Wing Tower. You should now know who is behind the Golden Wing Tower," he said in a low voice.
"I should have thought of the Golden Wing Tower sooner," Sun Qinghong said, his face grim. "Golden-Winged, Golden Winged Roc!"
"Buddhist School is divided into the Eastern Sect and the Western Sect Golden Wing Tower belongs to the Eastern School, which is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Sect Imperial Tutor, Damir. It is inherently incompatible with the Western Sect. In recent years, the Western Sect has become increasingly close to Secret Teaching."
"Now you've aligned yourself with the Black Ten Sect, which is close to Secret Teaching. Do you think you can still be trusted by those above?" Lin Li sighed.
"I advised you earlier not to get involved with the Black Ten Sect, but you wouldn't listen." He looked helpless.
Lin Li and Sun Qinghong were friends for many years, but unfortunately, they gradually parted ways due to different choices.
After discovering that Sun Qinghong wouldn't listen to advice, Lin Li simply left alone and didn't bother to go back to Tanyang City. He usually stayed in the Barracks's Thousand Households Office.
He has been avoiding conflicts with his friends.
But unexpectedly, this day has come.
"Great Yang Temple too?" Sun Qinghong paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice.
"Great Yang Temple colluded with the Western Sect, and this calamity was destined to befall them," Lin Li replied.
Both of them fell silent for a moment.
A cold wind swept through, creating ripples in the pool and reflecting Sun Qinghong's unusually pale face.
"Brother Sun, you have already broken a taboo." Lin Li's voice reached his ears.
"..." Sun Qinghong recalled his old friend Snake King from the Black Ten Sect and couldn't help but close his eyes slightly.
"May I ask about the Snake King's situation now?"
"He is dead," Lin Li replied.
Sun Qinghong gave a bitter smile, somewhat aggrieved.
"So, what are you going to do with me?"
"No action will be taken, but the Sun Family has already issued a notice expelling you from the family register." Lin Li also felt a little reluctant.
In the world, the highest level of martial arts is the Ninth Grade.
However, within a single city, even Ninth Grade expert is considered a top-tier powerhouse.
But across the entire Great Roads, the entire province, and even the entire Great Ling, the number of those of the Ninth Grade is far greater than most people imagine.
Great Ling has four sub-kingdoms and one Suzerain State.
Within the Light Sect Sovereign State, there were Eleven Great Provinces.
Each province governs six to ten Great Roads.
Each route is divided into one prefecture and multiple states.
Each state governs dozens of County Town.
With such a vast territory, even a powerful Ninth Grade martial artist is truly insignificant to the entire Ling Ting.
The Sun Family has always been a staunch supporter of the current Ling Emperor.
The current Ling Emperor attempted to abolish the Hierarchy System, which was opposed by many Spirit Person Noble, and the Sun Family never changed their stance.
Sun Qinghong's eyes darkened at the mention of "expelling him from the family genealogy."
Without the support of his Lineage, he would never have become the State Governor.
Even in Tanyang, he wasn't the only one at the Ninth Grade. Tianxuan Palace, the annihilated Great Yang Temple, Thousand Household Commander Lin Li before them were all Ninth Grade.
Why is he the only one who can become number one? It's all thanks to his Lineage.
Today, the Black Ten Sect Outer City Stronghold is a gray-black Earthen Fort built of stone bricks.
First Squad Black Ten Sect members with curved blades roared angrily as they searched for the intruders they had just detected.
Bang!
The wooden, iron-clad gate was suddenly blasted open with a muffled thud.
The gate collapsed, crashing heavily onto the inner ground amidst the smoke and flames, kicking up dust.
Earthen Fort, two of the strongest and tallest Big Beard, wearing Iron Gauntlet, roared as they charged toward the gate.
They tried to block the blown-open doorway with their bodies.
With a whoosh, a flash of Silver Light appeared, and a White Shadow suddenly passed between the two.
The two Big Beard staggered forward, clutching their throats.
Although they were wearing thick protective leather armor over their throats, a clear blood hole was visible in the center of each of those armors.
The tough cowhide armor is made of multiple layers of tanned leather, and its thickness is such that it can even withstand direct hits from a 50-pound longbow at a range of up to 20 meters.
But here, in the hands of that White Shadow, they were as fragile as paper.
"Who goes there!?"
"Assassin!!?"
