Omen IV

Inside Wushan Prefecture, in the northern part of the city, a large area of flames was rising into the sky.

A large number of firefighters carried buckets of water and poured them out from all directions, splashing water onto the flames.

But compared to the spread of the fire, this amount of water is a drop in the ocean and completely meaningless.

Further out, groups of thugs with red cloths tied to their upper arms laughed wildly and fought fiercely with the stationed Spirit Army.

Several highly skilled individuals were engaged in combat with experts from prominent families within the city.

Although Wushan Prefecture is the Prefectural City of Shan Province, in reality, the top-level martial arts force on a daily basis consists only of the masters supported by the aristocratic Great Clans in the city, and a few Super Grade martial artists who live in seclusion here.

That's all.

At first, no one paid any attention to the influx of the Red Turban Army thugs.

Until they began burning, killing, and looting in the streets, they became so brazen that they even killed Official Messenger.

Only then did martial artists arrive.

As a result, the warriors were also killed, so the Official Messenger mobilized even more people.

The two sides then began a chaotic battle.

The Prefect troops on patrol outside the city, while only a few Great Clans were lax in their defenses inside.

The result was that the enemy broke through the defenses all the way through, and eventually the ammunition and gunpowder depot inside the city was detonated.

A large amount of flames shot out from the explosion, igniting many wooden buildings in the city.

Boom!!

Another burst of flame shot into the sky.

The gunpowder magazine exploded a second time, sending out large plumes of blinding flames.

On the streets near the city gate, the crowd had already scattered and run away into the distance, leaving only the crackling sound of flames burning the wooden walls.

From some of the houses, one could still hear suppressed cries of terror. Those were the voices of a few residents who lived there, unwilling to flee, clinging to a sliver of hope.

The cries were very faint, completely drowned out by the sound of the flames burning, and were generally inaudible to most people.

But Zhang Rongfang heard it.

He leaped from an intact wooden building, landing on a deserted and dirty street.

The ground was littered with discarded coats, food, and small items, with occasional traces of blood visible in some places.

In the distance, the faint sounds of weapons clashing could still be heard.

'It's that serious!?' At first, he thought it was just a sneak attack, but now it seems... they actually attacked from the city gate? He was worried about his Elder Sister and Brother-in-law, so he immediately jumped up and rushed towards Mu Chi Prefecture.

Buildings and residences flashed by on both sides; some had already been broken into, while others were still intact. The doors were tightly shut.

The closer Zhang Rongfang got to Mu Chi Prefecture, the louder the sounds of fighting and gunfire became.

Before long, he saw two carriages overturned on the street ahead, with the blood of the dead horses flowing all over the ground.

With a thud, several thugs were sent flying by the heavy blow, crashing heavily to the ground. They quickly closed their eyes and died.

Zhang Rongfang's heart stirred, and he quickly leaped up, climbing continuously until he landed on the roof of a restaurant and looked over there.

In the distance, at the location of Mu Chi Prefecture, a large number of the Spirit Army were surrounded in three concentric circles.

These Spirit Army, with the cooperation of martial arts masters, are arrayed to annihilate the surrounding thugs.

They took turns firing muskets and crossbows in rows, well-trained and heavily armored.

Even if thugs swung their weapons with all their might, they could only leave small dents on the bodies.

From a distance, Zhang Rongfang's Dark Light Vision allowed him to clearly see that, in the very center of the crowd, his brother-in-law and sister were solemnly discussing something with a burly and strong Spirit Army.

Soon, the thugs around Mu Chi Prefecture were mostly cleared out.

Several experts were being surrounded and attacked in turn, and it was clear that they were about to perish.

Zhang Rongfang breathed a sigh of relief.

I know everything is safe here.

It seemed that only a small group of thugs had managed to storm into Wushan Prefecture. A thought flashed through his mind as he pondered the true purpose of these thugs.

Detonating the powder magazine meant that gunpowder posed the greatest threat to them.

In addition, they cut off supply routes to the surrounding areas and released thugs, who served as cannon fodder, to plunder everywhere.

They're trying to divide and surround each city! Zhang Rongfang instantly connected the dots in his mind.

"Something terrible has happened!! The Prefect is dead!!"

Suddenly, faint cries of terror drifted from afar.

Zhang Rongfang's eyes narrowed, and he quickly rushed over there.

He moved with incredible speed, reaching the location where the shout came from in just over ten breaths.

In a large square within the city, Spirit Army and rioters lay dead on the ground, with very few survivors.

A small squad of newly arrived Spirit Army rushed in from the outside to check on their comrades on the ground.

A dozen or so people carried the body of a burly old man and slowly walked out.

The two Spirit Army left behind were pale-faced and discussing something in hushed tones.

Zhang Rongfang's heart sank. The situation had escalated to the point where even the Prefect was being killed; this was tantamount to rebellion.

He recognized the old man's corpse; it was indeed the Prefect of Wushan Prefecture.

The Prefect is the military representative here, and he's also from Spirit Noble. Now even Spirit Noble dares to kill the governor stationed in the Shan Province!?

Where are the Worship God protected by the Snow Rainbow Pavilion?!

What about the top experts from the Great Dao Sect, the True One Sect, and the Western Sect in the vicinity?

A series of questions flashed through Zhang Rongfang's mind.

He began leaping rapidly across the rooftop, using the Dark Light Vision to survey the surrounding area.

Fortunately, within Wushan Prefecture, aside from the initial riots caused by the fire and explosion, the rioters who rushed in were quickly surrounded and killed, and the situation soon stabilized.

