Chapter 945

The 108th Slaughter Ghost City is already Wu Tie's headquarters.

Inside the city, everything remains as before, unchanged in the slightest.

Below the city, at a depth of a hundred li underground, layer upon layer of grand spatial formations are stacked, creating a vacuum spanning tens of thousands of li in radius; countless giant divine soldiers curl their bodies, piled here with an extreme, terrifying density.

Human soldiers could absolutely not be stacked in this manner.

But for the giant divine soldiers, it poses no problem.

Given the same spatial volume, if it could only accommodate one human soldier's normal lodging, it would be enough to pile up a thousand giant divine soldiers.

In a corner of this vast space, a small area reluctantly left open, spanning a dozen li in radius, Wu Tie, Lao Tie, Wu Jin, Wu Yin, Wu Tong, Wu Yu, etc., together with two hundred Wu family grandmaster experts, and all the senior monster venerables subdued by Wu Tie, gather here.

Besides them, there are also the ancient ancestors of the divine realm from the Wu family, the Five Elements Spirits, and the various great clans and gates of Wuguo's major armies.

"No schemes or tricks, just lure the snake out of its hole and then strike it down head-on." Wu Tie's eyes like blades, he swept his gaze over the close brothers and trusted retainers beside him: "Now, we fear no enemy."

Lao Tie's teeth clenched with a 'ga-bang' sound: "My gun is already thirsty and hard to bear."

Lao Tie's pupils had turned scarlet; his nature churned in his chest.

He looked at the giant divine soldiers stacked thickly beside him, and his very blood almost boiled. So many giant divine soldiers, endless to the eye, numbering in the hundreds of billions!

This made him feel as if he had returned to the battlefield of the ancient god war, as if he had become again the commander of those giant divine soldiers who charged forward, frenzied in slaughter.

Back then…

He never asked who the enemy was.

He only needed to know where the enemy was.

With these giant divine soldiers, Lao Tie felt no fear at all.

Wu Tie and the others felt that Lao Tie's inner killing intent and fierce battle spirit were like a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment; the old Wu clan fellows such as Wu Yu were stimulated until their eyes turned red, as if flames were about to burst from within them.

Wu Tie firmly patted Lao Tie's shoulder: "Lao Tie, rest assured—no matter who the enemy is, as long as they dare set foot even one step into Wuguo's territory, you can slaughter them to your heart's content."

He let out a heavy breath, and a flash of ferocious harshness crossed Wu Tie's eyes.

"This time, I have calculated that the enemy comes from overseas, from an extremely distant foreign continent… heh, they really treat Wuguo as a soft persimmon, everyone wants to squeeze it."

He slammed a heavy fist onto the ground with a tremendous boom; the space folded by the spatial formation trembled violently. Wu Tie turned his gaze to Li Ergouzi mixed in the crowd and shouted loudly: "Li Ergouzi, the entire plan of luring the snake out and drawing the enemy deep is now under your full command."

"The more enemies you draw in, the stronger they are, the greater your merit."

"If the enemies you draw in are not enough, just scare them back, heh…"

Wu Tie gave Li Ergouzi a fierce glare.

Li Ergouzi looked at Wu Tie, feeling wronged: "My lord, why must I, a humble servant, do this kind of thing?"

Wu Tie laughed, pointing at Li Ergouzi: "You little rascal, you're the most sly and versed in streetwise tricks; if not you, should we have the old sages of the Kong and Meng families do it?"

Li Ergouzi's eyes suddenly lit up; he looked at Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan in the crowd, nodding happily: "Ah, we can indeed use those two."

Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan's faces instantly darkened.

To be frank, these nobles and aristocrats descended from the great Wei clans really do not want to have dealings with Li Ergouzi.

But Li Ergouzi is Wu Tie's true confidant—one dare not offend him, cannot afford to… aside from cooperating, what else can we do?

The two old sages instantly softened their faces, smiling as they looked at Li Ergouzi.

That expression was just like seeing their own most beloved grandchild.

South of the 108th Slaughter Ghost City, deep in the mountains, several commanders whose cultivation was no higher than the Embryonic Storage realm wore foolish, drooling looks as they gazed at the beautiful woman before them, their eyes unfocused, utterly dazed.

