Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 296 News of Death Arrives, Enemy at the Gates

Demonic cult.

The young master got up very early today.

Have the Four Heavenly Kings returned?

"Reporting to the Master, not yet."

The one who answered the young cult leader was his left and right bodyguards.

The so-called left and right guards are ostensibly two guards set up to protect the young cult leader, but in reality they are spies planted by the Four Heavenly Kings around the young cult leader.

However, because the Four Heavenly Kings acted tyrannically, they aroused the dissatisfaction of many people in the sect. The young sect leader took this opportunity to win over the Left and Right Guards, and ended up making them his men.

The Left and Right Guard Captains are Grandmaster-level experts who command these two guard units. They have formed an alliance of interests with the Young Master and have become the people truly responsible for protecting the Young Master's life.

The two lived on either side of the young cult leader, so whenever the young cult leader went out, the two immediately followed.

"Not back yet?"

The young master frowned: "It's only three hundred miles away, but with the strength of the Four Heavenly Kings, they should have returned by now."

The Right Guard Commander frowned and said, "At their speed, one night should be more than enough time. They haven't returned yet. Could it be... that something unexpected happened?"

The young cult leader let out a long breath and said, "I actually hope something unexpected happens; it would be best if all four of them died!"

"Master!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man came running up, his face filled with panic.

"Why are you so alarmed?"

"Master, a quarter of an hour ago, a knight suddenly appeared at the mountain gate, claiming to be an envoy of the Rakshasa Cult. He presented us with four wooden boxes as a gift. When we opened them, we found...it was..."

At this point, the man's face turned extremely terrified, and he stammered, unable to speak.

"What is it?"

"It's...it's the head of one of the Four Heavenly Kings!"

"what?!"

The young cult leader was shocked, his body swaying slightly as if he had lost his balance: "They...are really dead?"

A few minutes later, upon seeing the four faces he loathed so much inside the four wooden boxes, the young cult leader turned pale.

Although he had been a puppet in the hands of these four people ever since he became the leader, especially in the first few years, his every move was closely monitored by the four.

This made the young cult leader hate the four of them to the core.

Not a day goes by that he doesn't think about killing these four people and taking back power.

However, when these four people actually died before his eyes, the young cult leader was extremely terrified.

Because he knew very well that the Demonic Sect's strength had weakened. Although the Four Heavenly Kings were domineering and treated him as a puppet, they were also the pillars of the Demonic Sect.

The various city-states and kingdoms of the Western Regions have never truly submitted.

The Rakshasa Cult is thriving and its power is terrifying.

Under these circumstances, it was the Four Heavenly Kings who upheld the reputation of the Demonic Sect.

Now, all four of them are dead.

And he died on the side of the Rakshasa Cult!
"what happened?"

The young leader asked, "Didn't they say that the three thousand Rakshasa soldiers were all transferred away, and that the left and right envoys and the four venerable ones of the Rakshasa Cult all rebelled? Why! Why did the Four Heavenly Kings still die at the hands of the Rakshasa Cult!"

"This……"

The crowd below remained silent.

Finally, Zuo Weizhang sighed and said, "Master, this probably means that the new leader of the Rakshasa Sect is not the lucky one we imagined, but a giant shark hiding beneath the sea!"

The three thousand Rakshasa soldiers were transferred away, and all the powerful soldiers under their command rebelled.

Yet, within the Rakshasa Cult, they still retain enough power to kill the Four Heavenly Kings.

One can imagine how terrifying the other person must be.

"I understand, but what should I do now?"

The young master took a deep breath and calmed down.

The Left Guard Commander said in a low voice, "Let's go invite Master Jian Er first."

The young master nodded: "Yes, then quickly go and invite the master over."

"Yes."

The Left Guard Commander then secretly sent someone away.

According to the rules of the Demonic Cult, everyone who joins the cult must abandon their original name.

There were two brothers who were swordsmen. After joining the Demonic Sect, they named themselves Sword One and Sword Two.

Both are powerful and, after the death of the previous leader, have the ability to compete for the position of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

With the two of them working together, the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings is definitely not the Heavenly King of Love and Desire.

However, during the competition, Jian Yi was poisoned and killed, and Jian Er, seeing that things were not going well, fled.

The Four Heavenly Kings have been trying to find him, but they have not been able to.

In fact, Jian Er didn't go far; he was hidden in the Western Regions by the opposition of the Four Heavenly Kings.

As the young leader grew up, he actually developed his own power right under the noses of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Jian Er sensed an opportunity and took the initiative to show himself and pledge his loyalty.

His goals were twofold: first, to seek revenge; and second, to leverage the power of the Demonic Sect to break through to the Second Flower Grandmaster level.

