Chapter 700: Information (Gentlemen, I have returned)

This interrogation of the Demon Cult member went very smoothly, so smoothly that even Tang Zhao found it hard to believe.

One must know that because he was not formally trained, Tang Zhao had actually never taken a course on interrogation. He had wanted to see if the Town Guardians from the outer provinces possessed any superb interrogation techniques, but it turned out to be nothing more than that: coercion and intimidation, mixed with a little bit of enticement. It was all straightforward, with no profound application of psychology, and they did not even use Sword Art.

On the contrary, the Demon Cult thief from the outer province was quite cooperative; even information that sounded highly confidential was revealed without reservation.

It was as if he truly would stop at nothing to turn over a new leaf.

Che Lin asked questions back and forth, prying into the details until he was tireless, before nodding with satisfaction and saying, "Lock him up. Let him out after it's over."

He didn't say anything about not needing to keep one's word with demons and heretics, nor did he cross the river and burn the bridge or turn hostile; he simply had the man safely locked up, just in case.

After the man was taken down, Tang Zhao said, "The Demon Cult has a grand strategy."

Che Lin also put away his calm and composed expression, becoming grave.

"Do you think what he said is true?"

Tang Zhao mused, "One naturally cannot fully trust people from the Demon Cult, especially since he was overly cooperative. But some things cannot be fabricated."

Che Lin said, "But there is no precedent."

Tang Zhao said, "That is exactly it. The lack of precedent makes it seem less like Alie." He thought for a moment and said, "Let's keep this in doubt for now, but confirm that the Demon Cult is making a big move this time. It's also a collaboration between two provinces, two branch leaders; it can be considered a full-scale mobilization."

The Demon Cult also has branch divisions and halls. A branch division generally manages one city, and larger ones manage a prefecture. The branch leader is equivalent to a Town Guardian. Two branch leaders came this time, which means two Sword Guests.

Che Lin continued, "I feel that there may not only be these two. Firstly, what could this small fry know? It's good enough that he knows his own branch; how would he know about other branches? He knows even less about the level above that. Secondly, we cannot rule out that he is a 'dead spy' sent to confuse us. Thinking logically, for a Demon Cave that spans two provinces like this, we have to ask for reinforcements from the Inspection Envoy, so wouldn't the Demon Cult do the same? We are in a particularly tight spot for time, and the Inspection Envoy might not arrive in time, but they are not. If what he said is correct, then they have been plotting and preparing thoroughly this time; I fear there are experts holding the line."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "I share your view. We must consider the possibility that a Sword Hero is lurking." He stood up and said, "We must also consider the possibility that the Sword Hero has special means to deceive the heavens."

If this is the case, and this person truly exists, considering that he is still hiding, then it is possible that his Sword Intent leans toward concealment.

Using the power of a Sword Hero to deceive the heavens and cover up cross-border power that is nearly at the level of a Sword Immortal is quite extraordinary, even for a small Demon Cave.

Thinking of this, Tang Zhao pressed his Glasses and said, "Help me record this. The Demon Cult may have a Sword Hero in hiding, and the fact that 'he is in hiding' may also be hidden."

Just now, he had thought of the Vanishing Sword. That kind of sword makes people directly forget even the fact that "something has been forgotten," with no chance of remedy. How terrifying is that?

And this kind of magical sword is not necessarily unique. What if this sword also has a similar effect?

So now Tang Zhao reminded the Glasses to record it. The Glasses ignore these rules; from this point of view, the Glasses are very similar to his Celestial State. However, he cannot maintain that state at all times, so there is a possibility of being hit by something inexplicable without knowing it.

Perhaps when he becomes a Sword Immortal, that flaw will disappear.

Che Lin did not know he was talking to the Glasses. At this moment, there were only two people, so Tang Zhao could only instruct him to write it down. He had no temper toward Tang Zhao, so he found paper and pen to write it for him and said, "Fortunately, Tang Commander is here, so we have peace of mind."

