The entire border city trembled under the weight of Jian Xuan's decree. His peak Core Formation aura was a suffocating, tangible pressure that inspired a primal, instinctual terror in the hearts of the thousands of disciples lining the walls.
They were soldiers of proud sects, but they were not fools. They knew the difference between a battle and an execution, and the man standing on the prow of that ship was offering them the latter.
Inside the secret command chamber, Vice Sect Leader Zha Wu was trembling, his face ashen with terror. The two cloaked figures stood over him, their own auras churning with a mixture of shock and fury.
"A peak Core Formation expert…" the woman whispered again, her voice a low, dangerous hiss. "The Golden Shell Guild's Second Grand Elder. They are more decisive than we anticipated."
"It matters not," the man said, though his voice lacked its earlier confidence. "Our reinforcements are already on their way. They are led by an expert who can handle this man. Your duty, Vice Sect Leader, is to stall him. Buy us time."
"Stall him?" Zha Wu repeated, his voice trembling with disbelief. "Did you not feel that pressure? He could turn my disciples to ash with a single thought! You are asking me to lead my people to their deaths!"
"Your Sect Master pledged his forces to our cause," the woman said, her voice as cold as ice. "This is the price of that pledge. Go out there. Offer him the deal he wanted before. Tell him you will bring his people to the border. Apologize. Grovel, if you must. Do whatever it takes to keep him talking until our support arrives."
Zha Wu looked at them, at the shadowy voids beneath their hoods, and saw no room for negotiation. He was being ordered to lead his sect's disciples in a suicidal delaying action. He slowly, shakily, rose to his feet. His heart was a block of ice in his chest.
He flew out from the city walls, a lone, pathetic figure approaching the massive, imposing transport ship. He could feel the eyes of every disciple on his back, and the even more terrifying, oppressive gaze of the Grand Elder on the ship before him.
He came to a halt in the air, a safe distance away, and gave a deep, trembling bow. Before he could even speak, a new voice, cheerful and utterly devoid of fear, rang out from the ship's deck.
"Grand Elder, that's him!" Kui shouted, pointing a dramatic, accusing finger at Zha Wu, like a child tattling to a parent. "That's the one who was bullying me! He was very unreasonable!"
Zha Wu, who couldn't make out the exact words from this distance, could nonetheless guess their content from the indignant, theatrical gesture. A flush of shame and fear washed over him. He cleared his throat, his voice cracking slightly as he began his rehearsed speech.
"Honored Grand Elder," he began, his voice filled with a false, groveling sincerity. "There has been… a terrible misunderstanding. My earlier actions were unauthorized. I was not aware of the full situation. We of the Soaring Dragon Sect would never wish to make an enemy of the esteemed Golden Shell Guild." He took a deep breath. "We will, of course, agree to your earlier proposal. We will gather all of your people and bring them to the border for you to collect. Please, accept our sincerest apologies."
He waited, his heart hammering in his chest, praying the powerhouse before him would accept this flimsy olive branch.
Jian Xuan's response was instantaneous and absolute. He let out a short, contemptuous laugh that boomed like thunder.
"That is no longer on the table," he declared, his voice cutting through the air like a blade of ice. The pressure of his aura intensified, and Zha Wu felt his own spiritual energy seize up in his meridians.
"Your chance for a peaceful resolution has passed," Jian Xuan continued, his voice now a low, dangerous growl. "I will head into your empire myself and I will take my people. Anyone that gets in my way will die. I do not care who it is. I have already given you far too much face by not turning this border city and all of the military forces stationed here to dust." He took a step forward, to the very edge of the prow. "Now, give way, or be destroyed."
The ultimatum was absolute. There was no room for negotiation, no room for tricks, no room for stalling.
Zha Wu was trapped. In front of him was an enraged peak expert threatening to annihilate him and everyone under his command. Behind him, in that dark room, were two mysterious, powerful figures who had ordered him to fight, to sacrifice his disciples' lives to buy them a few precious hours.
His mind raced, a torrent of fear, loyalty, and a growing, rebellious anger. He thought of his Sect Master, a man he had once respected, who had been so easily manipulated by these cloaked figures and their grand promises.
He looked down at the thousands of disciples on the walls, young men and women of his sect, and of the allied sects who had joined their cause. They were looking at him, their Vice Sect Leader, for guidance, for orders. The order he had been given was to tell them to die for a cause he no longer believed in, for masters he did not trust.
He had never believed in this war. He had always felt that his Sect Master was being used, that the Soaring Dragon Sect was being treated not as a partner, but as a disposable pawn. And now, he had the proof. They wanted him and his people to be the shield that would absorb the wrath of this terrifying Grand Elder, all to protect their own secrets.
He looked at the imposing figure of Jian Xuan, at the silent, watchful group on the ship, and he made a decision. A decision that would change his fate, and the fate of everyone below him, forever.
He took a deep breath, and he yelled, his voice infused with all the spiritual energy he could muster, a desperate, treasonous cry that echoed across the entire city. "I don't want to fight!"
He pointed a shaking finger back towards the command center in the heart of the city.
"The two in that room over there are forcing us to be here! They are the ones in charge! They are the ones who ordered the lockdown! They are the ones who are asking us to die for no good reason. They said their reinforcements are coming, and that we are to stall you here! Quickly, kill them before they get away!"
A wave of stunned, absolute silence fell over the city. The thousands of disciples on the walls stared at their Vice Sect Leader, their minds reeling. Then, a wave of comprehension, followed by horror and a surge of furious betrayal, washed through their ranks. They were not fighting for the glory of their sect. They were being ordered to sacrifice their lives as pawns for some other, hidden power.
On the ship, Li Yu's group was not surprised. This outcome lined up perfectly with Kui's analysis, Jian Xuan's prediction, and Fengliu's intelligence. There was another force here, using these people for their agenda with no regard for how this force ended up.
Before anyone could even process the full implications of the betrayal, the room that Zha Wu had pointed to exploded in a shower of stone and dark energy. The two cloaked figures shot out, their auras blazing with a furious, murderous rage.
"Zha Wu, you traitor!" the woman's voice shrieked, a sound of pure venom. "You will pay for this with the blood of your entire sect!"
The internal conflict was now a very open, and very bloody, affair.