Many children, many blessings; a stunningly beautiful wife is given to you right from the start.

Blackwind City?

Blackwind City again, for goodness' sake!

Wu Zhong's hand holding the knife was still trembling slightly.

It wasn't out of fear, but because of the lingering resentment after killing Zhao Dezhu.

He looked up, his face, contorted with anger, filled with confusion.

"Blackwind City?"

"An abandoned, ruined city... Elder Zhao, what do you mean by this?"

Elder Zhao did not answer him.

Instead, he turned and walked over to the body that was still hanging on the windowsill.

He stretched out two withered fingers and rummaged inside Zhao Dezhu's blood-soaked clothes, pulling out a small leather bag.

Inside, there were a few pieces of silver and a crumpled note.

Elder Zhao opened the note, glanced at it, and then let out a cold snort that was hard to decipher.

"General Wu, it seems your intelligence is even less reliable than the loyalty of your men."

He casually tossed the note into the pool of blood in front of Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong picked it up instinctively and looked at it by the candlelight.

The handwriting on the note was messy, but the content was perfectly clear:

[…After the deed is done, a grand reward of ten thousand gold pieces will be offered to you at Crescent Lake, thirty miles outside Black Wind City.]

Ten thousand gold pieces!

To kill me!

Wu Zhong's pupils suddenly contracted.

What kind of damned bastard would be willing to spend so much money!

But the key question is, why is it Blackwind City again?!

Is it...

An idea that he himself found absurd began to take root and sprout uncontrollably in his mind.

Just then, a guard stumbled in, his steps unsteady.

"General! Something terrible has happened! Commandant Zhang Mang... has died in his own residence, bleeding from all seven orifices!"

Zhang Mang is dead too!?

Wu Zhong felt as if a bolt of lightning had exploded above his head, leaving him frozen in place.

He subconsciously looked at Zhao Dezhu's still-warm body on the ground, and then remembered the "Drunken Immortal Brew" that had been poisoned.

A terrible thought, like a venomous snake, coiled around his heart.

Thinking of Wang Defa, whom he had stabbed to death with his own hands, and the "mysterious person" who tipped him off...

In just one night, two of his four captains, Wang Defa, Zhang Mang, and Zhao Dezhu, died and one defected!

There's also Wu Liang, whose good-for-nothing younger brother also disappeared after investigating Black Wind City!

His right-hand men, the team he had built up over many years, were all wiped out overnight!

This is no coincidence!

This is absolutely no coincidence!

A bone-chilling cold shot from Wu Zhong's spine straight to the top of his head, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

He finally realized that this was no accident, but a trap that had been set up against him long ago.

I am the fish in the net.

"General Wu, you're only realizing this now?"

Elder Zhao's icy voice rang out, like a sharp awl piercing through his chaotic thoughts.

"You've been targeted by that guy."

Wu Zhong jolted awake, his face filled with terror and bewilderment.

Like a drowning man grasping at the last piece of driftwood, he hurriedly bowed to Elder Zhao and asked for his advice.

"Please enlighten me, Elder!"

Elder Zhao said slowly:

"I came here for two reasons: first, to investigate the disappearance of my Ghost Gate assassin 'Ghost Seven'; and second, to confirm one thing—about that remnant of the Lin family, Lin Mo."

"Lin Mo?!"

The name struck Wu Zhong like a bolt from the blue.

Blackwind City.

The "miracle" of the city wall being repaired overnight, which was reported a few days ago.

He was sent by himself to investigate Black Phoenix City's younger brother.

And everything that happened tonight.

They poisoned Zhang Mang, who was addicted to alcohol.

He bribed Zhao Dezhu, who was addicted to gambling.

Then, using a clumsy honey trap, he would incite his own rage and use someone else to kill Wang Defa...

Grass!

Fuck!

This insidious scheme, with its interconnected plots and deadly moves, was actually devised by a mere immature boy?!

Wu Zhong felt like his brain was about to boil.

He was completely outmaneuvered by a kid he didn't even consider a threat!

He finally understood.

His stupid brother must have fallen into their hands and spilled all his secrets like beans!

The enemy already knew the weaknesses in the personalities of his generals very well!

The immense humiliation and overwhelming anger erupted like a volcanic eruption, instantly overwhelming Wu Zhong's reason.

Wu Zhong's face turned a liverish color from the blood rushing to his head, the veins on his neck bulged, and his muscles twisted with extreme anger, making him look like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.

He gritted his teeth and forced out a few words, one by one, through the gaps between them.

"Lin Mo!"

"I will never share the same sky with you!"

"Our goals are aligned."

Elder Zhao was very satisfied with Wu Zhong's reaction, and a smile finally appeared on his withered face.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong immediately pledged his loyalty to this "important figure" before the Third Prince.

He threw down the knife in his hand, knelt down, and banged his head heavily on the ground.

"Elder! As long as we can kill that brat, my 53,000 soldiers of Iron Wall Pass are at your command!"

Elder Zhao nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

A good dog is one that knows its own worth and is qualified to be a dog.

"very good."

Elder Zhao turned around, looking at the pitch-black night outside the window, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Wu Zhong quickly raised his head, his body trembling slightly with excitement and anticipation.

"Please give your orders, Elder!"

Elder Zhao said, enunciating each word clearly:

"Immediately assemble an army of 50,000 and march on Blackwind City."

"Now?"

"Fifty thousand troops?!"

Wu Zhong was terrified.

"Elder Zhao, even if Lin Mo is powerful, his Black Wind City has a population of only a little over ten thousand, and its garrison is probably less than a thousand. Why make such a fuss? This is simply..."

Elder Zhao slowly turned around, his empty, lifeless eyes staring silently at Wu Zhong.

"Haven't you learned your lesson from underestimating your opponent yet?"

Wu Zhong broke out in a cold sweat from that look, and remembering the horrific scene of the previous night, he immediately shut his mouth.

"I never like to drag things out."

Elder Zhao's voice was as cold as ice.

"Even when crushing an ant, we must use all our strength to grind it into powder, leaving no trace of its danger."

Wu Zhong's Adam's apple bobbed as he asked with difficulty.

"Elder Zhao means..."

Elder Zhao's lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Massacre of the city."

"A city filled only with corpses and ruins cannot hide any secrets."

"I want to see if Lin Mo's so-called miracle can withstand fifty thousand butcher knives."

Massacre...massacre of the entire city!?

Wu Zhong was instantly stunned.

Although he was cruel, this action still instilled a sense of fear in him.

But immediately, his hatred for Lin Mo and his fear of Elder Zhao overwhelmed everything, and Wu Zhong's face turned solemn as he knelt on one knee.

"Your humble servant obeys!"