Chapter 152: Chapter 151: I’d Like to See Who Dares to Open the City Gate
Major Settlement Number One, located outside the South Gate of North Border City, lay a dozen miles away, separated from the city by a vast expanse of white snow that had completely buried the only main road.
Lin Wei and a group of his fellow students raced along the road, their powerful bodies plowing through the heavy, falling snow, moving like phantoms.
He glanced back at the dark, sprawling buildings of the settlement, a lingering fear still gripping his heart.
It was a disaster that had struck with terrifying suddenness. Their mission had been simple: hunt weak Demon Beasts in the Northern Wilderness and clear out any threats to the outermost settlements of North Border City.
But then the Blizzard hit, forcing him and the other students back to the settlement. Next, the storm had obliterated the small settlement with unstoppable force, a tempest so vast it seemed to blot out half the sky. All communications were down.
Upon their return, they were bombarded with evacuation notices. The entire North Border City was under attack by multiple Demon Races, its survival hanging by a thread!
The greatest threat came from the Eight-headed Snake Clan. Wielding the power of the Eight-headed Snake King, they had gathered outside North Border City with sinister intentions.
THUMP THUMP THUMP...
Suddenly, Lin Wei’s pace slowed. His eyes widened, reflecting a massive, teeming crowd that swarmed like ants around their nest. Desperate wails tore through the air. "Please, open the gates!"
"The Blizzard is here! The settlements have all been destroyed!"
"Open the gates! Please, open the gates! My baby is only a month old!"
The towering city Wall, rising from the northern snows, blocked the tide of refugees. Cold-faced Belli People stood stiffly atop the ramparts.
The students with Lin Wei were seething with rage. They clenched their fists and cursed, "Those bastards from the Belli Family!"
A bitter taste filled Lin Wei’s mouth. His eyes hardened as he summoned his three-pointed, double-edged spear, arcs of electricity dancing along its shaft.
’The ones still crying outside the city walls haven’t even reached the Martial Artist realm. Many are Half-Demons, their demonic features visible. Dressed in rags, they have no hope of defending themselves against the Eight-headed Snake Demons that are surely coming.’
’When Sakai Yoshiei and his cronies come charging from Major Settlement Number One, all these people will die!’
"Everyone, quiet—"
Suddenly, a resounding shout from atop the Wall stopped Lin Wei in his tracks. He looked up to see Beligi, clad in a cotton robe, appear atop the battlements. The majestic aura of a Grandmaster washed down over the crowd.
The force of his shout sent a shiver through the refugees. The clamor died down instantly, and all eyes turned to the Grandmaster.
"North Border City is facing its own troubles! We cannot take you all in, and your wailing will accomplish nothing!"
Beligi’s voice boomed like thunder, his expression stern and commanding. "But since you have gathered beneath the South City Gate, the Belli Family will do everything in its power to ensure your safety. Do not panic!"
At these words, though a few loud voices continued to cry out, a sense of relief settled over most of the crowd.
After all, North Border City was the safest place in the Northern Wilderness, and the Belli Family was its most prestigious. A promise from them was something people could rely on.
Besides, the promise of a Grandmaster was a rare and precious thing!
"Oh? The Belli Family is going to protect this trash?"
Suddenly, an arrogant shout echoed from the southern sky. It swept over the crowd like a chilling Gale, seeping into their very bones.
Beligi’s gaze shot toward the sound. His furrowed brow trembled as his eyes widened in shock. "Sakai Yoshiei!"
Lin Wei and the others jolted. They looked up to see more than twenty Dharma Realm Martial Artists soaring toward them through the air. Sakai Yoshiei was at their head, his Samurai Sword dripping with blood.
This show of force far surpassed the ambush by the Ancestral Great Demon Feng Li. The oppressive aura alone was enough to make a Grandmaster falter!
SWOOSH—
Sakai Yoshiei slashed his blade. A streak of purple-black energy tore through the crowd, slicing a hundred people in two. A fountain of blood erupted, showering the onlookers with severed limbs and viscera. Screams of terror filled the air as people scrambled away in horror, clearing a path for the Martial Artists from Sang Island.
