Castle of Black Iron

Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem

The only way for a person to be regarded as a “n.o.ble” in Taixia Country was to be conferred as a duke after killing demons, which referred to the narrow sense of demons and those lackeys of Three-eye a.s.sociation who cooperated with demons. It had long been proved that Heavens Reaching Church colluded with demons and cause turmoils in the world. Of course, Han Zhengfang, as the master of Heavens Reaching Church, was the most abhorrent demon of the demon.

Zhang Tie had not imagined that Xuanyuan Hill could provide such a high reward for catching Han Zhengfang.

The bounty land of one province; the hereditary dukedom, the treatment of three chancellors; the promise in cinnabar on an iron sheet which could remit the death penalty of all of his family members…With this reward, anyone who killed Han Zhengfang could enter his heyday in a split second.

If it were before, Zhang Tie would definitely be touched by such a great reward; however, he was only amazed about it now. He had just set a plot to push the Gobbling Party to the opposite side of Heavens Reaching Church. However, could he jump into this trap once again only for such a bit reward?

‘With one more province"s bounty land, I will not eat 10 times more than now or sleep in a room which was 10 times larger; the dukedom could not accelerate my cultivation; the honorable treatment of three chancellors could not make me like a king at once; neither am I ambitious and interested in rebellion; the promise in cinnabar on the iron sheet is just an iron sheet for me. Across Huaiyuan Palace, n.o.body else needed to be remitted except for me, whose case has just been redressed."

Therefore, the reward from Xuanyuan Hill became meaningless for Zhang Tie.

“Elder brother, this reward is a red-hot iron. Neither could I nor Huaiyuan Palace bear it. Additionally, Han Zhengfang didn"t even leave any bones. It"s difficult for me to prove that I"ve killed him; additionally, n.o.body would believe that. I"m afraid that Xuanyuan Hill mostly wants to unite the other 6 top sects and some top clans of Taixia Country to deal with Han Zhengfang and Heavens Reaching Church. We"d better not be involved in it!”

After removing his covetous thoughts and worries about gains and losses, Zhang Tie immediately saw through the purpose of Xuanyuan Hill behind this reward. The biggest function of this reward was to inspire morale and make clear the att.i.tude of Xuanyuan Hill towards Heavens Reaching Church and demons. No matter what, Han Zhengfang was the former finance minister of Taixia Country. Such a person as a mole of demons really affected Taixia Country too much. He had to be eliminated; however, only the top sects and a few clans in Taixia Country could kill a heavenly knight on the premise that few people knew the sequela of Han Zhengfang after using the secret method of b.l.o.o.d.y Soul Sutra . Therefore, this reward was actually prepared for these super forces——

‘I won"t be touched by it, but it doesn"t mean that the others won"t be touched by it either. Just let those people look for Han Zhengfang across the world!" Zhang Tie thought.

After being reminded by Zhang Tie, Zhang Yang recovered his composure too. When he heard that Zhang Tie killed Han Zhengfang, Zhang Yang who had been dreaming about reinvigorating Zhang Clan immediately remembered that reward. After hearing Zhang Tie"s explanation, Zhang Yang also realized that even Huaiyuan Palace as a whole could not bear such a reward, not to mention their family.

“I see, only you and I know this secret!”

“Cui Li is my incarnation. Elder brother, you can tell our parents about that in case of their concern now. I will return to Youzhou Province in a few days. After arriving at Youzhou Province, I will go to Jinwu City right away!”

“The culprit of the tragedy in Fuhai City has died. You came back too. Our parents could finally be rea.s.sured! And, don"t forget to notice Huaiyuan Palace about your incarnation. Even your disciples have known your real ident.i.ty, if you don"t notice these elders in Huaiyuan Palace before you return, you might be blamed for estranging your relatives!”

“Elder brother, you can notice Huaiyuan Palace about that when you"re free. You only need to tell them that Cui Li is my incarnation. We will talk about other things when I come back!”

“Sure!”

“And oh, what major events have happened in Taixia Country from November 15 till now? I was ill-informed over the past 2 weeks. What response have Heavens Reaching Church made?”

“Taixia Country is in great chaos just like when the holy war broke out in Waii Subcontinent. Over 60 provinces of Taixia Country have been afflicted by b.l.o.o.d.y figures. The entire territory of Taixia Country has been involved in it. What happened in Zhongzhou Province 2 months ago is repeating across Taixia Country now!”

“Including Northeast Military Region?”

“Yes, the Weiyuan Prefecture in Tongzhou Province and the Anlan Prefecture in Gaozhou Province have been afflicted by b.l.o.o.d.y figures. As a result, the entire Northeast Military Region has been in a turmoil. Youzhou Province has been on the alert in an all-round manner. All the corps in Northeast Military Regions have already reached the border for strict defense. Even Elder Muray and Elder Muyu have been dispatched to encircle and annihilate large-scale b.l.o.o.d.y figure troops. All the other provinces have imposed a curfew. The clans of Heavens Reaching Church are making troubles everywhere across Taixia Country, increasing a great number of names on the wanted list of Supreme Court. I"ve not heard any good news in Jinwu City lately!”

This news was within Zhang Tie"s expectation; however, Zhang Tie had not imagined that it could arouse so many chain reactions after he exposed Han Zhengfang"s real ident.i.ty to the public.

