Gazing at Cyan Stone Castle, with its flames reaching for the sky and a chorus of wails.
The hearts of everyone in the entourage grew cold.
"This is horrible," Yuan Ming muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly.
Qin Ziwu’s expression was complex, and he sighed inwardly.
Facing an insect swarm like this, they couldn’t provide any immediate assistance.
Fortunately, knowing about the Dark Tide Fishmen meant they could at least prepare. It wouldn’t be a situation where they were completely exposed while their enemy remained hidden.
"Does your tribe have a lot of creatures like these giant leeches?" Qin Ziwen asked Lan Xie.
Lan Xie shook his head. "We have some others, but their destructive power can’t compare to the giant leeches.
These giant leeches have tenacious Life Energy. Aside from green salt, most attacks can barely kill them."
While Qin Ziwen was gathering intelligence from Lan Xie about the Dark Tide Fishman Tribe, he also sent men to provide support.
They couldn’t handle the giant leeches, but they could still help some people escape from inside Cyan Stone Castle.
Just then, Lan Tu, who had been knocked unconscious nearby, slowly began to stir.
Vaguely, he thought he heard a conversation.
"What should we do with this unconscious companion of yours?"
’That was the human speaking.’
Immediately after, he heard Lan Xie’s familiar voice.
"My companion won’t surrender. His family has been part of the tribe’s leadership for generations, so he has no reason to. My father died in battle for the tribe, and my mother was a breeding slave. I won’t die for them. But Lan Tu is different. The best thing would be to let him pass on without pain while he’s unconscious. As his friend, it’s the only thing I can do."
Shocked and enraged, Lan Tu abruptly sat up. "What are you talking about!"
Lan Xie was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected Lan Tu to wake up so quickly.
’Wasn’t he just unconscious?’
Lan Xie seemed to realize something and shot Mogu a complicated, furtive glance.
Lan Tu was furious. "Pah! How can you be so selfish! What do you mean, I have no reason to surrender? We’ve known each other for years! It’s bad enough you won’t plead for my life, but now you actually want me dead."
After saying this, Lan Tu turned to Qin Ziwen. "My Lord, I know far more than he does! My father is an elder, so I know more of the tribe’s secrets. I am more useful than him. Please, my lord, kill him instead."
Standing nearby, Lan Xie looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just lowered his head and remained silent.
"Brilliant!" Qin Ziwen clapped, looking at the two Fishmen with amusement. "No rush. As it happens, I’m quite curious about your tribe. Xiaowu, take this Lan Xie and question him separately. Keep them apart."
After speaking, he looked at Lan Xie. This Fishman had just been trying to persuade him to kill Lan Tu.
Sure enough, upon hearing they would be interrogated separately, the Fishman’s expression shifted.
Their eyes met for a moment before Qin Ziwen looked away.
After they were separated, Lan Tu, who was left behind, gradually calmed down.
He thought about what he had just said, and his expression became grim and uncertain.
"I already know your tribe’s location and the areas your people frequent," Qin Ziwen began. "So whether you tell me certain things or not doesn’t really matter. I just need confirmation to save some time."
"I know," Lan Tu said in a low voice. "Like I said before, I know more than he does. This information isn’t exactly secret, so I’m not really leaking anything vital. If you’re determined to investigate, you’ll find it all out eventually."
Lan Tu looked at Qin Ziwen with a complicated expression and said, "As far as I know, our tribe has always been in contact with a certain power. This power is a lot like you. I don’t think they’re from our world; they use some sort of method to communicate with the tribe’s leadership."
Qin Ziwen’s expression shifted. ’It seems the faction behind this group of Dark Tide Fishmen is most likely a Tuiyuan power.’
’As for why they would do this... it wasn’t hard to guess. With no prior grudge, they were deliberately targeting another Tuiyuan. It was either for revenge or for profit. We’ve never encountered them before, so it probably wasn’t revenge. That means it was most likely for profit. Destroying the Human Race’s Tuiyuan would bring them some benefit. Or rather, it would protect their existing interests. Could it be those ores?’
There was too little information for him to be certain.
"I also know that in a dark cavern beneath the tribe, the tribe is raising a monster. Every so often, they toss large amounts of food in there," Lan Tu added, dropping another bombshell.
"What is that monster?"
Lan Tu replied, "I don’t know. Ever since I was a child, there have been legends about that dark cavern. They say there’s a monster inside that eats everything. Many of the children in the tribe are scared of it and don’t dare go near it even when they’re playing."
After asking for more detailed intelligence, Qin Ziwen walked over to his men.
Seeing his worried expression and furrowed brow, Du Yu took a step forward.
Du Yu stepped forward and said in a low voice, "My Lord, I have a plan. We can use their own tricks against them. If they can use these insects, so can we."
Qin Ziwen’s expression twitched. He thought of the Insect Taming Hall he had recently acquired.
But based on their performance so far, the Belly Aphid Spiders seemed a little weak.
"Exactly. We just need to find a more powerful type of insect, raise them near the Gated Community, and hold out until the mission timer ends."
"Just hold out?"
Du Yu said seriously, "From the intelligence we’ve gathered so far, there probably aren’t any top-tier masters in this Dark Tide Fishman Tribe. We could also strike first and carry out a decapitation strike. Leave them leaderless and in disarray."
Qin Ziwen felt the decapitation strike was a viable option.
It’s difficult to destroy a faction with just a decapitation strike because the leader can be replaced.
However, losing their leader would plunge the faction into a temporary power vacuum. The struggle for succession would surely trigger internal conflict.
This would buy them more time to develop.
Moreover, Mogu himself was of the Fishman Race. While other races would have their combat effectiveness reduced underwater, Mogu would not.
The only problem was the uncertainty of whether there were any units in the Dark Tide Fishman Tribe capable of threatening Mogu.
He looked at Mogu. Mogu’s expression was unchanged as he replied concisely, "No problem. I’ll make the trip."
"Be careful. Your safety is the number one priority," Qin Ziwen instructed.
Mogu nodded, grabbed Lan Xie, and turned to leap into the subterranean river behind them.
His powerful body entered the water with barely a sound, like a single drop merging into the current.
Meanwhile, the side gate of Cyan Stone Castle opened. Under the guidance of Cao Biansheng and Bai Sanshi, some of the civilians living inside escaped from the fortress.
Along the way, they also rescued Bai Zheng, who had passed out on the castle wall.
Cao Biansheng, who had been carrying him on his back, set him on the ground. Bai Zheng’s face and exposed arms were almost completely covered in blood. He had several wounds that were now bleeding profusely, as if his body’s ability to clot had been temporarily suppressed.
The medic traveling with them, Dr. Tang, examined him, then applied pressure to stanch the bleeding. At the same time, he cleaned the wounds with fresh water and poured a small amount of the Healing Spring into his mouth.
After a while, the bleeding from Bai Zheng’s wounds began to slow.
After observing for a moment, Dr. Tang let out a sigh of relief. "He should be out of immediate danger. The patient is likely unconscious due to excessive blood loss."
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