26: The Twelve Guardians Who Couldn't Escape

While Wei He was busy arranging for Yuri to board the ship, on the coast of Nankang Golden Valley, 'Plucking Feathers from a Passing Goose'—Lin Zhian stood on the beach with a serious expression.

Although he was middle-aged, his figure remained as upright as bamboo, and his official robes did not look the least bit sloppy on him. His complexion was fair but lacked any feminine air; his sword-like eyebrows sloped into his temples, and his gaze was sharp yet not overbearing.

"Has none of the people we sent out returned?" Lin Zhian asked the person beside him.

"Yes. Those sent were all water-type Ability Users, but strangely, even after half a month, not a single person has returned. It seems they have perished!" Xie Yanwen replied respectfully.

"Did they perish, or did they defect? Go and find them!" Lin Zhian frowned and ordered.

"They are all loyal to the Lord; it's impossible for them to defect!" Xie Yanwen replied anxiously.

"Even if they all perished, for an expert at the Control Level like Huang Yichen to just vanish into thin air—did he perish too? Where is the body?" Lin Zhian said angrily.

"The enemies who came this time are truly strange. Not only is their attire odd, but even their weapons are things my subordinates have never seen before!" Xie Yanwen explained.

"Where did they come from?" Lin Zhian asked.

"This subordinate does not know. However, the young lady seemed to have brought back several people with similarly strange weapons before, and they have also disappeared!" Xie Yanwen said with a deep frown.

"In which direction did they escape?" Lin Zhian asked.

"They escaped that way," Xie Yanwen said, pointing in the direction Wei He had left.

"I want them found, dead or alive. Also, remember to bring Du Yu back to me!" Lin Zhian didn't think anyone would hurt Du Yu; after all, he was a money tree.

"Yes!" After Xie Yanwen finished speaking, he went to prepare ships to head out to sea and search.

On the sea at midnight, armored personnel carriers sailed toward the continent under the cover of darkness. Inside was half of Wei He's future economic empire—a total of over 500 Yuris. Because of the large number of people, Wei He didn't provide any armed personnel this time; only Huang Yichen followed along.

After all, this wasn't a combat mission. As long as they kept a low profile, there shouldn't be any problems. Even if an emergency occurred, he would have time to provide support.

By the early hours of the morning, as the sky just began to turn pale, the Yuris started heading toward various parts of the continent. Having stayed here for so long, Huang Yichen had some understanding of these cities. Furthermore, Wei He could observe the size of the cities through red alert. As long as they didn't go to large cities, they wouldn't encounter any powerful opponents.

This time, he wasn't heading toward a specific country, but rather toward over 500 small cities extending outward from his location.

The mission proceeded quite smoothly. After all, Yuri's Mind Control was a heaven-defying existence. When attacking, there were no flaws at all, and no one would notice him. Instead, people would only find it strange that their City Lord suddenly developed a headache.

Some small cities actually had some Control Level Ability Users. Although they were at the same level, their strengths varied. Some were directly controlled by the Yuris, while those who couldn't be were easily controlled with Huang Yichen's assistance.

As for same-level Ability Users, Huang Yichen could only take a detour for now. Wei He only had this one combat-type Ability User, so it wasn't the time to be reckless.

This time, many small cities of the Magic Empire were also controlled by the Yuris. When Huang Yichen struck those Beginner Magicians, Wei He found it very satisfying to watch. After all, a clash between Magicians and Ability Users wasn't something one could see often. However, they were no match for Huang Yichen; after all, a Control Level Ability User was equivalent to an Intermediate Magician.

While Wei He was watching the exciting parts and cheering, little did he know that on the islands of the Danga Archipelago, Lu Sheng and a dozen others were starting to cause trouble again.

"Big brother, I really can't take it anymore. Let's run now. This past month, I haven't eaten well or lived well. I've grown thin from hunger and have to work every day. I've never suffered like this before! I miss my mother, I miss the food my wife makes for me, and I miss the embroidered pillows at home and Xiao Qing from the Yihong Courtyard!" The Round-faced Guard said with tears and snot running down his face, wearing clothes full of holes from being caught on branches.

"Fine, stop crying. Today, I'll take you all home. Based on my observations, they don't pay much attention to our activities; they only check the quantity of quarried stone, and there are no military outposts around. Tonight, we'll use this raft and row back!" Lu Sheng said with a face full of pride, pointing to a wooden raft hidden in the grass.

"Really? Brother, that's great, brother!" The Round-faced Guard wiped away his tears and said excitedly.

"Enough, hurry up and prepare. We can't let them find out!" Lu Sheng also said with some excitement at the thought of returning.

"Yes! Alright!"

Under the cover of night, the twelve guards, dressed in military uniforms that looked more like beggar's rags, were slowly dragging the wooden raft, moving sluggishly across the beach.

Finally, they pushed the raft into the sea, and several people vigorously swung the oars in their hands.

"Hahaha, finally, we're going back!"

"That's right, that's right. I'm never coming back to this godforsaken place again!"

"Hmph, that stupid kid. Just wait until I get back, then I'll settle the score with him!"

"Exactly! When the time comes, we'll make him work for us like an ox or a horse! Hahahaha!"

...The group chatted back and forth.

They didn't notice at all that beneath the calm sea, a Giant Squid was slowly approaching them.

"Wait, what... what is that?" A thin, monkey-faced guard was the first to notice the danger beneath the surface.

"What? What is it?" Hearing the Skinny Monkey Guard's words, everyone also began to look down.

As the Giant Squid drew closer, it slowly surfaced. Its massive tentacles surrounded the wooden raft, and its terrifyingly large suckers were bigger than the guards' faces.

"Ah, a sea monster! A sea monster! It's a sea monster! Row back, row back quickly!" Everyone's faces turned pale with fear. Lu Sheng was the first to react and shouted anxiously.

Just as they started rowing, seven or eight more Giant Squids surfaced from the water in all directions.

"There's one here too, and over there! Oh my god, help!" Everyone was so terrified they forgot to row and cried out desperately for help.

While they were calling for help, a tentacle reached out of the sea and then came crashing down from above. The already fragile wooden raft was instantly smashed to pieces.

Seeing the tentacle reach up, several people immediately jumped into the water. Seeing the wooden raft they had worked so hard to build shattered, they swam desperately toward the land.

The Giant Squids swam around them, scaring them so much their souls almost left their bodies. They wished they had grown two extra legs.

With great difficulty, they swam to the shore and fled into the woods like madmen.

"There are sea monsters all around this island. Let's see if you still dare to escape!" Wei He quietly stepped out from the shadows.

"We don't dare! We don't dare! We'll never run again! Please spare our lives, My Lord!" Everyone quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Fine, go back and rest. Tomorrow, your stone quarrying quota will be doubled. This is your punishment for escaping!" A faint, mischievous smile appeared at the corner of Wei He's mouth.

The gaze with which the crowd looked at Wei He was now filled with terror. To be able to mobilize such large sea monsters—it seemed Wei He's status in the Demon Race was extraordinarily high. In their minds, only the Demon Race could control such massive creatures.

The guards walked toward their simple huts as if accepting their fate, the survivors silent all the way.

Looking at the calm sea, Wei He's feelings were equally complex. In order to return safely to Blue Star, he could only begin to change.

Standing on the Lin Family's warship, Xie Yanwen was also staring blankly at the sea. He couldn't believe that so many water-type Ability Users would defect, and he certainly couldn't believe that someone could kill so many water-type Ability Users, especially on the water.