Chapter 312

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Chapter 312: Fate

Dark clouds loomed over the land like a king, pressing down on the city.

The Feather King Army had not yet begun to attack today, but a dark mist was already filling the city.

The city walls had not fallen yet, but the ground was littered with broken arrows and blood-stained rubble, remnants of the recent days of war.

The air was heavy with the lingering smell of blood and gunpowder, making it hard to breathe. Occasionally, cries and sobs would break the silence, only to be replaced quickly by stillness.

The Lord of the city rode a tall horse, patrolling the area near the city gate, his eyes filled with worry.

The Lord of Linhe City was a robust middle-aged man named Chen, who was said to have been a skilled martial artist in his younger years.

However, he had clearly changed from his prime. His eyes lacked the sharpness of his youth, and even his belly had grown slightly rounder, showing signs of neglect due to years of high position and lack of martial practice.

While Lord Chen encouraged his soldiers as he patrolled the front lines, his own worries outweighed those of the defending troops.

"I fear we may not be able to hold this city."

The lord was actually hesitating in his heart.

Yangmen City was a lesson for him. On the day the city was breached, the lord killed all his family members with his sword and then took his own life…. So what should he do now?

To fight or to surrender, this was a major decision that affected the whole city, and he hadn’t made up his mind yet.

"Perhaps surrendering might be a good thing," the lord thought to himself.

"I’ve heard that the Feather King Army is disciplined. After capturing a city, they may not be completely gentle, but they do enforce strict rules on their soldiers…. If I surrender early, maybe I could secure a position in the Feather King Army."

"But Linhe City is strategically important. If this city falls too, the remaining cities may not have the will to resist, and then the entire Southwest Province will fall into the hands of the Feather King Army, it’s only a matter of time…"

"Maybe…. should I hold on for a few more days? I heard that the Feather King is a highly skilled martial artist. Martial artists like him despise cowards who surrender without a fight. If I can make the Feather King Army face obstacles in this city first, maybe I’ll be treated better when I surrender?"

Lord Chen’s thoughts were in turmoil, he couldn’t make a decision.

Suddenly.

"Master, big trouble, the Feather King Army is here!" Suddenly someone came to report at the city gate tower.

Lord Chen’s face immediately turned pale, "Hmm? How many people have come?"

He was already thinking about leaving, but as the master of the house, it wouldn’t be right to flee at this moment while he was at the city gate tower.

"About a few hundred people, all archers."

"Archers?" Lord Chen frowned slightly, feeling a bit more certain in his heart.

He quickly climbed up the city gate tower and looked down, indeed seeing hundreds of archers coming in the distance. However, these archers seemed to be ordinary soldiers, not skilled ones.

Swish, swish, swish!

The archers continued to shoot arrows one after another, the arrows flying slantingly into the sky and landing inside the city.

Due to the distance still being far, about a few hundred steps away, these arrows were obviously weak and lacking in force, sporadically landing inside the city.

"There is a letter attached to the arrow."

"Oh? I see, quickly bring it to me." Lord Chen made up his mind.

These archers were clearly not here to attack the city. Shooting letters with their arrows, the content was easy to guess – it was probably a surrender letter.

Lord Chen wondered: If the Feather King is asking for surrender, how should I respond? Should I hold on for a few more days, or go with the flow…

While pondering this, his subordinate presented the letter attached to the arrow.

Lord Chen opened the letter, quickly scanned it, and his face changed drastically.

This was definitely not the surrender letter he had imagined!

In the letter, the Feather King introduced herself and revealed that she used to be a disciple of the Spear Saint, named Demon Spear Qin Li, living in Xishan Village in the territory of Linhe Prefecture.

Today, Xishan Village was mercilessly attacked by bandits, with no survivors left in the entire village.

The local governor, Lord Chen, couldn’t avoid blame. After the city was breached, all the officials and wealthy residents were buried with the villagers of Xishan Village. The day the city fell was their day to die, and she allowed her soldiers to plunder for three days.

"This is not a surrender letter, it’s more like a warning not to surrender!"

Lord Chen cursed silently in his heart.

"Why has the Feather King changed so much? Wasn’t she known for her moral purity? How could this happen?"

Lord Chen was shocked and angered, feeling a sense of bitterness in his heart.

In history, similar examples exist. For instance, a warlord once slaughtered a city in revenge for his family’s tragic deaths, burying tens of thousands of people with them.

It is said that the bodies of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians piled up like mountains, causing the rivers to run red.

