Star Gate

Chapter 592: Reinforcements (I)

The Heaven and Earth Generals and numerous resident experts rushed where the young man had disappeared, their expressions fluctuating with a variety of emotions.

Li Hao!

This was the greatest scandal beneath the heavens! It was the greatest joke beneath the heavens!

The nobly and lofty Steadfast Duke, the overlord of the east, had been swindled out of house and home! He’d given away his greatest treasure with his own hands and his two legitimate sons...

Yu Qiao was surprised to see the duke flat-out ignore the rest of them. Amid his shock, he frowned in the direction that Li Hao had fled in. This Li Hao... was an interesting one. He could’ve fled with none the wiser if he’d raised less of a fuss. Granted, with Red Beard in his way, the disturbance would’ve been great either way. But if he’d concealed his identity and not said he was Li Hao, the duke might not be this crazed.

It wasn’t just because the young man had killed people and seized the Xu treasury, but also because he wielded the Li family sword!

“C’mon, let’s go back!” Yu Qiao called to his people with a light glittering in his eyes. “Everyone be careful, but this is also an opportunity. Old man Xu Qing has once more lost people in this battle and the key detail is, his reputation has reached rock bottom. Who will believe after today that trash like him can lead the east to a glorious future? Let’s head back and share this news with the rest of the world. Make sure we capture every single detail! Just you wait to be laughed at, Xu Qing!”

He was no match for Xu Qing, so he would only stay to his death if he insisted on lingering. As for the weaklings of the duke’s household, he had no desire to kill them. There was no point in doing so.

And for the possibility of saving Li Hao? Forget it. It was better not to be buried alongside the kid. Not to mention, there was no reason for him to help the young man. If it wasn’t for him, the rest of them wouldn’t have been nearly killed by the duke. It was generous enough of them to not take Li Hao to task for their injuries.

Yu Qiao soared into the air and punched out, sending flames gushing out of his fist and engulfing the complex in flames!

“The Steadfast Duke Xu Qing is the height of incompetence and peak of hypocrisy,” announced a resonant voice in East Heart City. “He attempted to kill the leaders of the twenty-one eastern provinces today, leaving an opportunity for Demon Sword Li Hao to rush into the complex and kill the Red Beard pirate that was colluding with Xu Qing...”

Yu Qiao’s companions decided to maximize the effect of this piece of news. “Demon Sword has killed Xu Qing!” they roared. “The manor has toppled. Rejoice, ye beneath the heavens!”

With that, the powerhouses quickly scattered in the four directions. Time to go home! Only when they were in their own territory would they be safe.

Although the Steadfast Duke wasn’t dead, he likely wasn’t in the mood to disprove rumors at this time. He was probably furiously chasing after Li Hao and had no mind to spare for this nonsense. The city of East Heart shook when it digested the news! Countless spies in the city froze with shock, their jaws dropping so far down that they could fit an egg in their mouths!

Did we... hear that right? Who? Demon Sword Li Hao?

My heavens, what kind of outlandish tale is this? How is this possible? Li Hao razed the manor of the Steadfast Duke, the overlord of the east for the last two hundred years??

Upheaval was to rock this world! This wasn’t a minor character that was affected, but a massive headline of the ruler of the eastern continent being stomped into the ground! Countless transmission pendants whirred with activity and shared the news across the dynasty in the blink of an eye.

......

Heaven and earth were overturning inside East Heart City. Being sovereigns of their domains, Yu Qiao and the others were naturally aware of how to most effectively strike at the duke’s prestige. Half truths and half lies at a time like this were the most fatal!

The duke’s manor was being consumed by flames. No matter how diligently the duke’s servants tried to put out the fire, flames created by a metamorphosis level expert were impossible to extinguish. They could only watch with resignation as the flames spread until everything was reduced to cinders.

This further confirmed that something had happened to the duke. Otherwise, no matter how ferocious the fire raged, the duke should be able to douse it. The key thing was, regular people wouldn’t dare set the complex on fire either.

“So the duke is dead?!”

“Oh no, is war coming to us now??”

“I don’t think so...? If the duke is dead, we’ll still be the subjects of whoever they send next. We’re not officials... So long as it isn’t those pirates or bandits that come...”

There wasn’t truly a lack of personnel at the Steadfast Duke’s manor. Some Solars quickly soared out to suppress the unrest. The duke’s army outside the city walls also mobilized to prevent unexpected attacks at this time.

However, a lie is halfway around the world before the truth has its boots on. Even though the duke’s people announced in all directions that the duke was fine, that it was only unstable factors seeking to stir up trouble, that everything had been pacified—not many believed them. Prejudiced by their first impressions, the people were more willing to believe Yu Qiao.

Otherwise, where was the duke? Why was his manor in flames? Was Red Beard really dead? It would be a cause for national celebration if the greatest pirate of the East Sea was dead. As for whether or not the pirate had colluded with the duke, the veracity of that was unknown. But since that rumor existed, people were readily willing to believe it.

......

The news spread too far in a very short amount of time.

