280: Chapter 202: Who Did This?
(Subscribe Please)_4 280: Chapter 202: Who Did This?
(Subscribe Please)_4 “Clang!
Chu Xisheng’s first sword strike was blocked, but his second severed the man’s head from his neck.
On his left and right, seventy gang members from the Xi Character Altar had already charged into the opposing, disintegrating cavalry formation, beginning a massacre with their irresistible force.
Fifteen minutes later, the fog above Wen Family Castle began to dissipate.
The two thousand soldiers of the West Mountain County Army, under Yan Guo’s command, had advanced to within three miles of the northeast side of Wen Family Castle.
They halted and set up their formation on the spot.
Yan Guo sat on his horse, his complexion pale as paper, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Although there were still some patches of fog inside and outside Wen Family Castle, there were hardly any noises coming from inside.
Even an idiot could tell that this exceptionally sturdy dock had been taken by West Mountain Hall.
What made Yan Guo’s scalp tingle and heart tremble even more was the fact that many Sixth Grade experts, including Yue Wei and Cloud Crane Saber Yienyang, had fallen utterly silent.
As if hidden within that fog, an ancient, fierce beast had silently devoured and digested these powerful martial cultivators.
Yan Guo involuntarily tightened his grip on the reins.
He knew that both Shangguan Shen Hao and the Lord County Captain had underestimated West Mountain Hall and misjudged the enemy’s strength.
Things were becoming problematic—
The question was, where did West Mountain Hall find such experts?
Chu Xisheng was unaware of Yan Guo’s thoughts; he was inside the dock, tallying the loot with his subordinates.
By now, all remaining enemies within the castle had been completely wiped out, and all members of the Wen Family were either dead by suicide or captured.
However, what everyone was more concerned about was the spoils of battle.
“—There are seven granaries in the fort, two of which have been burnt.
The remaining ones have about fifty thousand stones of grain each.
In the underground silver vault, there is Demon Silver amounting to one hundred and seventy thousand taels, Divine Gold twelve thousand taels, and various materials and medicines worth an estimated forty thousand taels.
The Wen Family, backed by the West Mountain, regularly organized manor guards for hunting in the mountains.
Various pelts, bones, sinews, and the like are priced at sixty thousand Demon Silver.”
The one reporting the results of the inventory was Lu Pingyuan.
Originally, Liu Ruoxi was the chief accountant.
However, to free up more time for Liu Ruoxi to cultivate, Chu Xisheng, after recruiting Lu Pingyuan, appointed him as the deputy chief accountant, responsible for handling the affairs of the account room.
Liu Ruoxi need only supervise on a regular basis.
“—In addition, various rooms provided approximately fifty thousand taels’ worth of various gold and silver jewelry.
The Wen Family also possesses five hundred acres of prime farmland and various pieces of furniture, paintings, and the like, which we could neither count in detail nor appraise in value for the time being, so let’s set that aside for now.
Moreover, there are thirty Magic Artifact Level Iron Armors, four hundred and fifty Magic Artifact Level leather armors, five hundred Magic Artifact Level long and short swords, two hundred Magic Artifact Level leather shields, sixty Military Heavy Crossbows, two hundred and forty handheld crossbows, and three hundred Ten-stone Heavy Bows.
There are about a thousand other weapons that are not of Magic Artifact Level.”
—Most of the armor originated from the West Mountain County Army; the Wen Family’s own armor did not exceed a hundred and fifty sets, and there were no Iron Armors at all.
Li Shenshan and others were listening to the side, their joy beyond words.
Chu Xisheng had already promised them that after repaying all debts and submitting their taxes, they would take out forty percent of the loot to share amongst themselves, according to the rules of the gang.
Li Shenshan was already fantasizing about being able to pay off his debt to Chu Xisheng and possibly acquiring a War Map or two for himself.
At that moment, Lu Pingyuan’s brow furrowed, his expression solemn.
“In addition, I searched the entire dock and could not find the bodies of Wen Tiance and Cloud Crane Saber Yienyang, and two external experts from the Sheen Family, Sheen Yunfei and Sheen Yunxiang, are nowhere to be seen alive or dead.
Besides, there should be thirty-three Seventh Rank experts in this dock, but I found only twenty-three bodies, the rest were nowhere to be found.”
As he spoke, the atmosphere among the various altar masters and vice altar masters seated before Chu Xisheng suddenly changed and grew colder by degrees.
Li Shenshan and Wei Yang looked sharply around, their expressions filled with suspicion as they scrutinized everyone present.
They had already found it strange that during their rampant looting inside the dock, they had not seen the Sixth Grade martial cultivators from the fort lift a finger to stop them.
Xiaang Kui narrowed his eyes, instinctively gripping the sword in his hand tighter.
He pondered how this West Mountain Hall indeed had its secrets.
He had only killed three Seventh Rank experts and dissolved three bodies; who had been responsible for the others?
