Chapter 125: Chapter 123: Purpose and Fear

As the first ray of dawn struggled to tear through the night’s curtain and shone upon Golden Harbor, a hellish scene unfolded before our eyes.

The smell of gunpowder, the stench of blood, and the charred scent of burning wood mixed together, enveloping the whole city like a thick toxic fog.

The air was no longer filled with the usual hustle and bustle, only the sporadic screams in the distance, the groans of the dying, and the crackling sound of wood being devoured by flames remained.

On the streets, the once-bustling prosperity had vanished without a trace.

The facades of beautiful shops were violently torn apart, precious goods looted, leaving behind shattered pottery and overturned shelves.

On the muddy ground, scattered weapons, blood-soaked clothing, and spine-chilling body remnants were everywhere.

A few abandoned war pig carcasses lay in the middle of the road, their fur singed and emitting a foul stench.

Occasionally, surviving residents crawled out from the rubble, their gazes vacant, faces pale, wandering the streets like the walking dead, futilely searching for relatives or possessions.

Jeming stood under the porch of the “Dawn Mansion”, the breeze brushing against his impeccably dressed robe.

After a night of slaughter, his breath remained steady, and his body was unstained by even a speck of dust.

In front of the villa, hundreds of corpses of beastmen and human soldiers were stacked into small mountains, the blood dried and turning dark brown in the morning light.

The mountain-like pile of corpses exuded a coldness of death yet silently declared the safety of this area.

Looking at the three beastman leaders bound like dumplings still struggling beside him, Jeming nodded with satisfaction:

“Not bad, not bad, I didn’t expect surprises like you, making my efforts worthwhile.”

To launch an attack as covertly as possible and ensure success, the number of warriors the beastmen sent this time was not large, but each was an elite, and the three leaders were all Second Level creatures.

Although Golden Harbor had five “Legends” permanently stationed, the strength among the Legends varied.

Like these three beastman leaders, each basically possessed mid-Second Level strength, and could easily defeat the five Second Level Initial Tier weak Legendary figures of Golden Harbor.

“Who… exactly are you… what is your purpose?!”

The broken beastman language came intermittently from below, and upon looking down, a beastman leader forcefully tore his cheek, speaking from the side of his mouth.

The beastman leader’s heart was filled with an unknown dread as he couldn’t understand this person’s purpose.

If he was the hidden protector of this city, their invasion yesterday shouldn’t have gone so smoothly, and they wouldn’t have been allowed to kill the five Legends of Golden Harbor.

But if there wasn’t a connection, why intervene at the last stage?

Moreover, this power… how terrifying!

The beastman leader prided himself on being cautious, even at the peak of mortal power, he immediately sought the help of his peers upon noticing something amiss yesterday.

With the strength of the three of them and the blessing from the Shaman before departure, they could trade a few blows even with an Angel.

But against this guy, the two of them were utterly powerless; even though it felt like this person’s life energy nature hadn’t surpassed “Legendary”, yet why…

The beastman leader suddenly thought of something, his pupils contracted sharply, with excitement ripping through him, only vague, unclear sounds could come from his torn cheek:

“Wiz…ard, you are a Wizard…”

“Oh? Such exaggerated life energy, although I already knew, I can’t help but be amazed every time I see it. You guessed right, but alas, no one can hear.”

Jeming looked down at the beastman leader’s appearance, couldn’t help but praise, then kicked each of the three beastman leaders into the manor.

Jeming’s reason for doing so was straightforward, to cause a stalemate in the beastman-human war, making both sides consume more strength and foster more hatred.

As for capturing some specimens, that was just a convenience.

Of course, he wouldn’t and didn’t need to explain these matters to the specimens.

In any case, inside the manor, there was a Sixth Level Shielding Array he purchased, given the special nature of the Wizard System, even the God of Gods of this world couldn’t detect anything unusual inside the manor.

Now, besides the high ranks of the beastmen who knew the specific power of this surprise attack, the rest were the five human Legends who had already died.

If both sides want to figure out what happened, let them slowly fight it out!

In the distance, the castles and manors in the noble district were either emitting thick smoke or appeared shaky in the weak flames.

But more seemed only startled, not thoroughly breached.

While Jeming calmly cleaned off the residual bloodstains around the villa, several cautious figures emerged from the alleys of the noble district.

They were some of the most prominent nobles of Golden Harbor, wearing somewhat disheveled nightgowns and draped in expensive furs, their faces bearing the terror and fatigue of narrowly escaping death.

