Chapter 78 Night Raid
Dawn.
Fully armed, Alkaid, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes.
"Move out!"
He gave the order.
Similarly clad in battle garments, Lv Jianfeng, Jiang Sheng, Li Cunyu, Xu Dengfeng, Yue Xingzhou, and another nine men stood up simultaneously.
At the door, a vehicle was already waiting.
The ten quickly got into the car, which drove off into the night.
As this vehicle merged with the darkness, over a dozen other cars surged from all directions, also making use of the cover of night.
In this decapitation operation, the ten-person team led by Alkaid was responsible for the surprise attack on the Liao Family's core within the Royal Palace. Still, there would also be over a thousand armed forces distracting the Liao Family's rapid reaction troops throughout the royal capital.
Furthermore, various Noble Families would employ a variety of trump cards to ensure the smooth progress of the decapitation plan.
If preparations hadn't been made on all fronts, these Grandmasters wouldn't have taken such a risk.
In the car, the helmet interface built into Alkaid's battle garment displayed a palm-sized holographic screen, detailing the vehicle's route.
With a few taps, he could also switch to view temperature, brightness, wind speed, and other related information.
At the same time, voices from the public channel were also reaching Alkaid's ears.
"The location of the Grand Procurator General, Kong Fang, has been confirmed."
"General Lv has reached Commander Zhang Jian's office."
"Liao Zhenguo is still within the Royal Palace."
The number of Martial Saints and Grandmasters in the service of the Liao family was not small, but not every Martial Saint was always stationed in the Royal Palace.
Just like now, only Prince Liao Zhenguo and the Guardian in the shadows, Bian Liancheng, were present in the Royal Palace.
The remaining Kong Fang and Zhang Jian...
One was responsible for the normal operations of the Grand Procuratorate.
The other was stationed with the military, in charge of the troops' deployment.
However, according to Lv Jianfeng, there was no need to worry much about Zhang Jian as Lv Tianhe would personally deal with him to keep him distracted.
As for Kong Fang, it would take some time for him to rush from the Higher Prosecution Office to the Royal Palace.
If they were fast enough, they could strike within a window of opportunity.
While these updates were being conveyed through the public channel, Lei Yun's voice also came through another channel: "The observer has arrived."
"Signal has been connected."
"Target has been locked."
...
Besides her own voice, there were other voices echoing as well.
These were members of Yue Xingzhou's logistics team.
Even with people like Lei Yun, they were already somewhat unable to keep up with Alkaid's pace.
No, to say nothing of Lei Yun, even Yue Xingzhou's team might not be well-adapted to dealing with a Martial Saint.
But in the absence of trust in the Lu and Jiang Families, it was an unavoidable choice to let their team step in for now.
The vehicle moved on, swiftly entering the estate area where the Liao Family resided.
That is to say, the Dayu Royal Palace.
The entire Royal Palace spanned an area of over three square kilometers, and the security identification zone was even larger.
However, the Noble Families' infiltration of the royal capital was profound, and the vehicle proceeded without any obstacles. It precisely avoided every patrol and surveillance point, reaching the Royal Palace with remarkable ease.
...
Inside the Royal Palace at this moment.
Liao Shanhe, the Family Head of the Liao Family and also seated on the throne as King Yu, was pressing Liao Ming for answers: "What's going on, why is there no commotion yet? Lord Mo Huang is still waiting for our Liao Family's explanation – we cannot make the same mistake twice!"
"I've personally contacted Ji Pingtian. According to him, they've detected members of the Rebirth Society and have gathered a team to track them down..."
Liao Ming replied, his expression full of tension.
They had lost contact.
The highest-ranking individual within the Rebirth Society, Fang Lu, with whom the Royal Family had connections, had lost contact.
Particularly as she was tasked with a mission to kill by proxy, her disappearance for over twenty-four hours—despite Ji Pingtian's explanation—still gave him an ominous premonition.
"Fang Lu wouldn't really take action against the Rebirth Society; she's well aware of the real identities of those big shots. Even if she went to investigate just for show, to gain Ji Pingtian's trust, she would have surely left us some clues... At the very least, she would have informed Lord Mo Huang..."
As Liao Shanhe spoke, he took out a document that had arrived a few hours ago from Lu Zhenhai of the Snow Dragon Federation's Higher Prosecution Office.
Key members from various Noble Families were gathering at the Snow Dragon Federation's capital.
Despite the Yue Family's efforts to contain the news, there were simply too many core members arriving at the capital for even the Yue Family to suppress everything. At most, the news had been delayed by a few hours.
Considering Fang Lu's disappearance and the unusual gathering of core members from the major Noble Families...
"Could it be that Ji Pingtian knows about our cooperation with the Rebirth Society and intends to use his influence to leverage the power of the Noble Families against our Liao Family?"
Liao Shanhe's complexion changed.
He then dismissed this thought.
Impossible...
The number of people in the Royal Family who knew this secret didn't exceed five.
And although Fang Lu was one of them, she...
Was trustworthy!
Without revealing this information, Ji Pingtian didn't have the audacity to blatantly offend by using the powers formed with the support of our Royal Family against us!Nôv(el)B\\jnn
If they did so, it would mean that the Rebirth Society had lost control, and the various Royal Families would swiftly withdraw their support and turn to suppression. Before long, the entire Rebirth Society would collapse.
"Could it be that Ji Pingtian wants to stand up for the young man named Su Alkaid, putting pressure on us through the world's factions to retreat and ensure his safety?"
