Chapter 298: One-Man Siege

Thunder rumbled through the skies as the heavens' drums roared.

A mass of cyan clouds stirred the heavens, altering the winds and shifting the colors of the sky. Bolts of lightning seemed to explode just overhead. In the very heart of this foreign city, which was situated on the vast snowy plains, a patch of cyan clouds appeared. Beneath them stood two still and silent figures.

The clouds drifted in from the east, with flashing bolts of lightning trailing them. Out of curiosity, the residents were drawn in. They watched in excitement, entirely unaware of the calamity that was about to descend. Some even stepped forward with professional or amateur equipment, taking photos of the spectacle as if it were merely an extraordinary display in the sky.

As the pressure from the sky grew stronger, most ordinary people gradually found themselves unable to look directly at the cyan clouds. Instinctively, they began to avert their gazes and seek shelter from the crushing pressure—the manifestation of heavenly might.

Wang Sheng watched the scene below. The foreign cultivators had surged into the modern city, and no one had come back out. Considering there were no violent primal qi fluctuations, they couldn't have used formations or other techniques to flee the area. They had clearly concealed themselves within the city, hoping to escape his pursuit.

Given the efficiency of modern communication, the foreign cultivators in the pine forest had likely already spread the news before Wang Sheng had killed them earlier.

Wang Sheng took out his mooncake-shaped phone, only to discover that the signal had been severely disrupted. It was likely the cyan clouds' fault.

He had already stopped using enchanted power to create heavenly tribulation clouds, yet they continued to swell. Fortunately, he was well-acquainted with such a phenomenon. Though he wasn't quite sure about the exact principle, he had experienced this more than once.

Where exactly are the foreign cultivators hiding?

Searching the entire city would require considerable effort. Nevertheless, Wang Sheng didn't hesitate in the slightest. He spread his spiritual consciousness in all directions.

Though it was called a major city, its location, limited economic development, and geographic conditions made its size and population hardly worthy of the name. Judging by the Hua Republic's standards, it wouldn't even stand out. There were only a few tall buildings. The city's traffic planning was disorganized, and pedestrian traffic was mostly confined to several commercial streets.

Nonetheless, this city functioned as an important administrative center on the snowy plains and in the eastern region of Saros. It even had several large mines and military bases nearby.

Wang Sheng further spread his spiritual consciousness until it encompassed the entire city. Flying Haze zoomed back and forth through the skies. Whenever Wang Sheng spotted a foreign cultivator, the flying sword would pierce through the air and strike. Saros' native cultivators were not harmed.

Through meticulous searching, Wang Sheng soon detected two familiar auras. After confirming that they were among those who had ambushed the rescue team, he showed no mercy.

Flying Haze swept forward at blinding speed. A flash of blood marked its passage, and unrest began to stir in the city below.

Wang Sheng still couldn't kill a target from a thousand

li

away, but within twenty or thirty

li

, he could easily unleash the full potential of his sword control. After just two quick strikes, the foreign cultivators immediately went underground, hiding even more deeply than before.

Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan continued their unrelenting search. Their spiritual consciousness delved dozens of meters beneath the surface, ensuring that no one could escape underground.

With the enemy trapped, it became a matter of patience. Either they would outlast him or he would wear them down first. He would search through every alley and lane until he had dragged them all out into the light!

Behind him, the cyan clouds grew ever denser. At the edges of the cyan, black clouds had begun to gather.

As thunder roared above, police vehicles and armored transports appeared on the streets. The city's defense forces had begun to focus their attention on the pair in the sky. They had also brought in a powerful sound system and started using it to call out to them.

However, all of it was in the Saros language. The garbled speech dragged on for quite a while, but Wang Sheng could not make out a single word. Hence, the martial siblings paid them no heed. Flying Haze just continued its relentless sweep through the city, and the tribulation cloud behind them kept swelling.

Wang Sheng had not yet initiated the heavenly tribulation, but arcs of lightning had already begun bursting across the sky, creating a tremendous display of force.

He raised his left hand and pointed southwest. Flying Haze howled through the air. Before countless watchful gazes, he struck down another target in the street. The target clutched his throat as he slowly collapsed onto his back.

Using the slain cultivator as a center point, Wang Sheng scanned the surrounding buildings, swiftly locking onto a restaurant where several individuals from "primitive tribes" were hiding. Flying Haze darted between onion-domed buildings, shattered the window of the restaurant, and shot inside.

Screams echoed inside and outside the restaurant. The police of Saros swiftly concluded that the two strange beings in the sky were the ones committing a bloody massacre across the city.

Seven.

After silently tallying the number of cultivators that Wang Sheng had taken out in the city, he deducted it from the number of individuals that he had sensed earlier through his spiritual consciousness. He had only eliminated about a sixth of their group.

On the rooftop of a tall building, a group of over ten burly men in ancient-style armor formed, each one drawing a longbow and aiming at Wang Sheng. Compared to modern firearms and equipment, their energy-infused bows and arrows posed a more immediate threat.

Still, Wang Sheng only coldly glanced at them, paying them no real attention. The cultivators in this region were not particularly strong. Saros's more powerful cultivators had likely been assigned to the more developed western territories.

Flying Haze launched another assault, swiftly eliminating two camouflaged foreign cultivators hiding under a bridge.

