Chapter 413: Chaos at Canglang Outpost

Bloodshadow Legion, Canglang Outpost.

In the relatively clean courtyard, Huang Yuanhao repeatedly scanned eastward, craning his neck like an extended telescope to catch any sign of activity in the main city area.

Ever since Yenir ordered him to bring the men back, he’d been waiting here, nearly driven mad by anxiety.

“Why is it taking so long to return?!”

“We can’t afford any mishaps…”

Pacing back and forth, even with his military background, his heart pounded with nervous urgency.

After all, Yenir had ventured straight into the core of Bloodshadow Legion, even meeting Yinglong face-to-face!

At a time when Bloodshadow Legion was clearly in trouble, going there was like storming a monster’s lair.

Even a slight misstep or leaked information involving Yenir could spell a catastrophe—no one could imagine the fallout if a committee member were captured by a private faction!

The sun was nearly set, and it had already been four or five hours.

Just as he was about to message Yenir for an update, a ruckus erupted from the busy main street, and several familiar figures approached. Huang Yuanhao’s face lit up as he dashed out.

They’re back—Yenir and his team have arrived!

Meanwhile, in a storage warehouse originally used for miscellaneous items, several captured Military soldiers exchanged anxious glances.

“The outsiders have left!”

“The guards here are slack! I’ll crash through the door soon—then you all split up and run!”

The dim warehouse was filled with a faint musty odor.

Squatting on the ground, the Squad Captain—his stomach tightly bound with a tourniquet—fixed his gaze on the not-so-thick metal door. His low voice carried a tone of resolute determination.

Restricted by a collar that limited his strength and denied system functions, the prisoners had to communicate in the most covert way possible.

“Once you escape, don’t look back! Find a way to shatter the collar and rendezvous with our people!”

“I’ll do my best to hold off these beasts!”

With his hands bound behind him, the Army Captain took a deep breath, his bloodied wrists from the chains trembling wildly as he struggled.

Beneath wounds so deep that one more scrape could cost him an arm, he believed one punch would be enough to smash the door and free his comrades!

“Captain! If we’re leaving, we leave together! What’s the point of abandoning you?”

Also crouched on the ground, the team members—hearing their captain’s fatal resolve—turned pale, unsteadily rising as they spoke out in outrage.

After the entire squad was captured, these were all that remained. As soldiers, how could they ever desert in the face of danger!?

“Now is not the time for heroics! This is our one chance! We’re in a safe zone! Without intercepting the pursuers, there’s no escape!”

The Middle-Aged Man glared at his teammates, unable to restrain his anger.

He couldn’t understand why the guards were so lax, and he too longed for them all to break free. But no matter how slack the defense, their weakened bodies meant that even escaping a couple was a miracle without restoring their strength.

Now is no time for heroics!

“This is an order—everyone, listen up!”

“When you break out, split up and run! Wang Yi, take Lin Rou with you—you’re the fastest. Got it?!”

Seeing the captain’s resolve, the team gritted their teeth and obeyed.

At the rear of the group, a Youth who was ordered to escape with the Little Girl couldn’t help but speak up:

“Captain, what if the one who bought us turns out to be one of our own?!”

“I always thought something was off when that guy bought us—like he was determined to claim us. Could it be that he’s one of us?!”

Remembering the price the Middle-Aged Man had paid to break free and force the door open, Wang Yi dreaded witnessing that scene again.

Forcing his battered flesh to surge with energy, the Captain, after exhausting his strength, could only momentarily recover to about First-Stage level. That recovery, however, drained his life force entirely, leaving him no chance to survive.

If possible, he’d rather have died.

Especially since, after being captured, he could not shake the image of that Youth who bought them out.

He’d rather spend two million to free them, not even sparing Bloodshadow Legion’s pride. It was all far too strange…

Moreover, as the squad’s scout with a keen eye for detail, he recalled that at the very start, the guard standing beside that Youth—outside on duty—seemed as if he had something to say but dared not speak.

All these oddities left him clinging to a faint hope…

“One of our own?! No way!”

“Wang Yi, don’t be foolish! Listen to the Captain!”

“Have you forgotten who those people are?! They belong to the Canglang Safe Zone! They even bought us along with the survivors we rescued.”

“Do you know what Canglang is like? There, people are treated like sex slaves—at worst, we end up as expendable labor! Have you thought about what will happen to Lin Rou?!”

A Burly Man standing next to Wang Yi, who secretly intended to stay and fight alongside the Captain, growled in a low voice, his eyes full of anguish.

They couldn’t afford to take such risks, nor did they want to dwell on such grim prospects.

Ever since being captured, they had all hoped for a rescue by Military forces. But reality was harsh, and he no longer clung to such laughable dreams.

Hearing his thoughts dismissed, Wang Yi opened his mouth but said nothing more.

