Chapter 2982: Chapter 2982
"Is your leader really that formidable?" Ye Liuyun feigned astonishment, though his true intention was to gauge the strength of this bandit group through Liu Yan.
Liu Yan puffed up with pride. "Of course! Would anyone dare set up their own operation in a place like this without some serious skills? And it’s not just our leader—we’ve got two deputy leaders and a captain, all formidable in their own right. Rumor has it we’ve even hired three powerful outside experts."
Ye Liuyun nodded deliberately, playing along. "With so many strong fighters, you wouldn’t just be using us as cannon fodder, would you?"
Liu Yan leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Liuyun, I won’t lie to you. Recruiting an expedition team? That’s exactly what it’s for—finding people to take the brunt of the danger.
"But out of a five-hundred-man force, we won’t be wiped out entirely. Our boss estimates we’ll keep at least half. The real fighting will fall on us, the core members. The survivors? We’ll genuinely bring them into our ranks to bolster our numbers.
"Even your men here—at least half will make it through. That’s still better odds than if you were out there fighting on your own. These people are doomed either way—might as well join us and improve their chances. Don’t you agree?"
Ye Liuyun pretended to nod in understanding, though inwardly, he was already scheming about how to use others as shields to minimize his own losses.
Seeing his hesitation, Liu Yan added, "I’ll be leading my own team on this mission. I’ll do my best to keep your men alive—I won’t let you all get wiped out.
"Since you’re signing up as a full squad, your numbers will count for something. I’ll put in a good word for you with the boss, make sure he takes notice."
"Who exactly is your boss?" Ye Liuyun asked, wary of dealing with someone too low-ranking.
"Our boss is the battalion commander, Li Qingyang! He may not be a deputy leader, but he handles most of the group’s affairs and is the overall commander for this operation. The deputy leaders rarely even show their faces," Liu Yan explained.
Ye Liuyun pressed further. "And you’re sure you can get through to him?"
Liu Yan smirked confidently. "Liuyun, you’re new here, so you don’t know how things work. Our group only has two battalion commanders and ten squad leaders.
"Don’t let the squad leader title fool you—each of us oversees an entire city with over five hundred men under our command. If this weren’t the battalion commander’s base of operations, I wouldn’t even be here handling recruitment myself.
"And precisely because the battalion commander is stationed here, I’ve got a solid connection with him."
Ye Liuyun nodded, feigning belief. "Then we’ll have to trouble Captain Liu Yan."
"Don’t mention it. Once we’re back from the expedition, we’ll all be brothers. I’m just trying to wrap up this mission quickly—otherwise, the boss chews me out every day!" Liu Yan replied bluntly.
Ye Liuyun chuckled and pressed further via voice transmission, "Is Captain Liu really short on men? Why not just grab a few and call it a day?"
Liu Yan sighed, looking exasperated. "Can’t do that. We have rules—no operations within the city. And if we send too many people out to capture recruits, we risk running into powerful soul cultivators. Losing more men wouldn’t be worth it."
Seizing the opportunity, Ye Liuyun suggested, "What if *we* go out to capture people for you? That’d speed up your recruitment. In return, you could help ensure my group stays intact?"
Liu Yan hesitated. "If you can bring in enough recruits, I can definitely protect your team. But I’m worried you might fail and get yourselves killed instead—then I’d have even fewer volunteers."
Ye Liuyun understood his concern: if they died outside the city, Liu Yan’s recruitment quota would be harder to meet.
"Don’t worry, Captain Liu. If we could take down Wang Mang’s squad, we’re not exactly pushovers."
Liu Yan considered this. Wang Mang’s team *had* been formidable. Plus, he’d noticed the uniformed guards behind Ye Liuyun—likely trained in coordinated combat formations.
"Alright," he agreed, relenting. "Give it a shot. Head out through the west gate. No large bandit groups or overpowering cultivators out there."
"Got it. Thanks, Captain. Expect good news soon!" Ye Liuyun replied promptly.
But Liu Yan added, "There’s still a crowd watching your place. I’ll handle the stronger teams for you—deal with the rest yourself."
Originally, Ye Liuyun had planned to lure *all* of them outside for capture, preferring Liu Yan stay out of it. But with so many eyes on them, a few less wouldn’t hurt. He thanked Liu Yan warmly, playing the grateful role.
Liu Yan summoned two subordinates, issued quick orders, and dismissed Ye Liuyun to prepare.
By the time Ye Liuyun returned to his quarters, several of the watchers had already vanished.
He thought to himself, "Seems Liu Yan wasn’t boasting after all—he really does hold sway in this city!"
Liu Yan wasn’t the least bit worried about Ye Liuyun trying to deceive him. The entire city was under his control, and if Ye Liuyun dared to trick him, he wouldn’t last long here. Even if he fled elsewhere, he’d be hunted down.
After returning, Ye Liuyun gathered his clone as well. The area outside the city was undoubtedly dangerous—otherwise, Liu Yan would have already gone out to capture enough people himself. So everyone had to be ready to fight at any moment.
The moment they set out, they were immediately tailed, with watchers quickly pulling out communication talismans to relay the news.
With nine armored martial cultivators in uniform marching behind him and his clone, they stood out conspicuously, drawing lingering glances from passersby. The bandits, of course, knew they were heading out of the city.
Near the western gate, others spotted their departure and grew excited, rushing off to gather their companions.
Ye Liuyun pretended not to notice these movements. Once outside the city, he picked up the pace, as if trying to shake off the tails.
He had already counted over twenty pursuers behind them and braced himself for a tough battle.
But they hadn’t gone far before they ran into a group of more than a dozen bandits, fanning out ahead to block their path.
Ye Liuyun quickly assessed their cultivation levels—one leader at the third level of Guiyi, while the rest were first or second-level Guiyi martial cultivators.
"That strongest one is mine!" he ordered, charging forward without slowing.
Just before impact, he suddenly released his pack of feral beast, startling the enemy. Meanwhile, he and his clone each unleashed a soul attack, striking directly at the third-level Guiyi leader’s consciousness.
The moment the bandit leader saw the sudden swarm of savage creatures, he knew they were outmatched.
"Retreat!" he barked, spinning to flee—but he was no match for the speed of a soul attack. Before he could escape, Ye Liuyun and his clone branded him with a slave seal and dragged him into their spatial world.
