Chapter 157: The Pitiful Bait

After capturing Sin City, the massive Lich Legion did not pause and continued to advance forward.

To save time, the army split into two groups. Yisu led the Melee Corps, the Air Corps, and the Assault Corps to march toward the northwest. Hu Feng reorganized the sinners of Sin City on the spot, formed a Crusade, and added Witch warriors to compose an Eastern Expedition Mixed Corps, agreeing to meet at the Danube River a month later.

Eight hundred miles east of Sin City was the sphere of influence of the Saladin Iron Tower.

This was a unique castle; the shape of the entire castle looked like a towering iron tower. It was divided into nine levels in total, with many small door openings on each level, revealing sharp crossbow arrows. Looking from the outside, one could not see any guards, but the countless crossbow arrows were enough to make any enemy stop in their tracks. Strictly speaking, this was no longer a castle, but a fortress covered in a turtle shell.

This unique castle was named after the City Lord, Saladin.

To be able to survive in the dark Underground World and become a City Lord, none were simple, and Saladin was no exception. Inheriting the extremely cautious style of his ancestors, he built the castle he relied on for survival into a fortress armed to the teeth. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would immediately hide inside the castle. No matter how the enemy provoked him, he would not be moved. He was stubborn and tough, making it impossible for others to attack. For tens of thousands of years, relying on this move, he had weathered countless storms.

Unlike the mighty Lich Legion led by Yisu, Hu Feng gathered the Mixed Corps into the Prime Realm and silently arrived outside the Saladin Iron Tower, sitting on the shoulders of the tall Tree Demon. Looking from a distance at this fortress with nearly abnormal defenses, he could not help but feel worried for a moment.

After pondering for a while, the Necromancer Badeson was the first to put forward his suggestion, “Lord, how about we attack the resource points outside the Saladin Iron Tower first and lure their main force out?”

After cultivating in the Prime Realm, where power surged, for a period, his strength had also improved significantly, showing faint signs of breaking through to the Peak of the Holy Step. Continuing like this, stepping into the Demi-god Realm one day would no longer be a distant dream. Initially, he was somewhat resistant when he joined the Lich Legion under Hu Feng’s coercion, but now, he was convinced both in mouth and heart. Unexpectedly, he did not get the Candidate Saintess Cinia, but instead, a blessing in disguise.

“Impossible, Saladin has always been timid and cautious. Attacking the nearby resource points will only make him shrink back like a turtle, making it even harder to attack!”

Hu Feng shook his head and stood in the darkness, thinking hard for a good plan.

Forcibly attacking and taking down the fortress in front of him was not impossible. However, doing so would go against his original intention.

Taking advantage of the empty defenses of many castles and the fact that the Overlord, the Elf Queen, had no time to care about this land, the Lich Legion expanded rapidly. However, what he wanted were intact castles, abundant resources, and a large population, not ruins. A frontal attack would inevitably bring huge casualties and losses. Unless it was absolutely necessary, this was only the last resort.

“Lord, timid people are generally afraid of death. We can completely sneak in and capture City Lord Saladin directly!”

After touching the back of his head, the Tree Demon Stanley, who had been thinking for a long time, squeezed out an idea and said it casually. Originally, he wanted to say they should just kill their way in, but seeing the silent Holy Angel Taliana and Witch Elder Natalia beside Hu Feng, he wisely shut his mouth. At the beginning, Hu Feng did not have many Followers, and his Fourteenth Step strength was still enough to show off. But with the addition of true Strongers like the Holy Angel and the Witch Elder, this strength was far behind, making him feel that without advancing to the Fifteenth Step, he would be embarrassed to show his face.

“Little Demon, you…”

Hu Feng habitually knocked on the Tree Demon’s head, paused, and then continued: “This time, your brain has finally started working. Good, I will leave this arduous task to you!”

Inspired by the Tree Demon, Hu Feng quickly thought of a method.

Saladin was timid and cautious to an abnormal extent. With such an old fox, ordinary guards definitely did not know his hiding place. Teleporting directly in to kill everyone could also capture this fortress, but it would be difficult to pull up the evil by the roots.

“Uh, me again?”

The Tree Demon touched his head, looking pitiful, “I am so pitiful, I am the most pitiful, oh heavens, I am the most pitiful!”

The tall Tree Demon pretended to be in a wretched state, but unfortunately, no one paid attention to his catchphrase. Under Hu Feng’s command, they quickly became busy. Soon, the group walked openly toward the castle gate. Walking at the very front was Buzer with his goatee, followed by a team of sinner warriors wearing heavy armor, holding burning torches, with the cross tattoos on their foreheads clearly visible under the firelight. In the middle of the team, a simple prison cart was escorted. The pitiful Tree Demon was locked tight on the cart by Rune Chains one after another, unable to move his body at all.

A scheme of self-injury!

In order to lure out the naturally timid and cautious City Lord Saladin, Hu Feng thought of a method to enter the tiger’s den.

