"Black Armor Army!"
"It’s the Song Family’s Black Armor Army!"
The crowd was in an uproar, with fear etched on the faces of some.
After all, the illustrious reputation of the Song Family’s Black Armor Army was well-known, and encountering them suddenly brought about natural trepidation.
Zhan Feng, however, ignored this. With a flick of his eyelids, he lunged forward in an instant, unleashing a palm strike at one of the Black Armored Warriors.
This Black Armored Warrior didn’t dodge; instead, he raised his arms, crossing them to block the incoming palm.
Bam.
After a loud crash, the Black Armored Warrior groaned, retreating over a dozen steps, his arms twisted like a pretzel, visibly severely injured.
Zhan Feng flew back to his original position, sneering, "Is this the renowned Black Armor Army? It doesn’t seem impressive to me."
Though he said this outwardly, Zhan Feng was inwardly surprised.
He was a Martial Artist of the Fourth Realm; his palm power was strong enough to shatter stones and break monuments effortlessly, typically killing ordinary martial artists with a single strike.
Yet, that Black Armored Warrior only had his arms broken, his life unharmed, indicating the formidable defense of that armor.
"For half a day, it’s been just us from Cyan Bamboo Ridge fighting; where are the elites of the Hong and Yang families?" Zhan Feng roared.
At this moment, two troops charged into the manor.
One troop consisted entirely of Second Realm peak martial artists, led by a Third Realm martial artist. Though their gazes were somewhat vacant, they were impressively imposing, representing the Hong Family’s most formidable force, the Martial Dao True Army.
These individuals were primarily cultivated by the Hong Family using secret techniques. Although their potential was completely lost due to the enforced elevation of their realm, causing their minds to become rather dull, their combat power was extremely potent.
It was through this troop that the Hong Family was able to suppress the Song and Yang families, holding the top spot in Wuxiang City for years.
The other troop was slightly inferior, but each person wore leather armor. Although they were not as daring as the Black Armor Army or as individually powerful as the Martial Dao True Army, they were more balanced in capabilities.
Moreover, the Yang Family’s Medicine Man troop would swallow secret medicine before going to battle.
This secret medicine was meticulously developed by the Yang Family. After swallowing it, pain was greatly diminished, courage was boosted, and they became audacious and fearless, making their combat power astounding.
Thus, the greatest forces of the Inner City’s three major families had all emerged.
It was also the first encounter of these three troops on the battlefield.
Simultaneously, Song Linqing appeared fully armed.
He looked at Hong Shouchang and Yang Sansi, who were in the crowd at a distance, and couldn’t help but sneer.
"Hong and Yang, I never imagined you’d collude with bandits outside the city. You’ve really thrown away your dignity for profit."
Hong Shouchang snorted coldly, "Song Linqing, it’s too late for words now. Offer up the Meat Field and breeding techniques willingly, and I may spare your life for old times’ sake. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
"As if you’ve ever been polite. The Meat Field is in the courtyard, and the breeding techniques are there too. If you’ve got the guts, come and take them. I want to see how you three families will share them," Song Linqing retorted coldly.
Hearing these words, a glimmer of greed appeared in Hong Shouchang’s eyes.
He had long coveted the Song Family’s Exotic Beast Meat Field. With it, he could further control Wuxiang City.
That’s why he was desperate to rush into the courtyard just now, only to be repelled by the Black Armor Army.
Now that the elites of all three families were here, as long as he charged in, the prize would be his.
He was about to give the order when Yang Sansi spoke first.
"Charge forward!"
With that command, his Medicine Man troop charged ahead without a word.
Under the firelight, the eyes beneath their helmets glowed with a dangerous red.
It was a side effect of the medicine, showing they had gone berserk.
"Men of the Hong Family, listen up! Whoever charges into the courtyard first will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold," Hong Shouchang shouted.
The Martial Dao True Army howled and charged.
