Chapter 78: Accumulated Fury, Returning to the Peak
Chapter 78: Accumulated Fury, Returning to the Peak
The battalion captains carried the two men and began ascending the short slope.
With such a commotion, the deputy generals were surely rushing over as well. However, it had ended too quickly, almost surreal.
As expected, just as they started climbing, Hong Lei and Zhao Kanglin arrived with a large group of nearly forty men.
"What happened here?" Hong Lei asked, his brow twitching.
"There was almost a big incident... but now it's resolved," Wang Meng replied, finding it challenging to explain the situation briefly to the deputy generals. He continued carrying one of the men as they climbed.
Several battalion captains chattered excitedly, mentioning sword auras and black blades...
It took a while for Hong Lei to piece together what had transpired. His expression became complex.
In fact, when he saw Dai Bing's severe injuries, he had already guessed something along these lines.
However, he couldn't quite understand it.
He had clearly instructed Shen Yi to keep an eye on her.
How did she end up in such a state... and tied up with her was someone in an attendant's uniform.
The attendants of Qingfeng Mountain were not to be trifled with.
Even he would find it difficult to come out on top against them.
"Deputy General, what should we do with them?" Wang Meng asked as he placed the man on the ground.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kanglin coldly replied, "During such turbulent times, we need not adhere strictly to the rules. It's a waste of manpower to guard them. This man nearly caused the death of a fellow soldier. Since he's a traitor, kill him!"
Hong Lei frowned and glanced at Zhao Kanglin. He then turned and asked, "Is Shen Yi injured?"
Wang Meng opened his mouth, "Er... probably not. Shen... he looked quite relaxed."
He recalled carefully and then nodded affirmatively.
"Nonsense!" Zhao Kanglin scoffed.
How could it be so simple for one to fight two, as these novice martial artists claimed.
Hong Lei ignored him and looked at the three cloud patterns on Dai Bing's sleeve. How many demons and monsters would one have to kill and how many common folk would one have to save to accumulate such merits?
Moreover, since Shen Yi could injure the two of them so badly, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to deliver a finishing blow. Instead, he left them a breath of life and tied them up before bringing them here. Perhaps he had other intentions.
Hong Lei sighed and said in a low voice, "They're almost beaten to death already. What's the point of guarding them? Let's leave them be. If they're lucky enough to survive, we'll send them back to the Demon Suppression Department for disposal."
Hearing this, Dai Bing, who was lying on the ground and barely breathing, with a gloomy expression, glanced at her senior brother. She swallowed the sweet and bloody taste in her mouth.
The two of them locked eyes, and a complex bitterness appeared on their lips.
Clearly, the young man had cut off their escape route, yet they had to thank him for his heavy-handedness, which had temporarily spared their lives.
"Stubborn and inflexible, clinging to those useless rules. You'll never accomplish anything significant in your life," Zhao Kanglin said disdainfully. He felt that with the situation above, Hong Lei should have taken action instead of just standing guard.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered calling this group of people over.
Seeing that they completely ignored his words, Zhao Kanglin coldly huffed, "Where's that Shen guy? With such a big incident, why hasn't he come to report it?"
Wang Meng and the other battalion captains had endured Zhao Kanglin for a long time, and they were about to retort.
However, they saw Shen Yi walking up the short slope.
Judging from his expression, not only did he not seem injured, but he also didn't appear to have just been in a fight.
Witnessing this, Zhao Kanglin's facial muscles twitched, and a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes... what the battalion captains had said seemed to be true.
Thinking of this, he quietly turned his back to them.
Hong Lei smiled ruefully and cupped his hands, "Brother Shen, impressive martial skills."
Shen Yi was truly a young talent, and he felt a bit ashamed of his own skills in comparison.
Shen Yi walked to his side and pondered for a moment before reminding him, "It's about time to take action on the mountain."
"Oh?"
Hong Lei's cupped hands paused slightly, and he subconsciously replied, "It's just an attendant going rogue. Brother Shen, you don't need to be so cautious. General Chen..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a look of surprise flashed across his square face.
The pressure on the peak of Qingfeng Mountain fell on everyone, from the disciples working together to resist the Demon Suppression Department to those who bowed their heads and handed over their peers.
But if the leaders wanted to protect someone, and the lower ranks wanted to escape, then this group, originally tasked with guarding the gorge, would have to face the backlash of most of the sect's disciples.
With this thought, Hong Lei gritted his teeth and said, "Thanks for the reminder!"
He snatched a torch from someone nearby and stepped into an open area. Using all his might as a Jade Liquid Realm cultivator, he looked up at the cliff.
He saw that the seated Elder Nu Jian had stood up at some point.
He removed the wooden hairpin from his head, letting his sparse silver hair fall loosely over his shoulders.
His cloudy eyes, devoid of emotion, strangely held a hint of anger, as if it weren't an emotion at all but a peculiar essence he had intentionally accumulated.
The old man looked down, his gaze falling on the chamberlain of Qingfeng Mountain.
Seeing that his disciple still had a faint breath left, a slight sigh escaped his lips, and the anger in his eyes almost overflowed, yet it never completely dominated his gaze.
"You said you heavily wounded him, didn't you?" Hong Lei shouted at the person next to him.
"I... well, I injured him," Zhao Kanglin replied, his confidence wavering as the anger emanating from Elder Nu Jian at that moment was even sharper than when he was in his prime. "What's the rush? As long as he dares to come down, once we activate the Demon Suppression Grand Array, he won't get away so easily."
Although this man looked unreliable, these words were not empty.
The Demon Suppression Generals enjoyed the best martial arts and elixirs, and when facing sect disciples, even those from a major sect like Qingfeng Gate, they had the advantage in terms of foundation and often emerged victorious.
With two mid-Jade Liquid Realm generals guarding this place, along with the assistance of several dozen Lieutenants forming an array, it would be unlikely for them to encounter any mishaps in capturing an elderly and declining Elder Nu Jian.
What worried Hong Lei was... looking at Elder Nu Jian's expression, he was either crazy and seeking death, or this place, the least suitable for escape, had become the breakthrough point for these sect disciples.
"Shen Yi, follow my order."
He turned, drew an iron plaque from his waist, and said, "Carry my command and, in the name of the commander of the Sword Viewing Gorge, invite these eight generals over. Remember, be quick and careful!"
Shen Yi raised his eyes. This was only his second time running an errand, and while he could offer some suggestions, he wouldn't be arrogant enough to think that his judgment was more accurate than that of a veteran like Hong Lei.
While a perfect Jade Liquid Realm cultivator was powerful, in this situation, they couldn't turn the tide alone or be more useful than the eight generals combined.
Shen Yi reached out to take the waist plaque, but someone else grabbed it first.
"I'm injured. Let me go," Zhao Kanglin said through gritted teeth.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yi remained calm, but the group of Golden Eagle Lieutenants beside him averted their gazes, unable to hide their bitterness.
Hong Lei glared at this spoiled young master, feeling frustrated. Zhao Kanglin was the one who could activate the Demon Suppression Grand Array, a trump card of the inner camp, something that outsiders like them couldn't understand.
"Hurry up and come back!" Hong Lei said.
After speaking, he looked back at the high cliff, relieved that... the old man still needed some time to gather his strength.
Shen Yi remained silent, his expression not mirroring Hong Lei's relief.
With his powerful eyesight, he could see that behind Elder Nu Jian, at the far end of the high cliff, a group of weak disciples with thin auras, some in the Initial Realm and others not yet perfected in the Mortal Realm, were slowly approaching the edge of the cliff.
(End of Chapter)
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