"What crimes did our clan commit? Who are you people and where are you from? On what basis do you have the rights to come to the w.a.n.g Fortress and arrest people…"
On the street inside the w.a.n.g Fortress, a few disciples of the w.a.n.g Clan around the age of sixteen, seventeen, and twenty hustled out from a courtyard alongside the street with blades in their hands. They bellowed angrily at the squad of cavalries while surrounding them.
"Put your weapons down…"
The squad commander did not answer the question. Instead, he warned them with an aloof tone.
"Our w.a.n.g Clan is not to be trifled with. Get down from your steeds…"
"That"s right, get down from your steeds. This isn"t a place for you armies to behave atrociously. Don"t think you can drag us around just because you are mounting on a steed…"
"Go to h.e.l.l. This is the w.a.n.g Fortress. I have beaten a soldier before in Huanglong County. What can you possibly do to me…?"
These youths from the w.a.n.g Fortress might be used to acting arrogantly in Huanglong County because of the absence of fear they displayed when facing those cavalries. Curses flew out of their mouths. None of them obeyed the officer"s words as they still held weapons in their hands while they rushed toward the direction of those cavalries.
However, these youths from the w.a.n.g Clan were only able to run a few steps before their lives reached the end because what they were met with were the dozens of arrows that the cavaiers fired at them.
The sharp arrows pierced their necks and chests across the distance of twenty meters, killing them on the streets of the w.a.n.g Fortress.
The squad commander only gave a brief, cold glance at the corpses without any slight intentions of dismounting from his steed. He just waved his hand and continued to lead the troops under his command to advance, jumping over the corpses on the ground and sprinting forward.
"By the orders of the Prefectural Governor, we are here in the pursuit of the criminal that is the w.a.n.g Clan. Those who are irrelevant to this matter, stand aside. We will kill anyone who puts up a resistance…" The officer on his steed continued to yell out with the same volume of voice which resonated throughout the streets of the w.a.n.g Fortress.
Of course, this wasn"t the only area where blood had been shed.
This was such an unforeseen circ.u.mstance to occur to a large family like the w.a.n.g Clan. The impetuous young people or those who relied on their status without the in-depth knowledge of the situation in the w.a.n.g Fortress of Huanglong County would jump out to obstruct the cavalries and even make moves against them.
Meanwhile, the cavalries killed those who dared to make a move against them on the spot. As for those who tried to obstruct their path, they were only given one warning. If they continued to be stubborn about it, the cavalries would kill them all in the same way.
Dozens of people were killed in the main street of the w.a.n.g Fortress in just a few minutes.
Yan Liqiang and Qian Su found a slightly higher slope just outside the w.a.n.g Fortress. Both of them rode on their steeds and felt the cold breeze on their faces as they watched the entire scenario unfold inside the w.a.n.g Fortress.
Because Yan Liqiang"s eyesight had already transcended beyond that of an ordinary person"s, it was as if each scene that was currently happening inside the w.a.n.g Fortress was replaying in front of him in his eyes. He could even see the expressions of disbelief and shock on the faces of those who were shot dead inside the w.a.n.g Fortress during their last moments. When most of them charged toward the cavalries that were raiding the fortress, they didn"t expect for the troops to be so daring as to kill them without hesitation.
At that moment, the disparity between the undisciplined courage of an unorganized group of ordinary people and the battle prowess of professionally-trained violent machines from an organization was clearly too great.
Even though the number of people in the w.a.n.g Fortress was greater, the hundreds of cavalries that charged into the fortress were capable of annihilating the entire fortress. From the moment people started dying, the w.a.n.g Fortress" resistance had instantaneously collapsed. The tenant farmers, merchants, and other few ordinary people tightly shut their doors, not daring to come out again.
The puddles of fresh blood that flowed from the w.a.n.g Fortress" main street to the ground of white snow were extremely unpleasant to look at. It was quite horrifying.
Meanwhile, those people in the main street were covered in a layer of white snow in just the blink of an eye.
In order for the Prefectural Governor to clean up his own mess, he had orchestrated this ma.s.sacre without any qualms and he had sent an influential clan to h.e.l.l in an instant. Even though Yan Liqiang harbored no good impression on the w.a.n.g Clan, he wasn"t happy about their misery at all. He still felt quite conflicted while he continued to observe the scene. Yan Liqiang thought to himself that this might be what people called as "digging their own graves". When the w.a.n.g Clan allowed w.a.n.g Haofei to approach Ye Xiao in the first place, they thought he would be able to become a high-ranking officer by riding on the Prefectural Governor"s coattails. In the end, they didn"t expect for the affiliation they had been relying on to one day bring calamity to their clan.
Through the advancement speed of the cavalries into the w.a.n.g Fortress, the scattered few on the streets of the w.a.n.g Fortress were quickly cleared away in the blink of an eye. In the end, all the cavalries managed to rush to the magnificent fort situated in the middle of the fortress by going around all the corners and surrounding the w.a.n.g Clan.
That fort was the w.a.n.g Clan"s foundation. Most of the people from the w.a.n.g Clan lived inside that fort.
