Chapter 414: Black-Clad Guard!

Xu Qing did it.

The big job Kong Xianglong mentioned was a secret order given to him by the Field Office where he worked.

Originally, the mission of the secret order was not allowed to be participated in by other divisions.

But Kong Xianglong thought that Xu Qing needed military merit, and the other little partners needed it too, so after much pestering, he finally won this opportunity, allowing Sword-Holders from other divisions to participate in the capacity of assistance.

And he was also willing to vouch for this matter.

The people participating, besides some Sword-Holders from the Field Office itself, also included Xu Qing, Shan Hezi, Wang Chen, and Ye Ling.

As for the mission...

"This is a rendezvous mission."

Late at night, inside the Sword-Holding Palace Field Office, Xu Qing and his group arrived one after another. A total of seventeen Sword-Holders were gathered here, looking at Kong Xianglong, who had a solemn expression in the center.

"We will set off first, and on the way, I will explain some mission procedures to you in detail. But according to the rules, any external sound transmission jade slips on your bodies must be sealed."

"Until the mission is completed and we return, you will be unable to transmit sound externally via jade slip at all during this period. Only I, as the person in charge of this mission, can."

Kong Xianglong's expression was serious. After speaking, he waved his hand, and immediately, a Sword-Holder from the Field Office specifically responsible for this matter walked out, bowed to everyone, and stepped forward to seal them.

The method of sealing was very simple: seal with restrictions.

Following this person's pinching of a seal, one restriction after another fell onto everyone.

Xu Qing looked at the others and found that everyone had no objections. At the same time, he also knew that this was the proper thing to do when going on a mission, so after carefully checking the restrictions, he acquiesced to his own external sound transmission jade slip losing its effect.

This restriction indeed had only this one function, nothing else.

And before coming here, he had also sent a sound transmission to Immortal Zixuan to inform her that he might be going out, and at the same time, he had also asked for leave from the Punishment Division.

At this moment, the restriction sealing was completed. At Kong Xianglong's wave, everyone set off, went to the teleportation hall of the Sword-Holding Palace, and stepped in one after another to teleport together.

Following the shining of the formation light, the figures of the seventeen of them disappeared.

When they appeared, they were already in a place very far from the Capital District, the border between the Capital District and Tianyun Prefecture.

"Three days later, we will reach another teleportation point, but from now on, we must hide our tracks all the way. Everyone, change out of your Sword-Holder clothes, and we set off."

Under the pitch-black night sky, Kong Xianglong looked at the people beside him and spoke in a low voice.

Xu Qing's expression was solemn. He had already seen that this mission was unusual. After all, with rich military merit, there was naturally a certain amount of danger, so he changed out of his Sword-Holder Daoist robe.

No one in the group spoke. After quickly finishing, under Kong Xianglong's lead, they galloped in the night.

"Now I will tell you about the mission."

"This mission is to rendezvous with a secret agent of our Sword-Holding Palace lurking in the Saint-Lan clan!"

"This secret agent has been lurking in the Saint-Lan clan for many years and is returning recently. Our mission is to rendezvous at the border and protect them all the way back to the Sword-Holding Palace."

Kong Xianglong spoke to the people beside him while galloping rapidly.

"As for whether they have specifically exposed their identity, whether they have found any unusual clues, and why they couldn't transmit through other methods and had to escape back personally, you might all have thoughts on this in your hearts, but I will tell you clearly: don't think about it. This is not something we should know."

Kong Xianglong looked at Xu Qing, Shan Hezi, and the others. He clearly wasn't saying these words to the Sword-Holders of the Field Office, but rather reminding Xu Qing and them.

Xu Qing nodded. As a veteran of the Murder-Catching Division, he naturally understood this principle.

Shan Hezi and the others also indicated their understanding.

"But there is one point I firmly believe: this secret agent who is willing to lurk in the Saint-Lan clan has no problems with their identity, and they absolutely cannot betray the Sword-Holders."

"In addition, I personally analyze that this secret agent's return should also have their own cover. What we are going to rendezvous with might not be them personally; it might just be empty."

"There is a high probability that other teams are also executing this mission, but the direction should be different from ours."

"The Palace must have also arranged for experts, but whether they are here with us, I don't know." Kong Xianglong looked at Xu Qing and the others and spoke in a low voice.

"Brother Kong, why be so detailed this time." Shan Hezi's gaze swept over Xu Qing.

Ye Ling frowned and also looked at Xu Qing.

In reality, regarding calling Xu Qing to participate this time, they were also somewhat repulsed in their hearts. It wasn't that they were annoyed, but rather they weren't used to it.

After all, the few of them as a team had never added any outsiders.

Xu Qing was the only one in these years.

Wang Chen was indifferent, sitting on his coffin and yawning.

Xu Qing's expression was as usual, and he didn't speak.