Liao Ming carefully speculated.
"Su Alkaid?"
Liao Shanhe frowned.
A nineteen-year-old Grandmaster...
Carried significant weight.
But if Ji Pingtian really wanted to protect him, he could have just asked directly.
While he would agree and immediately send someone to deal with Su Alkaid afterward, ensuring his delivery to the Rebirth Society, but...
Ji Pingtian wouldn't act without at least giving a heads up.
"No matter what, the fact that the situation has changed is undeniable."
Liao Shanhe pondered and, out of caution, directly ordered his assistant: "Tell Kong Fang to disperse everyone, find out what these noble families are really up to, at the same time, raise the alert level, and prepare for the possibility of an attack. Also, send a message to Zhang Jian, warning him to be alert for any surprises..."
As he spoke, he paused for a moment: "Forget it, I'll send the messages myself."
Having said that, he stood up.
Just then, sudden shouts of alarm and anger came from outside.
"Enemy attack!"
Immediately after, sirens blared and gunshots erupted abruptly.
Accompanied by a series of screams.
"An enemy attack!?"
Liao Shanhe's face changed color instantly.
Could it be...
Suddenly, with his keen perception as a grandmaster, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body and caught a glimpse of a flash of purple light in the corner of his eye.
The next moment, the house was filled with flashing electric lights, and it went dark instantly.
In many places, sparks were simultaneously bursting out, clearly indicating the destruction of electronic equipment.
"Electromagnetic pulse!? No! It's a Primordial Magnetic Talisman!"
Liao Shanhe instantly realized what was happening.
Primordial Magnetic Talisman!
Originating from the Immortal Soldiers' Primordial Magnetic Luminary of the Snow Dragon Federation!
A powerful treasure crafted by the Snow Dragon Federation specifically to counter the technological weapons of Red Star!
Over the years, the Snow Dragon Federation had been trying to develop a weapon named "electromagnetic pulse" through the research of the Primordial Magnetic Luminary, to lower the threshold for martial artists to wield this power.
The Primordial Magnetic Talisman, carrying the force of an electromagnetic pulse on a spirit talisman, was the result of this research!
However, spirit talismans were expensive and the cost was too high, so this weapon was still a laboratory product in the Snow Dragon Federation. How could it...
Appear here!?
"Da-da-da!"
The rapid gunfire resounded once again, and this time...
It was less than a hundred meters away from the main building he was in!
In other words, the enemy had infiltrated the Royal Palace, and it was only when they were a mere hundred meters away from the core area that they were discovered.
To infiltrate so deeply into the Royal Palace, which had been fortified like an iron bucket...
This was definitely not any ordinary enemy!
"The nine great families!? Do they have the guts!?"
Liao Shanhe was both shocked and furious.
He quickly said, "Quickly ask Zhenguo and Bian Liancheng to come..."
He didn't finish his sentence when a fierce roar suddenly erupted.
"Audacious!"
Immediately after, there was a booming sound like a muffled thunder.
The noise was so loud that it even drowned out the gunfire and explosions.
This was...
The momentum of a Martial Saint unleashing his Pill Energy with full force.
Someone was clashing with the Sea-Calming Divine Needle of the Royal Family, Liao Zhenguo!?
Liao Shanhe rushed out immediately, only to see in the dim light provided by the emergency lighting system, a figure holding a sword in one hand, soaring into the air, colliding with the overwhelming momentum of Liao Zhenguo in an instant.
Along with the ripples visible to the naked eye exploding out from where they collided, Liao Zhenguo, who the Liao Family regarded as the Sea-Calming Divine Needle, their strongest combat force, was sent flying back like a fired cannonball.
Defeated!?
The one flying back was not the mysterious enemy, but...
The strongest member of the Liao Family!
A Martial Saint of this era!
A transcendent being who had broken free from the shackles of the human body—Liao Zhenguo!
Even though he was hurried and could not fully arm himself, equipment was only an advantage for a Martial Saint when engaged in military combat.
In a one-on-one duel, a Martial Saint's... greatest strength is always himself!
But now...
Liao Zhenguo, who had already begun to recuperate and prepare for the breakthrough to the God Realm, was actually defeated in a head-on collision!?
Who is it!?
Ji Pingtian!?
Liao Shanhe suddenly turned his gaze towards the attacker.
However...
In the dim light, the figure in front of him wasn't the chairman of the Rebirth Society he had imagined, nor was it the Martial Saint representing the face of the Lu Family's noble families, but a youth!
A youth whose information he had looked through not long ago because of the Rebirth Society!
"Su Alkaid!?"
Liao Shanhe's pupils widened.
"How is this possible!?"
...
"Impossible!"
On the battlefield, Liao Zhenguo, who was similarly astonished after being instantly repelled in the confrontation, also let out the same low shout.
He recognized Su Alkaid!
That was the prey personally desired by a bigwig of the Rebirth Society!
Although there had been news from the Rebirth Society that the bigwig's hunt had failed, he, along with all the high-ranking members of the Liao Family, never thought to question Su Alkaid's involvement and assumed the Rebirth Society had somehow interfered.
But now...
This individual, who in their eyes, was at best a prey that could stir the interest of the Rebirth Society, was now exhibiting Martial Saint Level strength!
Especially during their head-on confrontation, the skills and abilities that the opponent exploded with were superior to his.
The situation...
Appeared to be spiraling out of control.