Tang Zhao said, "I am responsible for dealing with the Sword Hero; one or two is no problem. It's just that now the enemy is in the light and we are in the dark."

In fact, his identity was still somewhat secret, but when he rushed over just now, it was a grand procession and not particularly confidential. As long as someone saw the scene of them meeting up earlier, it would not be hard to guess that he was a Sword Hero. Now, everyone on both sides of the Land Inspection Division knew Tang Zhao was here. If the Demon Cult also caught a tongue, the secret would definitely not be kept.

At most, they wouldn't know that Tang Zhao, this Sword Hero, is not an ordinary Sword Hero.

Tang Zhao saying he could deal with one or two was considered conservative. In a head-on confrontation, he could even sweep away opponents at the Sword Hero level.

But he would not underestimate any opponent. How colorful and diverse are the Sword Techniques in the world? Who knows what strange and difficult trump cards the Sword Hero on the other side might have? If he didn't act, that would be one thing, but today, since he had brazenly followed to participate in the Land Inspection Division's mission and had taken on the heavy responsibility of command, it would be truly shameful if he dropped the ball in his own segment. Whether others called him "Commander" or "Lord" in the future, it would become an insult.

He must go all out.

After a while, the scouts returned one after another. Tang Zhao summoned the officers back to discuss again.

The scouts of the Land Inspection Division were quite professional, their memories were good, and they had mapping skills; each of them drew maps and brought them back. Although both sides took different directions, they both circled a large area, and their reconnaissance ranges overlapped, which was perfect for mutual verification.

Tang Zhao hung up the full map and made marks on the maps of both sides.

"Fierce Beasts have appeared on the grassland one after another. Fierce Beast groups have appeared at these two locations," the Youzhou scout Spirit Official said first. "One group of Fierce Beasts is particularly strange; it is a group of bats."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "It is indeed a bit strange."

As everyone knows, Fierce Beasts are transformed from ordinary wild beasts. Fierce Beasts can be strange and varied, but wild beasts still have their distribution patterns. If there are bats in this area, it is not strange to have Fierce Beast bats; if there were none originally, or even an environment where bats do not inhabit at all, then it is worth thinking about.

"Was this area originally farmland?"

"The Yunzhou side was," Chi Qianli said. "We have already evacuated the people. Actually, there was nothing to evacuate; nowadays, natural villages are no longer allowed to exist independently. The smallest must be a large village or town. There were a few small huts around that were for guarding the fields; we have already driven them away. They really don't follow the rules; we told them no overnight stays in the wilderness, but they insisted on secretly laying out their bedding, saying it was just for a nap. I made them roll up their bedding and get lost. Someone is escorting them back to the town."

The Deputy Envoy on the Youzhou side said, "That's right, the stubborn people just don't follow the rules. When told to get lost, they dawdle, as if their lives weren't their own lives; it really makes one angry."

This was originally a difficulty in the work of the Land Inspection Division, which everyone had experienced. In the past, even if Che Lin didn't complain a few words along with them, he would tacitly condone their grumbling. But today, he really didn't want to bring up this topic, so he waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about this. The Youzhou side is wasteland. There is no human presence."

He sighed. Ever since the Yin Calamity appeared frequently, there was more and more wasteland. The common people fled into the cities; besides the fields around the cities, who would farm those marginal fields?

If it were in the past, wealthy families would take the opportunity to annex them, but now wealthy families also cherish their lives and have completely abandoned them.

If this continues, food production will decrease year by year, and there will definitely be a famine.

The situation in the Human World is deteriorating bit by bit like this.

Tang Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Go and investigate. Firstly, see where the bats came from and catch a few. Secondly, see if there are any lava caves underneath. If there are, they must be investigated as well."

Everyone agreed. Tang Zhao circled a few more places and said, "These places have the most obvious Yin energy; they may be the center of the Demon Cave. Set up the Array in advance. The Array for suppressing the Demon Cave in Yunzhou is still the Eight Gates Locking Key Array. What about Youzhou?"

