"Heaven... Heaven-tier?"
Seeing this, Gardland was completely stunned.
Even if he were more foolish, he would know that spiritual energy surging out of the body was something only Heaven-tier powerhouses could achieve.
It was precisely because of this that he was filled with despair. No matter what, he couldn't make any waves in front of a Heaven-tier expert.
"Heh, it seems you've understood."
Seeing Gardland fall silent, Ye Cangtian smiled faintly, pointed at the cross longsword in the other's hand with his thumb, and said lightly, "What, you still think holding that can protect you?"
As his words fell, Gardland gritted his teeth and reluctantly lowered the cross longsword.
Although Ye Cangtian was his enemy, in the face of a Heaven-tier expert, he truly did not dare to act presumptuously.
"Very good."
Ye Cangtian nodded in satisfaction, casually tossed him a Spirit Sealing Pill, and continued, "Eat it if you want to live!"
Looking at the Spirit Sealing Pill rolling before him, stained with a bit of dust, Gardland's eyes flickered.
He, the esteemed Vice-Captain of the Golden Armor Knights, with a cultivation base as high as Quasi Heaven-tier Sixth Heaven, had actually become someone's captive. It was truly unexpected.
However, this was not entirely unacceptable, as he was facing a Heaven-tier expert.
After hesitating for a long time, Gardland picked up the pill from the ground and swallowed it with his eyes closed.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian glanced at Xu Weiwei and said, "Weiwei, I still need to go to the Death Squad. I'll leave him to you. Just throw him into Heaven-tier Number One."
Xu Weiwei nodded upon hearing this and said, "Alright, be careful..."
On the other side, watching Ye Cangtian turn and leave, Lan Yue was silent for a moment, retrieved her longsword, and then quickly followed.
Ye Cangtian did not stop her. The crisis here had been resolved, and with Little Black present, there shouldn't be any problems.
So, it was fine to let Lan Yue follow, perhaps she might be useful at some point.
"Junior Brother, you arrived earlier?"
As soon as she got into the helicopter, Lan Yue asked.
She wasn't foolish either. The situation before was too critical. Under normal circumstances, the Nether Tiger would have intervened.
But Little Black's inaction was clearly abnormal.
Then Ye Cangtian appeared, and all these doubts were resolved, now only needing confirmation.
Ye Cangtian nodded upon hearing this and said, "Yes, when I arrived, you were fighting fiercely, so I didn't intervene."
Ye Cangtian's idea at that time was simple: only in battles between life and death could instincts be stimulated and rapid growth achieved.
Therefore, he only chose to intervene when Lan Yue could no longer defend herself.
Listening to Ye Cangtian's reply, Lan Yue lowered her head and said, "Junior Brother, it seems Senior Sister's abilities are limited. I can't accompany you much longer."
Lan Yue's expression quietly turned somber.
In the past, Ye Cangtian's realm was similar to hers, and the enemies he encountered were not particularly strong, so she felt she was still useful.
But now that Ye Cangtian had become a Heaven-tier expert, and the enemies he faced were beyond her ability to contend with, she felt increasingly useless and was deeply disheartened.
"Senior Sister, are you tired of following me?"
"If that's the case, I can only give you a long vacation to rest well."
"But don't even think about escaping. After the affairs of the Temple of Light are concluded, you still have to return with me to the Hidden Group, find the traitor, and rectify the Dragon Imperial Villa!"
Ye Cangtian smiled and said upon hearing this.
He naturally understood Lan Yue's feelings, so how could he bear to make her sad?
Hmm?
Upon hearing this, Lan Yue was startled, and then a faint smile appeared on her face.
The fact that he still wanted to take her along for various important matters clearly indicated that he did not dislike her, and that was enough.
...
In just a few minutes, the helicopter had arrived above the Hidden Group's base.
Strangely, based on Ye Cangtian's perception, there were no sounds of fighting within the base.
Had he arrived too late? Or had he guessed their target incorrectly?
With some doubt, Ye Cangtian and Lan Yue rappelled down.
"Boss!"
"Boss..."
