From All Angles

"I understand, I'll give the order right away."

The thought of it always lifts my spirits.

"There's no need to be too deliberate."

Gu Jinlai, he glanced at the Heavenly Gang Sect complex, which resembled a city within a city, and asked, "How's the clearing operation going?"

"The Heavenly Gang Sect occupies a vast area. Originally, it would have taken us quite a while to clear all of Heavenly Gang sect's supplies, but when we entered the Heavenly Gang Sect, we found that a lot of the supplies had already been cleared away..."

"The Lin family."

This Gu Jinlai.

The Lin family occupied Yuanhua City, and although they had just captured it, they had already taken stock of all their spoils.

"Yes, we practically reaped the benefits without lifting a finger."

At this point, Nian Buwang's tone revealed barely suppressed joy. "Yuanhua City is larger than Lingxiao City, and it also has an iron mine, so its average income is higher than that of Lingxiao City. The Heavenly Gang Sect alone has no less than six million taels of gold and silver. If you include those resources and treasures, the total harvest is more than fifteen million taels."

"Good."

This Gu Jinlai.

War is about spending money.

When the cannons roar, gold and silver flow like water.

During this period, both military factories operated at full speed, with various resources constantly being supplied, and every bullet converted into money.

In addition, with the recruitment of new troops and the training of elites by the Gu Clan Gu Jinlai, as well as the Qiushan Project, all these expenses have meant that the gains from the destruction of the Three Great Families have been largely exhausted.

These resources of over ten million taels arrived at just the right time.

"I have sent Gu Chifeng with his men to meet up with the Gu Clan. When they return, they will plunder Linfeng City. You can discuss with the Lineage how to distribute these resources, apart from the valuables."

Gu Jinlai said, "However, all the craftsmen must be taken to Lingxiao City. The two military workshops and the personnel of Qiushan need to be replenished in large numbers. Only when the scale of the military workshops is large enough can we guarantee sufficient combat power."

At this point, he was already considering whether to produce some basic firearms.

The manufacturing process of firearms is not complicated.

The more complicated part is bullet production.

If soldiers could be equipped with rifles, even new recruits who had only been trained for a few months would be just as capable as elite troops.

"Gunpowder is a problem. The current industrial level of the military workshop is already at its limit in refining black powder. Smokeless gunpowder can only be produced by me... but I don't have that much free time to produce large quantities of gunpowder for ordinary soldiers."

Before his workshop introduced smokeless gunpowder technology, firearms could not be widely deployed.

"With the finished product in hand, it's only a matter of time before we unlock the relevant technology tree. I just need to wait patiently."

Although the governor of Star Province did not have complete control over Star Province, the twenty-six cities nominally respected the governor's mansion.

As the left and right arms of the state lord's faction, the Meteor Guard has an extremely comprehensive intelligence system within Star Province.

The news of Zhang Lü and Su Bieli's Meteor Guards and the Heavenly Gang Sect's allied forces' defeat at Beishan spread to the Meteor Guards at an extremely fast pace in less than a day.

After thorough verification, the next morning, the Star Patrol Envoy Tang Qing hurriedly arrived at Su Wen's study.

"Minister, news has come from Meteor Guard..."

Tang Qing's expression turned solemn.

Judging from his expression, Su Wen had already guessed what was going on.

"Impossible!"

He hissed, "Where!?"

Tang Qing quickly presented the intelligence.

Even as the head of the Star Patrol Department and one of the three giants of the Meteor Guard, second only to Star Lord Xin Tianqi, Su Wen still showed disbelief when he saw this intelligence.

"A series of firearms?! Ten series of firearms capable of firing a large number of metal projectiles in a very short time were enough to defeat them?!"

Su Wen roared, "Are all these people trash?!"

Musket!

They have!

Firearms had already been introduced in the Great Qian Dynasty.

This is because muskets were not only slow to fire and greatly affected by environmental factors, but their power was also negligible.

Let alone breaking through the protective True Qi of Qi Refining expert, elite soldiers wearing iron armor can charge forward as if firearms were nothing.

Even if the intelligence mentions that the rapid-fire muskets have an extremely high firing rate, so what!?

