In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 699 1 Road to Darkness

Li Gang was filled with despair.

He never imagined that capturing Chen Dao, something that should have been a simple task, would be so difficult, so difficult that he would have to risk his life.

In Li Gang's imagination, as a second-rank martial artist, along with a group of skilled black-clad guards, taking down Chen Dao should be a piece of cake.

However, the reality was completely different from what he had imagined. He didn't even have a chance to fight Chen Dao; Chen Dao's two strange beasts alone drove him into a desperate situation...

Seeing Crimson Flame One turn its gaze toward him and Crimson Flame Two continuously attacking him, Li Gang had no more illusions. He mobilized the last of his true energy to fight the two Crimson Flame Chickens to the death.

It must be said that Li Gang was very strong when he was in dire straits. He was able to fight two opponents at once without being at a disadvantage. With his sword flashing, he forced Chi Yan Yi and Chi Yan Er to dodge.

But that's all there is to it.

The reason why Crimson Flame One and Crimson Flame Two avoided Li Gang's attacks was not because they were no match for him, but simply because their biological instincts made them unwilling to get hurt.

Soon, Li Gang's movements became slower and slower. His depleted inner energy and physical fatigue made his moves increasingly sluggish, posing less and less threat to Crimson Flame One and Crimson Flame Two...

"Puch!"

Chi Yan seized the opportunity precisely, taking advantage of Li Gang's exhaustion, and swooped down like lightning, its sharp, spear-like beak instantly piercing Li Gang's body.

The formidable physical defense of a second-grade martial artist was rendered useless by Chi Yan, whose beak pierced through Li Gang's body.

Immediately afterwards, Crimson Flame flapped its wings and retreated rapidly.

The intense pain of his body being pierced made Li Gang's eyes widen in horror, and he slashed the knife across his body with a backhand motion.

However, his exhausted body made his attacks extremely slow. By the time the Black Cloud Blade fell, Crimson Flame had already left its original position, with only a few feathers swirling in the air as it fell.

"Hoohoo!"

With his chest pierced, Li Gang felt his strength draining away, and his vision becoming increasingly blurry. He could only rely on his physical instincts to defend against the attacks of Crimson Flame One and Crimson Flame Two.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Li Gang was completely exhausted.

Meanwhile, Chi Yan Yi and Chi Yan Er accurately seized the opening that Li Gang revealed when he was exhausted, and used their claws and beaks to deliver a fatal blow to Li Gang one after another!

"Puch!"

Crimson Flame One's claws crushed Li Gang's shoulder, while Crimson Flame Two's beak pierced directly through Li Gang's heart!

Even if Li Gang was a second-rank martial artist with strong vitality, having his heart pierced would only lead to death.

In his final moments, Li Gang looked down at his bloodied and mangled chest, his eyes glazed over.

He thought of the late emperor who had given him such important positions, and he also thought of his own impoverished family...

He no longer remembered what his parents looked like, but their love and care for him remained firmly imprinted in his mind.

"Father, Mother, your child has come to find you!"

Li Gang seemed to see the figures of his parents before his eyes. His parents had been dead for many years, but in the last moment of his life, what Li Gang missed most was not the late emperor who had favored him, nor the luxurious mansions and beautiful concubines in the capital, but his parents who had no ability but had raised him from infancy...

"boom."

Li Gang lay on the ground, a relieved smile on his face.

Looking at Li Gang lying on the ground, Zheng Qing's eyes were extremely complicated. The commander of the Black-Clad Guards was a person of high position and great power. During the reign of the late emperor, the Black-Clad Guards were extremely prestigious, and their reputation in the capital could stop children from crying at night.

Although the Black Guard gradually weakened with the ascension of the new emperor, it was still a very important institution in the Xia Kingdom.

However, the commander of such a huge organization died outside the city gate of Ding'an County, a remote county. If this news were to spread, it would be enough to shake the entire country!

"Congratulations, young friend Chen."

Li Qingyun smiled and congratulated Chen Dao.

Chen Dao, however, remained calm. Li Gang's death was not unexpected for Chen Dao. In fact, the reason why Li Gang was able to persist for so long was simply because Chen Dao had done it on purpose.

If it weren't for testing the Crimson Flame Chicken's combat capabilities, Chen Dao would have already sent Xiao Yuan into battle. With three exotic beasts comparable to second-rank martial artists, Li Gang and his Black-Clad Guards would definitely not last a quarter of an hour.

The reason Chen Dao didn't send Xiao Yuan out was simply because he wanted to test the fighting power of the two Crimson Flame Chickens.

The test results undoubtedly surprised and delighted Chen Dao.

Both Crimson Flame One and Crimson Flame Two displayed formidable combat power, no less than that of Li Gang, a second-rank martial artist, and perhaps even surpassing him.

"Squeak."

After Li Gang's death, the city gates reopened, and Zheng Qing, who entered the city, said to Chen Dao half-jokingly, "Young friend, after this matter, we're afraid we'll have no choice but to follow you down this dark path."

Although Zheng Qing had a close relationship with Chen Dao, it was not made public. Even if the court knew, they could use other reasons to deny it.

After this incident, Zheng Qing had no other choice but to betray the imperial court.

after all……

He personally participated in the killing of Li Gang, and once the imperial court learns of this, Zheng Qing will have no chance of escaping punishment.

"Hasn't Lord Zheng already prepared to break with the imperial court?"

Chen Dao said with a smile.

Even without today's events, it was inevitable that Zheng Qing, or rather the entire Taicang Prefecture, would break with the imperial court.

After all, even without the Li Gang incident, Zheng Qing's unauthorized formation of an army was a serious crime, and no matter how confused the court was, it was impossible for them to regard Zheng Qing as a loyal official.

Zheng Qing shook his head, not dwelling on the matter, and said to Li Qingyun, "Magistrate Li, this matter must be kept under wraps as much as possible, the longer it can be delayed, the better."

"Rest assured, Lord Zheng, I understand the importance of this matter."

Li Qingyun solemnly stated that Li Gang's death was definitely not a trivial matter, and it was destined that this matter could not be concealed forever, because it was not only their own people who witnessed it, but also the city guards.

Although these soldiers were all trusted confidants specially selected by Li Qingyun, he couldn't guarantee that word wouldn't leak out...

Li Qingyun had no intention of keeping this matter a secret forever. What he wanted to do was to block the news as much as possible, so that the imperial court would find out about it later, and give Chenjia Village and Taicang County enough time to develop.

Soon, Li Qingyun summoned several trusted men and instructed them to dispose of the corpses outside the city and to do ideological work with the city guards who had witnessed the incident.

After doing all this, Li Qingyun said to Zheng Qing and Chen Dao, "Lord Li, young friend Chen, a banquet has been prepared at the manor. Why don't we go to the manor for a meal first?"