The newcomer stood in the tavern for a moment, his cold gaze sweeping across the room.
Then, he suddenly turned and walked up to Brother Zhang.
With a cold snort.
"Zhang Xiong, go on. Weren't you quite the talker? Why have you stopped now?"
"Lord... Lord Duan, I..."
Zhang Xiong raised his head, trembling as he forced out a smile uglier than tears.
"I won't say any more. I don't dare to, Lord Duan... I was just running my mouth for a moment. Please don't lower yourself to my level. I promise I'll never spout nonsense again."
"Scram!"
"Yes... yes, yes... I'll scram right away. Thank you, Lord Duan."
As though granted a pardon, Zhang Xiong jumped to his feet and hurriedly ran from the tavern. He practically rolled and crawled away, flustered and bedraggled beyond measure.
After ordering Zhang Xiong to get lost, Lord Duan showed no intention of sitting down for a drink.
His gaze continued to sweep through the tavern.
It was as though he were searching for some suspicious person, but he found nothing.
Only then did he speak. "Listen carefully. Criminals have appeared in the eastern region. They knew full well they were defying the Sacred Land's decree, yet they still dared to privately develop hidden Lesser Blessed Lands. The Sacred Land will not permit this. For such people, the Sacred Land will kill every one it discovers, without mercy."
"From today onward, the southern region will also enter a state of alert."
"No one may defy the Sacred Land's decree again and privately explore Blessed Lands in the wild. Whoever dares to violate this will die!"
"Furthermore, you must watch one another. If you discover anyone privately investigating Blessed Lands in the wild, you may report them to the Sacred Land. Informants will be