Therefore, the sudden change in demeanor of the Feather King can be traced back to this…

Deep down, Lord Chen also wondered if the city would indeed fall, and if the Feather King would turn from plundering to mass slaughter.

"Bullying me too much, not giving me a chance to surrender at all, not persuading me to surrender, but telling me to die!"

Lord Chen, although no longer young, used to be a skilled fighter, with some courage remaining.

"Master, hundreds of letters have been sent to the city, should we collect these letters to avoid causing chaos among the military and civilians?" a military officer asked.

"Why collect them?" Lord Chen sneered.

"Let the wealthy and officials in the city see that we are all in the same boat now, if the city falls, we all die!"

Lord Chen himself knew… as an official of the Great Yan Imperial Court, his reputation was limited and he didn’t have much support from the people.

In terms of reputation and popularity, he was far behind the mighty Feather King.

So before the Feather King attacked the city, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city was not very high, and many people even hoped the city would be taken sooner rather than later.

Lord Chen had nothing more to say about this, after all, his own thoughts of surrender were shattered… but now all considerations were in vain.

"The Feather King is acting so arrogantly, let’s help her out by spreading this ‘surrender letter’ far and wide!" The Lord gritted his teeth and ordered.

Even though he was filled with anger, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sad.

This city, in the end, couldn’t be defended. He couldn’t stop the Feather King; no one could stop the Feather King.

Though the Feather King was arrogant, what she said was true.

……………..

The "surrender letter" fell in the city like raindrops along with the arrows.

With the Lord’s intentional assistance, the contents of the letters spread quickly.

"People often say the Feather King is unmatched in bravery, always at the forefront of every battle, leading the charge. Yet now, after surrounding the city for days, there is still no sign of the Feather King."

"I didn’t expect… she is doing this on purpose! She doesn’t want to end our lives too quickly; she wants us to experience the hardships of being besieged, and then have her loved ones buried alongside us, right?"

"The Feather King finally showed his true colors. Seeing the city about to be captured, he stopped pretending to be noble and righteous."

"Bah, I’ve always said this person is a rebel against the court, pretending to be a demon-slayer just for fame. Now that the Southwest Province situation is settled, she’s dropping the act!"

In the city, there were also several martial artists from the Peach Blossom Villa. After reading the letter, they remembered the events in Xishan Village, thinking about the Zhao family members who had died long ago.

"It seems that this Feather King has truly been clouded by hatred."

"What if… we sneak into Feather King’s camp at night and confront her with the truth? Feather King used to have a good reputation, she should be reasonable." suggested one martial artist.

Another martial artist shook his head and said, "You are seeking a path to death…"

"If Feather King really was reasonable, why would she give such orders? She is bloodthirsty, wanting the whole city’s elite to die. Even if you reach her tent, will she listen to you?"

Inside Linhe City, people were fearful but also united against the enemy.

Despite their anger towards Feather King, from the lord to the common folk, they all knew one fact.

This city can’t stop the Feather King.

The three-day deadline in the "surrender letter" is definitely the deadline for them.

………………………

Outside Linhe City, among the mountains.

Long Shankong walked on the mountain path, occasionally glancing around with the corner of his eye, looking for followers hidden in the dark.

"Could it be that the Feather King really didn’t send anyone to follow? Am I thinking too much?"

Long Shankong was slightly surprised, then stopped thinking about it.

Whether someone is following or not, it doesn’t matter, he won’t go to Peach Blossom Villa anyway.

When Qiao Mu was still a low-level martial artist, the intuition of the "Martial Saint Spiritual Technique" allowed him to vaguely sense Wu Qingxin in Heyang City when he was still in Yan City.

Long Shankong is a truly skilled martial artist, much better at sensing things than Qiao Mu was before.

He secretly used the Spiritual Sound Conducting Technique to send messages from a distance and inform about recent events.

"But it turns out the Feather King is a trustworthy person, he didn’t send anyone to follow me. I was just being overly cautious," Long Shankong marveled.

"No one following us?" Qiao Mu asked.

"That’s right, but just to be safe, I won’t return to Peach Blossom Villa. I’ll take a detour in the mountains and then leave. Mr. Qiao shouldn’t worry," he assured.

Long Shankong was feeling quite content.

He considered himself someone who repays kindness and vengeance alike. By not causing trouble for Qiao Mu and even passing on a message, he felt like he was repaying him a little.

