The sky was faintly lit.
On the other side, at the Bright Hall’s camp, a divine envoy hurried through the camp and directly to the front of the main tent. After communicating with the guards at the entrance, one of the guards entered the tent.
“Come in.”
A moment later, a lazy voice came from within the tent. The divine envoy quickly entered.
Inside the tent, an old man in his sixties or seventies, sitting on a simple bed, had just stretched. He was putting on his clothes under his guard uniform.
This person was none other than the commander of the Bright Hall’s operation this time, Tuls.
Tuls glanced at the divine envoy and said indifferently, “Did Marun and the others return? What losses did Huaxia suffer? Tell me.”
Tuls was aware of Marun’s actions last night.
The Bright Hall’s operations had always been met with various forms of resistance from Huaxia.
Therefore, upon arriving here, Tuls first tested the strength of the Huaxia forces. Seeing no top experts, he decided on a night raid strategy.
It was simple: as long as the main generals of the Huaxia forces were eliminated, the Huaxia forces would surely crumble.
The Bright Hall had suffered similar setbacks in previous operations, so this was a case of an eye for an eye.
With Marun’s quasi-Heavenly rank strength, plus nine experts at the mid to late Earthly rank, Tuls believed they would be like lions entering a flock of sheep when they infiltrated the Huaxia ranks.
A massacre was sure to ensue!
Therefore, he was now waiting for a victorious report.
Hearing Tuls’s words, the divine envoy froze for a moment, and cold sweat began to trickle down his back.
He swallowed and said with a forced smile, “Huaxia sent someone with a message…”
“What?”
Just as he said this, Tuls was taken aback and quickly interrupted him, saying, “What do you mean? Huaxia was attacked last night and suffered heavy losses, and now they’ve come to sue for peace? Or to accuse us of an underhanded sneak attack?”
“Neither.”
The divine envoy continued weakly, “Huaxia sent someone to say that Lord Marun has been captured by them. If they want to rescue Marun, they should prepare the ransom and be at the agreed location this afternoon…”
The divine envoy blurted out the agreed time and location in one breath, then lowered his head, not daring to look at the other person.
“What!”
This statement made Tuls’s eyes widen, and he instantly became alert.
Marun’s team was not weak, and they were launching a surprise attack in the dead of night. How could they be captured so easily?
This was unscientific!
After all, the Huaxia forces only had Yin Tao as a quasi-Heavenly rank expert!
Moreover, Yin Tao’s cultivation was only at the first heaven, comparable to Marun.
How could such a cultivation level capture Marun?
With this thought, Tuls quickly asked, “Did any powerful figures appear among the Huaxia forces?”
In Tuls’s opinion, this was the only explanation. After all, Huaxia held the entrance to the ruins, and perhaps some powerful figures had emerged from the ruins.
Upon hearing this, the divine envoy shook his head with difficulty and said, “I’m sorry, Lord Tuls, we don’t have the capability to ascertain such matters yet, and cannot answer your question at the moment.”
“Useless!”
Tuls reprimanded him harshly, suppressing his anger.
He also knew that he couldn’t blame the divine envoy. For news like this, even he himself would likely find it difficult to obtain.
With this thought, he said darkly, “Have there been any movements from Huaxia? Have any of their people died?”
In Tuls’s view, Marun’s capture was something that must be avenged.
After all, he was the deputy leader of the Bronze Armor Knights, and had served with him for many years. Their brotherhood was deep, and he couldn’t abandon them.
And to redeem Marun, he needed to know the casualty situation of the Huaxia forces, which would serve as a reference.
“Reporting to Lord Tuls, the situation in Huaxia is unclear.”
“However, judging by the high morale of those people, their losses should not be significant…”
This…
Upon hearing this news, Tuls gritted his teeth, feeling both anger and relief.
He was angry that such a formidable team as Marun’s, during a surprise attack, had failed to inflict heavy casualties on the Huaxia forces and had instead been captured.
This was utter incompetence, and could even be considered a great humiliation to the Bronze Armor Knights!
He was relieved that Huaxia had not suffered any major casualties, which might prevent them from making an exorbitant demand, and perhaps Marun and the others could be exchanged for a reasonable price.
