Witch Wind

Chapter 172: Changes in the World (Part )

a few days later.

Dayu Dynasty.

Jieshi County.

The first decree issued by Lord Jieshi after taking office was to issue a nationwide wanted order for all the relatives of the Zhang family in Nanxun Town, including anyone who was related by blood, anyone who had business dealings with them, and anyone who was related by marriage. All local authorities were ordered to capture them and send them to Nanxun.

The Duke of Jieshi made an undisguised threat to the world in the wanted order - if there is anyone who shelters a suspected criminal, the million-strong army of Jieshi County will march out of the county gate and set up some strict rules for you.

Subsequently, Jieshi Lord Xing Tianli personally selected an excellent Feng Shui site in Nanxun Town, spent countless money, and held a grand ceremony of relocation and sacrifice. His father Xing Tiantongming and his biological mother Wen Ya were buried together in the underground palace opened by Xing Tianli with witchcraft, which was built in the same specifications as the emperor's mausoleum.

The former Dongyun Holy Emperor Ying Zhe, Dongyun Crown Prince Ying E, and the two major ruling families of Dongyun, the heads of Beihe and Nanshan, were used as blood sacrifice animals by Xing Tianli. They were tortured to pieces during the reburial ceremony, and their blood was all over the mountain.

Also suffering the torture of lingchi were many members of the once powerful Zhang family in Nanxun Town.

Ten years ago, Xing Tian Tongming died in battle and Zhang had no children, so she adopted her eldest brother's youngest son from her own family, renamed him Xing Tian Qingshu, and asked him to inherit the title of Xing Tian Tongming Pingbo Earl.

Xing Tiantongming and Wen Ya's only son, Xing Tianli, disappeared inexplicably, and Wen Ya died suddenly inexplicably.

From then on, the Zhang family relied on the power of the Pingbo Marquis' Mansion to act tyrannically in Nanxun Town, and their wealth skyrocketed.

Over the past ten years, the Zhang family has become an important hub in the sales channel of "Jilexiang". Relying on the huge profits brought by "Jilexiang", the Zhang family's business empire has expanded rapidly, and has already touched upon many industries such as salt, iron, copper, and Western goods.

The playboys of the Zhang family were even more rampant in the village, bullying men and women. On average, each playboy was responsible for the lives of more than a dozen innocent girls and the lives of even more unfortunate innocent people.

Xing Tianli is back, and he easily takes back the title of Earl of Pingbo and the property of the Xingtian family.

So, the Zhang family naturally suffered misfortune.

Inexplicably, the accompanying ancient bronze sword shattered. Xing Tianli didn't even have time to ask the name of the voice in the sword or where it came from before it shattered.

Xing Tianli's mentality was greatly affected. Moreover, he had already fulfilled Wen Ya's wish back then - she just wanted Xing Tianli to be granted a title of nobility. She just wanted Xing Tianli to serve the country and be rewarded by the imperial court, 'a man wearing a Wu hook can win a title of nobility'.

Xing Tianli had already fulfilled Wen Ya's last wish in excess, so he began to let himself go.

The entire Zhang clan was exterminated.

All the direct and collateral descendants of the Zhang family, starting from Xing Tianqingshu... no, starting from Zhang Qingshu's father, the current head of the Zhang family, even the married daughters and the children born to them in their husband's families, were killed.

Xing Tianli even used a method of tracing back and forth to track down all the blood relatives of the Zhang family in Nanxun Town, and he was determined to wipe out all nine clans and completely eliminate future troubles.

He collected the blood essence of the Zhang family - if the local authorities were helpful and sent the relevant people to Nanxun Town, then he would carry out another public execution.

If local governments shirk their responsibilities and fail to do their job properly, Xing Tianli would not mind sending out his army to search for the perpetrators on their own, and by the way, use his own witchcraft to curse and kill all the descendants of the Zhang family in the Eastern Shenzhou.

Well, the army is dispatched to 'search and arrest on their own'. Wherever the army passes, they will set up camps. Whether they will retreat or not depends on Xing Tianli's mood.

There is a high probability that they will not withdraw.

Who would complain about having too much land?
A Jieshi County?

