Warrior’s Promise

After the people waited for about 15 minutes, they saw that Zhu Ying and Deputy Commander Wang had returned.

Zhu Ying’s face looked pale and sullen.

When the people saw that, their hearts sank. They must have lost the Dragon’s Vein for if it was not so, Zhu Ying would not have such an expression on his face.

“When the Blood Pupil Clan raided you, did you see anything suspicious?” Zhu Ying asked, with a cold look on his face as he stood in front of the people.

“No!” The people replied and shook their heads.

“When you were involved in the fight, did you notice anyone sneaking into the mine?” Zhu Ying asked again.

“No!”

The people shook their heads again. They were in such a dangerous situation during the fight and they were only concerned about their own safety and could not be bothered with the mine!

When Zhu Ying heard that, he became silent and his face turned ghastly pale.

“Commander Zhu, I believe that when we were fighting earlier, the men from the Blood Pupil Clan sneaked in and stole the mine away. At the same time, they have frightened the Dragon’s Vein away on purpose!”

“That is right. It must be so!”

“The Blood Pupil Clan seems to have come prepared!”

“The Blood Pupil Clan is too much. They have lured us out of the mine and stolen everything away!”

The people spoke out, looking furious. Apparently, the Blood Pupil Clan were the ones who had stolen the mine away.

Su Mo chuckled secretly. Before he could say anything, the people had put the blame on the Blood Pupil Clan.

When Zhu Ying heard what the people had said, he said nothing. He was certain that the Blood Pupil Clan must be the culprit.

However, they could not simply come to such a conclusion.

He was not here to help the people as he wanted to make use of the Blood Pupil Clan to kill Ren Yundu and the rest.

However, Ren Yundu had only lost a few more than 10 men, which was way beneath his target.

After pondering for a while, Zhu Ying looked at Ren Yundu, Su Mo, and the rest of the disciples of the Shenwu Academy and shouted, “Surround them!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The moment Zhu Ying shouted, the 2,000 soldiers that were with him immediately went into action and besieged Su Mo and the disciples of the Shenwu Academy.

Although they did not know why Zhu Ying had given such an instruction, as a soldier, they had to obey orders.

The soldiers that Zhu Ying had brought with him were more powerful than those who were guarding over the mine. Among the 2,000 soldiers, a quarter of them were at the Martial Emperor Realm.

Moreover, there were more than 10 of them who were at Rank 7 Martial Emperor Realm or higher than that.

“Zhu Ying, what are you trying to do?” Ren Yundu shouted angrily when he saw it and the rest of the people were shocked as well.

“What am I trying to do?”

Zhu Ying laughed when he heard the question and replied flatly, “The mine is gone and the Dragon’s Vein is missing. Everyone is a suspect and you have to come under investigation!”

“What?” When the people heard that, they were shocked. Zhu Ying was not blaming them for not guarding the mine well – he was suspecting them of stealing it!

There was a great difference between the two. If he blamed them for not doing a good job, they would be punished at the most. However, if he were to hold them fully responsible for the loss, they would be put to death.

“Zhu Ying, you are spouting nonsense!”

Ren Yundu was fuming with anger and he shouted, “What has it got to do with us that the mine is gone and the Dragon’s Vein is missing? Our Shenwu Academy has lost 17 disciples while protecting the mine and you still malign us!”

“That is right! The Blood Pupil Clan are responsible for the loss of the mine and the Dragon’s Vein. You should look for them!”

“How can you malign us!”

“This is outrageous!”

The rest of the disciples of Shenwu Academy shouted and they were fuming with anger.

In order to protect the mine, they had fought for a long while. 17 of them had died and many of them were injured.

It was fine that they had not been rewarded as they did not do a good job in protecting the mine. However, it was infuriating that Zhu Ying started to suspect them!

“Have I maligned you?”

A cold light flashed across Zhu Ying’s eyes and after he looked around, he smiled. He shook his head and said, “Don’t worry. It is not that I want to malign you. I simply want to bring you back to the Fort and do an investigation. After everything is clear, you will be fine!”

Having said that, when he saw that the people were still looking furious, he continued, “After all, it is no small matter that the mine and the Dragon’s Vein are gone. After we have done a thorough investigation, General Zhu Long can then answer to the Imperial Palace!”

Zhu Ying had a grim look on his face but he was laughing within. As long as he brought them to the Black Mountain Fort, he could put a charge on them and put them to death.

When the people heard what Zhu Ying had said, they looked at one another and after pondering for a while, they found that it was fine if they were only helping with the investigation.

“Commander, we have done our best to protect the mine. It is a humiliation to us if you bring us back to put us under investigation!”

Su Mo finally spoke up. He had to do so. If they were brought back for investigation, he would be doomed.

When Zhu Ying heard that, he looked coldly at Su Mo and became furious.

What Zhu Ying had said had made the people lose their guard and they had no intention of retaliation.

However, just one word from Su Mo could change the thoughts of the people.

True enough, after Su Mo had spoken, a few disciples of the Shenwu Academy started to speak up.

“That’s right! You are humiliating us!” Xie Bin shouted angrily.

“That’s right! What right do you have to put us under investigation?”

“It is our fault that we have not done our job well and you can blame us for it. However, you have carried it too far by putting us under investigation!”

After the few disciples spoke up, the rest of the disciples started to take a firm stand.

That’s right!

They have disregarded their lives to protect the mine. Now that they have to be put under investigation, it is a humiliation to them!

“This is just an investigation. It is not as serious as what you have said!”

Zhu Ying was fuming with anger but he looked calm and explained patiently, “Not only will you be put under investigation, the soldiers will be put under investigation as well.”

“Commander, from what I know, your family belongs to the Third Prince’s lineage and your relationship with the Eighth Prince is terrible. If you bring us back to the Black Mountain Fort, we will likely be maligned!” Su Mo continued.

When the disciples of the Shenwu Academy heard that, light glittered in their eyes. What Su Mo had said made sense. If Zhu Ying and Zhu long maligned them, they would be in dire straits.

If they went back with Zhu Ying to the Black Mountain Fort, they would be doomed.

“Crap!”

Zhu Ying shouted when he heard that. His eyes were sharp like a blade that pierced into Su Mo’s body and he said, “General Zhu Long has been a fair person all along. As a General, will he malign you?”

“You never know!” Su Mo’s face was expressionless and he looked fearlessly at Zhu Ying.

“You…!” Zhu Ying was enraged when he heard what Su Mo had said. A cold killing intent shot out from his eyes and he felt like killing Su Mo.

“Zhu Ying, we will not go back with you to be put under investigation!” Ren Yundu said firmly. He was the leader and whatever he said represented everyone.

“Is that so?” Zhu Ying squinted his eyes as he listened, and his killing intent became stronger.