"Minister, these are the Celestial Masters Gu Jinlai. The firearms they forge cannot be judged by ordinary standards! According to our subordinates who have verified this with survivors, even Core Forming master of the Core Formation stage would not escape death if continuously struck by their firearms."

Tang Qing paused slightly as he spoke, "Supreme Master Su Bieli was killed before even engaging in battle because he charged too fast and was caught in a barrage of musket fire."

"What about Su Fangzheng? What about Lawyer Zhang?"

"Su Fang was killed by Gu Jinlai and his disciple Su Nanxing."

Tang Qing said, "According to the survivors, his disciple Su Nanxing had already broken through to the Spirit Refining. At that time, Sect Master Su, carrying a musket, charged towards Gu Jinlai, about to unleash his most powerful sword strike to kill Gu Jinlai, when Su Nanxing suddenly attacked, catching him off guard. This one mistake led to their complete defeat. As for Zhang Lu..."

He paused for a moment. "Although no one witnessed it with their own eyes, he... should have been killed head-on by Gu Jinlai."

"A direct kill."

Su Wen had some understanding of Zhang Lu's abilities.

He is definitely among the top-tier among the True Person of Spirit Refining.

He rose from a fallen star guard to the throne of the Star Master, a veteran of countless battles, the only one Gu Jinlai be able to kill him...

It surprised him, yet it also seemed perfectly reasonable.

"It seems he has turned all the resources of the Crimson Blood Sect, as well as the Demonic Beasts that cooperated with the Crimson Blood Sect, into Cultivation Resources."

A glint of light flashed in Su Wen's eyes.

As the head of the inspection department, he knew far more than anyone else.

He had even heard rumors that the Crimson Blood Sect was cooperating with Demonic Beasts and that the Second Young Master Qi Fenglei was involved within it.

However, due to the lack of evidence, it remains a secret.

"Gu Jinlai, he was originally Demonic Beasts warrior. After obtaining a large amount of Demonic Beasts Essence Blood, his strength naturally increased dramatically. Otherwise, he could not have become so arrogant."

Su Wen slammed his fist on the table. "Zhang Lu knew perfectly well that he was Demonic Beasts martial artist Gu Jinlai, yet he still heavily relied on him. Not only did he create his own trap, but he also caused Xiao Tong's death! He deserves to die!"

Tang Qing carefully considered his words before asking for instructions, "Minister, this matter has caused quite a stir, and it will likely spread throughout Star Province very soon. If it is not handled properly..."

"Disposal?! Gu Jinlai, they must die!"

Su Wen declared firmly, "This time, no one can save him!"

His eyes flashed with a cold light. "This matter was started by me to some extent, so I should personally clean it up."

"Minister!?"

Tang Qing looked at Su Wen with some surprise. "You're going to take action yourself?"

"Gu Jinlai, anyone capable of killing Zhang Lu head-on is no match for an ordinary Spirit Refining. Even if we send three or five Spirit Refining together, he might not be able to defeat them but could escape. To ensure that nothing goes wrong, I will personally lead the charge and fight to the death."

Su asked.

Upon hearing this, Tang Qing slowly exhaled. "With the minister personally taking action, Gu Jinlai... they are already nothing but withered bones in a tomb."

"Su Qing."

Su Wen called out.

A young man with the Core Forming entered through the door. "Patriarch."

"Gu Jinlai is ultimately a member of the Star Lord's Department. Go and take my token to Minister Cheng Wanli. Tell him that I will personally go to Lingxiao City to kill Gu Jinlai."

"Yes."

The man named Su Qing accepted the token, bowed, and withdrew.

As soon as he stepped out, another young man hurried over.

Upon seeing Su Wen and Tang Qing, he hurriedly said, "Minister, Star Patrol Envoy, urgent report from the border! Lin Xiao, the deputy Purgatory Sect, led two thousand elite troops and two thousand soldiers to launch a surprise attack on Yuanhua City while it was undefended, and Yuanhua City has fallen."

"Yuanhua City!?"

"The Purgatory Sect!"

Upon hearing this news, Su Wen and Tang Qing's expressions changed simultaneously.

