"Thank you for your trouble!" Wang Yan, being an elder and having seen far more than the students, immediately smiled and said to Xu Yi.
"Haha, it's a small matter," Xu Yi said with a smile. "It's my honor to serve the noble Spirit Masters of Shrek Academy!"
These words were laced with sarcasm and passive aggression.
Ma Xiaotao's expression immediately darkened, her anger quickly reaching its peak. Ever since entering this military camp, Sister Xiaotao had felt uncomfortable all over.
"Here is the information on the Death's Hand Bandit Group, please take a look, everyone." Xu Yi completely ignored the darkening faces of the Shrek group and directly pulled out a piece of intelligence, presenting it before everyone.
Everyone suppressed their displeasure and picked up the intelligence to read.
Zhu Ziyang looked at the crude and vague intelligence, immediately falling into confusion. Was this the intelligence provided by an army of five hundred thousand? Was it real or fake? Had the Star Luo Empire's army become so corrupt?
"Is there no more accurate and detailed information?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
The intelligence Xu Yi provided couldn't be called vague, but it certainly wasn't precise. The intelligence showed that the Death's Hand Bandit Group's main area of activity was in the central region of the Mingdou Mountain Range. They would only descend the mountain to raid at the fastest speed when they had a specific target. The entire bandit group consisted of about three hundred members, all young and strong adults, with Spirit Masters accounting for about one-tenth of the total. There was no accurate information on the bandit leader, the Death Emissary; it was only known that he was a Spirit Master with a cultivation level of at least Spirit King, and his abilities were unknown.
"Haha, this student is truly joking," Xu Yi said with a smile, a hint of mockery in his eyes. "This intelligence was all obtained by our soldiers at the cost of their lives. How can you say it's not accurate or detailed enough? Moreover, you are from Shrek Academy! Are the top students of Shrek Academy afraid to act without intelligence?"
Xu Yi's sarcasm infuriated everyone, but it also made Zhu Ziyang realize something: the reason this guy was so hostile towards them was definitely not due to some conspiracy; it was entirely because he disliked, or even hated, Shrek Academy itself! When considering that this guy was a relative of the Star Luo Empire's royal family, it was not difficult to understand.
This Xu Yi was a fanatical royalist!
"That's enough!" Ma Xiaotao didn't want to stay and endure more frustration, so she waved her hand, burning the intelligence in her hand to ashes, and said, "Let's go!"
With that, she led the way towards the main tent. Just as everyone walked out of the tent, Xu Yi didn't forget to add, "I hope to see you all again!"
Everyone chose to ignore these words and walked straight out of the military camp.
Outside the military camp, everyone stopped to discuss countermeasures. Elder Lin and Xuan Zi also appeared before them. Wang Yan recounted everything that happened in the military camp to the two elders.
"Hmph!" After listening, Elder Lin and Xuan Zi both sneered in unison, saying, "Don't mind them; the mission continues. We only need to eliminate those bandits. As for anything in the bandit camp, ignore it. A bunch of foolish people, do they really think the students of Shrek Academy are mercenaries?"
Hearing the elders' mockery, Dai Yueheng felt a burning sensation on his face. As a person from the Star Luo Empire and the eldest son of Duke White Tiger, he felt very ashamed.
"Xiaotao, the next action will be your responsibility. Wang Yan, you are responsible for leading the reserve team to cover the rear. Elder Lin and I will provide support for you," Xuan Zi arranged.
"Understood!" Wang Yan and Ma Xiaotao replied simultaneously.
Afterward, everyone arrived at the entrance of the Mingdou Mountain Range. Ma Xiaotao immediately arranged the formation. She said, "Maintain formation. Zhu Ziyang, Dai Yueheng, and I will be in front, ten meters apart. The support system and control system will walk in the middle, with Chen Zifeng and Jiang Nannan responsible for protection."
"Huo Yuhao, you come with me. Your Spirit and Spirit Abilities are suitable for scouting," Zhu Ziyang suddenly called out, bringing Huo Yuhao to his side.
Everyone officially set off, with Zhu Ziyang leading Huo Yuhao at the very front. Through Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection sharing, he could clearly observe the environment and atmosphere ahead. Behind him were Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng.
