A milky-white mist drifted over the ancient metropolis. The misty rains of Jiangnan were ever hazy and beautiful, falling from the sky in a gentle patter, but at this moment, Lin'an Prefecture had lost every shred of its former tranquility.
An abandoned pleasure barge drifted along the misty river. The drizzling rain washed over corpses whose eyes remained wide open as they turned cold, and the deep crimson puddles dyeing the prefectural yamen reflected the ragged clouds in the sky.
The rain could not extinguish the flames of war, and smoke still hung in every corner.
Lin'an Prefecture's fierce resistance had exceeded everyone's expectations. For most of the Black Scale Army, they had never encountered such an adversary.
In past wars, once a breach was torn into an enemy's battle formation and their city defense arrays collapsed, it signified that victory was already theirs.
Today, however, was different. They had met an elite force no different from themselves.
When the defense arrays collapsed, the defenders fell back on the city walls.
When the city walls were breached and reduced to rubble, the defenders retreated into the ancient streets and alleys.
When the neighborhoods were divided and cut off, they retreated into countless street-facing houses to mount their counterattacks.
Even after the skies were entirely seized by the Black Scale Army and countless demonic birds belonging to the Prime Minister's Manor circled low overhead, the city's garrison still fought to the bitter end.
There was no cowardice. There was no surrender.
Belonging to the same dynasty, both sides slaughtered each other with bloodied courage and unyielding loyalty.
The defensive garrison of Lin'an defended the ancient dignity of the Sect Alliance. With their lives, they proved that although the Sect Alliance suffered from many ailments, it was by no means weak. And with their lives, they completely shattered the Black Scale Army's contempt for future enemies.
Yet as Yuan Hao's iron boot crushed the skull of the defending general who chose death over surrender,
everything came to an end after all.
Or rather,
everything had finally begun.
First day of the twelfth month, forty-seventh year of Jiajing.
The Black Scale Army captured Lin'an, the great metropolis of Jiangnan. The defending general and the entire fifteen-thousand-strong garrison of the Qianlin Army fought to the last man; not a single soul surrendered.
That same evening, three satellite county seats surrounding Lin'an fell in succession. Of their three defending generals, one fell in battle, one surrendered, and one took his own life.
In the early hours of the following day, the iron hooves of the Black Scales trampled the thousand-year-old Qin family. More than ten thousand household retainers were wiped out, and wildfires spread across hundreds of li.
Affected by the military equipment Sunshroud and the qi flow sea generated by the collision of military arrays, communication crystals were disrupted, rendering information impossible to transmit. It was not until noon the next day, when Qin Weishu escaped the chaotic battle lines and reached the Nine Swords Sect, that word began to spread to the world. But the dark clouds of war originating from the Prime Minister's Manor, centered around Lin'an, were already devouring everything across Jiangnan at terrifying speed, bringing ruin and calamity in their wake!
***
Tianyuan Mountain Range.
No one had anticipated that the "gift" Xu Changtian spoke of would arrive so swiftly. Just as Tianye finished speaking and before she could take flight and depart, transmissions from within the Sword Sect's mountain gate echoed in everyone's ears simultaneously.
A deluge of complex intelligence was condensed into barely a dozen words:
*A landing has been made.*
*Lin'an Prefecture has fallen.*
*The Qin family is wiped out.*
*The Nine Swords Sect is besieged.*
A dead, heavy silence descended. The mountain fires ignited by the battle had already been extinguished by techniques, leaving only the rustle of smoldering embers across the entire mountain range.
Someone subconsciously glanced north. The main force of the Prime Minister's Manor should have been north of Hongnong; where had this army staging a surprise attack on Jiangnan come from?
Troop movements could be concealed, but vast logistical supplies could never escape the eyes of scouts. Aside from the Hongnong region, the Chancellor's Manor had not conducted any large-scale movements of supplies in other areas. Soon, however, someone realized that this Black Scale Army launching a surprise attack on Jiangnan was none other than the very enemy they had been bracing for in Hongnong.
How had they pulled it off?
It was hard for them to imagine the level of rigorous coordination the Chancellor's Manor had employed to achieve such a magnificent logistical feat. Yet right now, they had no time to ponder the matter, because—
"We must march our forces north immediately," someone murmured.
Regardless of how the Black Scale Army in northern Hongnong had reached Jiangnan, they ought to seize this opportunity to push north and seize the strategic passes and fortress cities guarding Hongnong's gateway.
In the next instant, however, that speaker was immediately countered:
"No! Our integration is not yet complete, and our military arrays and cultivation methods haven't been standardized. If we advance recklessly and fall into an ambush, the entire Hongnong region will fall as well!"
"The main force of the Chancellor's Manor has already been redirected! If we don't seize this chance to go north, we will remain completely on the back foot once they reinforce!"
"The imperial court doesn't just consist of the Chancellor's Manor! Do you know whether the imperial family has deployed troops north of Hongnong?!"
"You fool! The imperial family hasn't shown the slightest trace of mobilizing troops! That is the consensus of all our intelligence!"
"..."
"..."
The sudden, terrible news sparked fierce arguments and division among the Sect Alliance's upper echelons. Yet in contrast to them, the three figures standing at the pinnacle of the Sect Alliance remained remarkably silent.
Glancing at the expressionless Wen Xinyun nearby, Tianye temporarily abandoned her plan to leave. She chuckled softly and said, "Judging from your expression, it seems you didn't anticipate the gift he prepared for you."
Having abruptly received such devastating news, Wen Xinyun showed little panic. After rapidly weighing the pros and cons in her mind, she replied calmly, "I truly did not foresee it. Our losses this time will likely be heavy, but so long as that Black Scale Army can be trapped in Jiangnan, it will all be worth it."
Jiangnan was unlike other regions. Under her thousand years of stewardship, many things had long been unified. Undertaking a long-distance raid, the Black Scale Army was like rootless duckweed. The current losses were merely due to being caught off guard. As long as they weathered the enemy's opening offensive, the invaders would become bogged down in a mire of war, unable to advance an inch.
Tianye pondered for a moment, then asked earnestly in a low voice, "Do you require the assistance of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion?"
Wen Xinyun raised an eyebrow and looked over. Seeing Tianye's expression, she said in a clear voice, "Your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion would never help me. Kicking someone when they are down in words alone is a rather petty amusement, Pavilion Master."
Tianye's eyes curved into a smile upon hearing this. "Petty indeed, but it brings peace to my mind."
At this point, Tianye exhaled a wisp of immortal breath, her smile fading. "According to the intelligence gathered by my Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's surveillance of you prior to the arrival of Eternal Night, while Jiangnan is not your only trump card, it is certainly your heaviest.
"Are you so calm because of your arrangements in Di'an?"
"..."
Wen Xinyun fell silent for a moment, then replied without expression, "I see no reason to inform you of that, Pavilion Master."
"If you are willing to tell me, my Overseeing Heaven Pavilion could provide you with a battalion of elite troops."
"You jest, Pavilion Master. The situation is dire, so forgive me for not lingering. Farewell."
With those words, giving Tianye no chance to reply, Wen Xinyun transformed into a streak of light that shot into the sky, streaking toward the southwest with a grim expression.
Watching her figure recede into the distance until it vanished, Tianye shook her head with a faint trace of amusement.
"...She truly grew anxious after all."
With that, Tianye looked back toward the north. The smile in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sigh of emotion.
The schemer had been outmaneuvered by the schemes of Di'an.
She only wondered: what would become of Di'an, which was in turn the target of the schemer's designs?
Chapter 786