A Chaotic World 315 Notice from the Town Lord

"The soldiers we sent as scouts last night…" his attendant mumbled nervously. "Their bodies have been left outside the town gate…"

Huuu-!

Town Lord Dongwei had to take in a deep breath to suppress his anger. "All of them?"

"All five of them," his attendant confirmed.

Bang-!

Town Lord Dongwei slammed his palms onto the tabletop. "Damn it! What we've feared came true after all – those guys are finally starting to become violent!"

"The men have brought their corpses in, but please pardon me for saying this, Town Lord," his attendant added. "Unless we start taking action against them, the men won't be able to take this lying down!"

Town Lord Dongwei sighed.

This attendant of his had always been soft-spoken. For such a person to suddenly say such things to him, it could be seen just how indignant his attendant was feeling.

And how could he not understand his attendant's feelings as well?

At this point, even he himself could not help but feel rage welling up from deep within him.

He had been limiting his men to only observe the group's actions, giving out strict orders never to engage the other party.

In return, the group had always been rather docile, only resorting to complaining against the noble families.

Because of that, even after the Dongxian Family's unbridled actions, Town Lord Dongwei was still hoping that they could maintain the status quo.

He had never expected that the other party would suddenly initiate such violence!

Not only that, but they had even left the corpses in front of the town gate.

This was an obvious challenge to him!

But even so, he must not act rashly, simply because the other side had the backing of the Radiant Raven Sect!

"I will be asking the Divine Storm Sect for assistance regarding this matter," Town Lord Dongwei said. "In the meantime, prioritise the safety of our men and do not provoke the other party!"

"Yes, Sir!"

In a matter of hours, numerous notices had been put up on the walls all over Bog Town.

Even though the streets of Bog Town were no longer as busy as before, the sudden appearance of these notices still managed to draw the attention of many.

Master Dongran sat in the front hall of the Dongran Residence, silently reading the contents of the notice in his hands.

As expected, it was about the Blazing Wings.

It stated how the members of Blazing Wings had initiated an unprovoked attack on the town lord's men, killing them in cold blood and leaving the corpses to dry outside the town gate.

In return, the authorities had informed the Divine Storm Sect, and the latter was now offering a generous reward for anyone who could bring them the head of the leader of Blazing Wings.

While the exact reward was not stated, the Divine Storm Sect had assured that it was only because they wanted to cater the reward according to the person's needs, and that they would certainly make it worth the effort.

On top of that, the person who accomplished this task would also be given a one-time opportunity to receive personal guidance from any Divine Storm Sect elder of his choice.

At the end of the notice, the seal of the town lord was imprinted clearly.

After he was done, Master Dongran passed it over to Madam Dongran who was seated beside him. "Here, have a look."

"Oh?" Madam Dongran exclaimed in surprise after reading through. "It seems like the town lord has finally declared war against the Blazing Wings, but what's with this notice? Is he trying to get others to help him do the job? Or is he trying to get the members of Blazing Wings to betray their leader?"

"The town lord has no other choice," Master Dongran shook his head. "He sent me a message telling me of his difficulties just a while ago. Apparently, the Divine Storm Sect rejected his request for assistance because they are about to hold a grand event and doesn't want to jinx the event with blood on their hands. In return, they are offering generous rewards in the hope that someone would do their job for them."

"I'm surprised how unreliable they are in such a situation!" Madam Dongran exclaimed in astonishment.

"To be fair, the rewards they offered are not bad at all. Just the personal guidance from an elder of the Divine Storm Sect is tempting even for me," Master Dongran rubbed his chin in contemplation. "I am sure many others will be inclined to act after seeing this notice."

Not just anyone was able to hold a position of Elder in the Divine Storm Sect.

To be able to receive personal guidance from one of them, it could really benefit him in his future path of cultivation!

"Are you thinking of answering the town lord's call and gaining the favour of the Divine Storm Sect then?" Madam Dongran teased.

"Hahaha!" Master Dongran laughed. "And what would you do if I say yes?"

"Then I will fully support you as well," Madam Dongran smiled in response.

Before long, news about the notice had spread among the townsmen, drawing reactions of all sorts.

Some felt enraged, feeling that by doing this, the town lord was effectively declaring war on the very subjects that he was supposed to govern. After all, the members of Blazing Wings comprised of the townsmen!

Some felt fear, worried about how things would unfold in the future.

There were also those who felt greed, their eyes fixed only on the listed rewards. As Master Dongran had said, these were quite the tempting terms.

Just like the rest of the townsmen, Lu Tianzi had landed his hands on one of these notices.

Right now, he was reading through the notice in the comfort of his room.

"Looks like the situation here in Bog Town is getting worse by the day. They are finally about come to blows!" Nanlan Qianxue remarked from beside him. "But for them to not state the exact reward upfront, this isn't really the most tempting of offers, is it?"