A Jieshigong?

Old woman, who are you looking down on? Xing Tianli was thinking about when he would give the Queen Mother of the Great Yu Dynasty a condition of "dividing the river and ruling separately" to completely turn the Jiangnan area into his own territory. He didn't know whether the Great Yu Dynasty would fight back.

Don’t worry, don’t worry, wait until your strength becomes more solid and stronger.

On the top of the former Pinghai City, the Tongtian Yuling Banner was hung high, and wisps of negative energy rolled down. A large group of armored soldiers and evil spirits appeared in broad daylight and madly attacked Zhang and Xing Tianqingshu on the torture instruments.

In the real torture of lingchi and dismemberment, an ordinary person would die after being cut into pieces three to five hundred times.

But Xing Tianli hated Zhang and Zhang Qingshu so much, how could he let them die so easily?
Every day, three to five pounds of flesh and skin would be torn off from them, and then these evil spirits would cast magic to make their flesh and blood regenerate and restore them to their original state. Then on the next day, they would continue to be tortured to pieces.

During these days, one Zhang clan member after another was brought before Zhang and Zhang Qingshu. After the new officials selected by Xing Tian loudly announced their many crimes, they were publicly executed in front of countless people.

As a result, the resentment in Zhang and Zhang Qingshu became more and more intense. Although they were just mortals, the resentment in them was extremely cruel, even comparable to those ghost generals in the earthly immortal realm.

With such overwhelming resentment, Xing Tianli can be of great use to them. He just needs to destroy their intelligence. These will be the best materials for two kinds of ghost magic.

And Xing Tianli's second decree has also been spread to all directions - Zhang Qingshu owed him a huge debt of 100 billion taels of silver, and Zhang Qingshu obviously has no life to repay it, so all the wealthy businessmen who have had business dealings with Zhang Qingshu in the past, especially those who have traded in "Jilexiang", must bear "unlimited joint and several liability".

Whether they were willing or not, Xing Tianli thought that they had to repay this huge debt for Zhang Qingshu.

Xing Tianli publicly declared that within six months, if the principal of 100 billion taels of silver and the interest of "nine out and thirteen returned as compound interest" were not delivered to Nanxun Town, he would lead the army and personally collect debts from all those who were jointly liable.

At that time, anyone who dares to stop Xing Tianli from collecting debts will be regarded as an irreconcilable enemy and will be subjected to the most ruthless attack by Xing Tianli.

Just as the Zhang clan was being wiped out and Xing Tianli was taking a series of actions to rebury Xing Tian Tongming and Wen Ya, another batch of transport ships arrived from overseas, bringing more Black Borneo indigenous troops.

At one time, the small Jieshi County was stationed with nearly 10 million well-equipped troops. The entire Dayu Dynasty was shocked three times a day, and was shocked again and again, shocking everyone from top to bottom, and all the dignitaries didn't know how to start for a while.

Anyway, as the army of Jieshi County continued to increase, those unlucky people who thought they might have been counted as "unlimited joint and several liability" abandoned their property and rushed to Fentian City with their elderly and children. They gave the silver they got from selling their property to the powerful people of the dynasty, begging for their protection.

In short, the huge and corrupt Dayu Dynasty was like a lifeless and mossy fish pond. Xing Tianli, a mad dragon with its scales touched, suddenly dived down and immediately set off huge waves in the fish pond.

Hundreds of countries in the Far West shut up, acting cautiously and quietly waiting for subsequent developments.

Empire of Saint Ross, Far East.

The "Altolestai City" is separated from the northeastern territory of the Dayu Dynasty by only a river. The Dayu Dynasty called it a port city called "Haizhukou".

This port city has excellent geographical conditions and several natural deep-water ports that can berth fleets with a total tonnage of more than 20 million tons. Its throughput in this era can be said to be "endless".

It is also the only ice-free port of the Holy Ross Empire in the Far East. No matter in early summer, autumn or winter, there are countless ships coming in and out. The trade is extremely developed, and it is truly a fertile land with flowing gold and silver.

Once upon a time, when this port was still called 'Haizhukou', it was the territory of the Dayu Dynasty.

