BXBX NOVEL Chapter 585: 366 City_1
By the city gate, a crowd of over a thousand people had already gathered, “Let us in, we’ve always lived within the Scarlet Clan city walls; we just went out for some training a couple of days ago.”
“The Lord has ordered that the city gates remain closed for the next few days. Come back later,” the captain of the guard replied without a hint of sympathy for the crowd of over a thousand.
The thousand-strong crowd was at a loss, having already waited for two days, yet the city gates remained firmly closed. They couldn’t understand why the Lord would issue such an order!
“We must get in, if not, we’ll have to break down the door,” some of the more hot-tempered ones said, having already drawn their weapons in utter desperation, deciding they could no longer wait.
“Kill without mercy if you cause trouble,” the captain of the guard ordered, waving his hand. Hundreds of soldiers readied their bows and crossbows, the arrows tipped with flames of Spiritual Energy as a deterrent.
Intimidated, the crowd quickly retreated several hundred meters. This scene was witnessed by Logan and the others. Cain Scarlet naturally wore a face filled with dismay. If the city gate was not letting people in, what was he to do?
Wishing to relay the message back, Cain Scarlet, despite the threat of bows and crossbows, stepped forward, “I am Cain Scarlet, a junior member of a side branch of the Scarlet Clan, with crucial information that must be delivered to the Lord. I hope you can make an exception, as it concerns the safety of the entire Scarlet Clan.”
“Too many have used similar excuses in the past couple of days, just to get into the city,” the captain of the guard sneered and shook his head. By his count, there were at least dozens of people who had said the same, all of them lying, with each one ending up in the dungeon.
Not willing to give up, Cain Scarlet continued, “I’m different from the others. I have proof, I can tell you the ancestral teachings of the Scarlet Clan.”
“Everyone in the city knows the ancestral teachings,” the captain of the guard said dismissively. “Only if you know the cultivation methods of the Scarlet Clan could you prove yourself. Then perhaps I could report this to my superiors.”
Upon hearing this, Cain Scarlet gave a bitter smile. Because he had been sent to the Demonic Sky Gate as a spy by the Lord ten years ago, in order not to raise any suspicion, he chose to practice common and widespread cultivation methods from the martial world instead of the Scarlet Clan’s techniques.
“You really are an impostor. I’m ordering you to back off now, or I will signal my men to take action,” the captain of the guard said with a wry smile. Hundreds of soldiers had their bows and crossbows aimed at Cain Scarlet, ready to let loose a volley of arrows at a moment’s notice should he not retreat.
Faced with this situation, Cain Scarlet couldn’t help but shake his head, having used extraordinary efforts to finally return to his homeland, only to be stopped right at the city gate. The bitterness of this moment was more painful than being hunted by the Demonic Sky Gate.
Logan smiled faintly and stepped forward, “I want to ask, why has this city gone into such a state of defense for no apparent reason? Is there an enemy attack approaching?”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t,” the captain of the guard said, clearly impatient. The other thousand people had already retreated; why were these few still babbling incessantly? Was he going to have to make an example out of them?
The distant crowd of over a thousand scoffed at the trio, thinking too highly of themselves. Did they really think the guards would make an exception for them? Better to wait patiently outside the city walls with the rest—chances are, the gates could open in two or three days.
The reason Logan asked was that he suspected Cain Scarlet had already been informed about the Demonic Sky Gate matter, hence the city was closed to prevent people with ulterior motives, but the guard was unwilling to share information, leaving Logan momentarily at a loss for the reason.
Bart Cloud tossed a bag of Spirit Stones up onto the city wall. Assuming it was an attack, the captain of the guard immediately ordered his archers and crossbowmen to target the bag, but with their cultivation, they naturally couldn’t block it. The bag of Spirit Stones landed securely on the city wall; the guard captain was shocked as he opened it and looked inside.
The bag had at least a thousand Spirit Stones, the equivalent of his salary for half a year; the captain couldn’t deny that the gesture was incredibly generous. He coughed subtly, pocketing the stones, while the gaze of the hundred or so archers and crossbowmen also lingered on the prize.
“I’ll treat you to tea when we have the time, two stones each,” said the captain, not wanting to shortchange his subordinates. With over a hundred archers and crossbowmen at the gate, even if he gave two each, he would still be left with five to six hundred stones.
Of course, there were other experts hidden on the city wall, whom the captain of the guard didn’t plan to share with, as they weren’t under his command.
The guard captain’s demeanor softened as he looked at Bart Cloud, “The Lord has given orders, and I might have made an exception for you on a normal day, but today you cannot enter. However, judging by the current situation, the city gates should open in a day or two.”
“Can you tell us exactly what happened?” Bart Cloud asked with a curled lip, somewhat speechless. If you weren’t going to let us in, why take the Spirit Stones? He understood the guard captain wouldn’t return the stones, so he could only try to glean some information.
Having received a bribe, the guard captain thought for a moment and then said, “Recently, there was an incident involving the City-protecting Array in the neighboring Wexler Clan territory, leading to a scramble for opportunities by various forces. Although it was eventually settled, many powers are still restless.”
“The Lord wants to avoid drawing us into this trouble and fears that people with ulterior motives might take the chance to cause chaos in the city. Therefore, it was decided to temporarily close the gates. Now that things in the Wexler Clan’s city are stabilizing and back on track, there’s likely no problem here, so we don’t need to be on such high alert.”