Chapter 229: The Arrival of Wei Zhuang

Xiao Xie observed the crowd, their faces brimming with excitement and joy. He said nothing, for it was clear that not only Master Ban and his companions, but even Murong Feng and Murong Huang could not suppress their own delight. It was a testament to how unpopular Ying Zheng truly was; though he was a strategist and a monarch of the ages, he was a tyrant, not a benevolent ruler.

The reason the Qin Dynasty fell in its second generation was not merely due to the incompetence of Huhai; it was rooted in the tyranny Ying Zheng enforced during his reign, which sowed too many seeds of disaster. Thus, soon after Ying Zheng’s death, the Qin Empire collapsed.

"Ying Zheng’s lackeys! Now it is your turn to feel the pain you once inflicted upon the people of the Six States!" The screams echoing from the chamber did not soften the hearts of those inside the secret room. Gao Jianli stared hatefully at the Qin soldiers pierced by the sharp spears, feeling no sympathy, only a sense of righteous vengeance.

"Honeycomb Formation, release!"

The Qin army’s formation had already been broken by the Hidden Dragon Formation. With their ranks in disarray, they could no longer mount an effective counter-attack. Seeing the Qin forces scattered like loose sand, Master Ban seized the opportunity to activate the Honeycomb Formation, delivering the final blow to those who had not yet fallen.

*Clack, clack, clack...* A series of mechanical sounds signaled that this phase of the battle had come to a temporary halt.

"The mechanism formation is ready to be reset," a Mohist disciple reported to Master Ban after the gears stopped turning.

"Good." Master Ban nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze back to the central mechanism hall. This was the final, critical moment for the survival of the Mohist School; there was no room for error.

*Creak...* The stone door at the entrance of the passage slowly opened once more. The door, which had remained immovable despite all previous assaults, suddenly reopened, leaving the Qin soldiers outside in utter confusion. Yet, the echoes of those miserable screams seemed to linger; no soldier dared enter the hall.

After waiting for a while, seeing no more Qin soldiers enter, the group in the secret room finally breathed a sigh of relief, assuming the enemy had been cowed. They hoped that the Qin soldiers would not recklessly rush in again, and that once the Leader returned with reinforcements, the crisis would be averted.

However, before they could truly relax, they heard Master Ban gasp in shock.

"Master Ban, what is it?" Xue Nu asked, puzzled.

"Wei Zhuang has entered the mechanism hall!" Master Ban said, his expression grave. Knowing that the hall was filled with deadly traps, Wei Zhuang’s choice to enter indicated he was entirely confident in his own safety.

"Wei Zhuang?!" Xue Nu and Gao Jianli’s expressions shifted instantly. Wei Zhuang, the murderer of the previous Mohist Leader, was their greatest enemy. The Mohists had long sought to kill him in vengeance, and they never expected him to dare set foot in the hall.

Ge Nie’s expression also changed. Wei Zhuang was his junior fellow apprentice; both had trained at the Ghost Valley since childhood. Years ago, they left to seek the rulers they would support—Ge Nie to Qin, and Wei Zhuang to Han. They had not met since, and Ge Nie never imagined their reunion would occur under such circumstances.

"That bastard Wei Zhuang! Does he dare despise the power of the Mohist mechanisms?" Da Tiechui, who harbored a deep-seated hatred for Wei Zhuang, shouted with his arms crossed. Having nearly been killed by Wei Zhuang’s subordinate, Yin Bat, only days ago, he was perhaps the most vengeful among them.

"The Mohist School has long wanted to eliminate this villain. Now that he has walked into the trap himself, what are we waiting for? I don't know what you’re all worried about. He walked in of his own volition; no one forced him. If he wants to die, let's grant him his wish," Dao Zhi said, seeing Master Ban’s anxious expression.

"Fine! This time, he shall not return!" Master Ban stopped worrying about Wei Zhuang's potential contingency plans and decided to fight. At his command, the stone door of the hall closed again, and hundreds of mechanical crossbows rose, surrounding Wei Zhuang and Chi Lian.

