Chapter 346: Loyal and Devoted?

"The intelligence actually had a problem..."

Qin Jian tilted his head, his brows slightly furrowed: "To mistake a force of two thousand Evil Soul Masters for one thousand, isn't that discrepancy a bit too large? Is our Guard Army's intelligence department eating shit?"

Beside him, Lin Baizhan also seemed somewhat ashamed: "Their organization has always only had a count of one thousand active members; I truly don't know where this extra thousand popped out from..."

He always felt something wasn't quite right...

Qin Jian's eyes narrowed slightly.

Almost involuntarily, he thought of Bibi Dong, and thought of her strange behavior that night.

"Could this be a conspiracy? Is it... related to her?"

Qin Jian did not have time to overthink.

Because under the sudden encirclement of two thousand Evil Soul Masters, even though the Guard Army had very disciplined combat tactics, they were quickly pushed back.

The momentum that had originally been unstoppable vanished completely.

"Kill! ——"

However, at this very moment, a thousand-strong Spirit Master army suddenly appeared from the north and south of the small town, attacking the Evil Soul Masters in an instant.

"This is... the Guard Army from the other two provinces?!"

Lin Baizhan's eyes widened, and he said with pleasant surprise: "Commander, did you foresee this situation long ago?"

Qin Jian curled his lips: "Foresee my foot, I just wanted to finish the suppression early and go back sooner."

Opposite.

Seeing the situation that had just looked somewhat favorable reverse in only a few minutes, that Soul Saint leader instantly went frantic.

"To catch the bandits, catch the king first; I'll kill you, the commander, before anything else!"

With a pitch-black ghost shadow possessing his body, the Soul Saint lunged over viciously, crossing a distance of several hundred meters directly, full of aggressive momentum.

"You're a thief crying 'stop thief'!"

Qin Jian couldn't help but retort.

"Swish!"

And Lin Baizhan at his side drove straight forward, six Soul Rings lighting up on his body, his long spear attacking the Soul Saint.

This action did a very good job of fulfilling his duty as a Commander.

"Boom!"

But as an ordinary Soul Emperor without any cheats, he naturally wouldn't be a match for a Soul Saint, let alone one who had activated his Spirit Avatar to attack.

So he was directly knocked flying, sent reeling backward.

"Protect the Commander!"

While being miserably beaten back, he didn't forget to let out a shrill cry.

"Protect the Commander!"

At the same time, the Commanders from the other two directions shouted loudly, charging toward Qin Jian's direction together.

Qin Jian: "......"

The Soul Saint on the other side hasn't even engaged me in battle yet, are you subordinates being a bit too proactive?

But he didn't have time to ponder, because the Soul Saint opposite was attacking with his Unparalleled Ghost Shadow activated.

Full of aggressive momentum, looking like he wanted to tear him to shreds in an instant.

"Hum!"

Qin Jian decisively leaped up from his horse.

His Second Soul Ring flashed first, a Sword of Original Heart shot out, weakening the opponent and strengthening himself.

"Hum!"

At the same time, his Fourth Soul Ring lit up, the Light of the Netherworld spread out, once again weakening the opponent's attack Speed.

"Netherworld... Extreme Sword!"

The sword turns into traceless shadows, the body becomes slaughtering light.

"Swish swish swish..."

Qin Jian instantly wove back and forth around the Soul Saint dozens of times, streaks of Sword Light cutting into him.

"Ah! ——"

With a miserable shriek, the Soul Saint's entire body was covered in wounds, blood spreading across him.

He stood there blankly, looking at his expression, he was a bit stunned.

A dignified Soul Saint being beaten to the point of being unable to lift his head by a Soul Emperor's combo, and even suffering not-insignificant injuries—this scene was too spectacular; no one present had ever seen it.

And at this time, the Commanders from the other two directions, as well as Lin Baizhan who had just been beaten back, had already arrived near the battlefield of Qin Jian and the Soul Saint.

Having prepared to offer assistance, they were also a bit stunned.

