Nanyuan City.
The public didn't know about the happenings in the distant Great Xia Prefecture City.
Outside the academy, atop a tall building.
The woman hadn't appeared. At this moment, the middle-aged man was standing beside an old man with gray hair, looking at Nanyuan Mid-grade Academy from afar.
"Hall Lord Chen, I didn't expect you to be the one to come around this time …"
The middle-aged man smiled, trying to curry favor.
"Mn."
The old man didn't say much. He only looked into the distance and frowned slightly, speaking only after a moment, "Scarless, do you think there's a trap?"
"A trap?"
The man paused for a moment before replying slowly, "I'm not sure, but it is accurate that there are only two people at the Soaring Realm in Nanyuan at the moment. Over at the city guard's side, the thousand-man leader hasn't broken through to the Soaring Realm. I can be sure of this information."
"Is that so?"
The old man didn't say anything, but his brows were still tightly knitted.
The mission this time around made him a little uneasy.
Firstly, there was too much movement.
Secondly, Nanyuan had already made preparations. Based on previous experience, the mission would be canceled under such circumstances.
But it wasn't the case this time around.
What the top said was, continue!
This was the answer given from the top. They were very sure and confident that no reinforcements were coming to the Great Xia Prefecture.
There was also a third point. To be honest, they were unfamiliar with the Great Xia Prefecture.
The main place where the All-Races Sect was active wasn't the Great Xia Prefecture. Although they still had some strength over here, their understanding of the Great Xia Prefecture wasn't deep enough. Hence, to launch an operation so hastily bore some risks.
Based on the characters of the group of people above, the fact that they had mobilized Soaring Realm experts, and quite a few of them at that, they must have done a lot of preparations in advance.
"Scarless, you've stayed in Nanyuan for many years. Does Nanyuan have experts at the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm who can fight people above their levels in battle?"
"I don't think so?"
The middle-aged man opened his mouth. "In any case, I've never heard of it. If there was one, then they would have gone to the Allskies Battlefield or the Great Xia Prefecture. No one will stay back in Nanyuan. There's such a person at the Thousand Pound Realm though. Su Long, from the devil suppression army, was able to surpass his rank and fought at the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm. But that's just the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm."
"Su Long?"
"A veteran from the devil suppression army. He has gone to the Allskies Battlefield."
"Oh, the devil suppression army… Xia Longwu led the army back in the day. In recent years, they have made a name for themselves in the Allskies Battlefield by killing a first-tier army despite being a second-tier. They have quite a few experts."
The old man was more knowledgeable about the frontlines. He pondered before speaking again, "Are there many retired members of the frontline army within the city?"
"Not a lot and they are old now. Not many are in the prime of their lives, not more than 300. They are scattered across the various parts of Nanyuan."
"These people, we have no choice but to guard against them too!" the old man said solemnly. "These are veterans who once fought in Allskies Battlefield. For these fellows to retire alive, their blades have all tasted blood. Tell the people below to be careful and more alert."
"Understood!"
The old man looked to the sky and said nothing more.
After a while, a hint of light from a blaze came from outside the city. Within the city, a group of 100 city guards rushed out.
The middle-aged man was pleased. "Another hundred-men team is gone. The city guards are left with less than 500 people!"
The old man was still frowning. "Be careful!"
Nanyuan people knew perfectly well that this was to lure them away from their territory, yet they still allowed a large number of city guards to head outside of the city to eliminate the people of the All-Races Sect. Was this confidence or… were they truly forced to the point of not having an alternative?
"Less than half of city guards' manpower remains. Over 300 of them are currently protecting the city lord's residence, and the others seem to be gathered around Nanyuan Academy. The people on the streets are all from Windarrest Hall…"
The old man looked around and sized up the situation. There were about 200 city guards and fewer than 100 people from Windarrest Hall. With the combination of teachers and the academy's guard department, there were 260 people. Also, no one from Longwu Guards has left. In total, there were fewer than 600 people at the Thousand Pound Realm and above.
As for the students, they could be ignored, as they didn't have someone at the Thousand Pound Realm among them.
Two experts were at the Soaring Realm. Adding on the Longwu Guards, there were less than 15 people at the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm, and the rest were all at the Thousand Pound Realm.
Actually, there was only one expert at the Soaring Realm in the school. The city lord, Wu Wenhai, was still in the city lord's residence and would require time to rush over. However, the old man still counted him in. After all, it wasn't that far away.
"Has the whole crew arrived?"
"They have!"
The man added hurriedly, "The hall lord has gone to receive them. They are all elites; no fewer than 30 people at the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm and the others are all at the high levels of the Thousand Pound Realm. There's a total of 300 people! Those who are not at the high levels of the Thousand Pound Realm are creating chaos outside the city."
300 elites at the seventh level of the Thousand Pound Realm or above and 30 at the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm!
Hence, the old man estimated. Today, the operation began in 6 cities, and the manpower in other cities was more than in this place.
That was to say. They had mobilized more than 2,000 cultivators at the seventh level of the Thousand Pound Realm and above, and 200 at the Ten-Thousand Stone Realm. Moreover, there were probably more than 20 people at the Soaring Realm!
With such power, it was enough to form a ten-thousand-man army.
"The whole nest has started moving… Without exception, the entire strength of the Heavenly Yi God Sect has been brought out!"
The old man felt a little unease and shuddered slightly.
There were many sects under the All-Races Sect, and the Heavenly Yi God Sect was one of the strongest. After all, they relied on help from one of the god races.
Even so, since they had to use this many experts at once, on top of stopping the reinforcements from the Great Xia Prefecture, it would take the entirety of the Heavenly Yi God Sect's power.
To reveal all of their cards at once, wasn't the Heavenly Yi God Sect afraid of being done for completely?
Those who were starting the massacre in the surrounding areas were all cannon fodder sects. If they died, they died. However, the operation this time was truly the elite congregation. The two parties were very different.
"The merit point for this mission is a lot for just the extermination of these students. It doesn't seem worth it to go to war over this. What is the top thinking exactly?"
The old man frowned and felt that the gains did not make up for the losses.
It was a pity that he couldn't contact those at the top either.
"Forget it. We can only hope that everything will go on without a hitch. After that, we'll retreat swiftly and conceal our whereabouts."
More time was needed for more than 300 of the sect members to gather. In a minor city like Nanyuan, gathering more than 300 people would require some assembling. This wasn't the Great Xia Prefecture where no one would bother even if they brought in a few hundred of their people straight away.