The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 511 Empty City
On a dark and windy night, people are killing people and setting fires.

After finalizing their plan, the group did not hesitate any longer and immediately left the city, traveling at breakneck speed until they reached the outside of the Dengzhou Guard's city walls before midnight.

The group leaned against the city wall, changed into their night clothes, tied their straps and weapons, hid their silver and food behind a rock, checked each other's preparations, and continued to circle around the city wall.

After walking for a while, they heard the sound of water ahead.

A small river called "Huahe" (Painting River) enters the city through the water gate, running through the entire Dengzhou Guard from the very center.

The young man from the Huanhua Sword Sect nodded to the crowd and jumped into the water.

The rest of the people filed in.

Li Miao glanced at them, then vanished in a flash.

This group of martial artists, following the underwater path, arrived at the water gate. One of them drew his weapon and slowly whittled it down, while the others sank to the bottom, using the tortoise-like breathing technique to conserve their energy. When the first martial artist could no longer hold on, the others took turns stepping in, and finally, they managed to cut through the barrier.

Following the same method, the young man passed through three water gates and then entered a narrow channel underwater. After swimming for a while, he finally emerged slowly from the water under a bridge.

After confirming that no one was around, he carefully climbed ashore, pressed himself against the underside of the bridge, and prepared to breathe.

"That's slow enough."

The young man's hair stood on end, and he turned his head sharply. Only after he saw the speaker's face clearly did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Brother Li...you didn't take the waterway?"

Li Miao leaned against the bridge with his arms crossed and said.

"It's so uncomfortable to be soaking wet at night."

The young man nodded.

"Oh, that's true, Brother Li's skills are superb."

After their sparring session, the young man was convinced that Li Miao's martial arts skills were by no means inferior to the most outstanding, and he had already made him the backbone of this operation. Even if Li Miao acted somewhat unconventionally, the young man wouldn't say anything.

As the two were talking, the others also emerged from the water.

After using their inner energy to evaporate the moisture from their bodies, the group concealed themselves and headed towards the Dengzhou Guard Prison, using the surrounding buildings as cover.

A moment later, the group stopped in front of a high wall.

The young man swept his gaze across the crowd and said in a deep voice.

"Gentlemen, once we get past this wall, it will be a fight to the death inside."

"If you want to leave, do it now."

"Those who have stayed with us until now will be friends when we meet again in the martial world. But those who regret their decision after entering or betray us will inevitably face each other with swords... Have you all thought this through?"

No one answered.

The young man nodded, said no more, leaped up several feet off the wall, glanced around in mid-air, flipped over into the wall, rolled a few times, and crawled behind a weapon rack.

shhhhh--

The martial arts practitioners jumped in one after another, and upon landing, they all concealed themselves on the spot without making a sound.

Once everyone was hidden, the young man cautiously peeked out, wanting to check the surroundings. But the moment he glanced around, his face turned deathly pale.

Right in the middle of the front yard, Li Miao stood there casually, arms crossed, squinting as he scanned his surroundings, looking like he was there for sightseeing! The firelight around him made him stand out conspicuously!
The young man, in a fit of anger, shouted in a low voice.

"Brother Li, Brother Li!"

"Come here quickly!"

On one hand, he felt that Li Miao was too arrogant, relying on his superior martial arts skills to treat the thousands of soldiers of Dengzhou Guard as nothing. On the other hand, he could only grip the hilt of his sword tightly, intending to go forward to support Li Miao as soon as he was discovered.

Unexpectedly, Li Miao smiled and glanced in his direction, then said loudly.

"Come out, there's no one here."

"Nobody here?" The young man was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized.

Yes, nobody's here.

There was no one in sight, and no sound.

Dengzhou Guard has five thousand-household units under its jurisdiction, plus the soldiers temporarily recruited. Even if they were to embezzle funds, there should be five or six thousand soldiers... But since the group entered the city, they haven't heard a single sound.

There wasn't a single person in sight.

Not only were there no guards on the city walls, but there wasn't a single person to be seen even here, where the Dengzhou Guard's garrison was located.

He should have discovered it.

But looking around, the bonfires and lanterns around the square were still lit, casting their dim yellow light in all directions.

If there really is no one here, who lit these lights?

If there were people, why haven't we seen a single trace of them along the way?
The young man reached out and touched the weapon rack in front of him. There was no dust, and there were even salt grains formed from sweat on the shafts of the spears, indicating that someone had been using the spears to practice during the day.

Furthermore, the presence of Dengzhou Guard soldiers in Laizhou City during the day corroborates this, proving that the Dengzhou Guard was still in force at least before the group set off.

But how did these thousands of people just vanish into thin air?

Could it be a trap?
Is it really worth clearing out the entire Dengzhou garrison and making such a big show of ambushes for just a dozen or so stragglers on our side?
The young man stood up and quietly walked to Li Miao's side.

"Brother Li... is there really no one here?"

Li Miao answered with squinting eyes.

"There wasn't a single person in the vicinity of the garrison, and there wasn't a single person in the half of the city we passed through on the way here, not even a single family member."

The young man gasped.

The other dozen or so people also noticed something was wrong and scattered around the square. Some jumped onto the rooftops, while others leaped into the air. After a few breaths, they all returned with grim faces, confirming Li Miao's judgment.

At this time, the lights in Dengzhou Garrison were still on as usual, but there was not a single person in sight.

Faced with this bizarre situation, everyone present was at a loss, a chill running down their spines. They felt that rather than facing such an empty city, it would be more satisfying to fight to the death.

After a while, everyone turned their attention to Li Miao.

Li Miao smiled and started walking away.

"Why don't you just take a look and see?"

"It's all here."

The young man hesitated for a moment, but still followed.

Li Miao is right. We're going to risk our lives. Even if it's a den of dragons and tigers ahead, we have to risk our lives to go for it!
Despite saying this, they didn't brazenly follow the proper path. The group leaped onto the rooftops, keeping watch over their surroundings, and slowly made their way towards the garrison prison.

No matter how vigilant they were, it wouldn't take the group of martial artists long to pass through the entire garrison without any guards. After a short while, Li Miao stopped in front of a building made of bluestone that reeked of a fishy stench.

The gate was locked, and black and red residue remained on the ground.

This is the main prison of Dengzhou Guard.

Li Miao raised his hand and slapped open the door, then stepped inside.

After walking several feet along the dark passage, they arrived at the jailer's post. An oil lamp sat on the table, and a food box beside it remained unopened. The young man stepped forward, lifted the food box, touched the food inside, and turned to speak.

"The food had just gone cold. The jailers here must have brought dinner in the afternoon and left in a hurry before we could eat... So, the time that Dengzhou Guard had freed up was close to the time we set off."

"I wonder what General Qi is like—"

Before he could finish speaking, footsteps suddenly came from the depths of the dark prison ahead, slowly approaching him from the darkness.

(End of this chapter)