Mr. Zhao Takes the Lead

The villagers, already prepared, were not afraid of their threats.

"If you have the guts, kill us all!"

The elderly Village Chief stepped forward, glaring with fury.

Zhou Tai nodded slowly. "Lord Chen! Now, as long as our brothers make a move, Fang Zhe and his men will surely die!"

But Chen Guan shook his head. "Not yet. Wait until they strike first!"

Chen Guan had not yet given Li Kun and the others his absolute trust.

Zhou Tai didn't understand but didn't ask.

Fang Zhe gritted his teeth and directly ordered his men forward.

Meanwhile, he silently retreated behind his own subordinates.

At this critical moment, Li Kun walked out from the crowd with a beaming smile. "Brothers! This is our chance to shine. Kill them, and wealth and glory await us!"

With that, he swung his long blade and cut down the man beside him.

Those who had already conspired with him stepped forward and began attacking Fang Zhe's men.

This scene shocked Fang Zhe and his group.

"Li Kun, what are you doing? Are you planning to betray Lord Li?"

Fang Zhe hurriedly tried to stop them.

But these men were already in a killing frenzy—how could he hold them back?

"Fang Zhe, once the prisoners and children in the jail are devoured by the Great Demon of Tushan, we'll be next! Today, we fight to survive!"

Li Kun paid no heed to his threats.

Instead, he swung his long blade and charged at Fang Zhe.

Seeing the enemy fall into chaos, the villagers of Yunfei Village were stunned.

"Everyone, take the children and hide them back inside!"

Chen Guan stepped forward and spoke.

The villagers snapped out of it and quickly led the children away from this place of trouble.

Fang Zhe, mounted on his horse, looked down from above, making it impossible for Li Kun to stop him.

Just as he thrust his spear to kill Li Kun, Chen Guan's Exquisite Leg nearly sent Fang Zhe's spear flying from his grasp!

"Li Kun, lead the men and slaughter them all—leave none alive!"

Chen Guan's strength filled Li Kun with delighted surprise.

He agreed and led his brothers into the fray.

Their betrayal caught the rest completely off guard.

In just a quarter of an hour, over three hundred officers and soldiers lay dead.

Chen Guan's body shimmered with golden light.

The radiance of the dragon and elephant gathered within him.

"Chen Guan! Do you really think you can escape? Dare to touch the Great Demon of Tushan's food, and no one can protect you!"

At this critical juncture, Fang Zhe still found time to threaten him.

But Chen Guan did not reply.

He activated the Whirlwind Wind Steps beneath his feet.

The gale around him forced Fang Zhe's horse to retreat involuntarily.

"Dragon Elephant Fist!"

He charged straight forward.

Before Fang Zhe could react, he slammed a fist heavily into the horse's head.

A force of a thousand jin instantly shattered the horse's skull.

Blood mist scattered through the air.

Fang Zhe, caught off guard, fell directly to the ground.

Chen Guan seized the moment and kicked his spear away.

"Lord Chen, I beg you, spare me! This was Lord Li Tong's order! I had no choice but to obey!"

Fang Zhe knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

But facing this loyal follower of Li Tong, Chen Guan sent him flying with a single kick.

Without the slightest hesitation, he picked up the long spear from the ground.

And drove it viciously straight through Fang Zhe's heart.

With the leading general dead, the remaining men scattered in all directions, Li Kun, eyes bloodshot with killing intent, leading his men directly in pursuit.

After settling matters here, Chen Guan brought Zhou Tai back into the village.

"Lord Chen, are all the matters resolved?"

The Village Chief tottered over to stand before him.

Chen Guan gave a faint smile and nodded. "Everyone, rest assured. These men have all been dealt with smoothly."

Only then did the villagers finally feel completely at ease.

At dusk, Li Kun finally returned to the village with his men, still hungry for more battle.

"My lord, every single man Fang Zhe brought has been eliminated. Not one left."

His fearless and ferocious fighting left Chen Guan thoroughly satisfied.

After praising them, he gathered them to discuss the next plan.

"My lord, Li Tong's only reliance now is Fang Zhe's men! With them gone, he's a lone man. Why not just kill him and be done with it for good?"

Zhou Tai's eyes flickered with killing intent as he spoke.

Yet Chen Guan shook his head. "These men are dealt with, but don't forget the demons of Tushan."

These words silenced everyone.

Li Tong colluding with demons had already become fact.

If those demons were to charge into the city again, the losses to the common people would be immeasurable!

"Zhou Tai, you take three hundred men to guard the village. Li Kun, bring the rest and follow me back to the city."

Chen Guan thought for a moment, then gave his orders.

A sleepless night passed.

The next morning, he led Li Kun and the others back into the city, only to find it utterly still, without a trace of commotion.

"My lord, Li Tong actually didn't summon the demons over. That's a bit surprising!"

Li Kun's words left Chen Guan puzzled as well.

But even so, he did not dare to be careless.

He had Li Kun and his men blend in among the common folk, ready at any moment to strike at any demons that might appear.

He himself went alone to the County Office.

There he saw Li Tong kneeling on the ground, his body covered in wounds, already on the verge of death.

And seated in the County Lieutenant's position was none other than Mr. Zhao, whom he had met at Tushan.

"You've finally come. I've been waiting here for you quite a while!"

Mr. Zhao looked at him without surprise, a thick smile on his face.

But Chen Guan frowned. "What point is there in waiting for me here? Did you bring the Tushan demons?"

"No need to rush that for now. Chen Guan, your strength has changed my opinion of you. The Great Demon of Tushan is not something you can handle. Why not work for me? I can guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and glory, how about it?"

Mr. Zhao waved his hand, looking at him with keen interest.

This sudden recruitment offer did not surprise Chen Guan.

It was just a pity that, with the system, he would never collude with demons.

"Words are useless. Let's fight."

Chen Guan's body flickered with the light and shadow of dragons and elephants.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhao shook his head. "A wise man submits to circumstances. It seems you don't understand that principle. But I am determined to have Qingshi County!"

As he finished speaking, heart-wrenching screams erupted from outside.

Startled, Chen Guan rushed out of the County Office.

He saw thousands of demons appearing within the city, beginning to hunt down the townsfolk.

Faced with such a situation, the people could only flee in panic, utterly unable to fight back.

Just as Chen Guan was about to step in to help, Mr. Zhao appeared abruptly before him.

"Today, all of you will die here!"

With those words, Mr. Zhao kicked out toward Chen Guan.

The immense force made the surrounding air howl.

Chen Guan raised his arm to block the attack, but was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing into a wall.

The demons' pursuit was not over.

Although Li Kun and his men stepped forward to resist, against thousands of demons they could only retreat step by step.

Now the city streets were littered with the corpses of common folk, rivers of blood flowing everywhere.