The young cult leader generously offered the other party his demonic cult techniques for cultivation.

More than a year ago, Jian Er used this opportunity to break through to the Second Flower Grandmaster level, becoming the strongest trump card under the Little Master.

Although it was still not enough to deal with the Four Heavenly Kings, it gave the young leader a little confidence.

To avoid being discovered by the Four Heavenly Kings, Jian Er had been hiding near the Demonic Sect.

Now that the Four Heavenly Kings are dead, a new crisis has emerged, so naturally we must invite him to come as soon as possible.

Putting everything else aside, with the martial prowess of the Second Flower Grandmaster, he could at least protect the young sect leader.

However, before Mr. Jian Er could arrive, another piece of bad news was delivered to the young sect leader.

"Report! The two armies dispatched by the Rakshasa Cult defeated all the rebels yesterday. After resting for five hours, they suddenly marched again, heading towards... the headquarters of the Demonic Cult!"

"Um……"

The young cult leader nodded.

During the time he waited for Mr. Jian Er to arrive, he also sorted out the relevant situation and quickly realized that this seemed to be a complete strategy.

The betrayal of many high-ranking members of the Rakshasa Cult was entirely within the expectations of the new leader.

The opponent concealed all their strength, making people believe they were just lucky, and then, after the enemy revealed their malice, opened their bloodthirsty maw and swallowed them whole.

Since all of this was within the other party's expectations, it's impossible for them not to have discovered it. This is also the best opportunity to deal with the evil cult.

Therefore, hearing news of those two Rakshasa soldiers was not unexpected for the young sect leader.

"How fast are these two Rakshasa armies marching?"

"Reporting to the Master, they are as fast as lightning, and they will probably arrive at our sect's gate in another two or three hours!"

"what?"

Everyone panicked and hurriedly said, "Master, let's run! The Rakshasa army is coming soon!"

"What's the panic? There are still two or three hours left. Besides, even if we're surrounded, do you think you can be completely blocked by the Rakshasa army?"

The young cult leader said calmly.

After thinking about it, everyone realized that it made sense and calmed down.

Although there are few Second-Grandmasters, there are still some Grandmaster-level experts within the Demonic Sect.

Below the Grandmaster level, the Qi of the Gang Qi, and the perfected Innate Qi, needless to say.

The strength of the Rakshasa army lies in its numbers; the individual strength of each Rakshasa soldier is only at the level of the Innate Realm.

If they were surrounded by the Rakshasa army, they would surely die without a burial place. However, as long as they escaped before the Rakshasa army surrounded them, the Rakshasa army would not be able to catch them at all, given their speed. At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe and wearing an ancient longsword at his waist walked into the hall.

"Who?"

The people in the hall did not recognize him at all, and in an instant, they guessed that he was a master of the Rakshasa Sect.

Fortunately, the young master reacted quickly, shouting, "Master Jian Er! You've finally arrived!"

Only then did everyone realize that this powerful figure, whose body emanated incredibly clear true energy fluctuations at the Second Flower Grandmaster level, was actually the Little Sect Leader's hidden trump card.

Many of the people in the hall were lackeys of the Four Heavenly Kings, and upon seeing this, they couldn't help but shrink their heads and try to hide themselves in the shadows.

But at a time like this, nobody cares about them.

The young sect leader quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Mr. Jian Er, are you aware of what happened?"

"I already know."

Jian Er glanced at the heads in the four boxes and couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "You four, you've finally met your match?"

His eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "What a pity, what a pity, what a pity that I didn't do it myself!"

"The heads of these four bastards are to be dealt with by the master."

The young leader stepped forward and said, "But the most urgent matter right now is dealing with the Rakshasa Sect."

"Of course I know that."

Jian Er said, "The new leader of the Rakshasa Sect is quite powerful, but two days ago, some of our friends came to the Demonic Sect and can become our help."

"friend?"

Several hours later, two thousand Rakshasa soldiers arrived at the gate of the Demonic Sect. Also arriving were Tie Zhan and Tuotuo, who had come from the Rakshasa Sect.

At the mountain gate, dozens of people knelt on the ground and said, "We are here to respectfully welcome the envoy of the Rakshasa Sect."

Tie Zhan frowned, looking quite displeased, and said, "What does the Demonic Sect mean by this?"

The leader said, "The Rakshasa Sect is incredibly powerful. We dare not resist. We are willing to present a letter of surrender to the envoy!"

"What? You're surrendering!"

Tie Zhan was furious.

He had expected a major battle upon arriving here, and he had prepared himself mentally for it, filled with anticipation.

