Soul Emperor Martial God

Soon, another force of Flame Martial Guards arrived.

However, it wasn't a Deputy Captain.

It was the Captain.

Below the Deputy Commander comes the Captain, and after that, the Deputy Captain.

A captain, leading a hundred men, could act independently.

He could also, at will, lead any number of troops to carry out missions.

"Captain Li Yuan," Tang Huowu and two others saluted the newcomer.

"Um," Li Yuan nodded.

Li Yuan was a middle-aged man.

The Captain of the Flame Martial Guard with Earth Element Fifth Stage Cultivation.

This time, he brought a dozen team members.

They had just completed a mission elsewhere and received notice from the base.

So they rushed over.

"Where is Huoo Di?" asked Li Yuan.

Tang Huowu and the others recounted the situation.

"He escaped?" Li Yuan's brows furrowed tightly, then he surveyed their surroundings.

Although Huoo Di had fled, some of his subordinates had earlier been restrained by Xiao Yi.

And they were still trapped.

"Two Sixth-Layer Mystic Breakthroughs, five Mystic Breakthrough Seventh Layers, and eight Mystic Breakthrough Sixth Layers."

Li Yuan instantly perceived their levels of cultivation.

"Even with Huoo Di, a Ninth Layer Mystic Breakthrough, their martial power wouldn't be very strong."

"Xiao Yi, how do you serve as a Deputy Captain?"

Li Yuan reproached him sharply.

Xiao Yi furrowed his brow but didn't offer an explanation.

Li Yuan lectured, "Huoo Di is wayward and mad."

"He's murderous by nature, his hands stained with countless crimes."

"Now that he has escaped, if he decides to hide, it would be very hard to find him again."

"How would we handle it if he attempts to plot the slaughter of a city once more?"

"Fortunately, we still have a few captives."

"We'll escort them back to the base shortly."

"Deputy Captain Xiao Yi, you'd better pray we can extract some information from them."

"Otherwise, hmph."

Li Yuan snorted coldly. "Although I am a captain and outrank you,"

"I can only reprimand you, but I don't have the authority to punish."

"How to handle this and what consequences you'll face will be decided by the Deputy Commander."

Xiao Yi still didn't speak; he was thinking.

Seeing this, Li Yuan's expression grew darker.

His gaze then turned towards Zhou Ping and others.

"Ah? These are Xiao Yi Deputy Captain's subordinates?"

"No wonder the mission failed, allowing Huoo Di to escape."

Li Yuan shook his head.

Finally, Xiao Yi spoke, "This mission has failed."

"If the Deputy Commander wishes to assign blame, I will take full responsibility."

"As for my team, Captain Li Yuan need not worry."

"You..." Li Yuan's expression chilled and he angrily waved his sleeve.

"Hmph, take those guys back, we're leaving."

"Deputy Captain Xiao Yi, you stay behind to assist with the aftermath in Black Rain City."

With that, several Flame Martial Guards escorted Huoo Di's subordinates away.

Li Yuan, Tang Huowu, and others all departed.

...

Inside the City Lord's Mansion, Xiao Yi was still frowning, deep in thought.

The City Lord of Black Rain City, seeing this, said, "Deputy Captain Xiao Yi."

"Are you worried about Huoo Di escaping?"

"Actually, even though Huoo Di escaped,"

"no matter what, you have saved tens of thousands of citizens of Black Rain City."

"I will report this achievement."

"You will not be punished for this mission's failure."

"Thank you," Xiao Yi responded.

Previously, a shadow had acted, rescuing Huoo Di.

Actually, the martial artists who were present didn't quite understand what happened.

They were already critically injured, with fierce poison raging inside them.

They were already in a daze.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have vomited blood in the end, making Xiao Yi stop his pursuit.

As for Xiao Yi's silence, naturally, there was another reason.

His previous silence was also contemplation.

The City Lord of Black Rain City and other martial artists had already departed,

They still had to handle the aftermath.

Only Xiao Yi remained at the site.

His cold gaze sternly fixed in the direction Huoo Di had escaped.

"Huoo Di, who exactly is behind you?" Xiao Yi murmured icily.

He had long suspected something was off about Huoo Di.

