I Am the True Lord of Running Away

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Running Dog

The group didn’t waste any more words. Although they had decided to enter the city, they remained on high alert, taking all necessary precautions.

After ensuring they could react swiftly to any sudden developments, the entire reinforcement squad finally walked into the city.

Upon entering the city, they were surprised to find it wasn’t the wreck they had imagined.

On the contrary, although it was extremely desolate, everything looked to be perfectly intact, showing no signs of damage.

That made sense. The Protective Array had not been completely breached, which meant the Demon Cultivators had not gotten inside.

It was no surprise, then, that the interior was undamaged.

Shortly after they entered, a figure came hurrying from the city center, calling out to Jiang Xu and the others from afar:

"Sirs from the Upper Sect, please don’t take offense! Please forgive us for not coming out to greet you. We’ve been through so much we’re like startled birds, and to avoid any mishaps, we could only wait for you to come inside to meet."

The man’s attitude was so humble that Jiang Xu and the others couldn’t bring themselves to say much. After all, they could understand his reasoning.

The man introduced himself as Gongsun Ping, an elder of the Gongsun Clan with a Qi Cultivation Great Perfection cultivation. He explained that with the Clan Leader away, he was in charge of all the Gongsun Family’s affairs.

Jiang Xu used his Spiritual Eye Technique to check. The man wasn’t a Demon Cultivator, but a pure Magic Cultivator. ’He should be trustworthy.’

Gongsun Ping led Jiang Xu and the others to a hall in the very heart of the city.

Soon, a dozen or so cultivators appeared in the hall to greet the reinforcement squad. They were pale and utterly exhausted, looking as if they had depleted their Magical Power.

At a glance, these people appeared no different from Gongsun Ping.

But the moment Jiang Xu saw them, his pupils shrank. His calves tensed, and he had the immediate urge to turn and flee!

He had discovered that the power inside these cultivators wasn’t Magical Power, but Magic Power!

In other words, these people were all Demon Cultivators!

Moreover, they were Demon Cultivators, armed and ready. Their weakness was just an act!

A chill ran down Jiang Xu’s spine.

Jiang Xu glanced at Gongsun Ping and saw that he showed no surprise at the appearance of the Demon Cultivators.

These Demon Cultivators were disguised as members of the Gongsun Clan. As a clan elder, there was no way Gongsun Ping wouldn’t be able to tell.

’In other words, this guy... is in league with these Demon Cultivators!’

Jiang Xu discreetly glanced at Qian Jianjun. He was also staring intently at the Demon Cultivators, his expression grave, yet he remained silent. He gave no hint, simply watching events unfold.

Jiang Xu had no idea what Qian Jianjun was thinking.

’Normally, if you want a squad like this to operate independently, you first teach them theory. You go over all the possible scenarios.’

’Then you have them get some hands-on practice, where the squad leader fights alongside them, explaining as they go.’

’Only after that should the squad handle its first mission entirely on its own.’

’Who throws a team into a Hell-difficulty mission for their very first assignment?’

’Or is it because I’m in this squad? Does he want the whole team to go down with me?’

’That doesn’t make sense either.’

’For Qian Jianjun, there’s absolutely no need.’

’Besides, if all the cultivators in the squad were killed, Qian Jianjun would definitely be investigated and disciplined.’

In any case, Jiang Xu knew one thing.

If Qian Jianjun didn’t act soon, the entire squad was about to suffer a major blow.

Sure enough, the others showed no particular wariness toward the newly arrived cultivators, allowing the Demon Cultivators to approach.

Once the Demon Cultivators had closed to a certain distance, someone in the reinforcement squad finally reacted, frowning as he asked, "Can we help you?"

At these words, Gongsun Ping, who had been chatting cheerfully with the squad, had his expression change in an instant. His faintly sycophantic smile turned to ice as he barked:

"Attack!"

Before the members of the reinforcement squad could react, they saw the dozen or so Demon Cultivators—now within ten meters of them—unleash hundreds of tendrils of pitch-black smoke. The tendrils, each as thick as a baby’s arm, shot toward them in an instant!

The smoke moved with incredible speed. Before they could react, they were completely bound by it, unable to move a muscle!

"Hahaha! You little brats! Are you even weaned yet? Trying to fight like grown-ups? You’re still a little too wet behind the ears for that!"

Seeing Jiang Xu and the others ensnared by the smoke, struggling desperately but unable to break free, Gongsun Ping burst out laughing, his smile positively gloating.

"You... you’re not from the Gongsun Clan!" someone in the reinforcement squad stammered in horror.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"You despicable coward! If you have any guts, let me go and face me in a real duel!"

"..."

The cultivators trapped in the smoke hurled abuse, but it did nothing to dampen Gongsun Ping’s good mood.

"Heh, I wasn’t lying," Gongsun Ping said. "I am a member of the Gongsun Clan, and I really am a clan elder. It’s just that I was the one who lured the Clan Leader away, and I was also the one who let these Demon Cultivators in!"

Jiang Xu was stunned.

’So this whole Demon Cultivator attack was a charade orchestrated by Gongsun Ping?’

’A clan traitor?’

’Or a traitor to all Magic Cultivators?’

’What was he doing it for?’

Jiang Xu wasn’t the only one who was confused; the other members of the reinforcement squad were baffled as well.

One of them, his eyes wide with fury, began to shout abuse.

"You’re nothing but a lapdog for the Demon Cultivators!"

"Aren’t you a Magic Cultivator? Why are you mixed up with them? And why betray your clan to conspire with Demon Cultivators? Have you no shame?!"

"Exactly! Do you think you’ll come to a good end for betraying your own kind? You really think these Demon Cultivators will accept you?"

Gongsun Ping scoffed, utterly dismissive of their words.

"Do you really think the Gongsun Clan, this so-called family of the Righteous Dao, and your Profound Origin Sect are anything good?"

"Don’t be so naive!"

"The Clan Leader may be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but he’s old and his life is nearly at its end."

"Half a month ago, because I showed the potential to reach Foundation Establishment, that so-called Clan Leader of mine—in order to ensure his own family line would produce the next successor—was actually plotting how to kill me!"

"To think that I, Gongsun Ping, have toiled for this clan for half my life, only to meet such an end! I had no designs on the Clan Leader’s position, but they refused to believe me!"

"And then there’s your Profound Origin Sect!"

"In order to gain the prestige of being associated with the Profound Origin Sect, our clan has to offer you an immense amount of resources and Spirit Stones every year. If we fall short, we have to fight other Cultivation Clans to the death just to meet the quota! Do you have any idea how many of our clan members die every year because of this?!"

"Who knows how many Cultivation Clans like ours are propping up the Profound Origin Sect with tributes! Every single one of you cultivates by feasting on the blood and flesh of others!"