Chapter 793: Section 581: Perilous Situation
Zong Ge added, “Unless there’s a power acting stubbornly on its own.”
“Unfortunately, the strongest in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom are the three of the Holy Domain. The Snow Elf King from hundreds of years ago was Legendary Level. Although he was powerful enough, his political capabilities were lacking, and even the citizens of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom privately considered him to be weak by nature. He didn’t accomplish this task.”
Zi Di continued, “After this incident, I once again realized a major shortcoming of ours.”
“We are severely lacking in intelligence personnel.”
“Alchemy Puppets and Undead Life can indeed take advantage of reconnaissance, especially after being enhanced with Deception and Disguise Skill, Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill.”
“But real intelligence requires people to investigate, analyze, and arrange.”
“We need someone to take charge of intelligence work. We have always relied on buying intelligence from outside.”
“This point really needs to be improved!”
Zong Ge immediately expressed his strong agreement.
Up until now, they still knew very little about the duelists, only that they were a powerful and mysterious force.
This time at the Purple Vine Shop, they suffered a heavy loss due to a lack of information. If they could have detected the adverse situation in advance, even just a hint of it, to alert Zi Di and Zong Ge, it would never have been so perilous!
Zong Ge sighed, “Among us survivors, there’s no one with the talent to take charge of intelligence work.”
“If we hire externally, the most critical thing is loyalty. We cannot guarantee that.”
“Exactly,” Zi Di lamented. “If it’s an outsider hired to conduct our intelligence espionage and collection, he could totally infer many of our secrets from the intelligence we gather.”
“This position is crucial, too important!”
“We must ensure the loyalty of this person. Relying solely on magic or Divine Arts is ultimately not secure.”
After Zi Di finished explaining her situation, it was Zong Ge’s turn to go into detail about his side.
“The person who attacked me was very strong!” Zong Ge exclaimed.
“Honestly, I had the upper hand. At that time, I was preparing actively for battle to rescue you. If it weren’t for being battle-ready in advance, wearing armor and so on, allowing the enemy to stealthily steal my equipment first, the fight would have been incredibly difficult.”
“According to my strength, there was no way to detect Hua Tang. But fortunately, I received a Divine Blessing. The Lord temporarily granted me a piece of Divine Arts, which finally unveiled the hidden enemy.”
“I was wearing three pieces of silver armor, but the enemy still bypassed my defenses. He used an alchemy tool with Combat Skill to directly break through space, attacking my internal organs.”
“However, as far as defending against internal organ damage, I’m already very proficient. From this point of view, I have to thank the entanglement of Blood Vengeance a bit.”
Zong Ge had previously ambushed the Gang Leader of the Axe Gang, Lin, and Jia Bing, successfully slaying the three individuals, but in the final moment, the Gang Leader of the Axe Gang counterattacked, hitting Zong Ge with an enchantment—Blood Vengeance.
Blood Vengeance would activate periodically, attacking any part of Zong Ge’s body. In the struggle against Blood Vengeance, Zong Ge became very adept at defending within his own body.
This solid foundational skill made Hua Tang’s peculiar techniques ineffective.
“The time we crossed hands was actually very short.”
“I could feel that he didn’t fully utilize his strength. It’s very likely he was wary of the City Guard and other factors, so he withdrew voluntarily.”
“I had no way to hold him back.”
“And, before he left, he also left me a ‘gift’.”
Zong Ge’s tone grew heavy at this point.
He did not know that the Combat Skill deployed by Hua Tang was called Floral Willow, but after testing after the battle, he had already discovered the bothersome nature of this Combat Skill.
The combination of flower buds and willow branches, like a brand on his skin, was constantly absorbing his life force and Fighting energy.
“It’s only Fighting energy, but I feel like it’s alive.”
“It’s using me as soil, taking root and sprouting.”
“I have a premonition that when the flower buds bloom, it will be the time of my death.”
“So, before that, I have to find a solution!”
Zong Ge was a person with a broad perspective, but he had never seen such a Combat Skill.
But as an excellent commander, he had the composure of remaining unchanged even if Mount Tai collapses before him. When it came to his own life and death, he spoke as if discussing an unrelated stranger.
Zi Di also frowned deeply upon hearing this: “The Blood Vengeance on you still hasn’t been resolved. Now there’s another such Combat Skill…”
“Tower Spirit is onboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, so we are temporarily unable to access the database.”
“The more reliable way is to find the enemy who attacked you, to dig and search for a solution from him.”
Zi Di then asked a rather critical question: “Zong Ge, can you be sure that he is from Hua Tang?”
“According to the intelligence we have collected, Hua Tang has never displayed such moves.”
Zong Ge fell silent for a short while, then solemnly said after deep thought: “I can’t make that judgment.”
“If we talk about strength, he indeed matches the profile of Hua Tang.”
“After all, this Golden Level Thief has legendary color and has been active in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom for so many years.”
Zi Di immediately understood the underlying meaning of Zong Ge’s words, and she sighed, “Yes, you are already Golden Level, and you have Golden Level weapons.”
“Compared to that, the enemy who attacked you seems more powerful than the ‘Hua Tang’ we encountered at Snowbird Port.”
“The one who attacked you is more likely to be from the Hua Tang!” Zi Di sighed.
