A loud boom echoed.
Ye Cangtian hurried to the window and saw a green skull-shaped flare appearing in the distance.
"This is the distress signal of the Five Poisons Sect!"
"Anyone who sees such a signal must provide immediate support to the Five Poisons Sect!"
Heicheng, who had also come to the window, quickly explained.
"It seems the Five Poisons Sect has already made their move."
Ye Cangtian's gaze fell upon Zuo Bai as he spoke calmly.
The location of the green flare was precisely where he had informed Du Chuan.
It was obvious that his pressure on Du Chuan that day had yielded results.
Du Chuan must have been worried that these people truly had the ability to annihilate the Five Poisons Sect, thus acting preemptively.
"Manor Lord, I'll go and see."
Hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Zuo Bai quickly responded.
Although there were some members of the Imperial Dragon Villa present, they would still be at considerable risk if truly faced with an assault from the Five Poisons Sect.
Therefore, he wanted to personally lead the team to reduce casualties.
"Let's go together."
Ye Cangtian nodded, then took out a mask and tossed it to Heicheng.
After all, Heicheng had other roles to play, and his identity could not be exposed at this time.
...
On the eastern side of Jilong City, figures moved through the streets and alleys under the cover of night, converging towards this location.
In a farmhouse on the east side, the ground was stained red with blood, emitting a scent of gore in the gentle breeze.
Around a stone table sat more than a dozen men in armor, panting heavily.
These were Zuo Bai's subordinates. They had just survived a fierce battle and had been repelled by the incoming members of the Five Poisons Sect.
However, the Five Poisons Sect had directly fired their signal. They knew escaping would be difficult and could only rely on their own reinforcements.
Thus, they chose not to flee, but to recover their strength here and prepare for any potential large-scale engagement.
Whoosh!
At some point, a whistling sound pierced the night, landing precisely at their feet.
It was an arrow. Under the moonlight, it emitted an eerie glow, undoubtedly coated with poison.
The men were instantly alert and immediately adopted a defensive posture.
The next moment, figures flooded into the courtyard.
These individuals did not attack directly. Instead, they formed neat formations. Then, one of them went to the courtyard's main gate and opened it.
Following this, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness. The person appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, with a dark green skull embroidered on his chest.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Du Huo, an elder from the headquarters of the Five Poisons Sect."
The man introduced himself and then scanned the group, continuing, "You have managed to hold out until now, which has exceeded my expectations and fully demonstrated your strength!"
He paused, then added, "Therefore, I sincerely advise you to lay down your futile resistance and surrender!"
"Surrender? You must be dreaming!"
The captain of the Imperial Dragon Villa looked at Du Huo with utter disdain.
Even though the enemy had surrounded them, he and his brothers showed no fear.
"Why put yourselves through this? You are already surrounded and cannot possibly get out alive!"
"Why not surrender? We can offer you double what the Imperial Dragon Villa provides!"
Du Huo, upon hearing this, did not become angry and continued to persuade them.
Firstly, he was very interested in the formations these men had learned. If they could be taught to the members of the Five Poisons Sect, their combat effectiveness would undoubtedly increase significantly.
Secondly, the Five Poisons Sect needed to expand, and expansion required recruiting talent. These men were the best candidates.
They had been trained by the Imperial Dragon Villa and possessed considerable combat strength. If they joined the Five Poisons Sect, it would also enhance their fighting capabilities.
"Hmph!"
The captain snorted and looked at the other party dismissively. "Du Huo, you're overthinking things. Although our strength is inferior, we are not cowards afraid of death! To think of us joining the Five Poisons Sect is a pipe dream!"
Sigh!
Upon hearing this, Du Huo let out a sigh. "I have given you a chance, but you failed to cherish it. There is nothing else I can do but send you on your way!"
As he spoke, Du Huo raised his hand and made a simple offensive gesture.
With a signal, the surrounding members of the Five Poisons Sect immediately drew their weapons and charged forward.
As for Du Huo, he observed everything from the side.
Firstly, with such a small number of opponents, he did not need to intervene personally.
