"May I ask who exactly you are, and why you've come to my Bibō City to stir up trouble!" Shan Ying's face was ice-cold as he asked in a deep voice.
"Does it matter?" Yang Kai said with a dismissive curl of his lip.
Shan Ying's brow furrowed. "I've never laid eyes on you before, yet you've been utterly unreasonable — killing two of my City Lord's Manor stewards. Isn't that going a bit too far?"
He could already tell that Yang Kai's strength was far from ordinary, so he didn't dare rashly fall out with him.
Someone so young with such formidable power — there was almost certainly some powerful backer behind this youth. Until he figured out who, Shan Ying didn't dare act rashly.
"Too far?" Yang Kai grinned. "I don't think it's far at all. I came today not just to kill two stewards — I'm going to take your life too! And everyone who's been colluding with you will die as well!"
Every warrior in the City Lord's Manor felt a chill run through both body and soul.
Shan Ying's expression blanked for a moment, but he quickly burst into hearty laughter. "Interesting, very interesting. It's been a long time since this City Lord saw such an entertaining young man. Since you won't appreciate the face I've offered, don't blame me for not being courteous. Kill him!"
Yang Kai was refusing to give face, and Shan Ying's patience had run out completely.
Two stewards were dead. If he swallowed this insult, he would have no authority left in the future.
No matter who stood behind this young man, they couldn't possibly be more powerful than the person backing him. So Shan Ying had nothing to fear. He had no intention of wasting any more words, and with a wave of his hand, barked out a sharp command.
Dozens of City Lord's Manor warriors received the order and surged toward Yang Kai, their expressions savage, transforming into streaks of light.
Though the big man's horrific death moments ago had struck fear into all of them, Yang Kai was ultimately only one person. The green-robed girl and her companions behind him weren't even worth considering in the eyes of the City Lord's Manor warriors.
With such overwhelming numbers, they were utterly confident they could take Yang Kai down.
Figures swarmed forward. The radiant glow of secret arts and Artifacts blossomed, cascading toward Yang Kai.
The green-robed girl and her companions were all deathly pale. Sensing that vast, chaotic wave of energy, despair filled their eyes.
They believed they were certainly going to die.
Yang Kai stood perfectly still, the smile at the corner of his lips growing ever colder.
Only when the all-encompassing onslaught reached him did he extend a finger and tap the air. A purple shield materialized out of nowhere.
The shield had originally been no larger than a washbasin, but the moment it appeared, it expanded violently, instantly covering an area of more than ten zhang in every direction.
Every attack slammed into the shield.
A rapid series of clanging and ringing sounded out, light scattering in all directions. Yang Kai wasn't so much as scratched.
"A Virtual Grade upper-quality defensive Artifact!" Shan Ying's pupils contracted. He immediately recognized the shield's grade, and a burning light blazed in his eyes.
Virtual Grade upper-quality Artifacts were already exceedingly rare on the Dark Star, and this was a defensive-type Artifact at that — even more valuable than an ordinary one! With such an Artifact, anyone's strength could be elevated an entire tier in a straight line.
Shan Ying was now all the more certain that Yang Kai had a powerful backer. Where else would he have obtained something like this?
A golden radiance suddenly bloomed from behind the shield. Golden threads shot outward — a rough count put them at well over a hundred. Within those golden threads surged a terrifying life force that made one's heart skip a beat, along with energy fluctuations that filled people with dread.
They moved as if they were alive.
The golden threads flickered back and forth, slicing through the crowd.
No warrior's protective Holy Yuan could withstand the cutting and piercing of the golden threads. Their thick barriers of protective light crumpled like paper — utterly incapable of resisting.
Even ordinary defensive Artifacts couldn't stand up to the sharpness of these threads. They were cleaved cleanly in half, their spiritual essence drained and utterly ruined.
Screams erupted, one after another without end.
Blood splattered through the air. Severed limbs and fragments of flesh scattered across the ground. Heads soared into the sky, and corpse after corpse toppled to the earth.
The City Lord's Manor warriors screamed in terror. Those still alive saw how dire things had become and hastily retreated, desperate to flee from Yang Kai.
"Think you can run? Since you've come, you might as well stay," Yang Kai said with a slow shake of his head, a faint, cold smile lingering at the corner of his lips. Under his spiritual sense's control, the golden Blood Threads danced and sliced with even greater speed.
Like a horde of demons going wild!
All anyone could see was a flickering mass of golden light and hear bloodcurdling screams. As for what was actually happening on the battlefield, only a handful of people could make it out clearly.
"Quick — send word to Zhantian City! Tell City Lord Liang to come at once with reinforcements!" Shan Ying's face was ashen as he urgently growled the order to someone beside him. He had a creeping suspicion that even he might not be this young man's match, so he didn't hesitate for a second to send for help.
The person received the order without hesitation, spun around, and dashed into the City Lord's Manor.
The horrific screams continued, but they were gradually growing weaker compared to the beginning. Little by little, the screaming stopped altogether.
The golden light retracted in an instant, revealing that stretch of ground once more.
Everyone looked over, and when they saw the scene clearly, the soles of their feet cramped...
Within a ten-zhang radius of Yang Kai, not a single living soul remained. Every enemy who had rushed forward to attack him had been slain, perishing on the spot.
The scene was hideously bloody and savage. A thick, coppery stench of blood rose toward the heavens, so overpowering it made those who caught a whiff want to retch.
A hundred zhang away, the watching warriors stood stunned. Some kept rubbing their eyes, instinctively trying to reject what they had just witnessed.