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Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Desperation and Indignation
A valley over a hundred miles from Yuanhua City.
Originally clad in vivid attire, Lin Xiao now looked quite disheveled. His fiery red cloak was tattered, and his Treasure Armor was smeared with mud, no longer exuding the spirited pride from three days earlier when he had taken Yuanhua City.
At this moment, he was gathering the scattered soldiers here.
By his side, Lin Jianfeng was assisting.
However...
The efficiency of Gu Jinlai’s Short Range Defense Cannons and ten "Thunder" Gatling Guns was too great; even though their numbers were fewer, of the four thousand men Lin Xiao had taken to Yuanhua City, less than one thousand remained in the end.
Moreover, since the city’s defenders were primarily composed of elite fighters, among the one thousand surviving troops, less than three hundred were elites.
Next to a small stream, looking at the Lin Family soldiers who were in disarray and panic, Lin Xiao painfully closed his eyes.
After a while, he finally spoke, "The survival rate of Qi Refinement, Gang Condensation, and Hugging Pill experts should have been higher than that of the ordinary soldiers. How many escaped?"
"Gu Jinlai specifically hunted down our Lin Family’s Hugging Pill experts. In this attack on Yuanhua City, out of the Lin Family’s ten great Hugging Pills, eight were deployed. Apart from myself, only Xie Bei remains."
Lin Jianfeng said with a hollow expression.
"Specifically hunted down?"
"Yes..."
Lin Jianfeng nodded: "Perhaps because we targeted him previously, he knew our Lin Family’s Hugging Pill experts like the back of his hand. Five out of six Hugging Pills died under his gunfire; two of them were about to flee the city disguised among the crowd but were still precisely located and killed one by one."
"Crack!"
The pebble under Lin Xiao’s foot shattered into dust.
"Gu Jinlai!"
He clenched his teeth, his eyes nearly shooting flames of hatred.
The Lin Family’s legacy had not lasted a hundred years; their fortune, built up over four generations, was now...
Gone in an instant.
If thoughts could kill, Gu Jinlai would have already died hundreds, thousands of times.
"Uncle, what should we do now?"
Lin Jianfeng looked despondently at the backbone of the Lin Family.
Although Lin Xiao was not the Patriarch of the Lin Family, everyone in the Lin Family followed his lead and saw him as their role model.
Even the rise of the Lin Family from being just one of the three major clans in Linfeng City to its dominance was after Lin Xiao became the Vice Sect Master of the Purgatory Sect.
"Although we have lost many soldiers on this campaign,..."
Lin Xiao’s voice rang out loud, spreading his words throughout the valley: "The men of Linfeng are talented and valiant, their rise from obscurity unforeseen! As long as we can return to Linfeng City, within ten years, the Lin Family will surely recover our primordial energy! And by then, you, who have gone through the ordeal of this great war, will become the new backbone and pillars of our Lin Family."
Hearing his words, the morale of the thousand despondent soldiers revived slightly.
"Now, let us return to Linfeng City, where you will receive the best rest and recovery."
Lin Xiao gave the command.
The nearly thousand defeated soldiers slowly made their way toward Linfeng City.
Due to their low spirits and the presence of the wounded in their ranks, they took a full five days to cover the four hundred miles.
However...
When they finally returned to Linfeng City, what awaited them was not the warm bed, not the steaming rice, but...
A battlefield where the smoke of war had yet to dissipate.
Seeing the billowing smoke from within the city, the strange yet familiar marks of destruction on the city walls, the bloodstains that had barely been cleaned up...
Lin Xiao’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
"What happened? What happened to Linfeng City?"
The first thing that came to his mind was the Huang Family, the Yu Family, which had been annexed and expelled by the Lin Family.
Could it be that these remnants had killed their way back?
To seize Linfeng City back!?
"Hurry! Get into the city quickly!"
Lin Xiao shouted loudly, rushing toward Linfeng City with Lin Jianfeng.
Once they arrived at the foot of Linfeng City, the few guards on the city walls were so panicked they nearly fled the city.
