c19: Panicking Crowds, Red Light
The Great Wall
At this moment, a squad from the Great Wall Guard Army was rapidly advancing toward the location of the trade market.
The one leading them was a black-haired young man with a composed yet firm expression.
Beside him, a veteran soldier spoke with some concern.
"Li Xin, General Su has already reached an agreement with the Lord of Yu City."
"For us to move in like this… it might be against the established regulations."
Li Xin's expression remained calm, his tone steady and unwavering.
"No matter."
"We aren't entering the market itself."
"To ensure safety, it will be enough for us to remain stationed on the outer perimeter."
"If the market concludes without incident, we will withdraw the same way we came."
"But if Yu City harbors any hidden intentions…"
"We will be in position to intervene immediately."
"…That does make sense."
Before the conversation could settle, someone nearby sneered coldly.
"Greenhorn, you've gained a few merits and now you think you're above everyone else?"
"When I see General Su later, I'll make sure to report every single thing you've done!"
Li Xin said nothing in response.
He didn't even bother to glance at the man.
However deep within his heart, he recalled the words spoken by the Peony Daoist in the past.
"You have lost Chang'an City."
"And I, too, have lost something precious."
"Why don't you help me reclaim what I love… and I will help you take back Chang'an City?"
"How about it?"
From that moment on Li Xin had come to the Great Wall.
He joined the Great Wall Guard Army and gradually distinguished himself through numerous achievements in battle.
At the same time, he had maintained secret contact with the Peony Daoist all along.
And now he had already received advance notice.
On the day the trade market opened…
A demonic invasion would occur.
When that time came, the resulting losses would be immense.
And as the one who had agreed to open the market
Commander Su Lie would inevitably bear the responsibility.
Everything had already been arranged in advance.
Li Xin's eyes flickered slightly.
Once the plan succeeded, he would naturally rise through the ranks due to his "meritorious actions."
Step by step, he would move closer to controlling the Great Wall and ultimately exchange it to reclaim Chang'an City.
"Is it finally about to begin…"
Li Xin muttered softly to himself, his voice almost drowned out by the sound of marching footsteps.
—
Great Wall Trade Market
At this time, many people within the market had already noticed the Monsters gathered at the entrance.
After all, a large number of civilians had been near the gates, and some of the Monsters were enormous in size.
Even a casual glance toward the entrance made it impossible to ignore the massive swarm advancing inward.
"Mo… Monsters…"
"How can this be?"
"Isn't today the day the Great Wall Guard Army and Yu City officially opened the market? Why are there Monsters here?!"
"Wait my goods, my books"
"Forget those things, just run!"
…
In an instant the previously bustling and peaceful market, which moments ago resembled a prosperous golden age, descended into chaos.
Civilians began fleeing in all directions, panic spreading like wildfire.
Merchants abandoned their goods without hesitation, choosing survival over wealth.
After all they were people who lived on the frontier.
Whether they were residents of the Great Wall or citizens of Yu City, they all understood one undeniable truth
The terror of these Monsters.
These were not enemies that ordinary people could face.
Even elite warriors who had fought countless battlesbsoldiers comparable in discipline and resilience to trained forces seen in other worlds, such as those who stood against overwhelming threats alongside heroes like Captain America or defended cities under leaders like Batman still suffered casualties when confronting such creatures.
Let alone civilians with no combat ability.
Therefore—
The moment they saw the Monsters, most people chose to flee without looking back.
Only a very small number of individuals who possessed some level of combat capability remained behind.
Among them
At a stall near the center of the market, a certain white-haired youth stood still.
At this moment, the youth's animal-like ears twitched slightly.
His originally relaxed gaze instantly became sharp and focused.
A faint, dangerous aura began to emanate from his body.
Clearly unlike the fleeing crowd, he was not someone who intended to run.
He picked up the massive firearm beside him—nearly as tall as his own body and without the slightest hesitation, charged straight toward the market entrance.
Not far away, a purple-haired man was calmly browsing through a collection of poems attributed to Li Bai, his fingers lightly brushing over the pages.
"Sister Jia Luo said Senior Su Lie and Li Bai are close friends… I wonder if that's actually true…"
At that very moment he, too, noticed the Monsters gathering at the market entrance.
His expression changed instantly.
Without any hesitation, he drew a curved scimitar from his side and rushed forward, his movements swift and decisive, clearly not that of an ordinary civilian.
