Cao Meng chimed in from the side, "There are too many mortals for us to look after, but we must take care of the relatives of Cangwu Sect disciples. This is also part of the trial mission."
Hearing the two inner sect disciples' reasoning, Kong Jiao began speaking with Shangguan Yuzhou beside him. "This is no easy job. The front lines are already being fought until heaven and earth collapse; the fighting in the rear is probably fraught with danger as well. Protecting ourselves is hard enough, and now we have to shield others too. That makes it even harder."
Shangguan Yuzhou merely smiled unconcernedly and reassured him, "Hehe, don't worry, Junior Brother Kong. With so many people here, how could they possibly pick us? That would take some truly rotten luck."
"True!" Kong Jiao said with a relieved smile.
But before his words had even faded—
Hua Yan had already begun assigning people at random.
"You! You! You! ..."
In an unquestionable tone, Hua Yan pointed out several dozen people in succession. At last, her finger pointed straight toward Kong Jiao, who stood near the back of the crowd with a smile still on his face.
Kong Jiao's smile froze stiffly on his face.
"I—"
If there had not been so many people around, Kong Jiao would probably have started swearing.
Feng An and Shangguan Yuzhou, who had originally been watching the spectacle, were stunned as well, unable to react to this sudden turn of events.
The three of them had already discussed their battle arrangements for after disembarking. Hua Yan's interference had caught them completely off guard.
Just then—
Kong Jiao felt the hull of the Giant Spirit Boat beneath his feet tremble faintly, as though it had landed on the ground.
"The rest of you, disembark. Those