With this thought, Tuls’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Go and reply to the Huaxia forces. I will attend the meeting on time, and tell them not to play any tricks!”
The divine envoy quickly acknowledged and then turned to leave the tent.
After the divine envoy left, Tuls’s gaze became thoughtful.
Although he had told them not to play tricks, he was currently contemplating whether to do something during this opportunity.
…
Time flew by, and noon had passed.
As per the agreed time, Ye Cangtian, accompanied by Yang Chen, Bai Jing, and some members of the Bai family, escorted Marun and the others to the agreed location.
This was a clearing in a mountain forest between the two camps.
As for Yang Chen and Bai Jing, who were by Ye Cangtian’s side, they had volunteered.
Yang Chen, in particular, insisted on fighting alongside Ye Cangtian, under the guise of experiencing the world.
Ye Cangtian couldn’t refuse, so he brought them along.
Rustle, rustle…
Before long, rustling sounds came from the surrounding mountains.
In an instant, figures emerged one by one, eleven in total.
The leader was an old man, looking to be in his sixties or seventies. Although he appeared aged, his steps were firm.
In a short time, he led the group and stood ten meters away from Ye Cangtian and his companions.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tuls, the commander of the Bright Hall’s Inner Hall Bronze Armor Knights! These behind me are the cardinals of the Bronze Armor Knights, holding various positions.”
Tuls first glanced over and saw Ye Cangtian opposite him.
He immediately understood what had happened.
It must have been that Ye Cangtian returned yesterday and happened to coincide with Marun’s surprise attack, stepping in to help the Huaxia forces resolve the crisis.
And Ye Cangtian was a quasi-Heavenly rank expert. Combined with Yin Tao, capturing Marun would not be a significant problem.
With this realization, Tuls breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ye Cangtian of the Hidden Organization.”
Ye Cangtian glanced at Tuls, his mind also quietly calculating.
Based on the opponent’s statement, these people were all drawn from the Bronze Armor Knights.
If these people were eliminated, the Bronze Armor Knights would have no experts left, essentially ceasing to exist in name.
With this thought, a smile inevitably appeared on Ye Cangtian’s face.
On the other side, seeing the smile on Ye Cangtian’s face, Tuls felt extremely displeased.
He snorted lightly and slowly said, “Ye Cangtian, let’s cut to the chase. Where are Marun and the others?”
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian glanced at Bai Jing beside him. Bai Jing immediately understood and signaled the Bai family disciples.
A short while later, Marun and the others were brought forward by the Bai family disciples.
“Why are there four missing?” Tuls frowned as he looked at the six figures including Marun.
When Ye Cangtian heard this, he said mockingly, “Apologies, but four of them were too noisy yesterday. I was worried about disturbing the soldiers’ rest, so I dealt with them directly.”
“You!”
This statement made Tuls’s eyes widen, and his face instantly turned red.
Those were his subordinates. Killing them was one thing, but fabricating a reason like worrying about the soldiers’ rest was simply adding insult to injury.
It was the greatest insult to the Bronze Armor Knights!
Although filled with immense anger, Tuls forcefully suppressed it. The deaths of his four subordinates were a fait accompli and irreversible.
What could be salvaged now was only the lives of Marun and the other six, so he needed to control his anger.
The next moment, he glared fiercely at Ye Cangtian and said, “Ye Cangtian, state your terms.”
“Simple.”
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly and said, “One Enlightenment Pill, ten Nine-Revolving Golden Pills, and additionally, one hundred each of the Great and Small Rejuvenation Pills!”
“Are you robbing me!”
As soon as the words fell, Tuls’s eyes widened, and he roared.
He had already been suppressing his anger, and now upon hearing Ye Cangtian’s exorbitant demand, he could no longer hold back.
Let alone the preciousness of the Enlightenment Pill and the Nine-Revolving Golden Pill, the sheer quantity of the Great and Small Rejuvenation Pills was also considerable!
Giving away so many pills for free, not only did he feel the sting, but he also wouldn’t be able to explain it to the Bright Hall upon his return!