Stealing The Heavens
chapter-50

Although Xiaohei was not a smart man, he still managed to report what had happened in the past two months to Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng, though he did it using the simplest words.

After Yan Bugui brought all strong warriors away from Little Meng City, Liu Suifeng’s remaining personal guards, who were under the command of Liu Zhong, became the strongest force in Little Meng City. No matter whether it was their equipment, spirit, cultivation level or even the level of their training, this team of guards had the ability to defeat all of the several thousand City Guards.

Besides having such a powerful force, Liu Zhong also had the official documents and tokens of Liu Suifeng, which allowed him to supervise all the military-related affairs.

When Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng left Little Meng City, Liu Zhong became overbearing and domineering. He openly asked those auditors to make up some fraudulent transactions and blame them on Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng. After that, he burned all the original account books to ashes.

Then he bribed and threatened all the wealthy tradesmen in Little Meng City, asking them to frame Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng, and made up over a hundred crimes, which involved taking bribes, bending the law, abduction of innocent girls, disturbing the order of business, and much, much more. All of them had motives, evidence, and witnesses, and they all became undeniable cases.

Lastly, he called on all those previous military officials who were expelled by Wu Qi from the City Guards, asking them to stand out and blame countless crimes on Lu Chengfeng. Those crimes included the burglary case of coffer room happened when Yi Yan was the mayor, and Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi had become the main culprits.

After spending almost a month’s time, Liu Zhong had laid out an almost perfect trap, a trap full of crimes that could make Wu Qi and Lu Chengfeng die a thousand times. Next, he impatiently took out the token of the Supervisory Officer, preparing to take over the authority of Little Meng City’s City Guards by force.

Those expelled City Guards officially became his footmen, one after another were following behind Liu Zhong happily to take control over the military.

Although Xiaohei was not a smart person, he had remembered Lu Chengfeng’s order and tried his best to hold back the City Guards and avoid fighting with Liu Zhong’s men. But Liu Zhong just kept stepping over his limits. When Liu Zhong had led his men and broken all the limbs of few City Guards who didn’t want to follow his order, Meng Xiaobai and the rest of the men from Meng Village exploded in anger.

How could these simple and upright villagers from Meng Village be tolerant of someone like Liu Zhong? For the past month, all those messy matters had really pissed off these villagers. No one knew who the first one to strike was, but these villagers led nearly thousand City Guards and clashed with the guards led by Liu Zhong.

After the fight, over eight hundred City Guards were killed, seventy of whom were from Meng Village. On the other side, only a couple dozen of Liu Zhong’s guards were seriously wounded, and another dozen of them had some minor injuries. The powerful nine-bolts crossbows had caused great damage to the City Guards, and, at the same time, helped Liu Zhong’s men conserve their manpower.

More than two hundred City Guards, including Meng Xiaobai, were captured and imprisoned. Liu Zhong had his men keep torturing these City Guards, and some of them were beaten to death. From time to time, Liu Zhong would ask his men to drag a few dead bodies and hang them on top of the City Gate as a warning.

Since it was the villagers from Meng Village who ‘led the charge’ against Liu Zhong, he furiously made up an accusation and claimed Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi were trying to stage an armed rebellion with City Guards. Those ex-officials of the City Guards and some of the wealthy tradesmen within the city all signed their names on the accusation decree.

The incident became abominable when Liu Zhong led a huge group of men to capture Laohei and Xiaohei. Xiaohei immediately brought all the City Guards and the other soldiers and ran out of the city. After that, he went to the boot camp within the woods and called out all the new recruits, charging towards Little Meng City and besieged the city.

Although Xiaohei led a huge group of soldiers, they lacked in training and equipment. Those personal guards led by Liu Zhong were much more powerful than them and had better equipment. They also obtained the help of some of the personal guards of the wealthy tradesmen. But, since they were outnumbered, they could barely hold their defense in the city.

Both parties dared not to strike carelessly, so it had been a standoff for the last seven days.

