Chapter 16: Operation (1)
After the long talk, the two sank into silence. Su Yu returned to cultivating the Source Opening Codex. He did not know if the Myriad Race Cult had really arrived at Nanyuan. However, he wasn't worried. Since the city was prepared for them, the Myriad Race Cult wouldn't be able to do much harm.
After years of propaganda, everyone saw the Myriad Race Cult as merely a bunch of cowardly clowns that were a parasite to the human race. Great Xia did not fear the Myriad Race Cult. With the undefeatable Martial Dragon Guards, the powerful Great Xia King, and the formidable Prefect Xia Longwu around, nobody feared the Myriad Race Cult.
One only needed to turn on the television to see those Myriad Race Cult fellows being executed every day. Su Yu did not care much for the Myriad Race Cult either. He did not know them well. He hadn't even encountered one of them before. The only thing he knew about them was the fact that they were traitors of humanity hated by all.
…
Plop!
After stabbing his sword through an elderly Great Strength cultivator, a young man with red eyes cursed, "Have the people in Great Xia gone crazy? Are they incapable of feeling fear? Can't they see that their Great Strength cultivator has been killed?"
Not far away, an old man with white hair coldly said, "It has been many years since I last entered Great Xia. The people here have long been brainwashed by Xia Longwu. They all look down on the Myriad Race Cult. They have all forgotten our might!"
The old man couldn't help but to curse. The resistance they met within Great Xia was far too terrifying. The moment the locals discovered that they were from the Myriad Race Cult, these locals would start fighting like lunatics. The elderly, the middle-aged people, and the youth...no one was an exception.
Even after a few of them were killed, these locals would still stand their ground. Under the leadership of several retired veterans, even a small village was able to inflict great losses on the cult members.
The old man couldn't help but to be worried. They had encountered way too much resistance in Great Xia. Would Great Xia really be troubled by the slaughter of several middle schools? Would their plan really work?
"I only fear that our operation would not only fail to scare the people of Great Xia, but it would instead provoke them into a mad hunt for us. Things would get very troublesome if that happens."
The old man was worried, but he didn't dare voice his anxiousness to the others. Their previous operations in the other prefectures had gone too smoothly. They were able to sow chaos by only killing a few geniuses, causing enough panic that the streets would be devoid of people for a few days after each kill. But this was Great Xia. Here, even a simple village would fight back so viciously. What would happen if they had to face the entire prefecture instead?
"Hopefully...everything will go smoothly."
That night, Su Yu slept at Liu Wenyan's place. It was a dormitory provided by the school. This was the first time Su Yu had spent the night at Liu Wenyan's place. He was fine with everything there. However, as an old man, Liu Wenyan would frequently wake up in the middle of the night for the toilet, waking up Su Yu in the process.
Su Yu couldn't help but to lament that time would not spare anyone. Before materializing his will, Liu Wenyan would remain an ordinary old man even if he was already a Great Strength cultivator.
...
After using the Source Swallowing Technique once, Su Yu's cultivation speed had increased. That was probably a result of the temporary opening of his nine acupoints during the activation of the Source Swallowing Technique. Su Yu could feel that his right ear acupoint was also on the verge of opening.
"I'll need to find a chance to reveal that I'm already a fourth-stage Source Opening cultivator. I'd been stuck in the third-stage for half a year, so it won't be odd that a stroke of luck managed to suddenly push me forward."
As for his abrupt transformation into a talented cultivator, that could be easily explained. He had merely been focused on learning the various languages in the past and had been neglecting his cultivation. Now that he was suddenly putting effort into his cultivation, it should be acceptable for him to rapidly rise to the fourth-stage or even the fifth-stage.
The next day, Su Yu followed Liu Wenyan to school. He was able to learn a lot of new things just by following Liu Wenyan around.
...
Inside the office.
The principal was here again. He wasn't surprised to see Su Yu. He was already made aware that Su Yu would be tailing Liu Wenyuan yesterday.
"The neighboring Tianshui City has been attacked during the past two days. Their city guards have suffered a large number of casualties. As for Nanyuan, last night..."
The principal paused slightly. "A mountainside village was attacked. A lot of people were killed. Only a few children hiding in the cellar survived. The Myriad Race Cult was the culprit. The city guards are on the case."
