"Now that we know where the Demonic Creatures in Ping'an County are hiding, why don't we enjoy a good slaughter today?"
Chen Fan gripped the thousand-forged Embroidered Spring Blade, cast from black iron, and spoke, itching for a fight.
In his eyes, these were more than just Demonic Creatures. They were resources for his path of cultivation!
Spend the lives of Demonic Creatures to forge my path of martial arts!
He wasn't just saying it!
"Constables of the Government Office, heed my order! Follow me to exterminate the Demonic Creatures and cleanse Ping'an County!"
"Send someone to relay the order to the eight hundred County Soldiers at the suburban barracks. Have them gather and enter the city!"
Lu Xuenning called out loudly.
"Yes!"
The Constables and Yamen Runners who had gathered to watch were swept up by Chen Fan and Lu Xuenning's bold spirit. Their blood boiled, and every one of them wished they could immediately battle the Demonic Creatures!
"The Jinyiwei are still under Cao De's control, so I can't move against them for now. But I can still fight alongside you and slay Demonic Creatures!"
Chen Fan said to Lu Xuenning.
"With you, that's enough!"
Lu Xuenning gazed at Chen Fan and smiled faintly.
With the Black Mountain Three Demons nowhere to be seen, there was probably no one who could match Chen Fan. Having such a powerful expert watching their backs was more than enough!
"Before we act, we need to send runners to warn the people to bolt their doors and windows and stay inside, so they don't get hurt by mistake."
"We also need to requisition laborers to repair the city walls as quickly as possible. Once every Demonic Creature inside the county has been slain, it will mean that Ping'an County has completely fallen out with the Black Mountain Demonic Creatures. In their fury, they may well slaughter the entire city, so we must prepare in advance!"
"Also, it would be best to have the people from the townships under Ping'an County come into the county seat to take shelter and weather this crisis together."
"Because if the Demonic Creatures fail to take the county seat, they may vent their rage on those people instead, devouring everyone in the townships under Ping'an County. By then, Ping'an County will be an isolated city."
Chen Fan offered a reminder.
It was hard to guess what these Demonic Creatures were thinking. They had to plan for every possibility.
Naturally, he hoped that when the Demonic Creatures invaded Ping'an County, he could slaughter them all in one fell swoop and put an end to the demonic scourge.
But if the Black Mountain Three Demons proved too powerful, and even he couldn't defeat them, he might only be able to hold the county seat without killing them. Or perhaps the Demonic Creatures wouldn't be a match for him, but would scatter and flee. Either way, it would be difficult to kill every last one of them.
He had to take all these possibilities into account.
As for the possibility that he was no match for the Black Mountain Three Demons and they could kill him with a single blow—
Chen Fan felt the odds of that happening were almost zero.
Even if all three of the Black Mountain Three Demons had reached the Spirit Aperture Realm, he still didn't think they could kill him in one blow!
Besides, Lu Xuenning had once told him that wild Great Demons without a legacy rarely managed to break through to the Spirit Aperture Realm. Chen Fan didn't believe he'd hit the jackpot and run into three wild Great Demons who had all reached the Spirit Aperture Realm!
"I'll take care of all that!"
Just then, Constable Liu stepped forward too, his gaze firm as he spoke.
At that moment, he could be called completely unhinged!
Soon, everyone sprang into action. Every household bolted its doors and windows. The County Soldiers formed squads of one hundred, armed themselves, and entered the county seat in eight groups. Some stayed behind to guard the four sides of the city, while the rest joined the three ranks and six departments of the Government Office's Constables and Yamen Runners to surround the residences of every Government Office official.
Some Demonic Creatures caught wind of what was happening and fled through the streets, only to be slain by Chen Fan, Lu Xuenning, and Huang Chengyue.
The people from the Jinyiwei Baihu Office also heard the news and sprang into action. On Cao De's orders, Li Mo led them—but they hadn't come to help Chen Fan and the others slay the Demonic Creatures. Instead, they confronted Chen Fan directly!
"Chen Fan, do you know what you're doing?"
"Baihu Master has ordered you to lead five Jinyiwei squads out of the city on patrol immediately!"
