Besieged City

11:40 PM.

On the outskirts of the Shen family villa district in the west of Jinling City.

In the darkness, a convoy of black vans silently drove into several branch roads on the periphery of the villa district.

No headlights were turned on.

Only faint clearance lights cut through the night.

Like black snakes swimming silently.

A total of forty-seven vehicles.

Each vehicle was packed with forty to fifty people.

Nearly two thousand people.

After the vehicles stopped steadily, the doors opened almost simultaneously.

A dense mass of figures surged out of the vehicles, gathering silently in the night.

All dressed in black combat uniforms.

Tactical vests.

Military boots.

The weapons in their hands were even more exaggerated.

Not the machetes and steel pipes used by street thugs like Zhao Debiao.

But real military equipment.

Standard assault rifles.

Sniper rifles.

Grenades.

Bulletproof shields.

There were even two modified civilian armored vehicles mixed in the convoy, with heavy machine guns mounted on their turrets.

This was not a group of street thugs causing trouble.

This was a small army launching a war.

Lin Tian stood at the very front of the team.

In an all-black combat uniform and bulletproof vest, with the dagger that had been with him for fifteen years tucked into his waist.

The Dragon King Token was pressed against his chest, hidden by the zipper.

Standing around him were the Four Heavenly Kings.

Azure Dragon on the left.

White Tiger on the right.

Vermilion Bird in the rear commanding from the communication vehicle.

Black Tortoise had already led a sniper squad to infiltrate the commanding heights on the south side of the villa district in advance.

Everything was deployed according to the "Dragon Beheading Operation" plan.

The only change was that the time had been moved up by two hours.

Lin Tian raised his wrist and glanced at his tactical watch.

11:43 PM.

Seventeen minutes until the attack was launched.

He picked up his tactical earpiece.

"All units report."

"Azure Dragon Battalion, in position on the east side. Five hundred and twenty men, ready to breach at any time."

"White Tiger Battalion, in position on the west side. Five hundred and ten men, ready to breach at any time."

"Vermilion Bird Battalion, in position on the north side. Four hundred and eighty men, assault team has reached the edge of the woods."

"Black Tortoise Sniper Group, commanding heights on the south side occupied. Twelve snipers in position, covering all exits of the villa."

"Armored vehicle group in position. Two armored vehicles have been deployed on the east and west main attack directions."

Nearly two thousand people.

Surrounded on all sides.

Heavy firepower lockdown.

Sniper suppression.

Let alone a villa, even a military fortress couldn't withstand this level of strike.

Hearing the reports, Lin Tian nodded in satisfaction.

He looked toward the Shen family villa.

The villa district was very quiet.

Light spilled from the windows of the villa, warm and soft.

He knew Lin Ruobing was inside.

With Shen Fei.

On her birthday night.

The corner of Lin Tian's mouth twisted.

Cold to the extreme.

"At twelve o'clock sharp, full-scale attack."

"Target, Shen Fei."

"I want to see him alive or his corpse."

"Do not harm anyone else. Especially Lin Ruobing."

"Not a single hair on her head should be missing."

"Understood!"

Four responses sounded simultaneously.

Lin Tian turned off the communication.

He drew the dagger from his waist and spun it between his fingers.

The blade gleamed with a cold light in the moonlight.

In fifteen minutes.

This dagger would pierce Shen Fei's heart.

Lin Tian sheathed the dagger back into his waist.

Closed his eyes.

Took a deep breath.

Waited.

...

Shen family villa.

At the same time.

The living room was quiet.

Su Qingxue and Lin Ruobing had already returned to their respective guest rooms to rest.

Ling Shuang and Ling Xue were taking turns on duty in the monitoring room.

Shen Fei was the only one in the villa who hadn't slept yet.

He stood by the window of the second-floor study.

The curtains were drawn back slightly.

It was pitch black outside the window.

But Shen Fei's eyes could see things ordinary people couldn't.

The perception range of a Martial Arts Grandmaster covered a radius of two hundred meters.

Two hundred meters away was the woods.

There were people in the woods.

Many people.

He could sense the auras of those people.

Densely packed.

As numerous as ants.

There were also a few exceptionally strong auras mixed in.