"This place is Wuguo. The current sovereign is King Wu, Wu Tie."

"Our Wuguo was founded only a few years ago, after overthrowing the old regime and thus taking control of the world."

"What is the sovereign's cultivation? His cultivation merges with creation, his magic boundless—he is the supreme, unrivaled strongest of our Wuguo."

"Who are the sovereign's confidants? Uh, we frontier junior commanders really don't know."

"What is the territory of our Wuguo? It is vast and boundless."

"What is the population of our Wuguo? The exact number requires checking the household registers in the Ministry of Population."

"What about our Wuguo's army? Ah, it is extremely numerous, so many that… it cannot be counted, cannot be counted."

"What is our Wuguo's output? It too is mountains of gold and seas of silver, immeasurable wealth; the specific output also needs to be tallied by the Ministry of Population, we junior officers truly do not know."

"What external threats does our Wuguo face? Wuguo enjoys favorable weather and strong national strength, with no external threats."

"What internal troubles does our Wuguo have? The rebellion of the Nine Princes has been quelled, the former imperial clan has been exiled to the borderlands, leaving no internal strife."

The beautiful woman smiled gently, standing before the several commanders, carefully eliciting the information she wanted. Gradually, an undisguised look of ecstasy appeared on her face.

According to soul-secret arts, she determined that these low-cultivation commanders were not lying.

These fellows, everything they said is true.

Thus, Wuguo is a state that took advantage of the previous dynasty's internal turmoil, having just overthrown its rule and only recently pacified things. Its territory is vast, its products abundant, its population huge, yet its military strength is weak.

How do we know their military strength is weak?

Just look at the armor and gear worn by these 'Heavenly Martial Army'—what kind of ragged junk is this?

Yet these commanders say—their 'Heavenly Martial Army' is precisely Wuguo's 'Forbidden Army,' the elite force responsible for guarding the capital, the strongest corps.

The force of slightly over 100,000 Heavenly Martial Army before us is the contingent that King Wu of Wuguo has stationed in the southern borders to suppress the various military garrisons—more than a hundred Slaughter Ghost Cities, each garrisoned with over 1,200 Heavenly Martial Army troops.

This is the strongest combat strength in each Slaughter Ghost City.

As for the regular garrison strength of these frontier Slaughter Ghost Cities… look at those sneaky auxiliaries peering from afar; that is the regular troops of the frontier military cities.

The beautiful woman gave those auxiliaries a sideways glance, her mouth twitching; she simply couldn't be bothered to look at them.

There are even petty soldiers at the Sensation Mystery realm?

And there is even a group wearing leather armor, whose cultivation is only at the Body-Tempering realm, fit only to serve as laborers and miscellaneous workers?

With such trashy lackeys, each Slaughter Ghost City now stations only five or six thousand people?

The beautiful woman couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion: "What tender, delectable fat meat this is!"

Fresh and plump, yet utterly powerless to resist.

The border garrison only has five or six thousand worthless troops?

Translation: "Border military city, only stationed such five or six thousand trash?" Need natural English: "The border military city only has five or six thousand troops stationed—what a bunch of trash?" But must be faithful. Let's translate: "Border military city, and yet only five or six thousand such trash are stationed?" Might be awkward. Better: "The border military city—only five or six thousand such trash are stationed?" Keep meaning. We'll produce: "Border military city, and yet only five or six thousand such trash are stationed?" That's okay.

The beautiful woman couldn't help but have a bright idea; she smiled and asked the several Tianwu Army officers standing before her: "Is your God Emperor young? Handsome? Eligible for marriage? What is his authority in the dynasty? Is the throne secure?"

beautiful woman, Heavenly Martial Army officers, Heavenly Martial Army, God Emperor, dynasty

Thus line: "The beautiful woman couldn't help but have a sudden inspiration, she came up with an excellent idea, smiling she asked the several Heavenly Martial Army officers standing before her: 'Your God Emperor, is he young? Is he handsome? Is he marriageable? What is his authority in the dynasty? Is the throne secure?'"

We need to keep quotes.

"Young, handsome, godly martial, wise, still unmarried—in Wuguo his word is law and his authority boundless," several Heavenly Martial Army officers answered the beautiful woman in a dazed manner.

