Yang Kai nodded and spoke: "I just heard Brother Yu say that some of the reinforcements deliberately delayed their journey en route. What exactly happened?"
Before Yu Zhen could answer, Taowu hurriedly called out: "My Lord, this is a misunderstanding!"
Yang Kai looked at him. "I didn't ask you."
Taowu tried to explain further, but Yang Kai's gaze turned ice-cold: "Utter one more word of nonsense, and I'll cut you down!"
Taowu's face instantly drained of color, his expression twisted with fury, but in the end he didn't dare say another word.
The group of Sacred Spirits behind him stirred restlessly.
Yu Zhen was secretly astonished. Lord Yang carried himself with extraordinary authority. Taowu was among the strongest of all the Sacred Spirits who had emerged from the Taixu Realm, now possessing cultivation comparable to an Eighth Order human. Otherwise, the Sacred Spirits wouldn't have deferred to him as their leader on this expedition.
At the General Headquarters, no one would have dared so much as frown at them. Yet Yang Kai showed them no quarter, and the fellow actually swallowed his pride?
Moreover, when Yang Kai had appeared moments ago, every one of these Sacred Spirits had addressed him respectfully as "My Lord."
What was going on?
Everyone knew the Sacred Spirits had been sent out of the Taixu Realm by Yang Kai, but aside from a select few, hardly anyone truly understood the nature of his relationship with them.
Taowu and the others wouldn't go around broadcasting it. After all, for Sacred Spirits to swear loyalty to someone else wasn't exactly something they wanted advertised. And those who knew the truth didn't bring it up either. The Sacred Spirits were proud creatures — their willingness to help humanity fight the enemy was already a blessing. Flaunting irrelevant details would only offend them.
Which was precisely why the scene before him was so startling.
"Brother Yu, you tell me," Yang Kai said, turning to Yu Zhen.
Yu Zhen pressed his lips together and clasped his fists: "Under orders from the General Headquarters, we were commanded to rush to the aid of the Xuan Ming Domain battlefield. The original plan had us arriving here a full day earlier to join the fight. However, along the way they made excuses of spiritual fatigue and physical exhaustion, resting for half a day. They even insisted on chasing down scattered Ink Clan scouts they encountered, further delaying the journey. That is why we only arrived today."
"Spiritual fatigue and physical exhaustion..." Yang Kai let out a cold snort. The Sacred Spirits were all formidable beings. Even without having fully recovered their strength, they would grow spiritually fatigued from a mere march? He cast a cold glare at Taowu and the Sacred Spirits. Many of them looked awkwardly aside, probably acknowledging that the excuse had been rather flimsy.
"And those scattered Ink Clan... were there Domain Lords among them?"
Yu Zhen shook his head. "Merely scouting parties led by some Lords."
Yang Kai gave a slight nod.
Wei Junyang and Ouyang Lie's faces were already dark with rage.
If what Yu Zhen said was true, this contingent of Sacred Spirit reinforcements could have arrived a full day earlier. Had they made it here in time, the losses suffered by the Xuan Ming Domain forces wouldn't have been nearly so catastrophic, and those two Eighth Order cultivators might still be alive.
Earlier, while Wei Junyang and Ouyang Lie were recovering from their injuries, Ouyang Lie had asked about the reinforcements. Wei Junyang had simply said they should be arriving soon.
But neither had expected that the reinforcements should have arrived long ago — and had deliberately delayed along the way.
A scouting party of Ink Clan led by mere Lords, requiring an entire group of Sacred Spirits to chase them down? Their primary mission was to reinforce the Xuan Ming Domain. Forget insignificant scouts — even if they had genuinely encountered an Ink Clan Domain Lord, the bigger picture should have taken precedence.
Reinforcing the Xuan Ming Domain battlefield was paramount. Everything else could wait.
The human Eighth Order cultivators were seething with anger, feeling the General Headquarters had entrusted the wrong people. But they also understood that the General Headquarters would not lightly mobilize these Sacred Spirits. Having done so this time must have been a last resort. Without them, there likely would have been no other reinforcements available to aid the Xuan Ming Domain.
Yang Kai's expression remained utterly placid. After listening to Yu Zhen's account, he turned to Taowu. "Do you have anything to say?"
Taowu kept his cold expression and said nothing. He dropped the pretense of a "misunderstanding." He had his own pride — what he had done was one thing, and having been called out on it was another, but he would not stoop to denial.
After a moment of silence, he spoke: "The human General Headquarters ordered us to reinforce the Xuan Ming Domain. And here we are — the Xuan Ming Domain still stands!"
He said nothing more, but the implication was plain enough. The Xuan Ming Domain hadn't fallen. Even if they had deliberately delayed, it hadn't affected the bigger picture.
Yang Kai nodded slightly. "So you admit to delaying the journey."
Taowu frowned deeply. Was there really any point in harping on this? Even if he admitted it, so what? Did the humans seriously intend to execute these Sacred Spirits?
They wouldn't dare. They wouldn't!
Humanity's battle lines were stretched thin everywhere. They were hard-pressed just dealing with the Ink Clan's strong — where would they find the capacity to make new enemies? No matter what, the Sacred Spirits who had emerged from the Taixu Realm were an indispensable force for humanity!
"Very good!" Yang Kai stared coldly at Taowu, then suddenly barked: "Lord Ouyang — what does the human military code say?"
Ouyang Lie stepped forward and intoned in a deep voice: "On the battlefield, before the army — desertion in the face of the enemy: beheading. Half-hearted combat: beheading. Sowing discord among the troops: beheading. Those who delay battle opportunities..."
He all but ground out the final word through clenched teeth:
"...beheading!"
Yang Kai's hand moved in an instant, summoning the Azure Dragon Spear. The spear tip hovered inches from Taowu's face as he growled through gritted teeth: "Did you hear that clearly?"
Killing intent exploded outward, becoming almost tangibly dense in an instant.
Yu Rumeng and the others simultaneously activated their own power, poised to strike at a moment's notice.
For them, it didn't matter what their husband decided to do. Even if he had chosen to join the Ink Clan, they would stand firmly by his side without a moment's hesitation.