Free Web NovelChapter 2318: Chapter 2008: Prince Zhen Nan’s Arrangements
After Prince Zhen Nan’s words fell, the senior officials of the Deceit Suppression Bureau still remained silent.
This time, only one person escaped from the demon siege on Qingshi City, and that person was the one who ran back from the local Deceit Suppression Bureau branch to report the news.
According to that person’s description, there were at least ten thousand Evil Spirits attacking Qingshi City.
Usually, Evil Spirits do not gather to attack a city, especially not in such large numbers.
Human cities are protected by the Qi Fortune of Dazhou, which suppresses the strength of Evil Spirits, preventing them from fully exerting themselves. Furthermore, Evil Spirits find it uncomfortable to approach human cities.
This time, the presence of so many Evil Spirits in Qingshi City indicates two possibilities: either a very powerful Evil Spirit has emerged near Qingshi City, or it is the result of Mysterious forces manipulating the siege.
It is not uncommon for Mysterious forces to control Evil Spirits; Mysterious entities possess intelligence similar to humans and are adept at utilizing Evil Spirits.
Seeing the senior officials of the Deceit Suppression Bureau remain silent, Prince Zhen Nan continued: "What do you all think? Is the incident in Qingshi City the work of Evil Spirits, or is there Mysterious involvement behind it?"
Such an attack by Evil Spirits rarely happens in Dazhou. On the other hand, massacres in villages are quite common, as in remote areas, the Qi Fortune of Dazhou is not as potent, and Evil Spirits are stronger.
Although those Evil Spirits lack intelligence, they know how to avoid danger and pursue advantages.
Rather than wasting energy attacking a county with Deceit Suppressing Guards stationed, it is better to massacre a few more villages.
Therefore, Prince Zhen Nan is already suspicious that the Qingshi City tragedy was orchestrated by Mysterious forces.
Fan Yaodong spoke at this moment: "I fear it’s the work of those few Earth Realm Strange entities; they need plenty of blood food to restore their strength."
Xiong Qingcang said: "If it was indeed the work of those few Earth Realm Strange entities, they are likely to attack other cities soon, and we must prepare accordingly."
Now that the Mysterious forces have started causing chaos, it surely won’t be just a single city massacre.
Qingshi City is probably only the beginning, and more cities will be besieged by Evil Spirits next.
Hearing their words, Prince Zhen Nan’s fingers softly tapped the table beside him, appearing deep in thought.
Qingshi City is located in the South, not far from his fief in Guangling County.
His Zhen Nan Army is still being assembled, and he cannot deploy his troops to resist Evil Spirits, as the Zhen Nan Army is reserved for Lu Chen.
But if those Earth Realm Strange entities are indeed planning to overthrow Dazhou, he must act.
If Dazhou is wiped out, he cannot preserve Guangling County either. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Moreover, Guangling County is too close to Qingshi City; it is unpredictable when the Mysterious forces might invade Guangling County.
If his fief falls, all his plans will be for naught; they must discern the next move of those Mysterious forces.
After pondering for a while, Prince Zhen Nan turned his gaze to Wu Feng from the Investigation Bureau: "Director Wu, your task now is to find out where these Evil Spirits have gone and which city they will attack next."
Wu Feng was taken aback upon hearing this.
Determining the movements of those Mysterious forces is extraordinarily challenging.
No one knows whether they have premeditated plans or attack counties with weak defenses; their actions are unpredictable.
After regaining composure, Wu Feng said: "Yes, subordinates will soon dispatch all Deceit Suppressing Guards from the Investigation Bureau to the South."
Compared to the village massacres, the nature of city massacres is much more severe.
Although the mastermind behind the village massacres outside the Capital city has not been found, they cannot focus on that now.
If the Evil Spirits in Qingshi City truly gathered because of those Mysterious entities, it implies they are likely to instigate chaos again, leading to widespread devastation throughout Dazhou.
Thus, the priority is to locate where the Mysterious forces behind those Evil Spirits are hiding.
As for the village massacres, leave that investigation to personnel from the Prince’s Mansion.
Prince Zhen Nan’s gaze then landed on Fan Yaodong: "Commander Fan, take Directors Xiong, Wu, and Zou to the South to investigate the Qingshi City incident."
"Furthermore, the Prince’s Mansion will send three Earth Realm Spirit Warriors to accompany you; if you encounter those few Earth Realm Strange entities, find a way to stall them."
Fan Yaodong promptly replied: "Yes, Prince Zhen Nan."
This time, the Deceit Suppression Bureau and the Prince’s Mansion will deploy a total of seven Earth Realm Spirit Warriors. Even if they cannot seal the Mysterious forces, they can stall them or prevent them from continuing their city massacres.
Prince Zhen Nan continued: "Additionally, I will write to the Imperial Court, requesting several thousand troops to accompany you to Qingshi City."
There are many Evil Spirits this time, and Fan Yaodong and the Earth Realm Spirit Warriors alone are unlikely to handle them.
The Earth Realm Spirit Warriors led by Fan Yaodong will mainly deal with those Earth Realm Strange entities; general Evil Spirits can be dealt with by ordinary Spirit Martial Artists.
At this moment, Lu Yu spoke: "Could this be a plot by those Mysterious forces? They might deliberately lure us to dispatch Earth Realm Spirit Warriors to Qingshi City and then attack the Capital city when the strong forces there are diminished."
Upon hearing this, Prince Zhen Nan contemplated for a moment and then said: "We cannot exclude this possibility. However, the Qi Fortune in the Capital city is strong; if those Earth Realm Strange entities attack the Capital city, their power will be greatly suppressed. Even without you all, the Royal Family can handle it."
The group pondered his words, found some logic in it, and said no more, quickly taking action afterward.
Simultaneously.
Inside the Prince’s Mansion, in a courtyard with trickling streams, Lu Chen sat on a stone bench in a pavilion, flipping through some miscellaneous books of this world. A copper bell hung from the pavilion’s corner, gently chiming pleasingly in the breeze.
At this point, a maid entered the courtyard with a piece of paper: "Princely Heir, this is intelligence sent by the Deceit Suppressing Guards."
Upon hearing the maid’s words, Lu Chen put down the miscellaneous books, looked at the maid outside the pavilion, and then said, "Bring it here."
The maid immediately approached Lu Chen and handed him the paper.
Lu Chen took the paper and skimmed through it, and upon seeing its contents, he was slightly taken aback: "Evil Spirits massacre the city?"
Have those Earth Realm Strange forces acted so quickly? Could this be a warning from the Heavenly Fate Sect?
Lu Chen suspected whether it was because Zhou Youyou and Zhou Xiaoxiao had not relayed any information, prompting Yun Yudie to pressure them through such means.
After snapping back to reality, Lu Chen immediately rose from the stone bench and headed to the West Wing Courtyard.
At this moment, in the West Wing Courtyard, the sisters Zhou Youyou and Zhou Xiaoxiao were having snacks and tea.
Zhou Xiaoxiao showed a trace of worry, sighed slightly, and said: "I wonder what the situation is with the Heavenly Fate Sect now. We’ve been silent for so long, the Sect Hierarch might think we’ve been sealed."
Despite having been at the Prince’s Mansion for a while, Zhou Xiaoxiao’s heart still aligned with the Heavenly Fate Sect; she had persistently wanted to transmit intelligence, especially regarding Lu Chen.
However, the Prince’s Mansion is heavily guarded, preventing her from leaving.
Moreover, the Hidden Guards of the Prince’s Mansion keep an eye on her, and Lu Chen deliberately arranged female Hidden Guards from the Profound Realm to serve as maids in the West Wing Courtyard to monitor her every movement.
