Banner Bell

Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!

The four words made Yang Feng's head buzz fiercely.

Only then did he realize that while the Yang Family was not weak, it was truly nothing within the Judge's Office.

Under the deterrence of Zhao Hong's killing intent, Yang Feng swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "The mountains are covered with them. Profound Embryo realm—at least ten."

Hiss!

Sharp intakes of breath came from behind him.

No wonder, Zhao Hong thought.

At least ten Profound Embryo realm cultivators.

How many Golden Bell Guards were stationed at the garrison?

Even if every one of them had gathered inside, it would not be enough.

Unless reinforcements had arrived.

But Zhou Baishan had reported this matter days ago.

How foolish would they have to be to not take it seriously?

The martial artists from prominent families who could become Golden Bell Guards could not possibly be that stupid, no matter how incompetent they were.

Zhao Hong casually tossed Yang Feng to the ground and turned to look at Liu Zheng and the others.

"Let's go over and assess the situation first."

If they truly had made no preparations, it would be a certain defeat.

He was not about to walk into certain death.

Even if they were held accountable afterward, no one could blame them under those circumstances.

No one objected.

They had already come this far.

"What about those four?"

Liu Zheng glanced at the four men on the ground, their faces full of venom.

"Leave them."

Zhao Hong curled his lip and darted straight toward the garrison.

Ordinarily, he would not have offended all four of them so ruthlessly at once.

But what time was this?

It was a matter of life and death.

The others quickly followed.

Although they knew the situation at the garrison was even more terrifying, with Zhao Hong there, at least they had someone to rely on.

What they feared most was running around like headless flies, with no one making decisions.

Of course, whoever made the decisions also had to bear the responsibility.

Watching Zhao Hong and the others head directly for the garrison, the four exchanged looks.

"What do we do?"

"How could that bastard be so strong?"

Yang Feng still held a grudge against Zhao Hong.

Once he came to his senses, his face became incomparably ugly.

If they fled now, as long as any of those people survived afterward, they would be in enormous trouble.

Even their families might not be able to protect them.

"Follow them. Keep our distance and watch," Yang Feng said through gritted teeth.

As they drew closer to the garrison, increasingly fierce commotion reached their ears.

By now, the rain had nearly stopped.

Around the garrison, bursts of blood vitality and astral energy flew in all directions. Dull booms rang out without end, mixed with savage roars and furious curses.

The sounds alone turned everyone pale, making their hearts pound with fear.

Zhao Hong was no exception.

He forced himself to remain calm and slowed down.

Through the forest, the garrison came into view.

A thick layer of blood-red astral energy enveloped the garrison.

A banner fluttered in the wind, suffused with scarlet light and filled with killing intent.

Around it stood nearly a hundred densely packed figures.

People charged forward from time to time.

The scarlet banner suddenly warped, firing out a ribbon of blood astral energy that blasted back anyone who approached.

A look of shock appeared in Zhao Hong's eyes.

That banner, which had turned blood-red, was unmistakably the one planted at the garrison entrance.

It possessed such miraculous power?

"It's the Banner Bell."

Liu Zheng's low voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Banner Bell?" Zhao Hong glanced sideways.

"Unlike the bronze, silver, and gold bells, it is called a Blood Bell. It contains tremendous power and can merge with a banner, covering a certain area while attacking and intimidating intruders."

"There should originally have been only three Banner Bells in the garrison, but look at the banner. There are six bell phantoms on it."

"The power it displays is roughly at the peak of the Profound Embryo realm. Reinforcements must have arrived."

Liu Zheng's tone gradually became excited.

The banner billowed majestically.

Taking a closer look, Zhao Hong indeed saw six illusory bells, both real and unreal, flickering amid the surging blood astral energy.

However, four of them had already become so faint that they were on the verge of vanishing.

Reinforcements had come, but most likely...

A sense of foreboding rose within him.

"Did no inspectors come?" Zhao Hong warily swept his gaze across the area ahead.

A great number of corpses lay scattered across the wilderness.

The assault here had clearly been going on for quite some time.

The Banner Bells' power was being rapidly depleted.

