frightfiction Chapter 246 Siege
Chapter 246 Siege
Chapter 246 Siege
Inside Songcui City, Martial Saint Li Sheng sat alone in his barracks, his face still showing shock and deep sorrow. He couldn't understand how Liu Guang, who held considerable prestige within the Martial Elders' Association, could have so easily turned against them.
Li Sheng had never heard of the name Longhua Dao before. He couldn't understand at all which force, besides the Clan Alliance, would dare to oppose the Martial Elders' Association and make Martial Saint Liu Guang risk his life for it.
After thinking for a long time, Li Sheng still couldn't figure out the mystery, so he simply stopped thinking about it. At least he hadn't forgotten about Wang Yi's murder.
If it were just Liu Guang alone, Li Sheng wouldn't be afraid. Although his cultivation was slightly lower than Liu Guang's, it was extremely limited. If the two faced each other head-on and went all out, the outcome would be very unpredictable.
If Wang Yi hadn't died, the combined strength of him and himself would have been enough to defeat Liu Guang. But now that Wang Yi has been assassinated, he is left alone and unable to fight back, making it extremely difficult to deal with Liu Guang.
That wasn't the main point. What worried Li Sheng most was this so-called Longhua Dao that Liu Guang had mentioned. How could a force that could make a Martial Saint like Liu Guang bow down be an ordinary one? Who knew if Longhua Dao wasn't teeming with experts?
Li Sheng sat in the barracks, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Before he knew it, dusk had fallen.
Liu Guang's betrayal of the Martial Elders' Council, his false delivery of secret orders, and his attempt to assassinate Martial Saint Wang Yi had already been reported to the Council through secret means. Before receiving definitive instructions from the Martial Elders' Council, Li Sheng could only wait idly in Songcui City, secretly praying that Liu Guang wouldn't launch a surprise attack.
But prayers often fail to bring good results. Just as Li Sheng was in a state of utter confusion, a messenger entered the barracks, bringing bad news that sent a chill down Li Sheng's spine.
"Lord Li, a large number of unidentified martial artists have besieged the city. They seem to be very aggressive and hostile. How should we deal with them? Please make a decision!"
The messenger was the same soldier who had previously led the flow of light into the city. Seeing Li Sheng's grim expression, he was too frightened to even lift his head, fearing that Li Sheng would take his anger out on him.
Li Sheng didn't take his anger out on the messenger; instead, he asked urgently, "Approximately how many were there?"
The messenger breathed a sigh of relief and replied in a low voice, "Many, probably no less than ten thousand."
"So many?" Li Sheng's heart skipped a beat again. "Did you see any streaks of light?"
"Who is Liuguang?" The messenger was of low rank and, although he had seen Liuguang before, he did not know her name, so he was somewhat stunned.
"Fool! Liu Guang is the Martial Saint you brought in at noon!" Li Sheng roared, unleashing the power of a Martial Saint, which caused the messenger to stumble and fall.
The messenger dared not delay, and after realizing what was happening, he hurriedly struggled to his feet and said, "That person is among them."
"As expected, it was Liuguang's counterattack!"
Li Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked somewhat flusteredly, "Then can you see clearly how many people have the same cultivation level as Liu Guang?"
"How should I know? I'm just a lowly martial arts master, how could my eyesight be that sharp? Has this bastard lost his mind?" the messenger cursed inwardly.
But Li Sheng was the commander of the army, and his life was in Li Sheng's hands, so he had no choice but to answer.
Therefore, the messenger braced himself and said, "My cultivation is low and I cannot see clearly. But judging from the aura, there is no one whose cultivation surpasses that of Liu Guang."
"Fortunately!"
Li Sheng muttered something under his breath, but then remembered that the messenger was still beside him. He realized that his words contained a hint of fear of battle, which would damage his reputation if the messenger heard them. So he glared at the messenger with hostility.
Seeing that the messenger was looking around and seemed not to have heard, he abandoned his plan to kill him to cover it up and ordered, "I'll go check the city gate first. You go to the army and spread the word that Songcui City is now under martial law. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order!"
"I'll get right away!" the messenger replied and rushed out of the barracks.
Ever since he heard Li Sheng say "It's alright," his back had been soaked with cold sweat. Luckily, he was quick-witted and pretended not to hear, thus escaping a disaster.
Li Sheng, of course, was unaware of the messenger's ulterior motives. Seeing him running like a rabbit, he couldn't help but feel a little strange. But with a formidable enemy at hand, he didn't think too much about it and hurriedly made his way to the city gate.
After hearing the messenger's assessment of the besiegers' cultivation levels, Li Sheng had already relaxed somewhat. However, upon arriving at the city gate and taking in the view, his newly relaxed heart immediately tightened again.
Outside the city, a massive crowd of tens of thousands of martial artists surrounded Songcui City. These martial artists were not a chaotic mob, but were clearly divided into five camps, each led by dozens of Grandmasters.
What chilled Li Sheng the most was that among these tens of thousands of martial artists, apart from the dozens of Grandmasters leading the group, the rest were all Grandmasters, unlike the martial artists in Songcui City whose cultivation levels varied, with Grandmasters and Martial Masters mixed together.
Of the five factions, Liu Guang stood at the very front of the central faction. Behind him was a young man with an extraordinary bearing, and several Grandmasters lined up beside him. Clearly, they were all led by the young man.
Upon seeing Li Sheng appear on the city wall, Liu Guang stepped forward, pointed at the young man not far behind him, and shouted to Li Sheng, "Li Sheng, today the Dao Master of my Longhua Dao has come to Songcui City. If you know what's good for you, you should hand over Songcui City as soon as possible, lest you meet a tragic end!"
Li Sheng remained silent, carefully observing the direction the light pointed. He discovered that although the young man possessed an extraordinary aura, his cultivation level was inferior, only at the Grandmaster level, not Martial Saint.
This put Li Sheng at ease. If the opposing camp had two or more Martial Saints, then Songcui City would no longer be worth defending, and he would have no choice but to abandon the city and flee.
However, if it were only Liu Guang with the cultivation of a Martial Saint, he could still manage to hold his own. As long as he was determined to stay indoors and hold out until the Martial Elders' Association sent reinforcements to capture the traitor Liu Guang, that would be a great achievement.
Therefore, Li Sheng was unmoved by Liu Guang's proposal and pointed his halberd at Liu Guang, cursing, "You traitor, you killed Wang Yi, and you still have the nerve to shout at me? You should know that I, Li Sheng, am loyal to the Wu Lao Society and would never do such a shameless thing as you!"
After being verbally abused by Li Sheng, Liu Guang felt embarrassed in front of everyone and turned to Xiao Chong to ask for a fight: "Daoist Master, this fellow won't listen to my good advice. I'll take him down right now!"
Xiao Chong nodded slightly and smiled, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Liuguang. Please take care of yourself."
"I understand." Liu Guang gave Xiao Chong a slight bow and turned to the city wall.
As expected of a martial saint, he didn't make any moves; he simply touched the ground with his feet and his body soared into the air, covering a distance of dozens of feet, and rushed straight to the city wall.
"Prepare to die, Li Sheng!"
Just as he was about to land on the city wall, Liu Guang let out a loud shout like spring thunder and threw a punch at Li Sheng from a distance.