Chapter 439: Taking Down Water Curtain City

A tearing sound came, and blood splattered. The ancient swordsman wore a mad smile on his lips as he glanced back at his bodyguards, his eyes filled with a hint of reluctance. Memories of past events flashed through his mind, and his eyes filled with nostalgia. It was only at the moment of death that he truly realized everything—though it was already too late.

Obviously, Rod and the others never expected him to choose such a path, never imagined he would opt for suicide at this moment. Watching the crimson blood, the melancholic smile, and the body gradually losing its vitality, Rod felt an inexplicable heaviness in his heart, as if something was gripping it tightly, causing a sour pain.

“Prince!” The bodyguards below screamed heartbreakingly after a brief moment of shock. The few remaining rushed to the second prince’s side, supporting his increasingly cold body as they wailed in agony.

Tears—men who had always only shed blood and never tears now shed precious tears, creating a heart-wrenching scene.

Rod opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say; he could only watch as this unfolded.

“Take care of these captives!” Since the second prince was dead and the first prince had been captured, there seemed no need for further violence. Rod gave orders to those around him—promises had to be kept.

“Understood!” Apparently influenced by the atmosphere, the once noisy battlefield grew quiet and somber. The officer spoke in a low voice.

Just as Rod was about to leave, something unexpected happened. The remaining dozen or so bodyguards suddenly stood up, drawing their weapons. As everyone wondered what they intended to do, they did something utterly unexpected. Amidst gasps of shock, they all slashed their weapons at their own throats. Blood splattered, and not even a muffled groan was heard.

They had chosen to commit suicide. The scene was breathtaking to all, leaving everyone deeply shaken. These were the soldiers of the pro-war faction, the bodyguards of their second prince—fanatics trained by the pro-war camp. For a moment, everyone felt awe, admiration, and sincere respect for such spirit.

Blood instantly stained the ground red. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a strange chill. It should have been hot in this summer, but at that moment, everyone could only feel the coolness.
“Bury them properly!” Taking a deep breath, Rod ordered in a solemn voice. In truth, he believed these people would do so even without his words—everyone was clearly moved by this spirit.
With a sigh, Rod and the Wolf King left the area. Without the joy from their earlier victory, their expressions grew solemn.
“The people of the Pro-War faction are excellent. It’s a pity such soldiers can’t achieve great things,” the Wolf King remarked after a while. The soldiers of the Pro-War faction showed a rare spirit that even his wolf army couldn’t match.
“These martyrs were well-trained! It’s a shame for the Pro-War faction,” Rod agreed deeply.
At that moment, the city was utterly quiet. Everyone was struck by that imposing aura and didn’t know what to say. They silently went about their tasks, cleaning up the mess, without further words.
The Crown Prince seemed dazed, also stunned by his younger brother, and didn’t know what to say either. He let others push him away from the scene.
What followed was much simpler. After everyone surrendered, the city gradually settled down. The massive city gates slowly opened with creaking sounds. These gates, passed down for a thousand years, opened to the army outside. At that moment, Water Curtain City declared its complete defeat and surrender.
The army entered the city and began the simplest and fastest cleanup work. More than ten thousand surrendered enemy soldiers couldn’t be ignored and needed to be dealt with promptly. Meanwhile, the order in the city also needed to be restored quickly, as there was still much work to be done!
It took an entire day to get everything under control. As for the remaining issues—like restoring life to the city—that could only be handled slowly after the Black Phoenix clan took full control of Water Curtain City. For now, the top priority was to find the host of that demonic soul, extract it, and destroy it. It couldn’t be allowed to grow any further, or it would become a huge threat. At that moment, the wolf army remained outside Water Curtain City, surrounding it completely to prevent anyone from escaping.

