Chapter 938: Curtains Fall on Skystar (I)

Outside the mine.

The battle raged on.

No one sensed what took place in the center of the mine because it’d all happened in a mental domain. Not even the two Saints had detected anything.

The fighting had continued for a while. Some Black Armaturas laid lifelessly on the ground. Some of the Skystar soldiers had been defeated as well, their life mark dissipating when their armor was smashed.

In the sky, some of the plant spirits struggled with injuries. Of the six Silver Armors, one laid prone on the ground, its status unknown. Overall, the plant spirits occupied the upper hand as they had more Immortals.

In the air.

The woman that the bramble rose had taken shape as wielded spikes in both hands. She sneered at Sun Xin. “Your side will only grow weaker the longer this drags on. I said that I only want energy. I will retreat if you give me one third of the energy stones in the mine! There is no benefit to either you or I if we continue this standoff, no?”

The Gold Armor didn’t say a word; he simply swung his blade with ferocious momentum. The bramble rose answered in kind as its spikes were cuttingly sharp since they were a part of it.

Sun Xin had not secured any advantage after repeated clashes. The remaining plant spirits on the ground abruptly launched a fierce offensive at the Silver Armors!

These plant spirits were of the Immortal level. Although they were slightly weaker than human peers, they beat the Silver Armors back through superior cultivation.

Only when it came to the fight between the Black Armaturas and Skystar Army was the latter the winning side. They firmly routed the Black Armaturas, but a skirmish of that level was insignificant when it came to turning the tide of battle!

A Silver Armor suddenly erupted with scintillating light. Startled plant spirits rapidly backed away. This was a sign of impending self-detonation!

When human experts faced their end, many were those who chose to go out in a final blaze of glory. This decision often caused no end of headache for the enemy. Although they knew that the humans would choose to self-detonate, it was sometimes impossible to interrupt the process.

“Halt!” a grunt echoed through the battlefield.

......

Inside the mine.

Li Hao and the others were waiting for the perfect timing when Director General Wang’s mouth sagged with dismay. He suddenly rushed out, much to Li Hao’s surprise.

The Black Armor waved the rest of them off, not wanting the group to follow the man.

Li Hao frowned ferociously. Did the director general still harbor delusions of changing the situation out there?

......

Boom!

Director General Wang beat back a plant spirit with a massive punch and shouted at the Silver Armor that wanted to self-detonate. “Stop!”

The Silver Armors jerked with surprise, as did the two fighting Saints pause. How had... someone else appeared in this area?

The Gold Armor was even more astonished; he was too shocked for words! How was this possible?! Wasn’t this Wang Ye?

Some of the Silver Armors wanted to attack the newcomer, but did a double-take when they saw the newcomer clearly and swept him with their mental strength. An arctic expression on his face, Director General Wang held up a seal—the Black Tortoise Seal.

Radiant rays shot out from it, bringing the Silver Armors to a standstill.

“The seventh troop leader of the Third Division of Skystar Army greets Director General Wang!” spoke the stunned and delighted Silver Armor that’d wanted to self-detonate.

How were they meeting a director general of a main city here, in this age!

They quickly backed away when another idea struck them. How had the director general arrived at the mine entrance? Could it be...

Long buried memories surfaced. Could it be that Battle Heaven had something to do with the attack on Skystar Town? How else would their director general be here?

“Vice Commander Sun Xin of the Skystar Army is guilty of colluding with enemies!” snapped Director General Wang, not giving anyone a chance to do or say anything. “He is temporarily stripped of all military authority and will be arrested for further judgment by the Battle Heaven Army! All other army personnel will undergo investigation!

“The various guardian plant spirits of Skystar Town have betrayed humanity. With the bramble rose as the leader, they will be executed for flaunting the law!”

Up in the air, the two Saints stopped fighting each other. Agitated ripples surfaced from the Gold Armor, whereas the bramble rose laughed softly. “Wang Ye? What a... surprise!”

“Why have you suddenly appeared at the rear of the mine, Wang Ye?” the Gold Armor asked in a low voice.

The other plant spirits looked at each other, all of them reading wariness in each other’s eyes. What... was Wang Ye doing here? He was part of Battle Heaven!

Meanwhile, other possibilities struck Jiang Chen and the ministers. Battle Heaven backed Li Hao from the shadows. Why was one of their members here? Battle Heaven was thousands of kilometers away and Wang Ye just demonstrated his sizable strength through beating back an Immortal plant spirit with one punch. How could he be here??

It was inconceivable!

“It is not your place to question why I am here, Sun Xin!” Director General Wang looked coldly at the Gold Armor. “Countless powerhouses died that year when Skystar Town was ambushed. I only ask you, why are you still alive?”

