Chapter 48: Irrefutable Evidence of Treason, Collusion with Foreign Powers, and Extermination of the Clan

As Tang Wenbo's voice fell, the two doormen wielding wooden clubs could no longer wait. They swung their clubs from behind, aiming to sweep at Zhang Yuan and Chen Wu's legs.

Chen Wu spun around abruptly with a furious roar, meeting the descending clubs with a downward elbow strike.

Iron Armor Fist, Sky-Suspending Elbow.

*Bang!*

The two clubs, as thick as a man's arm, snapped instantly.

To break a club with an elbow required a force exceeding five hundred catties!

He thrust his hand forward, driving both fists ahead.

Iron Armor Fist, Advancing Punch.

The two doormen were merely mediocre martial artists with perhaps two or three hundred catties of strength; how could they match Chen Wu's power and speed?

Having had their clubs shattered in a single blow, they were paralyzed with terror. By the time Chen Wu's fists reached their chests, they didn't even know how to dodge.

In truth, they couldn't have dodged even if they wanted to.

Chen Wu halted his fists abruptly half a foot from their chests, a flicker of reluctance crossing his face.

The force of this punch could have shattered their ribcages; even if they survived, they would be crippled for life.

With a cold snort, Chen Wu transformed his fists into claws, seized the two doormen by their collars, and swung them outward.

*Thud!*

The two were thrown over ten feet away, their backs slamming into the closed main gates. Blood sprayed from their mouths as their bodies slowly slid down, accompanied by agonized wails.

The surrounding Tang family guards shuddered, their encircling formation faltering.

To throw two hundred-pound men ten feet away required strength that was undoubtedly at the mid-stage of the Houtian Realm!

In the past, the Tang family's strongest clansmen and guards had formed a merchant caravan led by the second master, a late-stage Houtian expert, yet they had all perished at the border.

Currently, the strongest guards in the clan were only a few mid-stage Houtian martial artists, and they all stayed by the side of the Clan Head.

Aside from the three or five early-stage Houtian leaders among the guards gathered here, most were not even in the Houtian Realm. With such strength, how could they fight a mid-stage Houtian expert?

Zhang Yuan's gaze fell on Chen Wu, and he shook his head slightly.

If those two doormen had been Houtian martial artists, Chen Wu might have suffered greatly due to his hesitation just now.

He still lacked sufficient experience.

In the frontier army, the slaughter on the battlefield was a matter of life and death.

With Chen Wu's temperament, how could he survive the perils of the border troops?

"Rebellion! This is rebellion! How dare you act so violently!" From the rear, a Tang family youth shrieked in a shrill voice, "Attack! All of you, attack together! We aren't afraid even if we have to fight to the death today!"

The surrounding guards looked at one another, gritted their teeth, and surged toward Zhang Yuan and Chen Wu.

Numbers mattered; two fists could not contend with many hands. If they swarmed him, even a mid-stage Houtian expert could be overwhelmed by sheer weight.

Zhang Yuan's hand rested on his saber hilt, his expression calm as he watched the Tang guards rushing toward him.

Chen Wu turned to charge and intercept the enemy, but Zhang Yuan raised a hand to stop him.

"Today, I will give you one last lesson."

"From now on, you must rely on yourself."

As Zhang Yuan's voice rang out, the five fingers pressing against the hilt at his waist slowly tightened.

*Clang—*

The long saber left its sheath.

A forward step, a horizontal slash.

A true decapitation!

Chen Wu's eyes widened as he watched a streak of light flash past, like lightning tearing through the air.

Three heads flew high into the air. The blood within their chests surged upward, spraying from their necks ten feet into the sky.

Two guards clutched their necks desperately, but they could not stop the blood spraying from their severed carotid arteries.

Blood splattered onto Zhang Yuan, staining his black uniform a deep crimson.

As the blood fell, Chen Wu's face was sprayed with hot, metallic-smelling gore. A drop entered his mouth, making his blood feel as if it were boiling; a crimson hue slowly filled his eyes.

Zhang Yuan's strike left everyone in the courtyard stunned.

Killing!

Five men killed in a single stroke.

It wasn't about how many people he killed with that strike, but the fact that he had actually drawn his blade to kill!

Third Master Tang stood with his mouth agape, his limbs trembling. He wanted to scream, but no sound would come out.

The gathered Tang family youths and guards had never witnessed such brutality; they were all paralyzed with shock.

In their daily lives, they fought, bullied commoners, and even broke the law or disregarded human life, but they had never imagined anyone would dare to kill their people right in front of them.

Hadn't they always been the ones killing others?

Zhang Yuan's feet did not stop. With a single stride of over ten feet, he arrived before the Tang youth who had just been shouting for everyone to attack together, now standing there dumbfounded.

