With three rebounds from the rebuked [Shattering Crush] spells, Tang Chao's mind defenses broke away without giving him any time to react, making him plummet. At the same time, both his head and soul damages blossomed as if fireworks, annulling all of his efforts to activate the saving talisman and even his most hidden defensive measures, making him no more than a mortal, and one in great pain, falling towards the ground he had been so high above before.
*CRASH*
His body crashed against the reinforced stones of the city's streets, releasing a cloud of debris, his Warrior King body being enough to destroy even the defensive runes placed on the materials of a smaller, but still Emperor-trodden city as [Eastern Inscription].
***
With such a fall, while being nearly unconscious, his mind overwhelmed and his soul affected would have killed him for sure, as any mortal who fell from three hundred feet. But! Tang Chao did survive. He would even manage to fall and get up in just a moment as if he wasn't affected by anything and his fall was just a part of his plan, his gaze far more steady than the one of someone whose mind defenses broke and his body showing no signs of injuries.
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While Tang Chao's fall was an unexpected occurrence coming from facts outside their actions, and that many of the people around, including one of them, didn't understand, yet, three of the intruding Warrior Kings continued their advance, launching against the falling Tang Chao, their intention to kill the latter and rescue the others, unchanged.
And even as the now-traitor minister of the [Dongpo] clan rose in a way that looked as if all of this was just a part of his plan, how could they know that he was probably even more bewildered than them, the [Pan]'s Teng Zhenxiang and An Zhuo representing the [White Grove] sect continued on their attack, leaving behind the suddenly quitting [Yuxuan]'s Du Ten.
"Emperor about, get back!" Du Ten's words explained his stop and made An Zhuo cancel his movement skill and start to pull back. But Teng Zhenxiang continued his attack, intent on eliminating the threat towards his young master and the person the latter had chosen to befriend.
***
*Splash*
But the strangely dressed, unlikely caravan master would meet a bloody demise just a moment later, his claw-shaped hands unable to reach Tang Chao and, in turn, turning into a cloud of blood, as a Warrior Emperor aura, and one of someone above the 2nd level, surrounded the previously shocked and somewhat panicked [Dongpo] clan's traitor.
Teng Zhenxiang - (meaning Pain Truth) - was the seasoned leader of a fierce, isolated tribe. His people thrived in the wild, rarely encountering outsiders, the borders of the [Ten Families] sparsely inhabited.
One year, a beast tide threatened his tribe with annihilation. Overwhelmed and desperate, Teng Zhenxiang fought valiantly but faced certain defeat. As fate would have it, a caravan from the [Pan Trade Company], led by the now leader, Pang Wen, stumbled upon the conflict. The caravan was returning from a business trip, with Pang Wen eager to introduce his newly-wed and now-pregnant wife to his family. Unprepared for such an encounter, the caravan guards and even Pang Wen fought fiercely in the first lines, defending the caravan and his wife against the unexpected beast tide.
The intense battle induced the early birth of Pan Tong, but tragically, his mother died during childbirth, her mortal body unable to support the mixed stress of childbirth and beast auras.
Despite Pang Wen's efforts and courage, he could not protect her from nature’s course.
And while without knowing, the caravan’s appearance saved the small [Teng] tribe from extinction.
Grateful for his tribesmen's lives and having seen the courage of the merchant company, Teng Zhenxiang pledged his loyalty to the Pan Trade Company. Witnessing the birth of Pan Tong and learning about the tragedy happening to his mother, he vowed to repay the debt by serving the young master - until the latter could defend himself, aligning his tribe with the company, nearly merging all of his surviving people into the already mixed group that was the [Pan Trade Company].
Hai Long couldn't be considered a full member of the [Pan Trade Company], but he had spent over ten years with the latter, and by now, Pan Tong was closer to him than his family's [Phoenix Family Hall], as well as the people who accompanied him.
Teng Zhenxiang being a far more special case even, as the somewhat savage-looking, wildly spoken, and more often than not brash tribal elder had been one of the only people he considered a friend since the start of his, previously considered a kind of slavery, now more of an enjoyable expedition!
"Who the fuck dares?!" Seeing how his probably only true friend in the [Pan Trade Company], as most people still treated him as an outsider, the young master being a welcome exception, was killed by a sneak attack from a Warrior Emperor, a cultivator far superior to the, not even absolutely at the peak, Warrior King Teng Zhenxiang, he roared, dropping any ideas of concealment and rushing towards the city-block that now turned into such a battlezone.
***
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Any Warrior Emperor's movement would be naturally accompanied by an aura release and only when intently keeping it back, would they be able to move without disrupting the surrounding qi or creating the destruction such a level cultivator would produce.
But with aura being controlled by one's soul, the latter also being directly linked to emotions, Hai Long's outrage and sudden movement turned into as if a calamity decided to strike the city.
From his movement, the wind howled wildly;
From his shout, one which boomed as a veritable explosion, most of the people except for the ones in the upper ranks of the Warrior Lord realm and above felt their ears hurting;
With his anger translating into a release of the aura nurtured by his domain, it was as if dusk turned into dawn, even the air glowing by itself as the temperature rose, his [Fiery Phoenix' Breath] cultivation method's infused domain augmented by emotion!
***
Hai Long was a peak level two Warrior Emperor, with all the signs of being about to reach the third level, the [Pan Trade Company] investing an enormous amount of resources into him.
