Tang San's Misgivings
Immediately, Chen Ping made arrangements. "Elder Demon Bear, you have the strongest attack power. Go to the vicinity of the Secret Tunnel passage exit and intercept the members of the Dragon Serpent Family. The five Soul Saint experts in the team, follow the plan I previously laid out and obey Elder Demon Bear's orders."
"To avoid arousing suspicion, the fewer people who use the Secret Tunnel passage, the better. I think Tang San will most likely bring a few people and swagger out of the city gate."
"Suotuo City has five city gates, each guarded by two Soul Saint experts to ensure that the Dragon Serpent Family members are dealt with promptly after leaving the city. Furthermore, the guards at the city gates will help you identify the Dragon Serpent Family disciples, so you don't need to worry."
"If we take action within the city, the civilians will suffer heavy losses. In order not to alert the enemy, we cannot clear the area prematurely."
"So, Ghost Panther Elder, your task is to monitor Tang San and report his location as soon as he leaves the city. I will come to meet him immediately. I'd like to test Tang San's mettle."
After a pause, Chen Ping stated the precautions. "For this mission, we don't expect you to achieve great merit. The ordinary members of the Dragon Serpent Family are just small fry; there's no need to waste time on them, and even less should you waste your Goddess of Life."
"Aside from the Peerless Dragon Serpent Couple and Tang San, as for the others, if the situation doesn't allow it, there's no need to pursue them. I doubt they'll amount to anything."
"Furthermore, I permit you to release some people when the situation is unclear, but you are absolutely forbidden from indiscriminately killing an innocent person. If I discover any instances of killing innocent people and claiming credit for them, I will send you to the Sky Prison!"
Chen Ping doesn't consider himself a good person, but he's not a bad person either.
He's not a politician, so he can't be completely evil or completely good; he's more like a wanderer in the martial arts world, neither entirely good nor evil, only doing what he believes is right.
This time, their team's strength far surpassed Tang San's group, and they were operating in the shadows. Under such circumstances, sacrificing innocent lives for victory would be the greatest failure!
Three days later.
Since the Spirit Hall has decided to take action against Tang San and the Dragon Serpent Family, it will naturally not increase its surveillance of them. On the contrary, it will appropriately relax its surveillance in certain aspects.
In this way, we can avoid alerting the enemy while also ensuring that important intelligence is not overlooked.
Tang San explored the perimeter of the Secret Tunnel for two days and two nights. Apart from some passing Merchant Convoy and pedestrians, there was nothing unusual. He concluded that the Secret Tunnel passage of the Dragon Serpent Family was very well hidden, and as long as he left under the cover of night, he would not be discovered.
Chen Ping correctly guessed Meng Shu's intentions.
More than a hundred people squeezed out of the Secret Tunnel, and the surrounding vegetation was bound to be trampled.
If they are discovered by passersby, it will surely attract the attention of major powers, who will then pursue them.
Meng Shu's plan was that they had to remain undetected for at least twelve hours before they could truly escape the clutches of the various powers.
Therefore, he arranged for some able-bodied men to lead the young children of their families from the major city gates, and finally agreed to meet at a certain location.
Tang San had no reason to refuse such a well-thought-out arrangement.
That night, it happened to be the Evening Market that Barak City held every ten days. Most of the people in the city were attracted to the market. Taking advantage of the moment when the eyes and ears of the major powers were not open, they quickly left their families, disguised themselves as merchants, and left the city through the various city gates.
Tang San and Tailong did not rush to leave the city, but instead focused on protecting the safety of these people.
Little did they know, everything they did was clearly seen by Nether Leopard Douluo was hiding in the shadows.
Outside the city, the Dragon Serpent Family disciples who were the first to leave had already exited the city.
Before long, the group reached a dense forest outside the city. Meng Long, who was leading the group, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there were no pursuers behind them. "Fortunately, the Clan Head and Tang San made proper arrangements. We have passed the first hurdle."
Before they could relax, applause broke the silence of the night. "What a brilliant arrangement! They brought you straight to this forest, saving us the trouble of tricking you here."
Trees can, to some extent, prevent the spread of Soul Power, which is why assassins always prefer to hide in groves.
In the darkness, two Soul Saint experts from the Spirit Hall surrounded the group from the front and back.
Seeing the fourteen Soul Ring at his opponent's feet, Meng Long's face darkened considerably. He was merely Soul Emperor; how could he possibly escape an attack from Soul Saint?
The enemy's presence here proves their plan has been exposed.
Meng Long's expression turned solemn as he shouted, "Scatter and run! Anyone who runs back must immediately inform the Clan Head that we've been discovered!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was not greeted by the response of his tribesmen, but by two consecutive "plop" sounds.
Two disciples of the Dragon Serpent Family knelt on the ground, repeatedly saying, "My lords, we have already pledged our allegiance to the Bishop Lord the Barak City Spirit Hall. These are our identification tokens. We beg you to spare our lives."
The two Soul Saint experts were slightly surprised, then revealed a playful smile.
One of the Soul Saint said, "I see. You two wait here for a while. The Spirit Hall will send someone to claim you. Once your identities are verified, you will receive the corresponding reward."
Upon hearing this, the two traitors happily broke away from the family group.
The disciples of the Dragon Serpent Family, who had originally intended to put up a last-ditch resistance, completely lost their will to resist after being ravaged by these two traitors.
What followed was a one-sided massacre of the Dragon Serpent Family disciples by the two Soul Saint.
Chen Ping never said whether to kill or spare children he encountered. As long as innocent people weren't killed indiscriminately, it was entirely up to them to decide!
As for those two traitors, they also joined the encirclement and annihilated their own people.
Unfortunately, they were unaware of their fate.
How could the Spirit Hall tolerate people who would betray even their own clansmen?
Furthermore, the Spirit Hall had already colluded with the Barak Royal Family for this operation, and they were just waiting for the Dragon Serpent Family to be destroyed before they would issue a statement.
Leaving these people in the know alive will ultimately be a disaster.
Similar scenarios are playing out elsewhere.
In short, not a single member of the Dragon Serpent Family will escape.
Barak City.
Looking at the brightly lit streets, Tang San was stunned several times.
"Third Young Master, you've been working too hard these past few days. Why don't you take a break?" Noticing his expression, Tailong quickly advised.
Tang San closed his eyes slightly, pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand, and felt somewhat uneasy. "I have a bad feeling that tonight's operation might go terribly wrong."
Tailong laughed, "Third Young Master, let me tell you, you're just a little depressed because you haven't been resting well. Our plan is flawless, and with you and the Peerless Dragon Serpent Couple here, even if something goes wrong, we can handle it."
As he spoke, he pointed towards the direction outside the city, "Third Young Master, everything outside the city is so quiet, without any movement, which proves that the Dragon Serpent Family has not encountered any trouble."
"It's almost time. We need to leave the city as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, we must meet up with the disciples of the Dragon Serpent Family in the next city."