This World Was More Cruel Than I'd Imagined!

Li Zongming was willing to take such a huge risk just to wrest the Secret Key from Yi Zheng. He was dying to know why.

But the moment he caught sight of Li Zongming's icy gaze, it was as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head. His curiosity vanished.

Before long, Iron Dragon Stockade came into view.

Its terrain was treacherous, and dense forest cloaked the mountains.

The stockade's gates and defenses were very well constructed. Watchtowers stood on either side of the entrance, while trenches, spikes, and barricades blocked the way.

The most perilous part was that the only way into Iron Dragon Stockade was across the Iron Chain Bridge. The bridge hung over a hundred-meter cliff, swaying so wildly that it was hard to stand without holding on, and it was wide enough for only three people to cross at a time.

Anyone hoping to attack Iron Dragon Stockade had to cross the Iron Chain Bridge. The stockade only needed to station men at the entrance to make it as easy to hold as a fortress against ten thousand foes.

There was an even more ruthless option: destroy the Iron Chain Bridge outright.

Then no one could enter.

And no one could leave.

The enemy would naturally be unable to attack.

But unless absolutely necessary, Iron Dragon Stockade wouldn't destroy the bridge.

After all, it was also their only way out. Rebuilding it would be costly and extremely troublesome.

Smack!!

A furious roar rang out from the Assembly Hall in the stockade:

"You useless fools!! You haven't found the Second Boss for all these days. What the hell have you been doing?!"

Several of Yi Zheng's subordinates trembled, not daring to breathe too loudly.

This wasn't the first time Yi Zheng had flown into a rage since Long Ying went missing.

Everyone knew Yi Zheng was so angry not only because Long Ying was his trusted aide, but also because he was his cousin.

"Boss, anger is bad for your health. Calm down."

The petite concubine, clad in gauzy silk, writhed in his arms like a snake. Her little hand stroked his chest as she softly soothed him.

"Tang Gui, what do you think happened to Long Ying?"

Yi Zheng looked at Li Jing.

"I wouldn't dare say," Tang Gui replied, lowering his head.

"Speak! I won't blame you!"

Tang Gui took a deep breath. "According to the brothers in the stockade, the Second Boss left with two trusted aides. He didn't tell either of the other bosses when he left. Whatever he went out to do, it must have been personal business."

"It's been more than ten days. Whether or not the Second Boss finished that personal business, given the way he handles things, he would surely have sent someone back to report that he was safe. But now, not only has no one sent word, there hasn't been the slightest news of the Second Boss or the other two. The likeliest explanation is..."

He paused.

"They've already been killed..."

Yi Zheng's expression darkened.

Li Jing was about to say something when a commotion suddenly rose outside. A bandit rushed in, panic written all over his face.

"Something's wrong! A huge army is attacking!"

"What?!"

Everyone in the Assembly Hall sprang to their feet, furious and alarmed, and looked toward Yi Zheng.

Sure enough, Yi Zheng slammed his palm down and smashed the wooden table to pieces. He laughed in fury, the flesh on his face quivering.

"Are they government troops? This is too much! Hadn't I agreed with Third Foot Zhou that we'd keep to our own sides of the river? How dare he go back on his word!"

Yi Zheng was livid.

The two sides had already made peace, yet Third Foot Zhou had sent men to attack his doorstep again.

Did he think Yi Zheng was easy to bully?

Great Sheng was already a setting sun. What did one measly county magistrate amount to? If he pushed Yi Zheng too far, Yi Zheng would charge straight into the County Government Office and slaughter him!

"Have you found out which army it is?"

Tang Gui asked calmly.

"I... I don't know. But there are so many of them, packed together as far as the eye can see—at least tens of thousands. They're all dressed in white..."

"Tens of thousands? Dressed in white?"

At the news, Yi Zheng felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head. His hands and feet turned cold, and he drew in a sharp breath.

"The Taiping Sect?"

As far as he knew, Taiping Sect followers were like locusts, spread across half of Great Sheng. Countless common folk at the bottom of society believed in the Taiping Sect, and the sect was full of powerful fighters.

His own strength was nothing in the Taiping Sect.

"No, that can't be right. I haven't offended the Taiping Sect. Why would they send tens of thousands of men to attack Iron Dragon Stockade?"

Yi Zheng immediately thought of something, then realized:

"It's Li Zongming... I didn't give him what he wanted... What exactly is that treasure? Why does Li Zongming value it so much that he'd mobilize an army to attack me? Isn't he afraid of drawing the imperial court's attention? He's only a Helm Master. How could he have the authority to mobilize tens of thousands of men?"

Within the Taiping Sect, an Incense Master was in charge of a county, a sub-helm master oversaw several counties, and each commandery had several sub-helm masters. A Helm Master was responsible for a whole commandery, while a Hall Master oversaw the sect's affairs across an entire province.

A Helm Master might just have the authority to mobilize tens of thousands of men.

Yi Zheng had no idea what the thing Li Zongming wanted was. He had gotten the treasure years ago, when he killed an official and seized his property.

There had once been a family of great wealth, but their fortunes had dwindled, leaving them as minor landowners.

At first, Li Zongming had only meant to plunder the family. He hadn't planned to wipe them out. But when they refused to hand over the treasure even at the cost of their lives, his anger flared, and he slaughtered all ten-odd members of the family.

But after years of studying it without figuring out what it was, he'd stopped caring much about it.

Later, Li Zongming offered to buy it first. Yi Zheng was still considering the offer when Li Zongming raised the price. Realizing how much Li Zongming valued the treasure, Yi Zheng took advantage and demanded more.

Even Yi Zheng himself felt uneasy about the price. He hadn't expected Li Zongming to agree to it outright.

But by then, Yi Zheng no longer wanted to make the deal.

Li Zongming's attitude had made him realize how valuable the treasure was.

After that, Li Zongming never contacted him again. Yi Zheng had assumed he'd given up, never expecting him to make such a huge move.

"I'd like to see how Li Zongming plans to destroy Iron Dragon Stockade. You want it? Then I'll never give it to you!"

A cold glint flashed in Yi Zheng's eyes. He strode toward the stockade gate.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~

Flames soared into the sky. The village was strewn with charred corpses, and the crackling never ceased.

Lu Yuan stood outside the village, staring blankly at the settlement engulfed in flames.

"They're all dead... Hundreds of people... all dead..."

A chill ran through Lu Yuan's heart.

The shock of seeing an entire village slaughtered was beyond words.

He'd thought the things he'd seen were cruel enough, but this world was far more cruel than he'd imagined.

Hundreds of people had been slaughtered just like that.

And most likely, no one would avenge them.

They were dead, and that was that.

Human lives were as worthless as grass.

He didn't know anyone in this village. Though they'd colluded with bandits and some of them might have been guilty, surely not every one of the hundreds of villagers deserved to die.

"The Taiping Sect... is even more deserving of death than Iron Dragon Stockade!!"

Killing intent surged through Lu Yuan's chest, but he didn't lose his head. His gaze swept across the area and landed on the corpse of a Taiping Sect follower. He removed the man's white robe and put it on, then covered his face with a mask.

After all, the Taiping Sect was full of all kinds of strange characters. He wasn't the only one who wore a mask.

Once his disguise was ready, Lu Yuan headed toward Iron Dragon Stockade.

By then, the two sides outside Iron Dragon Stockade had already clashed.

Wave after wave of Taiping Sect followers surged onto the Iron Chain Bridge to attack the stockade.

Compared with these rabble of the Taiping Sect, the bandits of Iron Dragon Stockade were far better trained. They formed ranks and blocked the entrance to the Iron Chain Bridge.