Secondly, he feared getting trapped by whatever formations they might possess, so maintaining a safe distance seemed more prudent.
Kill!
On the other side, the captain of the Imperial Dragon Villa let out a roar and, along with his brothers, launched a counter-charge.
Even though they were outnumbered and likely to be defeated, he would not choose to hold his ground. He wanted to display the spirit befitting the Imperial Dragon Villa!
This...
Seeing this, Du Huo's expression changed drastically.
The opponent's situation was dire. To survive or achieve victory, they should have deployed their trump card, meaning they should have used their formations.
Yet, not only did they fail to set up formations, they had also initiated a charge.
This was not just a cornered beast fighting back; it also indicated that these individuals knew no powerful formations.
Could it be... could the information that person received be false?
This is bad, it's a trap!
With this thought, Du Huo quickly commanded, "All men, listen up, retreat immediately..."
Just as the words left his mouth, Du Huo's expression changed again. The sound of faint whistling pierced the air.
Following this, streaks of energy blades slashed through the air. In an instant, everything before them transformed into a scene of hell.
Blood splattered across the courtyard, and with the blood, members of the Five Poisons Sect fell in droves.
Their cultivation was not high to begin with, and with all their attention focused on the Imperial Dragon Villa team, they were completely unprepared for these energy blades.
Therefore, in mere moments, more than half of the hundred-plus men were wiped out, and the remaining dozen were on the verge of soiling themselves in terror.
"Du Huo, is it?"
"You think you can touch my men and I'm just air?"
A voice called out. Du Huo saw several figures slowly emerging from the shadows.
The one leading them was very young. Although Du Huo did not recognize him, based on his words, he deduced that this person must be the Manor Lord of the Imperial Dragon Villa, Death.
It was at this precise moment that the sweat on Du Huo's forehead finally trickled down.
What is going on?
Why didn't that good-for-nothing Du Chuan manage to hold back Death?
Du Huo roared internally. He and the other party had clearly agreed that Du Chuan would be responsible for restraining Death, while he would handle the operation.
Now that Death had arrived, not only had his operation failed, but he was also about to lose his life here. Naturally, he was furious!
Despite his inner turmoil, he maintained a semblance of composure as he looked at Death, knowing that calmness might save his life at this juncture.
The next moment, he said, "So it is Manor Lord Death! Why come to my Jilong City as a guest without announcing yourself? I could have sent someone to welcome you!"
"Your Jilong City?"
Ye Cangtian looked at the man with disdain and said, "If I recall correctly, Jilong City belongs to the Hidden Organization, does it not? And you are merely poisonous insects from near Jilong City, yet you truly believe you can overthrow them and become masters!"
"Heh, in your eyes, we might just be poisonous insects."
Du Huo smiled slightly and continued, "However, I must tell you that it is precisely us poisonous insects who have turned this place upside down! Jilong City is now under the dominion of the Five Poisons Sect!"
Du Huo did not try to conceal anything. He knew that ordinary means would be ineffective, so he deliberately mentioned Jilong City.
He hoped that the other party would realize the futility and retreat!
Of course, he also harbored a sense of revenge.
It was simple: Du Chuan's failure to intercept the opponent was Du Chuan's dereliction of duty. Therefore, even if he were to die, he wanted to drag Du Chuan down with him.
"You are mistaken. Jilong City still belongs to the Hidden Organization!"
"You poisonous insects have merely usurped the name of the Hidden Organization to barely control Jilong City!"
"Otherwise, why would Jilong City have a Hidden Organization branch? It should have been replaced by the Five Poisons Sect long ago!"
Upon hearing the other party's words, Ye Cangtian's expression turned extremely disdainful as he spoke.
Although Du Chuan had been corrupted, the Five Poisons Sect had not dared to remove the sign of the Hidden Organization.
In his opinion, there were only two reasons for this: first, they were worried about the matter being exposed and provoking fierce retaliation from the Hidden Organization.
Second, they were concerned about the local populace not supporting them, leading to unrest or migration.
And they did not want a dead city, so they could only continue to use the Hidden Organization's name...