“This is…”

“It’s one of the high-ranking generals of your opposition, the Emerald Phoenix Empire. He was in the inner circle so he should know a thing or two if you can make him talk. I have chosen to keep the leader of that army for myself though.”

“Release me you damn… ARGHHHh!?”

“Sorry, they are a little feisty, they still don’t understand how they could have been defeated.”

Zhang Dong zapped one of the generals that were together with the Master General from the Emerald Phoenix Empire forces. After clearing up the mining areas he decided to retreat back into the Heavenly Crane Sect lands where he left Sun Shi and Kang Yunru behind. The two were quite stunned to see a powerful cultivator like this be treated like a fly.

“Don’t worry, he is wearing bindings that are able to suppress his cultivation, I have produced a few of them.”

“Honorable Golden Dragon I’m not sure what to…”

“Haha, no need to thank me, just take them as a gift but I’m sure you understand that I’m not doing these tasks for free.”

“Of course not, I’m sure the faction leaders will prepare a proper reward for your help.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t want any treasures, I want something different. I’ll be short, take this man and the ones you already captured, and make them talk. I’m sure your leaders will get the bigger picture then and send some reinforcements here before time runs out.”

“This is?”

“Some presents, give the letter to your Patriarch and have him send forces over already, you probably don’t want someone like me roaming your lands.”

“That is…”

After tossing a spatial ring filled with specialized chains and reworked slave collars he decided to part ways with these two elders from the Heavenly Crane Sect. He was somewhat convinced that with these gifts the sect would finally decide to make a move. They had been on the retreat for mostly one reason, uncertainty, and fear of losing their main base.

Now, on the other hand, Zhang Dong had presented them with war prisoners that they could poke for information. The strong enemy from yesterday had been turned into a docile little puppy. He had done one thing and shown that these Emerald Phoenix Empire generals weren’t that scary. This would give the sect the push forward that they needed, it would convince them that they could win even if they send out some of their stronger masters into battle.

Cultivators were skeptical individuals and the longer they lived the more pedantic about their own safety they became. They would certainly not move without having a good reason for it. Now with the enemy on the retreat, it was time to reclaim their lost lands. It also made them look bad that a cultivator from a different sect was the one liberating their cities. If this continued it would make them look weak and unable to handle their own lands and that was not something these old farts could stomach.

‘If they don’t send troops now, they will take a hit to their face, their pride is always the thing that makes them move. While they get their things sorted out, I need to contact my other friends’

While his robotic army was patrolling the lands he needed to make a detour down south. They had numbers but lacked some power when it came to the higher-ups. The Archangels couldn’t compete with someone like the Master General but he knew someone that could. If he could get his other allies to bolster his angelic army then things would go much smoother.

‘Wish they were part of my own faction so I could just teleport to them…’

Zhang Dong brought up the map of the entire empire. Thanks to his system he could set up several save points but these were also limited. At one point he could have at most ten of them. Luckily thanks to his faction system he could use his people as teleportation hotspots and place the ten limited ones at several strategic locations.

One of them, for instance, was still at the Azure Palace, if he ever needed to sneak in then he would probably be able to. However, at that location, the Overseer had her base. It wouldn’t be strange if she had some way of tracking his movement. Thus it was something he needed to be careful of as he wasn’t sure what his next run-in with that woman would foretell.

‘I guess this is the closest to their base, I never actually visited their main headquarters, so this will probably be a good time to do this…’

Previously when interacting with the magical knights they met up at outside locations. Either it was some kind of small bastion built up by their workers or out in the open field. They were given a pass to travel through some of the United Element Sect teleport gates but were still seen as outsiders by most of the cultivation world.

He had left one teleportation point at the old location where he ran into Argus the first time around. It was quite surprising to see actual magic in this world and he was also discovered by it. Now when he appeared here there was nothing much but deserted buildings and overgrown grass.

‘I should probably give them a heads up, knowing Lucius he will think that I’m here to attack them or something.’

While Argus the Wizard was on his side the blond-haired Knight Commander wasn’t fully a fan yet. This showed that he was the right leader for the job, for this mission to succeed he needed to keep people at arm's length. There was no telling when a betrayal could occur and these unknown lands could quickly become their grave if they weren’t careful. They could not be sure that Zhang Dong wouldn’t betray them in the end.

However currently, they were allies and the sword was gained thanks to his involvement. Even if they didn’t trust him, he was their best chance of finding the other secret relic which he already did. Previously the same thing happened but this time around he didn’t want to beat around the bush. He would not lie about already having the item they desired but instead just use it as a proper bargaining chip.

‘There, message sent… I wonder if they’ll actually let me into their base, probably not but perhaps their mission is more important to them.’

With his plan in mind, he turned into an arch of golden light in the sky. His traveling speed was tremendous but it would still take at least a full day of flying through the air to get to their base. Not much was known about this fortress but from the rumors and his spies, he knew that it could be seen from far away. Thus with his enhanced senses he was able to see a giant structure that reached up to the skies even before arriving at the location.

‘Is that a giant tower?... it looks like a giant sword.’

Was it a sword-shaped tower or a giant sword that was turned into one, he wasn’t sure. However, before he would be able to examine it further he was intercepted by a group of knights. Lucius was not among them but instead, two of the other golden knights he once beat up were there. The rest was a full battalion of silver soldiers that were mostly around the core formation level.

‘Hm… I guess they are here to either guide me inside or keep me from going in?’

From his perspective, these people were probably not here to stop them. The two golden knights were at the level of nascent soul experts but they wouldn’t last a minute if he decided to attack them. They were more than likely here to either guide him inside or stall him until Argus or Lucius actually got here.

“Is Argus and Lucius not here, I’m sure I gave your Wizard the message.”

“Lord Lucius is awaiting your arrival, he has ordered us to guide Lord Dong to the Holy Citadel.”

“Hoh? He did, well then, guide me.”

To his surprise, they were actually willing to welcome him inside their stronghold. He was more inclined to believe that they would stall him but perhaps his visit would be short-lived or happen outside of those large walls. Zhang Dong also didn’t fully trust these people, it seemed that they were doing some heroic quest but it wouldn’t be strange if something unsavory came to light at the end. Perhaps they were the true end boss of this entire four-way war.

‘Well, this will be a good chance to confirm all of this. Bob, be sure to scan everything you can see, they are our allies for now but better to be safe than sorry later.’

While he didn’t go through many betrayals, for now, he knew that even people from his own faction would turn on him if he was gone for too long. It wouldn’t be strange if Lucius had a different reason for letting him enter his domain. He needed to be ready for any signs of betrayal and he was also sure to leave the item they desired in a safe location.

“That’s quite the city you build up here…”

The knights didn’t answer as they approached the giant tower that looked like a sword with its hilt stuck in the ground. The blade went all the way up into the sky and pierced the clouds. It was quite the sight as the same clouds up in the sky looked like they were being parted by this sharp blade made of stone.

‘I don’t remember any mentions of such structures in this location before this war started and it looks like the ground around here had shifted, it might have been buried underground and waiting for them to arrive.’

It wasn’t hard for him to spot the tossed-up soil, they had covered up their tracks but for an expert of his caliber, it was child's play. The large sword wasn’t the only thing here as a massive wall stood before him. It went around the sword tower in an almost perfect circular shape and was manned by many archers and siege weapons. Behind it, he could see some buildings that looked like they belonged in 14th-century Europe.

‘I can sense Argus coming, I hope this goes well.’

His wizardly friend was on the way, perhaps with him around he could figure out what these people were truly after and if he should be worried. Nevertheless, he needed to barter for their help and take care of the Emerald Phoenix Empire before more time was lost.