When Viper and the others saw Ye Cangtian, they quickly rushed forward.
Looking at the anxious gaze in his brothers' eyes, Ye Cangtian's heart sank, and he quickly said, "What happened? Where are Nancy and Rose?"
"Boss, Rose was injured by Eleanor and is currently unconscious in the villa."
"To cover for us, Nancy lured Eleanor away. She hasn't returned yet..."
Viper quickly recounted the night's events.
Eleanor had brought several cardinals to assassinate them. The Death Squad's combat personnel and Nancy immediately engaged, covering for them.
As for those cardinals, they were manageable. With everyone working together, they were all dealt with.
However, Eleanor was simply too powerful. Even when Rose and Nancy attacked together, they were no match for her. In the end, Nancy had no choice but to find a way to lure her away...
"What!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian's head buzzed.
Nancy was a traitor to the Temple of Light. If she fell into Eleanor's hands now, what good would come of it?
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian contacted Xu Weiwei, instructing her to seal all exits from the capital and deploy all Dragon Group members to conduct a thorough search.
No matter what, they had to find Nancy's location.
After giving the instructions, Ye Cangtian got back into the helicopter, had it fly at a low altitude, and began to search the vicinity with his powerful mental energy.
...
Daybreak.
When Ye Cangtian returned to the Death Squad's villa, his expression was extremely grim. m..oΓg
The overnight search had ended without success. He had not found any trace of Eleanor or Nancy. Before returning, he had also received a call from Xu Weiwei.
The same overnight search, the same lack of results.
"Boss!"
At that moment, Viper came up to Ye Cangtian.
He spoke directly, "Boss, we just intercepted a message. It was sent from an unknown number to the sea area. The deciphered content was only one sentence: 'Mission complete'..."
Viper stated that after this message was sent, the Golden Armor Knights led by Arthur in the sea area chose to withdraw in a very short period.
Ye Cangtian's brows furrowed tightly. Although Viper did not mention who sent the message, he was almost certain it was from Eleanor.
At the same time, more doubts arose in his mind.
Wasn't the Pope's ultimate goal to deal with him?
Why did the mission end after dealing with only Nancy?
Was dealing with him just an excuse, and their true objective was to eliminate traitors?
This didn't make sense!
After all, he had severed one of the Pope's arms. The Pope's hatred for him should far exceed his hatred for Nancy!
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian felt it was necessary to visit Heaven-tier Number One to meet Gardland. Perhaps he could get some useful information from Gardland.
The next moment, he looked at Viper and said, "Have the brothers take good care of Rose. Also, you continue searching for Eleanor's location and try to find him!"
"Don't worry, Boss. Nancy got into trouble because of the Death Squad. I will do my utmost!"
Viper solemnly agreed.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian nodded. He first sent a text message to Hasal, asking him to pay attention to Eleanor's whereabouts and to clarify Nancy's situation.
After sending the message, Ye Cangtian drove to Heaven-tier Number One.
Upon arriving at Heaven-tier Number One, Ye Cangtian went directly to the prison where Gardland was held.
Seeing Ye Cangtian arrive, a smile appeared on Gardland's face.
Under normal circumstances, as a prisoner, the other party would have no reason to visit him.
Now that the other party had come, it could only mean one thing: Chairman Eleanor had succeeded.
In that case, his failure would finally have some value...
"Gardland, I have a question for you. What was the purpose of your action last night?"
Hearing Ye Cangtian's question, the smile on Gardland's face grew even stronger.
It was exactly as he had imagined; Ye Cangtian was asking about yesterday's operation.
Thinking this, Gardland smiled and said, "Give me a cigarette first."
Looking at Gardland lounging with his legs crossed, Ye Cangtian frowned but still took out a cigarette and handed it over.
Gardland's smile became more smug. He put the cigarette in his mouth and pointed at it with his finger, his lips moving, "Light it, can't you even do that?"
In Gardland's opinion, Ye Cangtian's willingness to give him a cigarette explained everything.
Now that the other party was seeking his help, he could take the opportunity to make things difficult for the other party, and perhaps even use it to threaten him and get himself released.