Chapter 181 Spark of War (1/2)

Thick black smoke billowed into the air.

A sea of inferno raged on, burning up whatever was left of the village.

From time to time, there would be the sound of a building collapsing on itself, no longer able to continue supporting its own weight.

Dead bodies were left in these burning houses, as though the houses were elaborate coffins specially prepared for their deaths.

This was a scene of utter devastastion.

Faced with such a sight, it would be difficult for anyone to imagine that just a few hours ago, this place had still been filled with the joyous laughters and playful banters of numerous villagers.

Juncheng stood in place, staring blankly through a small window and into a burning house.

Within the small house, the corpse of a young girl lay motionless in the arms of her mother, both of whom had blood smeared all over their bodies.

They were both dead.

A distance away, Lu Tianzi silently shook his head.

This deputy of his was efficient, had initiative, and even possessed pretty good combat capabilities for his cultivation level.

The only problem with him was that he was too sentimental.

Thankfully, he had been able to control his emotions during battle, thus not affecting the squad's combat effectiveness. Otherwise, Lu Tianzi would not have hesitated to switch him out.

Still, it was not like Lu Tianzi could not understand what was going through Juncheng's mind.

Even though demons cultivated the Slaughter Essence system, many of them had never killed any of their own kind, and Juncheng who had been carefully raised within the Nine Suns Sect counted among this group as well.

In this village, there were many villagers who were basically powerless against martial artists, yet they had all been sentenced to death.

It was no wonder that Juncheng felt conflicted at taking their lives.

However, during times of war, even the slightest bit of compassion for the enemy could prove fatal!

Lu Tianzi did not know if this was part of General Nanbai Zhaoyu's plans, but he was still glad that they had started with the villages that were basically easy prey. By doing so, people like Juncheng could at least take the chance to get used to such matters before the battles become much harsher.

This way, these people's chances of survival would increase sharply as well.

”Let's go, Juncheng,” Lu Tianzi called out, unwilling to wait any longer.

”Y-Yes, Squad Leader Nanlu!” Juncheng snapped out of his daze to rejoin the group, slightly embarrassed for having zoned out earlier.

Lu Tianzi led his squad of fifty men and left towards an open area outside the village, which was also the rendezvous point that had been agreed on earlier.

”You are finally here!” Nanqing Haowen proudly remarked when he saw Lu Tianzi appear. ”How slow!”

”Yeah, sorry for the delay,” Lu Tianzi casually apologised.

”You haven't arrived for long either,” Nanlan Qianxue commented from the side.

”No matter what, I am still faster than him!” Nanqing Haowen shrugged before turning back to stroke the Black Maned Shadow Lion that was sitting obediently by his side.

”All right, we are done here!” Elder Mingxin called out, drawing the attention of everyone in the area. ”Let us move on to meet with the others!”

”Yes, Commander!” Lu Tianzi and the rest of the twenty squad leaders answered loudly and without hesitation.

Now, even those who were not from the Nine Suns Sect were starting to look at Elder Mingxin with reverence and respect.

Under her flawless leadership, their battalion had cleared out the village in an exceptionally systematic manner.

Caught in her intricate plans, not a single villager managed to escape.

This showed that Elder Mingxin was not just a powerful Origin Core realm expert, but also a skilled strategist.

The first trait was important, but the second trait was even more so to the people serving under her. As long as they remained in her battalion, the benefits for them should far outweigh the costs!

But despite their efficiency, their battalion had been assigned with one of the furthest villages, and thus they were still one of the last battalions to get into position.

It was no wonder that the order to advance came shortly after.

In this war, the Scarlet Moon Kingdom was aiming to catch their opponent by surprise.

Everything had to be done in one fell swoop so as to gain as much of an advantage as possible before the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom even had time to react!

***

Loud horns sounded out ceaselessly from the guard towers atop the town walls, alerting the town inhabitants of the imminent danger.

Before long, a man dressed in noble robes appeared on the town walls, standing right above the main gate as he looked down at the army beyond the walls.

He had deep wrinkles, greying hair, and even looked slightly plump. But the vitality in his eyes was unmistakable even as he narrowed them at the multiple flags fluttering in the wind.

He was, without a doubt, an Origin Core realm martial artist.

”I am Mingye Qianniao, Lord of Drakecrack Town!” he roared from where he stood, every word loudly resounding in everyone's ears. ”This town is part of the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom. Even if you belong to the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, that will not save you from retaliation! Be warned that if you do not turn back now, the Dragon Cauldron Kingdom will regard this as a declaration of war, and will send forth our army to completely destroy you!”