"A few of the more... sensible Grandmasters in the Belli Family have already agreed to cooperate with Sang Island. We didn’t have time to contact you before, so let’s talk now. Are you going to open the gates or not?"
Sakai Yoshiei’s face was a mask as he and his twenty-three Dharma Realm experts confronted Beligi from the air. "Your Belli Family has no systematic Cultivation Method of its own. Don’t you just rely on the bloodline of the Ice Armor Bear Clan for Cultivation? You’re a pale comparison to Sang Island!
"If you open the gates, the Sakai Family can promise you, a Grandmaster-level expert, a chance to immerse yourself in the Eight-headed Blood Pool. It’s a chance to transform your bloodline. It might even help you take another step beyond your current, unstable Grandmaster Realm.
"Besides, at least three Grandmasters in the Belli Family already support opening the gates. With all the major Demon Races of the Northern Wilderness united against North Border City, are you really going to defend it to the last man?"
"What?"
Beligi’s eyes went wide, his heart hammering in his chest. "Three Grandmasters!"
The Belli Family only had eleven Grandmasters in total. Three was more than a quarter of them. This was enough to tear the family apart!
In truth, the Belli Family was far from unified. As a Martial Arts Family built from nothing, each generation’s strength depended on Demon Race bloodlines.
Some had integrated with purer Demon Race bloodlines, granting them greater Talent. They believed the Demon and Human Races could coexist, that a fight to the death was unnecessary.
As a result, North Border City had secretly allowed black markets and even settlements where Demon Races could gather. This led to major Demon Races from all over the Northern Wilderness using Transformation to take human form and engage in trade.
Some in the family had even been colluding with the three great Demon Races for years, making immense profits by helping Independent Martial Artists transform their bloodlines...
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
The sound of thousands of Martial Artists charging across the snow carried on the wind, making the very ground tremble. In the distance, an army of at least a thousand could be seen, among them giant Snake Demons as terrifying as mythical, heaven-swallowing Pythons!
Beligi’s heart skipped a beat. He threw his head back and bellowed, "Open the gates!"
For a moment, the Belli Family members stationed on the Wall froze. Then they scrambled to obey. But a squad from the Xia Country Martial Arts Team, tasked with assisting the defense, moved to block the gate mechanism. Their captain glared, his voice full of fury. "If you open these gates, North Border City is doomed!"
WHOOSH—
An Ice Cone shot through the air, piercing the captain’s heart. His body froze in place like an ice sculpture, and the blood that sprayed from the wound instantly turned to glittering shards of ice that clattered to the ground.
His squadmates looked up in horrified fury. They saw Beligi casually wave away the frosty mist in front of him, his face devoid of emotion. "As long as the Belli Family survives, North Border City survives."
"You are a disgrace to the title of Grandmaster!"
Hearing the enraged roar of the Xia Country Martial Artist, he curled his lip into a smirk. "What right do you people from Xia Country have to define the word Grandmaster?"
"Excellent! Beligi is worthy of the name Grandmaster after all!"
Sakai Yoshiei laughed heartily, making a sinister promise. "This land of ice and snow, North Border City, should remain under the Belli Family’s management. We of Sang Island only require the area administered by Xia Country as a foothold. When that happens, your rewards will be plentiful!
"However, I expect you to control your people. Don’t let them wander. After all... anyone who looks like they’re from Xia Country will be slaughtered."
He hadn’t even finished speaking when a flash of fire shot out from within the city. It pierced Beligi’s body like a skewer, and in an instant, a Flame Fire Lotus bloomed, engulfing him and burning him to cinders. A long spear with a Double Arc Blade emerged from the blaze, a faint dragon shadow coalescing around it.
A youthful figure stepped out from the Flames, gripping the spear’s shaft. His Dragon Eye blazed with light as he roared, "I’d like to see who dares open those gates!"
