All Heavens: A Role-Playing System Starting from Tianlong

Chapter 124 Fifty Thousand Troops Arrive, Dynastic Change

A sharp, piercing sound, like thunder splitting the sky, came from afar and grew closer.

The heroes looked up and saw a dark shadow flying from a distance. At first it was just a small dot, but in the blink of an eye it became clearly visible.

The dark figure, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, moved like a falling star, its speed so great that it left a faint trail of air behind it.

"boom--!"

The dark figure stood motionless on the open ground between the old woman and the assembled heroes.

Dust flew everywhere, and gravel flew in all directions. Several people who were nearby were thrown back by the shockwave.

Once the dust had settled, everyone could see that a long spear had appeared on the open ground.

The gun was stuck at an acute angle in the ground, with most of it buried in the soil. The tip was deeply embedded in the ground, and the surrounding ground was cracked like a spider web, with cracks spreading for several feet in radius.

The entire hall was deathly silent. Thousands of people were completely still, forgetting even to breathe.

After a long while, someone finally asked in a trembling voice, "Where did this thing come from?"

The group looked around, but could see nothing.

Someone recalled the angle from which the spear had come and pointed northeast: "Over there! It looked like it flew from that direction!"

Following the direction, everyone could vaguely see something moving on the distant horizon, but it was too far away to see clearly.

"This—this is way too far!" A tall, thin man's voice trembled. "It was thrown from that far away? How much strength must that have taken?"

"The force of that spear could probably even break through a city wall—" an old man murmured nearby.

"What if this is aimed at a person—" Before the words were finished, someone had already quietly moved back a few steps.

Tong Lao and Duan Yanqing exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes.

That spear was thrown from an extremely far distance. Not only was it incredibly powerful, but what's even more remarkable is that the spear itself was completely undamaged. The opponent must have used internal force to protect the spear, which is why they were able to unleash such a powerful attack.

Duan Yanqing was the first to transmit his voice: "There's actually such a person in the Song army?"

The old woman stared at the ground where the gun was embedded: "Not bad. But why does it feel so familiar—"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly frowned and turned her gaze to the northeast again. "They're here."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

The sound was initially very distant, like muffled thunder rolling across the horizon. But in an instant, it was right next to us, making the ground tremble slightly.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a troop of cavalry galloping towards them from the northeast.

The first man rode a magnificent black horse. He was tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. He was covered in heavy black armor, and even his face was covered by a visor, with only his eyes showing.

An empty holster hung beside his saddle, its size perfectly matching the long spear on the ground.

Behind him were more than ten cavalrymen, each with an imposing presence. Their horses were all fine steeds with high shoulders and long legs, and the sound of their hooves was uniform, clearly indicating that they were well-trained.

The group moved with incredible speed, rushing into the crowd in the blink of an eye. People along the way quickly made way, and no one dared to stop them. The horses' hooves kicked up dust, their momentum unstoppable.

As the leader passed by the spear, he bent down, reached out, grasped the spear shaft, and gently lifted it, pulling it back into his hand.

He spurred the horse, and the black horse neighed loudly, reared up, and its front hooves lightly trotted twice in the air before coming to a steady stop in front of Tong Lao and Duan Yanqing.

Among the assembled heroes, some discerning individuals observed the cavalry's armor for a moment, then suddenly gasped and whispered, "This is the equipment of the Palace Guard! These men are imperial guards!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the crowd. Someone pointed northeast and exclaimed, "They're the vanguard; there are more people behind them!"

Hearing the sound, everyone looked in that direction and saw a dark, imposing array slowly advancing on the distant horizon, with banners like a forest and spears like a sea, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Wasn't the demon-slaying gathering supposed to be a matter for the martial arts world, with the imperial court only providing assistance?" a young swordsman asked, looking puzzled. "Why are there so many soldiers here?"

An older man nearby quickly covered his mouth and whispered, "Shh—watch your mouth! Are you out of your mind?"

Whispers arose, but they were all kept very low. This was because the aura emanating from the leader was too terrifying.

The heroes glanced at it once and felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them, making it hard to breathe.

The burly, bearded man, Liu Meng, finally came to his senses.

He felt he had lost face by being frightened by a woman, and wanted to do something to salvage it. Seeing the officer's arrogance, he mustered his courage and shouted, "Hey! You, an officer, what a big shot you are! Did you throw that gun? Do you know where you are? Today, heroes from all over the world gather, and you, a mere soldier, dare to act so arrogantly!"

Before he could finish speaking, the leader slowly turned his head and his gaze fell on him.

Liu Meng felt a buzzing in his head, as if something invisible was pressing down on him, as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Kneel down." "Thump—" Liu Meng's knees buckled, and he knelt down firmly.

He tried desperately to sit up, but the invisible pressure was like a mountain collapsing, pressing him down so he could not move and could only lie on the ground, trembling all over.

The entire arena fell silent once more. No one had seen what method the man had used. No one understood why the burly man had knelt down. No one even dared to utter a question.

Only an invisible fear silently spread through the crowd.

Those martial arts practitioners who had just been clamoring to "punish the evildoers" were now all silent and trembling, not daring to utter a sound.

Tong Lao and Duan Yanqing, who had previously been their enemies, were left out in the cold.

Duan Yanqing stared at the leader, his gaze slightly narrowed, and transmitted his voice, "This person's height seems to be—"

The old woman spoke first: "Zhang Cheng!"

"I'm here." Zhang Cheng's voice suddenly rang out in the telepathic transmission. "Isn't my outfit pretty good?"

The cavalry leader raised his hand and pulled up the armor covering his face, revealing Zhang Cheng's rugged and tough face.

He grinned, his gaze sweeping over Granny Tong and Duan Yanqing, and transmitted his voice, "What, you don't recognize me after only three days?"

Granny Tong replied telepathically, "You brat, how did you become such a high-ranking official in the Song army in just three days?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later. Anyway, I took Sister Li to Bianjing these past three days."

After parting ways with Tong Lao and the others, the two experts Zhang Cheng and Li Qiushui rushed to infiltrate Bianjing.

Emperor Zhao Xu, Empress Dowager, Grand Empress Dowager, Chancellor Zhang Dun, Chief Administrator Zeng Bu, several Privy Councilors, Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the Xiang brothers, the three commanders of the Palace Guard, the Imperial Cavalry, and the Imperial Infantry, the Prefect of Kaifeng, the Director of the Inner Palace, and the head of the Imperial City Guard all had life-or-death talismans planted on them.

Within three days, all the civil and military officials, imperial relatives, imperial guards, and even secret service leaders were wiped out.

Although they encountered some experts belonging to the imperial court along the way, these people had no chance of winning against Zhang Cheng and Li Qiushui's combined forces, and all of them became nourishment for the Northern Darkness Divine Art.

With time running out, Zhang Cheng could only take these people under control for now and investigate them later.

Thus, without harming a single life, he had seized control of all the powerful figures in Bianjing. On the surface, the Song Dynasty remained under the Zhao family's rule, but in reality, it had fallen to the Zhang family.

Subsequently, Zhang Cheng had the emperor draft an imperial edict, appointing him as the commander-in-chief of the 50,000-strong army and granting him the authority to act expediently within the territory of the Song Dynasty.