Chapter 385: The Great Battle

As darkness fell completely, the grayness of the day vanished, replaced by dazzling lights that were even more brilliant and splendid than during the day. The colorful lights were striking and surreal, making one feel as if they were not in the real world.
“Are everyone ready?” Rod took a deep breath and asked the people around him.
“We’re all ready! We can act at any moment!” the elder in charge of this area and the elder of the Black Phoenix clan replied in a deep voice. With action imminent, everyone felt a sense of weight in their hearts.
“What about Miss Nightingale?” The eighth elder of the Black Phoenix clan asked softly after a moment of thought. He had seen Nightingale leave the mansion with the members of the Death Scythe Squad in the afternoon, realizing that they must have taken action first. But since Rod hadn’t mentioned anything, he hadn’t asked. After all, Rod was now on their side, so there was no need to worry. Yet, with the great battle about to begin, any news from their side inevitably caused concern.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong there. Once the battle starts, they’ll act immediately!” Hearing the eighth elder’s question, Rod was momentarily stunned before forcing a wry smile. It seemed he hadn’t informed them about these matters, causing them some worry.
However, Rod didn’t mention it not because he didn’t want to, but because at this critical moment, every step had to be carefully planned to avoid any mistakes. Although he knew the people in the city were trustworthy, Rod still wanted to be cautious—better to be overcautious than regret it later. If any issues arose among them and information about Nightingale and the others were leaked, they would truly be in danger.
“Alright, you don’t need to worry about that. Rest assured, they definitely won’t mess up! As for us, it’s time to act. Is everyone clear about their responsibilities?” After thinking for a moment, Rod continued.
“No problems!” they replied in unison.
“Good! Let’s go!” At that moment, a cold glint flashed in Rod’s eyes, so sharp that the others instinctively lowered their heads, unable to meet his gaze.
As soon as he spoke, he stepped outside first. Only then did the others seem to come back to their senses and hurriedly followed.
Under the night sky, Water Screen City appeared dreamlike and breathtakingly beautiful. But Rod had no mood to admire the scenery at the moment. With a heavy heart, he continued forward.

People came and went in the streets, and Rod couldn’t help but sigh. In just a moment, would these people still be able to enjoy such leisure? By then, this splendid scene would surely vanish. How long would it take for the night view here to recover after being ravaged by war?

Checking the time, Merk and the others should already be waiting outside the city, awaiting the right moment to act!

In the blink of an eye, Rod and over a dozen others arrived at the city’s central square. Here, a large number of their men had already gathered.

With a crisp explosion, a brilliant fireworks display lit up the night sky—signaling the start of the attack.

“Kill!” Without hesitation, Rod roared and led his men toward a government building ahead. There, 70% of Water Screen City’s strength was concentrated. Once that place was taken control of, the rest should not pose any problems.

As soon as he spoke, chaos erupted. Hundreds of people appeared out of nowhere and rushed after Rod toward the government building.

Alarms and shouts of battle filled the air, and chaos and turmoil spread throughout the city. The entire city was plunged into slaughter, with uprisings breaking out everywhere at once.

It seemed Water Screen City finally realized that their peace had been disrupted by these sudden invaders.

“Who are these thieves, daring to cause trouble again?” A furious shout came from ahead, followed by several figures speeding toward them—all martial artists at the later stages of the Divine level. Seeing them, a disdainful smile appeared on Rod’s lips. To him now, these people were nothing worth paying attention to! Divine-level martial artists might have been someone he admired in the past, but two years ago, he no longer saw them as special—let alone now. To him, they were nothing but ants.

“I’ll leave this to you. I’m going to the city lord’s mansion!” After confirming there were no strong opponents here, Rod said to those around him. Then, with a flash, he dashed toward the city lord’s mansion. That was where the real battle would take place. Whether they could win today’s battle depended mainly on that place. As for here, as long as it was controlled to buy time for the army outside to enter, the mission would be accomplished.

The entire Water Screen City was in chaos. The pedestrians who had been leisurely walking on the streets were now panicked. The sudden battle caught them off guard, leaving them utterly terrified. They had never seen such fierce fighting before, nor had they imagined Water Screen City would fall into such a state. These unprepared people could only flee in all directions, hoping to avoid this disaster.

