Boom!!!
When the heavy crossbow's string reached its utmost tension, the fine iron arrow weighing ten thousand jin shot from its launcher like a streaking rainbow!
A terrifying gale rose in the arrow's wake as it howled through the air, seemingly capable of tearing the void apart and shattering everything in the world...
"Ancestor, watch out!!"
The Zhao Household's armored guards were horrified when they saw the arrow heading straight for their ancestor.
At that moment, the Zhao Household ancestor, trapped within the range of the Three Talents Formation Flags, felt fear as well.
His eyes widened, and he tried to dodge, but he had no chance at all.
The arrow was simply too fast. If not for the Three Talents Formation Flags' influence and Lin Xiye's relentless attacks from the side... even injured, he could have dodged it with ease.
But now, he could only watch helplessly as the enormous arrow hurtled toward him.
In desperation, the Zhao Household ancestor could only control the Earth River Shield and desperately hold it in front of himself!
Under the threat of the arrow, he even gave up defending against the elemental attacks within the Three Talents Formation Flags...
If the Three Talents Formation Flags struck him, he would suffer a few more injuries at most. But if this ten-thousand-jin fine iron arrow pierced his body, he would surely die without an intact corpse!!
In the blink of an eye, the enormous fine iron arrow collided with the Zhao Household ancestor's Earth River Shield!
Violent force spread outward, whipping up a vast wave of air.
Almost as soon as it struck the Earth River Shield, a shower of sparks erupted from the fine iron arrow... and the entire arrow warped completely out of shape.
It had to be said, the defensive power of a Spirit-Infused Law Treasure was truly astonishing!!
Even against a ten-thousand-jin fine iron arrow capable of unleashing an impact of several million jin, the Earth River Shield's surface did not bear a single mark!
Of course, although the Earth River Shield was unharmed and had indeed stopped the fine iron arrow, that did not mean the Zhao Household ancestor had escaped unscathed...
Although the Earth River Shield stopped the fine iron arrow from penetrating and prevented it from piercing straight through the Zhao Household ancestor's body,
The terrifying force unleashed by the fine iron arrow traveled through the Law Treasure and delivered a tremendous impact directly to his body!
Blood poured from the Zhao Household ancestor's seven orifices. Gripping the Earth River Shield with both hands, his whole body teetered under the pressure of the fine iron arrow, and even half his body had sunk into the ground.
At that moment, his injuries were so severe that he completely lost the strength to resist...
Although Lin Xiye had expended some of his strength, he was in far better condition than the Zhao Household ancestor.
The Zhao Household ancestor, on the other hand, had broken bones throughout his body, and his vitality was constantly draining away. On top of that, the Spirit Poison Bottle was eroding his soul at every moment.
He had lost his clash with Lin Xiye completely!
If he fell, a calamity of annihilation would await the Zhao Household of Zichuan City as well.
Gurgle, gurgle...
The Zhao Household ancestor watched Lin Xiye approach step by step. He no longer struggled, nor did he have the strength to continue fighting him.
He could only turn toward the Zhao Household's many armored guards and let out one final roar...
"Run! All of you, run!!"
"Flee back to Zichuan City and tell the clansmen to relocate..."
"You must preserve our Zhao Household's legacy! You must keep our Zhao Household's bloodline alive!!"
The Zhao Household ancestor used the last of his strength to shout himself hoarse...
He knew very well that once he was no longer there to hold the fort, and with the Zhao Household having lost a great many cultivators this time, even if the Lin Household showed great mercy and spared them, the other forces with grudges against the Zhao Household would surely settle accounts with them!
Over the years, the Zhao Household had suppressed, and even slaughtered, no small number of forces.
Throughout his life, he had not cared about his so-called clansmen.
But before his fall, he was still willing to fulfill his duty as an ancestor... A man's words were kind when death drew near.
Bang!!
Before the Zhao Household ancestor could say another word, Lin Xiye moved so fast he became an afterimage. He first seized the Spirit-Infused Law Treasure, the Earth River Shield, then abruptly unleashed a punch that slammed heavily into the Zhao Household ancestor.
