Chapter 223: Chaos Under Heaven
Exterminate demons, root out traitors, raise troops, initiate righteousness!
The voice thundered like roaring lightning, awakening the spirits of those who heard it.
But every single word, after entering Pan Luo's ears, all became synonymous with one term—rebellion!
"Chen Sansi, you dare?"
Great Halberd Camp Main General Pan Luo sternly rebuked, "You're barely in your twenties, yet you're already a Supervisor, a State Duke, a Great Scholar in the Cabinet; the court's grace toward you is as heavy as a mountain. What kind of wolfish ambitions do you harbor that you are still not satisfied... Ah!"
"Boom—"
The words were not yet finished.
Wang Zhi had already made his move, his Black Tortoise True Qi layering upon itself and transforming into a Black Tortoise that crushed down, splitting him and his horse in two, splattering blood all over the scene!
Others like Feng Yong and Xu Bin also made their moves, slaughtering all the Great Halberd Camp soldiers who had whipped the citizens and trampled the fields, their blood dyeing the land.
"Stop!"
"You, surnamed Chen!"
"Immortal Master orders you to stop!"
Qu Yuanxiang had been shouting loudly, but since no one paid him any attention, he directly summoned his flying sword, mana surging as he intended to strike first and ask questions later, until the White Robe, who had been standing with his back to him, suddenly turned his head, his deep pupils devoid of any emotion, a calm beyond words, just like...
The way he looked at the Spiritual Grain before.
Qu Yuanxiang shuddered, suddenly recalling that the White Robe was already in the True Power Realm, and had even slain Zou Hu and Han Xiang in Wu City; how could he be a match for him?!
His spellcasting abruptly halted as he turned to flee through the sky.
Alas, it was too late.
No one saw when the White Robe made his move or how he did it, only observing a fire dragon soaring into the sky, after which the Immortal Master Qu Yuanxiang, with a liquor gourd at his waist and his flying sword, plummeted straight down from the sky, leaving a charred, transparent hole in his chest, perishing instantly.
Immortals, too, could die!
This was the first time the people of Liangzhou witnessed the death of an Immortal!
The White Robe killed the Immortal as if slaughtering chickens and dogs!
In just a few breaths of time, the governor was restrained, the camp's Main General was beheaded, and even the Immortal Master died on the spot. The soldiers of the Great Halberd Camp were all dumbfounded, plunging into chaos, unsure of what to do.
"Brothers of the Great Halberd Camp, listen up!"
Wang Zhi raised the Mo Blade high, standing in front of the White Robe as he shouted, "The Supervisor has made immeasurable contributions to the Society for the Sheng Dynasty! Especially you should be aware that during the Blood Sacrifice Array in Liangzhou, if it wasn't for Chen Dushi leading the brothers of Hongze Camp on a mile-sweeping attack through the freezing snow to destroy the Array Eye at Langjuxu Mountain, you'd all probably be nothing but a puddle of blood by now. Do you remember?!"
"We, we remember."
"Remember."
"Of course, we dare not forget."
"..."
That day.
Blood fog descended from the heavens.
They could only gather on the outskirts of the Luotian Mountain Range, waiting for the so-called "First Line of Life" to open, but then the sky fell, the fog spread, and everyone was so pressured they couldn't raise their heads.
It was the White Robe, from ten thousand miles away, who cleared the mist, allowing Liangzhou to see the light again, saving their lives.
This grace.
Of course, they dared not forget.
"Lord Governor, for Liangzhou, for the Society of the Sheng Dynasty, has truly disregarded life and death. Not long ago on the Western Expedition to Guan Du, he encountered peril time and again! We were just one day short, one day before our supplies would have run out!
"Even so, we persisted against the odds until we set Wu City ablaze and crushed the Enemy Army!"
Wang Zhi's resonant voice continued, "But while we fought for the Society and the Great Sheng Court at the forefront, treacherous villains stirred trouble at the court, severing our rear path, cutting off our supplies, aiming to bury our one hundred and fifty thousand brothers alive at Guan Du!
"Now the truth has emerged!
"The treacherous courtiers wanted to trick the Commander into the Capital City and frame him with murder! Can we agree to this?!"
A few days earlier.
Under the arrangements of Feng Chu Fang Qingyun, the truths about "Yunzhou" and "Guan Du" spread in the form of "notes," and although they were quickly purged, the truth inevitably leaked out.
Moreover, rumors about the "Yan Party" were already rife, which made them more believable.
The citizens were outraged, and the soldiers even more furious.
Especially the military officers.
Who among the frontier soldiers would wish to be stabbed in the back while fighting to the death against the enemy at the front?!
It was simply...
Thinking about it sent chills down one's spine!
After an ultimate chill piercing to the core, what followed was an endless fury.
"We do not agree!"
The soldiers of the Great Halberd Camp chorused in unison.
"Good!"
The Mo Blade in Wang Zhi's hand shone brilliantly under the dawn, his battle cry echoing forcefully, "If so, Chen Dushi aims to eliminate harm for the people, clear the Monarch's side from villains. If you are willing to follow, you remain our brothers! But if you should persist in malevolence and resist stubbornly, you'll end up like Pan Luo, Qu Yuanxiang.
"I will only shout three times!
"Three!"
"Two..."
"Clatter—"
Before the count finished, the soldiers of the Great Halberd Camp knelt down en masse, loudly declaring.
"We, we!"
"Swear to follow Chen Dushi to the death!"
"..."
One camp turned into two.
Chen Sansi was already renowned throughout the world, also holding the position of Supervisor, the legitimate Commander of Beiliang.
Add to this the affairs of Yunzhou and Guan Du, which were scandalous enough to provoke heaven and earth. Subduing soldiers and gathering horses was like turning over a hand as long as any dissenting military officers were killed.
Before long.
Together, the soldiers of the Hongze Camp and the Great Halberd Camp uprooted all the Spiritual Grain outside Liangzhou City, then used it all as firewood for beacons, taking it to the Great Wall to burn.
In an instant.
Smoke billowed.
An eight hundred miles long beacon of war smoke swept across the Northern Territory's Heavenly Dome.
Then.
They executed the governor of Liangzhou, Wu Youde, as a sacrifice to their banner.
A massive uprising, now officially commenced.