The Times Have Changed

"Move! Move!"

"The Grand General has ordered that these checkpoints be heavily guarded. No one is allowed through!"

Within the Royal Capital, aside from the imperial palace, the highest-ranking, largest, and most luxurious establishment was the Grand General's Manor in the west of the city.

Yan Wuxu had lived there in seclusion for years. His power was immense, and he had heard that someone intended to kill him.

Moreover, the assassin was an expert listed in the Divine Weapon Manual.

Thus, a military order was sent directly to the Imperial Guard camp responsible for defending the Royal Capital.

Three thousand Ironclad Guards had already been mobilized. Barricades had been erected at several nearby intersections, and heavily armed troops stood guard.

Archers and crossbowmen lay low atop the nearby towers and pavilions, their feathered arrows already nocked. The blackened arrowheads had clearly been coated in poison.

The once-prosperous streets were now bleak and murderous.

Every household along the road had their doors and windows tightly shut. No one dared step outside, lest they be seized as spies.

Inside the Grand General's Manor, a middle-aged scholar with delicate features listened to a captain's report while slowly waving a folding fan. He gave a soft snort through his nose.

"The thief who came to assassinate the Grand General this time is no ordinary man. He must not be treated like some common jianghu peasant."

"Tell your men to keep their eyes wide open and guard this place properly!"

"If even the slightest mishap befalls the Grand General's Manor, it will be a crime punishable by the extermination of three clans!"

"Captain Zhao, do you understand?"

Captain Zhao, built like a young bull, stared rigidly at the ground. His entire body trembled faintly, making the plates of his armor clatter.

He swallowed with difficulty, but when he thought of the inescapable net he had laid, confidence suddenly welled up within him. Cupping his fists, he said:

"This subordinate understands the stakes. Please rest assured, sir. The Grand General's Manor is impregnable. Those thieves will come, but they will not leave!"

After Captain Zhao finished speaking, the middle-aged scholar leisurely lifted his teacup and took a sip. When he looked up, he saw that Zhao was still standing there hesitantly, and his brow furrowed.

"Um, sir, did you receive the item I had sent to your residence some days ago? Was it to your liking?"

After gritting his teeth, Captain Zhao finally asked in a low voice.

The middle-aged scholar paused, clicked his tongue, and stared at the pitiful fellow before him. "So that Blood Coral was sent by you. It carries a trace of spiritual energy—quite to my liking."

"Hehe, as long as you like it, sir. As long as you like it."

Captain Zhao forced out a smile. Though he did not know what spiritual energy meant, it seemed he had sent the right thing.

"For the sake of that Blood Coral, I'll give you an opportunity."

"Sir, are you willing to put in a good word for me before the prince and help me earn a promotion?"

"What you sent isn't enough."

The middle-aged scholar curled his lips slightly and shook his head at Captain Zhao's disappointed expression, speaking as though casually:

"The opportunity I mean is that you can now have someone else replace you in defending the Grand General's Manor, sparing you many risks. What do you think?"

Captain Zhao's heart trembled. He assumed the scholar simply did not wish to help him and had casually found an excuse to use up the favor.

Although failure in guarding the manor would bring severe punishment, if he performed well, he might catch Yan Wuxu's eye.

Thinking of the future wealth and glory that awaited him, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Thank you for your kindness, sir, but this subordinate has faith in his brothers. Three thousand Ironclad soldiers are all elites, armed with powerful bows and crossbows. Even if several Innate Realm experts came together, they would never gain the upper hand!"

With that, Captain Zhao cupped his fists in salute and strode away.

He did not know that the middle-aged scholar behind him was shaking his head as he drank his tea and cursed, "Stupid ox."

Who would have thought that someone would scramble to take on the miserable task of using mortal lives to drain a cultivator's spiritual power? Such was the allure of authority.

After leaving the Grand General's Manor, Captain Zhao felt as though a massive weight had been lifted from his heart. He turned back to glance at the imposing, solemn gates and took a deep breath.

He was just about to leave and inspect the nearby defensive arrangements.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom rang out in the distance. The ground shook, black smoke rose into the air, and faint screams echoed from afar.

Captain Zhao lost his footing and nearly fell. Fortunately, he was also a first-rate expert, and his stance was stable enough for him to quickly regain his balance.

Seeing the fear on the surrounding soldiers' faces, he too felt a hint of unease. Still, he sternly rebuked them:

"Don't panic! Hold your ground!"

