The Vermin Squad had more than a hundred members, and every single one wore Flamefrost Armor—their defense could completely ignore attacks at the Sun-Soul level.
They held the advantage in numbers. In terms of defense, they were absolutely invincible.
So, in less than a quarter-hour, Aaron Ying, Yvette Chen, and the rest were all captured. Thinking of the tragic state of Wenren Junjie and the other six, the Vermin Squad showed no mercy; every Sky-Sun genius they took down was seriously injured—broken arms, shattered legs, all looking utterly miserable.
During all this, Howard Cheng was like an undying cockroach, roaring as he charged at Ian Song over and over, only to be slapped back into the rubble every single time.
All told, he probably took over a hundred slaps to the face. Both cheeks were so swollen it was terrifying—his original appearance was completely unrecognizable.
But at this point, he finally calmed down.
Standing in the ruins, Howard glared at Ian with venom: "Chu Fan, you dare humiliate us like this? The geniuses of the Sky-Sun Region will never let you go. When the time comes, your fate will be even worse than ours!"
"Sky-Sun's so-called geniuses are nothing. However many show up, I'll beat them all down!" Ian replied coolly.
As soon as he said this, the surrounding spectators erupted. Was Chu Fan for real? He was actually treating the Sky-Sun Region's geniuses as if they were nothing.
"I heard that the Qilin Prodigy, Victor Wang, who ranks third on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, is also in Dragonskull City. If he heard what Chu Fan just said, how do you think he'd react?"
"By the way, who is this Chu Fan? How is he so strong?"
Someone in the know said, "I heard Chu Fan is from the Mystic Sun Domain. He's ranked no.100 on the Soaring Dragon Ranking there!"
"No way! The Soaring Dragon Ranking is way weaker than the Hidden Dragon Ranking. How could Chu Fan, ranked one hundred, crush Howard Cheng at no.46 without any resistance?"
Just then—
Ian Song stepped forward toward Howard Cheng.
Seeing Ian approach, Howard instinctively felt a chill. "What are you planning to do?"
"Blood for blood. You blinded Jason Zhuge, Jackson Wenren, and the others—so I'm going to dig out your eyes to avenge them!" Ian said coldly.
Howard shivered all over at those words. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Run!!
The next moment, Howard Cheng suddenly shot up into the sky, trying to escape. As for his pride... losing face was better than losing his eyes.
But just as he reached the sky, everything above his head turned pitch black.
Boom!
A giant hand appeared out of nowhere and swatted Howard right out of the sky. With a thunderous crash, a massive crater opened up in the ground.
The next moment, Howard scrambled out of the pit, shouting at Ian Song, "Chu Fan, you can't gouge out my eyes! If you do, the Cheng Clan will never forgive you!"
Whoosh!
In a flash, Ian Song appeared at Howard's side, chopped his neck with a hand-blade, and knocked him out cold.
Then Ian hoisted the unconscious Howard and said to the Vermin Squad, "Bring them back!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Everyone answered in unison. It felt incredibly satisfying—but when they thought of Jackson Wenren and the others who'd lost their sight, their hearts grew heavy again.
Just then, the sound of synchronized marching echoed through the air.
A thousand soldiers appeared, blocking Ian Song and his group's path.
A middle-aged general in blazing red Qilin Armor stepped forward, swept his gaze over Ian and the others, and said coldly, "Chu Fan, put them down. This ends here!"
"Who are you?"
Ian raised his eyes and asked.
The general replied, "I am General Wesley Wu, acting on orders from the Supreme Commander. I'm in charge of city security!"
"You're planning to stick up for these people?" Ian pressed.
"Not sticking up for them—it's simply my duty!" General Wu said sternly.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll have no choice but to offend you!"
As he spoke, the thousand soldiers spread out, each wielding a Gang-Breaker Crossbow—a weapon designed to pierce a cultivator's defensive aura. Even ordinary Sigilforge Realm fighters wouldn't dare take a direct hit from one.
General Wu continued, "Chu Fan, I don't want to turn hostile with you. Please, for my sake, hand them over!"
"And why should I?"
Brian Zhang suddenly roared, "Where were you when our people were attacked? Now the army shows up out of nowhere—just because we're from the Mystic Sun Domain and you're all Sky-Sun cultivators?"
A member of the Vermin Squad added, "It's truly chilling! We came all the way from Mystic Sun to help you fight off the Goblins, and this is how Sky-Sun treats us?"
General Wu's face twitched, but he couldn't back down—after all, Young Master Wang had given direct orders, and Wu dared not slack off.
"What, nothing to say now?" Brian Zhang pressed, sneering.
General Wu's expression shifted, but he forced himself to reply, "One thing at a time. Release Howard Cheng and the others first—I'll report everything to the Supreme Commander, and I'm sure he'll give you a proper explanation!"
Ian Song's voice rang out: "No need! Blood for blood, tooth for tooth—however they hurt our people, we'll pay them back tenfold!"
General Wu's face grew even darker, anger rising in his heart. "Young Master Chu, I hope you think this through. This is Sky-Sun territory!"
"So what?" Ian replied coolly, showing not a hint of fear.
"Chu Fan, are you forcing me to take action?" General Wu's eyes went cold as he demanded.
"A bunch of nobodies—none of you are worth my attention!" Ian shot back.
"Fine! Well said—'a bunch of nobodies!'"
General Wu was so furious he let out a laugh. This Chu Fan really didn't know his place. With a wave, a thousand soldiers raised their Gang-Breaker Crossbows, aiming at Ian and the Vermin Squad.
"Chu Fan, one last time—will you hand them over or not?"
"No!" Ian answered without hesitation.
"Attack!"
General Wu was completely enraged. With a wave, a thousand soldiers triggered their Gang-Breaker Crossbows, and the air filled with the sound of bolts whistling through the air.
"Kill them all—leave no one alive!"
Ian's voice carried a chill.
The Vermin Squad charged forward, completely unfazed by the Gang-Breaker Crossbows.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bolts from the Gang-Breaker Crossbows kept hitting the Vermin Squad, but they couldn't penetrate the Flamefrost Armor at all—not even leaving a scratch.
Then came the soldiers' doom. The Vermin Squad had been holding back their rage, and when Ian gave the kill order, they tore into the enemy like starving wolves.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Blood sprayed and screams filled the air. In an instant, hundreds of soldiers were cut down.
"How dare you!"
Seeing this, General Wu's eyes turned red as he glared at Ian: "Chu Fan, make them stop!"
But Ian ignored him completely.
A few breaths later, the Vermin Squad finally stopped. All thousand soldiers had been slaughtered, and the stench of blood filled the air.
At the same time, every eye turned to General Wu, as if waiting for Ian to give the order to finish him off.
Surrounded by so many hostile stares, General Wu shivered and deeply regretted ever getting involved.