Chapter 475

The hall fell silent.

Whether it was the County Chancellor, Yao Hou, or the two Palace Masters of Administration and Penal Law, they each knew some war reports, but they were far from as comprehensive as the Sword Holder Palace.

After all, the Sword Holder Palace Master was acting as the County Governor, and during wartime, everything would be taken over by the Sword Holder Palace; the news here was naturally the most complete.

"Did you hear?" The Sword Holder Palace Master was expressionless and spoke slowly.

"County Chancellor, it's not that I don't want to use better methods to get those alien races to send powerhouses, but there is no time left."

The County Chancellor was silent.

"Yao Hou, why have seventy percent of the alliance's coalition forces not yet mobilized? Demanding huge supplies—what great audacity!" The Sword Holder Palace Master's voice revealed a touch of murderous intent.

"And those four hundred-plus clan forces that refused to send powerhouses—at this time, if Fenghai County falls into great chaos, what will they do? Yao Hou, have you ever thought about that!"

"Now that the two major battlefields are in imminent danger and Fenghai County has reached such a state, Kong killing some alien races—why do I need you to nag me!"

The Sword Holder Palace Master's tone was cold, and the entire hall turned chilly.

"What if those alien races join forces to resist?" Yao Hou frowned, his expression gloomy as he looked at the Sword Holder Palace Master.

"Kill them." The Sword Holder Palace Master spoke these words calmly.

"What if the powerhouses sent to the battlefield defect and cause chaos? Can you kill them all!"

"Xu Qing, notify the four great Deacons to continue the exterminations; I want to see who dares not to obey." The Sword Holder Palace Master spoke slowly, not paying attention to Yao Hou.

Xu Qing nodded and recorded it.

"Kong Brother Liangxiu, you are headstrong and arbitrary. If you do this, if Fenghai County cannot be held, those alien races will then..." Yao Hou stood up and gazed at the Sword Holder Palace Master.

The Sword Holder Palace Master looked at Yao Hou with cold eyes.

"If Fenghai County is destroyed, why would I care about these alien races?"

Yao Hou stared at the Sword Holder Palace Master, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

"Yao Tianyan, when will the alliance's alien races mobilize?" The Sword Holder Palace Master narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke calmly.

"One day!" Outside the hall, Yao Hou snorted coldly.

The County Chancellor sighed, stood up, bowed to the Sword Holder Palace Master, and left as well. As for the other two Palace Masters, they each stood up expressionlessly and left the hall.

Soon, the entire hall fell silent, with only Xu Qing and the Palace Master remaining.

"Palace Master, this subordinate takes his leave." After waiting for a while and seeing that the Palace Master had no other instructions, Xu Qing bowed deeply and left the hall.

After everyone had left, the Palace Master was silent for a long time, took out a jade slip, gently squeezed it, looked up toward the direction of the Yao Fu, and his brows slowly furrowed.

"Is it him?"

At the same time, Yao Hou, who had left the Sword Holder Palace, had a look of anger on his face until he returned to his own government office. In the secret room, the anger on his face disappeared, turning into deep gloom as he whispered to himself.

"It shouldn't be Kong Brother Liangxiu, so who exactly murdered the County Governor..."

Time passed slowly, and ten days went by.

During these ten days, Xu Qing had absolutely no time to rest; every day, more and more war reports from all sides gathered, especially as the armies on the two major battlefields in the northwest arrived one after another, and the battle with the Saint-Lan Clan began to proceed tragically.

War reports came in every moment.

Among them, regarding Yao Hou, he did indeed fulfill his statement from that day; it only took him one day, and it was unknown how he communicated, to make those alliance alien races mobilize.

And he himself, along with most of the clansmen of the Yao Fu, also went to the Northern Battlefield.

Before departing, he did not see anyone.

However, Xu Qing saw the Palace Master walk out of the hall, gazing into the distance in the direction Yao Hou had gone.

And the actions of the four great Deacons, and even the arrival of the two Vice Palace Masters, under their forced promotion, finally deterred all the alien races that had not participated in the war, forcing the powerhouses within their clans to obey the Sword Holder Palace's decree and be dispersed among the armies of different states.

So now, within Fenghai County, apart from the battlefield, there were no more Spirit Repository or Void Returning cultivators.

Even prisoners were the same.

The Sword Holder Palace's arrest operation was carried out from top to bottom; the higher the cultivation, the more they were arrested first. As for those weaker prisoners, although many still managed to hide, the powerful ones had all been killed.

So soon, the Sword Holders who had gone out began to return, and finally, on this tenth day, they all returned to the County Capital.

And at this time, the crisis on the battlefield had also reached a critical moment.

In the war reports Xu Qing received, there was endless tragedy; the number of casualties was shocking every day and grew larger and larger, until late in the night on this tenth day, he received urgent reports from both the west and the north simultaneously.

The full-territory blockade of Fenghai County's taboo magic treasures was about to collapse and could not hold out for much longer; once it collapsed, the Saint-Lan Clan army would kill their way into Fenghai County like a mountain flood.

But the human reinforcements had still not arrived.

Xu Qing even learned through the war reports that the Imperial Domain and other counties, which were extremely far from here, were also encountering similar situations; the Black Heaven Clan... was mobilizing in large numbers.

The various dependent clans under their command were also erupting; for a time, the entire human territory was in danger.

When this war report was handed to the Palace Master by Xu Qing, the Palace Master was clearly already aware of it and was putting on his battle armor alone in the hall.

This armor was black and composed of over a hundred pieces, each one emitting a terrifying might.

Seeing Xu Qing, his expression was as serious as ever, and he beckoned to him.

"Come, help me put on the armor."

