Chapter 542 - 180: Though Faced by Legions, I Press On

Chapter 542: Chapter 180: Though Faced by Legions, I Press On

Screams, the sound of running... The elegance that once filled the hall was no more.

The attendees, who until just a moment ago had been impeccably dressed, were now fleeing towards the mansion’s entrance and outside in panic, abandoning their dignity.

The man running the fastest was an Englishman in a black tailcoat, quite handsome.

He forcefully pushed open the mansion’s door, and then—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Arrows whizzed past him.

Dozens of samurai stood menacingly outside the mansion’s entrance, exuding killing intent. Among them, ten samurai wielded large yumi bows. Seeing someone emerge from the house, they immediately raised their bows and shot without hesitation.

Although the arrows did not hit the Englishman, they scared him enough.

"Don’t go out! There are so many assassins outside! (English)"

The man, with cold sweat running down his back from fright, hastily retreated indoors.

Holding Elodie in his arms, Anthony, being at the forefront of the escaping crowd, also saw the group of samurai blocking the door, causing fresh cold sweat to break out on his back.

The main gate was not an option... Everyone had to hastily look for other escape routes.

However... whether side doors or windows, all possible exits were blocked by those aggressive samurai.

Where there were no samurai, there was fire.

Due to the large amount of oil spread earlier, the flames spread rapidly.

Fire quickly climbed pillars and walls; in just a moment, half of the mansion was engulfed in flames.

Thick smoke with a burnt stench started to pour in towards everyone.

Sparks danced and exploded around, wooden beams ablaze above collapsed, narrowly missing Elodie and Anthony, who cried out in fright.

"It’s okay, it’s okay." Anthony hurriedly patted Elodie’s back to console her.

Anthony’s voice trembled uncontrollably... He was also very scared, but to avoid increasing Elodie’s panic, he had to suppress his own unease and fear.

The fire was closing in... There was no staying here, so everyone quickly ran towards parts of the mansion not yet touched by fire.

Bright’s mansion wasn’t all that large to begin with, and the shadows earlier had set fires from both the east and west, so the flames spread with astonishing speed.

In the end—unable to find a way out, everyone returned to a wide corridor near the main entrance, pacing around anxiously.

"Are those people outside thugs from the Anti-foreigner Faction? (Russian)"

"Mr. Bright! Do you have an escape tunnel here? (English)"

"Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough! Don’t stay here! The smoke is coming in! (French)"

...

Men roared, women screamed... A jumble of languages mixed with heat and smoke, stirring together.

The sudden catastrophe left everyone pale and terrified.

Just five minutes ago, these people were chatting courteously, dancing with grace, now they were screaming and yelling... the contrasting scene had an eerie comedic quality...

...

Elodie, Anthony, and their group were trapped inside Bright’s mansion, so they didn’t realize: it wasn’t only Bright’s mansion; a few other places in the concession area were also set ablaze almost simultaneously.

Like a film playing in slow motion suddenly sped up, the original tranquility of the concession was utterly shattered.

The sound of flames burning, winds whipped by heat waves, screams, the frantic footsteps of the fleeing...

The wave of sounds, which should have been piercing and unpleasant enough to cause unbearable discomfort, was, to Shinno, the most wonderful music in the world.

—Finally, I can destroy this hateful district...

Shinno silently sighed, then, mixed feelings, he slowly raised his head, lifted his gaze, and looked ahead at the entrance of Bright’s mansion, which was blocked by a large group of his direct subordinates.

A look of triumphant ambition appeared on his face.

Destroying Edo’s concession and killing all foreigners within it—this was a long-standing wish in Shinno’s heart before establishing the Anti-foreigner Group, as well as the first small goal of his grand plan to "expel all barbarians from the country."

To fulfill this wish, Shinno had meticulously planned and mobilized to the maximum extent long ago.

Following several major operations and his own "elite soldier plan" of eliminating the inferior and retaining the superior, the Anti-foreigner Group’s member count had significantly diminished.

With the group’s current number, it would be somewhat difficult to kill all the foreigners in the concession.

After all, these barbarians also have legs and can run, and sending people to randomly catch and kill them throughout the district was highly inefficient.

The question of how to efficiently kill the barbarians in the concession had troubled Shinno for a long time.

Until recently, he heard news that excitedly got his mind buzzing: a certain Bright in the concession was hosting a grand party on his 60th birthday night, and nearly half of the concession’s residents would attend.

The barbarians in the concession were gathering... this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for expulsion!