A mighty pressure crashed down over all of Great Lake Village like a mountain made solid.
Every villager felt their chest sink. Breathing became painfully difficult, and their faces turned pale.
Even those inside their homes, from pregnant women to children too young to understand, were cowed by that terrifying aura.
Against their will, they left their crude houses and gathered in fear on the open ground at the center of the village.
Trembling, they raised their heads toward the sky.
Two men with formidable auras stood in midair. Dazzling King-level Rules circled them, and divine radiance shone so brightly that the villagers could barely open their eyes, let alone meet their gazes.
The two God Kings looked down coldly on the panicked villagers as though they were ants.
The God King on the left held a pitch-black chain. His name was Yu Wen Tao, and his voice thundered across the sky, reaching every corner of the village:
"We are members of the Feather Soul Tribe's Enforcement Team. We have tracked a deserter named Shi Zhuang back to this village! Hand him over at once. If you harbor a deserter, you will bear the consequences!"
"The front lines? What front lines?"
Village chief Shi Da Hu forced down his fear and shouted up at them, disbelief written across his face:
"Are you saying all the young people from our village who joined the Feather Soul Tribe were sent to fight on the front lines? You never mentioned that when you came to recruit them!"
Questioned in front of everyone, Yu Wen Tao showed no reaction. He replied coolly:
"Your villagers volunteered to gain cultivation resources and better prospects by training on the front lines."
That was a lie, of course.
In truth, the Feather Soul Tribe had used trials and