Seeing this, the people of Cyan Bamboo Ridge naturally refused to lag behind.
Zhan Feng sneered, "Kill, slaughter all the Song Family members!"
The alliance of the three families surged forward like a monstrous wave.
Boom!
Both sides collided.
The Black Armor Army’s formation trembled slightly but stabilized quickly.
Like a steadfast rock, it held against the mighty wave.
At this point, there was nothing left to say except one word.
Kill!
Everyone’s eyes reddened, fighting desperately to plunge their weapons into the enemy.
Yet, Hong and Yang families, along with the people from Cyan Bamboo Ridge, didn’t notice.
As they charged, the Black Armor Army was slowly retreating.
Even if someone noticed, they probably wouldn’t think much, assuming the Black Armor Army was retreating because they couldn’t withstand the pressure.
Once they reached the passage connecting the front yard and the courtyard, the Black Armor Army suddenly accelerated their retreat.
This sudden move left the three-family alliance, in the throes of combat excitement, somewhat stunned.
What was happening?
Was the Song Family abandoning resistance?
Just then, liquid began to rain down from the sky.
The droplets, accompanied by a strong, pungent odor, fell onto the alliance of the three families.
Huo Tianxiao from the Cyan Bamboo Ridge team shuddered violently, filled with immense fear.
He was all too familiar with that smell.
"Run!"
Shouting, he turned and fled.
At the same time, a flaming arrow landed among the crowd.
Boom!
Flames erupted skyward.
Everyone touched by the "rain" was engulfed in fierce flames.
In an instant, the alliance of the three families was thrown into chaos, as people frantically tried to escape the blaze.
However, the passage was very narrow, making it impossible to escape quickly.
Witnessing this, Zhan Feng roared furiously, collapsing the walls of the passage with a palm strike, opening the way for escape.
Once the people had escaped the sea of fire and extinguished the flames on their bodies, they realized the havoc had cost each side about a fourth of their numbers.
Some people weren’t burned to death but trampled to death.
At this moment, everyone’s expressions became extremely grim.
Who could have thought that the Song Family would suddenly pull such a move.
Zhan Feng, exasperated, grabbed Huo Tianxiao, who was the first to flee.
"What’s the meaning of this fire?"
Huo Tianxiao was full of grievance, "How should I know what’s up with this fire? My kerosene is secret, who knew the Song Family would have it too?"
Huo Tianxiao indeed wasn’t lying.
His kerosene recipe had always been kept secret, so he was shocked.
However, how could he have known that to someone like Zhao Ya, who had received a modern chemistry education, his secret formula was nothing at all.
After a few experimental attempts, Zhao Ya produced kerosene with a similar effect.
Then he secretly transported it to the tunnel, and after discussing it with Song Linqing, they had the Black Armor Army fight and retreat, luring the triple alliance here for a fire attack.
At this moment, Zhao Ya was hiding on a rooftop in the distance, watching the bedraggled triple alliance, and felt a slight regret in his heart.
Although the strategy was a success, the effects were not as ideal.
They only managed to burn about a quarter of the people; the rest were not harmed, and their combat strength remained unaffected.
Yet Zhao Ya knew this was already the best outcome.
After all, the troops in this alliance were the elite of the elite. Take Zhan Feng, for instance, if he hadn’t blown down the walls on both sides of the passageway with a palm strike, the losses would have been even greater.
At this moment, Zhan Feng also realized he had wrongly suspected someone. Huo Tianxiao had narrowly escaped being burned to death, how could he have colluded with the Song Family?
"Damn it, charge in for me, seize the Meat Field first!"
Zhan Feng released Huo Tianxiao and turned to rush toward the courtyard.
His actions alerted Hong Shouchang and the others, who hurried to follow.
Seeing this, Zhao Ya let out a cold laugh and turned to leave without watching further.
A moment later, he arrived in a small alley near the city wall, where he saw Song Linqing and his sister along with the others.