Godly Martial, wise, Wuguo, his word is law, boundless authority, Heavenly Martial Army officers, in a daze, beautiful woman

Thus: "'Young, handsome, godly martial, wise, still unmarried, in Wuguo his word is law, his authority boundless.' Several Heavenly Martial Army officers answered the beautiful woman's question in a dazed manner."

On a distant mountain peak, several soldiers of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty sneered: "This flirtatious fox—could she possibly be trying to bewitch the God Emperor of Wuguo and swallow the whole country? Damn thing… but she dares to dream!"

Fufeng Divine Dynasty, soldiers, Wuguo, God Emperor, flirty fox, damn thing

Thus: "On a distant mountain peak, several soldiers of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty sneered: 'This flirty fox, could she possibly want to bewitch the God Emperor of Wuguo and swallow the whole Wuguo? Damn thing… but she dares to dream!'"

The gold-armored youth sighed softly: "But she might actually succeed… Observing Wuguo these past few days, its national strength is really lacking. If she truly manages to get close to the Martial King, she might very well succeed."

gold-armored youth, Wuguo, Martial King, national strength

Thus: "The gold-armored youth sighed softly: 'But she really might succeed… Wuguo, from our observations these past days, its national strength is indeed lacking. If she truly manages to get close to the Martial King, she might actually succeed.'"

"Fortunately, her accomplices won't let her swallow this fat piece all by herself." The gold-armored youth sighed: "How could we let her take all that advantage alone? We must have the entire Supreme Demon Realm go to war with Wuguo."

Supreme Demon Realm, Wuguo

Thus: "Fortunately, her accomplices won't let her swallow this fat meat alone.' The gold-armored youth sighed: 'How could we let her alone take such a big advantage? We must have the whole Supreme Demon Realm fight Wuguo properly.'"

Behind the light curtain, several more figures appeared.

light curtain

Thus: "Behind the light curtain, several more figures appeared."

The light curtain quivered slightly, and a black-robed Daoist, a white-robed scholar, and a green-robed elder rushed through it at the same time.

black-robed Daoist, white-robed scholar, green-robed elder

Thus: "The light curtain trembled slightly, and a black-robed Daoist, a white-robed scholar, and a green-robed elder rushed out from it simultaneously."

"Lady Peony, what are you up to?" the black-robed Daoist pointed at the beautiful woman and scolded softly: "You arrived early—what place is this? Which dynasty? How strong are you? Oh, the Myriad Transformations Wind and Thunder Grand Formation—is this the retreat prepared by the Fufeng Divine Dynasty?"

Lady Peony, Myriad Transformations Wind and Thunder Grand Formation, Fufeng Divine Dynasty

Thus: "'Lady Peony, what do you intend?' The black-robed Daoist pointed at the beautiful woman and scolded softly: 'You came early, what place is this? Which dynasty? How strong are you? Oh, the Myriad Transformations Wind and Thunder Grand Formation—is this the retreat prepared by the Fufeng Divine Dynasty?'"

The white-robed scholar instantly turned into a vast white demonic energy that shot straight up into the sky, surveying the surroundings from a thousand li above the ground.

white-robed scholar, demonic energy

Thus: "The white-robed scholar directly turned into a vast white demonic energy and shot straight up into the high altitude, looking around from a thousand li above the ground."

"Hehe, what a great place, what a great place—the land is vast and the territory boundless; the north has a huge expanse of vital blood energy, the nation's fortune surges like a tide… what a great place, what a great place indeed, a huge chunk of fat meat… Lady Peony, what did you ask?"

national fortune, Lady Peony

Thus: "'Hehe, good place, good place, the vast land, boundless territory, the north has a vast expanse of living beings' blood and qi, the national fortune surges like a tide…… good place, good place, ah, a great piece of fat meat…… Lady Peony, what did you ask?'"

The white-robed scholar's voice faintly came from the high sky.

Thus: "The white-robed scholar's voice came faintly from the high altitude."

