A soldier set up a stand. The burly drummer arched his back and flipped through the air, landing squarely on it. He scooped up a pair of drumsticks as thick as a child's arms and looked to Xu Hu for his signal. Xu Hu glanced behind him. The Imperial Execution Bureau's troops stood in orderly ranks. He swept out a hand. "Beat the drum!"
"Boom, boom, boom, boom-boom, boom-boom-boom, boom-boom-boom-boom..." The beats fell like rain, faster and faster, pressing on the enemy's nerves. The people outside Pinglu City had noticed the Imperial Execution Bureau and Luo Qian's men as soon as they appeared. The leaders of the five factions hurried together to discuss a response. Now, at the sound of the drum, they rushed out as one. The sight of the bureau's imposing ranks drained the color from their faces. "It's an army!"
Panic seized the rebels. Many had dared join in only because they believed the law could not punish a crowd. But the force before them was no longer a band of constables from the Realm Security Court. It was an army, a machine built for war. These troops looked far more formidable than ordinary Immortal Soldiers, and their uniforms were finer, too.
The shrewder rebels knew they had kicked an iron plate and were already preparing to flee. Those who had joined the looting out of greed regretted it in secret. What good was wealth if they did not live to spend it? Those who had come because others urged them on were helpless with fear. The ones with ulterior motives knew their scheming had gone to waste; their best hope now was to wreak as much havoc on Pinglu City as they could during the fighting. The five leaders faced a different problem. Each was a