After learning of the situation, especially when he learned that the villagers from Meng Village were killed and Meng Xiaobai was imprisoned and tortured, Wu Qi was so furious that he exploded like a bomb. He immediately jumped onto the City Gate and kicked off a few guards. Afterward, he gave out the order to begin the siege.

Lu Chengfeng frowned when he learned the current situation. He gritted his teeth furiously and said, "The barbarians struck out for revenge! They attacked Little Meng City and killed these few hundred personal guards of Marquis Liu. The city wall of Little Meng City was broken through by these barbarians and they killed many wealthy tradesmen within the city!"

Emitting a harsh killing intent, Lu Chengfeng snapped, "Begin the siege! Siege the city! No mercy for those who fight back!"

Xiaohei had waited for this moment long enough. After the order was given by Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi, he swung his halberd and shouted out loud.

Over twenty thousand of the City Guards roared at the same time and started charging toward Little Meng City.

Wu Qi was like a wolf among sheep. He quickly proceeded to slaughter everyone on the city gate. He repeatedly struck out with both palms, each strike carrying a few hundred pounds of force. Although those personal guards of Liu Suifeng were considered elite soldiers, how could they defend themselves from the attack of a Xiantian realm cultivator? Guard after guard was slapped by Wu Qi’s powerful attack, falling off the gate while screaming out in pain. Soft innate water energy entered into their bodies and shattered all their internal organs in an instant.

Liu Zhong was wearing a red robe and standing on top of the city gate. Previously, he had been condescendingly scolding Xiaohei, but now his face turned pale and he was falling back under the protection of his guards. At the same time, he pointed his finger at Wu Qi and snapped, "Wu Qi, where is my Marquis? Since you are back, our Marquis should also be back? If you dare to act recklessly, my Marquis won’t let you off! Who do you think you are?! How dare you challenge our Marquis!"

Wu Qi killed a guard with a powerful kick, then gazed at Liu Zhong and let out a cruel laugh, "What is all this shit about your Marquis? Liu Suifeng was killed in the forest by some poisonous bugs released by those barbarians. His dead body has started to rot now! Yet you still have time to wreak havoc here? I suggest you spend some time and think how to inform Lord Puyang of this news!"

"He is dead?" Liu Zhong’s face instantly turned green. He sat on the floor and said with a hoarse voice, "Dead? Impossible! Two Xiantian level cultivators were protecting Marquis, how could those barbarians possibly kill him?"

Outside City Gate, Lu Chengfeng sprinted to the side of the three hanger-ons of Liu Suifeng, quickly swung his sword and chopped off their heads. He then pulled up Liu Suifeng’s dead body and threw it at the City Gate. With a fierce expression, he shouted, "Here is Liu Suifeng’s dead body! Liu Zhong, do you still dare to challenge me? You are just an old dog, a bastard that is no better than my fart. Do you really dare to challenge me?"

Liu Suifeng’s dead body slammed onto the City Gate forcefully and then fell to the ground and rolled a few times.

Liu Zhong instantly recognized his master’s face and he burst into tears, "Oh Marquis, why are you dead? What am I going to do? Old master will kill all my family members! I, your servant, have done everything according to your orders, and finally laid out all the accusations that could get Lu Chengfeng killed. Why did you have to die now? How am I going to tell old master about your death?"

It wasn’t just Liu Zhong who collapsed. Those personal guards of Liu Suifeng were struck by the news too. By working for a wealthy and influential family, these guards’ lives were tied together with Liu Suifeng’s life. When Liu Suifeng was living the high life, they would be able to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle too. Now that Liu Suifeng was dead, all of them had to die together with him!

Sounds of clanging were heard coming from all over the place, as more than half of these personal guards dropped their weapons. They felt as if their very soul had been frozen by the news.

