Star Trace Gate

Chapter 983 The successor of the divine monk takes the lead, while Potato tries to slip away.

As night fell, past midnight, the entire town of Beifeng officially entered curfew. Apart from minor officials on official business, monk soldiers, and civil and military officials, ordinary people were not allowed to go out.

Outside the inner palace, on the wide street, the night wind howled and the lights were dim. Two extremely luxurious carriages were stopped on the west side of the main gate, hidden in the darkness.

"Tap tap...!"

Suddenly, a series of heavy footsteps sounded, and a short young man wearing black and gold armor, a crown, and holding two large hammers walked alone through the narrow alley toward the second carriage.

Although he was young, looking only eighteen or nineteen years old, he had a full head of white hair. He was short, about six feet tall, which, according to the measurement units of the migration area, would be about 1.3 or 1.4 meters tall, but the two large hammers he was carrying looked bigger than his body.

His steps were steady, and when he carried the two hammers on his shoulders, the surrounding void appeared to distort slightly, which showed that his two hammers were powerful and heavy weapons.

The man approached the second carriage and muttered in a gruff voice, "Killing someone is one thing, but why make it so secretive? This is like taking off your pants to fart!"

"Hey, is anyone there?!"

With one shout, the echo of the stunned young man reverberated throughout the entire alleyway.

"brush!"

Inside the carriage, Master Chu lifted the curtain, peeked out, and then stared at the young man with surprise, asking, "Are you a military officer in the cookhouse? State your name!"

"My name is Wu Batian. I am the vanguard officer of the cooks' corps. I was sent by my godfather Liu Wei to assist Lord Zhenyi in the battle." The young man's eyes were bright and piercing, but his expression was somewhat wise, as if he were not very smart.

"The code," Master Chu asked simply and directly.

"The horn of justice blows across the land, and I ride the north wind for you, sir." Wu Batian replied with a somewhat ashamed expression.

“It matches up, it matches up.” Chu Daoye turned to look at Ren Ye inside the carriage and commented with the same shame: “You are supposed to be the most sought-after person for New Year’s Eve... How could you come up with such a nonsensical code? It’s utterly vulgar.”

"This was Liu Wei's idea! Sigh, he's practically always trying to curry favor with me, what can I do?" Ren replied helplessly, then leaned forward to look at Wu Batian and asked, "How many people are here?"

“Eight hundred!” Wu Batian, like a proud goose, raised his neck and said crisply, “My godfather said that you are going to rebel tonight… So as long as I don’t die, I will not allow anyone to come within three feet of you.”

"Very good. Once the chariots depart, you will lead the troops to follow behind. Remember, tonight, do everything according to my instructions…!" Ren also gave a word of advice.

Wu Batian paused slightly, then immediately bowed and replied, “Sir, you’d better not bring up such trivial matters… Last time in Anlai City, my godfather led me to quell the rebellion, and he also told me to follow his lead. The rebel leader had a woman flirting with him and serving him drinks. Before leaving… the woman got too close to my godfather and kept whispering to him, so my godfather gave me a signal, and I went up to her and killed her with a single blow… Afterwards, my godfather didn’t speak to me for more than four months. Since then, I’ve figured it out… I’m not good at reading between the lines, so you’d better speak plainly.”

"..." Ren Ye remained silent for a full three breaths before nodding and saying, "Alright, I'll tell you everything in a moment."

"Farewell." After saying that, Wu Batian, like a goose with its rear end sticking out, hoisted its hammer and left.

Master Chu lowered the curtain, his expression one of surprise, and said, “This young military officer has really caught my eye… He’s only at the third rank, but those two hammers, each one is as heavy as a mountain. Such talent is quite rare.”

"Having strength but no brains... you have no future." Ren shook his head.

"It's a pity he's only at the third rank, and a remnant soul from a secret realm at that. It will be extremely difficult for him to truly achieve enlightenment…!" Master Chu casually remarked before getting down to business: "Aren't you planning to go to the Heavenly Prison?"

"Unless something truly terrible happens, I definitely won't show up." Ren shook his head and said firmly, "Before the dust settles, the gray-robed woman's disguise is already ruined... Tonight, I don't know how many people are watching her appear, so I must hide as much as possible."

"Ah."

Master Chu responded with a sound of agreement, and then said nothing more.

At the front, outside the first carriage, the monk Daoguang stepped forward, lifted the curtain, and climbed inside.

Moro sat upright at the innermost side of the carriage, toying with a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his left hand, and asked with a cold expression, "Did it work out?!"

The monk Daoguang nodded slightly: "It's done. As instructed by my senior brother, an hour ago, I forcibly captured a martial monk guard who was responsible for guarding the Star Source in Yangxin Xiaozhu, and then personally questioned his soul... From the other party's soul memories, I saw the scene in the dream landscape secret realm. There is indeed a Star Source there, as much as 280 million, and there are 64 experts in the library of Yangxin Xiaozhu, divided into three shifts, guarding it day and night."

"Hmm." Moro nodded in satisfaction.

“That guard has been missing for almost an hour now, and that can’t be kept from Niu Dali any longer. He’s probably realized by now that something might have happened to him. So, we can’t wait any longer; we need to act quickly,” Daoguang advised.

The guards responsible for overseeing Yangxin Xiaozhu were definitely Niu Dali's top targets. Therefore, sending someone like Moro Dong was a risky move, potentially alerting the enemy. But to be honest, he had no choice at the moment, because he was always a cautious person, and his purpose in attacking the Martial Monk's Mansion tonight was to find the 280 million Star Source and prove Niu Dali's embezzlement.