After sealing the Demi-god Stronger, Sinful Left Hand, he indeed benefited greatly. Every time he flipped through the Seal Demon Record, he gained one more insight in his heart. Based on the Sinful Chains wrapped around him, he used massive Prime Force to refine an almost identical Rune Chain. Locked on his body, the pitiful Tree Demon found it difficult to even move a finger.

“Stop, who goes there?”

Before Buzer and his group could get close, a cold arrow shot out with a ‘whoosh’ from a doorway above the city gate, and half a person’s head poked out, staring coldly at this group of uninvited guests.

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!”

Buzer, with a pale face, forced himself to stay calm, and then said: “I am an envoy from Sin City. Under the orders of our City Lord, I am here to present a great gift to the great Lord Saladin. This is a Fourteenth Step Tree Demon. Our warriors from Sin City captured it with great difficulty in the Sin Forest. Its combat power is not much, but its vitality is exceptionally strong. After devouring his vitality, the lifespan of the great Lord Saladin will surely increase by hundreds of thousands of years, becoming eternal!”

Looking at the countless crossbow arrows in the dark doorways of the Saladin city gate, Buzer remained calm on the surface, but secretly, he was sweating in his hands. As long as he revealed the slightest flaw, his group would definitely die with ten thousand arrows piercing their hearts.

“So it is Lord Buzer, please wait!”

After carefully looking at Buzer and the sinner warriors behind him, the guard in the doorway turned and left to ask the Commander on duty. Soon, the heavy city gate slowly opened with a ‘creak’, revealing a passage only wide enough for the prison cart to pass. Under the escort of a team of soldiers, the group went straight to the heavily guarded City Lord’s Mansion in the city.

As a trusted aide and strategist beside Sinful Left Hand, Buzer had been to Saladin City many times, bringing a generous gift each time. Seeing the tall Tree Demon tightly bound by Rune Chains, the guards did not feel anything unusual. After waiting inside the City Lord’s Mansion for a short while, an old man, looking very aged, walked in surrounded by a large group of personal guards. Seeing his figure, Buzer immediately bowed to salute.

“Hmm, not bad, it is indeed a Fourteenth Step Tree Demon!”

Sensing the powerful vitality within the Tree Demon Stanley, the old man nodded with satisfaction.

When a person has power and influence, can call the wind and rain, and has everything they want, what do they fear most?

Death!

What they fear most is death; the more power they have, the more they fear death.

After cultivating to the Holy Step, a person’s lifespan would be greatly extended, lasting tens of thousands of years, or even longer. However, no matter how long the lifespan, there was an end.

The aged Saladin had already reached the end of his life. After stagnating at the Peak of the Holy Step for tens of thousands of years, for him, breaking through to the Demi-god Realm was already an unrealistic dream. The only way to extend his lifespan was to devour the vitality of other creatures to linger on. A Tree Demon, advanced from a tree spirit, contained vitality far exceeding that of creatures of the same level, and was his favorite prey.

In his joy, Saladin, that old fellow, walked around the Tree Demon several times. His skinny hands touched here and pinched there, making the immobile Tree Demon feel hairy all over, secretly cursing this old undying pervert. His heart was full of pity; unexpectedly, after offering a clever plan, not only did he not receive a reward, but he also asked for trouble.

“Good, very good! Buzer, speak, that fellow Sinful Left Hand sent you here this time, what is his request?”

After a while, Saladin, that old fellow, invited Buzer to sit down. As an old fox, he understood that one does not visit a treasure hall without a reason. Without some request, Buzer, the trusted aide of the Sin City Lord, would definitely not personally come to the door with a great gift.

“Lord Saladin, this time, what we want is your head!”

Looking at Saladin, who was unaware that he was on the brink of death and still putting on a superior posture, Buzer smiled evilly, “Since yesterday, Sin City has already changed hands. Sinful Left Hand is completely dead. The one who sent me is a supreme peerless Stronger, the Emperor of Wu Gate. Lord Saladin, if you don’t want to die, then quickly kneel down and surrender!”

“What, Emperor of Wu Gate, you…”

Saladin was shocked and stood up with a ‘whoosh’.

He was already very, very old, so old that he no longer remembered how many wives and concubines he had married. However, his brain was not confused yet. Looking at the suddenly abnormal Buzer, he quickly sensed a strong danger. His first reaction was not to interrogate for details, but to turn around and leave, preparing to hide in the maze deep underground of the City Lord’s Mansion, leaving all the trouble to the personal guards beside him. His cautious style had allowed him to pass through disasters safely for thousands of years, but this time, it was of no help.

Just as he turned around, his vision blurred, and a young man suddenly appeared, blocking his way. The wooden sword in his hand looked plain, but upon closer inspection, it gave off an unprecedented sense of danger. Before he even made a move, it gave people an extremely uncomfortable feeling, as if once this sword was unsheathed, everyone’s life would come to an end!

After using the Tree Demon to lure out the old fox Saladin, Hu Feng used the Great Teleportation Technique to directly block his retreat.