The City Guard Battalion's compound.
Beneath the tall, imposing gateway, four men stood with their hands on their saber hilts, watching the pedestrians on the street with the prowling vigilance of wolves and the piercing gaze of hawks.
Every face was cold, every gaze sharp, their whole bearing warning strangers to keep away.
Everyone passing the City Guard Battalion's compound took a detour, afraid of inviting trouble.
Just then, heavy, synchronized footsteps rang out farther down the street.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
At once, everyone on the street turned toward the sound, including the four men guarding the City Guard Battalion's gate.
Soon, a squad of fully armed soldiers rounded a nearby street corner. It was Chen Shi'an and his subordinates.
A sizable crowd of Stronghold residents followed behind them.
It was rare for the Demon Hunting Camp to mobilize in such force.
The last time anything like this had happened was when Chen Shi'an's family had met with "an accident."
Back then, Chen Shi'an had led his men to blockade Wang Tianye's Commander-in-Chief's Residence and had even slashed Wang Tianye in full view of everyone.
That single slash had left Wang Tianye holed up like a turtle in the Commander-in-Chief's Residence for months, and had finally emboldened the Stronghold's people, who had long kept their mouths shut, to discuss his crimes.
This time, it was Chen Shi'an again, leading his men out once more.
And they had appeared on the street where the City Guard Battalion's compound stood.
People soon guessed that Chen Shi'an had come to make trouble for the City Guard Battalion again.
To the people of Windrise Stronghold, the Demon Hunting Camp facing off against the City Guard Battalion was nothing short of Mars colliding with Earth.
Meanwhile, most City Guard Battalion soldiers had long ridden