However, at that moment, he felt an intuitive sense that Qiao Mu was rushing towards him…

The Spiritual Sound Conducting Technique originated from Li Changge’s Military Spiritual Technique, which was created for distant communication between her and her husband. Apart from messaging, it could also be used for sensing directions.

Zoom!!

From the sky, a sharp sound of breaking the air echoed loudly.

Long Shankong looked up in surprise.

He saw Qiao Mu covered in blood, crashing into the sky, grabbing the neck of a young cultivator, just like a shooting star falling to the ground, kicking up a circle of sand and mud.

"It’s not your fault," said Qiao Mu calmly.

"Even though you are a top martial artist, with plenty of experience dealing with martial artists, you haven’t had much experience facing cultivators, right?"

"They’re actually quite easy to deal with. Cultivators tend to be arrogant, so all you have to do is quietly get close, surprise them by showing that an ordinary martial artist like you can be so fast, and then knock them out with a punch while they’re still processing the shock."

"See, it’s that simple," said Qiao Mu, throwing the young cultivator to the ground.

"…." Long Shankong was momentarily speechless.

He just wanted to repay a kindness, but now he owes Qiao Pian his life?

…………………

One hour later.

Outside the city, among the mountains, a young Taoist entered a simple cave.

"Senior Yu Shan."

"The mortal named Long Shankong didn’t go to the ‘Peach Blossom Villa’ to deliver the message to Qiao Pian. He just pretended to explore in the mountains and then returned."

"Oh? Seems like Qiao Pian got lucky." Taoist Child Yu Shan said casually.

Taoist Child Yu Shan didn’t pay much attention to Qiao Pian, who seemed to be a shape-shifting demon or half-demon, because the existence of Feather King Qin Li was the top priority now.

After all… the demon kings in the ten thousand mountains were all things of the past, let alone someone like Qiao Pian the half-demon.

Strengths and weaknesses, can they compare to Immortal Gate?

The young Taoist turned to leave, but then hesitated and couldn’t help but ask:

"Senior brother, this Feather King Qin Li, her actions seem somewhat different from before, is there something suspicious about it?"

"Nonsense. With the whole family and village exterminated, who wouldn’t be suspicious?" Yu Shan remained calm.

"Doesn’t Senior Brother Yu Shan worry?" The young Taoist looked concerned.

"Xishan Village was the leverage to control Feather King, now that leverage is gone, how will Immortal Gate control Feather King?"

Taoist Child Yu Shan rolled his eyes, looking somewhat impatient at the young Taoist.

"Yu Lie, how did you reach the Foundation Building period being so foolish?"

"Do you think I’m a fool, bringing people to kill those in Xishan Village, then abandoning the leverage? Actually, I am an insider for Feather King’s side."

Young Taoist named Yu Lie chuckled.

"Please explain, senior brother."

Taoist Child Yu Shan impatiently said, "I never expected that the sect’s plan would involve the disciples as well…"

"The uniqueness of Feather King lies only in his Jingwei bloodline, not in his martial arts."

"Without a Feather King today, we can easily support a king from any direction in the future, even if their strength is slightly inferior, as long as they are stronger than the ordinary martial artists."

"Why do you think my Yunxiao Sect is holding people from Xishan Village hostage? Isn’t this tactic too simple and cliché?"

"Um, isn’t it to hold Feather King hostage?"

Taoist Child Yu Shan felt like he was talking to a wall, one hand on his forehead.

"In fact, it’s just to make that Feather King believe that we, the Yunxiao Sect, are holding the people of Xishan Village hostage, making her think that Xishan Village is safe."

"Actually, the ordinary people in those mountain villages have long passed away," said Yu Shan calmly.

"After a very long time, she will discover the truth."

"By staining her hands with fresh blood, wearing a mask, acting as a lackey for the Immortal Gate, causing warfare in the Southwest Province, and ending up in such a way, how do you think she will feel?"

The young Taoist priest squinted his eyes, lowered his head in thought, and said,

"She believed she was making a significant sacrifice, but in reality, everything was already irreversible. Her compromise in the beginning, offering herself to the Immortal Gate, not only didn’t lead to good results, but also made the villagers die more tragically."

"Therefore, she naturally feels regretful in her heart, and the bitterness within her remains unspoken."

"You seem to understand quite well," Yu Shan glanced slightly higher at the young Taoist priest before him.

"This is our goal, the so-called Jingwei Bird can actually be seen as the resentful souls harboring obsession and hatred."