"Xu Qing is participating in a mission with us for the first time. To avoid misunderstandings, it is natural to explain clearly in advance." Kong Xianglong said with a smile.

Seeing Kong Xianglong say this, Ye Ling and Shan Hezi didn't speak anymore.

The other Sword-Holders of the Field Office pretended not to see all this. In reality, they were very familiar with Shan Hezi and the others; after all, every time Kong Xianglong had a field mission, these three would mostly be there.

Just like that, the group galloped in the night, and time passed slowly.

Xu Qing's speed was not the fastest, but it wasn't the slowest either. While following, he analyzed the mission in his heart and also recalled the history of the myriad races explained by the County Chancellor during the secret training.

The Saint-Lan clan was a clan formed after the Saint-Lan Duke betrayed the human race back then. As traitors to the human race, they were at odds with the human race like fire and water, mortal enemies.

They relied on the Black Heaven clan and were even bestowed blood by the Black Heaven clan to merge into their own clansmen. Over generations, this caused the red blood in the bodies of the Saint-Lan clansmen to have a trace of black blood.

And in the frictions of past years, the Saint-Lan clan was even more brutal than the Black Heaven clan in their slaughter of the human race. It seemed that the more cruel they were to the human race, the more they could prove themselves.

At the same time, they were also eyeing the Fenghai County, the only place in the Saint-Lan Domain that had not been unified by them.

If it weren't for the ultimate concern for the Human Imperial Domain, they would have likely swallowed Fenghai County long ago.

But the human race understood, and Fenghai County understood even more, that the two sides would eventually have a battle in the future.

The current balance was extremely fragile, and a single event could break it.

In reality, it wasn't just Fenghai County that was like this. In the secret training, Xu Qing learned that the other six counties were in similar situations, and some counties had even lost several prefectures.

"The wind and rain are swaying, the building is about to collapse." This was the helpless remark made by the County Chancellor in a vicissitudinous voice that day.

In Xu Qing's contemplation, three days passed in a flash. During this period, Kong Xianglong also told him about the matter of code names.

Every time they went out on a mission, everyone wouldn't call each other by name; they all had a temporary code name.

"Child."

Xu Qing said softly. This was his code name for this mission, and he also planned to continue using this code name.

"Good, this time I'm called Dragon Brother, haha, you can all call me that." Kong Xianglong said with a smile.

Soon, the group arrived at the second teleportation point, moved to another place through here, and after experiencing several days of travel, finally reached Linlan Prefecture.

This was one of the borders between Fenghai County and the Saint-Lan clan.

"There is one last teleportation, and we can reach the border area."

After arriving here, everyone's vigilance was extremely intense. Although this place was still within the scope of Fenghai County, it was after all adjacent to Saint-Lan.

Even though there were regulations between the two clans that any Nascent Soul cultivator who dared to step half a step across their respective borders would be immediately wiped out by taboo magic treasures, they still had to be on guard.

Moreover, high-level Tiangong Core Formation cultivators, equipped with some items with greater lethality, were also astonishing in their might.

At this moment, it was also late at night. The sky could not see the moon, covered by dark clouds, with only flashes of lightning traveling, emitting rumbling sounds, and rain also falling in torrents at this moment.

In the heavy rain, seventeen figures did not stop at all and headed straight for the teleportation formation.

Not long after, as the rain fell even more heavily, a simple stone castle fortress appeared in front of them from afar. A cold glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes; he smelled the scent of blood.

At the same time, Shan Hezi, Wang Chen, and Ye Ling also had slight movements in their expressions.

Kong Xianglong had long since narrowed his eyes. The moment he raised his right hand, everyone immediately stopped and squatted down, their expressions becoming serious.

"The teleportation site did not release the signal that only Sword-Holders can see at the scheduled time. Inside... there is a problem."

"Child, Enchantress, Yang Ling, River Path, you four each take three people, I will go alone. We will divide into five directions and step in simultaneously. Kill any foreign race we encounter!"

"If you encounter a high palace, delay and wait for me." Kong Xianglong was also a decisive person and spoke immediately.

After speaking, he rushed out violently, heading straight for the fortress ahead. Xu Qing turned his head to look at those Sword-Holders from the Field Office. These people divided up instantly; the first choices were all Shan Hezi and the three others.

The remaining three were late in choosing and looked at Xu Qing.

"Three fellow Daoists, don't follow too closely." Xu Qing threw out three medicine bottles, which contained special detox pills.

After Xu Qing joined the Sword-Holders, to avoid the incident at the Hall of Learning from happening again, he had equipped himself with some antidotes that could simply resolve his non-poison-prohibition poisons.

It was just that his poisons were severely mixed, and although the antidotes had an effect, if one inhaled them directly, it still wouldn't work.

But if the distance was a bit further, after the poison dissipated by more than half, it would still be okay.

Subsequently, Xu Qing rushed out, and the others did the same. The three people looked at each other and followed behind Xu Qing.