Just as the Monsters were about to surge fully into the market and just as the entire place had descended into complete chaos, a black figure silently floated above the market.
Karl.
After Su Lie had published the mission, Karl accepted it immediately and used his ability to traverse worlds, arriving directly in this realm.
However, before accepting the mission, he had deliberately returned home to retrieve one of his battle suits.
After all, he possessed more than one.
Two… even three battle suits were at his disposal.
It would be wasteful not to make use of them.
Besides the black suit simply looked far more imposing.
Its design, with the flowing cape and chest emblem, bore a striking resemblance to the iconic presence of Superman, yet carried a darker, more intimidating aesthetic.
In an instant, Karl's gaze swept across the entire battlefield below.
Su Lie struggling against three powerful Monsters.
The tide of Demonic Species flooding toward the city.
The panicked civilians scattering in all directions.
And several familiar figures.
The kid holding that oversized firearm… that should be Baili Shouyue.
And Shen Mengxi as well…
And that scimitar-wielding man clearly not a background character either.
"Tsk… it's really lively here."
Karl let out a quiet sigh, then casually greeted the man fighting below.
"General Su Lie, hello. I'm Karl."
At this moment Su Lie was relying on Armament Haki to barely hold off the three powerful Monsters.
Hearing Karl's voice, he instinctively turned his head.
He had already seen Karl's appearance in the Chat Group records before, so he wasn't surprised by his youthful look.
However The sight of Karl floating calmly in midair still caused a shock deep within his heart.
Even though he had heard from Tsunade that Karl possessed abilities such as time travel, witnessing actual flight firsthand was something entirely different.
It was a level of power that ordinary warriors could not even imagine comparable to beings who defied gravity itself, like Thor or Kryptonians under a yellow sun.
But now was not the time to dwell on such shock.
Su Lie immediately shouted, urgency filling his voice.
"Karl! Those creatures rushing toward the market are"
Before he could even finish speaking, a terrifying scene unfolded.
Two dazzling red beams of light suddenly burst forth from Karl's eyes.
They were intensely bright, like concentrated energy rays, resembling the heat vision often associated with Superman himself.
The twin crimson beams shot forward instantly, striking the leading Monsters.
In the blink of an eye the two Monsters at the very front, upon contact with the red light, were completely disintegrated.
Not even ashes remained.
The beams continued to sweep horizontally across the battlefield.
Like an ancient divine weapon cutting through existence itself—
Every Monster touched by the red light was erased entirely.
No screams.
No resistance.
Only instant annihilation.
The overwhelming tide of Demonic Species that had threatened to engulf Guan City was wiped out completely.
The entire process took less than two seconds.
—
The Trade Market
At this moment, the civilians were still fleeing in panic, unaware that the danger had already been eliminated.
Suddenly one person, by chance, caught a glimpse of the red light sweeping across the entrance.
He froze on the spot, his mind going blank.
A civilian running behind him failed to stop in time and crashed directly into his back.
"Ah!"
The man stumbled and fell to the ground, his head spinning.
Before he could even stand up, he angrily shouted,
"Are you blind?! You might not care about your life, but I still do!"
However the person he collided with didn't respond at all.
Instead, he remained frozen, pointing toward the market entrance with a trembling hand.
His voice carried disbelief.
"The Monsters… the Monsters seem to be… gone?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
The fallen man snapped irritably, though he still subconsciously turned his head to look.
And then he froze as well.
The massive Monsters that had been blocking the entrance just moments ago had completely disappeared.
Since they were close to the entrance, they could clearly see outside.
They could even still spot General Su Lie standing there.
But the Monsters had truly vanished without a trace.
More and more people began to notice what had happened.
"I… am I seeing things? I swear I saw a flash of red light just now, and then the Monsters disappeared!"
"You're not imagining it, I saw it too!"
"The Monsters… they're dead?"
"They're gone! All of them are gone!"
…
As the reality sank in, the panic quickly transformed into astonishment.
Then
Into overwhelming relief.
Cheers erupted from the crowd near the entrance.
As the sound spread, more people who had been running further inside the market gradually slowed down.
They hadn't witnessed what happened and were still confused.
They looked around cautiously, ready to flee again at the slightest sign of danger.
However after waiting for a while, not a single Monster appeared.
The oppressive aura that had filled the air earlier was completely gone.
Only then did these people finally relax.
And soon they, too, joined the growing chorus of celebration.
.....
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