"That would depend on who the other party is," Lu Tianzi answered seriously. "For an influence like the Divine Storm Sect, just putting their name on the notice is already a form of guarantee. Even though they are withholding the right to decide the final reward, it is very likely that they would be producing something amazing as the reward. Otherwise, they would just be sullying their own reputation."

During the time he spent in Bog Town, Lu Tianzi had gained a fairly good understanding of just how influential this Divine Storm Sect actually was.

In the eyes of the Divine Storm Sect, Bog Town could only be considered a small speck of dust within its vast territories.

The land under its control extended far and wide, forming an enormous area multiple times the size of the Scarlet Moon Kingdom and Dragon Cauldron Kingdom combined.

It was a true behemoth of an influence!

If the Divine Storm Sect was backing Bog Town, it was no wonder that the noble families had not dared to act carelessly against the townsmen!

For such a powerful influence, bringing out a fitting reward should not be too difficult a task.

At the same time, if it were to renege on its promise and word got out about it, just how big of a laughingstock would they become?

"Why does it sound like you are interested in this reward as well?" Nanlan Qianxue narrowed her eyes at Lu Tianzi.

"I certainly am," Lu Tianzi did not bother hiding it. "But whether the rewards are worth the risk and effort… that is something that I still have to make sure of."

"Oh? And how are you planning to do that?" Nanlan Qianxue asked.

"Don't worry," Lu Tianzi smirked. "I happen to have a way of doing just that!"

Despite the commotion that swept through the town, caused by Master Dongxian's actions and followed by the notices put up by the town lord's men, the following few days remained rather uneventful.

The town lord's men retreated from beyond the town walls and stayed in the safety of numbers.

The number of townsmen leaving the town started to increase greatly as well.

Initially, these townsmen would still return to their houses within a day or two. But over time, many of them no longer bothered to return to Bog Town.

This was a phenomenon that worried Town Lord Dongwei, and he even considered sealing the gates.

However, he eventually decided not to do so.

If he really sealed the gates, it might just increase the townsmen's unhappiness, thereby exacerbating the situation.

The best possible way for things to play out right now would be for things to remain peaceful until the Divine Storm Sect was done with whatever useless event they were holding, so that they would be able to free up resources to send over.

Once the Divine Storm Sect intervened, even the Radiant Raven Sect would have to step aside!

As for someone stepping up and successfully ending the leaders of Blazing Wing, Town Lord Dongwei dared not even hope for such an outcome!

***

On this day, the masked Lu Tianzi found himself in the wilderness, looking at a mansion that looked ever so out of place from being situated on a barren hill.

By the side of the mansion, many smaller houses were built in a disorganised manner. Each individual house looked fine, but together it was a mess. At one glance, it was obvious that not much thought had been put into the construction of these smaller houses.

Seeing that Lu Tianzi had arrived, Aged Crow hurried out with Bald Falcon in tow.

"Welcome, White Griffin!" Aged Crow spread his arms in a friendly manner. "How's the official base of the Blazing Wings? Is it up to your expectations?"

"Aged Crow," Lu Tianzi clasped his fists in greeting. "You mean this place?"

Lu Tianzi could not help but take a glance at the disorganised houses by the side.

"Haha, I was just kidding," Aged Crow laughed. "I know that the makeshift houses appear quite untidy, but given the time constraint, this is already the best that we can do without straining our resources. Well then, as much as I would love to show you around, Blazing Dragon is already waiting inside, so let's not keep him waiting!"

"Let's not indeed," Lu Tianzi nodded before turning his eyes back towards the mansion looming ahead of him.

It might look like an ordinary mansion, but Lu Tianzi could feel multiple formations actively protecting it.

These formations also prevented Lu Tianzi from using his perception to check out the situation within.

Well, there was no other choice then.

He would just have to enter and check things out himself!

Lu Tianzi followed Aged Crow's lead into the the mansion, climbing up to the second floor, then the highest third floor.

Finally, they stopped before a heavy wooden door.

"White Griffin is here," Aged Crow called out.

"Let him in."

Aged Crow stepped aside and gestured to the door. "Please."

Lu Tianzi consciously suppressed his slightly nervous state of mind before decisively pushing open the door.

The room was not exactly large, but it was neat and tidy. A map of Bog Town and its vicinity hung on the wall at the far end of the room, with various markers crowding out its surface.

But Lu Tianzi naturally focused on the masked man who was standing in the centre of the room.

"Greetings, White Griffin," the man clasped his fists in greeting. "I am Blazing Dragon, the leader of Blazing Wings."

The moment he said that, Lu Tianzi could feel Blazing Dragon's perception sweep over him. The other party was trying to see through his secrets, and Lu Tianzi unreservedly returned the favour.

At that very moment, both parties were caught by utter surprise.

"You are White Griffin?!" Blazing Dragon could not help but blurt out subconsciously.

Chapter end