The Prefect's Mansion of Beidi Commandery.
Si Yan, a disciple of Master Ma San, lay sprawled on a chair in the Prefect's mansion. Seated below him was a middle-aged man, Guo Tu, who had defected and joined the bandits after switching sides at the Liangzhou prefectural office.
"Report, leader. The team sent to Tianshui to transport beauties has returned," a bandit reported from outside the hall.
Si Yan raised his head and glanced over. He was exhausted and drained from the constant cloud of intrigue.
Seeing this, Guo Tu waved his hand, signaling for them to enter.
Clang!
The bandits who had been transporting beauties stumbled in, their bodies drenched in sweat, legs trembling.
They glanced up at Si Yan, who was resting with his eyes closed. They swallowed hard and spoke with a shaky voice.
"Lead... Leader."
"Master Ma San~~ he~"
"What happened to Master Ma San?"
Guo Tu immediately kicked the bandit, who yelped in pain.
"General, Master Ma San... he's dead!"
As soon as the bandit finished speaking, he collapsed to the side, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from him, gasping for breath.
"What did you say?"
Si Yan's eyes snapped open, his gaze narrowing.
Who was Master Ma San? In the Liangzhou region, who dared to provoke him? Dead? Impossible!
A flicker of light flashed in Guo Tu's eyes, then quickly vanished. He grabbed the bandit by the collar. "Say that again!"
Si Yan stared intently as well.
"The Grand Chief has been murdered, his head hung in Tianshui city! Not only that, but Wudu has also been completely annihilated!"
Bang!
Si Yan appeared in front of the bandit in an instant, kicking his belly open with a burst of blood.
Guo Tu looked at the enraged Si Yan and his expression tightened. "Fourth Master, Master Ma San is no ordinary man. Do not blindly believe the words of some nobody!"
"No! For the past few days, I've felt an inexplicable unease, a constant闷 (mēn - stuffiness/anxiety). It's possible something has indeed happened in Tianshui, but my master must be fine!"
Si Yan stared blankly at Guo Tu. "General, you wouldn't be hiding anything from me, would you!"
Si Yan narrowed his eyes, exuding an aura of quiet authority that locked onto Guo Tu.
"Heh heh! Fourth Master jest. Guo is merely a dog by Fourth Master's side. What could possibly be hidden from you!"
Guo Tu's palms began to sweat. Although he was also at the fifth level of Xiantian, Si Yan was highly valued by Master Ma San and undoubtedly possessed unknown secrets.
Hearing Guo Tu's words, Si Yan turned his head. "Notify the brothers. We'll increase our vigilance. Even a fly will have nowhere to hide!"
As soon as the words left his mouth!
Swish swish swish!
Suddenly, a heaven-shattering roar echoed through the void, piercingly loud. The powerful shockwave shook the hall.
"What's happening outside?"
Si Yan rushed out of the hall, his eyes contracting sharply as he saw a dense rain of arrows in his pupils.
The arrow rain, covering the sky, swept in from outside the city, causing the void to whistle. Whoosh~~
Hiss!
A blade-light, swift as thunder, instantly exploded near the fortress of Beidi Commandery, sending waves of fire across the sky.
"No!"
Guo Tu's eyes turned bloodshot. That was the army he had painstakingly trained, his revolutionary capital. He had envisioned a day when he would march into the Liangzhou prefectural office and avenge his deep hatred.
Alas!
A deafening roar erupted from the fortress, making the earth tremble.
"Fourth Master, quickly, quickly notify the brothers to rush to the fortress for support! Fourth Master, there are tens of thousands of regular troops there! They cannot be destroyed like this!"
Watching the fortress engulfed in flames, Guo Tu roared hysterically at Si Yan.
"Fourth Master, please..."
Time seemed to drag on, and Guo Tu's hope gradually extinguished. Behind him, Si Yan's eyes showed no trace of pity. Sudian Novel Network.
It was as if his own troops were not the ones dying!
Guo Tu's heart bled, his gaze growing terrifying. Suddenly, he whirled around and glared fiercely at Si Yan. "It's all you, it's all your fault!"
"You should have killed me with a single blow back then!"
Guo Tu roared and lunged at Si Yan.
"Hmph!"
Si Yan snorted coldly. A coward afraid of death, yet he dared to dream of a comeback? Such pettiness?
"Die!"
He unleashed a blade strike, lightning crackling on the blade-light!
Boom!
Suddenly, a blade-light streaked across the sky. The intense explosive force tore the air apart, the sharp sonic boom echoing throughout Beidi.
In an instant, it slashed horizontally towards Si Yan and Guo Tu!
"Heh heh!"
Si Yan blocked with his long saber, shaking Guo Tu off with a single strike. He then thrust out a palm, tearing open Guo Tu's chest.
Bang!
He kicked Guo Tu towards the incoming blade-light.
Boom!
Zzzt zzzt zzzt!
The blade-light was sharp and suddenly roared with light, instantly engulfing Guo Tu.
Rumble!
The shockwave rolled, and the powerful impact tore Guo Tu to shreds, accompanied by an explosion, scattering blood rain everywhere!
Si Yan wiped away the splattered blood, his eyes fixed on the exploding void.
A figure flashed out, charging forward at extreme speed.
Swish!
A saber strike descended, and nearby houses instantly collapsed. The crisp air was immediately swept by a killing aura.
Not good.
Boom!
A saber strike rapidly slammed towards Si Yan, powerfully colliding with his long saber.
Si Yan's long saber vibrated violently, his tiger's mouth bursting open, and the saber flew out!
"Blade intent, that's blade intent!"
Si Yan's pupils widened as a brilliant blade-light pierced through. He quickly twisted his body.
Whoosh!
A streak of light flashed across Si Yan's body and then vanished without a trace.
Hum hum!
Si Yan's body was enveloped in golden light, dense like a spiderweb, covering him entirely and oozing blood.
"I..."
Bang!
His corpse exploded. A figure landed not far away. As the dust settled, it was Liao Hua, who led the army campaigning in Beidi.
He had intended to rest for a while before campaigning again, but upon learning that Guo Tu had left the fortress, Liao Hua knew his opportunity had arrived.
Guo Tu was narrow-minded and cowardly. When he witnessed the destruction of his life's work before his own eyes, he would surely vent his anger on Si Yan, who treated him with disdain.
A cornered man would fight back.
But he hadn't expected Si Yan to use the enemy's force against him, sending Guo Tu to Liao Hua's blade.
"Kill!"
The shouts of war reverberated, explosions booming like thunder.
After annihilating the enemy forces at the fortress, ten thousand troops fanned out, encircling the bandits.
Clang!
Saber and spear clashed, sparks flying, dust swirling, heads were severed and tossed aside, blood flowed like a river.
In an instant, corpses piled up like mountains, shattered bones and flesh ground into mud by the hooves of horses.
"Annihilate all the bandits, leave none alive! Kill!"
Ten thousand troops roared, fighting to the heavens!
Half an hour later, the Xiliang bandits, who had swept across half of Liangzhou, were all executed. This battle cleared the southern part of Xiliang.