Chapter 61: Ruthless as a Demon, Kind as a Saint

Brimming with battle intent and unshakeable resolve, Fang Che unleashed his Loatheful Blind Heavens, swinging his saber at the fleeing King's head with all his might.

The King had charged his way through several powerful attacks in order to break free from the encirclement, suffering severe injuries in the process, and he was astonished that there was another ambush waiting for him so far away from the drum tower.

Why is this guy ambushed here when he could've just gone in with everyone else?

A chill ran down his spine at the vast oncoming wave of baleful qi, but his fear and apprehension were drowned out by his desperate desire to survive as he lashed out in retaliation.

His sword clashed against Fang Che's saber, and Fang Che was sent flying back like a cannonball with blood spewing out of his mouth, crashing straight through two walls before striking a large tree, bringing him to a juddering halt.

However, the King was also stopped in his tracks and knocked back several dozen feet as another large mouthful of blood came spewing out of his mouth.

He was already a spent force upon breaking out of the drum tower. Otherwise, there was no way he would've been stopped in his tracks by a second-rank Lord like Fang Che.

His plan was to rush into the residential area and capture some people to suck their blood as a means of replenishment. Even if worse came to worst, he could abduct a few hostages. However, he had been stopped cold in his tracks, and with his momentum completely halted, he could only accept his fate with a look of despair on his face.

He was instantly surrounded by the three Kings from the Hall of Protectionists, all of whom were feeling extremely fortunate.

They had failed to anticipate the presence of a King among enemy ranks, and despite their best efforts, he had managed to slip away.

They could only thank the heavens that Fang Che had put his life on the line to stop the fleeing King. Otherwise, if he had fled into the residential area, then the consequences would've been catastrophic.

A twisted look of fury and indignation appeared on the wounded King's face, and in these final moments, he could only solace in the fact that the one who had stopped him had surely also been killed.

"Ha! That's what you get for getting in my way, you insolent little runt! See you in the afterlife!"

However, his vindictive glee quickly turned to astonishment as Fang Che came limping out of the rubble up ahead, leaning on his saber as a crutch.

"I'm afraid you're going to the afterlife on your own."

"How are you not dead?!" the King roared in shock and fury.

"Don't waste any more time!" Fang Che urged. "He's trying to stall for time so he can recover!"

The three Kings immediately sprang into action, and the wounded King was only able to curse Fang Che one more time before he was struck down.

After a string of vicious blows, he collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap, his eyes still glowering viciously at Fang Che even in death.

"We got 'em all! None of the twenty-seven people in there managed to get away!"

One of the Kings strode over to Fang Che with a grateful smile, then began personally treating his injuries as he praised, "Well done, Administrator Fang! The three of us are going to shamelessly take 10% of the merit points each, while the remaining 70% will all go to you!"

"That's far too big a cut for me to take!"

"No, you deserve it. If it wasn't for you, countless people would've died tonight. We're already feeling very embarrassed claiming any merit points at all after our incompetent display."

Upon the King's insistence, Fang Che finally acquiesced.

"I've been having some terrible luck with injuries of late!" he grimaced.

He had just taken another Cloud Spirit Pill.

Otherwise, even with that demonic King close to completely spent, that clash would've still been enough to put an end to Fang Che's life.

"It's extremely impressive that you were able to stand up to a King at your cultivation base, Administrator Fang."

Everyone was very relieved to see that Fang Che was in a stable condition, and they began to clean up the battlefield.

Fang Che had just crashed through the wall of a residential house, and the family inside was huddled up together in a corner, trembling in fear as they stared at Fang Che and the others in shock and horror.

They had been sleeping soundly when Fang Che came flying through their house like a wrecking ball, and while they were quite fortunate that the house hadn't collapsed on them, it was clearly no longer liveable.

"Sorry about that," Fang Che said as he limped over to them and set down a thousand taels' worth of silver vouchers.

"You can go report your damages to the Hall of Protectionists. This is my personal compensation to you."

"Th-This is too much..."

"It's fine, just take it. Pack up your valuable belongings and get out of here as soon as you can. There's still a chance that the roof could collapse on you. Make sure to keep the silver vouchers well hidden. You don't want to attract the envy of your neighbors."

"Thank you!"

The family hurriedly scrambled to their feet before bowing to Fang Che in gratitude, moved to tears by his generosity.

Zuo Guanglie and the others were all observing the touching scene in silence, and one of the Kings remarked, "Administrator Fang is a good man."

