Chapter 3175: Chapter 3175
Ye Liuyun had scored a windfall this time.
Before, on the battlefield, a single use of temporal power let him snatch one or two hundred experts like these, but he had to spend quite a bit of time prying open their defensive treasures
Now his soul attacks met no resistance, so the efficiency was two or three times higher. Add to that the fact he’d sent both of his souls out to work separately, and the results were even better
One time-stop planted slave seals on nearly six hundred experts and swept them into his spatial world. With the last sliver of frozen time he used Thousand-Phantom Art to turn himself into the likeness of one of the martial cultivator powerhouses and sat right back in that man’s original seat
When the temporal power recharged, he put on the same dazed look as everyone else—utterly clueless about what to do next
By then the hidden sentries had already sounded the alarm and were guarding the huge hole Ye Liuyun had blasted in the hull. Several junior commanders clustered outside the main commander’s cabin to survey the damage and discuss how to respond
Most soldiers stayed put, waiting for orders. The hidden sentries had clearly seen someone break in, yet now not only had the intruder vanished—so had a large number of their own experts
The gathered commanders were all stupefied; one of them immediately took out a voice-transmission talisman to report
Ye Liuyun’s spiritual sense followed every word: the commander was reporting to Jiang Yuntian
“Good thing I kept a trick up my sleeve—otherwise I might’ve taken a loss this time.”
When Jiang Yuntian received the message he pondered for a moment, then ordered the remaining commanders to switch to a fresh warship and return at once
From the white beam that had pierced the ship and the disappearance of the martial experts, he had already guessed Ye Liuyun had made a move. Since his plan had been seen through, leaving soldiers there was pointless—they’d only be picked off first
He promptly sent a voice talisman to Ye Liuyun, explaining that this detachment had merely been meant to relieve Jiang Yunfei and had never intended to target Ye Liuyun
Ye Liuyun didn’t even bother to accept the message
“Want to run? Not a chance!” he sneered inwardly
There were still plenty of experts here he hadn’t caught—how could he let them go so easily
Soon a commander produced another warship and began shuttling the troops aboard for immediate departure
Fifty thousand men, moving layer by layer, took considerable time. Just as they settled in and the new ship lifted off, another four-hundred-plus peak Ninth-Order Unity experts vanished
This time even the commanders huddled in conference disappeared with them
Ye Liuyun’s voice talisman vibrated nonstop
“Hmph, if you want to set me up, you’ll pay a price!”
He didn’t need to look to know Jiang Yuntian was frantic, trying frantically to reach him
Before long, several elite soldiers inside the warship began donning soul-defense treasures and relayed Jiang Yuntian’s order: everyone must equip soul-protection gear immediately
Apparently unable to contact Ye Liuyun, Jiang Yuntian had used soul contracts to reach certain subordinates and have them start the defense first
Ye Liuyun followed suit, took a soul-defense item from one of his freshly-captured experts, put it on, and continued blending in while his temporal power recovered
The remaining experts had lost all interest in cultivation; they swept the warship with their spiritual senses again and again, terrified of being snatched away. Yet no outsider could be found
Moments later, the same envoys relayed another order: Ye Liuyun might have changed his appearance and hidden among them, so they would inspect everyone’s seas of consciousness to confirm no one was compromised
Seeing that, Ye Liuyun triggered his temporal power once more and planted slave seals on those very envoys, ordering them to keep pretending to carry out the inspection
Though each wore soul-defense treasures, it only cost him a bit more effort and a little extra time
Still, Jiang Yuntian would probably realize these men were compromised soon enough. Now it was a question of how many of the people left were under Jiang Yuntian’s direct control.
Not every elite soldier was under Jiang Yuntian’s direct control.
Among the men Ye Liuyun had seized, only a handful were Jiang Yuntian’s—plants inserted into the army to watch the commanders. None of them knew exactly how many others answered straight to Jiang Yuntian.
Most had sworn loyalty oaths to their commanders. When those commanders died and Ye Liuyun arrested the troops, the binding contracts in their seas of consciousness had already vanished.
Soon several more elite soldiers stepped forward, claiming they’d been controlled and insisting that Ye Liuyun himself must be hiding among them right now.
The soldiers Ye Liuyun already dominated, of course, refused to admit anything, and the two sides began flinging accusations at one another.
The rest of the troops were left bewildered, unable to tell who was truly under control or which faction to support.
Jiang Yuntian’s puppets didn’t dare fight inside the warship; they feared destroying it and harming their comrades.
Ye Liuyun kept working, quietly subduing the new accusers and ordering them to keep quarreling as a distraction.
Then more voices rose, declaring that everyone involved was being manipulated.
The scene descended into chaos.
Ye Liuyun once again bent time to a halt and brought the latest speakers under his sway.
Most soldiers simply watched the spectacle, letting the factions argue it out. Now the number of troops Jiang Yuntian could still command was no longer the majority.
“This way, even if Jiang Yuntian still has people he can use, he won’t dare expose them. Anyone else who steps forward now will be distrusted,” Ye Liuyun thought.
Jiang Yuntian, meanwhile, was growing frantic. Every agent he revealed was immediately seized by Ye Liuyun; if this continued, he’d lose all contact with the army.
At the same time, Ye Liuyun froze time again, released a sliver of his soul, and took control of the bridge crew, ordering them to steer the warship in wide circles. The soldiers’ loyalty contracts had already dissolved, so no one should notice the new leash around their minds.
With no commander aboard, the ninth-tier elite soldiers were anxious and paid no attention to the ship’s heading. Lower-ranked soldiers who did notice simply assumed the vessel was following Jiang Yuntian’s orders; none dared question it.
Before long, the quarreling factions quieted on Ye Liuyun’s cue, pretending to keep watch on one another while waiting for Jiang Yuntian’s next pawn to appear.
After a brief lull, another soldier stepped forward and relayed Jiang Yuntian’s order: everyone was to disperse and return to their own camps.
Once the troops scattered, Ye Liuyun would have no way to capture them one by one—it was indeed a clever countermove.
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