Imperial City
The Imperial Census workers had tracked the family members of the condemned traitors that lived outside of the Imperial City and even in other parts of the country. Qiú Fàn and Shā Qì Warriors were dispatched to exterminate the family members of the traitors who lived elsewhere outside of the Imperial City.
Dawn found the Imperial City streets full of enormous wagons. There were wagons upon wagons loaded with dead bodies. These wagons were to be taken out of the city, and the dead bodies in them were to be thrown into a mass grave. After the wagons were emptied, they would then be brought back into the Imperial City, refilled and the process would be repeated once again.
The shadow warriors had a mysterious way of communicating known only to the shadow warriors and the Imperial family. It helps them to communicate over a vast distance. That was what played an enormous role in what was later called the Melded Ore Blood Storm. The Melded Ore Blood Storm became one of the bloodiest massive exterminations surpassing even the bloodiest blood storms of the reign of The Elder.
The Melded Ore Blood Storm blood storm was completely unexpected. There were no signs of it. It caught all the officials, noblemen, generals, scholars, and even the Imperial Family and their Warriors off guard. Everyone was caught off guard.
It also displayed the might of the Tolling Lands Imperial family to the whole continent when news of the Melded Ore Blood Storm finally begin to spread. It was noted by many that the Emperor had only used the various Imperial Armies to carry out the whole event.
Since the emperor had sealed the Imperial City, the number of spies that managed to escape the Melded Ore Blood Storm could be counted on one hand. No messenger birds were allowed to escape the Imperial City during the Melded Ore Blood Storm. The Emperor kept the Imperial sealed, so no word of the heavy activities taking place in the Tolling Lands was able to make it out of the Tolling Lands until all the activities were over.
People became extremely astonished at just how smoothly the Emperor was able to carry out the whole Melded Ore Blood Storm keeping all outside forces in the blind until it was over. The Duke of Rong was a Border Lord of the Tolling Land. His land The Fief of Rong connected to the border. Since he was a Border Lord, he had a standing Army of Twenty Thousand Warriors.
The Fief of Rong; The Border
When the Emperor arrived on the border, he had no intention of getting into a long drawn out war with the Duke of Rong. Instead, he sent his Thirty Thousand Shā Qì Warriors to quickly and quietly infiltrate the Duke of Rong Castle. Securing the castle and subduing the warriors was a job for which they were well trained.
After several days of intense heavy travel, the Emperor had purposely arrived at the Duke of Rong Castle in the dead of night. The Twenty Thousand Gòu Warriors and Twenty Thousand Shadow Dragoon Warriors secured the castle. Every torch of the castle and every torch that surrounded the massive courtyard outside of the castle was lit.
Only then did the Thirty Thousand Shā Qì warriors and the Shadow Warriors who had already infiltrated the castle get to work quickly and efficiently dragging out half-dressed and undressed warriors and servants that rested in the castle. They were dragged to the massive courtyard in front of the castle and forced to line up.
The Emperor stood in the courtyard in what could be described as a military parade rest. His feet planted firmly on the ground, hands clasped behind his back. The expression on the emperor's face was an icy stone-cold expression. The aura of majestic command emanating from him mixed with murderous killing intent.
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Encompassing the courtyard were Thousands of Gòu Warriors and Shadow Dragoon Warriors. The Thirty Thousand Shā Qì warriors tore through the enormous border castle dragging out every living soul that rested in the castle. Those that tried to fight were quickly and efficiently knocked unconscious and thrown into the courtyard.
The Duke of Rong and his whole family were dragged from their beds in a state of undress and half-dressed and bought before the Emperor. The state of everyone's emotions that were being dragged out was one of fury as cursing yelling and anger shook the very air as they were being dragged from their beds and to the courtyard. Duke of Rong's voice was the loudest raining down curses and threats on the Shā Qì warriors that dragged him and his family from their beds and out into the courtyard of the castle.
"Do you know who I am? You will regret kindling my wrath. I will make sure you will regret it." Duke of Rong's first son raged.
"Who is behind this? Who? What courage that person has!" The Duke of Rong's brother screamed in outrage
"I am the Duke of Rong. I will not let you get away with this disgrace!" Duke of Rong screamed in disbelief and rage.
"Father, what is doing on?" Duke of Rong's youngest daughter yelled to her father in anger
"Father, do something!" Duke of Rong's eldest daughter screamed in a fury.
"Husband, what is going on? What have you done?" Duke of Rong's intelligent wife screamed in fear.
"How bold of you people I want to see whose courage is this big! Take me to whoever is in charge here!" The Duke of Rong screamed in fury just as he was thrown before the Emperor dressed only in his bedclothes.
The emperor never said a word as he watched the proceedings. He stood in the same position as before in the massive courtyard. Feet planted firmly on the ground, hands clasped behind his back. The murderous energy and aura around him had thicken. However, rather than making him look like a wild killer. Instead, it heightened the aura of majestic royal command that emanated from the Emperor.
The Duke of Rong struggled to rise from the ground where he was thrown only to be kicked back to the ground. Twice more, he tried to rise only to meet the boot of an Shā Qì warrior that kicked him back to the ground. In complete utter fury, he screamed, "Just who are you people, and why are you doing this?" His gaze happened to slide past the Shā Qì warrior and landed on the cold faced Emperor.
The mouth of the Duke of Rong clamped shut, and he looked as if he swallowed a fly. Instantly, intense fear blossomed in his heart and mind. "Your Majesty!" He cried out it complete astonishment, disbelief, shock, and fear.
The unhidden fear was printed out on his face. He collapsed on the ground, no longer making any attempts to rise from the ground. There on the ground, he began to tremble in terror. The Duke of Rong's terror was so strong he never even realized the puddle that grew under him as he soiled himself.
The Duke of Rong cry of "Your Majesty" rang out in the courtyard silencing the howls of rage and anger of the warrior and servants who were forced to line up in the courtyard. In the smothering silence, an inaudible ripple of shock and fear rippled through everyone gathered in the court. It was followed by a murmur of "It's the emperor," or "It's His Majesty" and murmurings along that line.
It was then that everyone realized they had been dragged before the Emperor. Pure terror took over, and everyone immediately knew something was wrong. Those that were involved knew that this was the end of the road for them. Those not involved feared they would be implicated in whatever was going on. People's eyes begin to swing towards the Duke of Rong. Everyone saw his reactions and knew that his actions were not the actions of an innocent man.
They knew something big and horrible was going on. There was no way the Emperor would crawl out of his palace in Imperial City and come all the way to the borders that bordered Josper just to go sightseeing. With the fast, efficient work of the Shā Qì warriors. Over twelve thousand warriors and servants were forced to assemble in the massive courtyard of the castle. All of the other warriors were garrisoned outside of the castle.
Looking toward the Deputy Commander of the Shā Qì warriors, the Emperor finally spoke, "Is everyone here?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Deputy Commander of the Shā Qì warriors bowed. "Not a soul alive remains in the castle."