Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Ambushes Everywhere

Lou Yun nodded slightly. "Alright, since your City Lord is coming, I’ll wait for him a while then!"

Sure enough, after roughly half an incense stick’s time had passed, the sound of urgent hoofbeats approached. Five mighty steeds charged directly from the distance. The two leading figures were a man and a woman, both around forty years of age. The man was handsome and martial in appearance, while the woman was enchantingly beautiful. Presumably, they were the City Lord of Binhai City and his wife. As for the three people following behind them, one of them was a heaven-level magical weapons master.

The five magnificent horses charged right alongside the earth-level magical weapons master before rearing up on their hind legs, abruptly halting their forward momentum. The City Lord didn’t speak; he just looked at the corpses littering the ground with a grave expression. However, his bewitching wife had already rushed to demand, "My brother? Where is Ruohai?"

The earth-level magical weapons master glanced at the black stain on the ground, then looked at this City Lord’s wife who doted excessively on her brother. He mumbled vaguely for quite some time, not daring to get a word out.

Seeing the other party remain silent, the City Lord’s wife suddenly lashed the air with her horsewhip. Crack! It struck the man’s body directly.

"Am I talking to myself? Are you deaf, didn’t you hear me?" she roared. "Answer me! Where is my brother?!"

Lou Yun and the others frowned at the scene. None of them had expected the City Lord’s wife to be so overbearing and rude, treating a subordinate with such an attitude. She herself was merely a human-level magical weapons master, yet she was lashing out with a whip at an earth-level magical weapons master.

Lou Yun couldn’t stand such behavior any longer. He spoke coldly, "That black stain on the ground is your brother!"

Upon hearing Lou Yun’s words, the City Lord’s wife whirled her head around. She fixed a look on Lou Yun for an instant before shifting her gaze down to the large, dark stain on the ground. After staring blankly for a long moment, she threw herself directly from her horse down beside the black mark. Stretching out both hands, she touched the stain on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

Impossible, absolutely impossible," she murmured in a daze. "Ruohai… Ruohai… How could you be dead…?"

Though the City Lord’s wife possessed a violent and tyrannical nature, her affection for her brother was genuine. The grief she exhibited now was entirely real. Anyone unaware of the whole story who witnessed this scene would surely be moved to shed a few tears of sympathy alongside her.

Once again, the Heavenly Decree Leader’s voice sounded silently in Lou Yun’s ear via a sound transmission technique.

"Alliance Leader, this City Lord is named Ma Ziwei, an earth-level five-star magical weapons master. His wife is Qiu Ruomei, daughter of the Island Master of Shuotai Island, located approximately three thousand li beyond Binhai City. This Shuotai Island holds considerable power, which is why even Ma Ziwei must yield to her to some extent."

"Oh!" Lou Yun nodded inwardly. But he thought it strange—how did this Divine Weapon Alliance member know such intimate details about the City Lord’s family, including his wife’s natal family background?

Qiu Ruomei sat on the ground, weeping for her brother. Her husband, City Lord Ma Ziwei, paid her no heed whatsoever. Instead, he glared fixedly at Lou Yun.

"Was it you who killed my men?"

"Yes!" Lou Yun nodded in acknowledgment. "But they were the ones who actively sought to bring us harm first. We were forced to kill them."

"Hah!" Ma Ziwei threw back his head and let out a harsh, wild laugh. "How very forced! You killed so many of my subordinates, and now you stand here feigning injustice? Fine! Fine! Today, I, Ma Ziwei, swear that if I don’t make you permanently part of the soil of Binhai City, then I resign as City Lord!"

To be honest, Lou Yun was truly puzzled by Ma Ziwei’s outburst. Even an idiot could see the current situation—with the addition of the four Divine Weapon Alliance heavenly-level masters to their side, their strength far surpassed anything Ma Ziwei and his five companions could hope to counter.

Even if Ma Ziwei had more forces hidden away, there would likely be no further heaven-level magical weapons masters under his command. As a City Lord, he shouldn’t be unable to grasp such a simple assessment of opposing forces. So, where was this overconfidence coming from?

Lou Yun’s question was soon answered. Ma Ziwei abruptly let out a fierce bellow: "Everyone! Come out!"

Lou Yun’s ears caught the sharp whistling sounds of bodies slicing through air. Looking up in the direction of the main harbor, he saw dozens of figures shoot out like arrows and fly swiftly toward them from amongst the many ships docked there, each riding their own magical weapon.

In the blink of an eye, a large group of people appeared suspended in the air overhead. Each rider balanced upon their magical weapon, hovering while addressing Ma Ziwei with simultaneous, deferential voices: "Subordinates pay our respects to the City Lord!"

The sight of these people caused more than just Lou Yun and his companions to change expressions; even the spectators’ faces collectively registered sheer shock. Some cried out in astonishment, pointing at the figures above:

"Chuanyun! You… how are you part of the City Lord’s manor?"

"Xiao Nan! What… what are you doing up there?"

The figures in the air remained utterly indifferent to the voices calling out to them. Their gazes were fixed solely upon City Lord Ma Ziwei, seemingly awaiting his command.

Finally, a smart observer realized the truth and slapped his forehead in sudden comprehension. "I get it! So they’re all spies that Ma Ziwei planted on our ships!"

Once one person grasped the situation, the rest quickly understood.

Since Binhai City was a port city, and Ma Ziwei needed intelligence to effectively control the trade fleets that frequently sailed through here, it turned out this City Lord had stealthily embedded his own men onto those vessels. Their mission was to gather intelligence and monitor the crews and merchants aboard.

