Simultaneous travel: Starting from returning to the main god space.

Chapter 406 The Rising Sun in the East, the Evening Glow of the Sun (Seeking monthly votes! Seeking further subscriptions!)

The next morning, as the sun rose, golden sunlight bathed the earth, seemingly nurturing boundless hope and inspiring beautiful dreams.

However, at this very moment, shouts and curses could be heard coming from the residence of Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Governor of Chuzhou.

Zheng Xinghuai had two sons. The eldest son pursued an official career and, thanks to Zheng Xinghuai's guidance, had an excellent reputation. He was just waiting to gain enough experience to return to the capital for a promotion. With his father's connections, he was sure to have a bright future and a successful career.

As for his second son, he was much more mediocre.

Lacking both academic talent and the arduousness of martial arts training, he ultimately became a good-for-nothing playboy who only knew how to train hawks and fight dogs, and did nothing of note.

Fortunately, Zheng Xinghuai had strict family discipline, so at least within Chuzhou City, this second son dared not do anything to bully men or women, and barely managed not to tarnish the Zheng family's reputation.

Just last night, this young master Zheng was drinking and having fun at a brothel when, for some unknown reason, he got into a conflict with an officer under the Duke of Huguo. As a result, he was not good at martial arts and was severely beaten up.

Zheng Xinghuai frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Although his second son was utterly useless and a complete waste, he was at least self-aware and would never overestimate himself by fighting a high-ranking officer. There must be something fishy going on here.

However, when Zheng Xinghuai thought of his second son's past outrageous behavior of frequenting brothels, he was still furious.

So after breakfast, he called him to the study and scolded him sternly for a long time, without stopping until the sun had fully risen.

Young Master Zheng was so humiliated by the scolding that he couldn't lift his head, but he retorted defiantly:

"Father! This really has nothing to do with me. I just went to a brothel to drink and listen to music. It was that soldier who started the trouble and even hit me. If you don't believe me, you can ask my friends. They can all testify!"

"Hmph! What good things could your bunch of cronies possibly say!"

Zheng Xinghuai snorted coldly, preparing to punish his second son by confining him to the ancestral hall for three days to reflect on his mistakes and kneel there copying books.

Just then, a man in light armor rushed into the study in a panic. He carried a horn bow on his back and a long sword at his waist. He was Li Han, Zheng Xinghuai's most trusted guard.

Li Han said repeatedly, "Sir, the garrison troops suddenly entered the city for some reason and gathered a large number of people. We don't know what they want to do."

Zheng Xinghuai was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and then asked in confusion, "The garrison troops are gathering civilians? Why is that? Have the northern barbarians started attacking the city again?"

"I don't know either. I only know that the people were separated and gathered in the four directions of east, west, south and north. The commander is the Grand Commander, Duke Que Yongxiu, who should be in the south of the city now."

Li Han gave a wry smile and told Zheng Xinghuai everything he had found out.

Zheng Xinghuai frowned deeply, and finally ignored his bewildered second son, strode out of the study and ordered, "Prepare the horses, I want to see what has happened... Also, inform Mr. Zhu to come with me."

Immediately, Zheng Xinghuai, along with his "guest ministers" and guards, rode towards the south city. Along the way, he indeed saw garrison soldiers escorting bewildered civilians in a large procession, heading towards the four city gates.

"Stop, what are you doing?"

Zheng Xinghuai repeatedly shouted to stop them, even invoking his status as the provincial governor, but all he received in response was silence and the soldiers' cold, sarcastic gazes.

A sense of foreboding welled up in Zheng Xinghuai's heart. Without further ado, he cracked his whip and galloped wildly along the street toward the south of the city.

Before long, Zheng Xinghuai arrived at his destination. All he could see was a sea of ​​black heads, roughly estimated to be over 100,000.

Among these people were ordinary citizens, merchants, and even clerks from the government offices, but at this moment they were all gathered on a wasteland in the south of the city, looking fearful and uneasy, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Around the wasteland, there were thousands of soldiers, armed with armor and weapons, some carrying bows and others crossbows.

They wielded long spears and exuded a fierce aura unique to those who had fought for many years. So even though they had an absolute numerical advantage, the people dared not have the slightest thought of resistance and let these soldiers surround them.

The ominous premonition grew stronger, Zheng Xinghuai's heart pounded wildly, but his mind became increasingly calm. Almost instantly, he locked his gaze on the one-eyed man on horseback, clad in heavy armor, a hundred meters away, and the dozen or so figures shrouded in black robes beside him.

Zheng Xinghuai narrowed his eyes, looked at the one-eyed man on horseback, and said in a deep voice, "Duke Protector of the Nation, what is the purpose of gathering the people of the city here?"

