Chapter 703

Suddenly, everyone's gazes turned in unison toward a certain direction.

Only hearing a fierce roar from afar, Yan Qing's previously relaxed expression instantly turned solemn.

"All units, assemble quickly! Pay attention to protecting the crowd!"

A long sword appeared in Yan Qing's hand; he glanced at the crowd and said, "Just now we said the street safety work must not fail, yet something happened. Sorry, everyone, I must first go check the situation."

"You, like March, speak and it becomes law."

March crossed her arms and glared at Xing: "What are you talking about!"

In the distance, two wolf-headed, human-bodied monsters kept charging into the crowd, breaking free of the chains on their hands, and roared deafeningly toward the sky; their fur was bluish-white, and a pair of blood-red eyes locked firmly on Yan Qing's direction.

——

Qin Dynasty Bright Moon

"Demons, monsters…… they are wolf demons!"

Tianming suddenly pointed at the sky and exclaimed; in that image, several wolf demons were roaring as they broke free of their chains, fighting fiercely together with Yan Qing and the others.

"Strange, at the Astral Express gathering, with all eyes upon us, why would wolf demons wearing shackles appear on the street causing chaos? Could it be… that someone intends to secretly sabotage?" Gai Nie frowned slightly; the appearance of these wolf demons among the crowd was already very strange, and all along the Astral Express there were Cloud Rider troops everywhere—where did these wolf demons suddenly come from?

"Mr. Gai, Yue'er thinks, could it be that someone wants to take this opportunity to let the Luofu Astral Express lose face before all forces?" Yue'er beside him suddenly said.

"Not impossible." Gai Nie gave a slight nod, his tone growing even graver, "Even, I have a bolder guess. These wolf demons may not come from external enemies, but perhaps were sent by… insiders of the Astral Express."

"Internal?" Tianming widened his eyes, face full of disbelief, "But why would they do this?"

"Earlier, the Medicine King's secret transmission had already infiltrated the Six Governors of Luofu; although now it has been uprooted, who knows whether the other departments have also been infiltrated?" Gai Nie stood with hands behind his back, speaking lightly, "Perhaps seeing General Jingyuan holding power for a long time, and having suffered the calamities of the Medicine King's secret transmission and the Great Sovereign of Annihilation, some feel he is no longer fit to sit in that position, and wish to use this gathering to create trouble and topple Jingyuan."

"These people could come from other Astral Expresses coveting Luofu, or perhaps… they are hidden within Luofu itself, among the Six Governors."

Tianming scratched his head, suddenly thinking of something: "The insiders… ah! Could it be Fu Xuan? She is the head of the Divination Commission and has long coveted the general's position!"

"No, absolutely not her." Gai Nie shook his head, tone firm, "That Miss Fu Xuan, although she has some ambition for the general's post, her words and deeds have always been upright and aboveboard, pursuing the path of open strategies. Such underhanded tactics are not something she would stoop to."

"But now, envoys from the other two Astral Expresses are also on Luofu; if this wolf demon incident cannot be explained to them and to the outside world… General Jingyuan's position may not be secure."

——

"Why would a Step-Leave Person appear here?"

Yan Qing quickly mustered the Cloud Riders to surround them; one was slain on the spot by him, but the other, more agile, took advantage of its companion drawing fire, swiftly broke out of the encirclement, and fled toward a more densely populated area.

Yan Qing silently thought "Not good," and was about to propel his flying swords to chase, but suddenly a girl burst out from behind him; the girl was agile, she snatched his two flying swords mid-air, then, using the eaves beside the road, leapt up, actually jumping higher than the Step-Leave Person.

She kicked off with a foot straight into the Step-Leave Person's abdomen, blasting him to the ground, then threw her flying swords in succession, precisely nailing through his shoulder blades, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Then…

The girl somehow produced an ancient-looking, terrifyingly huge sword! The sword was as tall as two of her, its blade broader than a grown man, just looking at it felt immensely heavy, yet she lifted it with one hand and smashed it down onto the Step-Leave Person on the ground!

"Boom——!"

Smoke and dust filled the air, the ground shook violently. The Step-Leave Person on the ground didn't even utter a groan before being crushed by that sword and dying instantly, leaving no sound at all.

After the smoke and dust slightly cleared, Yan Qing hurried forward to check the situation, only to see the girl nimbly leap onto the hilt of the huge sword, idly flipping through the flying swords in her hand.

"Thank you, miss, for your help…"

Yan Qing hadn't finished thanking when the girl seemed to suddenly recall something, turned and walked away carrying the huge sword; only when her figure disappeared at the horizon did he realize she still hadn't returned his flying swords.

——

Is it wrong to seek encounters in the dungeon?

"That… is a sword?"

Hestia rubbed her eyes; the sword that looked heavy enough to crush her was weightless in the little girl's hand, as if it were nothing… Could it be that the girl, who looks slender, is actually a freakishly strong girl?

Just being able to wield this astonishingly heavy weapon with ease shows that the girl's strength is far greater than Yan Qing's.

"Judging by her attire, this girl doesn't seem to be a local of the Astral Express; could she be an envoy from another Astral Express?" Werf watched the girl's agile posture, clicking his tongue in wonder, "I really don't know what this girl usually eats, but just based on this strength… she'd be quite suited for smithing and forging."

"Smithing? How could such a cute girl be suited for smithing?" Liliuka glared at Werf in annoyance, "She's clearly a swordsman, and her path differs from Yan Qing's; moreover, judging by her martial arts, she seems to be a worthy match for Yan Qing."

"Does that mean Yan Qing might lose his championship in this martial arts sword duel?"

Bell maintained a skeptical attitude: "Impossible? Yan Qing's strength among the younger generation should be top; although that girl is also formidable, in a fair sword duel Yan Qing might not lose to her. Besides, Yan Qing is supposed to become the Sword Chief of Luofu, and the Astral Express's general personally guides him one-on-one… well… I still favor Yan Qing more."

——

"Wait, my sword…" Watching the other person already far away, Yan Qing let out a long sigh, deciding that attending to proper business was more important.

"Things happened suddenly, I'll have to detain you all for a moment. Let me inquire what exactly just happened."

The four arrived at a cargo handling facility of the Interstellar Peace Company, where they saw a Cloud Rider interrogating company staff; it seemed the Astral Express side had detained the company's goods, making the other party quite displeased.

"Friends of the Astral Express, although you saved us and we are grateful, detaining both us and our cargo together—isn't that a bit out of line?"