The green-robed elder glanced at the not‑far‑off tens of thousands of dazed Heavenly Martial Army soldiers who had already been bewitched by Lady Peony's demonic technique.

green-robed elder, Lady Peony, demonic technique, Heavenly Martial Army soldiers

Thus: "The green-robed elder glanced at the not‑far‑away dozens of thousands of dazed Heavenly Martial Army soldiers who had already been bewitched by Lady Peony's demonic technique."

He furrowed his brows and said coldly: "There is a Myriad Transformations Wind and Thunder Grand Formation here—so where are the people of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty? The formation is here, the native dynasty's troops are here—where are the Fufeng Divine Dynasty's people?"

Myriad Transformations Wind and Thunder Grand Formation, Fufeng Divine Dynasty, native dynasty, soldiers

Thus: "He furrowed his brow and said coldly: 'Here we have the Myriad Transformations Wind and Thunder Grand Formation—so… where are the people of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty? The formation is here, the soldiers of this native dynasty are here—where are the Fufeng Divine Dynasty people?'"

Lady Peony smiled faintly, lightly shaking the handkerchief in her hand: "Oh, who cares about these? Hehe, maybe the Fufeng Divine Dynasty's people were slaughtered by these natives, or perhaps they were carried off by wild wolves."

Lady Peony, handkerchief, Fufeng Divine Dynasty, natives, wild wolves

Thus: "Lady Peony smiled faintly, lightly shaking her handkerchief: 'Oh, who cares about these? Hehe, maybe the Fufeng Divine Dynasty people were slaughtered by these natives, or maybe they were carried off by wild wolves.'"

"Oh, I don't want to see you all shouting about fighting and killing—I…"

"'Oh, I don't want to see you shouting about fighting and killing, I…'"

Lady Peony's eyes flashed with a dim light, and she suddenly unleashed a silent pink lightning bolt toward the two massive door pillars.

Lady Peony, pink lightning

Thus: "Lady Peony's pupils flashed with a dim light, and suddenly she sent a silent pink lightning bolt toward two huge door pillars."

The black-robed Daoist snorted coldly, shifted his body, and directly blocked the pink light.

Thus: "The black-robed Daoist snorted coldly, swayed his body, and directly blocked in front of the pink light."

A palm‑sized round shield appeared out of thin air; the lightning struck it and vanished silently. The black‑robed Daoist's body trembled, and two drops of blood dripped from his nostrils.

Thus: "A palm‑sized round shield appeared out of thin air; the lightning struck the shield and vanished silently. The black‑robed Daoist's body trembled, and two drops of blood dripped from his nostrils."

He coldly stared at Lady Peony: "What? Want to swallow it all? Peony, do you think you have the stomach for it?"

"He coldly stared at Lady Peony: 'What? Want to swallow it all? Peony, do you think you have the stomach for it?'"

Lady Peony fell silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "Add you three? How about we four split this place? This is a tremendous fortune."

Thus: "Lady Peony fell silent for a moment, then said solemnly: 'Add you three? How about we four divide this place? This is a tremendous fortune.'"

The white‑robed scholar descended from the sky, his evil energy shooting up as he sneered: "You can certainly bewitch the monarch and monopolize a nation's fortune… but are you willing to share the benefits of this place with us? Do you think we don't know your character?"

white-robed scholar, bewitch the monarch, the fortune of a nation

Thus: "The white‑robed scholar descended from the heavens, his evil energy shooting up as he gave a cold laugh: 'You can indeed bewitch the monarch and monopolize a nation's fortune… are you willing to share the benefits of this place with us? Do you think we don't know your character?'"

The green‑robed elder said chillingly: "She's done this sort of thing—bewitching monarchs and monopolizing a nation's fortune—more than once. Hey, let's join forces, subdue her, control her life and death, and with her help we might actually unify this region's dynasty."

green-robed elder, the fortune of a nation, dynasty

Thus: "The green‑robed elder said chillingly: 'Bewitching the monarch and monopolizing a nation's fortune—she's done plenty of that. Hey, join forces, restrain her, control her life and death, we could use her to hope to unify this region's dynasty.'"

Lady Peony's face changed abruptly; her body flickered and turned into a red mist that shot swiftly northward.

Thus: "Lady Peony's face changed abruptly, her body flickered, and she turned into a red mist, speeding northward."

At the same time she let out a light laugh: "Generals, save me!"

