Whenever Evan Yang learns that his friends are in trouble, he will always find a way to rescue them, never abandoning anyone. It's been like this since the beginning. Old Clam, who has followed Evan for years, knows he can't persuade him otherwise—he can only stand by and help.
"The Blue Clan really is ruthless, using this kind of tactic to force me out," Evan Yang said coldly atop the Firebird.
"It's only because they can't find you that they're resorting to such desperate measures. Otherwise, those high-and-mighty Spirit-Wandering experts would never risk losing face like this," Old Clam sighed helplessly.
"No matter what, I have to save them!" Evan Yang was now absolutely resolved—he would rescue his friends no matter what it took.
"What are you going to do? You're not seriously planning to charge in alone against ten Spirit-Wandering experts, are you? Besides, there's even one at peak Spirit-Wandering. If you go, you're as good as dead." Old Clam was curious what Evan had in mind, but he didn't try to stop him.
"Breaking through ten of them isn't possible, but since they're using this method, I can use the same trick to teach them a lesson," Evan Yang said with a cold snort.
"What trick?" Old Clam asked, hearing the confidence in Evan's voice.
Evan Yang quietly transmitted his plan to Old Clam. After listening, Old Clam sounded a bit worried: "That's pretty risky. If those ten Spirit-Wandering experts keep patrolling the city gates, they'll easily spot your real body."
"I've already thought it through. Just wait and see," Evan Yang replied with a strange smile.
Following Evan's instructions, Old Clam lent him his life-bound treasure.
Once Evan had the miraculous bead, he put Old Clam into the tower and took the bead with him.
Evan arrived above Deepreach City, opened his divine sense, and found everyone had already evacuated. The people he was looking for weren't there, so he left.
He took out his transmission stone and told the person he was seeking, "Go to the eastern outskirts."
Ray Budin, who was patrolling with the Blue-Armor Legion in Baina, saw a message on his transmission stone. His expression changed, then he ordered, "Everyone go rest for now; we'll resume tonight."
"Yes, sir," the Blue-Armor Legion responded.
After everyone had left, Ray Budin departed the city and headed to the eastern outskirts.
He saw the person he admired so much—it was Evan Yang.
"What's the situation in the city?" Evan asked, smiling at his old acquaintance.
"What else? We're just preventing assassin attacks, and dealing with the Demon Sect and Free Alliance stirring up trouble," Ray Budin replied.
"The three Free Alliance members are in Blue Clan hands?" Evan confirmed.
"Yeah, they're in the castle," Ray Budin replied.
"Can you help me sneak in?" Evan knew the city gates would be swept by Spirit-Wandering experts' divine sense. Even with Old Clam's treasure, he'd risk exposure. Now he planned to use Ray Budin's connections and pose as his guard.
"I can, but you'll be recognized easily like this," Ray Budin said worriedly.
Evan transformed himself. "How about now?"
"How did you do that?" Ray Budin was shocked to see Evan's aura and appearance completely change.
"Don't worry about how I did it. Can you get me inside like this?" Evan grinned.
"That's much safer. Just stick close to me—since I'm with the Blue-Armor Legion, the Spirit-Wandering experts won't waste energy on me, so they won't pay much attention to you either," Ray Budin explained.
"Looks like the Blue-Armor Legion gets some pretty good treatment," Evan joked.
"It wasn't like this before. Over the years, because of you, a lot of Blue-Armor Legion members retired. Now there are fewer left, so the old members get special treatment," Ray Budin said awkwardly.
Evan didn't press for details. He just smiled and followed Ray Budin. To make it look more convincing, Evan disguised himself as a Blue-Armor knight and rode in with Ray Budin.
At the city gate, he really did encounter several powerful waves of divine sense, but they only swept over him briefly—no one examined Evan closely.
With that, Evan slipped easily into the city.
Once inside, it was much safer. With so many people in the city, even Spirit-Wandering experts couldn't identify everyone.
"Alright, I'll stay at this inn. You can go about your business," Evan said gratefully.
Ray Budin smiled. "Alright, I'll be off then."
After Ray Budin left, Evan started planning his next move.
Ray Budin kept wondering what Evan would do next every day.
A few days later, Evan finally made his move. One day, Terry Blue and Bennett Blue vanished on their way to the castle.
Two living people just disappeared. When the Blue Clan Patriarch heard the news, he was shocked and furious. "What happened? How could two people vanish in our own city?" he shouted.
The guard captain replied awkwardly, "We've only ever seen attacks before, but this is the first time someone just disappeared."