The Guard Captain spoke, "The announcement says that members of the Free Alliance will oppose our Blue Clan to the very end, and it also says—"
"If they want to oppose us, let them. No one's died yet, so what else did they say?" The Blue Clan Patriarch was used to hearing this sort of talk. As long as he could hold Baina City, with so many Spirit‑Wandering experts sitting in town, he figured the Alliance wouldn't dare charge in to seize the tower.
"They said, if we don't hand over the person for a single day, they'll break one Blue Clan city." The Guard Captain's face was grim.
"What, are they trying to copy the Demon Sect now?" The Blue Clan Patriarch hadn't expected the Free Alliance to start occupying their territory too.
But the Free Alliance had no real interest in the Blue Clan's territory—they only wanted to force the clan to hand over the artifact.
"Patriarch, what do we do now?" The Guard Captain was facing, for the first time, a situation where the Blue Clan was threatened by two powerful organizations at once.
"What else can we do? Tell Terry and Bennett to pull all the Blue-Armor Legions back from every city." The Blue Clan Patriarch finally gave the last, helpless order: abandon all external control and focus everything on defending their base in Baina City.
Even when the Blue Clan was hunted and ruined by the Demon Sect, they never reached the point of voluntarily giving up cities. But this time, the Patriarch actually made such a decision—not only outsiders, but even the Blue-Armor Legions themselves were baffled.
After the Free Alliance's latest announcement, the Blue Clan issued their own notice, and the Blue-Armor Legions in every city began to retreat.
"What's with the Blue Clan? Why did they suddenly get so timid?" In a deep, dark cavern, a妖艳 young man asked the person beside him.
The other man was middle-aged, with thick arms, a bearded face, and a cloak draped over his shoulders. He leaned against the wall and said, "It's probably the Free Alliance putting pressure on them."
"The Free Alliance? Isn't that group supposed to stay out of all conflicts? Why are they clashing with the Blue Clan?" The demonically handsome young man asked, puzzled.
"Well, rumor has it the Blue Clan stole their artifact. Right now they're hiding it in Baina City, and they've brought in a lot of Spirit‑Wandering experts to guard it, afraid the Free Alliance will launch a sneak attack." the middle-aged man replied.
"An artifact? What kind of artifact could make the Blue Clan risk everything and offend such an organization?" The young man asked, curious.
"No one really knows what artifact it is. Maybe only the Blue Clan and the Free Alliance higher-ups understand." The middle-aged man shook his head, clearly confused.
"Send someone to investigate. Anything the Blue Clan would risk so much to steal has to be valuable. And aren't you planning to take over those cities? Now's the perfect chance." The young man gave an evil smile.
"Yeah, I've already made arrangements. As for the cities, our people have started taking over, quietly moving in." The middle-aged man grinned.
"Good, that's not bad. But don't push the Blue Clan too hard. You only want the cities—don't even think about Baina. If you corner 'that one,' not even I could save the Demon Sect." The young man replied.
"Yeah, I get it. You rest up, I'll go handle things." The middle-aged man nodded, clearly in agreement.
"Go."
Once the middle-aged man left, the young man muttered suspiciously, "Evan Yang, Evan Yang... Have you really gotten mixed up with the Shadowhand Guild? Is your rapid progress all thanks to that guy's artifact?"
If Evan were here, he'd be shocked—because this man was none other than Joel Qiao, whose body was possessed by a Thirteen Demon Cults monster when he and Evan accidentally entered the Shadowhand Guild's disciple space.
And that middle-aged man from earlier? He was none other than the Demon Sect Master—the current leader of the Demon Sect.
When the middle-aged man arrived at a grand hall, he found it already packed with people.
"Greetings, Sect Master!" the crowd called out as soon as they saw him.
"Everyone, please sit." The middle-aged man nodded, then gestured for them to take their seats.
The crowd quickly reported the latest news to the middle-aged man. As Demon Sect Master, he didn't hesitate—he'd already made arrangements for every place that needed action.
Soon, news reached the Blue Clan castle: all across the Central Province, Demon Sect flags were already flying. Even in places not under their control, Free Alliance agents had taken over management.
"They're moving pretty fast," the Blue Clan Patriarch sneered when he saw the situation.
Terry and Bennett Blue were frustrated—they'd hoped to show off their talents and compete for the next management post, but now all the cities had been abandoned, and they were left with nothing but Baina to oversee.