Chapter 173 Lawlessness (Please Subscribe)
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Lin Rui had known long ago that there was a demonic dragon in Wang City Prefecture, which was a severe thorn in the side for Wang City.
It was said that this monster was as high as the sixth realm, possessing the royal bloodline, and had once ravaged the downstream areas of the Tianxiang River, causing floods, disrupting navigation, extorting tributes and blood meals from the riverside residents, and blackmailing merchants for their money and valuables.
Until a few months ago, when the dragon was severely injured by the joined forces of the Prefectural Governor and others.
Unfortunately, the dragon managed to escape and had been hiding without trace beneath the Tianxiang River.
In order to prevent the dragon from retaliating, Wang City Prefecture had no choice but to station thousands of its soldiers on the river embankments, staying armed and vigilant day and night, forcing even the local Capital Commandant to patrol the riverbanks incessantly, not daring to leave his post.
Had the dragon recovered so quickly?
For Wang City Prefecture, this was truly disastrous news.
A dragon transformed in the sixth realm was equivalent in strength to a federal brigadier general; placed in this small prefectural city, it was like a crocodile in a pond, an almost unsolvable presence.
Nor could one know how the Prefectural Governor and the others managed to injure it months ago.
Lin Rui felt fortunate that he had acted early. The merchant ships from Jingport had set north towards the capital with a large load of Divine Heart Tea more than a dozen days ago; otherwise, the situation would now be several times more complicated.
With these merchant ships blocked in Wang City, the resident defender would surely be displeased, doubting his competence.
Lin Rui bowed to Dong Linghui, the deputy mayor, "Deputy Mayor, rest assured, I have some troubles to deal with on my end, and need to make some preparations. At most within half an hour, Lin will definitely rush to assist."
Dong Linghui's expression relaxed upon hearing this, bowing back with a hint of gratitude, "The Defense Commissioner truly understands the bigger picture, indeed a blessing for the people of our Wang City!"
In his view, the arrival of Lin, the Twelfth, was indeed a pleasant surprise.
This newly appointed Defense Commissioner was much stronger than his predecessor, both in terms of power and ability.
Which is why Wang City was fervently recruiting people in town, and the prefectural office was doing its best to cooperate.
Although the prefectural office and Wang City have been at odds for many years, in the current time when hands were needed, and the demons within the city and martial artists became increasingly restless and rampant, the new recruitment of 200 Royal Dragon Guards and several Capital Commandants of the fourth realm had the effect of a stabilizing talisman.
They, the Prefectural Governor, Capital Commandant, Deputy Mayor, and Defense Commissioner, were the four pillars of Wang City Prefecture; if they could not work together in harmony at this time, the situation would be dire.
The scene of Blood Blade Ji battling alone against those three investigators from the Supervisory Office today excited and delighted Dong Linghui even more; the strength of this super-huang of the fourth realm seemed to have greatly increased!
However, the conflict between Lin, the Twelfth, and the Supervisory Office also worried him.
This Defense Commissioner was too fierce, daring not only to detain people from the Supervisory Office but to stand tough against the three fifth-rank investigators for over ten days, and today, he even drew his blade under the broad daylight at the bustling northern city gate, directly igniting a fiery conflict with the Supervisory Office.
Yet after a brief hesitation, he wisely held his tongue and turned into a black streak of light, flying toward the outer city embankment.
This Lin, the Twelfth, obviously had an unruly nature, impervious to reason and persuasion; moreover, Dong Linghui did not understand the root of the conflict between the two parties and it was unrelated to him, so there was no need to get involved.
Now, Dong Linghui was more worried about the Prefectural Governor and the Capital Commandant, fearing that they could not hold out.
At this moment, Li Li, Wang Sen, and others had also returned to the office building one after another.
"Sir!"
Li Li was originally very pleased. In today's scuffle with the Judicial Supervisory Office, he had hidden in the crowd and took the opportunity to severely injure two bailiffs from the Supervisory Office.
Even his master Han Kedao had also struck Wang Tiandong unexpectedly, delivering a sudden blow to Wang Tiandong's back in a dark alleyway.
When a rare chance came to weaken the Judicial Supervisory Office's power, they, as master and disciple, naturally spared no effort.
Li Li's countenance turned solemn upon hearing the deputy mayor's words outside the office building.
Li Li said gravely, "Sir, although the dragon could not truly 'transform', it is already armoured with dragon scales, and its actual combat strength is no less than that of a dragon transformation, extremely formidable. This creature is also cunning and sly; you must be extremely careful after you get there."
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Just a few months ago, they, master and disciple, had encountered that demonic dragon and had nearly fallen into the clutches of that monster.
Lin Rui nodded and pointed in the direction of the prison, "Keep a close watch!"
Li Li's expression became solemn, "This subordinate obeys the order!"
