"Yes, Legion Commander." Not far behind him, Garrett and Magat, who had followed the Will Clan for the past few days, nodded as orders swiftly spread out.
Alchemy Technology played a tremendous role in the legion, making things like walkie-talkies instantly mobilize half of Dongwu City.
From a macro perspective, the Apocalypse Legion, composed entirely of Transcendents, surrounded the entire East City District.
The more numerous Wucheng Army quickly interspersed everywhere; they are the first line of defense in Dongwu City, though the weakest of the three legions, numbering over two hundred thousand.
The East City Gate connects to an undeveloped outer area, so the number there reached eighty thousand. Such a terrifying number, under the command of the Apocalypse Legion Commander, dispatched half of the already prepared soldiers to begin clearing the civilians from this district.
The soldiers of various races held cold Holy Water, which could detect believers of the Ancient Gods and Abyss.
All baptized by Holy Water and unharmed would be temporarily expelled from the East City District.
Due to Dongwu City's military-to-civilian ratio reaching a terrifying 1:5.
Most soldiers in the East City had relatives among the residents, even if not family, they were comrades' families, though the obstinate ones were forcibly carried away.
However, some gamblers and drunkards who emerged from taverns or casinos were particularly irritable and attempted to resist.
In confronting these individuals, some soldiers showed no mercy, and blood began to stain this land.
The spread of bloodshed made the evacuation increasingly swift; most civilians cooperated readily, grabbing some belongings and fleeing.
After all, family would never harm anyone, right?
"Is he a bit too arrogant?" Seth said with some discontent. Since arriving at this border city, the Will Clan had been encountering setbacks, a truly uncomfortable feeling.
"Shut up." Ernado scolded, then slightly turned towards Kami, speaking softly: "Level 50 Demon Swordsman, likely aiming to surpass his limitations through the Scarlet Sect."
Kami spoke little, decisively following Mosen's footsteps; despite differing objectives, their goals were aligned, so the Legion Commander wouldn't mind being her stepping stone.
Ernado waved his hand, the Will Clan's elites swiftly closed in, no longer dispersed, following Mosen Corps Commander steadily forward.
"This city has great potential, these legions are enough to strike from here to the Capital City, the Scarlet Sect shouldn't stir up any trouble." Kami suddenly spoke; although she didn't deliberately lower her voice, the wind and snow kept it confined to their vicinity.
"That's typical of border cities; otherwise, the first legislative mandate wouldn't limit Legislator Clans from doing business at the borders." Ernado glanced back, behind their five hundred were a thousand almost all above Level 15 members of the Apocalypse Legion.
Their positioning was exquisite, mostly two warriors with one assassin, where one warrior wielded a shield and the other an axe, the division of labor clear.
Defense, strong offense, assassination.
The three-man formation subtly protected the assassin in the middle, and in Barrett's group, mainly shield warriors carried the load; surviving on the battlefield is most crucial.
Though the number of Magic Professions was limited, a nearly hundred-member Mage Corps still exerted an immense pressure, positioned centrally among the thousand, not fearing backstabs or strong attacks.
Such a configuration, even the Legislator Clan struggled to match, undeniably reflecting the power of border cities.
Should anything happen to a Legendary figure, the Legislator Clan could unite with the Border City Lord to indeed chance a regime change.
"When they start fighting, we'll head to the Scarlet Sect's lair; that item shouldn't be lost, the rest doesn't matter." Kami instructed casually: "Seth stays to command, don't clash with them."
Seth replied respectfully, watching the increasingly rapid actions around him with solemnity: "I understand."
Whoosh... whoosh...
As if responding to the scene, the wind and snow of late December intensified; only beside two Silver Peak experts was there no snow accumulation.
Soldiers brushed off snow as they advanced or expelled civilians, the chilling aura infiltrating their bodies.
"Damn, doing this at night, don't they realize people might freeze to death?"
"Don't dwell on it, clean up quickly; when they arrive, there'll be no time to tidy up."
Low murmurs emanated from the wooden house; the Outer City District paled in comparison to the Inner City's splendor. Even in below freezing temperatures, civilians could only reside in wooden houses, a consequence of legislative decrees.
Only geniuses ascend in this era; otherwise, civilians remain that for life.
Wearing sunglasses, Baiyi turned down a passage, heading towards the central area.
Though an alchemist is usually a non-combatant in the eyes of other professions, Baiyi having taken up this colossal thirty-thousand task signified his confidence in completion.
Upon observation, Baiyi hadn't detected any Gold presence, yet even if there were, his own trump card holds good chances; moreover, his target wasn't those Golden Lords.
He needed to wait for an opportunity.
"The entertainment district up ahead, the basement of the Golden Splendor Casino, it's hard to imagine they excavated such a vast space."
A weak, mosquito-like voice came through his earpiece. Baiyi whispered, "Understood, stay in touch."
Baiyi lightly touched his earpiece, immediately disconnecting from Sabo.
Glancing at the drifting snow overhead, Baiyi tightened his windbreaker, headed to the backdoor of the five-story high casino.
Knock, knock, knock...
He gently tapped the iron door, instantly hearing curses from inside: "Which bastard is knocking at this hour? Don't they know to use the front door?"
Grumbling voices emerged; several beastmen were disgruntled opening the door, intending to teach a lesson to the one disrupting their mood.
As soon as the door opened, their expressions became vacant. Baiyi casually strolled inside, and as the door, blown by the snow, shut again, four beastmen snapped out of it, reopening the door and peering outside.
Cussing, they shut the door again.
"Damn it, who's playing tricks? Must have a death wish!"
"If I catch him, he'll learn the true meaning of fists the size of sandbags."
Listening to the curses behind and the lively noise within the casino, Baiyi quietly proceeded to the corner of the private room.
Outer City District casinos are old-fashioned, gambling mainly with copper coins; to inner-city tycoons, it's merely trifling.
Of course, even small mosquito legs are meat; thus, these establishments were still built by Inner City's affluent, as civilians hold this much value to Transcendents.
Baiyi donned his hood, pushing open the private room door; gamblers playing poker inside swiftly turned, among them a red-eyed beastman irritably yelled, "Who let you in? Get out!"
Unperturbed, Baiyi withdrew ten Gold Coins from his interface and tossed them in his hand.
"Mind if I join? First time out from the Inner City, want to play something small."
As soon as the words fell, the eyes of the dozen or so people in the small private room changed instantly, those greedy gazes fixated on the Gold Coins swaying in Baiyi's hand.
The beastman who had spoken earlier immediately adopted a flattering tone: "Oh, my esteemed and handsome young master, please sit, you're always welcome here!"
As he spoke, he kicked a guy with Copper Coins all over his lap:
"Move over, give the young master a seat!"