Before the main gates of the Seven Stars Gang’s headquarters, the air seemed to have frozen solid.
The soldiers of the North City Martial Camp, clad in dark armor, stood in orderly formation, facing off from afar against the men of the West City Martial Camp.
Even more glaring were the Gao clan disciples gathered on both sides, their furious gazes almost spitting fire. On both sides, blades were half drawn, bows and crossbows strung, a murderous chill spreading through the field like the dead silence before a storm.
Though the North City troops were slightly fewer in number, their aura was fiercer.
Nearly a third of them were veterans Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang had brought from the Shanzi Camp. Having lived through bloody battles suppressing rebellion, they had long since tempered an unruly, ferocious courage into their very bones.
Now, seeing that the credit for breaking through the gates was about to fall into their hands, yet someone dared come to obstruct them, their eyes held only eager battle intent—waiting for a single order, and they would pounce on their opponents without the slightest hesitation.
That savagery infected the rest of the North City soldiers. Every man straightened his back and tightened his grip on his weapon.
Gao Yuanhe, the Third Master of the Gao family, stared fixedly at everything before him, his heart bleeding.
In the end, they had still arrived one step too late.
Ma Changhai, that useless trash, had failed to hold out for even a moment!
The Seven Stars Gang was a force the Gao family had spent countless effort and vast resources to support, and it was also a key part of the clan’s arrangements within the city. Now that its headquarters had been broken, years of management had gone up in smoke. To rebuild it—how could that be easy?
Suppressing his rage, he turned to the middle-aged general beside him, who wore light armor and had a calm expression. His voice seemed squeezed out from between his teeth.
“Commander Wang, the North City Martial Camp is trying to rebel! Why have you not ordered an attack?”
West City Commander Wang Yue swept his gaze over the ten Wind-Piercing Crossbows gleaming coldly at the front of the opposing formation, and his brows creased almost imperceptibly.
Attack? Easy for him to say.
Though Wang Yue had once been promoted by County Magistrate Lin Shou, he was now, after all, the commander of the West City Martial Camp. In name, he was under County Commandant Wu’s jurisdiction.
And who was Chen Sheng? A trusted subordinate personally promoted by Wu Kuang!
If a clash truly broke out between the camps, regardless of the outcome, Wu Kuang would never let him off.
County Magistrate Lin’s instruction had been to “come and hold the line, then act according to the situation,” not to truly fight with real blades and spears. How to grasp that “situation,” and where to draw the line—those nuances were enough to make his head ache.
“Commander Wang!” Seeing his silence, Gao Yuanhe’s tone grew increasingly anxious.
“Brother Gao,” Wang Yue said coldly, “armed conflict between government troops is no trivial matter. Is this responsibility to be borne by me? Or by the Gao family?”
“You…!”
Gao Yuanhe choked with anger and was just about to retort when a clear yet icy voice rang out from within the Seven Stars Gang’s gates—
“Who is making such a racket here!”
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a young general in dark light armor, a long saber at his waist, slowly walking out.
His figure was straight and tall, his gaze sharp as lightning. More than ten personal guards followed close behind him, and a chilling killing intent struck them head-on.
“Gao Yuanhe!”
“Chen Sheng!”
Their gazes collided in midair, and they instantly recognized one another.
Killing intent surged in Gao Yuanhe’s eyes, his hand already pressing down on the hilt of his saber—this brat had first killed his nephew Gao Qiheng, and now had destroyed the Seven Stars Gang, the Gao family’s right arm. This hatred was irreconcilable.
Chen Sheng’s gaze was just as cold. From Ma Changhai’s mouth, he had learned that the death of this body’s biological father was very likely connected to the Gao family, and this Third Master Gao before him was certainly involved.
The hand he held his saber with had knuckles faintly whitening.
“Commander Chen, I am Wang Yue, commander of the West City Martial Camp.” Wang Yue stepped forward at the right moment and cupped his fists, breaking the deadlock.
Chen Sheng’s expression eased slightly, and he returned the gesture.
“So it is Commander Wang. I have long heard of you.”
“I have come on County Magistrate Lin’s orders to stop the North City Martial Camp from rashly taking up arms against the Seven Stars Gang. I wonder what Commander Chen’s actions are…” Before Wang Yue could finish, Chen Sheng cut him off.
