It appeared that over the past six months, the Dark Association's resistance had been fierce, undoubtedly inflicting considerable losses on the Bright Hall. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to deploy such a formidable knight order.
Ye Cangtian's guess wasn't wrong; compared to China, the resistance in the Dark Ruins was indeed much more ferocious. Every action taken by the Bright Hall was met with the Dark Association's most resolute defiance. After suffering defeats in one or two encounters, the Bright Hall's inner sanctum, in its anger, directly deployed the powerful Silver-Armored Knights, vowing revenge.
"Tell me, what's the current situation in the Dark Ruins?" Ye Cangtian asked again.
Bernie fell silent for a moment before slowly providing his answer. In reality, he wasn't entirely clear on the current situation either. He knew the general objective of the Bright Hall's inner sanctum and relayed it. The last time the Bright Hall entered the Dark Ruins, their sole aim was to locate an ancient treasure, and they had no intention of clashing with the Dark Association. However, the Dark Association refused to let it go, repeatedly ambushing and intercepting them, leading to heavy casualties among the Bright Hall's team.
Therefore, this time, the Bright Hall had changed its strategy. From solely seeking treasure, they shifted to conquering cities and claiming territory. In the Bright Hall's view, by securing cities, they would effectively establish a foothold in the Dark Ruins, thereby having a rear base. This would make it considerably more difficult for the Dark Association to disrupt their treasure-hunting endeavors.
Heh heh…
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Ye Cangtian's face. He knew naturally that what the Bright Hall sought was nothing other than the Dark Seal. Therefore, he was eager to see the expressions on their faces when they discovered that all their efforts were in vain, as the Dark Seal had already fallen into his hands. The mere thought made Ye Cangtian chuckle.
With that thought, he spoke, "As of now, which cities have the Bright Hall captured within the Dark Ruins?"
"Uh…"
"Not a single city has been taken!" Bernie's face suddenly flushed red as he awkwardly replied.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Ye Cangtian asked, perplexed.
Sensing Ye Cangtian's puzzled gaze, Bernie quickly explained. The Silver-Armored Knights had only recently arrived and had only captured the Reception City a short while ago. After taking Silver City, the Silver-Armored Knights split into three groups, advancing towards the east, south, and west directions within the Dark Ruins. However, shortly after the Silver-Armored Knights departed, the Dark Association dispatched reinforcements and recaptured Reception City. Consequently, he could only linger between Reception City and the entrance.
The number of people involved in the Silver-Armored Knights' mission this time was not large, only a little over a hundred. Therefore, with insufficient manpower, capturing a city was already challenging, let alone permanently occupying it, which was entirely unrealistic. It was for this reason that Deputy Commander Eugene had to change the operational plan. They would first secretly occupy the villages, towns, and secret realms surrounding various cities, and then, when the main forces arrived, attempt to seize the cities.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian nodded. This Eugene had some brains, knowing how to adapt. With that in mind, Ye Cangtian glanced at Bernie and said indifferently, "Now, tell me, how should I handle you? Killing you wouldn't be quite right, as you've been rather cooperative. However, if I don't kill you, I can't entirely trust you!"
"Lord Ye, please spare my life! I promise not to reveal your whereabouts, is that enough?"
"I can even choose not to return to the Bright Hall and find a place to live in seclusion…"
Upon hearing Ye Cangtian's words, cold sweat immediately broke out on Bernie, and he began to kowtow and beg for mercy.
"Heh heh, it seems your loyalty to the Bright Hall isn't very high!" Ye Cangtian looked at Bernie with disdain and continued, "Very well, then go and find a place to live in seclusion. Remember, I'm only trusting you this once. If I discover that you've lied to me, you'll face the consequences."
Given the man's cooperativeness, he really couldn't bring himself to harm him. As for the news of his arrival in the Dark Ruins, whether it was leaked or not, it didn't make much of a difference. The Silver-Armored Knights' primary focus remained on the Dark Association and the search for the Dark Seal. Even if they received news of his arrival, they might not necessarily take any action. After all, the Silver-Armored Knights were short on manpower. If they made too many enemies, wouldn't that be tantamount to seeking their own demise?
