359: Warring States Division

Due to the assassination of a Zhengqi Alliance Member, the remaining members were greatly encouraged and actively joined the forces against Great Zhou.

For a time, Great Zhou's forces suffered repeated defeats, and Lin Ang and others were only one province away from Great Zhou's capital.

At this moment, both sides were locked in a desperate, bloody battle.

"My lord, spare my life, please let me go."

A white-haired man in official robes stood on the city wall, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy from a muscular, burly man below the city.

The burly man slowly shook his head, "No, you should have integrity; you should fight to the death and not surrender."

"No, my lord, I have no integrity; I want to surrender."

Hearing the burly man's words, the official-robed man seemed to remember something and kowtowed even more fiercely.

"My lord, I know the rules. I'll open the city gates immediately; you may all come in as you please."

Then he ordered the city's defending soldiers nearby.

"Hey, what are you still standing there for? Open the gates quickly!"

The defending soldiers nodded as if waking from a dream, "Oh, alright."

With that, a general personally descended and went to the city gate.

Buzz!!!

Before long, the gate opened inward.

The burly man smiled bitterly and shook his head, originally thinking there would be a bloody battle today.

He was Lin Ang. During this period, Lin Ang had experienced countless battles, leading the Zhengqi Alliance brothers to capture cities and territories, striking fear into the Great Zhou army.

Even the always powerful Jiantian Division found their actions repeatedly thwarted.

Later, wherever Lin Ang attacked, the defending forces there would be terrified and flee at the mere mention of his name.

And situations like today, he had encountered more than once.

Especially the most recent few cities, all were won without a fight.

Riding his horse into the city, on both sides were piles of weapons and kneeling defending soldiers.

In the very center of the road, the official-robed man who had just shouted for the city to open and surrender was kneeling.

He held a tray with both hands above his head; there seemed to be something on the tray.

Lin Ang came to his side, and the official-robed man loudly proclaimed, "Your humble subordinate, Yang Dongchang, respectfully welcomes the Zhengqi Alliance Leader and wishes the Alliance Leader success in conquering Xuzhou."

He glanced at the item on the tray, which was an official seal in the shape of some exotic beast.

After a brief glance, Lin Ang instructed his subordinates, "Confiscate their weapons."

"Yes!"

Because they already harbored thoughts of surrender, the defending soldiers, with the exception of a few individuals, were very cooperative when their weapons were confiscated.

Seeing this, Lin Ang ordered, "Take them down and arrange them according to the old rules."

And so, the surrendering defending soldiers followed the Zhengqi Alliance brothers down in an orderly and neat fashion.

After all the defending soldiers had been taken away, Lin Ang did not summon anyone to receive the official seal.

Instead, he sat quietly on his horse, waiting for something.

After an unknown period, Yang Dongchang's arms, holding the tray under the sun, were already aching and trembling, and sweat dripped onto the ground.

But he no longer dared to relax, gritting his teeth and persisting, for he knew very well what would happen to him if he failed to satisfy Lin Ang.

At this moment, a blood-soaked soldier rushed in from somewhere, shouting something loudly.

But he was quickly caught by a pursuing Zhengqi Alliance Member who stabbed him through the heart, and he fell straight down.

Yang Dongchang noticed the commotion and his face instantly changed dramatically.

He was about to make a move, but Lin Ang was faster than him.

He quickly drew the saber from his waist with one hand and brought it down vertically in a fierce chop.

Yang Dongchang, along with the official seal he held above his head, was split in two, and blood, internal organs, and brain matter splattered everywhere.

Lin Ang gently flicked his saber, cleaning off the blood, and looked at Yang Dongchang's corpse, saying indifferently,

"What I hate most in my life are corrupt officials like you who exploit the common people, deceive superiors, and conceal the truth from subordinates.

If not for the proliferation of people like you, why would there be such a great disaster in the world? Why would the common people be displaced? Why would there be such chaos in the world?

The Great Zhou will perish, and you all are inextricably linked to it!"

After speaking, he returned the saber to its sheath at his waist.

At the same time, the Zhengqi Alliance Member who had just acted had already run over to report.

"Reporting to the Alliance Leader, all defending soldiers here have been buried alive, not one left."

Lin Ang nodded, "Hmm, very good. Eliminate evil completely; you have done very well."

Then, he turned around and spoke to all the Zhengqi Alliance Members present.

"As long as we show no mercy to any wrongdoing, and every step, every person handled, is strictly in accordance with the Alliance rules,

then no one will dare to commit evil again.

Furthermore, I announce that effective immediately, the review period for any matter will be unlimited.

As long as one has committed evil, even after ten, twenty, thirty... one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand years, they will never be let off."

"Long live the Alliance Leader!"

"Long live the Alliance Leader!"

"Long live the Alliance Leader!"

Lin Ang's speech drew cheers from everyone in the Zhengqi Alliance.

Including the soldiers additionally recruited from among the displaced and common people, they also shouted.

"Hahaha, good, very good." Lin Ang laughed three times and then ordered,

"You all go into the city, investigate from top to bottom, one by one, follow the clues, and never let anyone who has ever done evil escape."

"Yes!"

And so, the Zhengqi Alliance Members and the common people's soldiers rushed into the city with murderous intent.

They broke into houses door by door, barging into large households and kicking open the doors of small ones.

The method of judgment was simple and crude: directly ask if you have done anything bad.

Those who hesitated were definitely trying to deceive and were directly cut down.

Those who unhesitatingly claimed to be good people, full of lies, were also cut down.

Those who gave an answer within the estimated time, damn it, they dared to calculate them, cut them down!

Before long, fires broke out in several places within the city, and black smoke billowed upwards.

Shouts of killing and pleas for mercy were incessant.

But Lin Ang understood that these being purged were all impurities, and impurities were not needed.

Showing kindness to evildoers was not much better than committing evil oneself.

Rumble!!!

Suddenly, there was a huge commotion outside the city.

Countless members and soldiers stationed outside were directly thrown and scattered everywhere.

Seeing this, Lin Ang stepped out of the city and saw the situation outside.

It turned out to be the white-robed elder who had acted; with just one move, he had dealt with many of Lin Ang's subordinates.

The white-robed elder looked at Lin Ang with kind eyes and a benevolent face, smiling, "I merely went into seclusion for a while, and upon coming out, the outside world has changed so drastically, and my Jiantian Division disciples have suffered heavy casualties."

"According to what they told me, none who came out to challenge you were able to return."

"To be able to defeat my apprentices and grand-apprentices, your strength must have reached the Ninth Revolution, I presume?"

"I never thought that besides me, there would be someone else in this world who could break through to the Ninth Revolution."

"So, I decided to come over and exchange a few blows with you."

"It will also allow me to test how different the strength is after breaking through to the Tenth Revolution."