Multi-shot ballistae!
This was a weapon made to deal with high-ranking experts. It could fire multiple projectiles in one go, each producing a chain explosion after striking its target. The area of effect was beyond the movement range of an ordinary expert, which made it a lethal weapon at such close distances.
However, Qianye’s figure became blurry as he took one step forward and effectively evaded all incoming projectiles. He then plucked the incoming assassins out of the air, as though they were fruits, and threw them to the ground.
Qianye’s movements looked fairly slow, but in truth, he was outrageously fast. The “plucked” assassins never even made it to Qianye’s position.
The victims never moved again after they were flung to the ground. It was almost as though they were asleep, and no one saw clearly how Qianye had done it.
The first trap was thus easily dismantled.
The workers in the nearby stores looked panicked and surprised. All of them threw down their weapons at the same time and fled to the rear.
Qianye flicked out origin power projectiles from his fingers, which duly produced small bloody holes in the workers’ foreheads.
The entire street had become quiet in the blink of an eye.
In the stores up front, many of the staff were watching this scene with outstretched necks. They exhibited overwhelming shock after witnessing everything; even their bodies were trembling. Some of them edged back into their stores while others fell sitting onto the ground.
This was what Qianye wanted.
There were surely more assassins hidden among the ordinary store workers. He had no time to differentiate between them. Everyone would be afraid if he were to start killing without discrimination. After all, not many people were truly fearless of death.
As for their identities, there was really no need to guess. The assassins were still in their warrior attire with their family insignias intact. The ambush was set up so hastily that they were never able to change out of their clothing.
Qianye stepped forward confidently, sending off a dozen more assassins to meet their maker. He flipped one of the assailants over and, as expected, saw the insignia of a different family.
It was safe to assume that the families who didn’t want him as city lord had banded together and set up what they thought was a solid ambush.
The street was long, but he had already walked a fifth of its length after dismantling the assassination.
As Qianye continued forward, the staff in the stores began to grow restless. Following a shout from one of them, several people turned and fled out of the back door. The people nearby called out to them but all was in vain.
Finally, a series of mournful whistles—three long and two short—echoed from the end of the street.
The assassins charging at Qianye were startled. They glared angrily at Qianye but eventually retreated toward the end of the street. Qianye didn’t give chase and simply let them go. Hence, the stores on either side of the street soon became empty.
A crowd made up of hundreds stood waiting for him on the other end of the street.
Qianye’s pace remained constant as he walked calmly out of the street.
Some people in the group exchanged glances and walked out of the crowd. These people looked fairly different—a bearded old man, a dark-faced hunk, and an elegant young man. All of them were suffused with killing intent, their eyes either calm or wild as they glared resolutely at Qianye.
These people were the leaders of the various families involved in this operation. They were decisive enough to call back their warriors after seeing the failed ambush, gathering them up for a showdown instead.
Qianye’s eyes went past them and scanned the entire group. The several hundred people were valiant elites possessing extraordinary strength. If it wasn’t for the gap in training and equipment, they might be equal to the Red Scorpions.
“What a big investment. If these people die, your families will be crippled. I still don’t understand what enmity we have between us that you would mobilize on such a scale.”
The dark-faced man snorted. “How impressive, Sire Qianye. You were here for only half a day, but you’ve already injured Commander Du Yuan and burned down his residence. You even summoned all the clan lords to see you! As I see it, you just want to kill everyone in one go, don’t you?”
Qianye replied, “Fine with me if you want to think of it that way.”
The civilized young man said, “Sire Qianye, you were quite well-mannered toward us when City Lord Luo was still alive. This time, you start off by killing and establishing your might, don’t you think it’s a bit inappropriate?”
The old man stroked his beard. “Sire, the situation has changed. Unlike before, the Empire and Evernight forces have retreated. Why would you hang on to this empty position? If you’re willing to leave, we will immediately offer up a satisfactory present. Tidehark and Southern Blue can be brethren, helping each other in times of need as we share in the bounty of peace in the Eastern Sea. Isn’t that a good thing?”
Qianye glanced at the group. “Do you think your group is enough to deal with me?”
The burly man said in a gloomy voice, “I came ready to die. Even if I can’t kill you, I’ll be sure to bite several chunks of flesh off your body! When the time comes, do you think you can escape Tidehark?”
Qianye smiled. “Ready to die? Fine, I’m thinking the other clan lords will come to the residence obediently if I deal with you guys.”
The group’s expression shifted drastically. Just as they had shifted into a defensive stance, Qianye suddenly vanished before their eyes!
Almost immediately, the force of a great ocean descended upon the area and crushed everyone until their spines were creaking. The young, elegant man was caught off-guard and fell to his knees. The other leaders followed suit. They quickly realized that, if even they were in this state, how could the soldiers behind them resist the pressure?
A red light flickered before everyone’s eyes. What followed was a sensation akin to a mosquito bite, then emptiness.
Both shocked and afraid, they did their utmost to channel their origin power and look backward. To their astonishment, they found the hundreds of men behind them strewn across the ground as countless threads of blood slowly retracted into Qianye’s body.
