After Ye Zhen finished speaking, the grand hall of Military Affairs Minister Chen Denglong fell silent—silent to an eerie degree.
Behind the desk, Military Affairs Minister Chen Denglong, who bore some resemblance to Chen Jiawei but had deeply sunken eyes, stared at Ye Zhen with an incomparably cold gaze.
The two of them simply looked at each other in silence, their gazes level. Neither gave an inch.
"Your courage is considerable!" Military Affairs Minister Chen Denglong suddenly said.
"The Chen Family's courage is even greater!" Ye Zhen said.
"Heh heh..."
After a few cold chuckles that did not reach his eyes, Military Affairs Minister Chen Denglong suddenly adopted an official tone.
"Regarding the beast tide, the Military Affairs Department has conducted an investigation over the past few days. The Beast King had hidden itself too deeply.
"As for Fifth Guard Commander Chen Jiawei's unexpected appearance there, and his fleeing without fighting after encountering the Beast King Devouring Gold Beast, that was a misunderstanding on your part.
"Fifth Guard Commander Chen Jiawei had been on official business to Red Parasol City. The Military Affairs Department has the documents on record.
"And the matter of him abandoning the Phoenix Spirit Guard and fleeing without fighting upon encountering the Beast King Devouring Gold Beast was an even greater misunderstanding.
"The circumstances were urgent at the time, and the Gold-Devouring Beast was exceptionally powerful. Even Fifth Guard Commander Chen Jiawei could not confront it head-on.
"In his desperation, to prevent the Beast King Devouring Gold Beast from harming you and causing heavy casualties, Chen Jiawei risked his life to deliberately lure the Beast King Devouring Gold Beast away.
"For that, he was pursued relentlessly by the Beast King Devouring Gold Beast for three days and three nights, narrowly escaping death before finally getting away.