But decades ago, when the current empress dowager had just taken power, the court of Dayu Dynasty was in turmoil and the political situation was unstable. The current empress dowager received the support of some powerful princes and ministers, and with a single order, she transferred the elite garrison at Haizhukou to Fentian City to protect the king.

Therefore, the Saint Ross Empire, which had been eyeing Haizhukou for many years, immediately opened its bloody mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, and quickly immigrated millions of people to occupy this supreme treasure land.

As soon as the government of Dayu Dynasty was somewhat stable, the current empress dowager dispatched troops and launched several counterattacks, but failed to gain any advantage.

Therefore, in the current territorial atlas of the Great Jade Dynasty, 'Haizhukou' is still the old territory of the Great Jade Dynasty, but internationally, the Far West Hundred Countries have already called it 'Altolestai', tacitly acknowledging that this is the legally legitimate territory of the Holy Ross Empire. The Far East Governor's Office of the Holy Ross Empire, the Far East Corps Headquarters, and the Far East Fleet Headquarters are all located here.

Especially the Saint Ross Far East Legion, they stationed more than one million troops here, and invaded the Dayu Dynasty all year round, causing the people on the border of the Dayu Dynasty to live in misery, and many of them abandoned their land and fled southward.

Over the past few decades, the population of the Dayu Dynasty around the city of Altolestai has dropped by 90%, and the territory of more than 300 miles has been occupied by immigrants from Saint Ross. They have even built more than a dozen new cities in the style of Saint Ross, treating this place as their own territory.

The fire was raging and black smoke was billowing into the sky.

A giant steel plant covering an area of ​​more than ten miles in radius successfully fired its first batch of steel amid the cheers of countless tall and strong Saint Ross workers. The first batch of special molten steel refined using new technology was flowing out from the outlet.

Renov, dressed in gorgeous clothes, stared at the rapidly flowing incandescent molten steel.

"Incredible, incredible, one furnace, one time, 10,000 tons of steel, 10,000 tons!" Renov shouted wildly, "Just this one steel mill can produce 100 million tons of high-quality steel in a year."

Renov's huge body swayed slightly, and he panted and said, "Holy Father, this is an incredible miracle. Especially, such a magical steel plant was built in just a few months?"

Maria, wearing an elegant little skirt, stood beside Renov. She smiled and said, "It's just a steel mill. We will help you build more steel mills."

She opened her arms in ecstasy and breathed hard: "Smell it. The air has the smell of burning coal and steel, the smell of technology, the smell of the world's upgrading and evolution."

“Steel!”

Maria cheered, "What is steel? Steel is strength, steel is power, steel is enough to change everything, steel is the most sacred, noble, and irresistible force in the world!"

"Where there is steel, there is the sword."

"Where there is steel, there are guns."

"With steel, we have giant ships and heavy artillery, and we have the supreme power to crush everything, conquer everything, and destroy everything!" Maria roared hysterically: "Sir Renov, now we are helping you, helping the empire behind you, to master the most powerful and unstoppable force in the world!"

Renov laughed with a "click" sound, he gritted his teeth, and his teeth rubbed against each other violently, making a continuous "crackling" sound and splashing large amounts of sparks.

He recalled the previous disastrous defeat in Dongyun.

He laughed strangely and said, "Yes, the power of steel... But the power of steel alone is not enough, far from enough. We need more, stronger power."

His eyes widened, sparks flying in them, and he stared straight at Maria's delicate little face: "Ms. Maria, tell me, do you have a way to increase my strength by a thousand times, ten thousand times, and make my strength comparable to the legendary...Witch God!"

"Can you really do this?"

Renov said sincerely: "Of course you know that with just a huge fleet, we can conquer the secular world, but we cannot conquer some beings that are as incredible as us."

He pointed to the south and said in a deep voice: "According to the news sent back by the intelligence personnel of the Empire, the guy named Xing Tianli has been canonized as a duke by the Dayu Dynasty. He has also been granted the title of Marquis of the Kingdom of Yingjishi. His power is increasing crazily every day. He is now busy dealing with those pitiful, insect-like enemies. He is not in the mood to do anything else for the time being."

