The Sun Moon Empire's Threat, a Truce for Now
Gu Mingyuan was watching this change when his expression suddenly changed.
The moment the passage was completed, a force far exceeding his expectations rushed towards him!
Even if the Origin Source of Seven-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast only overflows and rebounds, it is by no means Origin Source that a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor can easily digest.
"Click..."
Fine frost instantly covered Gu Mingyuan's arms, and the ice spread visibly up his chest and neck.
"Elder Yi... there are too many!"
The underground Warehouse of the Mingde Hall, or rather, the current underground ruins.
As the Imperial Family Soul Engineer Corps unleashed its heavy firepower, Xuan Zi and Du Busi gradually fell into a disadvantageous position amidst the overwhelming barrage of attacks.
Several Level 9 Soul Engineer on the perimeter set up Linked Array, their massive cannons relentlessly pursuing the two as they moved. Several attempts to break through were forced back by the high-frequency concentrated fire.
Du Busi protected the two wounded elders behind him; his broad shoulders and back were already marked with several deep, bone-revealing bloodstains from the beams of light.
He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and roared at Yan Shaozhe was still on the edge of the area:
"Yan Shaozhe! Are you still standing there like an idiot protecting those two brats? If we wait any longer, none of us will leave here alive!"
Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth and was forced to step forward to provide support.
With a flick of his arms, he forced back an Level 8 Soul Engineer who was flanking him from the side, and then caught a glimpse of a blinding ray heading straight for Tang San and Huo Yuhao behind him.
Damn it!
Yan Shaozhe had no choice but to force his way back, enduring the aftershock of another beam of light on his back. With a muffled groan, he protected the two boys and retreated back to a blind spot on the battlefield.
Seeing this, Xuan Zi wanted to step aside and help out of the predicament.
"Roar--!"
With a roar, Zhongli Wu, riding the enormous Bone Dragon King, pounced from the side, its white bone claws aimed straight for Xuan Zi's throat.
Just as Xuan Zi was gathering his energy to deal with the situation, a dark red fireball suddenly exploded in mid-air.
Feng Ling!
In his haste, Xuan Zi could only raise his left arm to forcefully catch the Phoenix Evil Fire Feng Ling was swooping down on.
Just as the old power was dissipated and the new power had not yet been generated, the Bone Dragon King's claws seized the opportunity and tore through Xuan Zi's protective Soul Power with a "poof," ripping off a large piece of flesh from his left forearm.
The Phoenix Evil Fire burrowed into his meridians through the wound, and the burning pain caused Xuan Zi's expression to change drastically.
"Roll!"
Xuan Zi roared, Level 98 Godly Taotie Bull True Body trembled, sending Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling flying away with a wave of earth-yellow energy.
On the high ground, Kong Deming raised his hand, and the barrage of artillery fire and beams of light abruptly ceased.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xuan Zi retreated to Yan Shaozhe's side. He took out some medicinal powder from his pocket and roughly pressed it onto his bloodied left arm. At the same time, he mobilized his Soul Power to forcefully suppress the Evil Fire raging within his body, but his left hand still trembled slightly uncontrollably.
Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling stood side by side opposite the ruins, their expressions cold and sinister.
Du Busi also halted his attack, his chest heaving as he warily scanned the increasingly dense array of Soul Cannon above.
The three groups, separated by the mess on the ground, fell into a stifling silence.
"Xuan Zi, the Du Busi."
Kong Deming stood on the broken wall at the edge of the ruins, his finger passing over the two people and pointing to the Mingde Hall core Warehouse District behind him, which had been completely destroyed.
"The Body Sect openly broke into Ming Capital, committing murder, arson, and looting. Shrek's higher-ups even personally intervened to obstruct their capture!"
"I'd like to ask, what exactly has my Sun Moon Empire done wrong to deserve such humiliation?!"
Du Busi's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth without uttering a sound. Xuan Zi was in the wrong first, so he had nothing to say in response.
Kong Deming was also truly enraged, saying, "If we want to continue fighting today, fine."
"Starting from sunrise tomorrow, the Sun Moon Empire's Fixed-Installation Soul Cannon Shell will begin randomly landing in your former three kingdoms."
He paused, then directly and blatantly threatened:
"We don't pick and choose our targets, nor do we pick and choose our times."
"I will remember every single one of the countless civilian deaths and city destructions you two have suffered!"
Upon Yan Shaozhe looked up and glared angrily at the person above, saying, "Kong Deming! You dare to use tens of millions of civilians as hostages—"
"You bunch of robbers have no sense of rules whatsoever! How dare you lecture me, you old bastards?!"
Kong Deming roared angrily, directly interrupting Yan Shaozhe's questioning:
"I can waive the Soul Search matter. But tonight, you must give the Sun Moon Empire an explanation!"
Xuan Zi took a deep breath, suppressing his anger as he turned to stare at Du Busi: "Du Busi, you started this mess, speak up!"
Du Busi clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, and the flesh on his cheeks twitched slightly.
He opened his mouth several times, wanting to retort, but when he caught a glimpse of the two wounded elders behind him, he ultimately swallowed his anger.
"This time, it was the Body Sect that made the move. I admit defeat."
Du Busi squeezed out a sound from between his teeth:
"After we return, the Body Sect will issue a public apology to the world. We will fully compensate for the Soul Guidance Device and Rare Metal taken from the warehouse tonight. Consider it money we paid for them."
"What are you going to use to compensate?!" Jing Hongchen laughed angrily from the side, pointing at the charred corpses on the ground.
"High-level devices are acceptable, but what about the compensation for the people you killed?"
The Du Busi the neck.
"Consider both! The equipment will be priced at cost, and the compensation will be based on the normal Sun Moon rates!"
"At the exorbitant prices your large trading company usually sells at, even if three Body Sect members bought them all, they still wouldn't be able to raise this amount!"
"70% of the market price, not a penny less," Kong Deming said coldly.
Jing Hongchen followed up sharply:
"And that 100,000-Year Embryo! The starting price at the Star Luo Empire Auction House was 150 million Gold Soul Coin! Your Body Sect must pay that amount in full!"
150 million Gold Soul Coin?
Du Busi's face twitched, his eyes widening as he said:
"Bullshit! I didn't take that lousy Embryo! I didn't even see a trace of it!"
"The item was lost right under your noses, and now you're telling me you didn't take it? Who do you think would believe that?" Jing Hongchen pressed on relentlessly.
"Even if the Body Sect sells everything it owns, it won't have that much spare money!" Du Busi roared, his neck stiff.
"Then go borrow it!" Jing Hongchen refused to budge an inch.
"You've already taken everything, and now you think you can just pack up and leave pretending you have no money? Dream on!"
Du Busi was cornered for a long time, unable to utter a single word. When had he ever suffered such trouble?
Finally, his eyes darted around, and he slowly shifted his gaze to Xuan Zi beside him.
Xuan Zi was clutching his left arm when he saw Du Busi looking over. He felt a tightness in his chest and was so angry that he squeezed off some of the medicine powder that had just been applied to his wound.
"Why are you looking at me?!" Xuan Zi growled in a low voice. Did the Shrek have to fill the bottomless pit of the sins committed by the Body Sect?
Kong Deming didn't care about any of that; his gaze immediately locked onto Xuan Zi.
"Xuan Zi, the Body Sect has expressed its stance. What has Shrek said?"