“The commander sought to protect the mine...” a Silver Armor hastily responded before Sun Xin had a chance to.

“Protect the mine?” Director General Wang turned to hector the Silver Armor. “Then I ask you, have you gone to the mine’s core?”

The Silver Armors blinked and looked at each other.

“There is a self-detonation mechanism in place at the core of the mine. The commander was worried of traitors and did not permit anyone to draw near...” one of them quickly replied.

“I

ask

you

once more, Wang Ye, how are you here?” The Gold Armor’s presence fluctuated again when Director General Wang spoke of the mine’s core. “How did you bypass everything and avoid the Lock Formation of the Four Directions? Did you and the bramble rose reach an agreement long ago? You say that I turned traitor, but I find that it is Battle Heaven that has betrayed everyone!

“Kill him!” Sun Xin roared. “Wang Ye, you will be executed for trying to mislead the soldiers!”

He gave up on his plant spirit opponent and drove his blade at Wang Ye!

A thousand questions swirled in his mind; he was most shocked of all that Wang Ye was here. If the director general was here... then... what about inside? What’d happened?? The second awakening hadn’t started yet, so what was Wang Ye doing here? Shouldn’t he be at Battle Heaven??

The bramble rose didn’t stop Sun Xin. She wore a smile, a slightly mocking smile with undertones of something else. Wang Ye... had come here. The director general of Security at Battle Heaven, one of the eight main cities, was here.

He was here with the city lord seal, which meant that he conducted himself with the authorization of Battle Heaven. He wasn’t here alone.

The bramble rose looked around, then at the mine opening behind them. Were there others apart from Wang Ye? There was nothing amiss with the Lock Formation of the Four Directions, so had Wang Ye been here all along or had he just arrived?

It was better if he’d been here all along. If he’d just arrived... then the implications behind that were too many.

“How dare you!” Wang Ye roared angrily as Sun Xin descended with the might of a Saint. “Soldiers of Skystar Army, you will execute this person now if you are still loyal to New Martial!”

The Silver Armors looked at each other, each one too shocked for thought. On one side was the vice commander that they’d spent countless eons with, on the other was Director General Wang from a main city...

Sun Xin was now their commander-in-chief, so they should follow his orders. But... a director general from a main city... here with the city lord seal... and Battle Heaven... That was a city under the Exalted Blood Emperor’s care, even though the exalted emperor had only visited once.

After momentary struggle, the Silver Armors interposed themselves between the two.

“Commander, there might be a misunderstanding here...” one of them said lowly. How could they just kill a main city envoy! After so many years of silence, they should take Wang Ye alive no matter what was potentially wrong with him and interrogate him first.

They were still in the thick of battle. That their commander had suddenly abandoned his fight against the bramble rose to focus on a Wang Ye that’d suddenly appeared... made them agitate uneasily.

“Have you forgotten military regulations?” Sun Xin should. “There must be something amiss with his sudden appearance. As a third party, he should be killed first!”

“You said it yourself that third parties should be killed,” Director General Wang retorted coldly and remained unmoving. “I am the acting city lord of Battle Heaven, a member of Skystar’s superior. Which military regulation says that envoys from a main city are to be executed on the battlefield?

“Are you trying to lie your way out of the situation with a glib tongue even now, Sun Xin?”

The Gold Armor glared frostily at him and looked at the Silver Armors. He suddenly turned to the bramble rose. “Since he is a third party... you and I should kill him first before we talk of anything else...”

The bramble rose didn’t respond. Killing a third party... of course that should take priority, if the person in question was an unknown third party. But now, the person was from a main city and... the plant spirit was still debating if Wang Ye was here alone or with numerous others? How had its formation been broken?

“Stand aside, all of you!” Sun Xin commanded with a frown. “I’ll take him out first. We can resume our battle later!”

He chose to give way with this compromise as he could not afford to push his Silver Armors to the newcomer. That would be very troublesome.

The troop leaders hesitated still as this was a very complicated situation. Wang Ye’s appearance was a complete surprise, and it made sense to arrest him first before resuming their battle. And yet...

“It looks like you guys really are unaware of the situation,” Wang Ye sighed. “I was also thinking that even if the Skystar Army betrayed New Martial, the entire army shouldn’t have turned traitor!”

The Silver Armors blinked and one of them couldn’t help but say, “Director General Wang, we have remained faithful to our duties all this time and never harbored second thoughts. These words...”

Made them too sad!

We guarded this place for countless years in a lonely existence, but now we’re being clapped with treason?

Anyone would find it disheartening

“That is because you guys were idiots,” Wang Ye replied emotionlessly. “You were Apexes back in the day, but lacked any sort of ability to judge for yourself. How do you lead troops when you are so dumb?”

The Silver Armors stirred angrily! But in this moment, another figure appeared!