In this chaotic world of vying for power, I can become stronger by marrying a wife.

Su Ming ignored him and instead took a step forward. "Old Chen, do you need any help?"

"You?" Chen Xiu glanced at him. "You're more likely to make things worse than helpful."

"That's not necessarily true." Su Ming grinned and pulled out a palm-sized black ceramic jar from his pocket.

Chen Xiu's pupils constricted instantly. "Are you crazy? Using that thing at this close range? We'd all die!"

"Who said I was going to use it here?" Su Ming weighed the pottery jar in his hand, looking at the blood-robed figure floating in the air. "Wei Lang!"

"exist!"

"Push the catapult over here and aim at that charlatan!"

"yes!"

Wei Lang and his men quickly pushed over a catapult and adjusted its angle.

Su Ming placed the pottery jar on the fire and lit the fuse. "Old Chen, please help me buy three breaths."

Chen Xiu gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and in a flash, rushed towards the man in the blood-red robe.

Two figures crossed paths in the air, their sword light colliding with the black mist, unleashing a blinding burst of light.

Su Ming stared intently at the fuse, silently counting in his mind.

Three, two, one...

"put!"

The catapult roared, and the black pottery jar flew in an arc, precisely towards the man in the blood-red robe.

The man in the blood-red robe seemed to sense the danger and tried to dodge, but Chen Xiu held him tightly.

"Trying to run? Too late!"

Chen Xiu unleashed a sword strike, the sword energy transforming into a net of light that trapped the man in the blood-red robe in place.

The next second—

boom!!!

A deafening explosion rang out, flames shot into the sky, and the air within a hundred feet radius was distorted.

The shockwave swept in, and the soldiers on the city wall all fell to the ground. Su Ming was also shaken back several steps, his ears ringing.

When the smoke cleared, the man in the blood-red robe had vanished without a trace, leaving only blood-red shreds of cloth falling from the sky.

"Dead?" Wei Lang asked cautiously.

"I don't know." Su Ming squinted and shook his head. "But at least they won't be coming again for a while."

He turned to look at the high priest, only to find that the priest had already taken advantage of the chaos to escape back to the barbarian army camp.

"You run pretty fast!"

Chen Xiu landed back on the city wall, his face somewhat pale, clearly having suffered considerable exhaustion from the battle just now.

"Mr. Chen, are you alright?"

"I won't die." Chen Xiu waved his hand. "But you, kid, you've got guts. Using gunpowder at that distance, weren't you afraid of blowing yourself up?"

"Fortune favors the bold," Su Ming chuckled, a hint of smugness in his triumph.

Chen Xiu shook his head, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Su Ming called out to him. "Elder Chen, that high priest... what do you mean by saying he's not a Northern Barbarian?"

Chen Xiu stopped and remained silent for a moment. "Have you seen the Heavenly Demon Armor he was wearing?"

"no."

"That's something from the Demonic Sect." Chen Xiu turned his head, his eyes deep. "Thirty years ago, the Demonic Sect was besieged by the imperial court. The sect leader died in battle, and the remnants scattered. I never expected that they would infiltrate the Northern Barbarians."

Su Ming's heart stirred.

A demonic cult? This is a huge bombshell.

"So, the Northern Barbarians' southward invasion is being orchestrated by the Demonic Sect?"

"It's pretty much true." Chen Xiu sighed. "Kid, you've gotten yourself into big trouble. Those people from the Demonic Sect are vengeful. You ruined their plans today, and they won't let you get away with it."

"What should we do then?"

"So be it," Chen Xiu said irritably. "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. Are we going to stick our heads out and let them be chopped off?"

After saying that, he vanished into the night in a flash.

Su Ming stood still, looking at the barbarian army camp in the distance, his expression becoming serious.

A demonic cult? This world is far more complex than he imagined.

[Ding! Hidden quest triggered: Remnants of the Demonic Cult!]

[Mission Objective: Investigate the Demonic Cult's operations in the Northern Barbarian Lands and uncover the mastermind behind it all!]

[Mission Reward: Mysterious Treasure Chest x1, Luck Points +1000!]

[Mission Failed: Hunted to death by the Demonic Cult!]

Su Ming looked at the system notification and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

interesting.

I was worried about how to deal with the Northern Barbarians, but now the enemy has come to us.

"grown ups."

Murong Yan walked over, her face still showing the lingering fear from the battle. "That old man was really strong."

"He's quite strong," Su Ming nodded. "But he's also an old fox, he's very cunning."

"Who is he?"

"An old friend, I suppose." Su Ming didn't elaborate further.

Murong Yan wisely refrained from asking further questions and instead said, "My lord, the Northern Barbarians suffered heavy losses tonight and should not be attacking the city again for some time."

"Okay." Su Ming glanced at the sky. "Let the brothers take turns resting, and leave half of them on night watch."

"Yes."

Murong Yan turned to leave, but stopped after taking two steps.

"grown ups……"

"Um?"

"Please be careful."

Su Ming was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "Don't worry, I'm very tough."

Murong Yan didn't say anything more and quickly left.

Su Ming stood on the city wall, looking at the barbarian army camp in the distance, his mind racing.

The Demonic Cult has infiltrated the Northern Barbarians, and the Crown Prince has colluded with the Demonic Cult. The waters behind this are terrifyingly deep.

But the more this happened, the more excited he became.

Because this means there are more luck points to be gained.

"System, open the store."

The in-game store is now open.

Su Ming glanced at the items in the store and his gaze fell on a special prop.

【Tracking Talisman x1: Marks a target and tracks its location for 24 hours. Price: 100 Luck Points】

"This is it." Su Ming exchanged it without hesitation.

A golden talisman appeared in his hand, covered with intricate patterns.

"High Priest, our score isn't settled yet."

He attached the talisman to the arrow, drew back the Great Archer Bow, and aimed at the direction of the barbarian army camp.

Whoosh!

The arrow pierced the air and disappeared into the night.

A few breaths later, a system notification sounded.

[Ding! Tracking activated! Target location marked!]

Su Ming smiled slightly. "You can run away, but you can't hide."

When dawn breaks, he will go and meet this so-called high priest.

Just then, a soldier rushed over.

"My lord! Someone from the prefect's office has arrived, saying that another imperial edict has come from the capital!"

An imperial edict? At this time?

Su Ming frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

The main hall of the prefect's mansion was brightly lit.

Wu Yong sat in the main seat, his expression indescribably strange, a mixture of schadenfreude and unease.

Su Ming strode in, his gaze sweeping across the hall.

Besides Wu Yong, there was also a middle-aged man dressed in a flying fish robe with an embroidered spring knife hanging at his waist, clearly a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Commander Su, I have long admired your name."

The middle-aged man stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and wore a formulaic smile.

"I am Li An, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I have come to deliver His Majesty's decree."

Su Ming's heart stirred.

Embroidered Uniform Guard?

It seems this time it was the emperor's personal decree, not the crown prince's doing.

"Thank you for your trouble, Commander Li."

Su Ming returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Li An nodded, took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his pocket, and unfolded it.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Su Ming, the garrison commander of Jing'an City, remained calm in the face of danger, fought against overwhelming odds, and repelled the Northern Barbarian army. His merit is immeasurable. He is hereby promoted to the rank of General Zhaowu, a fifth-grade official, and given command of three battalions of the Jing'an Army, in charge of the defense of Jing'an City. This is the imperial decree."

The hall was completely silent.

Wu Yong's face instantly turned ugly.