Liu Wenyan's face turned cold, "Those animals!" He took some time to calm himself before saying, "They're indeed here at Nanyuan! They're still using their usual modus operandi of sowing chaos to spread our forces thin. Looks like they're planning something big this time. Is the Martial Dragon Guards still unaware of their hiding place?"
"They can't be found." The principal felt helpless. "They're hidden very well. We don't have enough people in Nanyuan to perform a wider search. If we spread our forces too thin, they will pick us off one by one. That will be even more troublesome."
"What about the capital? How are they intending to deal with this?"
Liu Wenyan was starting to get worried after learning that the Myriad Race Cult was really here. Nanyuan was only a small city. Its defenses were too weak. The capital has a lot of elites. A little bit of assistance from them would be enough to keep the Myriad Race Cult in check.
"The mayor has been asking for help, but the other cities are asking for help as well. The capital still needed to maintain their own defenses as a precaution against the cult. Thus..."
"We aren't getting any help?" Liu Wenyan was furious. "Get some help from the academies, then."
The principal replied helplessly, "We tried. But the front line army has been asking for help, so a lot of their teachers and students have left for the battlefield. They're not back yet. The academies also need to keep themselves defended. After all, their security would be much more important than a small city like Nanyuan. Because of that..."
"They can't even send a few Skysoar cultivators here?" Liu Wenyan raged. "They don't lack Skysoar cultivators. We only need a couple of them here. The Myriad Race Cult would not have too many of their forces here."
The principal replied gloomily, "It's pointless to rage at me. Like I said, all the cities are asking for help. Among the twenty-eight cities, Nanyuan isn't even an important city. The capital will prioritize the defense of the more important cities."
Liu Wenyan was feeling helpless. "The entirety of Great Xia has actually been thrown into chaos by the Myriad Race Cult? The Martial Dragon Guards...are really quite useless."
"Cough." The principal coughed awkwardly.
Outside the office, a voice rang out, "Instructor Liu, the Myriad Race Cult has merely caught us at a bad timing. Ten days ago, three thousand Martial Dragon Guards were deployed to the battlefield. That's why we're lacking in manpower."
"It’s still your fault for failing to keep your movement hidden. Not even I was aware of that deployment, but the Myriad Race Cult was somehow aware of it. You can only blame yourself for that."
Liu Wenyan did not fear the Martial Dragon Guards. He spoke bluntly, "Even if the problem does not lie with the Martial Dragon Guards, there is definitely an issue with the prefectural government. There must be some cult spies within their ranks. How would the cult have learned of your deployment otherwise?"
The person from the Martial Dragon Guards did not say anything. Liu Wenyan wasn’t wrong. The Myriad Race Cult had appeared right after the Martial Dragon Guards departed. Clearly, the information had leaked. Otherwise, the cult would not have dared to challenge them with the Martial Dragon Guards around.
"This is not the time for arguments." The principal interrupted. "Old Liu, can you pull some strings and get a couple of Skysoar cultivators from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy?"
"Do I need you to tell me that? I asked early this morning. But they will need at least one day to arrive."
"They agreed to come?"
"Yes. But..." Helplessness seeped into Liu Wenyan's voice. "They won't be able to stay here for long. They will leave after picking up the students. They won't stay and help with the defense."
"That's enough." The principal was happy with that. They would take any help they could get.
Liu Wenyan was clearly not satisfied with the arrangement. He complained, "Even without the Martial Dragon Guards around, it is still embarrassing for things to get so chaotic within Great Xia. Have we been enjoying the peace for too long? Why is our security so poor?"
Only someone like Liu Wenyan would dare say such words. Even the principal did not dare to say anything. The Martial Dragon Guards member outside remained silent as well. This was indeed quite embarrassing. Great Xia had always been known for their elite soldiers. The Myriad Race Cult was not supposed to be able to give them this much trouble.
Su Yu had been silently listening in, opting to not join the conversation. That was a matter for the higher ups of Nanyuan to resolve. He was in no position to comment about it. However, he was actually quite curious about Liu Wenyan's identity. This instructor was by no means a low-ranked civil servant, but he was no super expert. What was the point of talking about this with him?
Liu Wenyan had been paying attention to Su Yu. Seemingly having read Su Yu's mind, he smiled when he caught Su Yu looking at him and said, "Why? Are you looking down on your instructor?"
"Of course not."
"You sure did."
"I didn't!"
