Chapter 230: A Precarious Alliance

Hmm?

Yenir raised an eyebrow—he had noticed something was off. No wonder his gut had been uneasy.

Teaming up, huh?

Unlike his squadmates who were gripped with fear, he remained oddly calm.

Team up if you want. As long as there aren’t any advanced Third-Stage practitioners, a human wave tactic is no match for him. Especially when…

Seventy Third-Stage Awakener troops… Is that a lot? Even a horde of useless trash is still trash.

When Ming Luo and the others realized their predicament, Dahe Yicheng’s sneer grew even more scornful.

“China pigs—think you’re doomed already? Haven’t your higher-ups warned you? Oh, I forgot, you’re all worthless; you even botch your intelligence gathering…”

As he spoke, he burst into exaggerated laughter, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes:

“Now get on your knees and beg—I might consider leaving your corpses intact. I hear you love dragging your fallen comrades home. Too bad your Captain has already turned into a pile of dung.”

“Or maybe I could let one of you survive to tell your people: trade your corpses for some women?”

“Who knows? They might not even want to go back once they’re swapped in. My skills are top-notch—I guarantee they’ll be over the moon!”

With that, the seven squads erupted into raucous laughter, each pair of eyes glinting with derision.

“Not a bad idea,”

“Aren’t you after minerals? Besides, you can’t possibly feed that many people—why not trade women instead?”

“I must say, your Battle Zone’s female Awakeners are remarkably attractive…”

“Remember Zhang Wei from your team a while back? Word is she was your military beauty. Tsk tsk—do you have any idea how long we played with her after capturing her?”

An Awakener from the Southeast Battle Zone, his face almost morbidly pressed against the barrier, glared narrow, intense eyes fixed on Ming Luo:

“You were quite smitten with her, weren’t you, Ming Luo?”

“She’s been the best Awakened in your forces in recent years—admired by many. I bet you’d hesitate even to touch her, right?”

“What a pity. Do you have any idea how many men took their chances with her? Tsk—thinking of her pleading for mercy as she died makes me almost feel sorry…”

“She’s still waiting for you to save her, but you little rats ended up abandoning her and ran off…”

His whole body trembled.

Ming Luo, who had been trying hard to keep his composure, felt his sanity being shredded with every word. Each insult struck at the deepest vulnerabilities of his soul, and his clenched fists bit into his palms.

If possible, he’d smash right through the barrier—even if it meant death—just to kill them.

Seeing that his words had the desired effect, the Southeast Awakener casually pulled himself upright, as if mimicking some gesture.

Despite his defiant act, he remained calm inside.

During that previous operation, they had indeed cornered Zhang Wei, but how could they have taken a living prisoner? In an Awakened’s fight, holding back spells certain death.

In battle, Zhang Wei had self-destructed at the brink of death, dragging along a Third-Stage practitioner in the process—there wasn’t even a corpse to be found.

Those who died were his own. Nurturing his resentment, he didn’t mind concocting stories to enrage Ming Luo further. Ideally, he wanted Ming Luo and his group so furious that, once inside, they’d willingly charge in for vengeance!

“Calm down. What he said might not even be true.”

“A Third-Stage Awakener, unless they have their limbs chopped off, would never allow themselves to be humiliated.”

As the entire squad teetered on the edge of chaos, Yenir sighed. This time, he was the one holding Ming Luo back—urging him not to act recklessly.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t angry; he clearly saw what the other side was aiming for.

When facing a bunch of corpses, any anger was simply superfluous.

“I know…”

“Yenir… we’ll protect you. Just make sure you get out alive…”

“If there’s danger, use what the Military provided you with! I know what’s most important!”

“And next time, when you run into them again… avenge us!”

Ming Luo’s teeth clenched and his body shuddered; his eyes brimmed with sorrow. He tried to steady his emotions, but it was impossible.

They had all fallen into a trap. Facing almost certain death and overwhelming hatred, he had already accepted his fate.

In his mind, while Yenir was strong, he couldn’t possibly overpower a dozen or so Third-Stage Mid-level practitioners. In a one-on-one squad battle, they could have had a chance at this instance.

But now, there was no hope left! He couldn’t think of any way out!

Yenir frowned slightly as he looked at Ming Luo, who had clearly misunderstood his intentions. He no longer had any more to say.

It was obvious: his revealed strength was still too limited, and this situation was indeed a bit troublesome.

Forget it. Once they’re inside, he’d just eliminate the enemy.

“Beep. Verification phase complete. Huaxia Battle Zone squad, prepare to enter the instance. Other zones will join in six hours.”

In an instant, a cold system announcement echoed.

Standing opposed, seventy enemy Awakeners from the Battle Zone sneered, their faces twisted savagely as they flashed a slashing gesture.

In the silence that followed, Ming Luo and his team had no choice but to silently step into the white vortex.

Just before leaving, Yenir—who had been silent until now—turned his gaze toward the taunting factions.

His eyes locked onto the leaders among them.

Their eyes met, leaving Dahe Yicheng and his companions momentarily stunned, wondering why Yenir was looking at them.

The next second, Yenir smiled expressionlessly and softly declared:

“Fat pig, once we’re inside, I’ll shove your head up your ass. Didn’t you always say you loved eating shit?”

“I’ll treat you to it.”

“All of you… will die…”

In a flash of white light, the Huaxia squad vanished from the spot.