But soon, someone seemed to recognize Lin Xiao, and shouts of surprise and joy came forth.
"It’s Sect Master Lin Xiao! Sect Master Lin has returned!"
"Young Clan Leader! The Young Clan Leader is here!"
"Thank goodness, the Young Clan Leader is finally back, Linfeng City is saved!"
In the shouts, several people used ropes to descend from the city walls and quickly came to greet them.
"Lin Lie? Lin Yan?"
Lin Xiao identified the two.
They were among the more promising young generation of the Lin Family, both in their early twenties and experts who had cultivated True Qi.
"What happened?"
"The Gu family, from Red Wind City!"
Lin Lie’s eyes were filled with fear: "The Patriarch of the Gu family, Gu Changfeng, led three thousand horsemen to attack our Linfeng City. Gu Jinlai’s disciple, Su Nanxing, achieved Refining God, and he brought several creatures that could breathe fire, completely suppressing us from even daring to show our heads. Furthermore, remnants of the Huang Family, who were eradicated by us in the past, caused chaos within the city, resulting in the fall of Linfeng City..."
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but cry out loudly: "Several of our senior uncles are dead... everything in the house was looted, and the entire estate was torched by the Gu Family people..."
"The Gu Family! The Gu Family!"
Upon hearing these two words, and thinking back to his recent crushing defeat by Gu Jinlai, Lin Xiao realized the Lin Family’s elite were almost entirely gone, and of the Eight Great Core, only two remained; their grand prospects had been destroyed in an instant.
And now...
Linfeng City was breached by Gu Changfeng, and the wealth accumulated over decades was swept away, even the family’s estate was engulfed in fierce flames...
For a moment, an unprecedented sense of shame and fury surged in his heart.
"No! No! No!"
He furiously roared, his veins bulging as he raised his head in a howling cry.
"Gu Jinlai! Gu Jinlai!"
"Spurt!"
The next moment, his blood surged with anger.
Already exhausted from the long journey, he spit out a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed face up.
"Uncle..."
"Young Clan Leader..."
In the midst of the shouts, chaos erupted again in the arena.
...
To Gu Jinlai’s knowledge, Lin Xiao was so furious about Elder Gu, Su Nanxing, Gu Chifeng, and the others breaking into Linfeng City that he spat blood.
At this time, he had just received the message from Nian Buwang, reporting that the first group of the Gu family was rapidly approaching Yuanhua City and was on the verge of reaching the city outskirts.
"Elder Gu..."
Previously, Gu Jinlai had been somewhat worried that his true intentions would be seen through by Elder Gu. Therefore, even though he wanted to leverage the Gu family’s power, he was always reluctant to communicate too much with the core members.
But now...
Having been in this world for a year and after the consecutive capture of Lingxiao City and Yuanhua City, he had undergone some changes in personality and some deficiencies in memory, which he thought Elder Gu and the others would understand.
When a messenger came to report that Elder Gu had entered the city, Gu Jinlai put down the book from Heavenly Gang Sect that recorded the various forces of Star State and even described the experts of the Daqian World, and headed toward the gate of the sect.
Upon reaching the gate, the sound of horse hooves trampling the ground approached.
Subsequently, he saw dozens of people riding high-headed horses, appearing outside the Heavenly Gang Sect.
These horses were exceptionally majestic and bore horns on their foreheads.
These were Horned Horses.
In this world, elite soldiers often wore Iron Armor and wielded heavy weapons, thus the horses were held to extremely high standards.
As a result, there were classifications such as Warhorses, steeds, treasure horses, Horned Horses, Dragon Horses, and War Beasts.
Among them, Horned Horses already possessed the bloodline of Fierce Beasts, while Dragon Horses were on par with Fierce Beasts, and as for War Beasts...
The spectrum was broad, with varying strengths and weaknesses, making them difficult to generalize.
A few months ago, when Su Tong had just been assigned to Lingxiao City, she had ridden a Horned Horse, not only for its strong muscles and tough skin but also for its ability to carry a thousand pounds and travel two thousand miles day and night.
