Chapter 393

Chaos, like a spark dropped into hot oil, instantly ignited the entire Dao City.

The violent explosions, shouts of battle, and alarm cries from the four city gates sounded like a crude, brutal symphony, striking the silent night with its most chaotic overture.

Flames shot into the sky, reddening half the night, while thick smoke rolled upward, piercing the clouds.

Even miles away, one could feel the overwhelming stench of blood and the aura of slaughter.

The resistance at the city gates did not last long; about half a watch later, the thunderous crashes signaling the fall of the defenses and the hum of shattered barriers followed in succession.

Immediately after, a tidal wave of muffled, excited, and savage shouts surged in from the direction of the city gates!

Large numbers of black-clad figures, dressed in tight black attire, wielding various weapons, and radiating cold, brutal qi, poured into the city like a breached dam from all four directions.

They were well-trained; after entering, they did not charge blindly but swiftly split into several groups, some rushing toward nearby wall garrisons to widen the breaches.

Most, however, like sharks scenting blood, surged directly toward the marked warehouses, armories, and grain depots scattered throughout the city.

Yet the warehouse guards inside the city were clearly not unprepared.

The expected instant collapse did not occur; instead, defensive arrays suddenly flared to life around every warehouse, and arrows rained down from arrow towers and hidden bunkers—crossbow bolts inscribed with Breaking-Deviation Array runes.

Even more elite guards, relying on sturdy fortifications, engaged the black-clad intruders in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Flames, explosions, roars, and screams erupted simultaneously at key points across the city; the battle quickly descended into a stalemate.

Yet the main force of black-clad intruders did not linger over these fortified positions.

While a portion of them pinned down the warehouse guards, the vast majority flowed like tributaries merging into Jianghe, swiftly converging toward several pre-selected wide plazas and key nodes along the city's main thoroughfares.

Upon reaching their designated positions, they immediately moved, pulling from their backpacks various flags and plates etched with strange array patterns, devices inlaid with sinister crystal stones, and large quantities of bizarre materials reeking of heavy blood, beginning to arrange them with tense, orderly precision.

Faint black and blood-red lights began to connect across the ground and air; an aura of evil, corruption, and chaos quietly spread!

……

At the same time, the headquarters of the Zhenwu Bureau erupted in a towering blaze.

Several key pavilions, archives, and even the arms depot ignited simultaneously in roaring flames.

The fire burned with extraordinary ferocity, clearly mixed with flammable oil or special fuel.

Flames licked the night sky, thick smoke rolled, turning the Zhenwu Bureau headquarters into a hellish inferno.

"Fire! Quick, put it out!"

"Enemy attack! Headquarters under assault!"

"Protect the archives! Salvage the supplies!"

"All squads, assemble! Support the city gates! Purge the enemy within!"

"……"

The Zhenwu Bureau instantly descended into chaos.

The piercing alarm bell rang frantically; anxious shouts rose and fell in succession.

Some instinctively rushed toward the burning sites, attempting to extinguish the flames and rescue vital supplies.

Most, under their officers' orders, quickly donned armor, seized weapons, formed battle formations, and prepared to surge out of the headquarters to support the city gates or purge the Mo Sect demons within.

Chen Mu was one of those in this "outward support" force.

He was temporarily assigned to a elite squad of ten Innate Realm bureau guards, ordered to eliminate Mo Sect elements roaming the city and sabotaging array nodes.

The squad leader was a cold-faced Silver-Emblem Guard who maintained outward respect toward Chen Mu, this "air-dropped" Inspector, yet his eyes still held a faint, barely noticeable distance.

Yet Chen Mu did not follow orders to lead the squad toward any known chaotic zone or array node.

Shortly after the squad burst out the main gate of the Zhenwu Bureau and merged into the chaotic tide of alleyways, Chen Mu suddenly halted and whispered to the squad leader, "Officer Zhao, lead the squad with me—we have another mission."

The squad leader froze, instinctively saying, "My Lord Chen, our assignment is…"

"This is a secret order from the Commandant!"

Chen Mu's gaze sharpened, his voice low and firm, as he revealed a simple, ancient black iron token—the very one Du Wei Long had given him.

The squad leader's face changed instantly; no hesitation remained. He immediately clasped his fists. "Yes! Your Lordship, give the order!"

"Follow me. Stay hidden. Make no sound."

Chen Mu tucked away the token, turned sharply, and led the squad like ghosts into the labyrinthine shadows of the alleys.

Avoiding the main streets' shouts and flames, they swiftly moved toward a specific direction in the eastern quarter.

Their target was not the chaotic plazas or main thoroughfares—but…

The residence of Xiao Xinming, Director of the Zhangyue Bureau!

The Xiao residence sat in a relatively quiet, affluent district in the eastern city, surrounded by high walls and deep courtyards, its vermilion gates tightly shut.

Amid the city's chaos, this place was eerily silent; only a few lanterns glowed within, as if its master had already slept, utterly unaware of the cataclysm outside.

Chen Mu led the squad to conceal themselves in the dark shadow of a narrow alley outside the Xiao residence, ordering the ten Innate Realm guards to suppress their qi and vanish from sight.

Minutes passed, second by second; the distant shouts, explosions, and crackling flames of burning fires continued to echo.

The flames painted half the sky red, heightening the deathly stillness around the Xiao residence.

After about a quarter watch.

"Squeak—"

A faint, nearly imperceptible sound of wooden door hinges grinding arose.

The heavy side gate of the Xiao residence slowly opened, just wide enough for one person to slip through.

Then, one figure, two, three… eight figures in total, like slippery eels, swiftly slipped out through the gap.

Leading them was a man of average height, with a pale face and short beard—Director Xiao Xinming!

Yet now, Xiao Xinming had shed his official robes symbolizing Zhenwu Bureau authority, replacing them with a black combat suit nearly identical to those worn by the Mo Sect intruders tonight, a strangely shaped curved sword slung at his waist.

The once-familiar gentle smile was gone, replaced by cold resolve and, deep in his eyes, a barely concealed tension and excitement.

The seven behind him also wore black, radiating cold qi; all were formidable, at least Innate Realm, with two even at Innate Realm peak.

Once outside, they did not rush toward the chaos but scanned left and right warily, then crouched low, preparing to move swiftly along the wall shadows toward a pre-designated core array node in the city.

Just as they had taken a few steps—

"My lord Xiao, why such attire at this late hour? Where are you taking these people?"