Lin Yun was somewhat caught off guard by Doroze's sudden charge, despite having prepared himself for any number of outcomes. Facing this man still brought surprises. He never imagined that his opponent could so easily resolve to take him down with him.
Did he truly not care if he lived or dies?
"It seems you've gone completely mad. You're willing to bet your own life just to kill me here, is that it?"
Watching the frenzied Doroze, Lin Yun could only shake his head in resignation. Against fanatics like this, the best he could do was stop them.
Doroze didn't answer. The moment he decided to act, the outcome was already set in his mind. He had lost to Lin Yun this time, and worse, he had exposed a great deal of information about the Qiluo people. Doroze could not possibly live with that shame. And so, he chose another path: to prove his loyalty to his race with his own life.
Lin Yun saw it all, feeling a sense of helplessness. However, even if Doroze wanted to perish together, it was merely a thought. The difficulty of putting it into action was immense. With Lin Yun's power, he had the strength to fight even an expert of the Myriad Laws Realm, let alone a single Doroze. Still, the sheer force of the man's power was enough to make Lin Yun take notice.
In moments, Lin Yun had dealt with Doroze.
Only after finishing did he leisurely turn to face Cao Yuze and the others. By now, Cao Yuze had moved to the front of the crowd. The few disciples of the Red Ghost Sect who had been shouting the loudest just moments ago were now completely silent. They had assumed Lin Yun would need to use them to accomplish his goals. Who could have guessed that he would make it all look so easy, that he would so simply eliminate Doroze and his men all by himself?
Cao Yuze challenged him, "You've already achieved your goal. What now, you want to provoke us?"
Seeing his sanctimonious expression, Lin Yun just smiled and shook his head.
"You really think far too highly of yourself. You believe I came all this way, across a thousand miles, just to provoke the likes of you? Don't be ridiculous."
His tone was laced with contempt. Even Lin Yun had to admit these people were more than a little narcissistic.
"These monsters have been eliminated, and I've gotten the intelligence I wanted from them. Our cooperation was decent enough. But I expect more monsters will be swarming this place soon. You all, on the other hand, can help me with a few things."
Cao Yuze's face darkened. He knew Lin Yun was up to no good. As expected, he still wanted to use them to solve his problems.
At this moment, Cao Yuze's stance was firm. "Don't think I don't know what you're planning, but I'm telling you now, you'd better give up that idea. There is no way we will ever agree to your demands."
Cao Yuze knew that if he agreed, he and his men would be thrown onto the battlefield like cannon fodder. Seeing the惨烈 carnage around them, he knew it was a catastrophic mess. After the battle they had just witnessed, he wanted no further part in it.
"We already abandoned Chen Jian as you asked, coordinating with you from the inside to successfully eliminate those monsters," Cao Yuze argued, his voice rising. "But if you now expect us to submit to you and follow your orders, that is absolutely impossible."
After Cao Yuze finished, the disciples of the Red Ghost Sect behind him quickly chimed in.
"Senior Brother is right!"
"We already helped you tie down those monsters!"
"If it weren't for our help, how could you possibly have dealt with them so quickly?"
Lin Yun didn't deny this point. The men had indeed been of some help. However, he had never once promised to let them live.
He smiled and stepped forward, one hand resting on his sword case. "I know you all might be a little confused about the current situation. Why don't I help you… remember."
As he spoke, several flying swords shot out from the case. Each sword pulsed with an immense fluctuation of Yuan energy. Even though Cao Yuze had prepared himself, his expression grew grave as he saw the blades appear. Everyone knew who they were about to face, but no one had realized their enemy was this terrifying. Cao Yuze was certain that even if their own reinforcements arrived, it would be utterly meaningless.
Lin Yun had already seen through Cao Yuze's thoughts.
"Now do you finally understand?" Lin Yun said with a smile. "From the very beginning, you were sent here as cannon fodder, meant to tie us down. Unfortunately for your masters, they overestimated your strength and underestimated the trouble here."
The higher-ups of the Red Ghost Sect had intended to use these disciples to handle the problem. But they had overestimated their own schemes. They never imagined Lin Yun could neutralize the threat so easily, nor did they expect the sudden appearance of the Qiluo people to completely derail their plans.
Zhou Damao watched the Red Ghost Sect disciples with a cold, smug satisfaction. So what if they all looked so powerful? Right now, they had no choice but to obediently cooperate. If any of them had a single dissenting thought, Lin Yun would kill them in an instant. Zhou Damao was confident these men were smart enough to understand that.
Just then, Fang Yu'er slowly walked forward.
The moment Cao Yuze saw her, he barked an order. "Fang Yu'er! It's come to this, and you're still collaborating with them? Quick, help us!"
Cao Yuze believed that with Fang Yu'er's abilities, she might actually have a unique and useful role to play here. He had expected her to obey.
But upon hearing his words, Fang Yu'er only let out a cold laugh.
"You want me to help you?" she sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "But tell me, did any of you ever once think of helping me?"
She hated these disciples from the depths of her soul. She hadn't acted before only because she lacked the strength and the opportunity. But now, with the disciples of the Red Ghost Sect trapped and in desperate need of rescue, it was, for her, the perfect moment.
She was going to make every single one of them understand the consequences of offending her.