"Your subordinate understands. Your subordinate takes his leave!" Upon hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Bernie repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude, then stood up and prepared to leave the ruins. In Ye Cangtian's presence, every second was fraught with extreme danger; leaving quickly was the sensible course of action.
Seeing Bernie depart, Ye Cangtian then put on his mask and headed towards Reception City. Upon arriving at the Dark Association's branch in Reception City, the branch was in ruins, clearly indicating an exceptionally fierce battle had taken place earlier. He walked into the branch.
"Lord Dawn, hello!" The members of the branch, upon seeing Dawn return, greeted him with respect and excitement. The matter of Dawn leading numerous Earth-level deacons to annihilate so many Red-robed Archbishops of the Bright Hall had already been widely publicized. In their eyes now, Dawn was an unparalleled war god, his status even far exceeding that of Red Devil. And now that he had appeared, they believed Dawn would undoubtedly lead them to shatter the Bright Hall's actions once more.
Ye Cangtian waved his hand and went directly to the branch's main office. In the room was an unfamiliar figure, wearing a golden mask, the pattern of which was quite strange to Ye Cangtian. Without a doubt, this person must be one of the Earth-level deacons promoted later by Xing Yuan. A slight sensing of the other's aura revealed that they possessed Earth-level mid-stage strength. This made Ye Cangtian ponder; Xing Yuan's judgment was indeed good. This individual had reached Earth-level mid-stage so quickly after consuming a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, indicating exceptional talent.
At the same time, this also indicated a problem: the Dark Association's foundation was still very deep. Fortunately, they hadn't obtained a large quantity of Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, otherwise, they might have become a second Bright Hall.
"Your subordinate Yu Shan, greets Lord Dawn!" The man in the room glanced at the mask on Ye Cangtian's face, then quickly rose and bowed respectfully. His becoming an Earth-level deacon was certainly due to Xing Yuan's promotion, but it was also because Dawn had found ten Nine Revolutions Golden Pills for the Dark Association. Otherwise, he would probably still be a Profound-level deacon now! Therefore, in addition to his gratitude towards Xing Yuan, he also held considerable respect for Dawn.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities. Tell me, I want to know the situation in the Dark Ruins!" Although he had obtained some intelligence from Bernie earlier, it was after all one-sided, so Ye Cangtian still needed to gather more information.
"Alright." Yu Shan wasted no words, nodded, and quickly reported the situation he knew. Currently, the Bright Hall had invaded the Dark Ruins and then split into three groups, advancing towards the east, south, and west. Although they hadn't attacked any cities yet, they had already occupied villages and secret realms surrounding some cities. This posed a significant threat to the Dark Association's rule. Therefore, the current Lords Xing Yuan and Red Devil were leading the Earth-level deacons in a full-scale search for the Bright Hall's operational teams, vowing to eliminate them all. However, this task was very slow and had yielded little results. The reason was that the Bright Hall was not directly confronting the Dark Association and was hiding in villages and secret realms, making them difficult to find.
Hearing this news, Ye Cangtian's face revealed disbelief. It wasn't because the Bright Hall was difficult to deal with, but rather because Xing Yuan had actually made a move! As far as he knew, no matter what happened, Xing Yuan had always been steadily stationed at the Ghost City headquarters. But Xing Yuan making a move now was truly beyond his expectations. Had the Dark Association reached such a crisis that Xing Yuan had to intervene?
With this thought, Ye Cangtian looked at Yu Shan and slowly said, "Lord Xing Yuan has left Ghost City, so who is currently in charge of Ghost City?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Shan slowly shook his head and said, "Apologies, Lord Dawn. Your subordinate only learned of this later, so your subordinate truly doesn't know who is in charge of Ghost City!" Hearing this, Ye Cangtian nodded in understanding, and a question arose in his mind. Should he return to Ghost City first to clarify the situation? Or should he directly search for Xing Yuan?