Chapter 292: The Despair of the Golden Dragon Maiden (Part 3)

"Will I die here?"

Perhaps, perhaps not...

A high-pitched dragon roar echoed over the battlefield; artillery fire thundered, and smoke and dust swirled.

"Are we going to make a move?" Yan Lingshu asked, watching Wang Qiu Er struggle bitterly.

At this moment, Wang Qiu Er was already meat on the chopping block; if Leiqier and his group wanted to, they could seize her with a single hand. No Soul Emperor could escape from the hands of thousands of City Defense Army soldiers, several Soul Kings and Soul Emperors present, and the three Soul Saints and one Soul Douluo from the Holy Spirit Cult who were currently rushing over.

Leiqier looked at the still-struggling Wang Qiu Er and said, "No need. Our goal has been achieved. The captain said the plan has changed; it's enough to leave the cleanup to the people from the Holy Spirit Cult. Don't worry about Su Yu's side."

"Before, didn't we..." Lu Jiuyu was somewhat puzzled, but upon second thought, he felt relieved.

"It's good that you know. Neither Su Yu nor the captain are fools; they have their own schemes. We just need to execute our part properly." Leiqier stopped concerning himself with the situation on the battlefield and turned to send a signal into the sky.

"Lu Jiuyu, what exactly are you trying to do?" Yan Lingshu asked, uncomprehending.

She did not understand why the captain would change his mind. If Wang Qiu Er really fell into the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I'll tell you the specifics when we get back. Let's go. Once you see the captain, you'll know why. We still have important matters to handle; a mere Wang Qiu Er cannot affect the captain's layout. What, are you doubting the captain's decision?"

Lu Jiuyu smiled with deep meaning, making Yan Lingshu feel inexplicably flustered. It wasn't that she didn't trust the captain's decision, but she couldn't understand the underlying intent.

Originally, according to the plan, Wang Qiu Er was their bargaining chip for negotiations with Su Yu and an important figure who could be used to threaten Shrek. But now, having suddenly lost such a great opportunity, it was inevitably hard to understand.

As he spoke, Lu Jiuyu straightened his body. A glimmer of light flashed in his already profound eyes. He was not tall, but standing in front of Yan Lingshu at this moment, she felt as if they were looking at each other on equal footing.

"Yan Lingshu, do you really understand the captain?" Lu Jiuyu laughed; his usual playful demeanor was now full of composure.

Yan Lingshu shook her head gently.

Lu Jiuyu seemed to sigh with emotion; he raised his eyes, his gaze passing through the battlefield and landing on Wang Qiu Er: "You will understand."

Yan Lingshu's slightly furrowed brows smoothed out at this moment. For an instant, she realized that if the captain were truly capable of making such a low-level mistake, he wouldn't be the captain.

As the sunset faded, the City Defense Army on the battlefield had to retreat temporarily due to heavy casualties, leaving behind a field of corpses.

Looking at the City Defense Army retreating like a tide, Wang Qiu Er's gaze was sharp as she looked at the place where Lu Jiuyu and the other two, who had long since disappeared, had been.

She collapsed powerlessly to the ground. The Spirit Power in her Spirit Sea, after being fully unleashed, had reached its limit, and her soul power was completely exhausted.

She was now in a state of extreme weakness. If no one saved her, her life would come to a full stop here due to her severe injuries.

Su Yu, I can't go back.

Perhaps you were right; the human world is not necessarily as pure as the world of Soul Beasts...

The Golden Dragon Spear in her hand slowly faded its light and finally returned to her body. She tried hard to take out the Signal Flare from her Storage Soul Guidance Device, but her attempts failed several times.

The vision before her eyes became increasingly blurred. In a daze, she saw several familiar figures. Watching them walk toward her, Wang Qiu Er completely lost her last shred of hope.

That last ray of hope vanished completely from the bottom of her heart.

Aunt Bi Ji, Uncle Di Tian, Xiong Jun...

At the very last moment before she lost consciousness, she murmured the names of the many Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

I can't go back; I'm leaving...

…………

"It seems Luo Yu is still very trustworthy. Handing her over to the Cult Master is definitely a great achievement! Prepare to notify the Dharma Protectors; the person we wanted is already in our hands." One of the black-robed evil Soul Masters looked at Wang Qiu Er with satisfaction. There was not a trace of greed for Wang Qiu Er's peerless beauty in his eyes, only a longing for the reward that was about to come!

"I know, you don't need to tell me that. Don't you go having any crooked ideas, kid. The Cult Master said she must be clean; otherwise, if there is any problem with her, all three of us will have to die," another black-robed person warned.

A Saintess, and a Golden Dragon Maiden at that! To them, this was simply a gift from the heavens!

A black light descended, forming a prison that enveloped Wang Qiu Er, and then the three disappeared into the darkness.