This included the breeding staff of the Meat Field and the father and son Tan Ziwang and Tan Dong, Song Renqiang, among others, but the Black Armor Army was not present.
"How did it go?" Song Linqing asked first.
"About a quarter were burned to death, the rest have already rushed into the courtyard."
Song Linqing smiled slightly upon hearing this, "Burning a quarter is not bad, and I’ve left them a little surprise in the Meat Field greenhouse."
"How long has it been since the Black Armor Army left?" Zhao Ya asked.
"They left about two quarters of an hour ago, I reckon it’s about time."
Just as the words fell, they saw flames rising from two directions within the Inner City simultaneously.
Song Linqing and Zhao Ya looked up and saw it was in the direction of the Hong Family and the Yang Family manors, and couldn’t help but smile slightly.
This plan had been devised in advance by the two of them.
First, a team of the Black Armor Army was used to hold off the triple alliance, and after bringing them to the courtyard passageway, a fire attack was executed.
At the same time, Song Linqing and the others left the Song Family Manor through secret passages.
Subsequently, another Black Armor Army took advantage of the emptiness of the Hong and Yang families to attack and set the manor on fire.
By this point, most of the plans were completed, and everything progressed smoothly.
"I bet this fire will cause Hong Shouchang and Yang Sansi great distress. After all, they were fixated on the Meat Field but failed to get it, while their homes were burned." Song Linqing laughed heartily.
At this moment, the Black Armor Army sent for the mission returned.
After this series of tasks, the Black Armor Army also lost at least a third of its troops. Yet even so, this unit remained imposing, with morale intact.
What a fierce unit!
Zhao Ya sighed inwardly, then said solemnly, "No time to delay, we must leave Wuxiang City quickly."
"Alright!"
They took a secret path Zhao Ya had scouted beforehand, and the group quickly exited Wuxiang City, arriving on the main road.
Once there, even if the alliance pursued, it wouldn’t matter, and it was time for farewells.
"Ya, come with us!" Song Linqing made one last appeal.
Zhao Ya shook his head with a smile.
"Patriarch, I’m truly sorry, but I have matters of my own to attend to. Once they’re done, I’ll definitely come to Wanshou County to find you."
"Alright then!"
Song Linqing knew he couldn’t change Zhao Ya’s mind, so he glanced at his sister, sighed, and walked away with large strides.
For a while, only the two of them were left on the main road.
Looking at the silent Song Peiwan, Zhao Ya didn’t know what to say. After thinking for a long while, he softly said, "Take care."
Hearing this, Song Peiwan lifted her head and looked at him, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"Uh..." Zhao Ya didn’t know how to respond.
At this moment, Song Peiwan suddenly stepped forward and hugged Zhao Ya tightly.
Zhao Ya’s body stiffened, but then he sighed inwardly and gently embraced Song Peiwan.
After only a few seconds, Song Peiwan stood up, wiping the tears from her face.
"You promised to visit me, don’t break your word."
"Mm, I won’t deceive you!"
"Pinky swear!"
"Alright, pinky swear!"
Zhao Ya extended his hand for a pinky swear with Song Peiwan, and she finally smiled.
"I’m leaving, you... take care too!"
With that, she suddenly placed a box in Zhao Ya’s hand and then turned and left with large strides.
Watching her back, Zhao Ya suddenly felt a bit sad.
In the distance, Tan Dong’s choked voice called out.
"Brother Zhao, be sure to come find me, in life or death, I’m yours, boohoo."
Zhao Ya: "..."
The Song Family’s team had gone.
Zhao Ya opened the box Song Peiwan had given him before leaving and found it full of high-quality Jade Brocade Snake.
He carefully packed the box close to him, turned around, and headed into the forest.
Earlier in the day, he had already sent Zui’Er to a refuge in the mountain forest.
Now, he needed to see Zui’Er once more, and then attend to a very important matter.