Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 668 - 301, Murder is no more than a nod of the head.

New Yu Era 1325, Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month, Zishi Hour Ending

Chi Shui County City

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The ground quaked; the walls of Chi Shui County's Sifang City trembled violently. The citizens inside all looked towards the east with fearful expressions. Even those without cultivation could feel that the disturbances originated from the direction of the eastern gate.

"It must be Magistrate Shen's doing, right?"

"Who else could it be? It seems like someone is attacking the city."

"Attacking the city? Hasn't the Shen Clan already unified three counties? Could someone be even stronger than them?"

"Psh, unifying three counties is nothing. Let's not even talk about far away places; just over in Hexi, there are four counties, and the Xiong Yun Gang has one prefectural city and controls two counties. The Shen Clan merely bluffs people like you, the commoners."

"Aren't you a commoner as well?"

"My second uncle moved to Hexi Prefecture half a year ago. He's now part of the Martial Registry and is about to start working for the Hou Clan. Once he's settled in, I'm going to Hexi to enjoy life as well."

...

The average citizen understood little, but the situation was different for the martial artists in the city. Hearing that, they cast a brief, reflective glance towards the east. They knew more than the average citizen—thirty thousand elite troops of the Shen Clan had been stationed in Chi Shui County to guard against Hexi. Now that the eastern gate had become a battlefield, they guessed that it must be the Hou Clan attacking the city!

The new policies recently issued by Hexi had already spread among the common folks through casual conversations. The citizens did not understand the specifics, but there was one thing they revered: the Martial Registry system adopted by Hexi differentiated martial artists from the common people in all respects, and it was rumored to strictly prohibit martial artists from laying hands on commoners. To them, Hexi was already akin to paradise.

Some well-informed citizens, upon learning that it was Hexi attacking the city, showed no fear on their faces; instead, their hearts filled with anticipation.

The city's martial artists, however, felt the exact opposite!

As much as the commoners adored the Martial Registry system, most martial artists loathed it. Besides, since the Shen Clan had taken over Chi Shui County, they had already pledged their loyalty to Shen Gufan and had once shed blood for him. If the city fell to the Hou Clan, not only would they have to switch allegiances, but they would also have to bleed again. Naturally, they were displeased.

However disgruntled they were, they could only quietly await fate's arrangement.

They were all too aware of the thirty thousand elite troops of the Shen Clan. Those uniformly Ten Layers of Body Openings soldiers were unbeatable—even if all the city's martial artists united, they probably couldn't harm a hair on their heads. Chi Shui was defended by such an army, and yet Hexi dared to attack, which meant the strength of the Hou Clan must have far exceeded their expectations.

Both martial artists and civilians watched the east with anxious hearts, trembling with the land as they speculated whether the Shen Clan could hold out.

...

At the eastern gate, before the sky-shaking battle had even begun, Shen Gufan was utterly dumbfounded at the sight of the red tide galloping down the Official Road.

Half an hour earlier, he had received a report from a scout that over twenty thousand Red Armored Soldiers were speeding towards them from the east, he realized the Hou Clan was making a move and had made some preparations, but upon seeing the red tide before him, he understood just how laughable those preparations were.

Just by the heatwave before him, he could tell that the war horses ridden by these Red Armored Soldiers were all top-grade, and observing their cultivation—though they were too far for him to discern the details—he knew from their aura and presence alone that these twenty-thousand-plus soldiers were at least Ten Layers of Body Openings, the same as his clan's elite.

Even more terrifying was that the number of Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm mixed among the opponent's soldiers far exceeded his own, with at least a tenth of them being Gang Qi masters,

Over twenty thousand men, a tenth meant more than a thousand Gang Qi Realm warriors!

The sky above the twenty-thousand-strong cavalry was dyed red with the surging power of their blood and qi, stretching for over three li.

This was only a little over twenty thousand men...

Impossible, this couldn't be the army of the Hou Clan.

How could the Hou Clan, having occupied Hexi for only a short time, possess such a formidable army? This Red Armored force before him had to be the elite troops of some other heavenly power, or even a Holy Land. The Hou Clan must have sought the protection of a Holy Land, just like the Shen Clan did.

Yes... that's it... It must be so...

"Family Head, we can't delay any longer. Order the defense of the city now!"

Commander Shen Guzhen's words snapped Shen Gufan back to reality. No matter which faction owned this army, they had to defend Chi Shui County first. He quickly masked the shock on his face, nodded, and roared, "Prepare to defend the city! All men ready your crossbow arrows and wait for the enemy to approach within five hundred meters before firing!"

"Yes!"

The unified shout from the thirty thousand elites of the Shen Clan proved they were no slackers. Even as the daunting twenty-thousand-strong cavalry approached from the east, any trace of fear visible on their faces was fleeting. And as the fear dissipated, increasing numbers of them began to show a rising fighting spirit on their faces.

"Soldiers are nourished for a thousand days for use in one hour. This Red Armored army is definitely not the Hou Clan's own; they must be the elite of some other heavenly force. If we can hold them off today, the Shen Clan's name will skyrocket in fame!"

"The Family Head is right. Brothers, the Sanling Region has always belonged to our Shen Clan since ancient times. Now that the Rakshasa Holy Sect has withdrawn, there can only be one master of the Sanling Great Emperor, and that's the Shen Clan. Anyone who dares to invade must be sent back, never to return!"