Oceanic Vortex and Life Plunder together made up a peerless weapon to deal with cannon fodder. This was no exception. Unfortunately, these inexperienced clan lords had only thought Qianye’s combat strength was superior to Du Yuan’s. As they saw it, even a divine champion could only kill three to five at a time. They felt that he would need almost a hundred attacks to clear away the entire crowd.
With the hundreds of warriors dead, these families had lost almost a third of their entire fighting force. One could easily imagine how the power balance in the city would change hereafter.
The leaders were both shocked and furious, but the feeling of exhaustion grew stronger. At the moment, they wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. At this moment, it was difficult for them to even save themselves, let alone attack. Their only will was to hold out as much as they could, because once asleep, they would never wake up.
They channeled their origin vortices as much as they could, trying to contain the damage and maintain vitality. They found nothing more than little red dots when they tried to check their body for injuries. However, there were fine tunnels below these red dots that stretched all the way to their hearts. This both shocked and filled them with dread. If these tiny tracts were enough to leave them with such a drain, even their lives would be in danger if they were just a bit thicker.
Qianye left without killing them. The leaders exchanged glances, but none of them dared to speak. All of them were pale in the realization that their cultivation had been damaged. Without proper wound-management, there was no telling if they could still remain champions.
After returning to the city lord manor, Qianye took his seat and waited quietly for the clan lords to arrive. He left a quarter of an hour for everyone to assemble after burning the Du residence and destroying the ambush.
Qianye didn’t kill the nearby scouts, so the news must have reached their families by now. He wanted to see how they would react.
The sound of screeching tires rang out in front of the manor gates, followed by hurried footsteps and the guards announcing arrivals.
In the blink of an eye, a red-faced elder walked energetically into the conference room. He looked intently at Qianye and said, “Liu Minglun of the Tidehark Liu family greets the new city lord.”
Liu Minglun hadn’t even raised his head when Qianye helped him up with a smile. “Clan Lord Liu came quite fast. It’s not even the appointed time yet!”
Liu Minglun was surprised at Qianye’s movement skills, but the muscles on his face only froze for a second before returning to a big smile. “This old man came immediately when I heard your summons. I wouldn’t dare delay.”
Qianye said, “Men, prepare a seat for Clan Lord Liu.”
The guards brought a chair, which they put down in the empty hall according to Qianye’s instructions.
The chair was placed just below Qianye’s seat. Liu Minglun was immediately overjoyed and also terrified.
The original conference room held a long table, and there was an unspoken rule about the seating around it. The seats closer to the seat of honor were reserved for the bigger families, and his current seat would usually be occupied by one of the top three families of the city.
The Liu family was a small mid-ranked family that had suffered greatly in the two battles due to their location. Their power had declined so much that they were almost pushed out of the city. Liu Minglun had approached Qianye out of desperation, in hopes of staking it all in one throw.
Qianye’s seating arrangement proved that he liked the man, but that in and of itself was a small volcano.
Liu Minglun clenched his teeth and decided to sit down. There was no need to shrink back at this point since he was already between a rock and a hard place.
Yet another vehicle stopped in front of the manor, and a number of clan lords were once again led into the conference room. No one in the residence dared question Qianye’s authority after he had injured Du Yuan, killed several dozen, and injured hundreds more. At the very least, they were extremely obedient in front of Qianye.
The clan lords saw nary a familiar face along the way. The officers and guards they knew of looked extremely submissive. This made them think about certain things, and by the time they entered the hall, most of them were much more respectful. Qianye stood up and returned the gesture from his seat, and then ordered the men to arrange seating behind Liu Minglun.
These people had just been seated when two more clan lords arrived. This time, Qianye only greeted them from a sitting position.
The clan lords who had arrived first saw the difference in treatment and how the seating had been arranged. They realized that he didn’t really care about how big or small the families were, only by the order of their arrival. In fact, the earlier arrivals were mostly ordinary powers like Liu Minglun’s. They had come in hopes of seeking opportunities, thinking they couldn’t quite provoke a murderer like Qianye.
Qianye ignored their petty schemes and seemed lost in his own thoughts.
With the arrival of more and more family heads, the conference room was soon filled up halfway. Those sitting at the fore grew nervous as their seating and power were highly discrepant. They awkwardly fidgeted about, almost as though they were sitting on a furnace.
Moments later, four more clan lords arrived just as the appointed time was almost up. These four families were much stronger than the smaller ones from before, but their seating was at the very rear.
The four looked angry, but they quickly understood what was happening when they observed the situation in the hall. As sophisticated people, they exchanged glances and decided to swallow their displeasure.
After a while, an imposing burly man walked into the hall. The guard leading the way said in a loud voice, “Gao Mingtang of the Gao family has arrived!”
The clan lords became restless. The Gao family was among the top five families in Tidehark. Even when Luo Bingfeng was here, their family would be invited to every meeting.”
Who would’ve thought Qianye wouldn’t even look up at him. “The appointed time is past, you may stand at the back.”