Zhu Ziyang discovered that they had entered a forest. All the trees in this forest were a type of plant called Warm Orchid Trees. Warm Orchid Trees prefer shade and cold and generally only grow in mass graves or battlefield ruins. The appearance of a forest of Warm Orchid Trees on their path meant that they were very close to the Death's Hand Bandit Group's lair.
"Be on alert!" Zhu Ziyang raised his hand, and everyone behind him immediately understood, stopping their steps, putting on their Shrek Supervision Group uniforms, activating their spirit power, and adjusting to a state where they could attack at any moment.
They found a slope, and at the bottom of the slope was a cave. Outside the cave stood several expressionless bandits, full of Death qi. Undoubtedly, this cave was the bandit group's lair.
Everyone was secretly delighted. Ma Xiaotao's hands were already gathering flames, ready to strike at any moment. Zhu Ziyang sent Huo Yuhao back to the rear and then also released his Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe. The seven members of the main team were poised, awaiting Ma Xiaotao's command.
"Attack!" Ma Xiaotao commanded, then charged out first, her body like a rocket, instantly striking a bandit. The other bandits were startled, but before they could react, the attacks from Zhu Ziyang, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Jiang Nannan arrived in an instant.
Zhu Ziyang's Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe emitted a punitive light, striking a bandit with one blow, and the intense light instantly burned the bandit to ashes.
After easily dealing with the few bandits on guard, Ma Xiaotao took the lead and rushed into the cave. Zhu Ziyang had originally intended to lure the bandit group out of the cave and then eliminate them, but he couldn't stop Ma Xiaotao in time. Seeing Ma Xiaotao rush into the cave, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng also followed without hesitation.
Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang had no choice but to follow them in.
The seven members of the main team entered the cave. The cave was very spacious, large enough to accommodate over a thousand people, but within such a vast cave, a strong scent of blood lingered. On every wall and stone pillar inside the cave, dried corpses hung, varying in size, which enraged all seven members of the main team.
At this moment, all the bandit group members inside the cave were gathered in the center of the cave. The center of the cave was a large hall that could accommodate about five hundred people. The hall was hundreds of meters high, and a white bone throne, entirely composed of human skulls, sat in the center. That white bone throne was surrounded by at least three thousand lingering souls.
Inside the hall, all the bandits were gathered, numbering over three hundred, with more than thirty Spirit Masters. These thirty-plus Spirit Masters stood before the white bone throne. On the white bone throne sat an Evil Soul Master draped in a black cloak. His aura was approximately at the Spirit Emperor realm. Undoubtedly, he was the leader of the Death's Hand Bandit Group, the legendary Death Emissary.
Upon seeing the target, Ma Xiaotao was about to attack without hesitation, but she was stopped by Zhu Ziyang in time. They had not yet been exposed, so these bandits had not discovered them.
Ma Xiaotao wanted to catch them off guard, but Zhu Ziyang keenly noticed three black-clad figures standing behind the Death Emissary. The auras of the three black-clad figures were quite similar to that of the Death Emissary, but their cultivation levels were far superior to his. The three of them seemed to be discussing something with the Death Emissary.
Zhu Ziyang had an ominous premonition; these three black-clad figures were definitely not someone their group could deal with.
"Hehehe!" Suddenly, one of the three black-clad figures let out a strange laugh. The piercing shriek made all seven members of the main team instinctively cover their ears, then immediately took a step back and attacked simultaneously.
Since they had been discovered, it was too late to say anything. It was better to strike first and seize the initiative. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Zhu Ziyang immediately unleashed their full power, charging into the still-reacting bandit group. They unleashed their respective large-area attack Spirit Abilities, and the Phoenix Meteor Shower and White Tiger Meteor Shower rained down on the bandit group, instantly taking out dozens of people.
Zhu Ziyang directly unleashed the Silver Right Eye's Time Stop and the silver dragon wolf right arm bone's Frozen Time. A total of five seconds of time stop was enough for the Shrek main team members to establish a huge advantage. As for himself, his target was very clear: the Death Emissary.
The Death Emissary's level was exactly Spirit Emperor, which was the minimum requirement for the Death's First Trial, making him perfectly suitable for his assessment. Therefore, he didn't hesitate and charged towards him with full force.