Decaying World

Chapter 219 The Battle Begins
The sound of wheels rolling could be heard continuously from outside the carriage.

Lin Xiaoliu nestled carefully in her mother Liu Shenglan's arms, listening to her mother tell her the historical stories of Tu Yue.

However, she couldn't concentrate on anything, her mind always unconsciously drifting to the two people sitting cross-legged opposite her.

One of the two was the older sister, Liu Xiao, who had just arrived from the inner city and was sent by her elder brother to escort the family's troops out of the city.

The other was Xia Si, who was meditating cross-legged with her eyes closed.

Xia Sicai had just become an apprentice, so theoretically she should have stayed in the inner city. But without saying a word, she realized something was wrong and immediately ran towards her teacher, Lin Hui.

"With you here this time, the evacuation will be much easier," Liu Xiao said softly.

"The main question is, where do we plan to evacuate to? At this point, nowhere will be safe," Xia Si said with a smile.

"We're not going anywhere. My brother's idea is to find a place in the fog zone to stay for a while, and then go back after the battle in the inner city is over. Tu Yue won't be in any danger; at most, there will be some casualties," Liu Xiao replied.

"So confident?" Xia Si asked in surprise.

"This isn't confidence, but rather an assessment of actual strength. There were indeed top-tier experts invading this time, but these kinds of masters wouldn't really risk their lives in a fight. It's more about launching surprise attacks, taking advantage of the fact that some of the Blood Ancestors aren't in the city, to gain more benefits." Liu Xiao knew that Xia Si had only recently joined the Rain Palace and didn't understand many of the inside stories, so he explained carefully.

"So, the reason this attack seemed so sudden is simply because its scale and momentum weren't as large as expected?" Xia Si pondered.

“Yes.” Liu Xiao nodded. “So, we don’t need to worry. We just need to drive around outside for a long time and then go back.”

After she finished speaking, she turned to look at Lin Xiaoliu.

"Xiaoliu, are you scared?"

Lin Xiaoliu glanced at Xia Si, then turned to look at Liu Xiao.

"Is Third Brother here?" she asked.

“Yes, he has quite a few disciples in the Qingfeng Dao group at the back, and he needs to appease them,” Liu Xiao replied.

“Then I’m not afraid,” Lin Xiaoliu said earnestly.

Liu Xiao was speechless, not expecting Lin Xiaoliu to trust Lin Hui so much.

At this moment, at the rear of the procession, the large contingent from Qingfeng Road stretched out in a long line, quickly following the Lin family's group.

Lin Hui rode his horse alongside his father, Lin Shunhe. Bright sunlight streamed down through the hollowed-out walls above the procession, and the dazzling sun could be vaguely seen rising.

The two walked in the middle of the group, with the Lin family brigade in front and the Qingfengdao brigade behind, making this a suitable position for commanding and coordinating from the center.

Lin Shunhe glanced at his son and carefully considered his words.

"You seem to be quite well-informed, don't you?"

"Yes, actually I just found out myself. A friend in the Inspectorate tipped me off." Lin Hui nodded.

"The Inspectorate itself was attacked this time, and suffered heavy losses," Lin Shunhe couldn't help but say.

Lin Hui was speechless. He habitually used Hong Ling as a shield, but this time it didn't work.

But after a pause, he realized something.

"Then, Dad, how did you know that the Inspectorate was also attacked? And suffered heavy losses?" He looked at his father, somewhat speechless.

“With such a large business, I naturally have my own secret channels,” Lin Shunhe said in a deep voice.

"With so many people in my sect, I naturally have my own channels." Lin Hui immediately learned this trick.

"You little rascal, you're quick to learn how to smooth things over and hide things," Lin Shunhe said helplessly. "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. This time, things have suddenly gotten so big, I also feel that this outer city is not safe anymore. But I'm not willing to move to the inner city. The inner city isn't necessarily a good place either."

He sighed.

“But I’ve spent my whole life here, decades of my life, and even if I wanted to leave, I wouldn’t know where to go.”

“Xingdao? That’s the nearest urban area,” Lin Hui said.

“I’ve dealt with that place a lot on my trading trips, and it’s even worse,” Lin Shunhe shook his head. “Black Cloud is much better, though. It’s very stable and peaceful, and Black Cloud is very powerful and stable. There aren’t as many problems here.”

"Are you planning to go to Black Cloud?" Lin Hui asked.

“I’ve had this idea, and I started planning it last year, but it’s not done yet. I hired someone to open a small shop over there and bought a large house, so I’ll have a place to stay if I go there. The main problem is that all my businesses and shops are here, so I can’t leave. If I really leave, I’ll have to give up too much.” Lin Shunhe sighed.

"What are your plans when you tell me this? Are you suggesting that Qingfeng Dao move there too? You know that's unrealistic; most of Qingfeng Dao's disciples are locals," Lin Hui said.

“I know, but you also know that only a small number of people truly feel a sense of belonging to your group. Once you’ve settled them in, you can go directly there. As long as the core team is still there, it’s easy to start all over again,” Lin Shunhe said.

“You’re right.” Lin Hui nodded slightly. But he knew it was impossible, because his backup base, the maze ruins, was already under construction. With such a large investment, leaving just like that was clearly out of the question.

“Ah Hui.” Lin Shunhe sighed. “Actually…” He opened his mouth, about to reveal part of his true identity to put his son at ease.