Their soldiers cleared the way ahead, weapons in hand, every step was as if facing a formidable enemy.

Last night, they were already at death’s door, yet unexpectedly, those beastmen seemed to receive some sort of signal and gradually left this area.

This greatly reduced the pressure they faced, allowing them to hold out until morning.

“Look! It’s Baron Garcia’s villa!” A butler trembled, pointing in Jeming’s direction, “There… there’s no firelight over there!”

As they shakily approached “Dawn Mansion,” everyone involuntarily stopped in their tracks, gasping for air.

What met their eyes was not the ravaged desolation they expected, but rather a mountain of corpses, and beside it, the silent, statue-like young figure—”Jack.”

“This… this is impossible!” A white-haired Count whispered in disbelief, his legs somewhat weak.

They had hidden in an airtight cellar last night, listening to the deafening shouts and screams outside, thinking their family’s end had come.

They knew the ferocity of the beastman vanguard, were aware of the Golden Harbor’s guard’s collapse, and understood the invaders’ power.

Yet, the reality before them showed that this young man had single-handedly driven away so many invaders!

“Lord Jack!” The first to react was the oily plump baron.

Disregarding his noble demeanor, he rushed forward, his knees buckling, and with a thud, knelt on the ground, his obese body trembling constantly:

“Thank you for your mercy! Thank you for your… unparalleled bravery! Without your intervention, we would all have perished in the flames!”

Other nobles quickly came to their senses, immediately following suit by kneeling, bowing, or curtsying, their postures as humble as possible.

After last night’s ordeal, these nobles were truly terrified.

They realized for the first time what “power” truly meant.

“My lord, you are the guardian god of Golden Harbor! My family is willing to serve you for generations!”

“Oh god above! Your strength is like a War God descending to earth!”

Praise poured out unabated, with these usually high-and-mighty nobles now acting like a group of humble servants, desperately flattering Jeming.

They did not even dare to meet Jeming’s gaze, fearing to anger this “devil”-like figure in their hearts.

Jeming calmly looked at them, without any expression.

“No need for formalities, everyone should quickly tidy up.” Jeming said coldly, his voice not loud, yet it caused all the nobles to instinctively cease their flattery, filling them with awe.

The fleeting ecstasy and gratitude quickly faded, replaced by a greater fear and despair.

These nobles were not ignorant of worldly affairs.

They quickly came to their senses from the “temporary safety” provided by Jeming, realizing a deeper crisis.

“Everyone, although we are temporarily safe… this is only temporary.” The Count, pale and voice trembling, broke the brief silence, “Last night’s attack was not the full force of the beastmen! It was just their vanguard, a sign that they had torn up the peace agreement!”

“That’s right!” Another Viscount echoed in a trembling voice, “The beastmen attacked suddenly in the night! Golden Harbor’s defenses were not strong enough! We’ve lost the City Guard Army, lost the command post… this city cannot be defended!”

Panic quickly spread among the nobles, who exchanged looks of despair.

“We must leave here!”

“To the capital! Only the capital can withstand the beastman army!”

“But… but, from here to the capital, even by fast horse, it takes at least seven days! The wilderness along the way is rampant with magical beasts, and since the beastmen have torn up the agreement, they may have already set up ambushes on the route to the capital!”

“Our private guards…” The Baron glanced at the trembling guards beside him, his face full of despair, “They couldn’t even withstand last night’s attack, how can they escort us across the battlefield?”

The entire group of nobles fell into unprecedented chaos and anxiety.

Watching their wealth and lives hanging by a thread, this sense of powerlessness nearly drove them to collapse.

“Quick! Pack up! Take everything you can carry! The faster, the better!”

“Carriages! Prepare more carriages!”

“Jewels! Stuff them into boxes! Don’t bother with the cumbersome gold and silver!”

In an instant, outside “Dawn Mansion,” the nobles’ retinue scattered like a hornets’ nest was stirred, each hurrying home to prepare.

They ordered their servants to pack the most valuable jewelry, rare magic materials, long-inherited books and scrolls, and even some art pieces symbolizing family status, stuffing them all into sturdy boxes and loading them onto their luxurious carriages.

The servants were frantic, their hands covered in dust.

The usual meticulous noble etiquette vanished, with luxurious silk gowns soiled with mud, expensive furs hastily wrapped, and formerly meticulously groomed hairstyles now messy.

The air was filled with anxious shouts, the sound of things colliding, and the nervous whinnies of horses.

Jeming watched everything unfold, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He knew these nobles would soon come back to him on their own accord.

(Extra update today, another Chapter to come.)

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