Terrifying force spread out! It smashed the Zhao Household ancestor into a heap of mangled flesh.
As a scarlet mist of blood spread through the air, the Zhao Household ancestor's vitality vanished completely.
"Ancestor!!"
At the sight, the Zhao Household's armored guards were scared completely witless.
Even the armored guard commanders stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
Only a few guards thought to flee, but the moment they lifted their legs, Lin Xiye snapped their necks.
"Drop all your weapons. Anyone who dares flee without permission... dies!!"
Lin Xiye's voice was ice-cold.
At his words, none of the Zhao Household's armored guards dared make another move.
Several guard commanders even put down their weapons of their own accord and dropped to their knees, their faces full of terror as they frantically begged Lin Xiye not to kill them.
Without the Zhao Household ancestor and the household's cultivators holding the fort, they had completely lost their backbone.
The Zhao Household's armored guards and heavy cavalry together numbered over ten thousand.
If they had united and fled in all directions, even Lin Xiye could not have slaughtered them all.
But they had completely lost their courage and morale...
Once an army's courage crumbled and its morale was lost, no matter how large it was, it would be reduced to a flock of lambs waiting for slaughter.
Thud! Thud, thud!!
At that moment, Qiao Town's gates slowly opened, and hundreds of the Lin Household's armored guards marched out!
The Lin Household guards' earlier despair had given way to soaring morale!
The fall of the Zhao Household ancestor meant the Lin Household had won a complete victory in this battle! The future would also be bright for the guards who had stood by the Lin Household in its moment of crisis!!
"Bind the hands and feet of every one of them!"
Lin Xiye looked at the Lin Household's armored guards and spoke calmly.
At his command, the Lin Household guards used hemp ropes, iron chains... to bind the hands and feet of all the Zhao Household's guards.
Throughout the entire process, not a single Zhao Household guard resisted.
"Ancestor, how should we deal with these people?"
Just then, Lin Changge suddenly walked over to Lin Xiye and spoke with a face full of respect.
Hearing this, Lin Xiye did not answer. Instead, he asked a question of his own, unhurriedly:
"How do you think... we should deal with them?"
As soon as Lin Xiye finished speaking, Lin Changge saw that all the Zhao Household guards had been bound hand and foot. A glint of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes, and he made a throat-slitting gesture to Lin Xiye.
"Kill them all!!"
"These people are an unstable factor, after all!"
"Not just them. Once our Lin Household enters Zichuan City, every member of the Zhao Household, man or woman, old or young, shall be killed without mercy!!"
"When dealing with enemies, cut the grass and pull up the roots!"
Lin Changge's expression was perfectly calm as he spoke.
In his eyes, the ten thousand-odd Zhao Household guards and the tens of thousands of Zhao clansmen seemed to be nothing more than wild grass in the mountains...
Hearing Lin Changge's words, some of the Lin Household's younger generation looked unable to bear it. One of the Lin Household's young women even stepped forward to object.
"Patriarch, they're all innocent."
"As long as they don't threaten our Lin Household, what harm is there in letting them live?"
As soon as the young woman finished speaking, Lin Changge frowned deeply and was about to rebuke her.
At that moment, Lin Xiye waved a hand to stop Lin Changge from getting angry. Instead, he looked deeply at the Lin Household's young descendants and slowly spoke in a teaching tone.
"Do you think... all of this is cruel?"
"But I must tell you, this is the law of survival on this land!!"
"If you think it's cruel, go outside Qiao Town and see for yourselves... See the villages slaughtered by the Zhao Household and the mountain folk butchered by them."
"Those mountain folk were innocent too, but did the Zhao Household... spare them?"
"Today, our Lin Household managed to stop the Zhao Household. Otherwise, your fathers' generation, your younger clan brothers and sisters... would already have been violated and slaughtered!"
"To survive in a dark jungle, when facing outside enemies, mercy and tolerance... will only bring about your own destruction!"
"The struggle for survival demands blood and iron!!"