Human Clan Defender

「Midnight.」

The city was completely under martial law.

The search for Demon Evil never ceased.

A great number of Black Tiger Army soldiers, torches in hand, guarded each street entrance, while some of the army's experts, along with Jianghu martial artists, were steadily narrowing the search area.

"Is there really Demon Evil still hidden in Jincheng?" a Jianghu martial artist frowned involuntarily as he stared into the darkness ahead.

At his words, everyone else fell silent.

Whether or not Demon Evil was hidden was indeed a hard question to answer.

Up to now, almost half of Jincheng had been searched, yet not a trace of Demon Evil was found.

Fang Xue said in a stern voice, "Whether there's Demon Evil is not for us to worry about; our only job is to search throughout Jincheng. As for the rest, that's the Imperial Court's business."

If he hadn't been conscripted by the Black Tiger Army due to having no other option, he might have already started to evacuate Jincheng.

Regarding this, the Jianghu martial artist who had spoken first said nothing more.

On the silent streets shrouded in darkness, a line of people searched each house in turn. The bright light of the torches dispersed much of the surrounding darkness.

Time trickled by. Soon, it was midnight.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Is anyone there? This is a routine inspection by the Black Tiger Army; please open the door!"

The knocking sound broke the silence of the night sky.

After a long while, there was still no movement inside the courtyard.

Wen Ce's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

But he didn't break down the door and instead patiently continued to knock.

KNOCK KNOCK!!

This time, at last, footsteps were heard.

"Who's there?"

"We are from the Black Tiger Army, conducting a routine inspection. Please open the door!"

With that, the door opened after a moment, and a tall, robust-looking man appeared in Wen Ce's line of sight.

Upon seeing the Black Tiger Army soldiers holding torches behind Wen Ce, the man's face revealed a fearful expression, and his previously upright spine bent slightly.

"So it's the officers. May I know what this humble commoner has done to warrant inspection by the officers?"

As he spoke, the man's face was full of appeasing smiles.

The people of Jincheng maintained a great deal of reverence for the Black Tiger Army.

"Rest assured, if you have done nothing wrong, we will not trouble you," Wen Ce said after taking two quick glances at the man, before leading his people inside.

At this, a large number of Black Tiger Army soldiers poured in, filling the yard to the brim.

Wen Ce turned his head towards the Jianghu martial artists at his side and said in a solemn voice, "I'm going to ask you to conduct a thorough search to see if there might be any issues."

"Understood!"

"No problem," Fang Xue and the others replied, exchanging glances and nodding in agreement.

The Black Tiger Army was there to intimidate the civilians, while these Jianghu martial artists were responsible for sensing the presence of Yin Evil Aura.

Immediately, they dispersed, searching for places where Demon Evil might be hiding.

Fortunately, the yard wasn't very large. It took them only a short while to search it completely, both inside and out.

"Lord Wen, I haven't found anything."

"Neither have I," a few Jianghu martial artists reported. Wen Ce nodded.

He looked at the man who was standing aside, his face still showing an expression of awe, and clasped his fist slightly.

"I hope you won't misunderstand our late-night disturbance," he said.

"My Lord, you jest," the man replied hastily, acting flattered.

"Hm." Wen Ce nodded, then took his leave with his men.

Soon, the once-lively courtyard fell silent once more.

Upon exiting the alley, Wen Ce stopped and said to someone beside him, "Inform the others; we have found the Barbarian. Seal off the alley immediately. We absolutely cannot let him escape!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" The man immediately bowed and accepted the order.

Then, in the next moment, over a hundred Black Tiger Army soldiers spread out under Wen Ce's direction, silently surrounding the entire alley.

Seeing the actions of the Black Tiger Army, the Jianghu martial artists all wore astonished expressions.

Fang Xue couldn't help but ask, "Lord Wen, how are you so certain he's from the Barbarian Clan?"

To be honest, he hadn't sensed any clues at all when facing the man just moments ago.

Hearing this, the others also turned their attention to Wen Ce.

If Fang Xue couldn't tell, neither could they.

"It's quite simple," Wen Ce said with a slight smile, patiently explaining,

"The Barbarian Clan lives year-round in the Barbarian Desolation, where conditions are harsh. Their skin, compared to that of the people of the Great Wilderness Prefecture, appears much rougher."

"Moreover, the Barbarian Clan largely consumes raw meat and drinks blood. They inherently possess a subtle wildness, and their bodies are generally more robust than those of the Qin People, giving them a tall and burly appearance."

"Of course, based on these things alone, we can't be one hundred percent certain that he is from the Barbarian Clan."

"But just now, that person revealed a significant flaw."

"That is—his accent!"

Accent? Fang Xue and the others looked at each other in confusion.

"Lord Wen, to my ears, that person's accent seemed indistinguishable from that of a Qin Person!"