The long saber swept horizontally, passed the elbow, rose, and then, with his right hand gripping the handle in a reverse grip and his left hand pressing the pommel, he used the strength of his waist to hack downward.

The blade pressed down through the youth's hair crown.

The loose strands of hair were severed instantly before the blade even touched them.

The Tang youth's eyes bulged; he tried to scream, but he could not.

The blade pressed further, shattering the jade hair crown and letting his tied hair spill loose.

The blade pressed again, slicing through the scalp, causing blood to seep out.

The blade broke through the skull. The speed was so great that it drove straight down, from the bridge of the nose, down the neck, and into the chest before following through with a final downward sweep.

One strike, split in two.

A bloody mess.

Standing in the rear, Chen Wu saw the entire strike clearly.

He had killed people before.

He had seen Zhang Yuan kill people before.

But he had never seen Zhang Yuan kill like this.

This strike reminded him of words Zhang Yuan had said several times

*With the saber in hand, both man and horse are shattered.*

This strike was the pinnacle of battlefield slaughter!

In the courtyard, the guards and Tang youths were like roosters having their necks squeezed; their faces turned red and their legs trembled.

Holding his saber horizontally, Zhang Yuan fixed his gaze on the speechless Third Master Tang.

"The Tang family framed the Martial Guard Bureau as imperial lapdogs, harbored resentment toward the Great Qin court, and intended to ambush the Black-Clad Martial Guards. This is tantamount to treason."

"Therefore, they must be executed."

As his voice fell, he flicked his left hand, tossing a signal flare into the sky.

*Bang!*

The flare exploded ten feet in the air, scattering a shower of golden fireworks.

The signal for the Black-Clad Martial Guards to call for aid.

In the city of Luyang, these fireworks had not been seen for at least ten years.

Today, Zhang Yuan would give Chen Wu his final lesson.

That was: be ruthless, and pull the weeds out by the roots!

Having thrown the flare, Zhang Yuan grabbed Chen Wu by the collar and pulled him back toward the side wall.

Just as they reached the wall, a loud boom echoed as the tightly closed Tang family gates were smashed open.

A squad of Black-Clad Martial Guards in heavy armor, wielding large shields, rushed into the mansion.

Behind the shield-bearers came a squad of soldiers in heavy armor, armed with long spears.

One squad of these guards moved to protect Zhang Yuan and Chen Wu, while another formed a wall of steel.

*Thwip—*

From atop the roof ridges, dozens of figures rushed forward. Their crossbows pointed downward, and an instant rain of arrows flooded the courtyard.

A storm of repeating crossbow bolts.

Some Tang guards and youths in the courtyard were pierced through the body by the sudden rain of arrows; others wailed on the ground before being struck through the head.

*Whirr—*

On the opposite perimeter wall, a squad of archers stepped up, firing continuous volleys from their high vantage point.

The few remaining early-stage Houtian Tang guards were turned into pincushions, collapsing to the ground.

A squad of guards in leather armor, with scimitars strapped to their backs, vaulted down from the eastern wall. They drew their blades, swinging them in wide arcs.

The bodies of the Tang youths hiding behind the corridor pillars were sliced open, spraying blood.

*Boom!*

The southern wall was breached by a heavy battering ram. A heavy crossbow was pushed through the gap, and then a bolt, half a foot long and as thick as an arm, was fired with a roar.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

The first bolt pierced through Third Master Tang's body, sending him flying into the Tang family hall and smashing the tables within.

The second bolt embedded itself in the hall's wall, piercing through it and taking the Tang family ancestral statues down with the collapsing wall.

The third bolt was pressed downward and missed, striking the stone steps in front of the hall.

The bluestone steps exploded upon impact. The bolt ricocheted, whistling through the air and smashing into the chests of two Tang youths, shattering their ribs.

The bolt ricocheted again, snapping the leg bones of two Tang guards before finally thudding heavily against a heavy shield with a resounding boom.

Chen Wu looked down at his feet.

The blood flowing through the courtyard gathered into streams through the cracks in the bricks, a vivid, demonic crimson that soaked his shoes.

"The front courtyard is cleared."

"Seal the back courtyard; leave a few alive for statements."

"Search for all movable wealth; find the deeds to the lands and shops."

"Men have already been sent to Jiulin County from the Black Ice Platform; the Tang Clan Head must be captured."

"Fix the evidence: collusion with foreign powers. Exterminate the clan."

From ahead, several voices familiar to Chen Wu drifted toward him.

Brother Yuan, Leader Hu Yang, Leader Qi Junliang, Sergeant Qian Mu...

(End of Chapter)