An hour later, Qin Shilei and Luo Xiangyun returned to the City Lord's Mansion.
This time, they had killed the leaders of eight factions that had not sent representatives to the ceremony.
The leaders of thirteen other factions had witnessed Luo Xiangyun's livestream and immediately knelt and begged for mercy when Qin Shilei arrived.
Qin Shilei lightly punished them and let them go.
In addition, three factions had already fled Aya City with their entire groups.
Qin Shilei merely left behind a warning: "They are forbidden from ever stepping foot in Aya City again."
These were all factions with over two thousand members.
As for the smaller factions, Qin Shilei did not care whether they had sent representatives to the ceremony or not.
Seeing Qin Shilei, who was radiating killing intent, Timos and the others felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles, terrified that he might summon lightning and blast them to ashes at any moment.
"Hmph," Qin Shilei said coldly, "As long as you can defeat me, we will hand over the position of City Lord. If anything happens to City Lord Shen, I will make you all accompany her to the grave."
Timos and the others' faces changed drastically. They opened their mouths, wanting to retort, but upon meeting Qin Shilei's icy gaze, they could only force the words back down their throats.
Qin Shilei suddenly seemed to recall something. He looked up at Timos and asked, "Where did your other legion, a hundred thousand strong, go?"
Timos's eyes flickered, and he replied nonchalantly, "Perhaps the City Lord sent them out to search for supplies. I'm not entirely sure of the specifics."
"Really?"
"Absolutely true. I truly have no knowledge of it."
Qin Shilei's eyes suddenly turned a brilliant purple. He asked again, "Where exactly did your other legion go?"
Timos stared blankly and replied, "Our people discovered a walled city in the Great Xia Kingdom near the border, with a sparse population. City Lord Youjin then dispatched the Third Legion to attack that city. They should have reached that city by now."
"Damn you!"
Qin Shilei's expression changed slightly. In his rage, he immediately drew his sword and split Timos in two.
The Tianzhu people around them turned pale again and tried to flee.
"Stop!" Qin Shilei said coldly, "Anyone who takes another step will die!"
Those people were forced to halt their steps.
"Mr. Qin, it was Timos who lied; it has nothing to do with us," several of Timos's subordinates quickly tried to shift the blame.
"Hmph, trying to lie to me is seeking death. I hope you will learn from this."
Qin Shilei waved his hand as if shooing away flies and said, "Get out!"
Xu Jun, who was standing nearby, stepped forward in a panic and said, "City Lord, we should return immediately. If we are late, there might be unexpected developments."
Besides Xu Jun's Dragon Tiger Legion, Xinluo City had only a small number of evolved individuals hunting nearby, totaling no more than twenty to thirty thousand people. Now, with Xu Jun absent, if the Tianzhu forces managed to infiltrate Xinluo City, the Great Xia people within would likely suffer greatly.
"Yes, we will return immediately."
Qin Shilei turned and took out a thousand-mile transmission talisman, handing it to Shen Feixue. "They shouldn't bother you for the time being, but you must remain vigilant. If you encounter any unsolvable problems, you can contact me through the talisman. Take care!"
With that, he grabbed Xu Jun and leaped onto the back of Xiaoqiang, flying rapidly back to Xinluo City.
About thirty to forty kilometers outside Xinluo City, in a small town.
The hundred thousand evolved individuals dispatched by Youjin were currently stationed in the town.
Along the roadsides of the town were hundreds of discarded corpses. These were the evolved individuals from Xinluo City who had gone out to hunt mutated beasts, only to encounter the Tianzhu army and be killed.
"General, the city ahead has its gates tightly shut, and there are about ten thousand soldiers stationed inside." A scout entered the temporary command post to report.
"Good, continue to keep watch." Carol turned and ordered, "Send three hundred elites from the Second Legion, disguised, to accompany those ten Great Xia people to trick the city gates open. The First Legion will follow closely. Once the gates are opened, they must seize them. The rest of the soldiers, obey my command: storm the city, annihilate all the Great Xia people, and exalt the might of Tianzhu!"
The people in the command post echoed in unison, "Annihilate all the Great Xia people, and exalt the might of Tianzhu!"
A small convoy of vehicles immediately departed the town towards Xinluo City, with the vast Tianzhu army of a hundred thousand men not far behind.
In less than half an hour, the convoy of three hundred and ten people finally arrived at the west gate of Xinluo City. Several traitors stepped forward and shouted up to the city wall, "Officers above, we are refugees fleeing from Baoshan City. Please open the gates and let us in."
The gate official took out his telescope and carefully observed the people below. He confirmed they were indeed their compatriots. As for the Tianzhu people, they were all wearing helmets, making it difficult to discern anything. The gate official, suspecting nothing, ordered the gates to be opened.
As the three hundred and ten people passed through the gates and entered Xinluo City, the roar of engines suddenly came from afar. Countless trucks were speeding towards them. The gate official raised his telescope again to look at the approaching convoy. He discovered that the drivers were all of Indian appearance. He immediately shouted, "Alert! Sound the horns! Close the gates!"
As the alarm sounded, screams also erupted from below the city gates. The gate official's heart leaped. He peered down from the gate and saw that the group he had just let in had already killed the compatriots who opened the gate. They were now guarding the gate, waiting for the Tianzhu forces outside to enter.
Looking up at the sky outside the city, the gate official saw that the Tianzhu forces were only one to two hundred meters away from the gate. It would take at least several minutes for reinforcements from within the city to reach this area. "We're doomed!" Guilt, regret, and anger surged through the gate official's chest.
"Go down and kill these dog-like traitors!" the gate official roared, leading a small squad from the city wall to charge down towards the gate. They were only seventy to eighty people, and despite their fierce resistance against the three hundred elite Tianzhu soldiers, it was futile. After taking down twenty to thirty of the enemy, they all sacrificed themselves heroically.
By then, the Tianzhu army outside the city had arrived at the gate and completely controlled it. Tianzhu soldiers began pouring into Xinluo City through the gate.
"Haha, this city is ours."
"Kill all the Great Xia men, loot all the Great Xia women."
"Humble Great Xia people, surrender quickly if you know what's good for you."
"Long live Tianzhu! We will plant the Tianzhu flag all over the Great Xia Kingdom."
Amidst the frenzied shouts of the Tianzhu people, the Great Xia reinforcements from afar finally arrived, albeit late. A fierce battle was imminent. Both sides attacked desperately. However, most of Xinluo City's powerful evolved individuals were out hunting, and the remaining defenders were generally weak. Moreover, their numbers were far inferior to the enemy's. As soon as the battle began, Xinluo City was pushed back step by step, with casualties mounting.
"Haha, how can you scum resist our valiant Tianzhu people? Just surrender," Carol said with a triumphant laugh from a high vantage point.
"Whoosh!" A clear eagle's cry suddenly echoed from the distance.
"It's the City Lord's pet."
"Heaven bless us, the City Lord has finally returned, Xinluo City is saved."
"Hold on everyone, the City Lord is back to save us!"
The Xinluo City evolved individuals, who had been pushed back relentlessly, suddenly felt an invisible surge of strength, firmly holding back the enemy's assault.