Near River province.

Various sides considered how best to deploy their troops to attack Southern Ford, to lure Li Hao out of White Moon City. Fan Chang looked around with a smile on his face. With these people helping him, he was certain that Silver Moon would suffer a certain degree of loss this time. It would quench some of his burning hatred!

Earthturner Sword, Light Sword, and Li Hao all needed to die!

As the group discussed the last item on the agenda of when to send out their troops... many of their transmission pendants vibrated. Glances were quickly exchanged around the room before people took out their pendants. Something major had happened if so many had received news at the same time.

Fan Chang had also received a message. He hadn’t wanted to read it, but since everyone was, he decided to inspect his pendant. He froze as soon as he did so; he wasn’t the only one. The hall turned so silent that a pin drop could be heard. There wasn’t a hint of vitality, as if it’d become a graveyard.

Breathing could be heard only after a prolonged silence.

“Impossible!”

“Hearsay!”

“Bullshit, this is nonsense!”

“......” Voices were raised in anger. This wasn’t real!

There were also unpleasant expressions on other faces as it wasn’t just one faction’s intelligence arm reporting this. One faction might get it wrong, but not so many at the same time. Everyone present was a heavyweight of a major faction. How could all of their intelligence gathering go wrong at the same time?

Finally, someone asked in a voice hoarse with shock, “Demon Sword... is out of Silver Moon? When did this happen? He showed himself a few days ago and is said to be in White Moon City...”

This was incredibly hard to believe! The group was still discussing how to force him out, but the young man was already out of the province. Granted, it was better for him not to be out if he was to present himself in this manner.

“The Steadfast Duke possesses countless powerhouses and Red Beard is a metamorphosis level expert. Not only that, but his four generals of Heaven, Earth, Yellow, and Black are also said to be the metamorphosis level. The Steadfast Duke is a premier martial master and the Xus reign over the twenty-one eastern provinces. Those like Yu Qiao can’t even breathe freely—how could he be crushed by Li Hao?”

“We don’t know much yet, so we can’t determine anything. It only says that the duke’s manor has burned to the ground and that the Steadfast Duke might even be dead as well...”

“......” A heated discussion broke out amid the stunned crowd. Demon Sword Li Hao!

When the three swords fought in the North Sea, their weakest was Demon Sword Li Hao. Although he was quite strong to beat back a late Nova, he was just an opportunistic fighter in many people’s eyes. But now... a bucket of cold water rained down over them, chilling their hearts.

He’d traveled through thousands of kilometers to strike at an enemy! To them, this was the young man’s counterblow and warning. You guys want to kill me? Then I’ll kill you first!

The Steadfast Duke was fated to have a death feud with him, so Li Hao went to the duke first to make the first move and attack during their grand ceremony.

Fan Chang took a deep breath and forcefully quelled the trembling of his hands. “Everyone, hold your horses. We don’t have any specifics yet and should await detailed reports! I’ve seen Li Hao’s strength for myself. He had difficulty killing a late Nova a few days ago, he can’t have possibly reached the stage of killing a metamorphosis expert so quickly! If that’s the case, he won’t be the Demon Sword, but the God Sword!”

He didn’t believe this! There was simply no way that Li Hao had so quickly grown to the level of exterminating a major faction by himself. The Steadfast Duke was much stronger than the Director General Office of Near River. The duke commanded numerous metamorphosis experts, even more than the Steppe Prince. How could such a titan of the east be so easily killed?

Fan Chang didn’t believe it!

The assembly managed to find their calm. “Then about attacking Southern Ford...” someone asked hesitantly.

“The hell are we attacking for!” someone cursed. “Are we supposed to fight to the death with those Silver Moon martial masters after Li Hao’s gone? Is there any benefit to that?”

They were here for Li Hao, not to kill Silver Moon powerhouses. Killing Li Hao meant obtaining the divine sword that would help them break through. What good was killing Silver Moon martial masters for?

They could put their lives on the line for Li Hao’s sword, but Silver Moon martial masters were hot-blooded sorts who loved a good fight. That wasn’t what the crowd wanted.

Fan Chang cursed inwardly to himself. As Silver Moon’s neighbor, he dearly wished that these people could charge straight into Silver Moon. But now, none of them were willing because the key target had run off. They’d be fools to go against Silver Moon still!

Fan Chang sighed inwardly and regarded his neighbor solemnly. Was Silver Moon really a land of demons? Li Hao had crossed thousands of kilometers to attack the Steadfast Duke. Although no one here voiced it aloud, they were all deeply panicking. Some of them wanted to immediately depart for home if there wasn’t further news soon!

This was terrifying!

Multiple metamorphosis experts and Novas were dead. This was unbelievably shocking! Not even the premier powerhouses of the nine ministries and royal family dared talk about attacking the Steadfast Duke.

Hence, everyone waited for further information. A general atmosphere of anxiety developed in the hall as cups of wine and tea disappeared into stomachs. Somehow, the cold Near River province was feeling a bit too hot for comfort.