Chapter 1216: Both Our Chief and Deputy Alliance Leaders Participated in the Sword Inquiry Ceremony!

Meng Jingzhou felt that some things could not be judged by appearances alone.

When they arrived at Quyi County by day, the place had seemed harmonious and well-governed, prompting them to praise Mangu's capable leadership, yet the truth exposed itself once night fell.

Draped in the uniforms of constables, the two of them patrolled the streets, only to be ambushed by two different factions in less than the time it took to finish a cup of tea, and it was only thanks to their own formidable skills that they emerged unscathed.

Never mind; an elder disciple brother had to learn tolerance for his junior, and while he and Old Lu were still here, they might as well help Mangu maintain law and order in Quyi County.

"Brother, Que'er is coming to join you," Huang Que'er murmured, closing her eyes as she watched the blade fall, tears tracing paths down her cheeks.

Voices drifted from the wide-open hall, and as Wu Hao strained his ears, he realized the speaker could be none other than Sha Meng; having confirmed this, he crept a few paces closer, stopping just half a step short of crossing the threshold into the open chamber, choosing instead to listen out of sheer curiosity.

"Myriad Souls Devouring Heaven Array, activate!" Long Tianyi barked in a low, resonant voice, his free hand gripping the sword and instantly slashing it downward toward the front.

A'Liang felt the greatest unease in his heart, for he had a faint inkling that the Master of the Hall of Perplexity had invited these alchemists solely to contend with the Snow Alliance, yet though these alchemists possessed brilliant medicinal skills, their combat prowess left much to be desired; curious now, A'Liang waited for the Hall Master to speak further.

Xiao Guo smiled to indicate nothing was amiss, then walked over to gaze at the unconscious Huang Que'er lying upon the ground, her pristine skin stained with tear tracks and her pitiful face etched with lingering worry, before he gently lifted her into his arms.

Long Qingmeng instinctively turned her head to look toward the sky, and in an instant, the gazes of all three intertwined in midair; her face remained entirely devoid of emotion, as icy as it had ever been, even as the Starlight Unicorn continuous wailed in agony after being struck by an arrow.

"I certainly lack that kind of courage," the puppet soldier muttered before stepping backward, seizing the first opportunity to slip away, and once outside, he relayed the matter to several of his fellow puppet soldiers.

Yet, though he knew all of this himself, he could not speak, not out of any petty conflict, but truly because there was no opportunity for him to interject.

Furthermore, the lower the grade of the magic, the shorter its cooldown became, and these near-instantaneous magical skills abruptly transformed him into a mobile, breathing magical cannon, pouring forth a deluge of multicolored magical assaults that desperately reaped the lives across the field.

"Yulong, go protect Caohu," Yuling instructed, looking toward the direction where Caohu had rushed, where he spotted a team member crouching on the ground while cradling the old hunter, just as Ma Qiutian's men arrived to form a protective circle around them.

The entire city erupted into an instant uproar, as weeping and agonizing shrieks immediately consumed the settlement, and a population of two hundred thousand, from high to low, was instantly decimated to fewer than fifty thousand.

Having emptied its payload of bombs, the B-2 stealth strategic bomber tilted its wings in a triumphant swagger, veered away, and soared into the distance; the decapitation strike was complete, and the subsequent bombing raids would be borne by a swarm of B-52s, F-111s, and Vulcan bombers, allowing it to return home safely for meticulous maintenance.

Presently, Akkad served as the finest confidant for one to vent grievances, for he would never interfere in the affairs of nations, being a member of the Dragon Race.

It was precisely due to that lingering shred of resentment in their hearts that no one was willing to be the first to break the silence, for doing so might very well turn them into a target for everyone else.

Cowering on the ground in terror, Lily stared at the bandits with dread, praying fervently in her heart, "Big brother, save me."

"For the sake of a mere three cities, you would keep an army of two hundred thousand stationed here? To tell you the truth, the Southern Yan Kingdom has already dispatched an army of five hundred thousand to attack this place; do you truly believe two hundred thousand can defeat five hundred thousand enemy troops?" Le Shitong sneered coldly.

"Want to run? It won't be that easy!" These were the armored units of the 16th Army Group, whose main forces had already been deployed into the urban street fighting, but they had retained two regiments outside the city, which now proved perfectly useful.