Chapter 1254: An Imposing Display

Chapter 1254: Chapter 1254: An Imposing Display

The entire Luocheng was destined for a sleepless night. Citizens staying indoors peeked outside through the cracks in their doors and found that the soldiers passing through the city had not decreased, but, instead, flooded in even more as the curfew began. First, the soldiers of the Divine Martial Guard, followed by an unusual sight: a large group dressed in exotic costumes entered the city. After them, the Six Guards streamed in and occupied major thoroughfares of Luocheng.

All other sects and realm envoys stationed outside Luocheng in the Immortal Pavilion noticed this unusual movement. Though curiosity piqued their interest about the unfolding events, they were ordered by the commanding soldiers not to leave their assigned posts even by a step. Their actions were not only restricted, but they also found all channels to send messages externally had been blocked; Luocheng activated its defensive array, completely isolating itself from spatial transfer and communication with the outside world.

Apart from the restless envoys each harboring their own agendas, Pei Yan led his troops, guided by Qian Younuo, past the grand and luxurious façades of various Immortal Mansions, heading toward the relatively secluded northern side of the Forbidden Guard Office. Under countless watchful eyes, they raced toward the Immortal Palace.

After swiftly moving through the main buildings of the Immortal Palace, the view ahead suddenly opened up to a spacious plaza before Pei Yan. Despite not being unfamiliar with the Immortal Palace, it was the first time Pei Yan had come to this place. The imposing thousand-man team that seemed grand entered this plaza—about the size of a large sports stadium—and suddenly felt insignificant. Realizing this, Pei Yan turned awkwardly to Mei Simiao and said, "We’re a bit weak on momentum, huh? Should Jiang Feiyang really release some Puppet Soldiers to bolster our presence?"

"No need! The strength lies not in numbers, but in quality! We may be few, but don’t forget these three hundred have contracts with their beasts. Moreover, if the elites of these two tribes reveal their true forms, the spectacle would be much more imposing." Mei Simiao shook her head and reminded him.

"Right! Right! Right!" With Mei Simiao’s reminder, Pei Yan was overjoyed and quickly turned to Hu Jiu for consultation, saying, "Go talk to those two great tribes, have all but the elders release their true forms! I’ll also have my subordinates summon their Oath Beasts to enhance our presence."

Hu Jiu acknowledged and went to pass on the command, returning shortly to shake his head at Pei Yan and said, "No way! The elders said if all release their true forms, this place won’t be large enough!"

"Hmm? Isn’t it just six hundred people in total? How big can they grow?" Pei Yan looked at the spacious plaza skeptically.

"Uh! If it’s just about size without combat effectiveness, at seventh-tier, Fenrir Giant Wolves reach over ten meters tall and over twenty meters long as beasts. Even compressing their size for battle makes them about as big as two cows. The Nine-tailed Fox Race is only slightly smaller, but not much less! If you insist on their true forms, they could further compress their size. Are you sure about that?" Hu Jiu relayed the elders’ explanation clearly to Pei Yan.

"Wow! I hadn’t realized their true forms were so large—over ten meters, that’s as tall as a three, four-story building! This really won’t fit!" Thrilled by the explanation, Pei Yan marveled, "Alright, have a few elders select the fifteen most imposing members, reveal their largest forms, the rest from both tribes choose a hundred to change to normal size, complementing our troop to boost our presence!"

"Okay, no problem!"

Awooooo! Awooooo! Hu Jiu went to convey the orders again, shortly after, a spine-chilling howl of wolves pierced the night sky, reverberating across the plaza before the hall. Seeing those wolf beasts like small mountains and Nine-tailed Foxes appear on either side of his troops, and observing the suddenly emerging beast groups within the uniform ranks, Pei Yan showed a satisfied smile. This transformation made the ample plaza feel crowded, while their overall presence doubled.

"Set off!"

The troops set off again and soon passed through the area; they arrived outside an even larger architectural complex. Though this complex covered a vast area far exceeding any Immortal Mansion Villa, from its style, one could easily see the difference between them. Within the walled area, most buildings constructed were simple and unadorned ordinary housing, occasionally intersected by tall residential buildings and watchtowers responsible for vigilance. Though labeled as the Forbidden Guard Office, Pei Yan felt it was more akin to a clearly distinguished prison.

Even before entering the plaza, Pei Yan had spotted the crowd outside the buildings confronting each other. Likewise, the opponents had noticed their arrival. Seeing that the confrontation hadn’t escalated, Pei Yan sighed with relief but was slightly disappointed with his fleeting dark thoughts. However, upon closer inspection, things were more severe than he anticipated. About forty or fifty Divine Martial Guards had been knocked down, and those blocking at the forefront wore injuries.

"What exactly happened here?" Pei Yan frowned, displeased at the sight before the Forbidden Guard Office.

At this moment, an officer from the Divine Martial Guard stepped forward and scrutinized Pei Yan, then looked at Qian Younuo beside him and asked, "Old Qian, who is this?"

"General Shao, this is Mr. Pei Yan, the commander of the palace operations tonight." Qian Younuo quickly introduced, then introduced to Pei Yan, "Mr. Pei, this is our Divine Martial Guard Shao An, General Shao."

"So, it’s General Shao! What about our Grand General Shi?" Pei Yan nodded to the opponent in greeting and inquired.

Shao An had anticipated the visitor might be Pei Yan, merely surprised by his formidable entourage. When Shi Taichu left, he informed Shao An that if Pei Yan arrived with reinforcements, he must be shown utmost respect. This person is currently favored by the Spirit Lord, known for his volatile, vengeful nature; avoid provoking troubles for the Divine Martial Guard unnecessarily.

Reflecting on this, Shao An hurriedly advanced, clasped his hands in salute, "Subordinate Shao An greets Mr. Pei. Grand General Shi was here a moment ago, yet due to the abundance of experts in various mansion villas at the Immortal Palace, he worried the Divine Martial Guard couldn’t effectively intimidate the elders inside the villas. Learning about your troop reinforcement nearing, he moved to command security on Immortal Palace streets, likely coinciding with Mr. Pei en route, thus missing a meeting."

"I see, what’s happening here then! Who injured your soldiers?" Pei Yan gestured toward dozens of injured by the wall, covered in bandages, responsible for security, pretending to question.

"Who injured them! Of course, it was us that did! Would they have hurt themselves instead! Hmph, what are these people here for! Don’t you know the truth! Pretending to be ignorant, acting like some kind of good fellow!"