At this moment, the main gate was tightly shut. Everyone in the w.a.n.g Clan was already in disarray inside the fort.
An old man with a head full of white hair that looked like w.a.n.g Haofei emerged at the top of the fort wall in a trembling manner under the protection of a group of people in the surroundings. While embracing the cold wind, he looked at the cavalries below and asked in a quivering voice, "You, who are you all? Why did you invade the w.a.n.g Fortress?"
"We are under the command of the Xue Barracks of the Military Governor"s Office from Pingxi City. We came here today in accordance with the orders of the Prefectural Governor to apprehend the larcenists of the w.a.n.g Clan. The w.a.n.g Clan has colluded with Shatu people, pillaged, and slaughtered women from Pingxi County. The Law Enforcement Office has already obtained conclusive evidence against your crimes. Under such circ.u.mstances, if you don"t let us apprehend you all without resistance, perhaps you want to put up a desperate fight with us?"
An officer mounting on a rhinodrake steed spoke in a loud voice when he arrived outside the w.a.n.g Fortress.
The officer"s voice was quite blaring. The moment he spoke those words, not only could the people inside the fort hear him, those outside the fort could also hear him as well.
"I… I want to meet with the Prefectural Governor…" The old man standing at the top of the fort was livid. His voice was hoa.r.s.e when he spoke to the officer below him.
"Do you think you can meet the Prefectural Governor just because you want to? You can meet him if you want, but you must submit yourself without any resistance. You might have the chance to see the Prefectural Governor once everyone in the w.a.n.g Clan arrives at the court in Pingxi City!" the officer mounted on his steed sneered. He curtly continued, "Now, I will give the w.a.n.g Clan half an hour. If all of you continue to close the gates within this time frame, the w.a.n.g Clan will be punished for rebellion. When we manage to barge through the fortress, everyone in the w.a.n.g Clan will not be spared and will be killed on the spot…"
...
Of course, the w.a.n.g Clan did not persevere for half an hour because Yan Liqiang and Qian Su were able to sense large movement from behind in just fifteen minutes. When they turned to look behind them, they saw a strongly-built Gong Tieshan appear at the path outside the w.a.n.g Fortress while leading about two thousand armies from the Gong Barracks.
There were about a few dozen officers mounted on their rhinodrake steeds in the frontmost line of the army from the Gong Barracks. A flag with the word "Gong" embroidered on one side fluttered as an officer mounted on a steed waved it in front of the group. Two thousand troops from the Gong Barracks were stretched out in a line of hundred meters like a long snake as they marched behind the steeds, rus.h.i.+ng toward the w.a.n.g Fortress with murderous intent.
Gong Tieshan who was almost drunk at the Weaponsmiths Quarter yesterday was currently seething with murderous intent. He was wearing a full set of armor while wielding a large blade akin to a guillotine blade in his hand as he led his troops on his steed.
Gong Tieshan also took notice of Yan Liqiang and Qian Su when both of them saw him because they were just on the sidewalk nearby. He quickly came over to them on his steed and asked, "Old Brother Gong, Liqiang, why are you guys here?"
Qian Su briefly explained the reason why he and Yan Liqiang were here before he proceeded to inquire, "May we know why Lord Gong is here as well?"
"Just now, the Prefectural Governor dispatched someone with the command from the Military Governor stating a matter of urgency. I was told to lead my troops to the w.a.n.g Fortress to a.s.sist the troops from the Xue Barracks from Pingxi City and the law enforcers from the Law Enforcement Office in order to apprehend everyone from the w.a.n.g Clan back to Pingxi City…" At that moment, Gong Tieshan shook his head and said in a low voice, "I really don"t know what kind of misfortune the w.a.n.g Clan has stumbled upon. The entire Gan Province even knew about the controversy in Pingxi City. To actually be involved with the w.a.n.g Clan, f*ck it. This clan is thoroughly finished. It"s fine. I have a military task at hand so I have to stop our conversation. Let"s drink again some other time when we are free…"
"As you please, Lord Gong!"
After saying those words, Gong Tieshan turned his steed around and went back into his troop"s formation. He then continued to lead his troops and charged toward the direction of the w.a.n.g Clan.
The moment the Gong Barracks flag appeared inside the w.a.n.g Fortress was the very last blow that crushed the w.a.n.g Clan"s will to resist. Just when the Gong Barracks" flag entered the w.a.n.g Fortress, the gate to the w.a.n.g Fort suddenly opened. The old man who appeared at the top of the fort moments ago led a bunch of people from the w.a.n.g Clan and knelt on the ground with pale expressions. After that, a group of soldiers could be seen rus.h.i.+ng forward at them...
"Liqiang, let"s go…" Qian Su took a deep breath and turned his steed around. Yan Liqiang followed suit and turned his steed to the other direction as well.
Before Yan Liqiang and Qian Su were able to walk a few li away after leaving the w.a.n.g Fortress, they managed to notice hundreds of law enforcers on the road who had rushed here all the way from Pingxi City. They were riding on their rhinodrake steeds as they headed toward the w.a.n.g Fortress...