Though the Huaishan Twins Jiao were not as legendary as the six great powers among the rogue cultivator community, they were still figures of considerable standing. If they hadn't held certain leverage over Emperor Danji, how could they possibly have come to serve him? Moreover, Emperor Danji had assured them that this mission would not be difficult — all they had to do was follow the Asura Great Emperor's lead, obey his orders, and kill the young lord of Glazed Royal City.
Once the deed was done, all debts between them and Emperor Danji would be wiped clean. From then on, neither would owe the other anything.
It was precisely to shake off Emperor Danji's hold and to settle this debt that the Huaishan Twins Jiao had agreed to take action.
Before coming to Glazed Royal City, they had analyzed the situation carefully and felt that the mission truly was not difficult. After all, that young lord Zhen of Glazed Royal City was merely a genius at the Emperor realm.
Even with a powerhouse like Mo Wushuang at his side, the five of them should have no trouble dealing with a mere Young Lord Zhen?
As such, the Huaishan Twins Jiao did not believe this trip would put their lives in danger. Even if they failed to kill Young Lord Zhen, retreating unscathed would be absolutely no problem.
But they had never imagined that the situation would develop to this point so suddenly.
Life and death had fallen entirely beyond their control. This was something they truly had not anticipated.
From the tone of Emperor Huoyan's words, if Young Lord Zhen did not agree to spare them, these fellow rogue cultivators might very well hunt them down to the last man.
After all, even though they were all rogue cultivators, they served different masters.
"Brother Huoyan, if you kill us, you'll become a laughingstock in the rogue cultivator community. For rogue cultivator powerhouses to slaughter each other over the interests of these great factions — wouldn't that be a joke to everyone?" Jiao Yun, the elder of the Huaishan Twins Jiao, shouted.
"That's right. We brothers have already admitted defeat. Brother Huoyan, would you really go so far as to drive us to our deaths?" Jiao Feng, the younger brother, spoke with a tone of bitter grievance.
Jiang Chen had been watching coldly from the side. Hearing the Huaishan Twins Jiao pull this act, he gave a frigid laugh. "The Huaishan Twins Jiao — what a grand reputation. And yet you turn out to be cowards afraid of death?"
The Huaishan Twins Jiao knew the speaker was Young Lord Zhen. Though they burned with shame and anger, they dared not talk back. They knew full well that at this moment, their lives truly were in this young man's hands.
Jiang Chen did not wait for them to respond. "You keep invoking 'fellow rogue cultivators' — does that mean Emperor Huoyan and the others are beneath you for serving under my banner?"
"Have you even considered why you came here? Who is it that sent you? So it's somehow more honorable for you to be someone's attack dog, striking at my Glazed Royal City? But Emperor Huoyan and the others striking a deal with me and lending me a hand — that's supposedly more disgraceful?"
Jiang Chen's words cut like cold iron.
He could see that the Huaishan Twins Jiao were trying to use the rogue cultivators' code of honor to corner Emperor Huoyan and the others, making it impossible for them to kill them.
But they had forgotten that Emperor Huoyan and the others were merely helping him defend — and there was no shame in that, no matter where you looked.
Many rogue cultivator powerhouses took employment from others in exchange for payment. That was nothing out of the ordinary.
But the Huaishan Twins Jiao, while employed, had actively attacked another faction. The nature of the two was entirely different.
One was a preemptive assault; the other was helping someone fight back in self-defense.
If you were going to argue who held the moral high ground, it was clearly the attacking side that was in the wrong. So when Jiang Chen heard the Huaishan Twins Jiao try to use the rogue cultivators' code to corner Emperor Huoyan and the others, he naturally stepped forward to expose them.
Emperor Huoyan nodded after hearing Jiang Chen's words. "Jiao Yun, Jiao Feng — you claim to be rogue cultivator powerhouses, yet you were hired to attack Glazed Royal City. And you still dare lecture us about the rogue cultivators' code of honor?"
The Huaishan Twins Jiao flushed with shame.
If you put it that way, they truly had no argument whatsoever.
You acted as someone else's hound and went after people on your own initiative — and now you expected them to show you some kind of honor?
The Huaishan Twins Jiao were utterly dejected. Jiao Yun sighed, "Fine, fine. To die at the hands of fellow rogue cultivators — at least it's not an unjust death. Go ahead and do it!"
Emperor Huoyan turned to Jiang Chen. "Young Lord Zhen, the Huaishan Twins Jiao are not normally the sort of scoundrels. Though this battle was fought with each side serving their own master, I still feel compelled to put in a word of mercy on their behalf."
When Emperor Huoyan said this, some of the other great emperors who had participated in the siege were none too pleased.
"Brother Huoyan, you're not really going to plead for them, are you? If we spare them, the Pine Crane Pills we were promised will go up in smoke!"
"Exactly! Brother Huoyan, now is not the time for soft-heartedness."
"Brother Huoyan, you've always been decisive in battle. Could it be that now, of all times, you'd back down?"
Even Emperor Ruoyi, her starry eyes flickering, seemed to be weighing whether or not to accept Emperor Huoyan's proposal.
Everyone had fought for the sake of a Pine Crane Pill — it wasn't as though they had any particular loyalty to Young Lord Zhen.
If they let the Huaishan Twins Jiao go, they would clearly be violating the terms of their agreement. Having failed to give their full effort, Young Lord Zhen would have every right to renege on his promise.
Once he reneged, today's battle would have been for nothing.
That would defeat the entire purpose of their fighting in the first place. When it came to the Pine Crane Pills, even Emperor Huoyan had no right to make that decision on behalf of the others.