Not long after, the moment the Holy Spirit Cult evil Soul Masters who came to receive her made contact with the cage, a blinding golden light erupted from within it. The area for hundreds of meters around was illuminated by this golden light as if it were broad daylight.

An extremely dangerous aura continued to climb, and then the golden light collapsed continuously. The seemingly sturdy prison was crushed into nothingness in an instant, finally turning into a ball of light that wrapped Wang Qiu Er inside.

"Not good, she's going to self-destruct! Run!"

A Soul Douluo among the evil Soul Masters saw the golden ball of light beginning to crack and retreated rapidly. Under his warning, the others also retreated quickly.

However, it was already too late. The golden light, like fire, swept through the space within a radius of hundreds of meters. The earth was as if scraped by a gale, being forcibly leveled into a circular crater.

Everything was so quiet, quiet as if nothing had ever happened.

The only survivor on the scene was the Soul Douluo who had realized something was wrong and retreated immediately. Even though he had made full preparations and used up all the Protective Spirit Tools on his body, he still could not escape the fate of being seriously injured.

His two legs and one arm were sliced off halfway because he did not escape the explosion range in time, but the fortunate thing in his misfortune was that he saved his own life.

Having survived the disaster, he lay on the cold ground, gasping for air.

Thus, the Wang Qiu Er squad completely disconnected.

…………

Outside Mingdu.

Huo Yu Hao had a complex expression as he said, "Wang Qiu Er and the others have completely lost contact. The last time their tracks were discovered was in the forest thirty miles away, but now there is absolutely no news."

Relying on the uniqueness of his soul skill, Huo Yu Hao had secretly gone to investigate, but other than discovering traces of battle, he found nothing else. Besides that, the members of the Three Great Empires' squads who had died in battle were also buried on the spot.

Bei Bei knew what Huo Yu Hao meant and continued, "They have already failed. I only hope Wang Qiu Er can break through. We cannot afford to lose any more companions..."

Wang Dong'er's expression was slightly complex. Before they set off, Su Yu had privately warned her that this operation was destined not to succeed.

Although she also believed that everyone could succeed and wanted to trust the decisions made by the elders of the Sea God Pavilion, all the current signs revealed traces of failure, but she dared not say it.

"Has Brother Cai Tou not returned yet?" Wang Dong'er asked.

"Brother He said he discovered some differences, so he let me come back first." Huo Yu Hao knew that He Caitou was looking for something, but the results from his detection all pointed to one thing.

The Wang Qiu Er squad had been completely wiped out.

Xiao Xiao asked with some concern, "Is it really safe to leave Brother He alone there?"

Huo Yu Hao continued, "Right now, neither the people from the Holy Spirit Cult nor the people from the Sun Moon Empire have been found in this area. Before I left, I had already scouted everything once. Now, let me talk about my findings."

"Previously, we had information exchanges with the Wang Qiu Er squad, but we didn't know the specific situation. The last time we found traces was in Mingdu, but the only place where our tracks overlapped with theirs is here."

As he spoke, he pointed to a conspicuous location on the map.

Luo Yu's residence!

"They have already been discovered now, but in truth, I suspect that we have also been exposed..." Wang Dong'er looked at that location on the map, her expression complex.

"The defenses of Luo Yu's residence are tight, and the positions of the three princesses have been openly revealed to us, but it is clearly a trap. Even if we had no intention of rescuing them, the moment we approach, it means we will be exposed." Wang Dong'er sighed; she should have thought of this, but unfortunately, the ways of the world are unpredictable, and everything happened too fast to leave her much time to think.

Huo Yu Hao nodded, "Although I have already checked everyone and found no abnormalities, I think our mission should end here. Continuing will only lead to the same fate as them."

Bei Bei pondered, then asked, "Sanshi, what do you think?"

Xu Sanshi frowned slightly, as if thinking, "Let's wait for He Caitou to return before discussing the specific situation. It's hard for me to say right now; after all, there is new news from the Three Great Empires. You all discuss the current situation first; I will tell you once I have sorted it out."

The group's discussion continued, while Jiang Nannan remained silent on the side. She rarely participated in decision-making, as this was not her area of expertise, so she did not say much.

Just as the group was deliberating, He Caitou returned.

Wang Dong'er stepped forward and asked, "What exactly happened to Wang Qiu Er? Is there still a possibility of survivors?"

"I scouted that area of the battlefield. Based on the traces of combat, they encountered an encirclement by the City Defense Army in the wild. The only Soul Saint was killed by people from the Holy Spirit Cult outside the encirclement, and fragments of his Storage Soul Guidance Device were found outside the forest. The City Defense Army's actions were extremely swift; the several encirclements were clearly directed by someone."

"This led to exceptionally heavy casualties for Wang Qiu Er's squad. Not only that, but a strange place was discovered deep in the forest where Wang Qiu Er's squad retreated."

A strange place?