Imperial God Emperor

"Miss, shall we move these humans somewhere else?" one of her guards suggested.

Zhou Yuexin thought for a moment before she shook her head, "We can't go outside since their men would have definitely laid traps for us all around. The manor is completely besieged and kept under close watch by these men. We have sheltered so many humans that the moment we bring them out, they will immediately be discovered. In any case, there's nowhere else we can go since other than this manor, there is no other shelter for these humans."

"What should we do?"

"That's right. Miss, if these men barge in and discover that you've been providing them refuge, they would pin this crime on you."

"Yes, the crime of providing refuge to humans is not a petty crime. If these men manage to secure evidence, Prince Xu Xuesheng will definitely use this opportunity to attack the manor."

Her bodyguards chimed in one after another.

As the Commander's residence of one of the three main standing armies of Dragon Scale Province, they had always come under fire because of their stance toward the humans. In particular, the ruler of the Dragon Scale Province, Xu Xuesheng bore extreme hatred toward them and had always wanted to attack the manor, but because Zhou Tingyu used to be the elite guard of the current Dragon Human War God Xu Wuya and they were very close friends, Xu Xuesheng did not dare to attack the manor rashly.

Now that chaos had descended upon this land and it was ruled by three major powers, Xu Xuesheng felt that his chance had finally arrived.

Over the past few days, Commander Zhou's residence had already been under extreme pressure.

"Let's go out to take a look," Zhou Yuexin said resolutely.

The group of them walked along the passageways and passed by several courtyards before they finally arrived at the front yard.

They heard an authoritative voice growl angrily from a distance, "Xue Tiexin, how dare you barge into my manor? Don't blame me for not showing you mercy…"

Had a fight already broken out?

Zhou Yuexin felt her heart clench in worry and she walked even faster.

When Zhou Yuexin and her ladies arrived, they saw that the guards of the manor had already unsheathed their swords and spears. The guards looked very fierce and stood in a military formation as they faced off against men in blood-colored armor.

Commander Zhou Tingyu was a burly and bearded man whose dragon horns towered above his head. He looked like a powerful and brave Dragon Human and his aura surged like a river. He held a steel saber in one hand and although his saber was still in its sheath, his aura was as sharp as a long saber and piercing saber qi spread across the area in a menacing manner.

The commander of the blood-colored troops, Xu Tiexin, was tall and slim with slanted eyes and a hooked nose. He looked very sinister and ruthless, like a ferocious dog that hunted in the night and exuded a maniacal aura.

"Commander Zhou Tingyu, I'm merely acting in accordance with my orders. Please don't make things difficult for me," Xu Tiexin replied with a fake smile and looked at him mockingly. "This is not the first time we have received a report that the manor is providing refuge to the humans. More than a thousand citizens have witnessed your guards taking humans away, so may I ask where have you been keeping these humans?"

Zhou Yuexin appeared from the back and stood beside her father as she said, "Of course we have followed Prince Xu Xuesheng's orders and killed them all."

"Ha ha ha, I'm afraid that you'll find very few citizens of Hidden Dragon City who would believe those words. Miss Yuexin, I'm going to go straight to the point – if you obey my orders and hand over the humans you've been hiding, I might show you and those of your residence mercy. Otherwise…"

"What would you do then?" Zhou Yuexin's brows arched as she scoffed coldly. "Are you going to launch an attack on our residence? With your men who do nothing but stuff their bellies full of wine and rice?"

The situation was extremely tense.

As Ye Qingyu stood in a corner and observed the stand-off, his impression of Zhou Tingyu and his daughter had improved greatly and this also affected his impression of the entire Dragon Human Race. He had thought a lot about that plan he heard from the Puppet Bloodworm and had been a little worried but now, it seemed like the situation wasn't as bad as he thought.

He stood in a corner and no one managed to detect his presence at all.

Xu Tiexin's face darkened as he said, "Zhou Tingyu, I'm done trying to persuade you. If you refuse to obey my orders, I'll have no choice but to attack. Men, I hereby proclaim that we will attack the Commander's residence!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The military drums sounded.

Countless bugle calls sounded all around the manor, then there were heavy footsteps and powerful formation energy waves surged from all directions as tens of thousands of soldiers besieged the entire manor. Several rays of flowing lights flickered across the skies as the aerial army of the Dragon Human Race completely locked down the skies.

Zhou Tingyu's expression immediately changed.