Grandmaster level.

Four of them.

And one aura that was stronger than the other four but a notch weaker than his own.

Peak Grandmaster.

Lin Tian.

They were all here.

Shen Fei withdrew his perception and glanced at his phone.

11:50 PM.

His uncle had sent a message.

[All in position. Waiting for your signal.]

Shen Fei didn't reply immediately.

He walked to the desk and poured a cup of tea.

Took a sip.

It was cold.

It didn't matter.

He sat in the chair and waited.

Waiting for the midnight bell.

...

11:58 PM.

On the outskirts of the villa district.

Vermilion Bird's voice came through the communication earpiece.

"All units attention, two-minute countdown."

Nearly two thousand elites simultaneously entered final combat readiness.

The clicking sounds of bullets being chambered rose and fell.

Exceptionally clear in the silent night.

The muzzles were aimed in the direction of the Shen family villa.

Lin Tian stood at the very front of the team.

He didn't hold a gun.

He didn't need a gun.

His hands were the deadliest weapons.

"One-minute countdown."

Lin Tian's breathing became long and deep.

His pupils slightly contracted in the darkness.

The true qi in his whole body began to circulate slowly.

The aura of a Peak Grandmaster was like a sleeping behemoth, awakening.

"Thirty seconds."

Nearly two thousand people held their breath.

The entire area fell into extreme silence.

So quiet that the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves could be heard.

"Ten seconds."

Lin Tian opened his eyes.

His eyes were filled with monstrous killing intent.

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One—"

"Attack!"

Lin Tian's arm swung down fiercely!

Nearly two thousand people moved at the same time!

East side!

Five hundred and twenty elites surged toward the villa wall like a tide!

The breachers rushed to the front, slapping explosive packs onto the wall!

Boom!

A muffled explosion!

A three-meter-wide gap was blown open in the wall!

A dense mass of figures poured in through the gap!

West side!

The same explosion!

The same breach!

Two armored vehicles roared across the lawn, their heavy machine guns aimed at the villa's main gate!

North side!

The Vermilion Bird Battalion charged out of the woods, vaulted over the wall, and silently infiltrated the villa's back garden!

South side!

The crosshairs of twelve snipers locked onto every window and every exit of the villa simultaneously!

Surrounded on all sides!

An inescapable net!

In less than thirty seconds, the Shen family villa was completely surrounded by nearly two thousand fully armed elites!

Lin Tian stood outside the gap on the east side, watching his army pour into the villa district like a torrent.

Everything was perfect.

Everything was going according to plan.

He took a deep breath, ready to step inside.

But at that very moment.

He stopped.

Because he heard a sound.

A sound that shouldn't be here.

Coming from afar.

From very, very far away.

From far to near.

Getting louder and louder.

Getting clearer and clearer.

It was a deep, muffled, rhythmic roar.

Not the sound of gunfire.

Not the sound of an explosion.

But—

The sound of propellers.

Lin Tian snapped his head up!

In the night sky.

Six blinding beams of light descended from the heavens!

Searchlights!

Military searchlights!

Six armed helicopters roared in from the direction of the Jinling City suburbs in a diamond formation!

The gale whipped up by the rotors made the trees sway wildly!

The massive roar made the ground tremble!

The beams of the searchlights swept across the entire villa district, illuminating everyone hiding in the dark, leaving them nowhere to hide!

Lin Tian's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks!

It wasn't just the helicopters!

From all directions, another sound rang out simultaneously!

The roar of engines!

The heavy rumble of treads crushing the ground!

The clanking of metal!

Lin Tian abruptly turned to look east!

A line of armored personnel carriers rolled in from the eastern road!

At least twenty of them!

Their rooftop searchlights were all switched on!

Daylight-bright illumination instantly swallowed the entire street!

To the west!

The exact same scene!

Over twenty more armored personnel carriers!

To the north!

To the south!

From all directions!

Nothing but vehicles!

Nothing but lights!

Nothing but steel!

The rear doors of the armored personnel carriers crashed open!

Heavily armed regular army troops leaped out!

Riot shields!

Automatic rifles!

Tear gas launchers!

Heavy sniper rifles!

The numbers were not in the hundreds!

Not a thousand!

