Northern Governor

A man who seemed to be in his thirties was tapping his work desk incessantly.

With his tall and straight back, shaven and chiseled face, and long lustrous hair tied up behind, his appearance could be said to be above average. However, people around him care more about his position and strength.

The Governor of the Northern Prefecture, a man at the peak-stage of Great Emperor Realm.

Known as the Northern Governor by those from afar and Governor Cui by citizens of Whitedrift City, he was in-charge of a prefecture less developed than others, bordering the treacherous Grand North Mountain Range, and the least in the rankings of power, wealth, and even population.

The task of keeping the prefecture safe against different threats had fallen into his hands.

"What is the situation with demons?"

An older man sitting at the side stood up and replied, "Governor Cui, we confirmed the existence of demon spies in Heptias. The tip that came from the Frozen Plateau must be real. Daruzz is still in the hands of the demons while they also strengthened their positions in Winterfrost."

"Frozen Plateau is the same place where two Void Demons were killed months ago, right?

"Yes, Governor Cui. The City Lord of the city had witnessed the scene based on his report. The demons died while attempting to assassinate someone undergoing a tribulation of a great emperor. According to the report, they.. were marked by the tribulation as helpers."

The others in the chamber who didn't know the details beforehand twitched their lips hearing it. 'These should be the real demons, dumb and killed by their own actions. Why did they suddenly become smart?' They thought in their minds.

Governor Cui continued tapping the desk while thinking deeply. The tip that Heptias might get attacked next also came with another tip. This another tip was his main concern as it suggested that the demons found a way to traverse the mountain range in large numbers without being killed by territorial beasts.

The suggestion also came with possible targeted cities: Heptias, North Desolate, and Frozen Plateau, all bordering the mountain range and also third-rate cities. The most alarming was the note at the end of the tip.

'The demons might want to occupy the five cities to use as their ramps in invading deeper into the heart of the Northern Prefecture.'

Governor Cui wanted to interrogate City Lord Feng about this informer but he knew he couldn't for reasons only few knew.

"What about the project of identifying demons?" He asked after a short silence.

Another man stood up and reported to him. "Governor Cui, we have collected dozens of demon identifying artifacts through auctions and several connections. The forging grandmaster staying in our city said that he needed some time to create a dozen of these kinds of artifacts."

After dealing with matters concerning demons, Governor Cui went to the reason he called the meeting. He turned his head towards the man sitting next to him and ordered him to read the latest reports.

"Five cities lay in ruins after being sacrificed by the members of Blood Temple. The timing of their attacks is synchronized to each other. Another city relatively near to us, the Twin Gorge City has also been targeted. After an intense fight and numerous casualties, the city managed to thwart the cultists' plan."

"Everyone in those five cities had been killed or abducted."

The chamber turned pin drop silent. The breathings which had been relaxed earlier quickened and everyone felt the chills that came from millions of unwilling souls.

"Five cities.. " Governor Cui squeezed through his teeth. His gaze seemed as if he wanted to burn alive those culprits.

"What is the estimated number of casualties?"

"Including Twin Gorge City, around 30 to 35 million people." The man announced it with a slightly shaky voice.

Thirty million was not comparable to the population of the Great North Kingdom. It didn't even manage to surpass the population of Whitedrift City alone, but for that number to be killed in one day and probably an hour or two after the operation started, it was something that would even surpass the uproar about the invasion of two cities by the demons.

"Blood Temple, why are they here in Northern Prefecture?"

"We must get into the bottom of this."

"Are the demons and cultists colluding?"

"That's a far stretch. Demons will never cooperate with humans."

Governor Cui watched the officials in front of him as they discussed different angles and proposed a set of actions to be done against the cultists.

He acted like a mediator and let the officials brainstormed on their own. In the end, he would be the one to likely act personally since he was the strongest among the officials of the Governor Residence.

"Governor Cui, have you thought of a plan?"

"Plan?" His eyes squinted as a cold murderous gaze almost petrified the one who asked him.

"Kill them. Chase and kill them until they wish to not come into our Northern Prefecture anymore."

The chamber became silent once again before Governor Cui gave instructions and dismissed them.

Despite the efforts to contain the news, the incident in the Twin Gorge City still managed to arrive into the streets of Whitedrift City just hours after the meeting.

It instantly became the number one topic and everyone could be heard talking about it. The mention of Blood Temple sent many knees into shaking.

"Blood Temple? The cultists are here in our prefecture?"

"It's not safe here anymore. Demons, then cultists. I better prepare and move to the Central Prefecture."

"According to the uncle of the friend of my father, an unknown hero descended from the sky literally and then killed all the great emperors of the cultists."

Some talked while some rushed towards the Twin Gorge City to find the status of their loved ones or just help those in need. Even greedy individuals also made their way to sell necessities at an increased price.

Another day passed by and the news about the five cities had also propagated. This time, an outrage enveloped the Whitedrift City and those who were nervous finally became afraid.

Ji Chen and his group who were staying at the Whitedrift Governor's Inn also heard about this when they went out to try the local dishes.

Shock colored their faces before being replaced by anger. Ji Chen became slightly nervous since he heard that in another city, the leading cultist was a peak-stage great emperor. He was lucky that only a mid-stage great emperor attacked the Twin Gorge City.

"Damn vile humans! Wait, they shouldn't be called humans anymore." Long Zhu clenched his fists in outrage and frustration.

The others nodded at his suggestion since they read how these people killed their targets, it was torturous and brutal.

"There's nothing we can do. We have done our best in the Twin Gorge City." Ji Chen recovered his calmness after a wave of anger washed his heart.

"Master, it's only you who did your best."

"You want to join in the fight as a mere newbie emperor?" He snorted at his disciple seeing her sulking. He knew this stubborn girl was like a bipolar, sometimes wanted to have peace in the sect and sometimes wanted to join fights elsewhere.

As their group made their way to the Governor Residence after finishing a sumptuous meal in a restaurant, a group of men who were also walking in the same direction noticed them.

As if they could understand each other without a work spoken, they glued their eyes to Bai Ningshuang at the same time.