But the other side actually wants to surrender?

Does that mean there are no more fights to be fought?
"Keep your temper in check," Tuotuo said, knowing what Tie Zhan was thinking just by looking at his expression. "If you ruin the leader's plans, you'll be in deep trouble!"

Tie Zhan spat and said, "A bunch of spineless cowards!"

But they didn't do anything.

Tuotuo said, "You want to surrender? Why don't we see your leader?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the leader and other high-ranking members of the sect left two hours ago."

"They all ran away?"

"Exactly."

"No wonder you surrendered without even fighting."

The Demonic Sect's power was waning; there were hardly any Second-Grandmasters left, yet they were all killed last night.

The remaining cult leader and other grandmasters had already fled.

And they weren't the only ones who ran away.

Upon learning the news, many others within the Demonic Cult also fled early.

Among the remaining group, there were only two people who had reached the peak of the Innate Realm.

With such limited strength, they had to face two thousand Rakshasa soldiers.

What else can we do but surrender?
"Take us inside!"

"Yes……"

Led by these surrendered individuals, Tuotuo, Tiezhan, and a thousand Rakshasa soldiers slowly entered the headquarters of the Western Demonic Sect.

The Western Demonic Cult's location was excellent, nestled amidst towering mountains. For ordinary people to enter, there was only one winding mountain path.

Martial arts masters can naturally move high and low using their lightness skills.

However, the Demonic Sect has spies in the nearby mountains and forests, so anyone who enters has a very high probability of being discovered.

This terrain and environment is one of the reasons why the Demonic Sect has repeatedly invaded the Central Plains but has never been eliminated.

The martial arts masters of the Central Plains had considered attacking the Western Regions, but when they arrived there, they were met with numerous obstacles, treacherous terrain, and countless traps, and ultimately had to return empty-handed.

On a high peak, several figures appeared and disappeared.

It was the young cult leader and his entourage who were said to have escaped.

They didn't actually run away; they had another plan.

The cult leader looked down at the mountains below and said, "It's a pity that my Demonic Cult has not yet recovered its strength, otherwise, this battle might not be impossible..."

The treacherous terrain has protected the Demonic Cult on numerous occasions in the past, allowing it to continue to exist.

But this time, this terrain couldn't be of much use.

In a sense, the Rakshasa army was the nemesis of this natural defensive line.

The Rakshasa army, whose members are all at the Innate Realm, can ignore the influence of terrain to a certain extent. In addition, with hundreds or thousands of them, they can easily break through any trap and are not afraid of being surrounded by enemies.

At its peak, the Demonic Cult was naturally able to defeat the Rakshasa Army by virtue of its geographical advantage.

But the current evil cult is simply incapable of doing that.

Faced with two thousand Rakshasa soldiers, the Demonic Sect didn't even have the strength to fight back.

Therefore, the leader, Mr. Jian Er, and others chose to leave without even engaging in a single battle.

Fortunately, they were not entirely without the power to resist.

We can't just fight head-on; we need some strategies to coordinate.

Thus, under the watchful gaze of the Demonic Cult Leader, the Rakshasa Army easily traversed the winding mountain path and arrived in the heart of the mountains.

"This is the headquarters of the Demonic Cult..."

Tuotuo was also full of curiosity about this long-standing power.

The area is characterized by towering mountains and treacherous terrain.

But in the midst of these mountains, there is a flat area.

Perhaps it wasn't originally flat land, but rather slightly flatter than the surrounding mountains. However, it was discovered by the ancestors of the Demonic Sect, who cleared the mountains, paved roads, filled in the ravines, and settled here, forming a city in the mountains.

This city has no city walls, or rather, the surrounding mountains serve as its walls.

There were no city gates.

The road leading into this place is the city gate.

The city contains tall buildings and grand halls, which are clearly the residences of the high-ranking members of the Demonic Sect.

Houses are scattered all around.

At this moment, all the people in the city had gathered on both sides of the road, numbering in the thousands.

“Your Demonic Sect has quite a few people,” Tuotuo said.

“Your Excellency, these people are not members of the Demonic Cult, but rather its servants.”

"servant?"

"That's right. Even so, everyone who survives in this city has a unique skill."

The surrendered individuals explained that among these people, besides the servants who specifically served the high-ranking members of the Demonic Cult and the beautiful women and men who provided for their enjoyment, there were also craftsmen, doctors, chefs, brewers, and so on.

Everyone has a skill or strength, and everyone has their own value.

They were able to satisfy the needs of the high-ranking members of the Demonic Cult in all aspects of food, drink, and entertainment.

That's how they were able to survive in this place.

(End of this chapter)