Chapter 856: Chapter 350: Tie Wu Gang
The faces of everyone in the hall changed once more.
Quanlin Island is a large island located to the north in Tianhai County, encompassing roughly the area of two counties. The court has established two county governments on Quanlin Island; however, there are seven Fourth Grade families and twenty-four local elite families there, collectively referred to as the “Seven Families and Twenty-Four Surnames.” They make their living through fishing and maritime trade, with each family boasting thousands of members. Due to their wealth and resources, their strength is not weak.
Unexpectedly, within a single night, six of these families were completely wiped out.
“Even a minor force would be troublesome; it is not something our Iron Banner Gang can contend with,” Dan Chiling shook his head. “Our Iron Banner Gang, in East State, barely counts as a significant force, with thirteen Fifth Grade masters at our disposal. However, compared to Extreme East Ice City, this level of strength is negligible.”
He was deeply worried; at the beginning of the year, Chu Xisheng had quelled the Xiushui rebellion, forcing Governor Sikong Chan to flee, which greatly increased the influence of the Iron Banner Gang.
Dan Chiling thought they could finally settle down peacefully, but within just half a year, another upheaval occurred.
Regrettably, he had just summoned several members of the Red Dragon Lineage to Xiushui and was joyfully making money along the Shenxiu River.
Wei Yang was also troubled.
Recently, the remnants of Divine Strategy Camp had contacted him and Li Shenshan.
They even met with Divine Strategy Left General Shui Canglang.
The two were originally quite uneasy.
They cherished the camaraderie of their former colleagues, felt intense anger and hatred towards the death of the Dominating Martial King, and resentment towards the betrayal by the Tieshan Qin Family.
However, Chu Xisheng had shown them tremendous kindness.
If they dragged the Iron Banner Gang into the conflict on behalf of their comrades from Divine Strategy Camp, it would be ungrateful and highly dishonorable.
After the meeting, they realized that Left General Shui Canglang had no such intention.
Divine Strategy Camp, after breaking up, left some soldiers whose families were burdened and unable to make a living. They wanted to leverage the connections of the two to anonymously join the Iron Banner Gang in various positions to support their families.
They also assured that these individuals would withdraw from Divine Strategy Camp and would not participate in any of its actions.
They further vowed not to use the Iron Banner Gang’s name to provoke the government or violate national laws.
Moreover, Divine Strategy Camp wanted to engage in some maritime trade to accumulate wealth.
Wei Yang had no reason to refuse, especially since nearly all the Divine Strategy Camp soldiers were Eighth Rank and excelled in battle formations, which was highly covetable.
Furthermore, Left General Shui Canglang was a man of great integrity; once he made such a promise, he would never go back on it.
In recent days, his Ancient Market Hall and Li Shenshan’s Xiushui Hall had recruited a large number of skilled individuals.
Yet, just over two months later, such a major disaster has occurred.
Wei Yang secretly worried.
He was not afraid of a life-and-death battle; if Extreme East Ice City attacked, he would grab his sword and fight them to the death.
However, Wei Yang feared they would end up dragging their comrades from Divine Strategy Camp down with them.
“Our army excels in naval battles, and strength lies in numbers.” Wei Yang rubbed his forehead. “If it comes to fighting, our Iron Banner Gang can currently mobilize 16,000 elite members, 24,000 West Mountain hunters, 30,000 miners, at least 900 large ships, and 120,000 brothers on both sides of the Great River. But I anticipate that once war breaks out, our people will be hunted down and killed one by one, leaving the Iron Banner Gang leaderless.”
In this past half-year, the Iron Banner Gang, due to its abundant resources, grew like a snowball. However, the high-level experts were still lacking; to this day, there is not a single Fourth Grade to uphold the facade.
Wei Yang was secretly troubled, reflecting on how weak his power still was.
In the past half-year, for some unknown reason, his bloodline talents surged.
With the significant increase in combat strength, he managed to gradually compensate for the repercussions of the technique that enhanced potential six months ago.
However, at present, Wei Yang is still slightly away from the Fifth Grade and therefore unable to consume the secret medicine.
Beside him, Li Shenshan was stroking his chin, thoughtfully saying, “Can we create fog?”
He pondered that if necessary, he could ask for help from his colleagues in Divine Strategy Camp.
Dan Chiling was also inspired, thinking this could be done.
Recently, an ancestor had arrived at his home, whose combat strength was formidable but, like him, could not tolerate the light.
‘Corpse Dog’ Li Manshan raised his eyebrows too.
If they could create fog, he might also invite one or two experts from the Corpse Mountain Sect.
Lately, their Corpse Mountain Sect, with the help of the Iron Banner Gang, had been making great strides in the river transport business.
This favorable situation must not be ruined by Extreme East Ice City.
The Corpse Mountain Sect did not have the courage to confront Extreme East Ice City directly, but hidden in the fog, they could lend a helping hand.
Yet these two did not notice that among the many Fifth Grade individuals seated below them, a few also showed strange expressions on their faces.
“Fog can be created, but it is only suitable for battle formations.”
Tie Xiaosheng recalled the water mist that had enveloped the dock during his fierce battle against Sikong Chan, along with those mysterious experts within the fog.
However, Tie Xiaosheng then shook his head, reflecting that these mysterious experts were at most Fourth Grade, insufficient to counter Extreme East Ice City.
Moreover, if each battle relied on smoke for concealment, what right would they have to be called the Iron Banner Gang? They might as well be called the Iron Fog Gang.
“The leaders of our halls and squads are usually spread out; if Extreme East Ice City sends people to carry out assassinations, what use is it for us to create fog?”
While speaking, Tie Xiaosheng gestured toward the Extreme Ice Sword and the Life and Death Token on the desk before them.
If the person delivering the Life and Death Token were to act, few among the dozens here would likely survive.
And astonishingly, Extreme East Ice City had deployed over two hundred such experts in East State!
“Therefore, my suggestion is to quickly inform the Flag Leader of this matter and seek his decision. Before that, we should disperse and avoid their sharpness.”
Tie Xiaosheng squinted as he scanned everyone present: “Effective immediately, all Squad Leaders and above in the Iron Banner Gang must leave their stations, conceal their identities, and hide among the populace!”