I manage female characters in all the heavens.

This time, I absorbed the martial arts knowledge and insights of nearly a thousand people. This is not something that can be fully digested in a short period of time. I need to go into seclusion to absorb and organize it properly, and turn it into my own to increase my foundation and wisdom.

Given her enhanced mental and intellectual capacity from multiple tutoring sessions, as well as her already high level of foundation, this process won't take too long, but it's not negligible.

She roughly calculated that it should take about one or two days to complete.

"Yu Yan, Yu Feng, you two stay here and focus on solving the Six Ren Divine Dice puzzle. I'm going into seclusion."

Jiang Yuyan and Jiang Yufeng looked at each other, at a loss for what to do with the Six Ren Divine Dice.

This is the legendary Six Ren Divine Dice! Countless masters who have obtained it have studied it, but no one has been able to solve it.

Why does Lord Eiri have so much confidence in us?

……

The Demon Extermination Alliance's first campaign ended in a crushing defeat, and the fearsome reputation of the Sun-Reflecting Demoness swept through the entire martial arts world like a plague.

The long line of corpses that shot into the sky above Anqing city walls that day became a lifelong nightmare for all those who witnessed it.

But hatred does not dissipate because of fear; on the contrary, it grows even more frenzied in the soil of fear.

The Demon Extermination Army has been established and is currently undergoing intensive training.

The second war to destroy the demons must not repeat the mistakes of the past.

"We need time to recruit truly strong individuals and prepare sufficient weaponry and formations. Two months—two months to perfect our preparations. After two months, we will ensure that the Demon Lord Yingri is utterly destroyed!"

The news spread, and the entire martial arts world held its breath in anticipation.

Everyone knows that the next storm will be even more violent than the first; it will be a decisive battle between good and evil that will go down in history.

Even though there is only one person on the evil side, it will undoubtedly still be an earth-shattering war!

However, before the Demon Extermination Alliance's army could complete its assembly, another, larger, more ruthless, and more advanced force had already arrived in Anqing City.

The Eastern Depot.

The head of the Jiangdong branch was named Wang Weiyang, a ruthless general who had fought his way out of the terrifying and violent machine of the Eastern Depot.

He had a sinister face and extremely high martial arts skills, almost comparable to Jiang Biehe. He was a top-tier master who could roam freely in the martial arts world.

This time, Governor Liu happy was furious in the capital and issued only one order: "Yingri must die and bring me his head, or you can bring me your own head."

Wang Weiyang dared not be negligent in the slightest.

He almost completely emptied the military forces of the Jiangdong branch. Apart from the necessary personnel and spies, thousands of elite Dongchang warriors came out in full force, exuding a murderous aura.

What's even more suffocating is the other force he mobilized—the Jiangdong garrison.

The Jiangdong garrison was an elite force established by the imperial court along the coast to defend against Japanese pirates and other piracy.

They fought against vicious ronin and cunning pirates year after year in storms and bloodshed, and were soldiers who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, far superior to the garrison troops in the interior who had never seen blood.

The 160,000 battle-hardened elite troops constituted the imperial court's greatest deterrent force along the southeastern coast.

What's even more frightening is that, as the only army of the imperial court that needs to conduct naval operations, the Jiangdong garrison is not only equipped with a large number of warships, but also with hundreds of cannons and its own dedicated artillery battalion.

With a single order, Wang Weiyang mobilized 50,000 troops, including the entire artillery battalion!

As the emperor's trusted confidant, the Eastern Depot wielded unimaginable power, far exceeding the bounds of propriety.

It sounds absurd that a mere head of a Jiangdong branch could mobilize the Jiangdong garrison, but this was the power that the emperor had specially granted to the Eastern Depot.

Warhorses neighed, and armor clanged!

Fifty thousand heavily armed soldiers surged out of Anqing like an iron torrent, completely surrounding the bustling city.

The military camps stretched for miles, with smoke rising from the chimneys and a murderous aura, and banners fluttering in the wind, exuding a chilling and ominous atmosphere.

The defense of Anqing City was taken over directly, and the garrison had no courage to refuse or resist.

Soon, the army entered the city, surrounded the city lord's mansion, and the streets were filled with armored soldiers.

The entire area within a hundred meters of the City Lord's Mansion is under control!

After the army was in position, Wang Weiyang had absolutely no interest in negotiating.

He didn't even bother to send someone to inform the city lord in the city lord's mansion, to tell him to hand over Yingri, or to get away from it and avoid being implicated.

The lord of Anqing was of a high rank. Theoretically, the handling of officials of the rank of lord required reporting to the emperor for a personal decision.

But they act first and report later, which is a special permission granted by the emperor. That's just how the Eastern Depot is; they can kill without hesitation!

In the eyes of the Eastern Depot, a local city lord was nothing more than a watchdog that could be crushed at any time.

"Pass on my order!"

Wang Weiyang sat upright on his tall horse, his riding whip pointing towards the city lord's mansion, its outline sharply defined in the setting sun. His eyes were devoid of any warmth, only filled with icy killing intent.