It was already not important that whether Han Zhengfang sent an order when he escaped to Xuanyuan Hill or the loyal backbones of Heavens Reaching Church made responses after they received the news that Han Zhengfang"s real ident.i.ty was exposed. After hearing that so many places in Taixia Country have been inflicted by b.l.o.o.d.y figures and remembering the looks of the villages and cities which were affected by b.l.o.o.d.y figures, Zhang Tie"s heart pounded at once.

“Did those places being affected by b.l.o.o.d.y figures suffer great losses?”

“Fortunately, after the catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures broke out in Zhongzhou Province, all the places across Taixia Country have been on the alert by mobilizing all the local garrisons for stricter defense. All the big cities and clans have knight-level powerhouses on their back. The entire Taixia Country is preventing b.l.o.o.d.y figures over these days. n.o.body dares to take a casual att.i.tude about it, official or local major clans. Although the catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures broke out in Taixia Country suddenly this time, the chaos and losses on average in each province are less than that in Zhongzhou Province; because all the places have made precautions for that. Although this catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures has just broken out for about 2 weeks, all the troops of over 10,000 b.l.o.o.d.y figures across Taixia Country have been scattered by the knight-level powerhouses. Although b.l.o.o.d.y figures have greater battle strength than ordinary soldiers in Taixia Country, they"ve lost their commander; additionally, knights had an overwhelming advantage over these b.l.o.o.d.y figures. If a knight encounters a troop of b.l.o.o.d.y figures, he or she would cause a great casualty and scatter them…”

After hearing Zhang Yang"s news, Zhang Tie finally realized why he could get so many merit value points after exposing the real ident.i.ty of Han Zhengfang in Xuanyuan Hill.

When the entire Taixia Country was preparing for dealing with b.l.o.o.d.y figures, the catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures really broke out. What a coincidence! If the catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures broke out a bit earlier before the provinces across Taixia Country were ready for it, the loss suffered by each province would definitely be not less than that in Zhongzhou Province. If the catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures happened a couple of years later, Taixia Country as a whole would definitely relax their vigilance about b.l.o.o.d.y figures. By then, Taixia Country would suffer a greater loss. Additionally, the destructions caused by Heavens Reaching Church when they were ready for that were utterly different than that when they were not ready for that. This catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures broke out when the Heavens Reaching Church was flurried. Given the time, it was fortunate for Taixia Country.

In others" eyes, those b.l.o.o.d.y figures were just devils and killers who could only cause destructions and should be killed as fast as possible; however, in Zhang Tie"s eyes, these b.l.o.o.d.y figures were as nouris.h.i.+ng as lobsters and seash.e.l.ls over the rocks after ebb. If he had caught Han Zhengfang alive, he could promote to a shadow knight at the fastest speed with the help of these b.l.o.o.d.y figures.

“Elder brother, I have one thing to talk with you. No kidding. You don"t need to know why because you will know it after I come back. From now on, you will mobilize all the power of Jinwu Business Group and notice Huaiyuan Palace to catch b.l.o.o.d.y figures as more as possible. I need alive b.l.o.o.d.y figures. As long as they"re alive, the more, the better, even if they had no limbs. Money is not a problem. I want them even at 1,000 gold coins for one b.l.o.o.d.y figure…”

1,000 gold coins for one b.l.o.o.d.y figure; 10,000 b.l.o.o.d.y figures only cost him 10 million gold coins; 100,000 b.l.o.o.d.y figures only cost him 100 million gold coins. Such a bit of gold coins was nothing for Zhang Tie; however, if he had 100,000 b.l.o.o.d.y figures, he could extract the maximal value of these b.l.o.o.d.y figures with his b.l.o.o.d.y sacrifice furnace. Zhang Tie felt it even worthwhile to purchase a b.l.o.o.d.y figure at the cost of 10,000 gold coins, not to mention 1,000 gold coins.

It was Zhang Yang"s 3rd time to be shocked by Zhang Tie today.

“Did I mishear it? You want alive b.l.o.o.d.y figures at such a high price?”

“Yes, elder brother, you didn"t mishear it. I won"t suffer a loss. I"ve got another request for you. Before I come back, elder brother could find a place near the territory of Iron-Dragon Sect to build a place for locking b.l.o.o.d.y figures. The bigger the better. As it was slow to build a city, you don"t need to consider whether those b.l.o.o.d.y figures are comfortable or not; you can directly have people build a super large battle fortress near the territory of Iron-Dragon Sect.

When Zhang Tie said that, he recalled the crystal battle fortress in Selnes Theater of Operations. Given the scale of the crystal battle fortress, it could easily hold 100,000 b.l.o.o.d.y figures after slight renovation; additionally, those b.l.o.o.d.y figures could not make trouble or escape from the battle fortress…

Battle fortress was a special building in the holy war. Hua people"s battle fortresses were definitely the best. With enough money, he could easily build a battle fortress in Fire-dragon Territory.

At this moment, Zhang Tie realized the significance of money. At least he didn"t need to think about the amount of money for doing these things. With enough money, this catastrophe of b.l.o.o.d.y figures across Taixia Country would be the opportunity for the rise of Iron-Dragon Sect…