Especially in the shops and nightclubs, everyone was frantic, only thinking about closing down as quickly as possible. The nights in Water Screen City were disrupted at that moment.

In just an instant, the once brilliant lights disappeared, replaced by silence and darkness. The original lights had all gone out; all that remained were dim lights and fierce battles.

A loud rumbling sound came from the city gates. Apparently, upon receiving the signal, Merk and the others had already started moving toward the city!

Before long, another rumbling sound was heard, followed by the dull sound of the city gates opening. With the help of the people inside the city, Merk and the others entered without much effort.

Seeing that everything was going smoothly, Rod breathed a sigh of relief, a cold smile appearing on his lips. He turned and headed straight for the city lord’s mansion without hesitation.

……

“What’s going on! What happened?” At that moment, inside the city lord’s mansion, a stern middle-aged man angrily entered the hall and demanded to know of the crowd already gathered there, making a racket.

“It’s the Black Phoenix Clan! It’s the people from the Black Phoenix Clan who have come! Clan leader, we…” Hearing the man’s words, an old man spoke anxiously with a worried expression. This middle-aged man was Gu Xun, the leader of the pro-war faction!

“Damn it! How did they get here? Damn, wasn’t it said they were staying in Wuyou City? Wasn’t it said they wouldn’t come to our Water Screen City? So what now? Was your judgment correct? Why are you still here? Hurry up and go confront them!” Hearing this, Gu Xun’s face turned pale as he roared.

It was the Black Phoenix Clan—them! They had come at this moment, completely beyond expectations. His brows furrowed tightly; he never thought the Black Phoenix Clan would appear here at such a time.

“What are you waiting for? Go now!” Seeing the elders and key figures in the city still standing there, looking troubled, Gu Xun couldn’t help but shout angrily.

“I… we have no one left. We sent people to Wuyou City just a few days ago, and now the forces inside that city are quite strong. The government office has already been taken over by the enemy; we have no one to use, only a few people from the city lord’s mansion!” said the old man who spoke first, frowning in frustration.

“Then send the people from the city lord’s mansion to help! And you guys, just staying here to have fun? Hurry up and go!” Hearing this, Gu Xun became even angrier and shouted.

Staying here meant waiting for death. The strength of the city lord’s mansion wasn’t weak; if they sent people out, they could at least hold off for a while.

“But… but… a group of people suddenly appeared outside. Right outside our city lord’s mansion. Those who went out just now were forced to retreat. The enemy is very strong!” Thinking of the group of men in black outside the city lord’s mansion, the old man frowned even more. Those people weren’t particularly strong, but their combat prowess was terrifying. If all the members of the Black Phoenix clan were like this…

“A bunch of useless idiots! Then stay right here! Gather your people. I want to see just how strong the Black Phoenix clan really is!” By now, Gu Xun was consumed by rage. The pro-war faction had stood firm for a thousand years—no one had ever dared to provoke them, not even the four major families. But today, they had been pushed all the way to their doorstep. He could still endure it.

“People are coming. Get ready. Remember our mission—we can’t let those people break through at this moment!” Dull footsteps came from inside the mansion. About a few hundred people were rushing toward them quickly, said Nightingale, frowning deeply.

At the city lord’s mansion, only thirty members of their Death Scythe Squad were left to defend it. Rod had given them a simple task: buy time and prevent the people from the city lord’s mansion from coming out to help too early. They just needed to wait for Merck and the others to arrive and deal with those people.

Suddenly, several figures rushed out quickly and arrived in front of them in an instant. They all raised their palms and struck at Nightingale and the others.

Feeling the overwhelming strength of those people, Nightingale and the others’ expressions changed drastically. They could clearly sense their formidable power—something they simply couldn’t withstand.

Still, they couldn’t back down easily. With a roar, they quickly formed a formation and resisted the incoming attacks.

“Boom…” A dull sound echoed, like a deep thunderclap, causing pain in their ears.

After those blows, Nightingale and the others were sent flying backward. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths, and their faces turned pale instantly.

“Powerhouses at the Yin Yellow realm!” After crashing violently to the ground, Nightingale, Viski, and the others blurted out in unison, their hearts suddenly growing heavy—there were several powerhouses at the Yin Yellow realm. And three of them at once. They were no match for them at all. They never expected Big Head to appear so early.