And how could West Mountain Hall, established less than two months ago with only two Seventh Rank experts, possibly take down Wen Family Castle!
—It was exceedingly suspicious!
However, it couldn’t have been the Chu siblings.
Chu Xisheng had been using his Sword Intent to suppress the entire scene, his whereabouts clear and visible.
The Suan Ni beast summoned by Chu Yunyun had also been fighting the enemy all along.
Inside West Mountain Hall, there must be hidden experts.
Wang Zheng also had a solemn face, his gaze discreetly sweeping across the crowd.
He too had stealthily eliminated three targets—
This West Mountain Hall is indeed interesting!
It appears to be filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Lu Luanti too furrowed her brows, crossed her arms over her chest, and put on a clueless facade as she scanned the crowd, seemingly searching for the real murderer who killed Wen Tiance and the others.
She had a false body conjured by her family’s Illusion Technique fighting in the rear, which served as her alibi.
The confiscated Magic Artifacts were also buried by her in a forest a mile outside the castle, so Lu Luanti was confident and displayed impressive acting skills.
Li Shenshan and Wei Yang glanced at her without much suspicion.
In their senses, Lu Luanti was always fighting in the rear.
——This child is not bad in strength, matching that of a Seventh Rank, capable of holding the position of an altar master, though her combat achievements are few.
Chu Xisheng, on the other hand, was expressionless.
He knew what was going on, the bodies had been dissolved by Corpse Dissolving Water.
Lu Pingyuan still did not know that Yue Wei and Sheen Yunxiang had already died at the hands of Chu Yunyun, their bones crushed and scattered.
This altar master of the Original Character Platform had many virtues, but he was too honest.
Always mentioning the most inconvenient topics——
This matter was not good to discuss openly.
“There’s such a thing?
No one seen alive, and no corpses in death?”
Chu Xisheng stroked his chin thoughtfully before waving his sleeve grandly, “They probably saw the situation was hopeless and ran off.
They are nothing but a bunch of spineless cowards; let them run, no need to mind them.”
The crowd was speechless upon hearing this.
They thought to themselves that this was a ridiculous excuse!
How could four Sixth Grade warriors just run without showing their faces?
Even if they were cowardly, they should have appeared for a few exchanges before escaping.
However, since Chu Xisheng had said so, they found it difficult to refute.
After all, West Mountain Hall had already won, and the outcome was decided.
As for the process——most people present didn’t care much.
Chu Xisheng’s gaze had already shifted, now looking at the six people kneeling beside him.
They were of different ages, but they all dressed like sorcerers.
These people were sorcerers who had been forced to surrender in this battle.
“Execute the Tributor Masters from the Sheen Family,” said Chu Xisheng, not wanting to waste energy on the sorcerers from the Sheen Family, as it was impossible to win them over anyway.
Instantly, three of the six people turned pale and collapsed to the ground.
And just after they were dragged away, Chu Xisheng, with a beaming and amiable expression, looked at the remaining three, “Gentlemen sorcerers, I wish to hire you to serve West Mountain Hall, offering a monthly salary of three hundred taels per person.
What are your thoughts?”
For West Mountain Hall currently, the sorcerers were a weak segment, unable to rely solely on Chu Yunyun.
The three sorcerers were visibly delighted.
Three hundred taels each was a quite generous salary.
As Eighth Rank sorcerers, their monthly pay at the Wen’s was only two hundred eighty taels.
With the example of the three Sheen Family sorcerers in front of them——
They all knelt down, bowing their heads deeply, “We are willing to serve you, our lord, with the loyalty of a dog or a horse!”
Chu Xisheng burst into laughter, stood tall, hand on his sword, and cast a domineering gaze over everyone present, “Let those surrendered manor guards quickly load the gold and silver treasure onto carts!
Ignore the provisions for now, just seal them with the government’s mark.
Master Lu, leave some men to watch over it.
If anyone dares to burn the provisions, do not stop them; just try to understand their background, and I will make sure they pay back tenfold.
The rest of West Mountain Hall, gather up immediately, we march for Yunhe Manor!”
Li Shenshan’s expression shifted as he saluted with a fist, “Leader, two thousand troops from the West Mountain County Army are three miles to the northeast outside the castle, blocking our way to Yunhe Manor.
How should we deal with these county soldiers?”
Chu Xisheng smiled slyly, “Do I even need to ask?
The whole army will press forward and roll over them!
Today, within fifty miles around West Mountain, anyone who blocks me will die!”
Wei Yang’s spirit lifted, and a rush of pride surged within him.
He thought that this young leader of West Mountain Hall was indeed awe-inspiring.
Wei Yang stepped forward, bowing with a fist, “Leader!
The Yang Character Altar volunteers to lead the charge.”
He owed Chu Xisheng two lives.
One life for Liu Ruoxi and another for himself.
But since joining West Mountain Hall, he had not yet earned any significant merits.
Today was a perfect opportunity to start with these county soldiers——