Wang Sheng spent the next five to six minutes unable to find the others. Even so, he knew they were still in the city since he had only killed nine. Rather than pursuing them further, which risked letting them escape, he decided it would be better to remain here and wipe out every last one of the rascals.

Wang Sheng stood motionless in the sky. The tribulation cloud behind him, along with the surrounding dark clouds, had grown enough to cover nearly half the city.

Local news stations and countless "concerned netizens" recorded or live-streamed the scene, rapidly spreading the news. Panic began to ripple across the city. The air raid sirens came a little late, but Saros had clearly made preparations for such uncontrollable scenarios. Authorities ordered everyone to remain indoors and enter the streets under no circumstances.

This made the search even more difficult for Wang Sheng. Still, it was better than having crowds of frightened citizens fleeing the city, which would make it easy for the enemy to slip away unnoticed.

Across the city, the pressure in the air grew heavier and heavier.

Wang Sheng's eyes suddenly lit up. He formed a sword finger gesture with his left hand and swiftly moved it in the air. Flying Haze pierced through the asphalt and dove underground, swiftly and efficiently killing two "rats" hiding in the frozen sewer tunnels.

That makes eleven.

A command issued in Hua language then blared from a loudspeaker below.

"Cultivator from the Hua Republic! You are committing acts of war within the sovereign territory of Saros! Stop slaughtering the innocent at once!"

Wang Sheng looked down and saw a burly middle-aged man with a microphone. In response, though it required a fair amount of enchanted power, he amplified his voice within the range of his spiritual consciousness.

"I am not killing your citizens. You can verify the identities of the dead for yourselves. Ten minutes ago, several dozen corrupt cultivators who had murdered members of the Hua Republic's rescue team infiltrated this city. If you wish to assist, seal off every intersection and search for suspicious individuals. If you plan to interfere..."

With his right hand, Wang Sheng pointed Spiritless forward. Dozens of lightning bolts then struck from the sky. Some hit the lightning rods atop buildings, while others spread across the clouds like blooming silver trees.

The explosions shook heaven and earth. The bow-wielding warriors on the rooftop lost all resolve, their faces turning ashen. The police officers stood frozen in terror.

"Then it would be better for you to stand aside."

The tribulation cloud behind him began to churn. New patches of black clouds appeared and quickly spread until they had shrouded the entire city.

Of all the tribulation clouds overhead, Wang Sheng had formed only a tenth using his enchanted power. The rest were dark clouds that the tribulation cloud itself had drawn in.

Wang Sheng didn't know if this area simply had an abundance of criminals deserving of lightning strikes or if there was some other cause, but heavenly might had been triggered. He had intended it to merely act as a deterrent to local cultivators, but it had turned into something far more vast, surpassing his expectations.

The cultivator who had called out to him earlier appeared to be a high-ranking official. He was now barking orders to those around him.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

A Hua Republic cultivator had appeared in their skies and unleashed enough force to wipe out the entire city. They had no choice but to take him seriously. The impending heavenly tribulation's overwhelming pressure and the two nations' frequent "interactions" in recent years made Saros's authorities quickly reach a decision.

First, they assigned a group to keep the Hua Republic cultivator calm and prevent him from attacking the city. They then ordered another group to verify his claims. If confirmed, they could invite him to cooperate through official channels, rather than have him act on his own. After all, this was still their territory.

Within five minutes, Wang Sheng struck once more. He had now slain fifteen foreign cultivators.

"Daoist Master!" the burly man once again shouted through the microphone. "We've confirmed that those you've slain are not citizens of Saros! Nevertheless, you have no authority to kill at will within our borders!

"Cease your instigation of panic! We will conduct a full investigation across the entire city and ensure you get the justice you're owed! If you persist, we will lodge a formal protest against the cultivation world of the Hua Republic!"

Wang Sheng's mouth twitched faintly.

Aren't the people of Saros supposed to be martial people? Since when have they become so tactful?

"I am not killing at random." Wang Sheng slowly lifted Spiritless. Lightning once again fell from the sky, brightly illuminating him and his senior sister. "This is simply an act of vengeance."

Wang Sheng breathed in deeply. Behind him, dozens of lightning dragons coiled and danced through the clouds. Flying Haze soared once more into the air.

On a rooftop, a group of cultivators ground their teeth in fury. Several smashed their bottles of liquor and prepared to strike, but their more level-headed comrades forcibly held them back. Considering the immense gap in strength, they could not afford to provoke Wang Sheng.

Moreover, the cultivator from the Hua Republic had not harmed any civilians. As he had said, he was merely "remotely controlling" a strange ancient sword to execute the corrupt cultivators who had slipped into the city.

Through gritted teeth, the middle-aged man commanded, "Seal off every path! Notify all citizens to remain indoors and stay put! If they step outside, they may be struck by lightning!"

His anger still boiling, he then glared at Wang Sheng. However, his anger soon gave way to caution.

Sirens echoed throughout the city. Streets were sealed. The Saros police began combing the city for suspicious individuals, reducing a significant portion of Wang Sheng's burden.

No matter how anyone looked at it, the situation was absurd. Wang Sheng was just one man, yet he had managed to lock down an entire city.