"The Flying Dragon Army and the Shield Army? You… actually dared to mobilize the army?" Zhou Tingyu realized that the situation had taken a turn for the worse.

The Flying Dragon Army, the Shield Army and the Destroyer Army were the three main regular armies of the Dragon Scale Province and Zhou Tingyu commanded the most powerful Destroyer Army which was an offshoot of Xu Wuya's Dragon Teeth Army while the Flying Dragon Army and the Shield Army were under the command of the Prince of Dragon Scale Province, Xu Xuesheng. The fact that these two armies had appeared outside the Commander's residence meant that…

"Ha ha ha, Zhou Tingyu, by defying the Prince and providing refuge to the humans, you have brought about your own downfall. The Prince had already given you many chances but you didn't know how to treasure them," Xu Tiexin laughed loudly. "Today is the day when your residence will be completely destroyed."

As he laughed, he issued the order to attack.

Battle cries broke out all around the manor.

The scent of blood gradually started to spread across the air.

Ye Qingyu understood that this wasn't only about the Human Race, but it was also an internal power struggle amongst the Dragon Human Race and the forging of a new order. Commander Zhou Tingyu was obviously a passive bystander and had been tricked by that lofty Prince Xu Xuesheng.

"Father…" Zhou Yuexin cried out worriedly. She hadn't expected that things could turn out this way. Their opponent was obviously only using the excuse of seizing the humans to launch an attack on their residence.

Those at the Commander's residence were rather strong, but they were limited in numbers and there were only several thousand elite guards who were currently present at the manor. The main force of the Destroyer Army was camped outside Hidden Dragon City and would not be able to enter the city and come to their aid in time. Therefore, the Commander's residence was definitely at a disadvantage.

"Ha ha ha, what a great excuse. Even if I handed over the humans today, you will definitely not let me off," Zhou Tingyu laughed coldly. As a commander of an army, he soon calmed down and sent out a series of orders. "It won't be easy for you to destroy the Zhou family. If you dare to attack me, you must prepare yourself for defeat."

Clearly, he had also made preparations beforehand.

An arrow rose into the sky and exploded several thousand feet above ground. The explosion could be seen within a radius of several hundred kilometers.

"Kill them all. Those who dare to attack my manor should not even dream of walking out alive," Commander Zhou Tingyu said, killing intent clear in his face.

A fierce battle broke out.

"Traitor, I'll kill you first," Zhou Yuexin unsheathed her long sword and turned into a sword rainbow as she charged at Xu Tiexin. She was an expert swordswoman and when she attacked ferociously, she was surprisingly strong. Several elite guards from Xu Tiexin's camp tried to stop her, but they were all sliced into pieces by her sword. 

Xu Tiexin countered with an attack of his own despite his surprise and rage.

Zhou Tingyu also made his move.

The moment he unsheathed his long saber, saber radiance hurtled through the air and several experts from Xu Tiexin's army were hacked into dust. Fiery flame force rolled over them in extremely powerful waves. Zhou Tingyu cultivated a yuan qi of the fire element and had used one of the saber techniques that belonged to the four major clans of the Dragon People but was now considered a lost technique.

He had refined his saber technique after using it in numerous battles. It was extremely simple, but it released a terrifying saber qi. The power from one slash of his saber seemed like an army of thousands were charging at the enemy.

In a blink of an eye, the experts from Xue Tiexin's unit had almost been completely vanquished.

He raised his saber and pointed it at Xue Tiexin.

"Yue'er, retreat. Let me kill this man and we'll end this quickly," Zhou Tingyu exuded a formidable aura and his Saint force burst forth, his yuan qi locked in tightly on Xu Tiexin like a web.

The house of Xu was the reigning royal house of the Dragon Human Race.

Xu Tiexin was enraged and said, "Zhou Tingyu, are you trying to revolt? Do you really want to go up against Prince Xu Xuesheng with your Destroyer Army? You must be dreaming…" He knew that he was not a match for this experienced commander and tried to retreat as fast as he could.

"Die."

Zhou Tingyu slashed out with his long saber.

Flaming saber light exploded powerfully.

"Ah…" Xu Tiexin cried out in surprise and tried to beat a hasty retreat, but his body was completely enveloped by this flaming saber light and immediately, his body burst into flames, ignited by the scorching temperature from the saber light.

Zhou Tingyu attacked again.

Xu Tiexin struggled with all his might.

The battle ended very quickly. Zhou Tingyu sent out five saber attacks and finally defeated Xu Tiexin who was turned into a pile of burnt ashes as his life withered away.