"But I can imagine that when he turns his attention away from those meaningless enemies, with his strength and influence, he will become one of the most influential people in the world."

"I need a force strong enough to rival him."

Maria smiled at Renov and chuckled, "Of course, of course, we are cooperative allies. Although we have mastered the world's highest technology, our numbers are small and our strength is limited. We must enhance the strength of our allies... The strength of our allies is also our strength."

"We are ready. Are you and the elites you have selected ready?"

Maria smiled brightly.

Renov clenched his fists and hit his chest hard. He said in a deep voice: "Of course, I have been prepared for a long time. But I hope you have not deceived us, otherwise, the anger of the powerful Saint Ross Empire and the powerful Saint Ross Holy Blood Family will let you know what terror is."

Maria curled her lips.

She took a deep breath of the hot, choking air, and glanced at the steel plant's drainage outlet, which continuously discharged turbid wastewater with high temperature, countless impurities, and even harmful radiation into the nearby ocean. She sighed contentedly, "Come with me. While building this steel plant, we also built some interesting things."

"Besides, we need more steel and more factories, don't you think?"

Maria whispered, "This world is so vast. We must let the black smoke from our factories cover the entire world, and let the flames from our factories illuminate the entire world. Only then can we truly conquer this world."

Renov stroked his beard vigorously. "Of course, we need more steel mills, more munitions factories, more shipyards, and more warships that can rival the British. We also need more of those terrible weapons that you mentioned that can fly in the sky."

"More serfs are being deployed. The construction speed of all factories will be increased. Ten times, a hundred times... it's not a problem."

Maria smiled contentedly.

She and a group of pretty maids led the way, taking Renov and hundreds of carefully selected priests of the Holy Father Church, straight to the core area of ​​the steel plant ten miles underground.

The square space is wrapped in matte gray metal on all sides, which is smooth, clean and spotless.

A strange light shone in from behind the metal. A straight crystal column with a diameter of ten feet stood in the middle of the huge space. Inside the crystal column, countless extremely thin rays of light were jumping madly according to some indescribable rules.

In the blink of an eye, these lights even jumped countless times.

Renov and the others held their breath. They looked at the crystal column and had an inexplicable feeling that it was a person's brain that was calculating something frantically. Inexplicably, this crystal column seemed to have nothing to do with the "brain", but the Zhurong blood in Renov and the others gave them this intuition.

Maria clapped her hands gently.

The dark grey metal floor became transparent, revealing a gigantic furnace underneath with a diameter of nearly 100 feet and bright silver liquid constantly bubbling inside.

The terrifying high temperature came, and through the translucent bright silver juice, one could see a pale golden broken skeleton quietly floating in the depths of the furnace. Near this pale golden skeleton, there were also thirty-six white jade skeletons and one hundred and eight copper and iron skeletons floating.

These skeletons were all broken and covered with scars, obviously having experienced incredibly brutal battles.

They were just skeletons, but the slightest breath they leaked through the thick transparent metal plates was enough to suffocate Renov and others' chests, making it impossible for them to breathe.

"A golden immortal bone." Maria stared at the pale golden skeleton in a trance: "He practices the orthodox Eight Nine Mysterious Art. Have you heard of this art?"

"You haven't heard of the Kunlun Yuxu Palace's guardian magic skill, the Eight-Nine Profound Arts?" Maria looked at Renov and others curiously.

Renov's face flushed slightly and he did not answer.

Maria smiled and said, "Well, the Saint Ross Empire is only... a side branch after all... Hehe, this is the skeleton of a direct disciple of the Jade Void Palace who practiced the Eight-Nine Mysterious Arts. He was killed and only his bones remain. Even so, you cannot imagine how incredible the power of this skeleton is."

"I will fuse this Eight-Nine Mysterious Art Golden Immortal Bone with Lord Renov."

"And the lucky ones among you will fuse thirty-six celestial bones and one hundred and eight earthly bones... As for the rest of you, we will use the most advanced technology to transform your bones. We will change your bones from carbon-based to more powerful silicon-based... You will have incredible power."

(End of this chapter)