"Artillery barrage! Aim at the City Lord's Mansion!"

"Smash it! Whoever is inside, I want that mansion, along with the demons inside, reduced to dust!"

In this world, the city lord's mansion is often built like an inner fortress, so forcibly attacking the city lord's mansion is no less than attacking the city itself.

Since he had cannons, Wang Weiyang wasn't stupid enough to throw people's lives away.

"As ordered!"

As the order was given, the military formation split open, and rows of dark cannons were pushed out.

These cannons were enormous, their barrels gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the setting sun, their dark muzzles pointed at the heart of Anqing City—the City Lord's Mansion.

The artillerymen skillfully loaded gunpowder and shells, adjusted the firing angle, and moved swiftly and accurately.

Hundreds of cannons were lined up in a row, and the silent oppressive feeling made the air in the entire city seem to freeze.

On the gate tower of the city lord's mansion.

The city lord of Anqing had already collapsed to the ground. Through the cracks in the wall, he saw the grim military formation and the dark muzzles of cannons outside. He was so frightened that his face turned pale, and his whole body trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind. There was even a foul stench coming from his crotch.

"It's...it's all over...it's really all over now!" The city lord's voice was choked with sobs as he wailed in despair.

"Fifty thousand troops! That's a full fifty thousand troops! And so many cannons! Those are things that can blast down city walls! We're doomed, there's no way out!"

Tears streamed down his face as he prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, seemingly begging for the protection of all the gods and Buddhas, or for the army outside to spare his life.

Jiang Yuyan stood in the hall, her face pale beneath the exquisite ice crystal mask.

She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh.

Fifty thousand troops, hundreds of cannons... this is a force that no human can withstand; it is enough to destroy cities and fortresses.

No matter how high an individual's martial arts skills are, how long can they hold out against an army formation and heavy firepower of this scale?

For the first time, she began to waver in her belief that "Lord Eiri is invincible."

Jiang Yufeng stood beside her sister, her face also pale, but she forced herself to remain calm. However, her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her inner fear.

"Does Lord Eiri have any orders?" she couldn't help but ask.

Jiang Yuyan shook her head, her voice filled with confusion: "I called out to her in her secluded chamber, but there was no response..."

The entire city lord's mansion was instantly plunged into a deathly silence of despair.

After all the artillery pieces were loaded and aimed, Wang Weiyang did not hesitate and waved his hand:

"put!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening cannon blast erupted!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hundreds of cannons fired simultaneously!

A huge burst of fire erupted from the cannon muzzle, like a series of thunderclaps exploding on flat ground, and thick smoke and flames instantly covered half the sky!

Hundreds of heavy cannonballs, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, hurtled towards the city lord's mansion like meteors, leaving trails of death in their wake!

At this moment, the world lost its color!

The explosions of artillery fire and light, like lightning, illuminated the fearful and desperate faces on the gate tower.

It also captured the murderous faces of the approaching army with crystal clarity.

The city lord let out a pig-like scream, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Jiang Yuyan and Jiang Yufeng held each other's hands tightly, staring intently at the incoming shells, a sigh rising in their hearts.

Lord Eiri, see you in the next life...

Just as the shell was about to fall!

Boom! ...

A deafening roar, far more terrifying and muffled than a cannon salvo, erupted from the depths of the city lord's mansion!

A pale golden figure, like a comet flying against the current, suddenly crashed through the thick soil of the basement, pierced through layers of floors and the roof, and soared into the sky amidst a cloud of rubble and dust!

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, "Tie Xinlan" had her long hair dancing wildly behind her, and her body was shrouded in a layer of cold, almost tangible, Mingyu True Qi.

The eighth level of Mingyu Gong was broken through in one fell swoop!

She stood proudly in the void, looking down at the 50,000-strong army below, which resembled ants, and the artillery positions that spewed fire. Her eyes were filled with a godlike indifference, as if she looked down on all living beings and manipulated everything.

Faced with hundreds of iron ball cannonballs that were already flying overhead and about to blast the entire city lord's mansion into pieces, she simply slowly extended a fair and jade-like palm.

Then, facing the rain of bullets, he spread his five fingers and gently clenched them!

The Absorption Technique is operating at full power!

call--!!!

An invisible, violent suction force erupted from her center!

This suction force was no longer simply devouring; it transformed into an enormous, transparent vortex that spun and tore wildly above her head like an ocean eye!

The air was torn apart, emitting a sharp, piercing whistle!

On the ground, countless pebbles, tiles, and broken weapons were forcibly sucked up and drawn into that terrifying vortex!

The cannonballs that were capable of destroying cities and splitting rocks were like sinking into an incredibly viscous swamp the moment they came into contact with the cyclone's range. Their terrifying kinetic energy was drastically weakened and deflected!

Immediately afterwards, under the unreasonable pull of the Absorption Technique, these shells not only did not fall, but were forcibly changed direction, and were "swallowed" by the cyclone like swallows returning to their nests!

"Here you go!"

Lord Yingri let out a long, exhilarating roar and pressed down with his right hand!