Chapter 2358: Chapter 2362: Did Jiang Chen Run Away?
"The village chief and the others are here!"
Beside the gate tower next to the Black Tiger Stockade gate, Li Kuiyong and four other brawny men stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Did that kid run away?"
Li Kuiyong glanced at what used to be eight silhouettes ahead, then looked at the figure hastily moving in another direction, a mischievous smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Not just anyone dares to mess with our Black Tiger Stockade!"
A brawny man said with a sinister smile: "I guess some mid-level Divine Spirit Realm brats from that Changling Academy chickened out, huh?"
"Haha!"
"Haha..."
"What Vice-Chief of the Wood Wolves said is right!"
The brawny man’s words elicited a burst of laughter.
Inside the gate tower, Liu Yunjian and the seven others gazed icily at the slowly approaching figures.
"It looks like one ran away!"
Looking at the figure that broke away from the main group, Meng Tianjiang spoke softly.
"It’s probably Lin Shanshan, isn’t it? She mocked me, but now she’s the one who ran away when faced with a fight!"
Pang Wei smirked coldly as he watched the approaching figure, a dark gleam in his eyes.
Jiang Chen, dare you to kick me out of the team, I will make sure none of you complete the mission!
"No, it seems like the one who left is Jiang Chen!"
Meng Tianjiang’s face suddenly changed, exclaiming in surprise.
By this time, the eight sprinting figures had already approached the stockade, close enough to be recognized by everyone.
"Jiang Chen ran? How can that be? He’s the team leader, if he ran, the team would fall apart!"
Pang Wei also recognized the faces of the newcomers; indeed, Jiang Chen was not among them.
Glancing at the figure that had disappeared from view, acting alone, Pang Wei frowned slightly, a foreboding feeling surfacing in his heart.
Did I overlook something, what was it?
Pang Wei’s brow furrowed gently, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
"Hmph! That guy is probably off to find help, isn’t he? I anticipated this, or how else could a few of them possibly overthrow the Black Tiger Stockade?"
Liu Yunjian sneered, "I’ve already informed all the stockades within a hundred miles, and while they won’t help us deal with the Changling Academy people, they did agree not to interfere either! Jiang Chen going? He’ll just hit a snag!"
Upon hearing this, a flash of insight struck Pang Wei’s mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it, furrowing his brow tightly.
Outside the gate.
Liu Chang and the others had already stopped fifty meters away.
"Those are the five chiefs and vice-chiefs of the Black Tiger Stockade, the one in the middle is the chief, Li Kuiyong!"
Liu Chang glanced at the five on the gate tower, quietly warning.
"Why are they all here? It looks like they knew we were coming!"
Feng Qingyang frowned, speaking in a deep voice.
"So, the ones below are Changling Academy students, right?"
An arrogant voice rang out, with a trace of mockery, "Not staying safe in your ivory tower, and running out to this Forsaken Plain? Tired of living too long, aren’t you?"
"Li Kuiyong, spare us the wordplay. Hardly seems like you, who ran like a rabbit from Senior Zhuo Bufan to this Forsaken Plain eight years ago, hasn’t dared to step out once!"
Liu Chang retorted with a sneer, a touch of admiration in his eyes when mentioning Zhuo Bufan.
Li Kuiyong’s face changed, reflexively glancing behind Liu Chang and the others, relieved to not see the figure that once made him feel hunted with nowhere to escape.
"Hmph! Stop bringing up Zhuo Bufan. Even if he was here today, I’d still not fear him!"
Li Kuiyong lifted his head, putting on a façade of fearlessness.
"Really? Funny how I remember some scurried to the depths of the plain three years ago when Senior Zhuo arrived, rather face the Necro Spirit than Senior Zhuo, is that what you call fearless?"
Liu Chang quipped sarcastically: "Seems he preferred facing the Necro Spirit over Zhuo Bufan, that’s your fearlessness?"
"You... bastard!"
Li Kuiyong’s eyes flashed with embarrassment and anger as he coldly stared at Liu Chang and the others below him, a murderous aura flickering in his eyes.
"Young Liu."
Inside the gate tower, Pang Wei suddenly looked seriously at Liu Yunjian: "Tell Chief Li to hurry and take action, can’t shake off this uneasy feeling about Jiang Chen’s departure!"
"Uneasy? You’re overthinking! He can’t possibly bring reinforcements!"
Liu Yunjian gave Pang Wei a glance, a vicious look in his eyes: "Jiang Chen humiliated me at the Forsaken Tavern! Since you said if he leaves the mission will fail, and these people are here, Jiang Chen is bound to come back. If we act now and happen to crush them, what if Jiang Chen doesn’t return? Who will I take it out on? You? Are you worthy?"
Pang Wei’s face changed, a surge of anger rose in his heart, yet he suppressed it forcefully.
At this moment, he was at a disadvantage; he couldn’t turn against Liu Yunjian. Moreover, he wanted to use Liu Yunjian’s hand to ensure Jiang Chen’s mission failed, thus swallowing this resentment for now.
He was well aware that once he left this Forsaken Plain and returned to the Academy, with Hu Yiqiu backing Jiang Chen, there would be nothing he could do against him!
Watching as Li Kuiyong, under Liu Yunjian’s orders, continued trading insults with Liu Chang, Pang Wei’s sense of foreboding grew stronger.
"What’s wrong? Is the Changling Academy only good at banter? Looking to drown us in your spittle?"
Eventually, Li Kuiyong became a bit impatient, mocking Liu Chang with a glacial gleam in his eyes.
"Li Kuiyong wants to fight, why hasn’t Jiang Chen returned yet?"
Wu Zhong spoke softly, glancing at Li Kuiyong on the gate tower, then turning to Jian Wuheng: "What kind of Formation is he setting up? Why is it taking so long?"
"If I’m not mistaken, he plans to set up a large formation encompassing the entire Black Tiger Stockade, only in this way can we eradicate the Black Tiger Stockade once and for all, preventing anyone from escaping!"
Jian Wuheng responded quietly.
"What? Encompass the entire Black Tiger Stockade?"
Wu Zhong and others’ faces changed drastically, gasping aloud, eyes filled with astonishment.
"To encompass the entire Black Tiger Stockade, how large a Formation would that require? How many Spirit Stones would it take?"
Lin Shanshan spoke with a dull expression, her eyes showing a pained look, as if witnessing countless Spirit Stones vanish before her.
"If this mission succeeds, all the Spirit Stones we seize will belong to Jiang Chen."
Feng Qingyang said softly.
In student missions, seized items belong to the students, not needing to be handed over, unless the mission explicitly requires finding a certain item.
Feng Qingyang also understood that setting up a Formation that enveloped the entirety of Black Tiger Stockade was the most prudent method. Remembering those hundreds of Forest Wolf Demon Cores, he believed Jiang Chen could set it up!