"The Landing Golden Lock Array," Che Lin introduced, and then almost casually added: "It is more perfect and sturdy."

Chi Qianli rolled his eyes and said, "I remember that the Landing Golden Lock Array was evolved from the Eight Gates Locking Key Array."

Che Lin said, "So the student surpasses the master."

The two looked at each other, and Chi Qianli said lazily, "Then let's set them up separately..."

Tang Zhao interrupted, "The two Arrays do indeed come from the same source and can cooperate with each other."

He turned around and used a pen to draw the two Arrays on paper, then superimposed them, and wrote a large number of Rune Formulas on the side. He wrote for a while and then filled in a few strokes on the Array. Finally, he flipped the calculation paper over and drew a new Array Diagram, saying, "It's very simple, just like this. How is it?"

Che Lin and Chi Qianli looked at the Array Diagram and then at Tang Zhao. Chi Qianli said with some difficulty, "Actually, I don't quite understand."

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I will gather everyone to demonstrate it once; the changes are not big. By the way, both of these Arrays need to use Vajra Chains; let's check later, the specifications should be consistent. By the way, I will strengthen the Vajra Chains."

Che Lin said, "Strengthen..."

Chi Qianli was clear about it and immediately said with a sense of honor, "Our Commander is a top-tier Talisman Sword Master, famous in the world. If he is willing to take action, the weapons will naturally be ten or a hundred times stronger. But so many chains... can it be done in an afternoon?"

Tang Zhao answered simply: "It can be done."

What else could the others say? They just muttered "Awesome" in their hearts and that was it.

After analyzing the paper map information, Tang Zhao told the others the results obtained from the interrogation just now and said solemnly, "We still cannot rule out the possibility that the man deliberately sent false information, but in any case, the information on the surface should be credible. If even information as obvious as the leading branch leader is faked, then there is no need to send false information."

"So we are certain that there are at least two Sword Guests on the surface. Wind-Catching Sword Liu Fei, Changci Sword Bi Baiyao. Both are Demon Cult branch leaders. Since you serve locally, you should be old friends."

When he said this, he suddenly smiled and said, "The sword names of these two swords are very interesting."

Chi Qianli said, "We can't be called old friends, but I have encountered the Changci Sword before. She is active in Yunzhou, and her Sword Intent is extremely disgusting. She can inflict damage on her opponents by wounding herself, and can even transfer fatal wounds. Moreover, this woman doesn't just wound herself for the sake of her Sword Intent; she likes to cut and stab herself for no reason. She is a total lunatic."

Tang Zhao said, "After all, a sword and a Sword Guest match each other. Since she has that kind of personality, naturally, her sword is like that. If she is particularly in sync with her Sword Intent, she might even be able to achieve Unity of Man and Sword, right?"

Chi Qianli sneered, "That is only if she can survive first. Most people aren't as dangerous as she is. When we see her later, we must stop her from being able to make a move immediately. Don't let her draw her sword and do that thing; she'll add a cut to herself regardless of the outcome."

At this moment, Che Lin said, "Wind-Catching Sword... This person should be a newcomer. The previous helm master of our area crossed swords once during the last Demon Cave expedition. Although it didn't take his life, it did sever one of his arms, so I reckon he couldn't continue as helm master and was replaced. The Demon Sect is also endless to kill. Now that a new helm master has taken office, we have to fight another round. This Wind-Catching Sword... is it a Sword Intent related to wind?"

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment, looked up at him, and said, "There could be other possibilities, right?"

Che Lin felt a shiver in his heart, having thought of something.

Tang Zhao said, "It depends on whether it is Heavenly Dao or Human Dao. The upper limit of Heavenly Dao is extremely high, but Human Dao is sometimes particularly troublesome. In any case, we must make full preparations. Let's begin the operation; it is currently noon... we still have half a day."

Sob sob sob, I am back.

The surgery went fine, follow-up check next week, hope everything goes smoothly.

Updates have resumed, thank you for your patient waiting, everyone, thank you!