*Thump, thump, thump...* Just as the crossbows were about to fire, a series of deafening roars erupted from outside, and the very ground began to tremble. Before the group could grasp what was happening, the entire Mohist Core secret room shook violently. Scrolls resting on wooden boxes tumbled to the floor in a chaotic heap.

"What is this?!" Master Ban looked through the periscope at the stone door of the hall, only to see it smashed in from the outside. A mechanical monstrosity, three meters tall, stepped through the debris.

Seeing the bronze and wooden components of the creature, Master Ban’s eyes narrowed. "Bronze opens the way, ask the Gongshu!" It was a mechanical construct from the Gongshu family.

"Honeycomb Formation, activate!" Master Ban ordered. He wanted to see just how formidable the Gongshu construct truly was.

The disciples pressed the switches, and the crossbows in the hall unleashed thousands of bolts at the mechanical Wushuang Gui.

The tyrannical mechanical arts of the Gongshu family had rivaled the Mohist School for centuries, and they possessed their own remarkable strengths. Facing the swarm of arrows, the mechanical Wushuang roared and swung its massive bronze axe with such brute force that it created gusts of wind, blocking the projectiles.

"Stop! Stop immediately!" Master Ban suddenly shouted.

"Old man, what’s wrong?" Dao Zhi asked, surprised, as only Master Ban could see the situation outside through the periscope.

"Those bastards! They are using our Mohist brothers as human shields," Master Ban growled through gritted teeth.

"It’s the brothers from the Forge Department! They’ve been poisoned and have no capacity to resist." Dao Zhi pushed Master Ban aside, looked through the periscope, and immediately recognized them.

"Scoundrels! How despicable! Damn them!" Upon hearing it was the brothers from his own department, Da Tiechui, the leader of the Forge Department, was incensed, wishing only to tear Wei Zhuang to pieces. But before he could act, Wei Zhuang’s taunting voice echoed into the room.

"Listen, those hiding in the Mohist Core! You must surrender the secret room, otherwise..."

*Squelch!*

"Agh!"

As Wei Zhuang finished, his sword, Shark Tooth, descended, and another Mohist disciple was executed.

"No!" Though they could not see the hall, the sound of the scream made their hearts tighten with agony.

"I’ll fight them to the death! Ah!" Da Tiechui, who valued brotherhood above all else, could not bear to watch his kin slaughtered before his eyes. Roaring in fury, he prepared to rush out.

"Da Tiechui, calm down! This is clearly another trick of the enemy. If you rush out, our position will be exposed to Wei Zhuang!" Gao Jianli stood his ground, preventing Da Tiechui from leaving. He knew that if the secret room were opened, Wei Zhuang would storm in.

"Whoever dares to stop me, I’ll fight to the death!" Driven by the plight of his brothers, the hot-headed Da Tiechui did not care who stood in his way, roaring at Gao Jianli with clenched fists.

"If you want to pass this door, you’ll have to go through my Water Cold Sword!" Gao Jianli drew his blade, pointing it sternly at Da Tiechui.

"Ah! Damn it!" Knowing he was no match for Gao Jianli and realizing that Wei Zhuang was trying to goad them into a trap, Da Tiechui stopped, shouting in frustration.

"Only ever drawing your sword on your own people! Hmph!" Murong Feng sneered. She had long disliked Gao Jianli for his hostility toward Xiao Xie.

Gao Jianli frowned at her remark but ignored it; he would not lower himself to argue with a woman.

"My patience is thin. From now on, for every layer of the Mohist Core that is reduced, one person will be executed," Wei Zhuang’s voice resonated from outside once more.

Wei Zhuang’s words pushed the already agitated Da Tiechui to the brink of madness. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at Gao Jianli and roared, "Since when has the Mohist School ever been so helpless?!"

"I have said it before: no one is to take a single step out of the Mohist Core!" Gao Jianli said coldly. He was not a man of many words; his actions made his stance clear. Unless Da Tiechui defeated him, he would not allow a single step toward the door.