In fact, he had already been relieved of his duties as the 'prison superintendent,' and Lin Rui had appointed another fourth-level Martial Cultivator to the position.
However, Li Li understood that Lin Rui's real intention was for him and his teacher's team to keep close watch on the group from the Office of the Imperial Censors for Criminal Prosecution and prevent them from taking advantage of the situation.
This wasn't a big problem, since three of the associate censors from just now had been severely injured, over ten of them had been captured and thrown into the Wang City capital prison, and more than twenty had fled with injuries. It was unlikely that they would cause any trouble within the next day or two.
Lin Rui then stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze sharp as he surveyed his surrounding subordinates who had gathered around, "Listen up, everyone. The extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon locked in this prison is involved in a major case in the capital, and it is of great importance. An eminent Celestial Official from our Imperial Guard Bureau is rushing over and will soon arrive in Wang City. You must secure the prison well, and anyone who dares to be negligent, allowing the Heavenly Demon to escape, will be flayed alive by me! Do you understand?"
The surrounding Imperial Dragon Guards responded thunderously with a roar like thunder.
They had just repelled the provocations of the Office of the Imperial Censors for Criminal Prosecution, chasing them down several streets, and were in high spirits with morale through the roof.
Wen Tailai, the chief scribe standing nearby, however, couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled at these words.
Is a Celestial Official really about to arrive in Wang City? Why would the boss mention this in public? Isn't he afraid that the news will leak and the group from the Office of the Imperial Censors for Criminal Prosecution will find out?
"Remember, whoever wants to take this demon away, cut him down for me. I'll take responsibility!"
Lin Rui looked over to Wen Tailai, "Chief scribe, write two detailed official reports about today's events and send them quickly to the governor and the military commander of Shazhou! Also, preserve all the evidence, especially this door."
Wen Tailai immediately collected his thoughts, his expression solemn as he saluted with a fist, "This subordinate understands! This subordinate will faithfully record the arrogant and presumptuous behaviors of Feng Guang and others, their utter disregard for the emperor and the law, and report to the governor and the military commander!"
In short, it is the wicked who complain first, no! It is to preemptively complain to the authorities and pin the responsibility of stoking fire on the Office of the Imperial Censors for Criminal Prosecution.
Lin Rui nodded, satisfied. As long as Wen Tailai wasn't confused, he was quite easy to work with, "Also, have someone fix this door. Since it needs to be remade, let's make two imposing ones, and repair the houses on both sides as well. Make the Office of the Imperial Censors for Criminal Prosecution pay for it, including our brothers' medical expenses. You know what to do, right?"
Wen Tailai understood implicitly.
If the people from the Office of the Imperial Censors for Criminal Prosecution refused to compensate, then the constables from their prison could forget about having any good days ahead.
Together with the constables led by Constable Dou Ming who had been previously locked up, there were already over thirty of them imprisoned.
Lin Rui then returned to the inner office, donned the exclusive sixth-rank colonel's standard battle armor of the Imperial Guard Bureau, and took more than ten bundles containing a thousand talismans from the storeroom, along with a bag of elemental stones to hang on his waist.
Lin Rui hadn't been drawing talismans much recently, but now as the Defense Commander of Wang City, he could freely utilize any of the resources in Wang City's storehouse.
Every year, the court would provide Wang City with a large amount of top-quality talismans, mid- and low-grade elemental stones, medicines, arrows, and so on. Lin Rui could use them as he wished, without much effort.
As for the armor, it came from Shazhou a few days earlier.
It was a fifth-tier upper-level full-body alloy armor that could be paired with his soft hedgehog armor. Its defense was extremely strong, although it was somewhat cumbersome to don. Even with Blood Blade Ji's help, it took several minutes to put on.
However, this time the opponent was a sixth-level monster, so Lin Rui was being extra cautious and did not mind the trouble at all.
Speaking of bad timing, if it had been just a day later, he could have implanted 'Blood Core Frenzy' in Blood Blade Ji to boost her combat power once again. Now, the procedure had to be postponed.
Next, Lin Rui hurried to the stables, mounted an Ironscale Horse, and with Blood Blade Ji, galloped out of the city.
The Prefectural Governor and Prefectural Commandant, among others, were at the battle site with the demonic dragon, located forty-some odd miles north of the city, not far from Jingang. The booming sounds of their clash were akin to thunderous roars, clearly audible even from over forty miles away.
Lin Rui spurred his horse to a gallop, and as he neared the battlefield, he saw that the two banks of the river, covering three miles, had become a vast expanse of water.
In the middle of the river, two divine beings clad in golden armor, each standing around twelve feet tall, were engaged in fierce battle with a monster that stood thirty feet tall and seventy-two feet in length, with horns on its head and irregular black scales covering its body, resembling a gigantic crocodile.