The Empress's No.1 Lackey

The curved blade swept past.

"Puff!"

"Puff!"

With two slashes, the bearded Squad Leader's arms were detached and fell to the ground, and the dagger spun with a clattering sound, rolling down the Execution Platform.

Magistrate Luan's expression changed dramatically, nearly retching in shock.

Overwhelming!

Wu Ling and the two others were considered experts in the Martial World, but against the two masters of the Worldly Realm, they were powerless to resist.

The smile on Lu Zhengchun's face froze, as he looked blankly at the scene, suddenly shouting:

"Where are they? Where's Qi Yuchun? Where's Ren Kun? Why is there only you bunch of useless people?"

Zhao Douan sat calmly on a high platform, slightly frowning, witnessing the chaos around him being swiftly brought under control.

Facing the well-prepared government troops, this rescue group of rebel factions was collapsing rapidly.

"Is that it? Is it over?" After gagging, Magistrate Luan face turned pale, his expression confused:

"Zhuang Xiaocheng dispatched people to attempt a rescue, why did he send only these few? Does he not know there's no way to succeed with just them?"

At this moment, Haitang and Zhang Han also returned, noticing something was amiss.

Zhang Han suddenly stepped forward swiftly to the trapped Wu Ling and the bearded man whose arms were severed, lying beneath Lang Shiba with blood stained over his body.

He glanced at the two, pressed the seven-foot sword against the bearded man's neck, and said coldly:

"Speak, where are the others? Don't tell me that Zhuang Xiaocheng only sent you guys over."

The bearded man, knowing his end was near, laughed maniacally:

"Hahaha... you all, cough cough, think... the Grand Tutor will fall for it... no... you've been tricked... all your forces are here, Feng City is defenseless... haha..."

Laughing and coughing blood simultaneously, he suddenly stared wide-eyed at Zhao Douan on the platform:

"You are the Fake Emperor's dog! Grandpa will leave first! Waiting for you on Huangquan Road!"

With that said, he sat up abruptly, slicing his neck on the seven-foot sword, surprisingly committing suicide!

In the water cage, Wu Ling was stupefied, completely clueless about what was happening — only realizing that the action plan he was aware of was entirely false.

"Junior Guardian Zhao, this..." Magistrate Luan exclaimed, subconsciously looking at Zhao Douan.

Zhao Douan remained seated quietly throughout, even now only slightly frowning, seemingly pondering.

"I understand now!" Suddenly, Haitang, the sharp-witted sleuth, exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to her. She spoke quickly with a grave expression:

"This was a feigned attack! Zhuang Xiaocheng never intended to rescue Lu Zhengchun. We gathered our forces here and laid a trap; knowing he couldn't assault strongly, he chose to abandon the effort, dispatching more forces elsewhere... Yes, while Feng City is left unguarded elsewhere, they could easily raid the government office, granary, Archival Repository, arms depot and other crucial locations..."

Magistrate Luan's mind buzzed but he shook his head, saying:

"Impossible, if Zhuang Xiaocheng intended so, why send these people to die? Wouldn't it be meaningless, a sheer waste of skilled manpower from the organization?"

Haitang shook her head, her expression bitter:

"No, it's not without meaning. He had to send people to rescue to rally the members' morale. Hence, he dispatched these people here, intending to sacrifice them. This way, as a leader, he only failed to rescue but doesn't lose the people's trust, and he needed these people to divert our attention. From the start, these people were his Abandoned Children."

"Impossible! Impossible!" Hearing this, Lu Zhengchun refuted loudly while kneeling at the execution ground, a shocked look in his eyes, unable to believe he'd been abandoned as speculated.

Yet at this moment, no one paid him any attention.

As if to confirm the speculation, suddenly, from different directions around Feng City, special "signal flares" were launched successively.

Emitting sharp whistles.

Initially, only one sounded, seemingly calling for simultaneous action, followed by more signals echoing in response.

"This is bad!" Luan Cheng exclaimed in shock, "Those places are crucial government offices in the city, must not be lost! If destroyed by the rebels, or massacre is unleashed..."

"Dispatch the troops."

Suddenly, Zhao Douan, who had hardly spoken, looked up, his gaze exceptionally calm as it swept over everyone, saying:

"We cannot allow rebels to cause chaos in the city. Otherwise, where would the court's dignity exist? Yuan Ji, Zhang Han, Haitang, Zhang Jian... each of you lead a team of officers to the granary, treasury, prison, and other critical places. We may not arrive in time to render aid, but minimize the losses and capture or kill the disruptive rebels!"

He paused momentarily, thought for a moment, then added:

"Among the rebels are Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun, two masters. Since they are not here, fear they've headed to crucial government locations... Lang Shiba, Ji Yue, you two also go over to prevent the enemy from encircling and attacking reinforcements, by ambushing our forces separately."

"But..." Haitang sensed something was amiss:

"We're all leaving, then you..."

Zhao Douan replied indifferently:

"Today's execution, Magistrate Luan and I need to stay to complete the sentencing, utilizing this place as the center to gather intelligence and issue orders to all parties, being essentially the central command position. As for our safety, don't worry, Brother Gongshu is here; even if encountering danger, we can escape anyway."

"Still..." Haitang remained feeling unsettled, but given the urgent situation, she had no choice but to trust him.

Immediately, the officers split into teams, rushing to assist at key locations within the city.

In a blink, the scene emptied considerably, leaving only a group of county government officers around, with the common populace too afraid to leave, shivering in place.

Zhao Douan first instructed Gongshu Tianyuan to seal Wu Ling's cultivation with the Spirit Suppressing Talisman and bind him.