Chapter 1085: Chapter 838: Trapped Beast
The girl was naturally Lingling. Before Long Yi entered the Array, he had stealthily positioned Lingling to stay there, watching intently for anyone attempting to escape. The moment someone tried, they would be immediately skewered to the ground by a Dragon Spear.
After the two were pinned to the ground, those remaining inside the Array realized that Long Yi had not come unprepared.
"How does it feel? Desperate? Powerless?" Long Yi taunted.
He was still far from the breach in the Array, but no one dared to flee any longer. The fate of the two who tried had proven it was not a good idea.
But... what if everyone tried to break the Array at the same time? Long Yi and Lingling might be strong, but could they attack eleven people simultaneously? Clearly not.
Everyone exchanged glances. Yet, as they did, Long Yi strode toward the breach and stood near it, then astonishingly repaired it with a raise of his hand!
Suddenly, everyone’s heart skipped a beat, for with Long Yi’s intervention, the Array no longer belonged to them. Most importantly, an overwhelmingly strict rule began to spread throughout the whole Array, and gradually, they lost complete control over it! Long Yi had snatched their Array right before their very eyes!
Damn it!
Utterly damn it!
This Array was built with the combined strength of thirteen people, but controlling it did not require the power of all thirteen.
The group immediately tried to break through the Array, but the horrendous backlash of damage rendered all their struggles pointless. They were disheveled, some even wounded.
"Alright, I think now we can have a proper conversation, can’t we?"
The eleven faced Long Yi with ashen expressions, completely unprepared for this turn of events.
"What do you want to know?" the leader asked.
"What do you all know?" Long Yi countered.
Obviously, Long Yi wasn’t going to ask anything specific. He wanted these individuals to reveal information on their own, which would certainly yield more than if he asked directly.
Long Yi’s question left everyone somewhat perplexed, with hardly anyone responding.
"Let’s do this, those who are not afraid of death stand to that side, and the rest come to me one by one and tell me what you know."
Was this like a teacher calling on students to answer questions one by one? Some had this illusion, but the scene, which might have seemed somewhat humorous, was anything but amusing; in fact, it was deadly.
No one wanted to die.
Long Yi simply conjured a chair from his private space and sat down.
"Let’s start with you," he said casually, pointing at someone.
The person stiffly walked over.
"So, tell me, what do you know?" Long Yi asked with a friendly smile on his face.
"I..." the person instinctively wanted to claim ignorance, but then thought better of it, fearing that such a response could cost him his life. So, he simply shared everything he knew about the Ancient Mage Tower and matters related to Long Yi.
He specifically mentioned that Elma, the master of the Ancient Mage Tower, was different now.
Tall, robust. These two words piqued Long Yi’s interest. Clearly, after losing the help of Long Yi and Ai Lin, Elma had found a new way to enhance his strength.
"Good, next one," Long Yi motioned to another person.
That person, looking at Long Yi, scoffed, "I know nothing."
"You don’t know?" Long Yi repeated for confirmation.
"I don’t know!" The person seemed to think Long Yi was in a good mood and raised his voice.
The next moment, Long Yi grabbed his neck, spun him around, and he was flung out of the Array. Then, a scorching crystal Dragon Spear descended from the sky and with a clang, nailed him to the ground.
"Next," Long Yi continued, beckoning to the next person.
The first to be questioned now broke into a cold sweat, realizing that he had almost said ’I don’t know.’ Without further question, Long Yi simply threw them out to be skewered!
The Array was not soundproof; outside, three were still screaming in agony. With these vivid examples before them, it became clear to the rest that ’I don’t know’ were three words they could never utter.
Regardless of whether they knew much or little, saying something meant Long Yi wouldn’t make it difficult for them. In fact, they had no idea what the previous people had disclosed since Long Yi had them keep their voices low, so whether the content was secret or not was unknown to everyone.
Soon, all ten had spoken.
"Excellent, I appreciate your cooperation. The day is getting late, so I’ll take my leave now. Goodbye," Long Yi said and once again passed through the Array and departed.
The ten who watched Long Yi leave felt an overwhelming relief wash over them. They had actually survived, which felt almost dreamlike! Wasn’t it said that anyone who opposed Long Yi met with bad ends? Perhaps Long Yi wasn’t as frightening as they had thought.
"What do we do now?" someone asked the leader.
"What else can we do? Wait for the messenger to arrive, and then we’ll report everything here. We’ll have Master Elma send more, stronger fighters to retrieve us. Damn it! I will pay Long Yi back for today’s grudge!"
The leader spoke with resentment.
"I will make him die a miserable death!" Another person also roared in a low voice.
At that moment, the Emperor appeared with the Imperial Guard surrounding them.