Of course, Su Tong’s main reason for riding that Horned Horse was its pure white body and striking good looks.
Otherwise, with her background, riding a Dragon Horse would not have been difficult.
"Hahaha!"
Seeing Gu Jinlai, the leading Elder Gu laughed loudly, "Second Brother!"
"Big Brother."
Gu Jinlai likewise shouted.
Although it felt a bit unfamiliar, on Blue Star, it wasn’t strange to call someone "Brother," so he adapted quickly.
"My second brother seizing a city single-handedly is truly an act of peerless bravery!"
"Big Brother flatters me."
Gu Jinlai smiled faintly, "It’s all thanks to the disciples’ valiant efforts."
After speaking, he turned his gaze to Su Nanxing.
"We ensured your orders were carried out without dishonor."
Su Nanxing bowed slightly.
"Good."
Gu Jinlai said emphatically.
At that moment, Elder Gu gestured to bring someone forward, "Second Brother, our ability to conquer Linfeng City in a battle is largely thanks to Brother Huang, yellow jade of the Huang Family, who has now pledged all of the Huang Family to our cause."
"Family Head overpraises me, defeating Linfeng City was due to the ’Thunder’ weapons crafted by Elder Gu; I dare not claim the credit," the man named Huang Yu humbly replied.
"A contribution is a contribution, and we must remember it," Gu Jinlai responded.
He had somewhat guessed Huang Yu’s identity but was not entirely sure.
At this moment, the entourage that had arrived with Elder Gu also stepped forward to pay their respects.
They addressed him as either the ’Second Uncle’ or the ’Heavenly Master,’ with varying appellations.
Gu Jinlai nodded at each without responding.
After all, except for Gu Xiangyang, he did not recognize anyone else, and if he spoke inappropriately or called someone by the wrong name, it would be awkward.
Overall, the Gu family was rich in talent.
Especially since he had sent a large number of resources over the past half-year, the number of Hugging Pill Masters in the family, in addition to Elder Gu, had increased by two.
Add to that the two from the Huang Family who joined the Gu family, and their power expanded rapidly.
After exchanging pleasantries with Elder Gu for a while, Gu Jinlai entered the Heavenly Gang Sect.
"Hahahaha... Second Brother, we have returned fully loaded from Linfeng City. From now on, you need not support us any further. Not only that, but I’ll have someone prepare a list. Whatever you fancy, feel free to take it," Elder Gu spoke with an open-hearted nature.
He was well aware that the Gu family’s current success was all thanks to Gu Jinlai and held no pretense of being the main contributor.
"I will look over it," Gu Jinlai said, "Elder Brother, you will need to oversee Yuanhua City, while I will proceed directly to Lingxiao City."
After saying this, he glanced at Su Nanxing, "Cities like Yuanhua City cannot go without a Refining God powerhouse. Su Nanxing will stay in Yuanhua City for some time."
"I shall follow the Master’s orders," Su Nanxing replied immediately.
"With Su Nanxing there, we’ll have more assurance in preventing any retaliation from Purgatory Sect," Elder Gu expressed relief.
He was hoping that Gu Chifeng and others would stay as well.
But knowing the situation in Lingxiao City was equally precarious, he naturally did not propose anything that would make Gu Jinlai uncomfortable.
"Purgatory Sect..."
Gu Jinlai pondered for a moment and then said, "Yuanhua City is not far from Lingxiao City. If Purgatory Sect truly seeks revenge, I’ll assist at the first opportunity."
As he spoke, he smiled lightly, "Moreover, I have already written to Vice Sect Master Lu Dengxian claiming credit, stating that Lin Xiao was decisively defeated while attacking Yuanhua City, while I was the one who annihilated Heavenly Gang Sect, executed Star Master Zhang Luu, and secured Yuanhua City. Now, we’ll see how they respond."
Elder Gu was stunned.
That was...
Blatant lying, wasn’t it? Would the Purgatory Sect believe it?