"Why?" Xu Tiexin cried out in despair before he died.

He wasn't talking to Zhou Tingyu, but he was asking…

Suddenly, something happened. Black lightning appeared from nowhere like a black poisonous viper that spat out powerful force. It seized upon the chance when Zhou Tingyu was recalling his saber to invade his body and attack him with its palm.

Boom!

Yuan qi force exploded everywhere.

Zhou Tingyu was sent flying while blood gushed freely from his mouth. He landed against the doors to the great hall with a mighty crash and the great hall immediately collapsed…

"Father," Zhou Yuexin cried out in alarm and rushed to the debris to help her father up.

A clear black flaming palm print appeared on Zhou Tingyu's chest, right where his heart was. He opened his mouth and black blood gushed out from it, mixed with pieces of his shredded internal organs.

"Xu Xuesheng, how dare you launch a sneak attack on me? That was absolutely despicable. You…" Zhou Tingyu looked toward the courtyard.

The battle stopped.

The elite guards of the Destroyer Army quickly retreated and surrounded both Zhou Tingyu and Zhou Yuexin protectively.

A short and stout Dragon Human Race expert appeared in the courtyard. He had a wispy beard and was dressed in a black brocade robe. He looked sinister and authoritative and the blood-colored dragon horns on his head made him look extremely malicious. This was the governor of Dragon Scale Province – Prince Xu Xuesheng.

"Those who dare to defy me will be hacked into pieces," he said as he stared at Zhou Tingyu. Then he laughed coldly, "You have indeed captured the essence of the flaming army saber after putting it through countless battles. What a pity that you'll still have to die."

"You chose to let Xu Tiexin die in order to sneak a look at and decipher the mysteries of my saber technique. How ruthless of you. You're practically a poisonous snake."

He hadn't expected Prince Xu Xuesheng to be present today as well. Neither did he expect the prince to be so powerful and his character to be so malicious and dark. The Prince had already been in their midst but did not attack. Instead, he had kept himself hidden to launch a sneak attack on him and deliberately used his battle with Xu Tiexin to discover the mysteries behind his saber techniques before suddenly attacking him.

"The end justifies the means. Everyone in your manor shall die today," Xu Xuesheng said viciously. "The humans who you have sheltered deserve death and the Alliance will not let you off. It is a pity that you have arrogantly assumed that your Destroyer Army was so powerful that you didn't know when to stop and brought about your own downfall." 

"Those of the Human Race are also citizens of the Dragon Human Domain, so why are you trying to exterminate them all?" Zhou Yuexin said angrily.

"Those of the Human Race are the lowliest scum and parasites who feed off us. They have been known as two-legged sheep since the ancient times and they are merely fat sheep with two legs. Ha ha, they are only worthy of being our food. It is laughable that you lot have been shielding the Human Race despite being part of the noble Dragon Human Race," Xu Xuesheng laughed coldly. "I will make sure that I'll eat up all the humans taking refuge in your manor today. Ha ha. I can't forget the taste of the Human Race…

The enemy had broken past the walls that surrounded the Commander's residence.

The battle cries drew nearer.

And the winner was clear now.

Xu Xuesheng laughed maniacally.

Despair was written on the faces of both Zhou Tingyu and Zhou Yuexin.

Then, an unfamiliar suddenly rang out, "How many humans have you eaten?"

A terrifying and authoritative aura emerged.

Xu Xuesheng's expression changed as he suddenly felt a terrifying force descend upon him, as though it was trying to crush him to the ground. He was shocked when he found that he wasn't able to put up a struggle at all.

Ye Qingyu appeared from a ripple in the Void and approached him.

"You deserve death," Ye Qingyu looked at Xu Xuesheng.

He felt killing intent boil in his heart like a pot of boiling water when he looked at this cruel Dragon Human governor of Dragon Scale Province who treated humans as two-legged sheep to be eaten. This governor definitely had to die.

"Who… who are you?" Xu Xuesheng asked in horror. He tried his best to break away from Ye Qingyu's force but Ye Qingyu's yuan qi alone was enough to completely suppress him as though he had cast a body-locking spell on him. This meant that Ye Qingyu must be incredibly powerful.

Where had such a terrifying expert come from?

"It's you?" Zhou Yuexin exclaimed in surprise.

She recognized this white-robed young man as the human nobleman who didn’t have any martial cultivation her men rescued today. When did he appear… and how could he be so powerful?