Chapter 241: Blood Moon Rising

At the exact moment of midnight, all sounds fell silent; even insect chirps seemed to be swallowed by that viscous darkness.

The leaden clouds had at some point completely obscured the waning moon and stars.

Only the scattered torches within Bianliangcheng and the faint light leaking from houses stubbornly testified to the city's vitality amidst the deathly silence.

But this vitality was being swiftly strangled.

Whoosh—bang!

A sharp whistling sound ripped through the night sky, and immediately thereafter in the western direction of the city.

A huge, eerie crimson blaze exploded violently, like a poisonous flower blooming in hell, instantly igniting nearby houses!

Almost simultaneously, in the eastern city, southern city, and near the grain transport docks, fireballs and deafening explosions erupted one after another!

Flammable oil tanks were hurled into wooden-structured dwellings, and black gunpowder was buried at key intersections to detonate.

Flames shot up into the sky, thick smoke rolling like countless twisted black serpents.

They surged straight to the horizon, dyeing half the night sky a bizarre blend of orange-red and black.

Fire!

Help!

Murder!

The brief silence was utterly shattered, as panicked cries, screams, and running footsteps burst from every corner of the city, merging into a chaotic torrent.

The Iron Crow Army's long-planned 'Blood Moon' scheme was fully launched at this moment!

They were not blindly setting fires, but precisely chose densely populated residential areas, streets near government offices, and important material transfer points.

Their goal was clear—to create the maximum possible panic, tie down imperial troops, paralyze city functions, and in the chaos strike straight at the heart!

Imperial Palace, Purple Hall.

Chen Wen still stood by the window; the firelight reflected on the window paper coated his angular profile with a layer of jumping, ominous red light.

His inner Fortune Momentum vortex spun near violently, the scorching, mighty force clashing fiercely with the icy malice permeating the air, even causing the air around him to minutely twist.

Your Majesty!

Qian Gui, covered in dust and smoke, rushed into the hall at breakneck speed.

Three spots west of the city, five east, and two near the southern grain transport docks simultaneously burst into flame and explosion, the fire spreading extremely fast!

Multiple units of Iron Crow Army death warriors were found, operating in small squads along multiple routes, setting fires while deliberately driving and herding panicked civilians toward major intersections and government offices!

In some sectors, the city defense forces and Inspection Bureau personnel have been scattered, leaving transportation nearly paralyzed!

Their objective is quite clear: to create enough chaos to conceal the true killing blow!

Chen Wen's gaze was sharp as a blade, piercing the hall doors as he looked toward the night sky where flames shot up.

The situation outside the palace, I am already aware of.

How about inside the palace?

His voice was unusually calm, but beneath that calm lay a volcano about to erupt.

Qian Gui drew a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety in his heart.

All four gates of the palace city and every side gate have been shut and barred, the guards are all on duty, and the Dark Blade squad has been covertly deployed according to plan at all important passages and hall high points.

The first batch of Disturbing Crystal devices sent by Minister Zhao has also been distributed to the commanders at key positions.

But...

He paused, a hint of gravity flashing across his face.

The palace guards are numerous; it's hard to guarantee that none have been turned into infiltrators. Though the Cold Crow clues we've found point to a few individuals, they remain unconfirmed, so the hidden danger persists.

As if to validate Qian Gui's worry, his words had not yet finished——

Enemy attack——! The Heaven-Bearing Gate is under enemy attack!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The shrill alarm bell and warning clang of bronze gongs suddenly came from the direction of the Imperial Palace's main gate, the Heaven-Bearing Gate.

Immediately followed by the clashing of weapons, the humming of vibrating bowstrings, and the death cries of the dying!

Almost simultaneously with the attack on the Heaven-Bearing Gate, the direction of the Palace of Prolonged Blessing in the northwest corner of the Imperial Palace.

And the vast area near the Inner Treasury also simultaneously transmitted shouts of killing and explosions!

The Iron Crow Army's attack was not a single-point breakthrough, but multiple points blooming, with internal and external coordination!