Xu Qing walked over silently, picked up the armor, and as he helped the Palace Master put it on, the Palace Master stood there, gazing at the evening glow in the distance, and suddenly smiled.

"The last time I put on this armor, my eldest son was by my side; it's been many years."

Looking at the Palace Master, who had clearly aged a lot during this period, Xu Qing remembered what Ghost Hand had once told him about the death of the Palace Master's children in battle.

"My eldest son committed suicide. Back then, I arranged for him to infiltrate the Saint-Lan Clan; after he completed his mission, his identity was exposed. In order not to affect my decisions, this child... committed suicide." The Palace Master spoke calmly.

Xu Qing was silent, picked up another piece of armor, and continued to help the Palace Master put it on.

"I have another second son; his personality was too straightforward, he valued relationships and righteousness, but he was also a romantic, which was contradictory, so it was very easy for him to be plotted against and killed."

"But no one knows that he still has descendants left behind; my grandson... is very, very good." The Palace Master smiled. Xu Qing had never seen a smile on the Palace Master's face; this was the first time.

And regarding the grandson he mentioned, after Xu Qing learned that the Palace Master's surname was Kong a few days ago, he already had a guess in his heart.

However, this smile faded from the Palace Master's face after Xu Qing helped him put on the last piece of armor.

His expression became serious again, giving people a feeling of a rigid and incomparably harsh personality. He took the helmet handed to him by Xu Qing and spoke in a deep voice.

"Xu Qing, issue an order to the Administration Palace and the Penal Law Palace; ask the two Palace Masters to head to the Northern Battlefield. You must hold it!"

"As for me, I will lead one hundred thousand Sword Holders to the Western Battlefield; I'm going to see how much the cultivation of those old guys from the Saint-Lan Clan has increased."

Xu Qing responded solemnly.

"Palace Master, when are we departing? I'll go prepare."

"You don't need to go to the battlefield; I will arrange a body double for you to take your place for others to see." The Palace Master turned his head, his gaze deep as he looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was stunned. He looked at the Palace Master before him; after that pitch-black battle armor was worn on the other party, dense murderous intent soared into the sky, and vaguely, it seemed as if the roars of countless fierce beasts were echoing around him, and furthermore, on the armor, countless ferocious souls appeared.

"I have other arrangements for you here; you are going to execute a classified mission." The Palace Master's gaze landed on Xu Qing's eyes, as if wanting to look at him more carefully.

"You will depart in one stick of incense's time, head to Zhaoxia State, go to the secret ground of the Sword Holder Palace there, and secretly investigate a matter for me!"

After speaking, the Palace Master raised his hand and handed a jade slip to Xu Qing.

This jade slip was exactly the one he had been gently squeezing in his hand alone in the hall a few days ago.

Xu Qing took the jade slip, his expression heavy, and did not speak.

The Palace Master turned his head and looked at the evening glow in the sky outside the hall. After a long time, he spoke slowly, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Half a month ago, it was also this kind of sky; the County Governor... fell."

"Xu Qing, if I die in battle this time, you will hand this jade slip to the new County Governor appointed after the human reinforcements arrive."

"Inside the jade slip are the clues I have investigated during this period regarding the sudden fall of the old County Governor..."

Xu Qing's heart was shaken as he looked at the Palace Master.

The Palace Master continued to look at the evening glow in the sky outside, calmly transmitting a deep voice.

"The death of the old County Governor was full of strangeness; this matter was far from as simple as an assassination by the Saint-Lan Clan. The old County Governor's cultivation was at the half-step of the Hidden Realm; how could he have fallen silently, without even any resistance? If I didn't know the old gentleman, I would have thought this was intentional on his part!"

"But the old County Governor, as it happens, really fell; his death... has a big problem."

"But time waits for no one, and I have no time to continue the investigation."

"I don't know who the Human Emperor will send to Fenghai County, but you just give it to him."

"And the reason I am giving it to you is because I don't trust anyone here; my grandson is even more impulsive in his actions and is not suitable for this matter!"

"Yao Tianyan, the County Chancellor, the Penal Law Palace Master, and the Administration Palace Master—they could all be the culprits behind the scenes. The death of the old County Governor and the collapse of the Prison Division must have been done by our own people in the County Capital; in the eyes of some, I am even the most suspicious!"

"This person behind the scenes is hidden too deeply; if they are not dug out, Fenghai County will be in a precarious situation... Xu Qing, I believe you are not one of them, not because of your background, but because of your ten-thousand-foot brilliant light."

The Palace Master spoke softly.

Xu Qing's breathing was rapid; the Palace Master's words caused a huge wave to rise in his heart.

"I will give you another token; this token can allow you to go to any secret ground of the Sword Holder Palace in Fenghai County without needing war merits, and it will not cause fluctuations in the secret ground's formation. You can sneak in to investigate."

"In addition, this token also contains the power of one suppression kill by the County Capital's taboo magic treasure to ensure your safety during the investigation."

After the Palace Master took out a blue token and handed it to Xu Qing, he turned and walked toward the outside of the hall. Until he reached the door, he turned his back to Xu Qing and suddenly transmitted a deep voice.

"Xu Qing, do you still remember the first sentence I said when I saw you at the Prison Division a year ago?"

"I remember!" Xu Qing looked at the Palace Master.

"Read it out."

"As Sword Holders, each one is a sharp sword of the human race, and we must be prepared at all times to die for the human race." Xu Qing spoke loudly.

Upon hearing this, the Palace Master laughed heartily, put on the helmet of his battle armor, and the moment he stepped out of the hall, his voice echoed in Xu Qing's ears.

"I, too, am a Sword Holder!"