The situation in Water Curtain City was handled smoothly. The plans that Rod and the Black Phoenix clan had arranged in the city earlier finally paid off, and their settlement quickly gained the support of everyone. Cleaning up the mess in the city became much easier; these tasks were left to the Black Phoenix clan, while Rod and the others returned to the city lord’s mansion they had been away from for so long. Standing there, Rod was filled with reflections. He remembered how much effort it had taken to break in, the many casualties, and just how difficult the situation had been back then. Faced with the dominance of the pro-war faction, the Black Phoenix clan nearly perished, and Dark Moon City was on the verge of falling. At that time, many believed the opposition was doomed to extinction—both the Dragon clan and the Black Phoenix clan would be destroyed. But what was the outcome? No one could have imagined such a rapid and sudden change, nor could anyone have predicted such an ending. The once domineering pro-war faction was destroyed, the neutral faction was wiped out, the arrogant Mi Jiao clan was annihilated, the Wolf clan switched sides, and the Dragon clan, Black Phoenix clan, and the opposition achieved a complete victory! No one could have foreseen all this beforehand. Now that the battles were over, with Water Curtain City secured, the Source of Darkness emerged from its chaotic era and would once again be on the right track. Everyone no longer had to live in fear and could return to their peaceful lives of the past. As for the matter of the Demon Souls, there was no need for them to get involved for now, allowing them some respite. But how long would this last? No one knew. Rod only hoped this peace could endure for as long as possible. As night fell, after a day of busy work, people finally got a chance to catch their breath. In the afternoon, the Black Phoenix clan had already gathered all the members of the smaller families in Water Curtain City to discuss the future. Things seemed to be going well; Merck’s face was filled with smiles. It made sense—now those smaller families had no choice. The situation throughout the Source of Darkness had become clear: if they refused to cooperate, they would face extinction. Under such circumstances, they had to make the right choice. More importantly, the Black Phoenix clan offered these smaller families many benefits, as could be seen from the smiles on their faces. Rod and the others did not participate in these discussions; he really didn’t want to get involved anymore. In the evening, after most of the matters were settled, everyone gathered to discuss what to do next, with the topic naturally revolving around those Demon Souls.

“It seems we have no choice but to use that method!” After much discussion, no good solution came up, and the Wolf King sighed, his brows filled with worry. After all, as time passed, there was still no viable solution, and they couldn’t keep waiting—otherwise, the enemy would only grow stronger, leading to even greater troubles later on. So, they had no choice but to use that method now.
“That’s the only option!” Rod also sighed.
The others agreed one after another, and the plan was thus settled.
“How’s things going with the people from the pro-war faction? Have they all been captured?” The conversation then shifted to the pro-war faction. Currently, over ten thousand soldiers from that faction in Water Curtain City were all prisoners, and arranging for them posed a huge challenge.
“Most of them are in place, but two key figures are missing!” Merck’s expression darkened at this mention. Two important figures had escaped.
“Who?” Rod asked skeptically. The crown prince and the second prince had been captured, and it was said that most of the main officers were also in custody. Could there still be someone who escaped?
If it were ordinary people, they wouldn’t have cared much, but these were important figures.
“The two strategists from the pro-war faction, who used to assist the crown prince in governing Ice City—this time they came too. They put in a lot of effort during the civil war earlier, and even participated in the battle this morning. But somehow, they disappeared!” Merck said in a low voice, frowning slightly. These small families in Water Curtain City were his informants, so he naturally knew about these matters.
“Search for them quickly—we can’t let them get away!” For some reason, Rod felt that these two must be important. If captured, they might yield valuable information.
“We’re sending people to investigate thoroughly. The other small families are also helping us search!” Doron added.
“We might get some surprising results!” the Wolf King said slowly, his eyes gleaming with unusual intensity.
After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed. Tomorrow would be the day to take action. Rod felt a heavy weight in his heart—this matter wasn’t that simple. As the largest city, Water Curtain City had nearly a hundred thousand inhabitants. If they used that method to investigate, it was unclear how long it would take! Whether they could find them was still a big question.

More importantly, if one were in his shoes, one would definitely choose an identity that cannot be doubted in order to disguise oneself, which further increases the difficulty of finding them. Thinking of this, Rod felt a headache coming on. Of course, there are many others like him; how could the Wolf King and the others possibly have time to relax at such a moment?