"Masters, are you all right?" the Emperor called out from a distance.
"We’re fine! Stay back!" shouted a Master from the Ancient Mage Tower.
But the Emperor did not move away and instead approached the Array.
"That won’t do, just as Long Yi left, he entrusted me with the Rune to dismantle the Array. If we stay back, we won’t be able to help the Masters to dismantle it!"
As he spoke, the Emperor raised his left hand, and indeed, a Rune glowed brilliantly.
It dawned on everyone that, even though Long Yi had left, the Array was still not under their control!
"Then what are you waiting for, open the Array for us quickly!" the leading Master ordered.
"Yes, yes, I will open it for you now," the Emperor said with a smile, his hand almost touching the Array, but at the last moment, he drew it back.
"What are you waiting for?" the leading Master frowned, speaking displeasedly.
"Actually, I have just one question for the esteemed Masters," said the Emperor, still smiling.
"Ask away!" the leading Master, although not erupting yet, decided in his heart that as soon as he was free, he would immediately kill this fool bold enough to haggle with him!
The smile on the Emperor’s face slowly disappeared as he lifted his hand inscribed with a Rune and asked, "Are you commanding me to help you out as Masters from the Ancient Mage Tower, or are you asking for your Emperor’s help as my subjects?"
When the Emperor said this, all ten people inside the Array exploded with rage.
"How dare you play games with a Master from the Ancient Mage Tower!"
"Have you grown impatient?"
"Even without your Rune, this Array would dissipate on its own! At that time, we’d like to see what identity you intend to face us with!"
In the face of their threats, the Emperor raised his other hand and said, "This is the second Rune Long Yi gave me. If I press this Rune onto your Array, on the very next moment, the Array will explode from the inside out. And to ensure the power of the explosion, I have specially called over all one thousand members of the Imperial Guard. Long Yi assured me that the blast won’t disappoint."
Having said this, the Emperor looked at his hands, seemingly troubled, "It’s truly troublesome, which one should I choose?"
Speaking, the Emperor even attempted to bring the hand with the destructive Rune closer to the Array. The mana inside the Array immediately became chaotic, the turmoil so intense that even the Masters inside felt the vibration.
This was not merely a verbal threat! It was real!
At that time, the eyes of the one thousand Imperial Guard members were filled with schadenfreude. When this group of Masters from the Ancient Mage Tower arrived at the Empire, they swaggered around without taking anyone seriously, they expelled all forces loyal to the Emperor, taking control of all the Empire’s affairs. But everyone knew that, apart from their own strong magical powers, these so-called Masters were practically useless. They had no experience in dealing with any state affairs, and everything turned into a mess under their watch. More importantly, their inexplicable pride left them unapproachable, and the slightest displeasure would instantly result in insults and punishment.
So were these so-called Masters, and the ordinary members of the Ancient Mage Tower were even worse. Since their arrival, wherever they appeared across the country, there would be constant complaints from the public.
It could be said that everyone in the Empire, from the Emperor down to the common residents, couldn’t tolerate them.
And just a while ago, those ordinary members of the Ancient Mage Tower were killed by the enraged populace, leaving only this group behind.
Finally, this group of so-called Masters from the Ancient Mage Tower saw the hostility in everyone’s eyes was absolutely no joke. Perhaps, just as the Emperor said, they might detonate the Array even before it dissipated!
"Wait a moment! I understand!" the leading Master raised his hands and bowed his head. "Great and mighty Emperor, please set us free! We assure you that all that happened today will vanish from history, and no one will remember it again!"
With one setting precedent, the other Masters also bowed their heads. Forced by the situation, they had no choice but to submit.
But in their hearts, they solemnly remembered this moment. As soon as they returned to the Mage Tower... No! There was no need to return to the Mage Tower! As soon as they left this Array, they would launch their strongest attack, they would turn the Imperial City to ruins, killing all speaking creatures! No one would be able to speak of today’s events!
The Emperor looked at the people inside, but then placed his hands behind his back, "My subjects, that is not how you speak to me!"
"What do you want!" The leading Master gritted out these words through clenched teeth.
"If you want to implore your Emperor, you had better do so like a proper subject," the Emperor declared, lifting his head high.
"Kneel!" the commander of the Imperial Guard bellowed.
"Kneel! Kneel! Kneel!" The entire Imperial Guard echoed in unison, their voices thunderous.
The ten Masters from the Ancient Mage Tower felt like they were going to explode with anger. They, noble Masters, kneel? Had the world gone mad?
To kneel, or not to kneel?
That was nearly the same as another question.
To die, or not to die.
With a thud, the leading Master knelt down.
Then one by one, they all knelt down.
"Your Majesty, please let us out!" (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
