Chapter 335: Inspector

A Level 5 Demon Beast led a Monster Army of over one hundred thousand to attack Luolong County, yet they were defeated; this shocking news quickly spread in all directions along with the rout of the tens of thousands of demons.

Dongchuan Prefecture Prefect Zhang Yiqing was using a brush to copy the Saint's books, cultivating the noble spirit within his chest, when he heard this news; he was struck as if by lightning, his heart, once still as stagnant water, shattered in an instant, and a large blot of thick ink fell onto the rice paper, leaving a massive blemish on what had been calligraphy as smooth as flowing water.

"How is it possible? Meng Yifan and his people actually defeated a Monster Army of over one hundred thousand, and even defeated the Level 5 Demon Beast Lang Batian?" Zhang Yiqing put down his brush and asked in disbelief.

"Prefect, it is all true. Our scouts even discovered that Meng Yifan has already advanced to a Fifth-grade Cultivator, and he possesses an Immortal Art that can destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth; with a boom, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, and a massive mushroom cloud could be seen from hundreds of kilometers away. It is said that Lang Batian was heavily wounded by this very move of Immortal Art."

"According to intelligence, Meng Yifan can also Summon Wind and Rain, causing crops to grow vigorously."

"Now, Luolong County has been managed into an iron plate; the forty thousand commoners fanatically support Meng Yifan's rule, having forgotten that they are subjects of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, and having forgotten the majesty of the imperial court; they are all willing to follow Meng Yifan in rebellion with single-minded devotion."

"That group of rebels led by Meng Yifan has now become a force to be reckoned with; with the strength of our Dongchuan Prefecture alone, it is absolutely impossible to suppress them. Prefect, we must report Meng Yifan's situation upward as soon as possible and have the Inspector decide how to deal with Meng Yifan," said Secretary Wang.

Upon learning this news, Secretary Wang also could not believe it was true; he sent out other scouts to verify it repeatedly, and only after receiving the same news in the end did he report it to Zhang Yiqing.

"A Fifth-grade Cultivator? And a Fifth-grade Cultivator capable of defeating the Level 5 Demon Beast Lang Batian? How did that fellow Meng Yifan cultivate so rapidly?"

Zhang Yiqing could not fathom it; he had originally intended to let Meng Yifan finish fighting the Monster Army before he stepped in to offer terms of surrender to Meng Yifan.

But now that Meng Yifan had become a Fifth-grade Cultivator, such a powerhouse was no longer someone a mere Prefect like him could induce to surrender.

Zhang Yiqing sighed and said, "The demons are not yet quelled, and that group of rebels led by Meng Yifan is growing stronger with every battle. The majesty of the imperial court is gone, the commoners are displaced, and the people cannot make a living. Sigh! Truly a troubled time. Report it, and see how the Inspector decides."

Soon, the news of Meng Yifan's advancement to a Fifth-grade Cultivator and his defeat of the Monster Army of over one hundred thousand led by Lang Batian reached Dongzhou City.

Dongzhou City is the center of power for Dongzhou Province and also the main battlefield for the war between the Demon Race and the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty.

The Demon Race wishes to establish the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, and their primary goal is to occupy the territory of Dongzhou Province.

To this end, experts of the Demon Race and experts of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty have been slaughtering each other; both sides have suffered casualties, but overall, the Demon Race experts hold the upper hand.

However, Dongzhou City is, after all, the seat of the provincial capital; since the city's founding, a Defensive Array was built there, and after a thousand years of continuous reinforcement, the current Defensive Array of Dongzhou City has heaven-shaking power; even if a Level 6 Monster Beast were to come, it would be very difficult to break through the Defensive Array of Dongzhou City.

To deal with the Monster Army, the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty sent six Fifth-grade Cultivators, but in the great battles against the Demon Race, two Fifth-grade Cultivators have already fallen; however, the Demon Race side did not have it easy either, as two Level 5 Great Demons were also slain.

Now, the Demon Race still has seven Level 5 Great Demons, while Dongzhou City only has four Fifth-grade Cultivators left; in a head-on decisive battle, they are simply no match for the Demon Race, and because of this, the Demon Race has been challenging them to battle during this time, while Dongzhou City relies on the protection of the array and refuses to come out.

In this way, although they have kept Dongzhou City from falling, they cannot look after the safety of other cities; the Monster Army has split its forces into many parts, burning, killing, and looting everywhere, attacking cities and seizing land.

Of the twelve prefectural cities under the jurisdiction of Dongzhou City, five have already completely fallen, and the remaining seven are also in precarious danger; for this reason, Dongzhou Inspector Tan Qingyang is so anxious he cannot sleep night after night.

Tan Qingyang is the Dongzhou Inspector; he has the responsibility to guard the land and pacify the people, and seeing the commoners of the entire province become food for Demon Beasts, he also feels very distressed.

Moreover, Tan Qingyang sitting by and watching millions of Dongzhou commoners being slaughtered by the Demon Race is also a monstrous crime; even if humanity wins in the end, Tan Qingyang will not escape the tragic fate of being arrested and imprisoned.

Therefore, Tan Qingyang is distressed; every day, a large number of letters pleading for help are sent to Tan Qingyang, but he is simply powerless to provide rescue.

The reason the Demon Race sends troops to attack cities everywhere is to force human experts to leave the city to provide rescue.

Tan Qingyang knows, even with his heels, that if he sends people to rescue, and sends too few, it will certainly be like a meat bun thrown at a dog—never to return.

If he sends a large number of experts out, the defenses of Dongzhou City will be weak and easily taken advantage of by Demon Race experts, so Tan Qingyang is caught in a dilemma and is in great pain.

"Inspector, urgent intelligence." A servant ran hurriedly into Tan Qingyang's study.

"Where is the plea for help from this time? Didn't I say? This official has no troops to send; tell them to find their own way to hold the city."

Tan Qingyang was already drunk and bleary-eyed; recently, all the reports coming from all directions were bad news, leaving him overwhelmed and wanting only to use alcohol to drown his sorrows and briefly escape this cruel reality.

"Inspector, this time it is good news. The Dongchuan Prefect reports that the Level 5 Demon Beast Lang Batian led a Monster Army of over one hundred thousand to besiege Luolong County, but they were completely defeated by Meng Yifan; in one battle, over eighty thousand demons were killed, and even Lang Batian was beaten to the point where his life or death is unknown," said the servant Tan San, who was incredibly excited.

Tan San is a servant born into the Tan family and is loyal to the old Tan family; he watched Tan Qingyang grow up from childhood and treats Tan Qingyang even more affectionately than his own son; seeing Tan Qingyang looking worried and only able to drown his sorrows in alcohol during this time, Tan San also felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

Now that there is finally news of a victory, Tan Qingyang should finally be able to relax a little.

"Luolong County? Meng Yifan?" Tan Qingyang paused for a moment before remembering that in the letters pleading for help previously sent by Zhang Yiqing of Dongchuan Prefecture, it was mentioned that there was a group of Mountain Hunters led by Meng Yifan who killed officials, rebelled, and occupied Luolong County; Zhang Yiqing was unable to suppress the rebellion and requested Tan Qingyang to send troops to support him.

At the time, Tan Qingyang even scolded Zhang Yiqing for being incompetent, saying that if he could not defeat the Monster Army that was one thing, but to be unable to suppress even a group of Mountain Hunters made him a real wine-bag and rice-sack, utterly useless.

"A group of rebels defeated a Monster Army of over one hundred thousand led by a Level 5 Demon Beast? How does this sound so unreliable? Tan San, is this news reliable?" Tan Qingyang asked, half-believing and half-doubting.