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The great elder’s expression changed when he heard that. He clearly recognized the voice.
Those present turned around and saw that the one standing outside was none other than the palace emissary who had come here not too long ago. But unlike the last time, there were now nine other emissaries standing in different places. Every single one of them gave off an aura that was equal to the great elder's own!
Apart from them, there was also a large number of guards. They were all similar to the high-ranking guards who had been with Manager Pi. They were accompanied by many marksmen who aimed their bows at the cave dwelling.
The great elder’s heart sank to rock bottom. This amount of power was already enough to erase the entire True Demon race. He hadn’t expected the Monster Lord to be so swift and decisive that he would immediately send so many powerful monsters this way, and so quickly too. What brought him even more despair was that, even if he used up everything he had to escape from these powerful monsters, that would only result in the Monster Lord sending more monsters their way. He could even come personally.
The palace emissary stared at Zu An and shouted, “Donaire, you’ve killed Manager Pi so cruelly and publicly harmed the lord’s personal guards. Do you plead guilty?”
The guards all had resentful looks on their faces. Many of the ones who had been killed were their colleagues. They would normally always be treated with utmost respect wherever they went, being served with extreme care. And yet this Donaire dared to attack the guards. If news of this spread, many people would copy him. How were they supposed to enjoy their status then?
The great elder quickly said, “There’s a misunderstanding here! Actually, back then…”
“Shut up! Who asked you anything?” The palace emissary glared at the great elder.
The great elder’s body trembled and he could only take a step back. Even though he was angry, he didn’t dare to show it. The only thought in his mind was ‘We’re finished, it’s all over, the True Demon race is done for!’
Zu An replied, “I didn’t kill Manager Pi, so of course I won’t plead guilty.”
There was a hint of mockery in the palace emissary’s eyes. “Everyone already knows about this matter. What meaning is there left in trying to argue about it?”
“You’re right. There is indeed no meaning in arguing over this. The reason I killed Manager Pi was to complete another important task,” Zu An said seriously.
Right now, even Pei Mianman and the others believed that he killed Manager Pi. Arguing further right now was meaningless. For now, it was better off admitting to it so he could lower the guard of the real mastermind.
“What important matter?” the palace emissary asked curiously.
“It is an absolutely secret mission that the Monster Lord has given me. I can only say it to the lord,” Zu An replied.
The palace emissary’s expression changed. As someone who served at the lord’s side, he naturally knew that there were many secrets. He knew that learning something he wasn't supposed to know would only be courting death. As such, he didn’t dare to continue the questioning. He waved his hand and said, “Alright, I will bring you back to see the lord first. Arrest him.”
Guards quickly tied Zu An up. At the same time, they stabbed several small, blood-red, nail-like objects into his various vitals, thus preventing him from using any of his cultivation.
Pei Mianman and the others wanted to help him, but Zu An stopped them. He could resist and fight it out here, but things had happened too quickly, catching them almost entirely off guard. Meanwhile, the palace emissary was fully prepared. If they really fought, even if they could survive through the help of the True Demon race, the women would most likely perish. That wasn't even accounting for the fact that the True Demon race likely wouldn't even dare to go against the Monster Lord.
In that case, he was better off taking the risk. He already had an idea, but he needed time to confirm and act on it.
The palace emissary sighed in relief when he saw that Zu An didn’t resist. “Arrest the others and temporarily hold them in custody. Have them ready to stand trial at any time!”
“Understood!” The other guards heeded the order. They arrested the True Demon race’s people and the women.
The palace emissary and two of his companions took Zu An and flew toward the Monster Lord’s palace. The remaining seven palace emissaries remained to make sure that the True Demon race didn’t try to start anything.
However, since there had been no real clash of forces, the guards didn’t trouble the remaining people. They only had them remain in their respective cave dwellings and didn’t allow them to move about willfully. The True Demon race had extraordinary status, after all. Without the Monster Lord’s exact orders, none of them wanted to use force recklessly.
The women watched from inside the cave dwelling as Zu An was escorted away and taken off into the horizon.
Ji Xiaoxi asked while sobbing, “Will we be able to see big brother Zu again?”
The entire cave became silent. The women silently shed tears. They knew that things didn’t look good for Zu An at all. This could have been their last meeting.
When Jiang Luofu heard that, she tried to comfort everyone else. “Don’t be too discouraged. He decided to let himself be captured. That means he should have some kind of plan.”
Pei Mianman’s eyes lit up when she heard that. She wiped away her tears and looked up. “That’s right. We clearly had a chance to fight back, but he didn’t fight. That means he realized something. We need to trust him.” She gave Jiang Luofu a grateful look. She'd been so worried that her entire body had turned ice-cold and her mind had gone blank. She hadn't thought of that until just now.
Suolun Shi bit her lip and slowly began, “Could it be that big brother Zu was worried that our chance of winning was too slim, and didn't want to implicate us, so he…”
The women's expressions changed when they heard that. Even Jiang Luofu felt that was a possibility. If they really fought, Zu An could have been able to survive, but just a single one of them surviving would already be quite a good result.
Pei Mianman shook her head resolutely. “That shouldn't be the case. Big brother Zu wouldn’t make decisions on an impulse. Even if he'd been worried about that, he would stay behind to die with us. He definitely wouldn’t give up resisting. He definitely made his choice because he had a plan already. It was just that there were too many people here and he couldn't explain it to us.”
The others nodded. The one who had stayed with Zu An the longest here was likely Pei Mianman. If she said so, it was most likely true. Most of them weren’t that close to Chu Chuyan; right now, they were full of admiration as they looked at Pei Mianman, feeling that she had the bearing of a mature woman.
At first, they'd all had their own thoughts. Many of them had even held feelings of competitive desire and envy. But now that they had a common enemy, all of that could be put aside. They only hoped for their other sisters to be as strong as possible; the stronger, the better.
…
Meanwhile, Zu An had been escorted to the palace.
The Monster Lord sat atop his tall throne. The three-headed bird was lying down in front of him, eyeing Zu An with a sharp gaze. The Monster Lord gently stroked the bird's heads as he said, “Donaire, I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon.”
Zu An said with a bitter smile, “Indeed. I didn’t expect this either.”
“I heard the palace emissary say that the reason you killed Pi Yanyang was because you were doing something important for me? But why don’t I know about that important matter?” The Monster Lord’s expression was cold.
Zu An gave the palace emissaries a look. “What I am about to say is extremely important. I can only say it to the lord alone.”
“Oh?” The Monster Lord had an amused expression.
The palace emissary next to him hurriedly said, “Lord, this guy might just be acting out of desperation!”
Zu An gestured at his restrictions and said coldly, “Could it be that the emissary is worried that I would be able to assassinate the lord all alone? The lord’s cultivation is unmatched, and I wouldn’t be worth mentioning even if I was at my strongest, let alone how I am right now.”
The Monster Lord roared with laughter. “What he says makes some sense. You can back down. I want to hear just what Donaire wants to tell me.”
The palace emissaries felt reluctant, but they still didn’t dare to say anything else when they heard the order. They all backed down after a bow.
When it was only the two of them left, the Monster Lord continued, “You can speak now, right?”
“I didn’t kill Manager Pi,” Zu An quickly said.
The Monster Lord’s face was expressionless. “If that was all you wanted to say, that would be far too disappointing.”
“Of course not…” Zu An’s following words immediately made the Monster Lord’s expression change.