“The Seven Stars Gang incited civil unrest and colluded with the Qinglin river bandits. The evidence is conclusive. This official was ordered to suppress bandits. How can this be called ‘rashly taking up arms’? When Commander Wang reports back to the county magistrate, I hope you will speak truthfully.”
Chen Sheng’s voice was not loud, yet it entered every person’s ears clearly.
“Bullshit!”
Gao Yuanhe could no longer restrain himself and shouted harshly, “When did the Seven Stars Gang ever collude with river bandits? This is clearly you planting evidence and abusing public power for private revenge!”
Chen Sheng glanced sideways at him, his gaze sharp as a blade. “And what sort of thing are you, to be worthy of questioning military affairs? Get out of here at once. If you dare obstruct the suppression of bandits again, don’t blame this official for spilling your blood on the spot!”
“You…!”
Gao Yuanhe was furious to the extreme. With a clang, his saber slid half an inch from its sheath. Behind him, the Gao clan disciples were all seething with indignation and stepped forward with weapons in hand. Their Gao family had tyrannized Changshan County for years—when had they ever suffered such humiliation?
“Bzz—”
Just then, the sound of mechanisms turning came from behind Chen Sheng. Ten Wind-Piercing Crossbows instantly changed direction, their cold bolts locking precisely onto the area where the Gao family members stood.
A bone-chilling killing intent descended like something tangible.
Wang Yue’s heart skipped. He saw it clearly—as long as Gao Yuanhe’s saber fully left its sheath, Chen Sheng would absolutely order the crossbows to fire without hesitation.
Though this youth was young, his decisiveness in killing far surpassed ordinary men.
He hurriedly stepped between the two sides and asked Chen Sheng in a deep voice,
“Commander Chen keeps saying you are ‘under orders.’ May I ask whose orders you are under?”
“No comment.” Chen Sheng’s answer was brief and forceful.
The atmosphere instantly tightened to its limit, and everyone’s heart rose into their throat.
At that exact moment, a Gao clan disciple came running over, panting. He leaned close to Gao Yuanhe’s ear and whispered, “Third Master, the family head has issued a strict order. He asks that you endure for now and return to the residence immediately. You must not cause any further trouble.”
Gao Yuanhe’s expression changed abruptly.
For the family head to send a message at this moment, the situation in the city must have changed.
He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the rage filling his chest. Staring fixedly at Chen Sheng, he said word by word, “Young man, this is not a military camp. This is Changshan. Don’t be too hot-blooded when you do things, lest in the future… you regret it beyond repair.”
Hearing this, the corner of Chen Sheng’s mouth hooked into a mocking arc.
“You dare call yourself a ‘master’? You don’t even dare draw your blade; this official thought I had run into some sheltered lady from a noble household. As for being hot-blooded…” He paused, then his tone suddenly rose. “How fitting. The ‘Sheng’ in this Chen’s name is precisely the sheng of ‘young and hot-blooded’!”
“Good! Good! Good! Chen Sheng, I’ll remember you!”
Gao Yuanhe said “good” three times in succession, so furious he laughed instead. Without another word, he turned and left with an ashen face. Though the Gao family members were unwilling, they could only surround him and depart resentfully.
Seeing this, Wang Yue secretly let out a breath. At least this conflict had not erupted on the spot. He cupped his fists once more toward Chen Sheng, said nothing further, and led the West City troops away in orderly fashion.
“Commander?”
Yan Ming came closer and asked in a low voice.
Chen Sheng watched the Gao family’s figures recede into the distance, his gaze deep. “Continue confiscating the Seven Stars Gang’s properties. Count all the stolen silver and criminal evidence. Not the slightest bit is to be missed.”
“Yes!” Yan Ming solemnly accepted the order.
Deputy Commander Cheng, who had witnessed the entire confrontation from the side, no longer dared show the slightest negligence toward this young commander. He hurriedly directed his subordinates and threw himself even more energetically into the search and confiscation.
Chen Sheng’s expression was solemn. He understood that Gao Yuanhe’s retreat must have been due to intervention from the county commandant’s side. Now that the Seven Stars Gang had been destroyed, the Gao family would certainly not let the matter rest. From here on, things would only grow more dangerous.
Fortunately, he had also gained benefits from this.
Once he refined the Earthcore Spiritual Milk, his strength should surge by another large margin.
Sure enough, danger and opportunity always existed side by side.