"The Fourth Brother isn't dead?" Lin Lei blurted out in shock, but he immediately reacted. "You're saying, Rein isn't dead?"
At this moment, Lin Lei's heart was pounding wildly. Surprise, tension, disbelief, excitement, panic... a torrent of emotions flooded his chest, and he could only gaze expectantly at the officer from the Ruo Empire before him.
Hook clutched his throat and hurriedly said in terror, "Yes, he isn't dead, he's really not dead."
"Hook, when you reported for your military merit, didn't you say the battalion commander you captured had already died?" Not far away, Commander Shast frowned and shouted.
Deceiving a Saint Realm powerhouse was extremely unwise. Shast even wondered if this Hook was fabricating things out of fear of death.
Lin Lei also looked at Hook. He truly hoped Hook wasn't lying.
"Speak," Lin Lei's gaze fixed on Hook, and the eyes of everyone in the chaotic military camp gathered on him. Hook straightened up and hastily explained, "Master Lin Lei, I truly wasn't lying. Back then, I carried the body of that battalion commander—the one you called Rein—on my back. But later, I discovered that this 'corpse' actually moved. Only then did I realize he wasn't dead!"
Lin Lei's heart gave a violent twist.
Hook's face showed a hint of awkwardness. He said, "Master Lin Lei, that Rein is very handsome, and he's a noble mage. Based on the magic he used while our brothers chased him down, we estimated he should be a seventh-level mage. A handsome, seventh-level mage youth—those are very valuable on the slave market."
Hearing this, Lin Lei understood in his heart.
The crowd of officers around them also understood. During wartime, they often obtained large numbers of slaves, who would then be sold to slave-trading organizations. The army had good relations with these organizations. A handsome youth who was a seventh-level mage was indeed valuable goods.
A seventh-level mage was someone of lofty status.
Having such a mage become one's slave—especially some noble ladies were quite fond of that. They were willing to spend huge sums of money to buy him. The price for selling such a seventh-level mage was likely far more than the reward Hook had received from the army.
"You mean... you sold Rein to a slave-trading organization?" Lin Lei pressed.
"Yes." Hook said fearfully, for he now knew that Rein was actually Master Lin Lei's brother.
"How badly was Rein injured?" Lin Lei asked with concern. Judging from the intelligence, Rein had suffered near-fatal injuries. Lin Lei was worried.
Hook said with absolute certainty, "Master Lin Lei, please rest assured. When I brought that Rein back to the city, I immediately sought treatment for him. After selling him to the slave-trading organization, that organization certainly wouldn't let such an important piece of goods lose his life."
Important goods?
Lin Lei's heart ached for his good brother, who had fallen so low as to become a slave.
"Come, you're taking me to find that slave organization. You should know where they are," Lin Lei grabbed Hook's clothes. Hook hurriedly said, "Yes, sir, I remember it clearly."
Commander Shast also ordered sternly, "Hook, from now on, you are to follow Master Lin Lei. You must obey any request Master Lin Lei makes." Shast looked at Lin Lei and said humbly, "Master Lin Lei, I am truly sorry. I hope you won't hold this against us."
Shast truly had no other choice. Normally, during wartime, one would not dare to involve the relatives or brothers of a Saint Realm powerhouse. After all, when a Saint Realm powerhouse goes mad, it is a terrifying thing. In history, there were more than a few instances where a Saint Realm powerhouse, in a fit of rage, killed tens of thousands.
However, Saint Realm powerhouses were generally also quite aloof. As long as you didn't provoke them, they wouldn't condescend to start conflicts with ordinary people.
Lin Lei glanced at Shast, then grabbed Hook. "Let's go!" He soared directly into the air and flew southward alongside Bei Bei...
Watching Lin Lei fly away, everyone in the military camp finally breathed a sigh of relief. Faced with a powerful Saint Realm powerhouse, the warriors there truly had no power to resist.
"Division commanders, quickly go manage your men. I'm worried the Golden Flame Legion might take advantage of this chaos to attack again." Shast looked at the current sorry state of the camp, his heart filled with worry. After all, the camp was now in disarray, and the soldiers' morale had been shaken by Lin Lei.
Shast's guess wasn't wrong. Not long after, the Golden Flame Legion launched another fierce assault.
Inside a border fortress of the Ruo Empire, Lin Lei, still gripping Hook, descended directly into what appeared to be an ordinary manor. Inside the manor, there were some guards equipped with fine weapons.
*Whoosh!* A sudden whirlwind kicked up from the ground. Lin Lei, now back in human form and holding Hook, appeared on the ground. By now, Lin Lei was no longer as grief-stricken or frantic as when he first wanted to avenge his brother. He was much calmer.
No matter what, at least Fourth Brother wasn't dead.
"Old White! Old White!" The moment Hook's feet touched the ground, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Who are you?" Before Old White even appeared, a ring of guards quickly surrounded them, all wielding weapons and ready to act. Just then, a silver-haired old man dressed like a gentleman walked out from a nearby courtyard gate. Seeing Hook, he laughed heartily, "Oh, it's our dear Hook! Why the rush, barging in like this?"
"Hook, who is this?" Old White's eye was sharp. He instantly noticed that the man beside Hook, wearing only a simple black robe, was no ordinary person. Because Lin Lei had reverted to human form, he wore nothing underneath, only a pair of tattered trousers.
Lin Lei's brow furrowed as he gave Old White a cold glance.
"Old White, this is Master Lin Lei!" Hook hastily said.
"Master Lin Lei?" Old White was stunned, then shock flickered in his eyes. "Could this be Master Lin Lei, the Dragon Blood Warrior of the O'Brien Empire?"
Hook nodded repeatedly. "I was flown here by Master Lin Lei himself."