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile. "That is unclear. If the report was submitted, logically speaking, at least one inspector should have come..."

"The people inside are fighting back too."

Several Silver Bell Guards behind them gathered closer.

Zhao Hong also saw crossbow bolts shooting out from within the garrison.

"These demon fiends have gone mad. Every one of them is throwing away their life. Even if they do not die, they are severely wounded by the banner. Strange—such a massive operation, yet there are no Innate realm experts?"

Wang Yunshan's face was filled with astonishment.

The Innate realm was above the Profound Embryo realm, the cultivation level of an inspector.

This was truly inconceivable.

"What do we do now? The Banner Bells' power is almost exhausted, but if we get close now, we will definitely be discovered."

"With six Banner Bells, reinforcements definitely came. Perhaps an inspector is hidden among them, waiting for the Evil Skin Cult's demon fiends."

Zhao Hong rubbed his brow, deeply troubled.

He looked at Liu Zheng.

"Brother Liu."

Liu Zheng frowned tightly and pondered for a moment. "We are too weak. We can only wait until the banner's power is exhausted, then act according to the situation when the people inside launch their counterattack."

"If there is no inspector..."

He looked at the others with a bitter smile.

Without an inspector, the choice was obvious.

They could not possibly go up there to throw away their lives.

Zhao Hong nodded slightly. There was nothing else they could do.

"Let's move over there. The defense is weaker on that side. We'll wait for an opportunity." He pointed toward one side uphill and carefully crept forward.

Boom!

Streams of astral energy kept bursting from the banner, like crimson lightning—fast and fierce.

The killing power close to the peak of the Profound Embryo realm made every demon fiend who dared approach suffer dearly.

Yet these people seemed controlled by Evil Skin, all of them crazed as they charged forward without fear of death.

In the brief time it took Zhao Hong and the others to arrive and completely hide themselves, nearly twenty people were blasted to death.

At the same time.

Inside the garrison.

A group of Golden Bell Guards held crossbows. Thick astral energy coiled around each massive bolt as they shot them toward the targets outside.

There were twelve of them in total.

Zhou Baishan was among them.

His cultivation had already reached the Profound Embryo realm.

Yet it seemed he had not had time to advance to Golden Bell Guard, and a silver bell still hung at his waist.

Suddenly.

One man looked up, his face darkening. "The Banner Bells' power is almost depleted."

"Damn it."

"There are definitely Innate realm experts hidden on the other side."

"They're fishing."

One Golden Bell Guard gritted his teeth. "With such a large operation, simply destroying the garrison and killing us Golden Bell Guards would be far too wasteful."

The demon fiends' target had to be the inspectors.

But if only an inspector were here, they would at least have the strength to fight.

"Can the inspectors still make it here?" Zhou Baishan glared at one of them.

That man was a Golden Bell Guard who had come as reinforcement.

He gave a bitter smile. "The demon beast we encountered on the way may not have been alone. The inspectors are probably facing serious trouble as well."

After receiving the report from this side, the rear had taken it very seriously, dispatching two inspectors and several Golden Bell Guards as reinforcements.

But they had been intercepted midway by an extremely powerful demon beast.

Only after the two inspectors held it back were they able to break free and reach this place.

Zhou Baishan wanted to curse, but there was no use cursing anyone now.

He had only just broken through to the Profound Embryo realm. Was he really going to die here?

All of a sudden.

A howling roar like thunder surged from the east, carrying the force of rolling thunder as it raced toward them at full speed.

"Demon fiends of the Evil Skin Cult, how dare you!"

The furious roar was like thunder, exploding across the mountains and wilderness.

Somewhere in the wilderness.

Zhao Hong's entire body shook. He saw only a streak of golden light pierce through the mountains. It was too fast to see clearly, whipping up raging winds with the force of a collapsing mountain and a tsunami.

The sudden, overwhelming spectacle startled all the demon fiends outside the garrison into stopping.

Before the voice had faded, that golden streak had already appeared outside the garrison, revealing a red-robed figure embroidered with the image of a Judge's Brush.

"It's an inspector—a Red-Robed Inspector."

"We're saved."

"Whew, the inspector finally made it."