However, if he leads his troops to forcibly enter the Martial Monk's Mansion but fails to find Xingyuan in Yangxin Xiaozhu, then his actions of gathering troops to besiege the Martial Monk's Mansion today will be no different from treason or mutiny, and he will absolutely be unable to explain it to Tianzhao Temple.

Only by confirming that Xingyuan is at Yangxin Xiaozhu can his actions tonight have a plausible basis. However, the Martial Monk's Mansion has been under extremely tight security lately. He can't even get in touch with ordinary servants in the government office, let alone bribe them, let alone guard the guards protecting the Dreamland Mountain and Water Secret Realm. Therefore, he can only confirm the authenticity of Xingyuan's whereabouts an hour before the operation by using methods such as enticement, forced killing, and soul questioning.

Moro thought for a moment, then immediately asked, "How is Fulai handling the affairs of the inner court?"

"As you instructed, everything has been done." Emperor Daoguang nodded solemnly.

"Send troops straight to the monks' residence." Moro carefully reviewed all his plans and then made a decisive decision.

Upon hearing the order, Daoguang immediately lifted the curtain, waved towards the main street, and whispered, "Gather the troops, take the main road, and head to the Martial Monk's Mansion."

At his command, Feng Yiyang, who had been waiting around the inner palace for a long time, shouted loudly, "The monk soldiers, form ranks and follow Lord Moro's carriage!"

"Tap tap...!"

As soon as the words were spoken, more than nine hundred soldiers from the gray-robed battalion rushed out from the surrounding alleys and quickly assembled in formation on the long street. They all held various weapons that gleamed with a cold light, and inexplicably exuded a murderous aura.

At the same time, Wu Batian blew a whistle, and then led eight hundred militiamen to line up behind Ren Ye's chariot.

Tonight, Feng Yiyang, the commander of the Gray Robe Camp, and Liu Wei, the commander of the cooks, have staked almost everything on their "political protectors." If they win this battle, they will naturally rise to power along with their loved ones; but if they fail, they will surely be utterly destroyed.

Nine hundred gray-robed monk soldiers, plus eight hundred headmen soldiers, totaling more than 1,700 soldiers, followed the two carriages in a grand procession straight to the Martial Monk's Mansion.

……

Two incense sticks later, inside the Martial Monk's Mansion, in the Military Deployment Hall.

Niu Dali had already changed into a tiger-head armor and stood in front of the table with his hands on his hips, squinting at the dozen or so generals on his left and right sides.

"Sir, the personal guard you specially dispatched to the East Courtyard has still not been found. The servants said that he went out to buy some food for his night watch, but he has never returned!" A military officer replied with his hands clasped.

Niu Dali blinked his cunning eyes, then sneered, "Moro is the kind of person who won't act until he sees the benefit... That guard probably won't be coming back. Go and inform the three battalions immediately, tell them that if...!"

The military officers listened carefully to Niu Dali's orders, and soon after, they all left to perform their duties.

About an incense stick's time later, two carriages led more than 1,700 soldiers from the north, and they were less than three miles away from the Martial Monk's Mansion.

The long street was dimly lit, filled with the sounds of the night, including the uniform thud of footsteps and the clatter of armor. This inexplicably gave one a feeling of blood surging and adrenaline rushing to one's head.

Moro sat inside the car, rubbing his prayer beads with his left hand, looking every bit the strategist.

"boom!!"

Just then, an extremely solid aura of divine power suddenly surged forth at the street intersection ahead, rising infinitely.

"Tap tap...!"

Immediately following, a thunderous, drum-like sound of footsteps echoed from the direction of the monks' residence.

A seemingly endless column of monks swept in from the direction of the Martial Monks' Mansion. Torches lined the column like a forest, instantly illuminating half the long street. The silver-white armor worn by the monks gleamed coldly in the lamplight, exuding an extremely disciplined and solemn aura.

"Whoosh!"

With a whooshing sound, a tall military officer carrying a long spear, exuding a solid aura of divine magic, fell from the sky to the front of the two carriages. His body was upright and his face was cold and stern.

His name is Zhu Cheng, a fourth-rank martial artist, originally a lieutenant in Niu Dali's personal guard. However, after Lu Zhao's death, the position of commander became vacant, so Niu Dali, after considering all factors, promoted him to the position of acting commander. Now, he is just waiting for the official appointment document from Tianzhao Temple to be issued, after which he can be officially appointed.

After landing gracefully, Zhu Cheng gripped his spear in one hand and raised his other fist, shouting, "Rank up!"

"Splash!"

At his command, the monks rushing towards him instantly raised their magical weapons and shouted, leaning forward, "Important territory of the Martial Monks' Residence! Halt!"

"Stop!"

"Stop!!"

"...!"

The shouts were deafening and lasted for a long time.

Ren was somewhat surprised to hear this, and then quietly lifted the curtain and glanced outside.

All that could be seen was an endless line of monk soldiers outside the street corner, completely blocking the main road leading to the Martial Monks' Mansion. A preliminary estimate suggested that there were at least three thousand of them. Moreover, judging from the monk soldiers' rank, their battle posture, and the aura emanating from each individual monk, they were all superior to the cooks and the Grey Robe Battalion.

Little Bad King looked at the monk soldiers with some excitement and whispered, "Damn it... Niu Dali really was prepared in advance, he actually sent out all his personal guards!"

Master Chu sensed his surroundings briefly, then shook his head and said, "Huh... there are still people around here. It seems that Niu Dali's intelligence and espionage skills are worthy of his position as commander of ten thousand troops. He seems certain... that we will make our move today."

Ren did not give a direct answer, but solemnly said, "The other side has more than three thousand men. It seems that the Martial Monk's Mansion is not a easy nut to crack."