Those seriously injured were mostly residents of neighborhoods near the city center, as well as those from the gunpowder depot and nearby houses.

Once he confirmed that the danger to the Prefectural City had passed, Zhang Rongfang immediately left the city, frequently climbing to high places to check on the whereabouts of the Red Turban Thugs.

Due to the scattered locations of the rioters, Zhang Rongfang adopted a high-speed search and patrol strategy around Wushan Prefecture.

His stamina was now extraordinary. He ran and flew around in circles until it got dark, when he finally spotted the first group of ragged, fanatical Red Turban Thugs.

In the mountains and forests, as night approached, the group of thugs moved with agility, almost all of them equivalent to Entering the Ranks martial artists.

They formed a long line and rushed quickly toward the nearest town.

The leader was a One-Eyed Dragon, his eye bloodshot and red. He carried a sword and shield, and saliva kept dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he was unaware of it.

Zhang Rongfang's eyes turned cold, and he leaped down from the tree branch, charging headlong into the group of people.

There were hundreds of people in total, but in his eyes they were just hundreds of ants.

The key was that he wanted to obtain real intelligence from these people: Where did they come from? What faction did they belong to? Who was the one who truly unified everything, and where was he? Landing lightly, Zhang Rongfang didn't ask any questions. He moved with lightning speed and struck the chest of the leading thug with a heavy palm.

The man felt a blur before his eyes, a sharp pain in his chest, and was sent flying backward, crashing into more than ten thugs behind him, where he died instantly.

"Who!!?! You dare to obstruct the Red Turban Army's operations! I'll kill you!!" The One-Eyed Dragon stopped in his tracks, raised his knife, and roared.

Unfortunately, the roar was just impotent rage.

A gray shadow moved swiftly and zigzag through the crowd.

Every time someone is touched, that person falls to the ground and cannot get up.

In just a few seconds, more than a dozen people fell! The rioters showed no fear whatsoever, swinging their weapons and smashing things indiscriminately.

But even with this response, a few more seconds passed.

Half of the people have died.

In the mountains and forests, Zhang Rongfang moved like a ghost. With his Enemy Anticipation strikes, he could clearly see the actions of all the thugs in his mind, as if they were reflected in a mirror.

He moved freely among the crowd, his fingers pointing out points as if raindrops were falling on the chests and hearts of everyone.

No one can stop him.

Whether attacking or defending, everything is like a leaky balloon in front of him.

A single touch can cost a life.

Soon, the number of people continued to decrease until only three remained.

The rest of the corpses lay scattered on the ground.

One-Eyed Dragon and his two deputies were the highest-ranking members of the team, and Zhang Rongfang kept them to be dealt with and interrogated last.

Whoosh! Zhang Rongfang's figure paused, finally appearing in front of the three.

Untrained and without skilled restraint, a chaotic army is essentially negligible in the eyes of a grandmaster. This battle was nothing but slaughter from beginning to end.

"Speak, who sent you? If you answer well, I might consider sparing your life," Zhang Rongfang.

In the dim Heavenly Light, the three men's faces were contorted as they looked at the corpses on the ground around them, but there was no fear on their faces.

"Kill!! I have the blessing of the gods! I am immortal! Who can kill me! Who can!?!" The One-Eyed Dragon roared and was the first to charge at Zhang Rongfang.

Bang!

In an instant, his entire body exploded, transforming into countless Spirit Thread that shot out in all directions.

Zhang Rongfang had already noticed the abnormality of the Spirit Thread within the other party's body, and he quickly retreated, landing precisely at the limit distance of the Spirit Thread' movement.

He had just stopped when his two deputies also spotted the target and rushed over from both sides.

Two loud bangs rang out, and the two clusters of Spirit Thread exploded.

These three were willing to self-destruct rather than beg for mercy! Zhang Rongfang nimbly dodged the two new clusters of Spirit Thread, feeling increasingly uneasy.

After a while, the Spirit Thread dissipated, receded, and reformed into a human form.

He then stepped forward and decisively killed them both by draining their blood with a single blow.

Only after doing all this did he have time to carefully examine the surrounding corpses.

For some reason, Zhang Rongfang always felt that there was something wrong with these people. It wasn't a mental problem, which anyone could see, but something else entirely.

As they examined each corpse, Zhang Rongfang soon arrived at a body that seemed rather unusual.

Gently grab the deceased by the hair and lift the person up.

This was a woman, and a pretty young woman dressed in a gray cloth dress.

But here, her face was contorted with fanaticism, and there was no trace of her having trained.

How could someone like that become a thug?

Zhang Rongfang squatted down and carefully examined the condition of the body.

Everything in his body was normal; his organs, muscles, and bones were just like those of a normal person. However, there were some tears and strain marks on his leg muscles.

How did someone like that manage to display the qualities of an Entering the Ranks martial artist?

Zhang Rongfang frowned, his gaze sweeping over the corpse.

He sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite grasp the situation.

The person in front of him seemed perfectly normal, so why did he exhibit such a fanatical and delusional change in mind?

'This feeling is very similar to what happened to the Blood God Pirates back then.'

He unconsciously recalled the Blood God Pirates he had encountered on the island; they were just like that, fanatical and fearless of death.

But this time, it's a disaster with a larger scale and more numerous participants.

He stood up. After all, his medical skills weren't very strong. He checked himself over and, after confirming there was no problem, he could only get up.

'If this state is also a result of some kind of religious transformation, then what about that so-called Ten Thousand Sects Covenant, etc.?'