Thus: "At the same time she gave a light laugh: 'Generals, save me!'"

Tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers' bodies twitched simultaneously; their dazed eyes cleared and grew sharp. They shouted in unison, and, having already formed a battle array, they swiftly activated their magical power.

Heavenly Martial Army soldiers, formation, magical power

Thus: "Tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers' bodies twitched simultaneously; their dazed eyes became clear and sharp. They shouted loudly, and since they were already arranged in a formation, they swiftly circulated their magical power."

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

Thus: "One breath, two breaths, three breaths……"

Lady Peony had already fled over a hundred li; she turned back, couldn't help but stop, and stared dazedly at the Heavenly Martial Army.

Thus: "Lady Peony had already fled over a hundred li; she turned her head, couldn't help but stop, and stared blankly at these Heavenly Martial Army soldiers."

The black‑robed Daoist, white‑robed scholar, and green‑robed elder also made no move; they stood with hands behind their backs, calm and composed, watching the tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers who had formed their ranks. However, gradually their complexions began to look a little strange.

Thus: "The black‑robed Daoist, white‑robed scholar, and green‑robed elder also made no move; they stood with hands behind their backs, calm and composed, watching the tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers who had formed a formation. However, gradually their complexions also turned somewhat strange."

In the distance, on the mountaintop, the gold‑armored youth and the soldiers of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty wore looks of blank stupor.

gold-armored youth, Fufeng Divine Dynasty, soldiers

Thus: "In the distance, on the mountain peak, the gold‑armored youth and the soldiers of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty had faces that went blank one after another."

The gold‑armored youth muttered: "Did we do something foolish? If we hadn't lured the Supreme Demon Realm here, but instead… actually migrated our whole nation to this place, wouldn't that have been better?"

Supreme Demon Realm, migrate the whole country

Thus: "The gold‑armored youth suddenly muttered: 'Did we do something foolish? If we hadn't lured the Supreme Demon Realm here, but instead… actually migrated our whole nation here, wouldn't that be better?'"

The soldiers all looked embarrassed, and several couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads.

Thus: "The soldiers all looked embarrassed, and several couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads."

"Who would have thought they were this weak?" a iron‑armored stalwart chuckled dryly: "Besides, Your Highness, the ancestral forbidden grounds of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty aren't something you can shift lightly; all we can really do now is… divert disaster eastward."

iron-armored stalwart, Your Highness, Fufeng Divine Dynasty, diverting disaster eastward

Thus: "'Who would have thought they'd be this weak?' an iron‑armored stalwart laughed dryly: 'Besides, Your Highness, the foundational forbidden grounds of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty aren't so easily moved; all we can do now is… divert disaster eastward.'"

The gold‑armored youth looked grimly at the formed Heavenly Martial Army: "But… really… regret… heartbreaking! Such a feeble army…!"

Thus: "The gold‑armored youth looked grimly at the formed Heavenly Martial Army: 'But… truly… regret… painful! Such a feeble army, really!'"

After exactly eighteen breaths, the Heavenly Martial Army's formation finally began to operate.

"After exactly eighteen breaths, the Heavenly Martial Army's formation finally began to operate."

With a mighty 'hu-ha' shout, a bloody killing aura rose into the sky above the Heavenly Martial Army's formation; within the aura could be vaguely seen a towering hundred‑zhang giant wielding an axe‑halberd, delivering a powerful chop into the void.

Thus: "With a mighty 'Huh‑ha' roar, a blood‑colored killing qi rose into the sky above the Heavenly Martial Army's formation; within the killing qi could be faintly seen a towering figure a hundred zhang tall, holding a battle‑axe, vigorously chopping at the void."

That chop seemed to stir the heavens; a few patches of thick cloud trembled high above, then a torrential downpour poured down with a 'hualala' sound.

Thus: "That chop seemed to stir the heavens; a few patches of thick cloud in the high altitude trembled slightly, then a torrential downpour poured down with a 'splash‑splash‑splash'."

The white‑robed scholar gazed at the formation of tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers before him, then suddenly let out a 'ge-ge-ge' laugh like a hen: "I, I, I have never in my life seen such a mighty and valiant army… Peony, Peony, come back quickly, hehe, if we four join forces we could truly swallow this region's dynasty… hehe!"