Earthen Fort, one after another Black Ten Sect masters rushed out.
The majority of them were of the Fifth Grade, with the highest being the Seventh Grade. They were the pillars guarding the entire Earthen Fort.
Each of them wore full-body thick leather armor with fur collars, brown horned Helmet, and carried heavy double-edged greatswords in both hands.
Whoosh! In the crowd, the White Shadow rushing into the Earthen Fort was like a white line swimming in black water.
Wherever they went, all the scimitar cultists fell to the ground, gradually losing their lives.
With a light leap, the White Shadow touched the ground with its toes and landed on the highest wooden tower inside the Earthen Fort.
The wooden tower is a watchtower, standing five meters tall, offering a panoramic view of the entire Earthen Fort.
Only then did everyone realize who the White Shadow was.
This person was dressed in white with white hair, wore Silver Mask, and carried an ordinary Silver Long Blade.
"As expected. Without overlap, there can be no deception."
His blade trembled, he shook off the blood, and lightly leaped up, heading towards the three Black Ten Sect experts who were rushing towards him.
With a swift movement, the three of them, like birds with broken wings, fluttered lightly to the ground.
Thud! A crossbow bolt flew through the air, aimed at the White Shadow's back.
When.
The blade deflected the crossbow bolt with lightning speed, then flew out of his hand, swirling and whistling, striking a Black Ten Sect expert who was holding Crossbow.
After landing, the White Shadow casually snatched a curved knife and swiftly weaved through the group of the Black Ten Sect masters, leaving a perfect Z-shape in his wake.
No one could hit him.
Without a large number of Crossbow and crossbows, close-combat weapons alone do not pose much of a threat to this person.
In close combat, only four to six people on each side can pose a threat to the enemy at the same time.
In other words, even if surrounded, at the worst, it would only be equivalent to facing four to six enemies at the same time.
The only purpose of the remaining people is to exhaust their physical strength.
*** Zhang Rongfang slowly regained consciousness from her fainting spell.
He looked at the Attribute Panel that had automatically opened in front of him. Most of the data was normal, except for the life attribute.
His life score dropped from 30 to 18.18-18. Both the upper and lower limits fell by a full twelve points! He tried to move, but as soon as he moved his palm slightly, he felt a sharp, tearing pain in his forearm.
"This is terrible, I don't know how long it will take to recover."
Coming to his senses and focusing on his own attributes, Zhang Rongfang finally had the mind to observe his surroundings.
He was lying on a large, pure white soft bed.
The bed has a faint floral scent, no unpleasant odor, and is very clean.
Above the bed is a light blue bed canopy with various floral patterns.
The bed curtains hung down, making the surroundings semi-transparent.
"Young master, you're awake?" A soft voice suddenly came from the bedside.
As the bed curtains were lifted, a girl with braids wearing a pink and white floral padded jacket looked Zhang Rongfang up and down with surprise.
"You've been asleep for a whole day and night! I'll go inform the master right away!"
After saying that, she turned and ran without waiting for Zhang Rongfang's reply.
With a creak, a figure rushed out of the room, disappearing into the distance until the footsteps became inaudible.
After resting for a while, Zhang Rongfang felt better and slowly used his left hand to support his body, sitting up against the headboard.
By lifting the hanging bed curtains, he could see where he was.
This is a clean and tidy bedroom with very little furniture.
The walls were snow-white, the floor was pitch black, and there were copper lamps shaped like lotus baskets placed in the corners of the walls.
Each copper pipe hangs a flower basket, with the lotus stamen serving as the lamp base.
It was daytime, but all the copper lamps were lit.
Moreover, for some reason, he always felt that the shape of the lotus was somewhat strange.
Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang groaned, feeling as if his whole body had been violently crushed by a herd of rhinoceroses, and he was in pain everywhere.
However, considering the dramatic drop of twelve points in his Life Attribute, it's clear that he was truly seriously injured this time.
This is equivalent to losing nearly half of your life in one go.
It's no wonder I feel terrible.
Before long, two strong and tall women walked in from outside.
The two women wore black eye masks and had dark skin, clearly indicating they were of Human Seed.
Under the direction of the girl with the braid, they entered the room and walked to the bedside.
"Young master, please get out of bed to have your meal, take a bath, and change your clothes," the young woman said respectfully.
"My name is Wei Li, and I will be your personal bodyguard from now on."