Meeting Robert

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!" Aubrey watched the soldiers behind him fall like wheat before a scythe, his heart bleeding with pain. The soldiers they had lost earlier had mostly belonged to Dieter, but the ones now being pierced by the spikes were from their own Arika Province. They had accomplished nothing, yet so many warriors had died in vain. How was he supposed to explain this to the city lord when he returned? The thought twisted his heart. He truly regretted bringing his troops to this war. He had thought it would be a one-sided massacre—and he had been right, except that the killers and the victims had switched places!

"Hey, Robert! Hurry up and retreat! What are you doing?" Dieter shouted at Robert, who sat motionless on his horse.

Robert turned his head. "My daughter is still in their hands. I have to meet their leader!"

"Have you gone mad? These Demon Beasts will tear you to pieces!" Dieter's eyes widened.

Robert shook his head. "No. Haven't they shown how intelligent they are? General Dieter, don't treat them like Demon Beasts that rule over the mountains in the jungle. If we want to defeat them, we have to treat them as our equals! I entrust my Morton soldiers to you. If I haven't returned in three days, inform His Majesty the King that I died in battle!!!"

"You—you really are crazy!" Dieter said, unable to believe it.

Robert galloped toward the front lines. As the terrified soldiers fled, he was like a lone boat sailing against the current!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" The moment he reached the front lines, spikes came flying straight at him. Robert swung his longsword in a circle, and silver battle aura radiated from the weapon. As the sword swept around, it formed a huge silver vortex before him, as if he were holding up an enormous silver shield!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!" The spikes struck the vortex, and its spinning force deflected them, sending them flying in other directions! It was a clever way to use battle aura, redirecting the force and changing the attacks' trajectories. It took far less effort than blocking the spikes head-on! Even so, the tremendous force behind them sharply slowed Robert's advance.

Still, among the throngs of soldiers desperately fleeing, his performance stood out.

"These spikes hit with the force of a second-tier warrior. Damn it, how are these Demon Beasts so powerful?" Only after experiencing their attacks firsthand did Robert understand that their defeat hadn't been a fluke. Even if these Demon Beasts hadn't launched a surprise attack from underground, their nine thousand soldiers would have gained no advantage in a frontal battle!

"Don't attack! I'm Robert, Angelina's father! I want to speak to your highest-ranking leader!!!" Robert's roar, infused with battle aura, boomed all the way into the Zerg Hive.

Beside Ye Luo, Angelina had already been sitting restlessly. She shot to her feet. "My father—it's my father! Ye Luo, don't hurt him. Please, don't hurt him!"

Ye Luo narrowed his eyes, then made a quick decision. A large number of Zerglings immediately surrounded Robert, while Ye Meng transformed into human form and slashed the air with his claws. "Put down your weapon. I'll take you to your daughter!"

"My daughter—is she still alive?" The moment Robert saw Ye Meng, he knew his gamble had paid off!

"She's alive. Put down your weapon! Then you can see her!"

"All right!" Robert clenched his teeth and drove his longsword into the ground.

In the distance, Dieter watched Robert disappear beneath a swarm of Zerglings, his thoughts unreadable. After hesitating for a moment, he reined in his horse and led the remaining soldiers away until they vanished over the horizon...

"My Emperor, in this battle, we killed 3,623 enemies and lost 213 Zerglings. It was a great victory!" Ye Wang reported proudly as he approached Ye Luo.

Ye Luo nodded. "Mutate six more Overlords and expand our current range of reconnaissance..."

"Understood, My Emperor!" Ye Wang left. Ye Luo suddenly lifted his head. "Angelina, your father is here..."

Robert wasn't permitted to enter the Zerg Hive, so Ye Luo received him outside the mine.

Seeing that Angelina was unharmed, Robert was overwhelmed with relief and fear. He had regretted more than once letting greed cloud his judgment and trying to capture Ye Luo and the others. If anything had happened to Angelina because of his foolishness, he would never have forgiven himself.

"Robert, answer two questions, and you can take your daughter with you!" Ye Luo stared coldly at the man. It was because of his foolishness that their base had been exposed to the world ahead of schedule.

Robert looked at Ye Luo with mixed emotions. "I may be Angelina's father, but I'm also a general of the kingdom. If your questions concern state secrets, I still can't answer them!"

Ye Luo held out his right hand. A parasite immediately spun in his palm... "This little bug will enter your brain and dig out all your secrets—even memories you don't want to recall, or have already forgotten. I don't want to use this method on you, so think carefully..."

Robert's eyes widened. He looked at his daughter, and Angelina nodded helplessly. "Father, he's telling the truth!"

"Fine! What do you want to know?"

"The military strength of the Keren Kingdom, and the enemies we'll be facing."

Robert clenched his teeth. "The Keren Kingdom is an insignificant kingdom on the Haolan Continent, located in the northwest of the Keren Continent. It has three legions, with nearly sixty thousand royal soldiers in total. Each legion commander is a Tier 6 Diamond expert, and each has five generals under his command, all stronger than Golden Warriors. Most soldiers in each legion are either first-tier Apprentice Fighters or second-tier Iron Fighters, but there's also an elite force made up of fighters above the second-tier Iron rank. I don't know their exact numbers. Of course, besides these regular forces, each legion is also equipped with its own specialized Armaments. By the king's order, the kingdom's Third Legion, the Black Thorn Legion, is gathering here. It has two full companies of combat mages—five hundred in all..."

"Ordinary fighters from first to second tier, elite forces above the second tier... and five hundred mages?" Ye Luo furrowed his brow. This was a force they couldn't easily deal with...

Seeing that Ye Luo remained silent, Robert's thoughts stirred. "Chief Ye Luo, may I ask—will you have trouble defending against the Third Legion's formidable military force?"

Ye Luo fixed his gaze on him and smiled. "It sounds like you have a good suggestion, City Lord Robert?"

Robert drew a deep breath and stared straight into Ye Luo's eyes. "Chief Ye Luo, have you ever considered... surrendering?"

Ye Luo gave a soft laugh and said quietly, "You really are overthinking it..."

"But the Third Legion is powerful. It's the foundation of a kingdom, far beyond what provincial armies like ours can compare with. If you don't surrender..."

"If we don't surrender, at worst, we'll abandon this base. But don't forget: we aren't humans. We're Demon Beasts. We can simply disappear into the deep mountains and forests. Forget eighteen thousand soldiers—even if you brought all three legions, all sixty thousand troops, what could you do to us? You said yourself that the Keren Kingdom is only a small kingdom on this continent. If it comes to it, we can leave the kingdom altogether. But from that moment on, overthrowing the Keren Kingdom will become the new goal of the Huaxia Zerg. With our humanoid Demon Beasts infiltrating everywhere, I'd like to see how long the Keren Kingdom can hold out!" Ye Luo smiled faintly as he looked Robert in the eye.