Dragon Tamer

No sooner had they bought the ointments and stepped out of the shop when they suddenly heard a scream from the direction of the city gate. The crowd of onlookers that had gathered before seemed to have been frightened by something and scattered in all directions!

Zhu Minglang turned to look back. Although there was some distance, he could still clearly make out what had happened.

There was a large pool of blood at the city gate, and the team of guards stationed there lay dead in the blood.

“Harboring a condemned prisoner, a capital crime!” Yan He said with a cold and merciless tone, holding his whip.

All the guards at the city gate had been killed by the Yan Clan, save for the two who had previously been cuffed and caged.

It seemed that as soon as they had rooted out the hidden criminal, they had moved to violent action.

These were the guards of the city gate, who had been wiped out just like that; the way these people conducted themselves was no different from bandits.

“That’s… that’s good we left quickly. The Yan Clan’s people are too terrifying,” Hong Hao said, still shaken.

“Some are truly heartless,” Nan Ye added.

“Alas, the Captain of the Guard was foolish to hide a condemned prisoner. Now, they can’t even claim injustice anywhere.”

“Yes, it’s fortunate that this matter has nothing to do with us in Yellow Leaf City. It was the guards’ own doing. If it had been otherwise, with the methods of the Yan Clan, our entire Yellow Leaf City would have been in trouble. This executioner of the Yan Clan has already shown us some leniency,” someone remarked.

On the streets, ordinary citizens discussed the matter with trembling hearts.

“That condemned prisoner must be Zhou Liang, the former Captain of the Guard. He followed the City Master on an expedition outside and was exposed for privately trafficking Spirit Grass, which led him to brutally murder the City Master and the others. He is unforgivable. Why would Ge Zhong help him? In the end, it led to the deaths of the others…”

Yellow Leaf City was already in fear due to the roaming Lizard Water Monster, and now with such a gruesome crime scene at the city gate, chaos ensued.

The tyrannical Yan Clan members, having captured the condemned Zhou Liang, promptly left, leaving behind only a trail of blood and a pile of corpses.

…

Hong Hao, Chen Bai, and the others clearly feared the Yan Clan and could see that they were formidable, beyond the capacity of mere students to contend with.

After finding an inn, the group decided to stay there.

During the rest, Lu Wenye approached Zhu Minglang, whose face bore a heavy look, and apologetically said, “I shouldn’t have spoken recklessly, I’m sorry, I almost brought trouble upon us.”

Zhu Minglang shook his head and smiled, “Some people just bully others by relying on power. If they dared to provoke us without cause, they would not end up any better than those guards.”

Zhu Minglang was naturally not afraid of a bunch of Yan Clan lackeys.

It was indeed true that the guards had hidden a criminal, and as Yellow Leaf City had clear legal statutes, Zhu Minglang didn’t feel it was his place to meddle.

What he had not anticipated, of course, was that the Yan Clan members would end up killing all the other guards.

“In the past, when I saw such barbaric acts, I would stand up to stop them, but now I have to swallow my anger and remain silent,” Lu Wenye whispered.

“It’s good that you have the will to intervene, but you must also assess your capabilities. Protect yourself first so you can help others,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Those guards…” Lu Wenye still felt extremely uncomfortable.

Even if it was the execution of a death-row prisoner, they should directly punish the executioner. Why kill the other guards? The guards were innocent.

“They are indeed pitiable, but I’m more worried about another matter,” Zhu Minglang said.

“What is it?” Lu Wenye asked.

“The guards of Yellow Leaf City were quite responsible. They had taken precautions, preventing townspeople from going out, lest they be killed by the Lizard Water Monsters. Now that those guards have been slain by the scum of the Yan Clan, the Lizard Water Monsters will no longer need to hide in the ponds. They can even break into the city,” Zhu Minglang said.

Lu Wenye was stunned for a moment.

Yes, once the guards were killed, it meant that the Lizard Water Monsters could act without fear. The small Yellow Leaf City had no means of resistance, and its gates and walls had essentially become useless decorations!

With the guards dead, the common people of Yellow Leaf City would suffer, as they had no power to resist the Lizard Water Monsters!

Even though Yellow Leaf City was a vassal territory of the Yan Clan, judging by the actions of those in black, where would they care about the lives of the civilians of Yellow Leaf City?

“What can we do? Those Lizard Water Monsters are hungry and ferocious, and once those intelligent Demon Spirits realize that the city has no guards, they might come in droves…” Lu Wenye said.

The guards, weak as they were, were at least fully armed, and they seemed to understand the habits of the Lizard Water Monsters well, deliberately filling some muddy areas with sand to prevent the monsters from burrowing near the city.

With or without them guarding the city, the difference was huge!

“We should report this to the High Court first, but we cannot rest tonight,” Zhu Minglang said.

“But some towns are quite scattered; it’s already too late to gather people together now,” Lu Wenye said.

“Let’s split up and each guard an entrance to a town. I will guard the city gate of Yellow Leaf City. Tell Chen Bai to ask the duty officers here if there are any spare entrances and exits in the walls, we can’t let the Lizard Water Monsters slip through,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Alright, I’ll go and talk to them right away.”

…

As the sky gradually darkened, the inhabitants of Yellow Leaf City fell into complete panic.

Initially, some people didn’t realize the dire consequences of the city guards’ slaughter. Some even felt that the lockdown order was affecting their lives. But as farmers who bred livestock and cultivated Spiritual Medicine near the city were attacked and eaten one after another, and people could see the bloody scenes even from atop the walls, everyone in the city panicked!

Chen Bai went to find the duty officers of the city, only to discover that there were hardly any officials left.

There used to be a City Master who was responsible for the city’s safety and security, but the City Master had died not long ago. Most of the guards were locals and knew how to prevent invasions by the Lizard Water Monsters…

With the guards massacred by the Yan Clan, all order within the city had vanished, not to mention the most basic defense against Demon Spirits.

“When Captain of the Guard Ge Zhong was here, he would organize some of the citizens to patrol together, using a Dragon Lantern Dance to scare away the Lizard Water Monsters. But since Ge Zhong was captured by the Yan Clan, those militia became disorganized, and the Dragon Lantern dancers didn’t dare to come out. They all wanted to hide their families in cellars,” Chen Bai said.