"If one hasn't had dealings with the Barbarian Clan, such an accent naturally wouldn't seem problematic. However, in reality, if you've actually had contact with the Barbarian Clan, you'd notice his speech carries a native Barbarian accent."

"Even though this accent was faint, someone not very familiar with the Barbarian Clan wouldn't be able to detect it at all."

"But for the Black Tiger Army, identifying a Barbarian accent is no difficult task."

Wen Ce shook his head. The Black Tiger Army had long been stationed in the Great Wilderness Prefecture and had numerous encounters with the Barbarian Clan. They were thus very familiar with the Barbarian accent.

The other party had clearly come prepared, specifically learning the Qin accent and trying his utmost to eliminate his own unique Barbarian one.

Unfortunately, accents aren't something one can simply eliminate at will.

Even if one lived in Qin Land for decades, some traces could still be detected.

Immediately following this, Wen Ce paused, then spoke again.

"Great Qin and the Barbarian Clan are sworn enemies. It's impossible for Barbarians to live in Jincheng. There is a significant possibility that this person is a member of the Barbarian Clan's forces hiding within the city."

After finishing, he silently added in his heart: To take a step back, even if he wasn't a part of the Barbarian Clan's forces embedded in Jincheng, the fact that he was a Barbarian was undeniable. Therefore, even if he were killed, it wouldn't be a wrongful death.

"Lord Wen truly has an eye like a torch!" Upon hearing this, Fang Xue immediately showed an expression of admiration on his face.

Had it not been for what Wen Ce pointed out, he would never have known that the other party had exposed so many flaws.

It was evident that the Black Tiger Army's experience in certain aspects was beyond his comparison.

—

After seeing off the Black Tiger Army, the man closed the courtyard door. The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a sinister expression.

Damn it, the Black Tiger Army has even searched this far! It seems this place is no longer safe; I must find a way out!

They say the most dangerous place is the safest, but no one truly wishes to put themselves in peril.

However, the Black Tiger Army had just finished their search, so they likely wouldn't return so soon.

But it's better to be safe than sorry.

Although the man was confident in his own strength, he wasn't sure he could withstand the Black Tiger Army, especially with so many Jianghu martial artists assisting them, along with several powerful Martial Artists within the army itself.

If Nie Xu hadn't cultivated that overwhelming sense of righteousness, I might not have ended up in this predicament—

Thinking of Nie Xu, he felt an urge to grind his teeth with rage.

After spending all day hunting geese, he had ended up being pecked in the eye by one.

It could be said that if his assassination attempt on Nie Xu not failed, the Black Tiger Army would definitely not have the authority to search the entire city, let alone force him to the point of having to relocate.

My clan has already invaded deep into the Great Wilderness Prefecture. It won't be long before our army besieges the city. What can Jincheng possibly use to resist then? I'll just endure this for a while longer!

Having thought through the key points, the man turned and went back into the house.

He fumbled around a certain spot on the wall, then pressed hard inward.

Suddenly, an entrance to a secret chamber appeared in the corner of the room.

The man didn't carry an oil lamp but entered the dark secret passage directly.

After traversing the long corridor for a moment, his vision suddenly opened up.

He saw a small room, and in it, a pool of red water lay still, emitting a thick, nauseating stench of blood.

In the middle of the blood pool, a graceful figure was immersed there.

If someone familiar were here, they would recognize that the person was none other than Zhou Qin, the missing young mistress from the Zhou Family.

Zhou Qin's eyes were tightly shut, with the blood pool reaching up to her neck.

On her beautiful face, blood-red patterns spread like living, writhing worms, or perhaps like painted markings, giving an extremely grotesque impression.

Soon!

In just a few more days, once the Blood Ogre is successfully refined using the blood of close kin, its strength will undoubtedly reach a new level!

As the man gazed at Zhou Qin in the blood pool, a sickly, manic smile spread across his face.

The blood in the pool was no ordinary blood; it was a concoction formed from the blood of Zhou Family members.

There were many methods to refine a Blood Ogre, but only a Blood Ogre refined with the blood of one's closest kin could be the most powerful.

His reason for targeting the Zhou Family, aside from revenge, was primarily to collect the blood of its members to refine a powerful Blood Ogre.

In fact, from the very beginning, the man had set his sights on Zhou Qin.

It was only because she had joined the Yi Sword Sect, and the Yi Sword Sect was powerful, that he hadn't made a move.

Only when Zhou Qin returned from the Yi Sword Sect did the man find an opportunity to act.

Extreme Yin Sword Body!

Rumored to be an astonishing constitution, the best embryo for refining a puppet! Absorb the energy in the blood pool well. On the day you emerge, I will turn all of Jincheng into a domain of Guiyu!

The crazed smile on the man's face grew wider.

Once the Blood Ogre was successfully refined, he was confident he could contend with the Black Tiger Army even if surrounded.

As if hearing the man's words, Zhou Qin, immersed in the blood pool, seemed to flutter her eyelids briefly, but they quickly stilled again.