Volume 1, Chapter 160 – Bait

“Your mother is in Xianwu City right now. She is perfectly safe, so you don’t need to worry about her… Just make sure you take good care of yourself…”

“If you run into trouble you can’t resolve, come to me. Don’t grit your teeth and shoulder it alone.”

Watching the large number of troops pouring out, Shi Tianlu stepped back two paces to clear the way and quickly gave a few last reminders.

From beginning to end, Shi Tianlu never commented on Shi Lan’s current situation or what she was about to do. He didn’t offer any opinions or suggestions.

He gave Shi Lan an enormous amount of freedom and turned himself into a sort of reserve force in the background.

Because only you truly understand your own situation. Shi Lan had been out there wandering on her own all this time and had survived until now. When it came to protecting herself, she definitely had her own methods. If he tried to tell her what to do, it would only make things worse.

This was all he could do now.

“I’ll remember… Father, please take care of your health.” Shi Lan’s heart warmed slightly. She nodded.

With that, Shi Lan gave the reins a light tug, merged into the stream of people, and surged toward the fortress gate.

Shi Tianlu’s attitude made Shi Lan let out a quiet breath of relief. She felt much lighter inside.

Shi Tianlu watched the mighty flow of people, took a deep breath, then turned and headed back toward his own camp. His time was tight as well.

…

Shi Lan followed the crowd and walked along the golden light to board the warship.

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Before long, once a rough headcount was done, the warship set off and sped at full speed toward the northwest.

After the warship started moving, Bai Weiyang gathered all officers at Commander of a Thousand and above, as well as all martial artists above the Earth Fiend Realm, in a council chamber.

“This warzone stretches nearly ten thousand li. Our unit’s task is to block or hunt down three beast hordes that each have a demon king that has taken human form among them.”

When Bai Weiyang finished speaking, she summoned a light screen. An incomparably clear map appeared on it, and three conspicuous points of light, fairly close to each other, flickered gently.

“These three beast hordes are spaced about a thousand li apart. According to the intel, there are only three demon kings that have taken human form in total, leading a huge number of low-level demon beasts, close to several hundred thousand. On the surface, their strength is not much different from our unit. However…”

At this point, Bai Weiyang’s voice grew heavier.

“Because this area is close to the main battlefield, there is a high chance powerful great demons at the Nascent Soul Realm or above will be roaming nearby. Whether we take the initiative to strike or hold a fixed defensive position, the risk is very high. So I have decided we will divide and conquer, finish them off as quickly as possible, then return to the fortress.”

Bai Weiyang swept her gaze across everyone. “If any of you have questions, speak up.”

“General, dividing and conquering is not that simple. How exactly are we supposed to carry it out?” Nearby, Ren Kaiyang, a Commander of Ten Thousand of the Demon-Suppressing Army, asked in a low voice.

Once Ren Kaiyang spoke, the others showed agreement as well. After all, these were massive beast hordes, not small groups of a thousand or so. A thousand li of distance, for hordes of this scale and especially for demon kings that have taken human form, was actually extremely close.

It was very likely that touching one shred of them would stir the whole. The other two beast hordes could be drawn over, and they might even attract even more terrifying great demons.

“Bait,” Bai Weiyang said in a low voice. “We use people as bait to first lure out a portion of the demon beasts.”

“General, there are demon kings that have taken human form within these beast hordes. The bait can’t be too strong. I’m afraid they won’t be able to run far before they are caught. At that point we might end up taking losses for nothing. And those demon kings are all exceptionally shrewd. How could they fall for such a trick so easily?”

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Ren Kaiyang spoke bluntly and laid out all the flaws. A battle plan is something that can cost lives. There could be no carelessness.

This kind of situation happened with Bai Weiyang’s tacit approval. In the Demon-Suppressing Army, this only happened under Bai Weiyang’s command.

In other units, just questioning the general’s order alone would be enough to land Ren Kaiyang in serious trouble.

“If that demon king really makes a move, I naturally have a way to deal with it.” Bai Weiyang’s expression was calm. She then continued:

“Most of those demon kings that have taken human form are crafty and suspicious, their minds changing quickly. The bait might not work at all. This is only a probe. If that demon king refuses to bite, we can take the chance to whittle down the numbers of low-level demon beasts. That is acceptable too.”

Ren Kaiyang nodded. “General, then why not let my unit take on the role of bait?”

“No. Your unit is the main force. You cannot move rashly.” Bai Weiyang shook her head.

“Then who should act as bait?” Ren Kaiyang was a bit puzzled.

“The best cultivation for bait is around the middle stage of the Earth Fiend Realm. Does anyone wish to volunteer?” Bai Weiyang swept her gaze across those in the council chamber.

Several Commanders of a Thousand immediately stepped forward to volunteer, but all were rejected by Bai Weiyang. Shi Lan stood in a corner, her head slightly lowered. She had no intention of being the bait.

When the group of martial artists saw Bai Weiyang’s gaze sweep over them, they all lowered their heads. Acting as bait to lure a beast horde that contained a demon king that had taken human form was far too risky.

“I will guarantee the bait’s life will not be in danger. You need not worry,” Bai Weiyang said lightly. Seeing that the council chamber stayed silent for a long time, she could not help feeling a bit disappointed.

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Just as Bai Weiyang was about to appoint a Commander of a Thousand to take the role, Shi Lan stepped forward and bowed. “I am willing to go.”

“Very well.”

After scrutinizing Shi Lan for a moment, Bai Weiyang nodded, then looked toward everyone else. “This council ends here.”

The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only Bai Weiyang and Shi Lan.

“Keep this on you. If you are in danger, crush it. It can withstand three strikes from a demon king that has taken human form. I will reach your side in an instant.”

Bai Weiyang walked up to Shi Lan and handed her a hollow jade bead.

The bead was transparent. A layer of light rippled at its center, and faint spirit patterns, almost impossible to see with the naked eye, flowed across its surface.

Shi Lan took the bead. It felt icy cold in her hand.

“How many people do you want to take with you?” Bai Weiyang asked.

“I can go alone,” Shi Lan replied. She did not want to drag anyone else into this. She would not die, but the outcome for others was far from certain.

“Alone?”

Bai Weiyang frowned. “If you go alone, are you confident you can draw out the demon beasts?”

“We’ll know once we try.”

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…

Shi Lan left the council chamber, returned to her quiet room, and pulled up the system interface.

The reason she had suddenly changed her mind just now was the system’s abrupt side quest.

【Quest: Volunteer to take on the bait mission and successfully lure out the demon king.】

【Quest reward: one intermediate lottery draw, 10,000 reputation points. Quest failure: 50,000 reputation points will be deducted.】

“System, what exactly are these reputation points for?”

【The unlock conditions have not yet been met.】

Shi Lan furrowed her brows. She had a feeling reputation points were very important, but she could not say in what way.

“If my reputation points drop, what happens? Don’t tell me all the reputation I earned before will just have been for nothing?”

【A decrease in reputation points will not have any impact on the host. Established facts will not change. Please explore on your own.】

Shi Lan looked toward the quest tab. Only successfully luring out the demon king would count as completing it…