"Zongqi Officer Chen, take the order!"
Li Mo looked at Chen Fan and spoke haughtily.
"I'm in a bad mood today, so I'm taking a day off. Go back and tell Baihu Master that I won't be patrolling outside the city today."
"I'm a Jinyiwei Zongqi Officer. Surely I'm allowed to take a day off?"
Chen Fan replied in an even tone.
"You..."
"You're twisting words to suit yourself!"
"Baihu Master has ordered that if you dare disobey, it will be treated as defiance. He's ordered us to take you into custody immediately!"
"Zongqi Officer Chen, don't force my hand!"
Li Mo stared coldly at Chen Fan, his threat unmistakable.
Honestly, he wasn't confident he could take down the young man in front of him one-on-one, but he had no choice but to obey Baihu Master's orders.
Fortunately, dozens of Jinyiwei brothers had followed him. If they all swarmed Chen Fan, they could take him down in one fell swoop even if he had reached the Spirit Aperture Realm!
"I'd like to see who dares!"
"Chen Fan is acting on behalf of the Government Office to help slay Demonic Creatures and keep the peace in Ping'an County. Whoever lays a hand on him will be killed on the spot!"
Lu Xuenning met him head-on. At her words, the Constables and Yamen Runners behind her, along with several capable fighters from the barracks, all glared at Li Mo and the Jinyiwei behind him.
Li Mo's expression immediately darkened.
Chen Fan alone wasn't enough to frighten him. But with Lu Xuenning, who had reached the Spirit Concealment Realm Peak, and the Yamen Runners, Constables, and military officers behind her, who clearly had no lack of martial skill, even if everyone from the Jinyiwei Baihu Office came out in force, he would struggle to gain the upper hand without Captain Cao stepping in!
"Zongqi Officer Chen, Head Constable Lu, you'll regret what you've done. You'll bring ruin upon all of Ping'an County!"
"Withdraw!"
Li Mo let out a long sigh and turned to leave with the Jinyiwei behind him.
He knew about Cao De's agreement with the Black Mountain Three Demons, and he knew Cao De was using the Demonic Creatures to eliminate his enemies. But Li Mo didn't think Cao De was wrong to do so.
Cao De had applied to Longyuan Prefecture for aid several times, but every request had been rejected. There were places in Longyuan Prefecture in an even more dire state than Ping'an County, and they needed the aid more.
Over time, Cao De had given up hope. He began improving his own strength while also reaching out to the Demonic Creatures near Ping'an County. He slew those he could; with those he couldn't, he negotiated terms. That was how he had secured twenty years of peace on the surface for Ping'an County.
In Li Mo's eyes, Cao De was a great man, a hero who had won a sliver of hope for Ping'an County amid countless death traps!
And now Chen Fan and Lu Xuenning were going to shatter that sliver of hope with their own hands!
"Let's go!"
"Follow me to slay Demonic Creatures!"
Chen Fan said calmly. Lu Xuenning and the Yamen Runners, Constables, and military officers behind her followed right after him.
They first headed to the County Magistrate's Residence. Chen Fan had come here through a secret passage before, but he hadn't left Wang Menglu's room.
A pack of Dog Demons had made their den in the County Magistrate's Residence. For years, they had coexisted peacefully with the County Magistrate and hadn't harmed a single person in the residence. Instead, they had settled into the rear courtyard and served as guard dogs.
That was all because the County Magistrate had been feeding them prisoners from the Ping'an County jail. Sometimes, he even let them out in the middle of the night to forage wherever they pleased in Ping'an County, covering for them afterward.
As the County Magistrate of Ping'an County, he had gone even further than Constable Liu!
Chen Fan, Lu Xuenning, and Huang Chengyue led the others straight into the County Magistrate's Residence. They slew every Dog Demon they encountered!
The two leading Dog Demons were a male and a female, both at the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage. The other Dog Demons were their descendants, born over the years.
It was only because the County Magistrate had supported them so lavishly that their descendants had grown so quickly. In just a few short years, they had awakened their intelligence and become Demonic Creatures!
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