Putting aside that an Earth Origin Ninth Layer Martial Artist rescued him,

just the city-slaughtering, humanity-extinguishing act wasn't something a regular martial artist would dare do.

This time, if Xiao Yi hadn't arrived in time to stop the refinement of the Blood Intent Pill,

The massacre, it would surely stir up a sensation across all of Meteor County.

The Prince of Meteor County, along with some of the older generation of powerhouses, would certainly not let things rest easily.

When people of that level took action...

No matter how adept Huoo Di was at hiding, he would definitely not escape death.

If it were said that Huoo Di had no protection behind him...

Xiao Yi would not believe it even if it killed him.

...

Several hours later.

Xiao Yi, along with Zhou Ping and others, left Black Rain City.

The mission had failed.

They had to return to the base.

...

The Flame Martial Kingdom, incomparably vast.

Its population was counted in the tens of billions.

This, too, birthed many "missions" as called by the Flame Martial Guard.

Xiao Yi had seen much of the dangers of this world.

This occasion was just one aspect of it.

In any case, in this world.

Murder was just daily fare.

Human lives, even more so, seemed inexpensive.

But from another perspective, wasn't this also a perfect display of "might makes right"?

Evil Martial Artists, murdering unpredictably, causing instability in regions, were not uncommon.

The Flame Martial Guard and the forces of the Martial Artists under each Commandery Prince, existed for this very reason.

...

On the way back.

Apart from Xiao Yi, the other ten people all wore serious expressions.

"Captain, we..." Zhou Ping was the first to speak.

"No need to say, it's not related to you," Xiao Yi interrupted.

Zhou Ping guiltily said, "But if it weren't for our lack of strength, being captured by Huoo Di so early..."

"Then Huoo Di's men wouldn't have been able to kill everywhere."

"We could have fought alongside you and captured Huoo Di."

Xiao Yi shook his head, "Really, it has nothing to do with you, don't overthink it."

They did not know about the shadowy figure who rescued Huoo Di.

...

Two days later, everyone returned to the base.

As expected, Deputy Commander Lin Chong looked at Xiao Yi and his team with a darkened face.

"Xiao Yi, squad leader, don't you think you owe me an explanation?" Lin Chong said gravely.

"The Flame Martial Guard rarely fails."

"If there is a failure, it is either because the enemy is too strong or the mission too difficult."

"But the mission you took was one of the simplest."

"And the enemy's strength was not even stronger than yours."

Xiao Yi frowned and remained silent.

Lin Chong's face grew darker and said, "It seems, it's because Xiao Yi's squad members are too weak."

"Do you want me to remove them all from the Flame Martial Guard?"

"Never to be employed again."

"Deputy Commander," Zhou Ping and the others, faces urgent.

"There won't be a next time," Xiao Yi finally spoke.

"Hmph." Lin Chong snorted coldly, looking at Zhou Ping and the others, said, "You guys go down first."

Zhou Ping and the others, looking at each other, anxiously glanced at Xiao Yi.

Then they bowed hands, said, "Yes."

Everyone left.

Lin Chong's face then eased slightly, "Xiao Yi, squad leader."

"Oh, no, Northern Mountain Sword Master."

"I know your strength is extraordinary, what exactly happened?"

Xiao Yi said gravely, "Huoo Di, is no simple matter."

"Don't set the missions as simple anymore."

"Otherwise, this time, my squad just failed the mission."

"Next time, another squad may be completely annihilated."

"What?" Lin Chong's face turned grim.

At that moment, outside the room, a knocking sound arose.

Knock... knock...

"Come in," Lin Chong barked.

A Flame Martial Guard Captain, looking anxious, walked in, holding a scroll in his hand.

"What's so urgent?" Lin Chong frowned and asked.

"Reporting to the Deputy Commander," the Captain hurriedly said, "Urgent report, please have a look."

Curiously, Lin Chong took the scroll, and upon reading it, his face drastically changed.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yi felt a flicker of unease, asked.

Lin Chong put down the scroll heavily, said solemnly, "You really predicted it."

"Huoo Di's men, on their way back to the base, were all rescued."

"The squad responsible for escorting them, all severely injured."

"Half a day ago, a Flame Martial Guard led by a Captain, went to investigate."

"They all disappeared, their fate unknown."

...

The second update.