“But if this speculation is true, then our previous guess at Snowbird Port was wrong. Then who was the Golden Level Thief that the City Lord of Snowbird Port killed?” During their time in Snowbird Port, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had been subjected to an assassination by a Golden Level Thief.
Luckily at that time, the one disguised as Old Zhong and Red Vine was an Alchemy Puppet. Moreover, the Alchemy Puppet was equipped with the Deception and Disguise Skill and the Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill. As a result, the Golden Level Thief was under the impression that he had succeeded in his assassination.
What he stole, a Golden Level equipment, had a tracking device brazenly planted by the survivors. But with the Deception and Disguise Skill and Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill in effect, the thief was blissfully unaware.
Through the tracker, the survivors accurately determined his location and informed the City Lord of Snowbird Port. This led to the subsequent battle where the City Lord of Snowbird Port, in cooperation with the Sea Bird Bishop and aided by the Mage Tower, cornered and killed the Golden Level Thief.
Zong Ge tried to analyze, “We did, indeed, judge that this thief was from the Hua Tang.” “But on closer reflection, when we were in the Mage Tower of Snowbird Port, we only detected that he possessed a Silver Fox Mask.”
“This is indeed a characteristic of the Hua Tang, but other than that, his features did not match the information we had on the Hua Tang.” Zi Di nodded, “At the time, the squad leader speculated that this was deliberate by the Hua Tang.”
“The purpose was to use the mismatched features to clear his connection with Teng Donglang.” The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps knew about the secretive relationship between Hua Tang and Teng Donglang.
They had the City Lord of Snowbird Port to thank for this knowledge. Initially, to prompt the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps into action and to provide them with a justifiable reason to move against the Saber Gang, the City Lord voluntarily provided the corps with two Magic Images. One of these images was the scene of Teng Donglang and the Hua Tang privately exchanging friendly spars.
Zi Di sighed again, “I always thought that the Hua Tang had died at Snowbird Port. Now, a new Hua Tang has appeared, with features that completely match the information we have.”
“The National Ceremony of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom is just around the corner, and at this time, the Hua Tang’s gesture to attack you also fits his characteristic of acting ostentatiously.” “But the moves he used to attack you have never been seen before in the intelligence.”
Zong Ge interjected, “In terms of moves, that cannot be used as a criterion. Many people have hidden trump cards that they will not use unless absolutely necessary.” “It’s quite normal for the Hua Tang, who has been operating in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom for so long without being caught, to have one or two unexpected tricks up his sleeve.”
Zi Di could tell that Zong Ge was more inclined to believe that the one who attacked them was the real Hua Tang. Or to put it another way, the man was more like the Hua Tang than the one who had died at Snowbird Port. Now she remembered that the City Lord of Snowbird Port also seemed to have said something within the Mage Tower at the time.
Essentially, the City Lord himself could not and dared not be sure if the one who attacked the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was the Hua Tang. Because there had been many people who had killed the Hua Tang and gained fame as a result. Yet later, the Hua Tang would reappear, continue to commit crimes, and embarrass many. Some prominent figures found it hard to save face.
“Perhaps, the thief we slew was also such a case.” “He acted using the reputation of the Hua Tang.” This thought led Zi Di to a sudden inspiration and a new speculation, which she shared with Zong Ge, “Perhaps, the Golden Level Thief who attacked us in Snowbird Port was from that mysterious organization.”
“So, it wasn’t just that our squad leader killed Teng Donglang. Even before that, we had utilized the strength of the City Lord of Snowbird Port to ambush and kill a member of their group.” Zong Ge, listening through the communication device to Zi Di’s analysis, nodded slightly, “That’s a possibility.”
The two continued to discuss for a while but made little progress. “We lack critical intelligence; guessing like this is pointless,” Zong Ge initiated a stop. He spoke gravely, “Now, we need to deal with the problem. The most troublesome part is still on your end. To be honest, I would rather the empire’s spy was framed. The real person who ambushed you might actually be our ‘old friend.'”
Zi Di heaved a deep sigh, “I too would prefer it to be so, but reality isn’t our wishful thinking.” “Judging by the current situation, even if it wasn’t the empire’s spy, it’s likely another enemy.” “After all, before I went to the Purple Vine Shop, I had reapplied the Deception and Disguise Skill. My identity is completely separate from that of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
Zi Di understood Zong Ge’s concern and shared it. The situation of the survivors was far from good. They were facing a powerful and mysterious organization bent on exterminating them, already putting the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps in an extremely difficult position. They had paid a heavy price – not just the destruction of the Alchemy Workshop, but also Bu Quan, who they had recruited, along with her teacher and the Honey Snow Tower, had gone missing.
This forced Zi Di to take a risk and exchange some of the War Merchant’s alchemical results for further support from the Lijian family. Under such circumstances, if they were to provoke the Imperial Spy Organization… Without a doubt, under the pressure of two massive organizations, the survivors would be crushed to dust.
“Is this the pressure my father once faced?” “No, the situation I’m facing now seems even worse than what my father dealt with.” “How did we get to this point?” Zi Di lamented, feeling disheartened.
She missed the Dragon-man youth once again, “Squad leader, where are you now? How would you face the predicament we’re in?”