"Perhaps the thieves used some sort of trick. There's nothing to fear!"

Captain Zhao had built up considerable authority over the years and possessed some ability. As he rushed toward the site of the explosion, he recalled hearing that certain jianghu sects were skilled at using secret medicines to create thunderous blasts.

However, such medicines were not only complicated to make and difficult to store, but their destructive force was also widely scattered.

A moment of carelessness could even injure the user himself.

They were no match for an army and could only frighten country women in rural villages.

"Captain, your warhorse and weapon!"

An attendant led over a fine horse and stopped Captain Zhao. A Flower-Patterned Great Axe hung from the horse's side.

"Perfect timing!"

Captain Zhao's eyes lit up. He mounted up in full armor, his right arm muscles bulging as he hefted the great axe. He galloped across the broad street, the pounding hooves carrying tremendous momentum.

He was a military general. Only with a warhorse and weapon could he unleash his full strength. Even an Innate Realm expert would have to avoid his charge!

Captain Zhao's horse was swift, and he soon reached the scene. The heavily guarded intersection was now filled with smoke and dust, with a massive scorched crater in the ground over three feet deep.

More than a dozen blood-covered Ironclad Guards lay crumpled beside the road like rag dolls struck by a giant hammer, their fates unknown.

The remaining guards had huddled together, clutching their spears and staring fearfully ahead like startled birds.

"Where is the enemy?"

Captain Zhao swung his axe and roared, his eyes wide, but he found no trace of an enemy nearby.

Just then, he heard a rumbling sound from the far end of the street, like an enraged beast growling as it approached.

His warhorse snorted uneasily and pawed at the ground. Had Captain Zhao not tightly pulled the reins, it likely would have bolted.

"What... what kind of ghostly thing is that?!"

Captain Zhao's eyes suddenly filled with confusion and terror. At the end of the Royal Capital's broad, ancient street, an iron-armored monster appeared.

The monster was pitch-black and enormous. The instant it appeared, it nearly filled the entire street. Several pairs of wheels lined its sides, wrapped in iron armor shaped like tracks.

It was practically a moving fortress.

No war beast could be seen pulling it, yet it moved forward with tremendous force. In an instant, it was like a giant elephant stomping across the earth, kicking up dust and crushing even the bricks beneath it.

"Could there be some immensely powerful martial artist hidden inside that armored fortress? Does he think hiding in there makes him invincible? Pretending to be mysterious—he's courting death!"

Captain Zhao's limbs went cold, but he quickly came up with a possibility. He forcibly drove his horse into a charge, swinging the Flower-Patterned Great Axe with fierce gusts of wind.

However, once he reached the iron-armored monster, Captain Zhao had no idea where to strike. He hacked at it wildly, leaving only a shallow mark on its front plate and sending sparks flying.

Just as Captain Zhao froze in shock, the iron-armored monster showed no mercy and rammed straight into him. Its tracks first caught the horse's hooves, then dragged the rider down with it.

"No, no, no!"

Captain Zhao's foot was caught in the stirrup, and he immediately realized something was terribly wrong.

He tried to jam the Flower-Patterned Great Axe into the wheels, only to watch the finely forged iron weapon rapidly deform under the immense pressure, twisting into a useless lump of scrap.

It did not even hold for the time of a breath before the fully accelerating iron-armored monster crushed him beneath its tracks.

Captain Zhao let out a brief scream, then fell silent, leaving behind only a smear of blood on the road.

If someone from Blue Star had been present, they would have recognized the iron-armored monster rampaging here—the unheard-of contraption of the Yan Kingdom—as a modern tank.

It also bore many special modifications.

Its armor was thicker, its engine more powerful, and its cannon barrel larger!

Inside the tank, Xiao Liang flipped through a tank-driving manual while directing Qin Long and Pandora in operating the enormous machine. He barely noticed the commotion outside.

"Xiao Liang, is this the Mechanical Puppet you brought back after going out before? Its construction is truly peculiar. It doesn't consume spiritual power at all, nor does it require Spirit Stones for power."

Qin Long looked intrigued. She took the driver's seat and operated the various mechanisms according to Xiao Liang's instructions. Cultivators had quick reactions, so before long, she was handling it quite skillfully.

However, she soon felt the tank jolt slightly and asked in confusion, "But how does this Mechanical Puppet observe the outside? I think I hit something just now. Are we under attack?"

(End of Chapter)