The morning sunlight was gentle and pleasant, but for the Red Cauldron Central Domain, that warm glow carried a faint tinge of blood.
With the borders sealed, the people of the Red Cauldron Central Domain were like turtles trapped in a jar.
Jiang Chen's army had finally arrived at the outskirts of the Red Cauldron Imperial Capital.
"Old Gold, I've raised your clan for long enough. It's finally time for you to put on a show," Jiang Chen summoned the Gold-Munching Mouse King.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King's eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light as he cackled, "Young Master, just watch. Prepare yourself for quite the spectacle."
"Not yet," Jiang Chen said. "You'll lead your clan to surround the Red Cauldron Imperial Capital. From this moment on, no one enters and no one leaves. Anyone who tries gets to join the Red Cauldron royal family in their burial."
The Gold-Munching Mouse King was slightly disappointed. "Young Master, just a blockade? We can't slaughter our way in?"
He had billions of descendants under his command. If they were allowed to storm the Red Cauldron Imperial Capital, it would be an absolute feast. The Gold-Munching Mouse clan was practically itching for it.
Jiang Chen shook his head. "Until I give the order, you only need to blockade the Red Cauldron Imperial Capital. However, if anyone dares force their way through, kill without mercy!"
The Gold-Munching Mouse King was still somewhat vexed. This was far from what he had anticipated.
"Old Gold, don't be so impatient. When the time comes, your clan will have its chance to feast. The reason I'm holding off for now is simply because I don't want you slaughtering innocent civilians."
Though Jiang Chen had come for revenge, his targets were clearly defined—the powerful elite of the Red Cauldron Empire, not its common people.
Even when the Red Cauldron Central Domain had invaded the Myriad Domains, they had killed indiscriminately, but even they had rarely targeted unarmed civilians.
In the world of martial artists, only martial artists should be slain.
Killing civilians would incur the wrath of the heavens.
Hearing this, the Gold-Munching Mouse King grinned. "Rest easy, Young Master. Civilians don't have much meat on them anyway. We only feed on the flesh and blood of warriors."
Jiang Chen waved his hand. "Move out!"
"Yes!" The Gold-Munching Mouse King was overjoyed. The Wanhao Stone Nest began to shift, and the Gold-Munching Mouse clan poured out like a surging tide.
The Gold-Munching Mouse clan had once numbered two to three billion. Through constant natural selection and survival of the fittest, only one to two billion remained.
But nearly all of those who survived had undergone evolution. Their overall strength was now far beyond what it had been in the old days.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King and the elite few he had personally selected now boasted cultivation levels that were truly terrifying.
Of course, the Gold-Munching Mouse clan had never prided themselves on individual combat prowess. Their greatest asset was always their sheer numbers.
Once the tide of rats was set in motion, nothing could stand against it.
The surging horde of Gold-Munching Mice surged forth at breakneck speed, flooding outward in every direction toward the Red Cauldron Royal City. They advanced rapidly toward the gates of the Red Cauldron Imperial Capital.
In just a few breaths, the entire area within dozens of miles of the Red Cauldron Royal City was blanketed in a writhing mass of black. There was nothing but Gold-Munching Mice everywhere.
The sight alone—forget fighting them—was enough to make one's blood run cold.
The two Huaishan Brothers exchanged a glance, surprise flickering in their eyes. Behind that surprise lurked a lingering sense of dread.
Back then, they had been foolishly incited by that Emperor Danji to rashly storm Peacock Sacred Mountain. Even if Young Master Jiang Chen hadn't called upon those rogue emperors to act, this tide of rats alone—had it surrounded them—would have given them more than they could handle.
Though the two Huaishan Brothers were Emperor Realm powerhouses, even the Peacock Guards Jiang Chen had brought along, as well as the various lords and vassals, felt their scalps tingle at the sight of those densely packed Gold-Munching Mice. One by one, an involuntary shudder ran through them.
They all knew these mice were on their side, of course. But even so, such a terrifying spectacle still made their hearts pound and their skin crawl.
……
The Red Cauldron Imperial Capital, as the core territory of the Red Cauldron Empire, maintained extremely tight outer defenses. The situation had grown increasingly complex in recent times, with rumors spreading like wildfire, making the four city gates even more heavily guarded.
"What the hell? Did you hear something?" At the southern gate, a captain of the city guard murmured to his deputy.
The deputy listened carefully for a moment and nodded. "I think I did. It sounds like drums? A rumbling noise—could it be an enemy invasion?"
"Don't be ridiculous. You think this is some battlefield where they beat drums and gongs?"
"Then what is that?" The deputy's expression changed. "It's getting closer. Sounds like mountains collapsing, the earth splitting apart. What's going on?"
As they spoke, they felt the entire ground begin to tremble.
The tremors weren't particularly strong in magnitude, but the sensation was deeply unsettling. It felt as though the earth far away was cracking apart, and the fissures were spreading toward them.
"Go check it out!" The captain frowned and called out loudly, "Brothers of the Third City Guard Battalion, stay on high alert! Enter defensive formation!"
"Quick, notify the brothers inside the gates—tell them to prepare!"