They've come.

Chen Wen slowly uttered two words, his hand on the sword hilt whitening slightly from exertion.

He turned, his gaze sweeping over Qian Gui and the retinue of tense attendants on standby.

Qian Gui, you must leave the palace immediately, take charge of the overall situation, prioritize extinguishing the great fire, stabilize public sentiment, suppress unrest, and absolutely must not let Bianliangcheng fall completely out of control!

Palace affairs, I will handle them myself.

Remember, no matter what you hear from within the palace, keeping the outer city secure will be your foremost merit!

Qian Gui clenched his fists fiercely, a flash of resolve in his eyes.

Your servant receives the order! Your Majesty, take care!

Having said that, he turned without hesitation, a whirlwind carrying him out of the Purple Hall, swiftly vanishing into the night thick with smoke and killing intent.

Chen Wen, meanwhile, strode toward the outside of the hall.

Convey my decree: all gate and hall guards, according to the prearranged plan, meet the enemy; those who abandon their posts shall be beheaded!

All eunuchs and palace maids, without orders may not leave their quarters; violators will be deemed accomplices and executed without exception!

The cold, clear order was swiftly transmitted throughout the palace city by the messengers.

With an indisputable authority, it forcibly suppressed the panic arising from the sudden attack.

Chen Wen himself did not remain stationed in the Purple Hall, but instead headed straight toward the direction where the battle cries were fiercest at the Heaven-Bearing Gate.

His walking speed was not fast, but each step he took seemed to create an invisible resonance with the entire palace city, and even with the earth beneath his feet.

The "Fortune Momentum" vortex within his body, following his steps, delivered streams of scorching power to his limbs and bones.

His perception was magnified to the extreme.

He could "hear" outside Chengtian Gate, the Iron Crow Army's death warriors, like painless puppets, braving the arrow rain and rolling logs and stones, frantically charging the palace gate and walls, attempting to build human ladders to climb.

He could "smell" in the permeating air, besides the stench of blood and gunpowder, a faint, almost imperceptible, icy and eerie energy fluctuation belonging to the Nether Energy Crystal Ore.

He could even "feel" that, in the deeper darkness, there were several streams of exceptionally cold and powerful aura, like lurking poisonous snakes, waiting for the moment the palace gate is breached to deliver a fatal blow.

"Concentrated Granting, sixteen times."

Chen Wen silently chanted in his mind, his spirit and strength like a released flood, surging forth.

The target was precisely on the Chengtian Gate city tower and behind the battlements, those over a hundred elite guards who were desperately shooting arrows, hurling stones, and stubbornly blocking the first wave of attack!

An invisible yet mighty force instantly descended upon these guards.

In an instant, they felt the speed of blood rushing through their bodies suddenly increase, their muscles filled with explosive power.

The world before their eyes seemed to become slow and clear, the whistling trajectories of arrows easily caught by their ears.

The speed and precision of their weapon-wielding arms increased by who knows how many times!

"Your Majesty has arrived!"

"This is the heavenly grace of Your Majesty!"

Someone shouted excitedly, and the morale of these over a hundred guards, originally low due to fatigue and casualties, instantly surged to its peak!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh——!"

The arrow rain became denser and more precise, almost every bolt finding its mark, each crossbow bolt carrying a mournful tearing-through-air sound.

Precisely pinning into the vital spots—eye sockets, throats, etc. —of the Iron Crow Army's death warriors attempting to climb!

The heavy rolling logs and stones were easily lifted and thrown by them, crashing down with a terrifying momentum.

Smashing the enemies below, along with their ladders, until tendons snapped and bones broke!

Even the brave ones thrust out their bodies, spearing the just-emerged enemies with their spears and flinging them aloft!

The originally precarious Chengtian Gate defense line, under the support of this sudden powerful force,

instantly stabilized, even once suppressing the gate-attacking Iron Crow Army so they couldn't lift their heads!

However, the Iron Crow Army's attack was far from over.

Just as Chen Wen was focusing on the Chengtian Gate defense line——

"Boom!"

