# 1653
Chapter 1646: Chang'an Catastrophe
The question now is... how many of the thirty thousand soldiers engulfed by that colorful smoke were replaced?
Lin Qiye's gaze swept across the surroundings, and everywhere he looked were frenzied soldiers of the Expeditionary Army engaged in slaughter. They trampled over the bodies of the Feathered Forest soldiers, charging into Chang'an City, stirring up a bloody tide within this night-shrouded city.
His heart sank.
As far as his eyes could see, all the Expeditionary Army soldiers were burning and killing civilians on the streets of Chang'an. This meant that every ordinary person who had been caught in that colorful smoke had been silently swapped out.
Moreover, in their understanding, while the concept of "being replaced by monsters" did exist, what was strange was that their classification of what constituted a "monster" seemed to have been artificially altered.
In the eyes of these "monsters," ordinary people were the ones who had been replaced by monsters... And when they saw each other turn into willow branches after death, they regarded that as something normal.
It was as if an invisible hand was arbitrarily manipulating their perception. If Lin Qiye guessed correctly, the reason they suddenly felt that everyone in the city had been replaced by monsters and broke through the city gates was also guided by that mysterious manipulator.
Lin Qiye raised his head to look at that blazing crimson star, his eyes narrowing slightly:
"It's you..."
...
"What's happening outside?"
Chloe heard the commotion in the distance and frowned, looking toward the window.
"Hard to say... seems like someone's rebelling?" an uncertain missionary spoke up.
"Probably just another power struggle. Han people love playing these political scheming games, but it shouldn't have anything to do with us."
As they were talking, several figures on horseback galloped toward the end of the street. They held torches in one hand and blood-soaked spears in the other, their eyes filled with savagery.
"Burn! Only by burning it all will those monsters come out!" At the leader's command, the others behind him hurled their torches onto both sides of the road. Flames rose, and exclamations of alarm rang out from the houses.
"It's on fire! It's on fire!" A woman rushed out of a house, about to fetch water to extinguish the flames, when a cold blade swept down and her head tumbled to the ground.
Hot blood splattered everywhere. The headless body swayed for a moment before collapsing. A man rushed out of the house screaming, and before he could say anything, another flash of cold light appeared—he fell dead on the spot.
Seeing this scene, Chloe on the second floor frowned, her expression grim.
"Power struggle? This is clearly murder!!" Chloe watched as this group of horsemen raised their blades and killed several innocent civilians fleeing their homes one after another, her fists clenching tightly.
"Mama! Mama!!"
Several young children stumbled out of the house, staring blankly at the pile of corpses on the ground and the blood-soaked soldiers. They froze in place, terrified.
The soldier squinted his eyes and snorted coldly. Just as he was about to swing his spear, a burst of searing flames erupted from the second floor, directly engulfing him!
A shrill scream echoed through the street. A red-haired girl in a straw hat flipped down from the window, her cold eyes fixed on the soldiers before her. A killing intent弥漫在空气中.
Chloe raised her palm and made a sweeping gesture through the air. A blazing wind blade whistled across the several-hundred-meter-long street, instantly slaying all the soldiers on that road. Burning remnants collapsed onto the ground, and moments later transformed into scorched willow branches.
Seeing these willow branches, Chloe's eyes narrowed slightly...
"Lady Saint, they... they're not human? Are they evil spirits?!" A missionary picked up a broken willow branch and exclaimed.
Another missionary sniffed the air. "Doesn't smell like evil spirits. This smell is far more foul."
"Then what could they be?"
Chloe turned her gaze away from the willow branches. The ground beneath her feet suddenly trembled and rumbled, as if some primordial beast was frantically trampling the earth. In the distance, a shapeless blast wave erupted, sending over a hundred soldier figures flying into the sky.
"Him?" Chloe murmured to herself.
She immediately stepped forward. A hurricane lifted her body into the sky, her flame-red hair dancing wildly in the night breeze. She looked down at the other missionaries and said, "Something's not right... Go back to the post station first. I'll go take a look."
As Chloe's voice fell, she stepped onto the hurricane and soared toward the direction where the explosion had occurred.
...
Lin Qiye's punch obliterated over a hundred soldiers, turning one corner of Chang'an into ruins. Through the漫天尘埃, his figure walked out slowly.
"No Forbidden Ruins... what a hassle..." Lin Qiye glanced at his fist and sighed helplessly.
With his current strength, if he were in an open space, killing a thousand people with one punch would be no difficult feat. But now, he just happened to be inside Chang'an City... If he really went all out here, that would be large-scale indiscriminate killing. One punch down, and who knew how many Chang'an citizens would be displaced.
A powerful physical body could certainly bring significant combat power improvement, but without abilities to complement it, one would sometimes end up in a passive situation.
Lin Qiye raised his head and looked upward. A幽绿色 progress bar flashed past:
"Lin Qiye Treatment Progress: 48%"
Just 2% more to go...
Lin Qiye withdrew his gaze. Just as he was about to continue slaying these monsters, a red-haired figure descended slowly from the sky.
"Are you trying to tear down Chang'an City?" Chloe couldn't help but complain.
"I can't help it either..." Lin Qiye shrugged. "My Forbidden Ruins haven't awakened yet. I can only fight using my physical body's strength."
"Still not awakened?" Chloe pointed at the excessively large area of ruins before her. "You caused this level of destruction with your bare hands... Are you really human?"
Lin Qiye smiled helplessly but said nothing.
"What are these things?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but it should be an ability from some Cthulhu Faction god. It's related to that meteor from before." Lin Qiye briefly explained his findings. Chloe's brow furrowed tightly...
"In any case, do we need to kill all these counterfeit Expeditionary Army soldiers now?"
"Yes."
"Fine, leave them to me." Chloe nodded. "Besides them, are there any other people in Chang'an City who have been replaced?"
Lin Qiye opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:
"I'm not sure."
After that meteor fell, the entire mountain valley had been engulfed in colorful smoke. Besides the Expeditionary Army here now, there were also many generals who had already entered the palace...
Thinking of this, Lin Qiye turned around and looked toward the distant palace walls.
"Oh no..." he murmured to himself.