Free Web NovelChapter 68: Chapter 68: Encirclement and Suppression
CLANG!
Su Mu charged into the crowd, his saber slashing at the figure that moved with the ferocity of a cheetah.
Amidst the sound of metal striking metal, the figure was sent tumbling from the force of the blow.
The constables seized the opportunity to retreat, creating distance between themselves and the figure.
In the few moments between the dark figure’s appearance and Su Mu’s intervention, five or six constables had already fallen.
If not for the desperate resistance of squad leaders like Zheng Wang, the casualties would have been even higher.
Faced with a Dharma Protector of the No-Heaven Sect, ordinary constables were utterly powerless to resist.
"Crossbows!"
Su Mu roared.
Knowing how difficult the No-Heaven Sect’s Dharma Protectors were to deal with, Su Mu had naturally come prepared.
Before coming here, he had used his connection with Hu Yuxing to borrow a batch of crossbows from the City Defense Army.
These crossbows were special armaments of the Da Xuan Dynasty’s military, possessing some lethality even against demons.
However, they were too expensive to be widely distributed among the constables.
If it weren’t for the Hu Family’s influence, it would have been impossible for Su Mu to borrow them from the City Defense Army.
TWANG!
Bowstrings sang as several Crossbow Arrows instantly tore through the No-Heaven Sect Dharma Protector’s pitch-black skin and embedded themselves in his body.
A shrill, bestial roar erupted.
He dropped to all fours, darting left and right.
Every time he tried to escape, he was forcibly driven back by Su Mu’s Submerging Wave Saber Momentum.
In a one-on-one fight, he might have been slightly stronger than Su Mu.
But Su Mu wasn’t alone, and he certainly wasn’t foolish enough to fight him one-on-one.
He moved about the battlefield, coordinating flawlessly with the other constables.
After several exchanges, the No-Heaven Sect Dharma Protector’s body was already bristling with over a dozen Crossbow Arrows.
Blood pooled on the ground, emitting a foul, nauseating stench.
Su Mu slashed out again. The enemy, too weak to dodge, collapsed at the strike, twitched a few times, and then went still.
Su Mu was not the least bit surprised that the No-Heaven Sect Dharma Protector had been brought down.
Each Crossbow Arrow fired from the crossbows borrowed from the City Defense Army cost several tens of taels of silver.
Over a dozen arrows cost hundreds of taels of silver at the very least—more expensive than hiring Wei Yongfu to take action. It would be an injustice if he hadn’t died after all that.
"Constable Xiao Su, there’s a secret passage here!"
Just as Su Mu was about to go and reinforce Wei Yongfu, a sudden shout came from ahead.
He glanced in Wei Yongfu’s direction and saw that the man was full of vigor, not even letting other constables interfere as he fought a fierce, inseparable battle against another of the No-Heaven Sect’s Dharma Protectors.
Seeing that he could still handle it, Su Mu didn’t hesitate and waved his long saber.
"Follow me!"
The room from which the two No-Heaven Sect Dharma Protectors had charged out was now in ruins. Its door and windows had been hacked to pieces, and the interior was a complete mess from being searched.
In a corner of the room was a dark, downward-sloping tunnel. The panel covering it had already been removed.
They had fought all the way here without encountering a single high-ranking member of the No-Heaven Sect.
Clearly, they had all hidden in the secret passage.
"Zheng Wang, go interrogate those No-Heaven Sect cultists.
Luo Chang, arrange for men to scout the path."
Su Mu gazed at the passage, pondered for a moment, and gave the orders in a low voice.
Everyone acknowledged the commands and quickly got to work.
Su Mu didn’t remain idle either. He personally led a group to search Lu Liu Manor inside and out one more time.
After a thorough search, they found nothing aside from some confiscated valuables.
When he returned to the rear courtyard, he saw the two squad leaders, Zheng Wang and Luo Chang, approaching with grim expressions.
Zheng Wang had interrogated several of the captured cultists, and the information he’d gotten was not encouraging.
"Chief, the situation is not good."
Zheng Wang said in a low voice, "The cultists said that there’s a real demon imprisoned below. The No-Heaven Sect is using it to develop a poison. Once poisoned, an ordinary person will lose their sanity just like a demon and become bloodthirsty and crazed."
’A real demon is imprisoned here?’
Su Mu was shocked. He knew the No-Heaven Sect was up to something, but he never expected it to be something this big.
’That Zhao Gui... He deserves to be executed for this!
To think he would hide something so important!
A true demon was nothing like those demon-esque Dharma Protectors.
It was no exaggeration to say that a true demon could easily wipe them all out.
Su Mu’s first instinct was to call for reinforcements immediately.
A real demon was definitely not something they could handle. It would require at least the Taiping Captain to take action.
Just as he gripped his Taiping Bureau Waist Token, ready to send a distress signal, he suddenly calmed down.
’Demons cannot be controlled by humans.
The No-Heaven Sect couldn’t possibly control a demon either.
That meant, in the demon’s eyes, there was no difference between the No-Heaven Sect members and his own men.
Unless the No-Heaven Sect’s leaders had a death wish, they would absolutely not release the demon lightly.
If I move fast enough and kill all of the No-Heaven Sect leaders before they can let the demon out, then they’ll never get the chance.
The credit for single-handedly dealing with a demon would definitely be enough to exchange for a Cultivation Technique from the Taiping Bureau.
If I call for backup, the credit would be greatly diminished.
Fortune favors the bold.
I have no background. If I want to get stronger, I have to fight for it when the time comes.
And taking a step back, even if the No-Heaven Sect’s leaders went crazy and released the demon right away, it wouldn’t be too late to call for reinforcements then.
With so many men and the Demon-Breaking Crossbows borrowed from the City Defense Army, holding out for a little while shouldn’t be a problem.’
"This is an emergency. If the poison developed by the No-Heaven Sect is released in the city, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Su Mu said gravely, "Gather everyone. We’re attacking now. No matter what, we will completely eradicate the No-Heaven Sect today!"
With that, Su Mu was the first to charge into the tunnel.
Zheng Wang, Luo Chang, and the others hesitated for a moment before raising their torches and following him.
After them, the rest of the constables entered the tunnel, raising their Demon-Breaking Crossbows.
Perhaps not expecting anyone to find this place, the underground passage was not complex in its design.
The tunnel, wide enough for two men to walk abreast, stretched for several hundred meters, and the faint glimmer of firelight could be seen ahead.
A wave of rotten, bloody stench washed over them.
Just as they rushed into the passage, the twang of bowstrings echoed from ahead, and sharp arrows shot out from the darkness.
Su Mu took the lead, his long saber a blur. A series of metallic CLANGS rang out as he knocked all the arrows from the air.
Zheng Wang and Luo Chang followed closely behind Su Mu, their faces filled with admiration.
’Even back when he was just a regular constable, Constable Xiao Su always gave his all. Now that he was a Chief, he was still the first to lead the charge. It was no wonder he’d become a Chief and joined the Taiping Bureau at such a young age.
Reliable!’
It all happened in a flash.
Relying on the bronze-like skin he’d developed from the Extreme Skin Tempering Realm, combined with the strength from his Minor Achievement of Flesh Tempering, Su Mu was virtually fearless of sneak attacks. Fighting speed with speed, he burst into a spacious underground chamber.
Zheng Wang, Luo Chang, and the others swarmed in after him, only to be stunned into silence by the sight that greeted them.
...