Ma Ziwei’s rage had simply boiled over; faced with the formidable power displayed by Lou Yun and his group, he felt compelled to recall every trusted agent he’d sent out to hide meticulously within the fleets. He called upon this entire hidden network to join forces in dealing with the threat.

These twenty-plus individuals hovering overhead represented Binhai City’s strongest might – its last reserve of formidable strength. Among them were no less than three heaven-level magical weapons masters, nearly ten earth-level masters, and even the weakest were profound-level magical weapons masters.

Therefore, despite Lou Yun’s side now having the four leaders’ support, their overall strength likely still fell slightly short of that commanded by Ma Ziwei.

Essentially, if both sides truly flung themselves into a bloody, no-holds-barred battle, the inevitable outcome would be mutual destruction!

Ma Ziwei, however, had already promised grim retribution. Today, he was utterly determined to see Lou Yun and his companions dead. He had no time to worry about the long-term consequences.

Assessing the current standoff, Lou Yun knew a peaceful resolution was impossible. He wasn’t primarily concerned for his own safety; his worry lay with his companions. Glancing at them, he saw their expressions remained steady and composed.

"Wen Hou, Tie Sha," he transmitted mentally. "If an opportunity presents itself later, escape. Don’t fight them head-on. We will have plenty of chances for vengeance in the future."

"Miss Shui," he transmitted to Shui Lingluo. "If the fighting starts later, you take Cai San Gong and escape through the sea. Then, return immediately to your clan. As long as I live, I promise I will find you."

"Thank you all for your help," he transmitted to the four Divine Weapon Alliance leaders. "But please do not linger here unnecessarily when fighting ensues. Seize any chance to leave. Find my second brother, Beichen Ming. Don’t worry about me—I can protect myself."

Lou Yun conveyed his intentions to each person, one by one. Their responses, however, were markedly calm. Wen Hou merely turned his head towards Lou Yun and smiled lightly. Tie Sha snorted once, coldly through his nostrils. Shui Lingluo looked back towards the sea, then at Lou Yun, and softly shook her head.

Only the Heavenly Decree Leader responded with his own mental transmission: "Rest assured, Alliance Leader. Today, none of us will come to harm. Unless Ma Ziwei has a suicide wish, he absolutely will not dare give the order to attack!"

The Heavenly Decree Leader’s words startled Lou Yun. He couldn’t comprehend why the leader was so utterly confident that Ma Ziwei wouldn’t dare attack.

At that precise moment, the Heavenly Decree Leader stepped forward one pace. He faced Ma Ziwei with icy coldness in his voice.

"Ma Ziwei! You have truly massive gall!"

This inexplicable statement left everyone dumbfounded, Ma Ziwei most of all. Puzzlement washed over his face as he stared at this stranger with the cyan face-scarf, whom he had never seen before. "What do you mean?"

"Hmph!" The Heavenly Decree Leader’s tone remained frosty. "Do you recognize Sun Feifan?"

Hearing this name, Ma Ziwei’s initial puzzlement instantly transformed into shocked panic. He involuntarily stepped backwards. Pointing a trembling finger at the Heavenly Decree Leader, he stammered, "Y-you… how do you know my master’s forbidden name?! W-who are you?!"

"Who I am is unimportant," the Heavenly Decree Leader dismissed coolly. "What is important is that you open your dog eyes wide and take a good, hard look at exactly who stands behind me!"

He deliberately shifted sideways, clearing the view toward Lou Yun. The gazes of Ma Ziwei and Lou Yun met directly across the space between them. Yet, neither man understood what the Heavenly Decree Leader meant by this.

"Who is he?" Ma Ziwei demanded, though he was certain he had never laid eyes on Lou Yun. The moment the Heavenly Decree Leader spoke his master’s secret name, a current of profound unease shot through him. Now, cold sweat was visibly beading on his forehead— because truly, only a very small handful knew his master’s name!

The Heavenly Decree Leader ignored Ma Ziwei outright. Instead, he turned back towards Lou Yun, inclining his body respectfully. "Alliance Leader, this humble subordinate presumes to request you to present the emblem of our Alliance!"

The Divine Weapon Alliance Leader’s token and symbol of office was none other than the ice crystal jade weapon Beichen Ming had bestowed upon Lou Yun. Despite his lingering confusion, Lou Yun complied with the Heavenly Decree Leader’s request and pulled out the token.

At the sight of the ice crystal jade weapon, Ma Ziwei’s face instantly drained of all color, becoming deathly pale. The Heavenly Decree Leader, his back now half-turned to Ma Ziwei, spoke again with freezing authority. "Ma Ziwei. I imagine you know what this signifies?"

Ma Ziwei stared fixedly at the ice crystal jade weapon in Lou Yun’s hand. Sweat rolled down his forehead in large beads. His body trembled faintly. His lips moved as if trying to speak, yet not a single sound emerged. Clearly, an intense internal conflict was raging within him!

The Heavenly Decree Leader bowed once more towards Lou Yun. "Reporting to the Alliance Leader: Sun Feifan is a fifth-tier skilled weapon maker. Although Ma Ziwei himself is not a skilled weapon maker, as a disciple of Sun Feifan, failing to kneel upon sighting the ice crystal jade weapon can be considered an act of extreme disrespect. Your humble subordinate formally requests the Alliance Leader issue the order to subdue Ma Ziwei immediately, so he may face the Alliance Leader’s judgment!"