"I can see what you're thinking."
Liu Wenyan was suddenly behaving like a child, stubbornly trying to win the argument. With a wide smile, he said, "Just wait. You'll know why your instructor is qualified to take part in these discussions."
Su Yu was still confused, but Liu Wenyan did not bother explaining himself. The principal wanted to say something, but he eventually decided to stay silent. He would rather not see a situation where Liu Wenyan had to prove himself happening.
...
Inside the tall building opposite the school.
The middle-aged man said, "The city guards have departed. Apart from those left to guard the city gates and the mayor's manor, the rest are out hunting for the Blood Fire Sect fellows."
The woman asked, "What about the Martial Dragon Guards?"
The middle-aged man shook his head, "Not a trace of them could be seen. They're still hiding in the city. Also, Nanyuan is planning to move those geniuses to the capital. They're leaving the day after tomorrow."
The woman frowned, "Is this a bait?"
"Maybe." The man appeared doubtful. "This decision was made out of nowhere. The order had only been issued yesterday. Perhaps they're trying to lure us out. What should we do?"
"Have any experts secretly entered Nanyuan recently?"
"No, I think..."
"You think?"
"I have no way of confirming that. We can't monitor the whole city. However, we have received no such news from our spies. No such experts have been seen in the mayor's manor and the school."
The woman sank into thought. She then said, "We can't let them go. Slaughtering the school without those geniuses will only nab us about half the original contribution points. The higher ups won't be happy with that."
"I know." The middle-aged man hesitated slightly before saying, "But the Martial Dragon Guards are still in the city. They might even be hiding in the school. If we move rashly and fail, things will get troublesome."
Suddenly, the man's communicator rang. He picked it up and saw a message disguised as an advertisement. His expression changed as he said, "We need to either move the operation forward or cancel it. Our spies in the capital are saying that Liu Wenyan had requested help from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy this morning. The academy had agreed to help. Their people will be here soon."
"Damn it!" The woman cursed. "Liu Wenyan! It's that old bastard again! That old fool is only a step away from willpower materialization. However, it's unlikely that he will be able to take that step. Why would the academy agree to a request from someone like him? Looks like he is much better connected than we thought."
The middle-aged man stayed silent. After the woman was done cursing, he spoke, "What now? Mayor Wu Wenhai and Martial Dragon Guards' Xia Bing are both second-stage Skysoar cultivators. On top of that, the cultural research academy is also sending some people over. We can only give up."
The man paused in hesitation before eventually continuing, "Great Xia is very strong. We have only been able to sow this much chaos because the Martial Dragon Guards aren't around. The moment their main force returns, we will need to leave. The higher ups have always been keeping a distance from Great Xia. Why are they suddenly..."
For this operation, the higher ups had exposed many of their long-time spies. Even if this operation ended with a success, they would still suffer great losses. The man couldn't understand the reason for this. Were those young geniuses worth the losses they would suffer? After all, many of their spies had spent years getting to where they were in Great Xia. The woman was higher-ranked than him in the cult, so she would definitely know more than him. He was only someone in charge of communication with their underlings.
"Don't ask something you shouldn't." The woman snorted coldly. After a short thought, she said, "You know what, this isn't a big secret. We only need to create enough chaos in Great Xia to force the Martial Dragon Guards to return from the battlefield. The Martial Dragon Guards are going to be making a move against the divine skywing race."
The man's expression changed instantly. The divine skywing race was the same race they had pledged their allegiance to. Could it be...that the divines were fearful of the Martial Dragon Guards?
The man did not even dare to voice that thought. However, the woman was aware of what he was thinking. She sneered and said, "The Martial Dragon Guards might be powerful, but the divines aren't afraid of them. But the divines will be busy attacking the heavenly eye race. The Martial Dragon Guards' appearance will ruin their plans."
Heavenly eye race! The man hurriedly asked, "Are the divines going to war?"
"I wouldn't call that a war. They are merely putting the heavenly eye race in place." The woman changed the topic. "Apart from you and me, a hallmaster at the fourth-stage Skysoar Realm will be arriving tonight. He will handle Xia Bing while I deal with Wu Wenhai. You'll lead our people and destroy the school. The moment the school is destroyed, our mission will be complete. Retreat immediately after that. We'll make our move late afternoon tomorrow."
The man was still hesitating, but he finally agreed, "Roger."