Atop the city wall.
The smell of blood permeated the air.
Every few steps further, one could see the severed limbs of city defenders and the corpses of birds, beasts, and other demons.
Others were physically intact but dazed and confused.
This latter group had been possessed by evil spirits, causing their minds to become clouded.
The luckier ones might gradually recover over time.
Those slightly less fortunate, even if they partially recovered, could not avoid becoming mentally dull and sluggish.
The most serious cases had their souls dispersed and spirits consumed by the evil spirits. Their bodies were still alive, but they had become the living dead.
"..."
At that moment, Zhao Zhou and others proceeded along the city wall.
Everyone's steps were brisk, and their expressions were stern.
The city defense soldiers dealing with the aftermath, the personnel from the outer city offices, and the medics and coroners, all offered greetings.
But Zhao Zhou and other high-ranking city defenders did not respond and hastened on.
The position of the sixtieth willow branch night lamp!
That half-body was still on the city wall.
Great Commander Zhao Zhou suddenly slowed down.
He seemed to have lost his strength, and his complexion gradually turned pale.
Then, the elderly Great Commander slightly closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "It's him."
Although they had preliminarily concluded that the half-body was Zhao Jing, hearing Great Commander Zhao Zhou's confirmation still made everyone's heart sink.
It wasn't just because Zhao Jing was the Great Commander's foster son.
It was also because Zhao Jing had achieved the Inner Strength cultivation.
In the City Defense Army, those with the highest cultivation were only at the Inner Strength Realm.
The death of a martial artist with Inner Strength cultivation on the city wall inevitably made people feel conflicted.
"From here onward, is this Linjiang Station's defensive position?"
Great Commander Zhao Zhou slowly looked up.
In that instant, everyone's expression turned grim.
Zhao Jing, with his Inner Strength cultivation and accompanied by twenty personal soldiers, had all died here.
Then how could this newly appointed Flag Commander of Linjiang Square hold those three hundred sixty steps?
Everyone was aware that last night, this section of the city wall was breached, allowing numerous evil creatures to cross over the wall and invade Linjiang Square, resulting in heavy casualties among the teams responsible for clearing the area.
If not for the intervention of a mysterious expert, it was feared the entire Linjiang Square would have become a living hell.
Zhao Zhou and the others exchanged glances, their expressions complex.
In their hearts, they had essentially concluded that the young Flag Commander, upon whom the Observatory had placed great hopes, had died in the darkness of the night.
If lucky, maybe he was harmed by the evil spirits and left a complete corpse.
If unlucky, he was probably only left with a mutilated body.
Or perhaps, devoured entirely by the demons, leaving not even bones behind, just a patch of blood on the ground.
As they were thinking this, they saw city defense soldiers clearing the way coming from the other end of the wall.
"What is the situation ahead?" Deputy Commander Zhou stepped forward and asked, "Has the Flag Commander been seen?"
"He has not been seen," replied the colonel leading them, bowing respectfully.
"Ah…"
Great Commander Zhao Zhou sighed despondently.
He looked toward Zhao Jing in front of him.
Though severed in half, at least half of his body was left.
It seemed the Flag Commander Wu Chang did not leave even a bit.
The high-ranking officials of the City Defense Army all shared the same thought, feeling quite regretful.
However, the three Deputy Commanders exchanged glances, also feeling that given the new Flag Commander's wild arrogance yesterday evening, refusing the Great Commander's life-preserving item, today's outcome was not surprising.
Just then, suddenly, there were footsteps coming from behind.
Everyone turned their heads to look and saw a man in a long robe, breathless, approaching.
"I am Xie Jin, the chief clerk of the Observatory Tower in the inner city. I was commanded to come and verify the post-war situation in the southern district of the outer city," he said.
The Divine Mirror of the Observatory Tower, modeled after the Divine Mirror of Qifeng Prefecture City, could observe divine lights, evils, and aberrations in this world, yet it did not provide a clear view of all scenes.
Thus, whenever there was an incident, it was necessary to verify, register, and catalog all relevant data.
Zhao Zhou, the Great Commander, sighed and waved his hand.
Suddenly, everyone began to report on the previous night's battle situation and casualties in succession.
"From here to a thousand steps forward, where the thirty-odd Night Lamps of willow branches were located, all positions have been lost," said someone.
"Wait a minute..."
Hearing this, Xie Jin was startled and said, "Is this the position of the sixtieth Night Lamp with willow branches?"
"Exactly," came the reply.
"Starting from here, is the defense position the responsibility of Linjiang Station?" he asked.
"Indeed," was the response.
"But last night, from what the Observatory Tower observed, within the defensive range of Linjiang Station, twelve Night Lamps with willow branches were safe and sound with no omissions."
"What?" everyone exclaimed in surprise.
Xie Jin flipped open the register book and frowned, saying, "However, on both sides of the defense managed by Linjiang Station, extending outwards, there are more than twenty positions that have been lost."
As his words fell, he noticed the extremely odd atmosphere, looked around, and could not help but ask, "What is going on?"
"The Flag Commander of Linjiang Station held the defense for these 360 steps?"
The high-ranking officials of the City Defense, finally coming to their senses, all showed looks of shock and disbelief.
"Not just that! While we defend the city by facing the darkness right in front, both flanks falling into enemy hands meant he had to face attacks from evil on both sides..."
At this moment, a colonel named Meng Lu, with a solemn expression, spoke.
He was a Martial Artist of the Washing Marrow Realm, at the peak of the second major obstacle in martial arts.
But he knew for certain that facing such adverse conditions, it would definitely be impossible to hold the fort.
Facing threats from three sides, apart from abandoning the post and fleeing, the only option was death.
"Moreover..."
He paused, then Meng Lu frowned and said, "The half of Zhao Jing's body, it was clearly not torn by sharp claws but was severed by a sharp weapon, with a single stroke, clean and swift!"
"He wasn't killed by an evil demon?"
Xie Jin from the Observatory Tower, taken aback, said, "Murdered by someone?"
Immediately, the atmosphere in the room turned ice cold.
At that moment, the same thought emerged in everyone's mind.
Was it the Flag Commander of Linjiang Station who killed Zhao Jing who had come to assist?
And Zhao Jing, possessing Inner Strength Cultivation, to be cut in half with a single stroke, how powerful must the assailant be?
Yet according to previous information, this person was most likely in the Blood Refining Realm, at most in the Washing Marrow Realm, belonging to the second tier of martial arts.
Instantly, a shadow of doubt cast over everyone's hearts.
At that moment, the relatively aggressive Deputy Commander Zhou suddenly shouted angrily and loudly said, "I will dispatch men immediately, surround Linjiang Station, and take his head to avenge Zhao Jing!"
He instantly drew his sword and turned to leave.
But at that moment, an old voice rang out.
"Stop!"
Zhao Zhou, the Great Commander, shouted, "What are you doing? We haven't clarified the situation yet. This matter..."
He took a deep breath and said, "Please report to the inner city, Chief Clerk Xie."
As his voice fell, he solemnly said, "Close the city gates, no entry or exit today!"
——
Meanwhile
at the Outer South Bureau's tall building.
"Yang Wang, the chief clerk under Linjiang Station, sent someone with a handwritten battle report from Wu Chang," came a report.
"Hmm? Shouldn't he be at the handover with the City Defense Commander of Outer South by now?"
Surprised, Han Commander accepted the battle report and opened it to read. His expression changed slightly.
Within moments, his expression became hard to discern.