Lu Chengfeng stepped onto the head of Old Devil, who was laying on the ground, and smashed it into a messy red and white mixture. Lu Chengfeng shouted out, "Damn it, those barbarians had broken through the city wall and killed Old Devil! My people, charge into the city. I give you the permission to seize all the belongings of those wealthy tradesmen!"

Lu Chengfeng had become quite savage. Since Liu Zhong had set up all these traps and framed him, if he didn’t fight back, his death was almost assured. Also, those wealthy tradesmen had the audacity to join up with Liu Zhong and set their own acting Mayor up. Since they were so willing to betray him, what was the point of having these wealthy tradesmen here anyway?

‘Just blame everything on those barbarians.’ After all, Little Meng City was known for being assaulted by them on a regular basis. What was so strange to have few wealthy tradesmen killed by them? After killing all those wealthy tradesmen in Little Meng City, it wouldn’t take long for new tradesmen to come here, like how flies came in swarm after smelling the scent of rotting meat. The death of those tradesmen wouldn’t affect the prosperity of Little Meng City at all. After all these wealthy tradesmen were killed, their wealth would be used in exchange for the loyalty of City Guards. It was simply the most appropriate thing to do.

In addition to that, these City Guards had done this seemingly immoral deed under his command. As a result, they would definitely follow him devotedly. What did this mean? This was called a dark vow! So, what was the big deal about killing all the wealthy tradesmen in the city?

A faded earthy yellow energy was gathering around Lu Chengfeng’s body. He circulated his internal energy and took a few big steps toward the City Gate of Little Meng City. Then, with a powerful force, he punched the center of the gate. While Yi Yan was the Mayor, the poor City Gate had never been properly maintained. How could it withstand the punch of a Xiantian level cultivator?

With just a single punch, the City Gate was shattered into a thousand pieces. These fragments flew at high speed and killed a dozen personal guards who worked for some of the wealthy tradesmen.

Lu Chengfeng waved his hand and growled, "Surround the city from all sides. No one is allowed to enter or leave the city. Wu Qi, watch the sky above, and don’t let any single carrier pigeon, sparrow-hawk, or eagle leave the city. Stop all the birds! Kill, kill all the wealthy tradesmen in the city! We shall evenly split up all their belongings among the city guards!

Xiaohei snarled crazily, immediately led a few thousand City Guards and charged into the city. Zhang Hu and Hu Wei were each leading a troop respectively, storming into the city from the other two City Gates.

Lu Chengfeng turned around and walked in front of those warriors who had just pledged their loyalty to him. He stared at these warriors, who had their face turning red and were covering themselves with a rolling energy, and shouted, "Follow me and you’ll live in wealth and luxury! Those who submit to me will prosper… Those who defy me will meet their maker today!"

His eyes flashing like lightning, Lu Chengfeng glared at those warriors who chose not to submit to him.

Under such circumstances, who dared to hesitate now? All of them bowed deeply toward Lu Chengfeng and shouted, "All hail the master! We will follow all the orders of the master!"

In this instant, Lu Chengfeng had recruited another group of strong warriors to work for him. He let out a laugh and said, "Lead the army and follow me into the city. Those who dare to challenge me, we’ll kill them all!"

Clenching his teeth tightly, Lu Chengfeng turned to Lu Quyuan, who was sitting beside him with a pale face, and snapped, "If you ever try to pull any more stunts like the ones you did previously, or like what you all did when I was a child, I’ll kill you! Sixth brother, listen now carefully! If you force me again, I’ll kill you!"

He forcefully slapped Lu Quyuan’s face and sent him flying away. Then, Lu Chengfeng ordered few hanger-ons to tie him up tightly. After that, he led the huge group of soldiers and went into the city from the last City Gate.

Wu Qi was running around the city while laughing out loud. From time to time, a pigeon, sparrow-hawk, or eagle would fly out from some luxurious mansion, but all of them were casually killed by Wu Qi.

All the townsfolk shut their doors, and no one dared to leave their homes. From all of those luxurious mansions, the sounds of howling and screaming rose up into the sky.