This Soul Emperor fighting a Soul Saint across ranks, and a Soul Saint who had activated his Spirit Avatar at that, how did the Soul Emperor gain the upper hand?

This didn't conform to their understanding at all...

Seemingly startled by the commotion caused by the three surrounding Commanders, the Soul Saint looked around and discovered that the Guard Army was gradually gaining the absolute upper hand, while the Evil Soul Master team was retreating steadily, looking like they were about to collapse.

"Retreat! ——"

This leader decisively shouted, taking the lead to charge toward the west, the only direction not blocked by the Guard Army.

Seeing their leader fleeing, those Evil Soul Masters no longer had any will to fight, and in an instant, they were like a dam bursting.

They stopped fighting, abandoned their weapons, and one by one fled desperately toward the west.

In that disheveled and miserable state, they seemed to wish they could grow an extra leg.

Three legs might be able to run faster...

Qin Jian: "......"

That escape was far too decisive...

"Commander, shall we pursue?" Lin Baizhan asked from his side.

The other two Commanders also arrived at his left and right, looking very loyal and devoted.

"Pursue, of course we pursue. Isn't 'surround on three sides, leave one open' for this very moment?"

Qin Jian waved his hand and said: "Have them follow the Evil Soul Master group closely, but don't press them too hard. Keep shouting 'surrender and live' all the way; our Death Canyon is still short on people!"

"Uh, yes."

The three Commanders nodded in agreement.

But they did not go to relay the order themselves; instead, they passed the order down layer by layer through the knights beside them, while they themselves remained guarding Qin Jian's left and right, still maintaining that very loyal appearance.

"Swish!"

Qin Jian jumped back onto his warhorse, his Sword pointing forward...

At this moment, he suddenly felt that he should be holding a long spear; that would be much more imposing.

"Pursue!"

With a single order, the entire Guard Army of three thousand men moved in response, chasing after the Evil Soul Master group like a tidal wave.

"Surrender and live!"

Under this slogan, which was highly characteristic of Qin Jian, the Evil Soul Masters who were caught up surrendered one after another, almost never forming any effective resistance again.

The true essence of "surround on three sides, leave one open" is to give the defeated army a hope of survival, preventing them from developing the resolve to fight to the death.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, they would rather flee when facing defeat than fight to the death.

With such a mindset, they only hate that they cannot run faster than others, so how could they continue to resist? If they are caught, they just surrender; why continue fighting if they don't have to die...

It was under such circumstances that more and more Evil Soul Masters surrendered.

Very quickly, except for those Evil Soul Masters who were Soul Elders or above, almost all the rest were caught up to and subdued.

"Everyone, don't panic! They are on horseback and definitely cannot catch up to us!"

The leading Soul Saint saw that only a hundred people remained by his side, and he was clearly somewhat panicked: "As long as you are a Soul Elder or above, it is impossible to be caught by horses. Everyone, follow me!"

The remaining Evil Soul Master group immediately gathered toward him, and as the group exerted their strength together, their Speed was indeed much faster than the Guard Army pursuing from behind.

In front of Spirit Masters, the rule that cavalry can steadily catch up to infantry failed...

"He actually reminded me..."

Qin Jian suddenly leaped off his horse and said: "All Guard Army members who are Soul Elders or above, dismount and pursue!"

"Yes!"

Nearly three or four hundred men dismounted in response and followed him in the pursuit.

In this way, it turned into a contest of soul power consumption...

"Commander, delays lead to changes. If we keep pursuing like this, no one knows what is waiting for us ahead. What if they have accomplices..."

During the sprint, Lin Baizhan suddenly said.

Qin Jian gave him another look with a very strange expression, then nodded slightly: "What you say makes sense."

He trusted his intuition for danger very much.

Moreover, this incident happened suddenly and was far too bizarre; if it wasn't a coincidence, then there was a high probability that someone was plotting against him behind the scenes.

Qin Jian's Sixth Soul Ring slowly lit up.

"Is it the Elder Hall again..."

Thanks to book friend 【Amogul】 for the 1000 coin tip! 500 coins for Bibi Dong!

(End of chapter)