But, even if his lunge created a show of destruction, and his aura could kill all of the lower-realm cultivators present without any effort, only his rational mind power part controlling the soul not to affect allies, inheritors, and especially Bai Qi, it would be stopped even before it created a single ripple around Tang Chao, the one who most present would consider the main enemy, his actions showing his will to kill every one of the inheritors, as well as witnesses, even the one who was the main target of this gathering - Bai Qi.
"What a good righteous cultivator, attacking a simple Warrior King while being far above the latter!" As Hai Long's aura was repelled just a few feet from the somewhat dazed Tang Chao, the owner of the opposing aura, and also the one who had just killed Teng Zhenxiang and forced back the other two Warrior Kings, revealed himself while laughing.
"YOU!" Hai Long's assessment wasn't wrong at all, Teng Zhenxiang being killed by a 2nd level Warrior Emperor, and a peak one at that, so in place of thinking, he roared out as he used his movement skills to close up and engage the opponent, not even stopping to identify this newly appeared enemy. As what else but an enemy would dare to kill people of the [Pan Trade Company] while being inside a power under the, in the end, control of the [Great Forest Sect] overlord's area?!
***
"How did he sneak with us around?!" With an Emperor appearing from nowhere, and neither of the four of them having noticed anything until now, Lei Qiang's query was a logical one, but no one was in the mood to answer or speculate at the moment.
*BOOM*
With a loud boom, Dongpo Ao's aura expanded to cover most of the city, followed by Gao Zhuli's and just a breath later Lei Qiang's as well, although the two of them did it without such commotion.
With the three Emperors cooperating, not only did they cover nearly the entire city with their senses, but also created a barrier around Hai Long and his opponent. Emperor battles were meant to be fought in the void, the destruction they created too grand, but from the looks of it, as well as the identity of the ambusher, it was clear that this time it wouldn't be like that.
"Zhu Gao, retreat to the Palace and take over the activation of the city's formations. Zhu Yun, gather your men!" Dongpo Ao commanded right as he finished setting up his aura.
As for the other Warrior Kings, as soon as Hai Long engaged and the other Emperors blocked the two combatants, they immediately launched forward, most surrounding Gao Xiulan, Lei Guiying, Pan Tong, Dongpo Dayang, and Bai Qi. At the same time, An Zhuo rushed towards Tang Chao, a nine-foot-long spear appearing in his hands and stopping the still dumbfounded ex-minister from taking any actions, the speartip being just an inch from his left temple.
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From all the looks, the situation was resolved. Even if Hai Long and the unexpected enemy Emperor were only beginning their clash, with three other Emperors present and Tang Chao subjugated, as well as the Warrior Kings starting to retreat along with the rescued heirs and Bai Qi, it indeed appeared to be so.
But, Bai Qi noticed the nervousness of the elites and even the Emperors, prompting him to put on his guard as well.
{Don't worry, even if they are inside the city, with Lady Gao, Lord Lei, and Lord Dongpo there is no chance for a second [River Tree City] to happen here!} Noticing Bai Qi's alertness, Zhu Chen sent him a qi transmission before urging everyone to retreat farther from the area now turned into an Emperor battleground.
<[River Tree City] incident!> As Bai Qi thought of the news that he had learned during his stay in the [Delicate Forest Palace], and the reason why he had picked to visit Li Xia and not go to the [Radiant Orb Martial School] to see Lan Yanzhi.
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After all, the [Seven Strokes Hall] was originally based in that city, and Li Xia had spent most of the year there. But, just a few weeks ago, an enormous incident happened, one that not only broke the peace of the region but also brought a change to the entire war. After all, until the moment, except for the border cities, nearly all of the region was considered safe. But not now, with [River Tree City]'s walls and formations destroyed, the experts and soldiers in the city killed, and thousands of casualties among the population. And the city was over a thousand miles from the border or any battleground!
And the [Seven Strokes Hall] as well as another 4th tier power called [River Lotus Dojo] would have been destroyed entirely as well, if not for most of their disciples and elders having been outside the city along with part of the City's mansion forces, attending a gathering near [Yuxuan City], which had saved their lives.
Although one could say that maybe it was their absence was the one that destroyed the city, that would be no more than an uninformed guess. After all, even if all of the elders between the two small powers and the few masters from the City Hall had been present, the situation would have changed nothing. Indeed, what help could a dozen mid-tier Warrior Kings and a hundred Warrior Lords provide against an attack of 4 Emperors and 6 peak Warrior Kings? And which could infiltrate a city without alarming any expert or formation?!
The name of this previously unknown group of elites was [Soulrend Elders] and they hailed from the [Hundred Souls Mountain], a known gathering of demonic-path experts in the [Demon Worshipping Region].
But outside the shock caused by the event, and that not even the quick reinforcements, which arrived just two hours after the attack happened, the fact that not a single one of the [Soulrend Elders] was caught or found on the scene, provoking a large-scale panic among surrounding cities.
And not to say that there was another fact. One that made even the higher-ups of the region exclaim in surprise. And that was, that among the ten now-known members of the [Soulrend Elders], not a single one was a previously known expert! Not one of them had any achievements or any fame at all, both their names and looks were unfamiliar to everyone.
Now one of the ten had appeared, taking by surprise the 4 present Emperors, and, who knew if the others also hid around!