"Oh! It's Provincial Governor Zheng!"

Upon seeing Zheng Xinghuai arrive, Que Yongxiu grinned and asked instead of answering, "Lord Zheng, do you know why the barbarians repeatedly invade the borders of Dafeng, burning, killing, and looting?"

"The north is barren, and the demon and barbarian tribes do not engage in production. They have always coveted the resources of our Great Feng, which is why they have repeatedly invaded."

Zheng Xinghuai instinctively gave the standard answer, then frowned and said, "But what does this have to do with you gathering the people?"

"Hahaha! Of course it's related!"

Que Yongxiu raised his spear, pointed it at the hundreds of thousands of terrified people, and laughed loudly:

"As citizens of the Great Feng, we should dedicate ourselves to the stability of the Great Feng borders, even unto death. However, these northern barbarians are like centipedes that do not die easily, and they also possess two third-rank experts. To completely eradicate them, we need experts of second rank or above." "But the Supervisor is of noble status and cannot easily leave the capital to protect the Great Feng dynasty. The Grand Preceptor is a Taoist master who is not tainted by worldly karma."

Therefore, the only way to eliminate the demons and barbarians is for His Highness Prince Huai to break through to the level of a second-rank martial artist.

"What do you mean……"

Just as Zheng Xinghuai was about to ask, he suddenly saw Que Yongxiu spur his horse and charge towards the surrounded civilians.

"Pfft!"

The spear thrust out and pierced a civilian's chest, lifting him high into the air. Blood splattered out, and the man on the spear struggled painfully for a few moments before his limbs drooped limply.

However, what no one noticed was that the moment the man was pierced by the spear, a paper figure covered with runes suddenly appeared behind his neck, then disappeared without a trace, as if it were an illusion.

Immediately afterward, chaos ensued. People in the surrounding area screamed, while those further away, though they hadn't witnessed the bloodshed, gradually showed fear on their faces and instinctively searched for escape routes.

On the other side, Zheng Xinghuai was equally stunned, but soon his eyes turned bloodshot and he roared hoarsely, "Que Yongxiu, how dare you indiscriminately kill civilians? Have you gone mad?"

"Haha! These commoners died a worthy death, becoming the cornerstone for His Highness Prince Huai's promotion to the second rank!"

Que Yongxiu flicked away the corpse from the spear tip, channeled the energy of a fifth-rank martial artist, and roared, "Release the arrows!"

Thousands of armored soldiers drew their bows together, aiming them at the assembled innocent civilians, showing no pity whatsoever.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!"

The massacre began, and a deluge of arrows rained down, reaping the lives of the people. Men, women, and children alike fell in the relentless barrage of arrows.
Those who manage to escape will also die under the swords of the elite soldiers.

Ironically, the people of Chuzhou City, having been protected from the northern barbarians for many years under the protection of the King of Zhenbei, regarded the latter as a great hero.

Unexpectedly, nineteen years later, it was this great hero who ordered the soldiers of the Great Feng to wield their butcher knives against these common people. How ironic!

"Help! Help!"

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

"Please, let him go, he's just a child..."

"I'll fight you to the death!!"

……

Begging for mercy was useless, resistance was useless. Amidst the flashing swords and bloodshed, hundreds of thousands of civilians fell in droves, leaving only corpses scattered on the ground.

This same scene was also occurring at the other three city gates in the east, west, and north.

"You beasts! You beasts!!"

Zheng Xinghuai roared in grief and anger.

During the massacre, some soldiers tried to kill him, but they were stopped by the skilled retainers recruited by Zheng Xinghuai. At this moment, they are fighting and retreating, protecting Zheng Xinghuai as he leaves the South City.

"Trying to leave?! You can all just die!"

Que Yongxiu sneered, took the precious bow handed to him by the soldier, began to draw the bow and nock an arrow, aimed in the direction of Zheng Xinghuai, and then suddenly released the bowstring that had been pulled to its limit.

Buzz buzz—! !

Just then, a dazzling light suddenly shone around them, coming from the people who had fallen in pools of blood.

Countless runes shot out, forming four large arrays in the four directions of Chuzhou City: east, west, south, and north.

clang! !

With a clang of metal, the arrow aimed at Zheng Xinghuai was knocked away.

"You're the one who deserves to die!!"

At the same time, the moment the light of the great formation faded, a red figure wearing light armor leaped out like a swallow, directly crossing a distance of hundreds of meters, raising the red-tasseled spear in his hand, and thrusting it towards Que Yongxiu's only remaining eye.

(End of this chapter)