Thus: "The white‑robed scholar, looking at the formation of tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers before him, suddenly laughed 'ke‑ke‑ke' like a little hen: 'I, I, I have never in my life seen such a mighty and vigorous army…… Lady Peony, Lady Peony, come back quickly, hehe, we four joining forces really could swallow this region's dynasty…… hehe!'"

Several Heavenly Martial Army officers shouted in unison, roared, drew the formation, and heavily chopped their swords at the white‑robed scholar who was laughing loudly.

Thus: "Several Heavenly Martial Army officers shouted in unison, roared, drew the formation, and heavily chopped with their swords at the white‑robed scholar who was laughing loudly."

The black‑robed Daoist sighed, a smile on his face, and flicked his finger lightly at the formation.

Thus: "The black‑robed Daoist sighed, a smile on his face, and flicked his hand lightly at the formation."

"Your forces don't even have a single divine‑realm general—does this even count as a formation?" the black‑robed Daoist sneered mockingly: "You lot… how… tedious."

Thus: "'In your army, you don't even have a single divine‑realm general… does this even count as a formation?' The black‑robed Daoist chuckled mockingly: 'You…… how…… boring.'"

With a tremendous bang, merely a light flick of the finger, the formation of tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers shattered explosively.

Thus: "With a tremendous bang, merely a light flick of the finger, the formation of tens of thousands of Heavenly Martial Army soldiers shattered explosively."

Several Heavenly Martial Army officers spat out mouthfuls of blood and were flung backward hundreds of zhang; seventy to eighty thousand Heavenly Martial Army soldiers had their armor shattered and collapsed, vomiting blood.

Thus: "Several Heavenly Martial Army officers spat blood mouthfuls, flying backward several hundred zhang; seventy to eighty thousand Heavenly Martial Army soldiers had their armor shattered completely, each spitting blood and collapsing."

The remaining Heavenly Martial Army soldiers shouted in unison, dropped their weapons, and turned to flee.

Thus: "The remaining Heavenly Martial Army soldiers shouted in unison, each discarding their weapons and turning to flee."

Those few Heavenly Martial Army officers cursed in unison, each slapping his waist to activate palm‑sized jade talismans that flared into sheets of flowing light, sweeping up the wounded soldiers on the ground, the retreating troops, a hundred or so warships and the screaming auxiliary troops aboard them, forming a radiant rain spanning tens of miles that shot northward like lightning.

Thus: "Those few Heavenly Martial Army officers cursed in unison, each slapping his waist, a palm‑sized jade talisman flaring up, turning into vast streams of light that swept up the wounded soldiers on the ground, the fleeing soldiers, a hundred or so warships and the screaming auxiliary troops on those ships, forming a cloud of light rain spanning dozens of li, racing northward like lightning."

This rain of light fled at breakneck speed, covering over a thousand li in an instant.

Thus: "This light rain of escape flew with incredible speed, in an instant it had flown over a thousand li."

Such a clean, swift escape left the four demonic leaders who had come through the light gate stunned and dazed.

Thus: "Such a clean and swift escape speed left the four demonic heads who had come through the light gate stunned."

The green‑robed elder laughed and clapped his hands: "This region's dynasty does have a few redeeming qualities. At the very least, its escape speed surpasses even the elite Fufeng Army of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty by quite a margin."

Fufeng Divine Dynasty, Fufeng Army

Thus: "The green‑robed elder laughed and clapped his hands: 'This region's dynasty does have some merit… at least this escape speed surpasses that of the Fufeng Divine Dynasty's elite Fufeng Army by quite a bit.'"

On the mountaintop, the gold‑armored youth and his subordinates couldn't help muttering: "Running… it's damn fast!"

Thus: "On the mountain peak, the gold‑armored youth and his subordinates also couldn't help muttering: 'Running…… truly damn fast!'"

Within the light gate, another dozen or so figures rushed through.

light gate

Thus: "In the light gate, another dozen or so figures rushed through."

"Hey, old friends, are you all here? What are you doing in this place?"

Thus: "'Yo, old friends are all here? What are you doing here?'"

Who is the one who fled?