Zuo Guanglie's eyes were full of admiration as he nodded and agreed, "He's as ruthless as a demon to those who deserve it, yet as kind as a saint to the innocent and weak. He's truly a role model for us all."

Very few Protectionists bothered to stop and console the residents in an area after completing a mission.

The local authorities would take care of the compensation, so this act of kindness from Fang Che was very rare among Protectionists.

At this point, the Warlords had already returned after cleaning up the battlefield, and they reported, "We've managed to verify the identities of all twenty-seven people. Twenty-six of them are from the main church, while the King is an elder from the Three Saints Church."

Everyone heaved a collective deflated sigh upon hearing this.

"Not the Night Demon Church? Damn..."

"Alright, let's go back and rest up."

"Get on my back, Administrator Fang. I'll carry you."

Following their departure, people from the local authorities quickly arrived on the scene, and before long, first light also arrived.

The family stood outside the wreckage of their home, looking on with deep gratitude as Fang Che departed with his colleagues.

***

"Where'd you get these healing pills from, Administrator Fang? They're incredible!"

Zuo Guanglie was carrying Fang Che on his back, and he could sense that the latter was recovering rapidly.

"They were given to me by a senior of mine," Fang Che sighed. "I've had to use up two of them in the span of just a few days!"

"At least they've saved your life! Healing pills of this caliber are all priceless treasures!"

Zuo Guanglie was very envious, but he knew that Fang Che definitely wouldn't be in possession of too many of these pills, so he didn't ask for any.

Each one of these pills essentially equated to an extra life, so it would be far too shameless of him to ask Fang Che to share something so precious.

Upon returning to the Hall of Protectionists, Zuo Guanglie and the others went to the merits department to report their operation, while Fang Che went to his desk in the administration hall and sat down to take a nap.

There were over sixty administrators on night shift inside, and all of them were rather surprised by how early Fang Che had arrived.

"You're up really early today, Administrator Fang."

"I didn't sleep at all!"

"That means you must've gone out to earn merit points. We've spent the entire night here with nothing to show for it!"

The one who had spoken was Cripple Hong, and he had always been widely disliked.

He was often running his mouth to all of the female administrators, regardless of their age and appearance, and he had received countless beatings for it, but he never seemed to be able to kick the habit.

"If you could exchange all of your flab for merit points, you'd already be the hall master by now," Fang Che jeered.

Cripple Hong: "......"

"If merit points could be earned for harassing female colleagues, you'd already be a Guardian by now!"

Everyone erupted into laughter, while Cripple Hong could only suffer in silence.

He couldn't beat Fang Che fight, and he was no match in a war of words, either!

***

On this day, starting from midnight, the entire Unmatched Escort Agency sprang into action, renovating the branch helm so that it would be fit to serve as the home of their escort agency.

A gilded plaque was hung up above the entrance, and before long, the place was looking like an imperial palace!

All of the Lords from the main church were extremely wealthy, and they were eager to buy the best and most expensive materials to use for their renovations.

They had even pooled together some funds to purchase the neighboring courtyards before razing them to the ground, even uprooting all of the trees.

Walls that were thirty feet tall were constructed around the entire premise, and the flag of the Unmatched Escort Agency was raised tall and proud.

There were also some smaller flags, which had been arranged into two rows stretching from the main entrance to the hall before splitting down the middle and encircling the entire drill ground in the backyard.

All of these flags had been constructed from the highest quality steel and the finest fabric, emblazoned with the words "Unmatched Escort Agency" in bold and extravagant text.

Whenever there wasn't any wind, several of them would be made responsible for generating wind with their palms to ensure that the flags would sway in an animated fashion, rather than drooping down like lifeless fish.

The ground in the main hall of the agency was paved with large slabs of white jade, and the walls were filled with pieces of fine art and calligraphy.

The throne of the head escort was constructed entirely from gold with a luxurious layer of eighth-rank spirit beast white tiger hide draped over it, and the armrests had been fashioned into a pair of golden dragons.

It was all incredibly lavish, and the entire place was completely spotless.

Even the teaware for guests was crafted from spirit crystal, and close to twenty sets had been made.

The tea leaves that had been purchased cost tens of thousands of taels of silver per kilogram, and even then, the Lords were complaining that no good tea could be purchased in the White Cloud Prefecture.

On one side of the hall was a rack that was laden with weapons, all of which were of a superb quality, giving off a cold and menacing gleam.