He knew that if he was wrong, it would mean squandering their final chance.

“Alright, countdown—three, two, one!”

“Boom!!”

In an instant, the Squad Captain charged at the door with every ounce of his strength, and a massive explosive impact—like a missile detonating—rocked the space.

The deafening blast made the entire warehouse tremble.

“Bang!!!”

The force shattered everything, erupting in an explosion.

Under the immense impact, both metal doors splintered, revealing the moonlight outside the courtyard.

Freedom was within reach!

Yet the faces of those charging for the door revealed no joy; instead, they stood frozen in terror.

Even the Squad Captain, mid-punch, trembled uncontrollably as he looked up in near despair.

The reason was simple.

The door hadn’t been shattered by his blow.

Instead, several figures—appearing outside the door without warning—hovered in midair, silently watching them.

“Uncle Huang, haven’t you informed them yet?”

Landing slowly, Yenir looked at the soldiers with a mix of exasperation and resignation. He instantly noticed that the Burly Man at the front had nearly severed his left wrist from a desperate attempt to break the door with everything he had.

Had he been one second slower, that Army Captain would have lost his life.

He had risked everything to save his comrades, and now he was nearly killing himself…

“Not… not yet…”

He replied awkwardly.

Huang Yuanhao muttered in a low, embarrassed tone as he watched his comrades ready to flee, his expression troubled.

Worried about safety even at Canglang Outpost, he had agonized over whether to tell these soldiers they were on the same side, so as not to trigger any reckless behavior that might cause unnecessary trouble.

But he never expected things to nearly spiral into disaster.

If they scattered, there would be no way to recapture them.

Listening to the strange conversation, the soldiers—still frozen in place—exchanged bewildered glances, their faces etched with hopeless despair even as they failed to grasp the full meaning.

It was over. Everything was over.

They had simply been too slow. Now that their escape had been noticed, even harsher custody and punishment were surely imminent.

Desperation? With a grim laugh, the leading Captain dismissed the idea outright.

That Youth and the men behind him were all Third-Stage. With such terrifying strength—even if they were at their peak—there was virtually no hope of escape.

“I’m the one who should be escaping! If trouble comes my way, bring it on!”

Staring fixedly at Yenir, the Middle-Aged Man smiled grimly, ready to accept the punishment. He knew that once the slavers detected an escape attempt, they would unleash brutal torture on the defiant.

In that moment, he only prayed that the Youth would spare the others, taking every punishment upon himself!

Yet the expected agony did not come. Yenir shook his head with a mix of wistfulness and resignation.

“Punishment?”

“Uncle Huang, take them to the back and explain what’s really going on. I need to ask the girl a few questions first.”

With those words, Yenir vanished in a flash toward the female soldier guarded at the rear. He regarded her with evident curiosity.

It was clear that his rushed return was partly driven by his eagerness to see the girl.

Behind the group, the Little Girl—pale and sporting short hair—stiffened instantly upon seeing him and fixed her eyes on him.

Unlike most girls who would cower in fear, this blood-spattered female soldier’s eyes radiated a cold, almost unnerving determination and deep-seated hatred.

At the same time, soldiers who had not yet grasped what was happening paled and charged forward, desperately trying to stop Yenir from taking the girl away.

In their eyes, the fate of someone taken away alone was unimaginable.

Noticing their misunderstanding, Yenir didn’t waste time explaining further; he simply produced a Token and flashed it high.

“Capital Military Special Operations Group.”

“One of us.”

At his words, the charging soldiers froze in astonishment.

Their eyes instinctively lifted to the Silver Badge in Yenir’s hand, and in that moment, shock and ecstatic disbelief washed over them.

This was—what!?

“Holy crap!!”

“Capital Military!?”

“They’re one of us!?”

In sheer disbelief and terror, several of them felt lightheaded, and the Army Captain—who had been ready to fight to his last breath—nearly staggered as he gawked at the Silver Badge.

The reason was simple.

It wasn’t just that it was Military.

Well-versed in military hierarchy, he instantly recognized the rank indicated by the badge in Yenir’s hand.

That gleaming general’s star was nothing short of a heavyweight bomb that left him reeling.

In the Far Frontier, due to historical reasons, the highest-ranking Military commander was only on par with Yenir’s level.

Thus, upon realizing Yenir’s identity, it was like witnessing the Prime Minister of Huaguo at a local committee meeting.

“Military—have they sent a massive force to crush us…!?”

Unable to understand why someone of that rank would personally appear in the Far Frontier, the Middle-Aged Man stiffened, turning his head dully to stare at Yenir.

In his mind, for top-tier officials from the Capital to show up in the Far Frontier, there was only one possibility.

One of the four Military Regions had mobilized to sweep the Far Frontier, and Yenir was there to oversee the operation.