Jiang Chen's words sounded perfectly reasonable.
Elder Xun didn't suspect anything and replied with a smile: "The current situation can only be described as not too optimistic. Although the Holy Land has lost considerable territory and quite a few of its people have been killed, their main forces haven't collapsed. Moreover, the Holy Land is relying on the Grand Formation, making its defenses extremely difficult to breach. If we attack head-on, the Alliance will suffer heavy losses, but the damage to the Grand Formation will be negligible."
"By that logic, isn't the Alliance's fighting all thunder and no rain?" Jiang Chen probed.
"You can't say that either. Our Alliance's greatest advantage is numbers. We keep growing, while the Holy Land loses one person at a time. Besides, we can afford to drag this out. The Holy Land is sitting idle, burning through its reserves. Even with the Grand Formation, they're just putting up a desperate fight. Sooner or later, they'll collapse."
Elder Xun patted Jiang Chen's shoulder as he spoke: "Brother, keep at it. I know you want to make a name for yourselves. I guarantee this place is a golden opportunity for you to build your legacy."
Jiang Chen nodded and replied with an ingratiating smile: "Elder Xun, allow me to ask one more bold question. Will headquarters provide any support for our defense in this area? For instance, if we run into danger here, will someone come to reinforce us immediately?"
Elder Xun couldn't help but laugh: "Brother, you're thinking too much. There are over a hundred defense sectors of all sizes. If every sector got special attention and reinforcements were dispatched every time something went wrong, where would we find enough manpower?"
"So even if we die in battle here, people outside won't know?"
"If you go silent for a long time, that basically means you've been killed in action. Besides, you'd send a distress call if you were in danger, wouldn't you?" Elder Xun chuckled, thinking that these家伙 from the Zhouguang Sect were completely out of their minds.
Did they really need to ask such naive questions?
Jiang Chen let out a soft sigh: "So if we really die here, the outside world won't find out for quite some time."
"If you're truly killed, the outside will find out eventually. After your deaths, the enemy will inevitably break through your sector and advance into others. Once that happens, wouldn't everyone know perfectly well that something went wrong at your position?" Elder Xun's contempt for Jiang Chen and his companions grew even more.
"That's not necessarily true. What if the Holy Land kills a batch and then retreats? They don't always play by our expectations," Jiang Chen countered.
"Brother, stop worrying about all that. Are you afraid that if you fall here, nobody will collect your body? Relax. If you really die here, patrol teams inspect every sector each evening and dawn. Furthermore, the Commander conducts a roll call with every sector leader daily. If you don't show up, that says it all. Understand?"
Elder Xun shook his head vigorously as he said this, clearly convinced that these家伙 from the Zhouguang Sect were all complete idiots.
With this level of intelligence, they dared to come to Sector Sixteen?
Having finished speaking, Elder Xun had no intention of continuing this pointless chat with Jiang Chen. He smiled coldly: "Alright, the handover is complete. I've said everything that needed saying. Give it your all, and don't let the Commander down. Don't let down your fellow Alliance members either."
Jiang Chen, however, grinned: "Elder Xun, why the rush?"
Elder Xun's expression darkened: "The rotation handover is done. Why wouldn't I be in a hurry? I still need to go inspect my own sector. What—are you trying to back out? Let me tell you, once a handover is complete, there is absolutely no going back. Military orders are as immovable as mountains. This is no game."
Jiang Chen laughed carelessly: "Who said anything about backing out? What I meant to say is, haven't you all already been killed in action here at Sector Sixteen? I'm about to report to His Highness Prince Shang and inform him that several powerful experts from the Northern Palace family have all perished at Sector Sixteen. By the time we arrived, there was nothing left but bare bones."
The moment these words left his mouth, Elder Xun and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they erupted in furious shouts.
"Kid, have you lost your mind?"
"Your Zhouguang Sect has clearly gone insane."
"Are you sure your head wasn't caught in a door?"
They were clearly enraged by Jiang Chen. They had waited so long for this rotation, and the last thing they wanted was to waste time bickering with him.
A burly man bellowed: "Get the hell out of my way right now! Don't think that just because the handover's done, this is your territory. I can teach you a lesson any time I please!"
Jiang Chen's brow furrowed. He despised nothing more than people calling themselves "your father" in front of him.
"Brother Zhu Que, this man is calling himself 'your father' in front of me — doesn't that make him senior to you? What do you think we should do about that?"
The Vermilion Bird divine bird chuckled darkly and nodded: "Very well."
With that, he raised his arm slightly, and a flame-colored chain suddenly materialized in his palm. The chain bore azure patterns and glowed faintly, looking as though it carried no real threat.
The man sneered: "What? You bring out a little firelight that wouldn't even light a woman's way to the outhouse and expect it to scare anyone?"
But in the very next instant, his laughter died in his throat.
That azure flame chain had, in the blink of an eye, swept toward him like a gust of wind. The moment it arrived before him, his pupils dilated infinitely wide.
In the next heartbeat, the chain suddenly unfurled and swept once around his entire body.
A grotesque scene unfolded. The man's Dharma Body — his flesh and blood — was drained in an instant, as though all moisture had been sucked out of him, leaving behind nothing but a withered skeleton.
And his arrogant expression hadn't even had time to morph into shock and terror before it dissolved into nothingness in the void.