Soon, these seventeen Sword-Holders divided into five directions and approached the fortress.

Xu Qing did not stop at all. His body rushed out instantly, the Poison Prohibition Pill within his body vibrated, and the poison intent permeated his whole body without leaking out. While serving as a layer of protection, he raised his right hand and waved it, and immediately, a large amount of poison powder scattered and permeated.

After doing this, he had already stepped into the fortress. As soon as he entered, he heard the rumbling sound of techniques coming from afar, and at the same time, a cold snort came from ahead. The next instant, a figure ambushed and approached at an extremely fast speed.

The opponent was a middle-aged man, wearing a black robe, his appearance no different from a human, except for a black line between his eyebrows. His five-palace Core Formation cultivation erupted, but before he could get close to Xu Qing, his expression changed, horror appeared in his eyes, and he spat out a large mouthful of black blood.

"What kind of poison is this!"

He wasn't surprised by the poison; he was surprised that this poison was too fierce. At this moment, just by inhaling a mouthful while getting close, he felt his internal organs burning, and his vision went black.

And the next instant, he no longer had the qualification to continue being horrified. Xu Qing's speed was too fast. The moment he approached in a flash, the dagger gifted by the Captain appeared in Xu Qing's hand. He gripped the handle wrapped in the shroud and flickered past the middle-aged man.

The dagger wiped across his neck, and his head flew up.

Xu Qing's expression was as usual. He hunched his waist and stepped into the night, changing from prey to hunter. While galloping forward in the dark corners, he suddenly accelerated, and the dagger waved ahead.

A figure that suddenly rushed out hadn't even had a chance to attack before their head seemed to be delivered in front of Xu Qing, and with disbelief, it flew high up.

Xu Qing didn't even look at it, flickered, and disappeared again.

Soon, a Saint-Lan clan cultivator hiding in the dark, gazing around and preparing to attack when someone arrived, had his gaze looking into the distance when his expression suddenly changed. He was just about to counterattack but was too late.

Xu Qing's figure appeared eerily behind him, and the dagger didn't stop at all, slicing across his neck.

Then Xu Qing frowned. A whistling sound came from behind, but following the red lightning and the shadow's eyes opening, the body of the person ambushing Xu Qing from behind shook, and the iron skewer pierced directly through their forehead.

And at this moment, techniques rumbled in the fortress, the sound of slaughter continued to come out, and from mid-air came the low roar of Kong Xianglong rising into the sky. Around him, there were four Saint-Lan clan members with eight-palace combat power.

Being able to have eight-palace combat power, it could be seen that these four were likely not ordinary people in the Saint-Lan clan, and each possessed Imperial-level cultivation arts.

Their Imperial-level cultivation arts were clearly standardized, each manifesting black demonic monster hands, overlapping to emit astonishing might, and they formed a formation with each other, even using four magic treasure fragments.

All this was not for killing, because wanting to kill Kong Xianglong was too difficult, so their purpose was just to form a trap formation to trap Kong Xianglong.

At the same time, lightning permeated the sky, seemingly attracted and constantly gathering, about to fall, and the target was exactly Kong Xianglong.

Xu Qing saw all this, his eyes even colder, but he didn't rush over, instead turning his head to look at the dark place ahead.

There, a figure was walking over step by step.

"Interesting, the human Sword-Holders this time are a bit different from what we Black-Clad Guards usually encounter."

The Saint-Lan clan also had a department similar to the Sword-Holding Palace, named the Black-Clad Guard.

And at this moment, a whistling sound came from behind Xu Qing. The three Sword-Holders from the Field Office arrived. After feeling the poison all the way, they had eaten many detox pills.

This was still because Xu Qing had restrained himself after killing people, taking back part of the poison; otherwise, the detox pills wouldn't have worked.

Along the way, they had even seen Saint-Lan clan members who had lost their heads and were killed in one blow.

Every single one of them possessed the same five-palace combat power as them.

Thus, they had long been shocked by Xu Qing in their hearts.

They had heard that this batch of newly promoted Sword-Holders was not quite the same as the past, and there were several monsters among them, and Xu Qing was among them, but they hadn't seen him take action after all.

Now that they saw Xu Qing's terror with their own eyes, they felt it very deeply.

In reality, they themselves were also not ordinary people. Any one of them executing a mission alone outside had impressive battle records, but by comparison, they were still inferior.

"Three more came." At the same time the three Sword-Holders from the Field Office appeared, the figure in the dark also walked out, wearing a black Daoist robe with golden flames embroidered on it, which seemed to have holy fire burning in the black night, revealing extraordinary fluctuations.

Behind them rose a huge black handprint manifested by an Imperial-level cultivation art, carrying six Heavenly Palaces on it. While the pressure scattered, it also revealed this person's seven-palace combat power. ===== CHAPTER 415 =====