He has successfully applied for the position of branch leader of the Benevolent Heart Sect and can be transferred to Black Cloud.

That's why I'm telling Lin Hui all this now.

The branch of the Charity Church here will be taken over by new people. The same applies to all business operations.

From the outside, it looks like a normal resale shop.

Just then.

Far behind the group, the fog churned, and a faint whistling sound could be heard rapidly approaching from mid-air.

Lin Hui turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.

"Someone is chasing us."

"We're just an ordinary civilian group. Even if someone comes after us, it won't be anything big. Don't worry," Lin Shunhe reassured him. "Besides, we still have Xiaoxiao and Xia Si, right?"

"Hmm," Lin Hui nodded. The next moment, the two saw a carriage in front of them open, and a figure suddenly darted out, disappearing like lightning behind the group.

“Xiaoxiao has made her move,” Lin Shunhe said. “That’s the right thing to do. The impact of the attack shouldn’t be too great, lest the enemy misunderstand that there are any important people or things here, attracting stronger opponents. So Xiaoxiao made her move first, with Xia Si as a backup plan. This approach is correct.”

"The rest of you keep moving forward," Lin Hui nodded, raised his hand, and amplified his voice with internal force.

*
*
*
The back of the line.

Two tall figures wearing pure white masks suddenly appeared behind Qingfengdao's convoy, standing atop two small hills and looking down at the caravan.

The two men, one dressed in a green robe and holding a jade flute with flowing sleeves, were dressed in a green robe and held a jade flute.

The other person had white hair, an aloof demeanor, and stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a black brocade robe and a black fur cloak.

The man in the green robe gazed ahead and soon his eyes fell on Liu Xiao, who was rapidly approaching.

"One more has arrived. Shall we go first, you or me?"

"Liu Wujun killed my brother and slaughtered many of my fellow believers. His family and friends must all die, the order doesn't matter," the white-haired man said coldly.

"Then you go first. There's still one hiding in the group. I'll go take care of him," the man in the green robe said calmly.

After the two made their arrangements, the white-haired man's hands glowed with white light, covered with transparent ethereal energy. He flashed and charged straight at Liu Xiao, who was rushing towards him.

They don't care about the rest of the ordinary people, because in this world, as long as you kill the pillar of strength, countless other hungry wolves will pounce on them to help them deal with these so-called ordinary people.

Just like the Tao family back then.

In an instant, the white-haired man and Liu Xiao simultaneously channeled their inner energy, their four palms facing each other.

boom!!

Layers of transparent ripples spread out and exploded, tearing away the surrounding ground.

On the other side, the man in the green robe leaped into the air and rushed towards the somewhat panicked group from Qingfeng Road.

"Attention!" Wang Hongshi shouted from his horse, raising his longsword.

All the Qingfeng Dao disciples gripped their longswords tightly, their expressions tense as they watched the green-robed man rushing towards them.

Before such high-ranking officials, their strength was pitifully weak; even if they outnumbered each other, they were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.

All they could do was circulate their inner energy, and even if they died, they would never give up the fight!

"Everyone, get ready!"

Wang Hongshi roared.

The sounds of swords being drawn rang out in unison. The silver light shimmered, like fish scales on a lake.

"wind!"

Wang Hongshi shouted loudly.

In an instant, all the Qingfeng disciples simultaneously channeled their energy and hurled their longswords at the green-robed man rushing towards them from mid-air.

Hiss hiss hiss hiss!
Hundreds of sword lights rose from the ground, shooting out densely and turning into a rain of swords that covered all directions within dozens of meters of the green-robed man's attack.

"useless!"

The man in the green robe laughed loudly, and with both hands he simultaneously channeled his internal energy, creating a ripple that smashed away all the longswords in front of him.

Every sword that came into contact with his illusory power instantly twisted, shattered, and crumbled.

But just as he was about to pounce and kill, he suddenly met a pair of beautiful, large eyes.

"Xia Si!?" The man in the green robe was startled, his body tensed, and he quickly withdrew his strength and retreated.

"Isn't it too late to leave now?" Xia Si smiled, her figure flashed, and she appeared beside the man in the green robe, swinging her sword.

clang!
The sword strike was abruptly deflected by a black scimitar.

The owner of the scimitar casually grabbed the man in the green robe and flung him away. He turned and swung his blade again, facing Xia Si who was attacking like lightning.

"Hey, won't you even let me say my name!?"

"What title does a dead man need?" Xia Si laughed, his longsword flashing as it transformed into a shower of silver specks that rained down on his opponent.

At this point, her swordsmanship style was quite different from Lin Hui's.

Light, dense, appearing and disappearing at lightning speed. Combined with immense power and speed, this style is more akin to the art of assassination.

"You can't kill me on your own," the owner of the black knife laughed.

After the two sides clashed in mid-air.

The Qingfengdao team hurriedly accelerated their retreat from the area. This was something Xia Si had mentioned before setting off.

As for the longswords they threw, each of them had prepared three longswords this time.

Within the procession, a blurry figure calmly walked through the crowd, past the horses and oxcarts, heading straight towards the center.

That was the location where Lin Hui and his father, Lin Shunhe, were.

Lin Shunhe was quickly calming the somewhat chaotic group and restoring order.

Suddenly, Old Du behind him sat up straight on his horse.

"Master, Young Master Hui, someone is coming. You'd better avoid them. I'll lead them away first."

(End of this chapter)