A deep, muffled roar, not coming from the palace gate, but from inside the imperial palace, not far from the Zichen Hall, a side hall!

The violent explosion not only destroyed a corner of the side hall, but also blew a nearby patrol squad of guards into disarray, flames rising thereafter.

Almost simultaneously with the explosion, several black shadows shot out like ghosts from the chaos and dust raised by the blast!

Their speed was astonishing, their figures flickering, their movements almost soundless.

What they held in their hands was not standard issue weapons, but strangely shaped short blades or poisoned hand crossbows flashing with azure-blue cold light.

The target was clear—directly pointing at Chen Wen, who had just left the vicinity of Zichen Hall and was on his way to Chengtian Gate!

These people were the true elite of the Iron Crow Army, the blades used for "decapitation" in the "Blood Moon" plan!

They had long been lurking within the palace, perhaps disguising themselves as the lowest menial workers, or perhaps sneaking in via unknown secret passages.

Only now, under the cover of the external feint attack, did they reveal their deadly fangs!

"Guard the emperor!"

Chen Wen's personal guards beside him reacted extremely quickly, instantly forming a battle formation, drawing their swords, and marching toward those black shadows.

However, the strength of these Iron Crow Army elites far surpassed that of ordinary death warriors.

Their techniques were strange and vicious, their coordination seamless, the azure-blue short blades seemingly possessing some corrosive power when clashing with the guards' weapons.

They could even cause fine cracks and rust marks on steel-forged swords!

The poison-coated crossbow bolts were even more cunning and lethal, specifically targeting the lower body and blind spots of vision.

In just a single encounter, three guards screamed as they fell, their wounds quickly turning black and festering!

Chen Wen's eyes narrowed.

The "Nether Energy" fluctuations on these assassins were far richer and purer than those of the death warriors outside the palace gate!

They were the ones worthy of his personal intervention.

He hesitated not at all; as soon as he moved, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, actively charging into the melee!

Sword light flashed forth, like a startled swan, like thunder!

He no longer used the wide-area "Ability Granting", but instead concentrated all his spirit and strength within himself, into his sword.

Operating at thirty-two times efficiency, his speed, strength, and reaction had already surpassed the realm of ordinary comprehension.

"Clang!"

With a crisp sound, the azure-blue short blade in an assassin's hand was directly severed by Chen Wen's sword light!

The sword momentum not spent, it swept across the opponent's throat in passing.

That assassin's eyes still held disbelief before he clutched his bleeding throat and collapsed.

Chen Wen's figure flickered like a ghost, dodging two poison crossbows, then with a backhand strike he split another assassin sneaking from the rear—along with his weapon—into two halves!

Fresh blood and entrails splattered across the ground, the strong stench of blood instantly spreading.

He was like a tiger among a flock of sheep; every flash of his sword light claimed the life of an Iron Crow Army elite.

Those strange Nether Energy short blades appeared pale and powerless before his absolute strength and speed.

Those poison-coated crossbow bolts couldn't even touch the hem of his clothing.

In just a few breaths, this meticulously planned assassination squad, which had hidden itself in the core area, was completely wiped out, turning into a patch of mutilated corpses.

Chen Wen stood holding his sword, blood droplets still falling from the tip.

He looked around, firelight illuminating his cold face, like a war god descending into the world.

The turmoil inside the palace seemed temporarily suppressed, but the shouts of killing outside Chengtian Gate remained fierce; the flames soaring inside and outside the city and the tumultuous sounds foretold that this long night had only just begun.

The Fortune Momentum vortex within his body, due to the recent slaughter and crisis response, seemed to have condensed a bit more.

The Growth Progress Bar, after the 69% mark, imperceptibly jumped forward by a small notch.

"Clean it up."

Chen Wen ordered the sole remaining shaken guard beside him, his gaze once again turning to the night sky outside the palace, dyed red by fire and blood.

"Tell Qian Gui, the rats have come out of their holes in part."

"The greater part is still to come."