Especially Su Wen...

Yuanhua City, that's his territory.

First, the experts of the Heavenly Gang Sect were wiped out by Gu Jinlai, and now even the city has been lost. In an instant, the anger of this Minister of the Star Patrol Department rose to the limit.

"Waste!"

Su Wen roared, "Isn't the Heavenly Gang Sect still guarding the city with Zhou Que? Besides, there are hundreds of experts and thousands of soldiers in the city. How could they lose the city so easily?!"

"Heavenly Gang Shang Zhou Que of the Tian Gang Sect did indeed gather his troops to resist immediately... However, before the battle even began, a flying sword, Han Ling, descended from the sky and beheaded Tai Shang with a single strike. Instantly... chaos ensued, and the Yuanhua City garrison was left leaderless. Coupled with the rampant activities of spies, which colluded with them from within and without, this led to the fall of Yuanhua City."

"The Cold Feather Sword?"

Su Wen, burning with rage, froze for a moment. "The Nascent Spirit Transformation Elder of the Purgatory Sect, all birds have vanished and rocks have sunk!?"

"Yes."

The meteorite guardian nodded emphatically.

The Purgatory Sect not only received a vice sect leader, Lin Xiao, but also a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Zhou Que was instantly killed by the flying sword, and with the Heavenly Gang Sect's experts all coming out, Yuanhua City was left vulnerable...

It was not a fault of war.

Su Wen couldn't help but calm down.

With the situation deteriorating to this point, it will likely be difficult to retake Yuanhua City.

Just as Su Wen was deep in thought with a gloomy expression, another man in the garrison commander's uniform quickly walked in from outside. "Minister, urgent report from Yuanhua City! Gu Jinlai a surprise attack on Yuanhua City, utterly defeating the Purgatory Sect. The Purgatory Sect fled in panic, and Yuanhua City has changed hands!"

"A surprise attack on Yuanhua City, resulting in a crushing defeat for the Purgatory Sect, is Gu Jinlai?"

Su Wen was taken aback, then, without hesitation, he forcefully waved his sleeve. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

He said solemnly, "Shi Chen entered Star Province, most likely to kill Gu Jinlai cleanse his own ranks! Gu Jinlai's surprise attack on Yuanhua City is simply walking into a trap, offering his own neck to Shi Chen's cold-feather sword. He is doomed to die, how could he possibly take Yuanhua City!?"

"This... the news has been confirmed by multiple sources and is accurate."

The newly arrived garrison commander spoke with equal disbelief, "According to many experts, when Gu Jinlai outside Yuanhua City, there were indeed flying swords that pierced the air with a thunderous sound, shooting for ten miles. However... accompanied by a roar outside the city, nothing more happened. Later, some people said that they saw Shi Chen, an elder of the Purgatory Sect, with a pale face and weak breath, fleeing in panic. Then Gu Jinlai climbed the city wall of Yuanhua City and, relying on the advantage of the chain fire muskets, slaughtered the Lin family's elite and defeated the Lin family's garrison."

"Shi Chen drew his sword, yet he was pale-faced, weak-breathed, and fled in panic?"

Su Wen couldn't help but widen his eyes. "They escaped!?"

"They escaped."

"How... is this possible..."

"Not only Shi Chen, Lin Xiao of the Purgatory Sect also followed closely behind, hastily fleeing, not daring to engage Gu Jinlai in battle at all. The Lin family suffered heavy losses of two thousand elite troops and two thousand soldiers..."

The garrison commander said, his eyes filled with disbelief, "In this battle, the Lin family of Linfeng City has probably lost all its resources."

Hearing his confident words, Su Wen and Tang Qing exchanged a glance, momentarily stunned.

"Minister... Minister..."

After a long pause, Tang Qing hesitated before finally speaking, "Lingxiao City... are you still going?"

"I..."

Su Wen's expression shifted several times, then he seemed to realize something and shouted, "Quick! Quickly bring Su Qing back! This matter... needs further consideration!"

(Thanks to Jiu Jiu Shang Xuan Mo Xuan for the generous donation. I will add more chapters as soon as I have more drafts.)