But tens of thousands!

At least ten thousand men!

They surrounded Lin Tian's two thousand men in layer upon layer of tight barricades!

Lin Tian's two thousand men had surrounded the Shen family villa.

But the regular army had surrounded Lin Tian's two thousand men.

The hunters became the hunted.

The besiegers became the besieged.

The entire villa district was lit up as bright as day by the searchlights!

The deafening roar of helicopter rotors and the engine noise of armored vehicles echoed through the night sky!

Nearly two thousand elites of the Dragon King Palace stood frozen in place!

Their guns were still raised.

But not a single person dared to pull the trigger.

Because the opposing firepower was ten times theirs!

No, twenty times!

The heavy machine guns on the armored personnel carriers were aimed right at them!

The rocket pods on the helicopters were clearly visible!

If they dared to fire a single shot, the response would be devastating artillery coverage!

Dead silence fell over the scene.

Nearly two thousand men stood rigid.

The air felt as if it had frozen solid.

An officer holding a megaphone stepped out from behind an armored vehicle.

His voice, cold as iron, echoed through the megaphone across the entire villa district.

You are suspected of illegal armed assembly and organizing an armed rebellion!

Everyone put down your weapons, put your hands on your heads, and crouch down on the spot!

This is your final warning!

Those who resist will be killed without mercy!

The voice echoed in the night sky.

Killed without mercy.

The words struck like bullets into the hearts of every Dragon King Palace member.

Lin Tian stood at the very front of the formation.

The light from the searchlights hit him.

His shadow was stretched incredibly long.

He looked up at the six helicopters in the sky.

Then he looked at the armored vehicles in all directions.

Then he looked at the ten thousand heavily armed regular troops.

His mouth was still curved into a smirk.

But that angle had frozen.

He couldn't smile anymore.

He finally understood one thing.

Shen Fei had known he was coming from the very beginning.

Not just known.

He had been waiting for him.

Waiting for him to bring all his assets right to his doorstep.

To catch them all in one fell swoop.

Shen Fei hadn't run.

Hadn't hidden.

Hadn't mobilized any private forces to fight him.

Shen Fei had used a power that he could never stand against.

The state apparatus.

You have two thousand men?

I have ten thousand.

You have assault rifles?

I have armored vehicles and attack helicopters.

You are the Dragon King?

Behind me stands the entire nation.

This was not a game played on the same level.

This wasn't a game at all.

This was an absolute crushing.

A dimensional strike.

Lin Tian stood under the searchlights, his shadow motionless at his feet.

He heard sounds coming from behind him.

The sound of firearms hitting the ground.

One after another.

Clatter.

Clatter.

Clatter.

His men were surrendering their weapons.

No one dared to resist.

Because in the face of the state machine, resistance meant death.

They were veterans, not madmen.

They had been soldiers, they had been to the battlefield, but they knew one thing better than anyone.

Individual martial prowess was nothing but an ant in the face of national power.

No matter how strong the Dragon King Palace was, it was only an underworld faction.

And what they faced was the regular army.

The state's organ of violence.

The very flag they had once pledged allegiance to.

They could not bring themselves to open fire on their former comrades.

The sound of dropping firearms grew increasingly dense.

Eventually merging into a continuous wave.

Lin Tian stood rooted to the spot.

Motionless.

He did not drop the dagger in his hand.

But he did not make a move either.

He just stood there.

Watching the army he had built single-handedly crumble before his eyes.

Like a sandcastle washed away by the tide.

Silent.

Unstoppable.

And then.

The main doors of the Shen family villa opened.

Shen Fei walked out.

Alone.

Wearing that white shirt.

Hands stuffed in his pockets.

He stepped out into the glare of the searchlights.

Facing the remnants of a two-thousand-man force.

Facing the Four Great Heavenly Kings.

Facing the Asura Dragon King.

His expression was unreasonably calm.

As if he had just come out for a stroll.

Lin Tian looked at him.

Shen Fei also looked at Lin Tian.

The two were less than twenty meters apart.

The searchlight beams hit them both simultaneously.

Shen Fei spoke.

His voice wasn't loud.

But in the quiet night, it was incredibly clear.

Dragon King.

Welcome.