The Steward Demonic Emperor

Proofreader: Papatonks

Whoosh~

Shadows made use of the night’s dark cover to cross the moonlit clearings with ease and arrive before a grand manor.

The plaque hanging above identified it as the Flying Cloud Manor.

Patrols of Soul Harmony guards moved about, ensuring its safety.

Shangguan Feixiong witnessed their shift changing, right in front of the manor gate with hardly any attention to their surroundings.

Whoosh~

Hundreds of Shangguan clan experts, wearing black, struck, having readied themselves for this moment. The earth shook under the thunderous sound as the veritable army attacked as one with enough force to split mountains.

The guards never knew what hit them, their voices robbed as the wave of power smashed into them.

The guards eyes grew bloodshot and then each of them started popping like overripe tomatoes, spreading blood and gore everywhere.

Two teams, fifty people, were dead in a few seconds..

Shangguan clan’s experts moved with purpose and speed, taking the smooth start as a good sign for what was to come.

The men ignored the carnage and went deeper…

Rumble~

The early power wave had shook the whole manor awake.

In a quaint little room, sitting at his table, gently picking the rattling tea cup, sipping from it and hiding a peculiar smile.

The pale yellow light of a lone candle reflected off his bright visage, and the unmoving Soul Harmony experts behind him, in the hundreds.

“Prime Minister, they’re here!”

A man holding the candle bowed with utter respect, unleashing his late Genesis Stage power.

Baili Jingwei’s face bloome into a smile, “Just wait for them to get closer, ha-ha-ha….”

The man nodded and withdrew. Baili Jingwei snickered and drank his tea. His demeanor, the coldness of those eyes and the hard face made everyone’s hearts shudder every time he placed the teacup down…

“The manor’s under attack! Activate the array, protect the Sword King!”

As the earth shook, the manor shuddered with it while the guard captain issued frantic orders.

The men nodded and executed their signs.

It was not due to the ambush, but having gone through the same terror once before.

The images were still burned into their eyes of the time the last attackers just came and went to the manor. What followed was Sword King Feiyun’s wrath unleashed upon hundreds of Soul Harmony guards. It was so bad the real estate market experienced a collapse at the sudden influx of empty houses; the fall of many outstanding guard families scattering from ending up broke, a given.

People always said serving men in power came with its own danger, but working under a Sword King wasn’t any easier either.

Now it was their turn to be put to the test, with another raid. Talk about rotten luck.

[They could’ve come earlier or later, but no, they just had to pick tonight when I’m on duty to make sure I suffer for it. Is that it? What did I ever do to you? I don’t even know you, so why me?]

All the guards were outraged at the attack, but equally helpless. They knew their luck had run out and blaming others wouldn’t help any one.

They could only do their duty to the best of their ability, to stop these attackers where they stood.

Hum~

As the guards finished with their gestures, a faint barrier came to life, covering the core of the manor and dividing it from the incoming thieves.

The guards smiled for once.

[We’ve done our job and they can’t get in.]

The joy was short lived as three elderlies appeared before them out of the blue.

One’s eyes shone, “It’s still a breeze getting in before the defensive array is truly activated.”

The three shared a look and smiled, making their own signs and attacking.

Their hands extended in a most peculiar stance, intertwined as their index fingers came out from each palm and unleashing devastating power.

“Three break the skies as one, Soaring Cloud Luan Sword!”

A savage blade sword wave rushed out, of such power that it felt like a god unleashed it. And all of it was sent at the helpless guards and the incomplete array.

Boom!

The array formed by three hundred guards held all but for an instant – exploding into nothing.

The force ravaged the area, crushing their hearts and blowing them away. The only lucky survivors were around a hundred of the original four hundred guards.

These meager dozens of Genesis Stage experts still suffered greatly at the attack.

They looked shocked at the devastation, there was nothing around the manor for dozens of miles. All those gardens and trees, lakes and ponds, all gone.

As to where the sword wave struck, that went on for fifty kilometers. There was a clear endless line of utter nothingness left in its wake.

Sss~

The guards gasped in fear at these elders’ power.

[Who the hell are they?]

[They’re in the Genesis Stage as well, but how can their combined attack be so strong? Not even Sword King can take that!]

Figures populated the area as hundreds of Genesis Stage experts went past the three elders and straight for them.

The elders let them take the remaining guards.

Genesis Stage experts as well, the guards had been too damaged by that ferocious attack to put up any resistance to the rest of the Shangguan clan’s strength.

Their wails and cries echoed soon after, until silence was once again restored.

Shangguan Feixiong grinned. While he lost ten of his men, it was worth it since the enemy lost scores.

The emphasis on this ambush was speed, evident by how fast they went through the entrance and the second line of defense.

Even he found it astonishing how smooth it all went and smiled.

[At this rate we’ll be in and out of Jade Falls with the Soaring Sword before Shangguan Feiyun even gets wind of us, ha-ha-ha…]

Shangguan Feixiong spurred on, “Let’s push on!”

“Yes, sir!”

The men nodded in excitement. Who could blame them when everything was a walk in the park so far. The odds looked mighty high for the whole team to finish the mission and come home in one piece.

So the men pushed harder and faster, feeling like nothing could stand in their way.

[We’re invincible!]

Wholly unaware this was merely an elaborate bait they fell for, its line reeling them into an inescapable net…

Shangguan Qingyan reached the manor to see the hellscape. The deafening silence was proof her father had been here.

In face of such destruction, how could a child survive it?

The men might not lower themselves to harm him, but the shockwaves would still spell his end…

Shangguan Qingyan frowned in deep worry. But her gaze was firm and her step quick as she went in.

“Yan’er, don’t!”

Shangguan Yulin blocked her path, grabbing her shoulders and speaking with distress, “Uncle is in there, fighting. Soul Harmony experts are nothing and even Genesis Stage experts are sure to die. What can you do with an 8th layer Ethereal Stage cultivation? You’re only going to die! Don’t throw your life away!”

Shangguan Qingyan bit her lip, “No, since I am in such danger that means young Sanzi must be having it worse.”

“Who cares? He asked for it. He’s a brat causing trouble.”

Shangguan Yulin spoke with hatred, but Shangguan Qingyan was unflinching. “Yan’er, if not for yourself, then do it for uncle. Uncle won’t tarry in the Flying Cloud manor anymore than he needs to. Genesis Stage experts can flee, and so can Soul Harmony experts. But not you and you’ll be holding them back. You’ll only make it harder for uncle and might even harm him. Can you live with that?”

Shangguan Qingyan hesitated, but her gaze was firm once more, “I know and that’s why I won’t let father find me. I’m only looking for young Sanzi and then I’ll leave. If I die from this, then so be it. It’s just one of the things an aunt must do.”

Shangguan Yulin pushed Shangguan Yulin away and shot into the manor.

Shangguan Yulin sighed and followed.

Then a flash of red came as well, who was not far behind them. All that remained here was the ground covered in blood and limbs, a sign that this world was lawless…