142: Thunderous Annihilation

As the red lotus signal, representing "start the plan," exploded over West Lake City, the allied forces of the Imperial Court, Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Wonderful Sound Workshop, Four Seas Merchant Guild, and the City Lord's Mansion—who had been lying in ambush at various key roads and strongholds for a long time—were released like a fully drawn bowstring. Sharp arrows left the string, pointing straight at their targets!

The first to bear the brunt was the Cao Gang headquarters!

This massive estate, which usually bustled with traffic and controlled the water and land lifelines of West Lake City, seemed to have suddenly become an erupting volcano at this moment!

"Kill—!"

Shouts of slaughter shook the heavens and the earth! Countless figures surged from all directions, instantly breaking through the Cao Gang's outer perimeter guards and clashing with the Cao Gang Disciples who were scrambling to fight back. Sabers flashed and swords gleamed as flesh and blood flew; the battle reached a fever pitch from the very beginning!

Inside the core hall of the headquarters, the Cao Gang Sect Leader, Li Kui, who was in a secret room conducting final discussions with the Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy and the leaders of the Purple Robe Bandits and Green Turban Bandits, was caught off guard by this sudden attack.

"What's going on?! Where did these enemies come from?! Have we been exposed?!" Li Kui was both shocked and enraged. He grabbed a giant mountain-splitting axe leaning against the wall, his burly frame trembling slightly with fury.

The figure under the black robe of the Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy stood up abruptly, his voice shrill: "The plan has been leaked! Prepare to break through!"

However, it was already too late!

Boom!!

The heavy gates of the main hall were blown open from the outside by a massive force! Amidst flying wood chips, several powerful figures swept in like a gale!

The two leaders were none other than the Hundred Flowers Pavilion Mistress, Su Yuetang (Mid-stage Martial King), and the Four Seas Merchant Guild President, Jin Wanguan!

"Li Kui! You and your lot have colluded with the pirates and betrayed Great Qian; you deserve ten thousand deaths! Today is your end!" Su Yuetang's jade-like face was covered in frost. Her Hundred Flowers Sword was already unsheathed, its tip pointed directly at Li Kui.

"Su Yuetang! Fat Jin! You think you can keep me here?!" Li Kui roared, his muscles bulging as his Early Stage Martial King Evil Qi erupted. He brandished his door-sized giant axe and lunged at Su Yuetang like a crazed tiger! He knew that to capture the bandits, one must first capture their leader; if he could take down Su Yuetang, there might still be a glimmer of hope!

"Your opponents are us!" The two Guest Elders behind Jin Wanguan snorted coldly. From the left and right, their saber and sword struck out together, boldly meeting Li Kui's giant axe! The three of them instantly clashed, their energy overflowing and shattering the tables and chairs in the hall.

Meanwhile, the Vice Sect Leader of the Cao Gang (Early Stage Martial King) was also intercepted by the Hundred Flowers Pavilion Vice Mistress, Zhao Mang (Early Stage Martial King), and another hidden Martial King Guest Elder from the Four Seas Merchant Guild. The fighting was fierce.

At the other end of the battlefield was the most eye-catching duel.

The Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy moved like a ghost, his black robes billowing, emitting the cold aura of a Peak Mid-stage Martial King. His gaze locked onto Qin Feng and Su Xiaoxiao, who had charged into the hall.

"Specter?! It's you! You actually managed a Breakthrough to Martial King?!" The Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy's voice carried a hint of unbelievable shock. He clearly recognized Qin Feng (perhaps through some intelligence or aura identification), but he never expected that in such a short time, the other party would have already stepped into the Martial King realm!

Qin Feng held the ink plum sword, its black blade flowing with dark silver brilliance. His eyes were cold, and his killing intent was chilling: "Evil-doers who poison living beings, today is the day you die!"

He didn't waste any words. The true essence of a newly ascended Martial King roared within his body, and his Advanced Sword Heart resonated strongly with the ink plum sword. He used a killing move right from the start!

"Hundred Flowers Soul Burial!"

It was still that gorgeous yet deadly sword strike, but now driven by Martial King true essence and executed with the Earth Rank Medium Grade ink plum sword, its power was incomparable to when he fought Bai Kong! The sword light bloomed like ten thousand withering flowers of death, instantly filling the Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy's entire field of vision. That sharp Sword Intent seemed capable of directly tearing the Soul apart!

The Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy shrieked, his palms flying as thick black Devilish Qi surged out like a physical substance, transforming into ghost-faced shields in an attempt to block. However, in the face of absolute power and sharpness, his defense was like paper!

Chii chii chii—!

Wherever the sword light passed, the ghost-faced shields shattered! The ink plum sword, like cutting through tofu, easily pierced through layers of Devilish Qi and accurately stabbed into the Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy's heart!

"Im... possible..." The Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy looked down at the black sword tip protruding from his chest, feeling his life force and Devilish Qi rapidly draining away. His eyes were full of resentment and horror. He never imagined that he would fall at the hands of a junior who had just achieved a Breakthrough to Martial King.

Qin Feng flicked his wrist, and Sword Qi erupted, instantly destroying all signs of life! The Yin Demon Sect Special Envoy was dead!

On the other side, the two leaders of the Purple Robe Bandits and Green Turban Bandits tried to break through the chaos, but were surrounded by six famous Martial Kings led by the general from the Imperial Court reinforcements!

Six against two—the strength and numbers were overwhelming! No matter how fierce or how much the Purple Robe and Green Turban Bandits struggled, under the siege of six well-coordinated and experienced Martial Kings, they only lasted for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick before being hacked to pieces by various blades, blood splattering everywhere!

With the core combat power quickly eliminated, the remaining Cao Gang Disciples collapsed like a mountain. Under the absolute numerical advantage of the allied forces, those who resisted were killed on the spot, and those who surrendered were quickly bound and imprisoned. The once-prominent Cao Gang headquarters was declared destroyed amidst raging fires and sky-piercing shouts of slaughter!

Almost at the same time the Cao Gang headquarters was besieged, based on the detailed intelligence previously provided by Qin Feng, other units of the allied forces also launched precise and lethal strikes against other rebel forces in the city and the secret strongholds planted by Situ Ming.

In a seemingly ordinary warehouse, dozens of hidden death warriors from the former dynasty's remnants didn't even have time to rush out before they were blocked by elites from the City Lord's Mansion and Disciples from the Celestial Masters Mansion. After a fierce battle, they were all annihilated.

Several gambling dens and brothels controlled by Situ Ming or the Cao Gang were also quickly taken over by joint teams from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and the Four Seas Merchant Guild, and their leaders were captured or killed.

Throughout West Lake City, it was like a highly efficient surgical operation; all known tumors were precisely excised one by one. Resistance was sporadic and brief, and under absolute power and the advantage of the first move, it was soon extinguished.

When the afterglow of the setting sun once again fell upon West Lake City, the shouts of slaughter within the city had already subsided.

After this battle, the network of forces within the city that Situ Ming had painstakingly cultivated for many years was uprooted, the tumor that was the Cao Gang was completely eradicated, and the core forces of the Yin Demon Sect, Purple Robe Bandits, and Green Turban Bandits that had infiltrated the city were all annihilated!

The internal threat was gone!

Next would be to concentrate all forces to face the main pirate force that was about to arrive at the city walls—Zuoi and his seven hundred atrocious followers!

Having cleared its interior, West Lake City was like a sharp sword that had been wiped clean of rust, its cold light shining, its edge pointed directly at the surging sea outside the city!