Chang Jianyi could not ignore her own flesh and blood. Her own younger brother was being held captive. If she didn't intervene, he would surely be tortured to death by the enemy. Therefore, no matter what, her first priority was to protect her brother.
As soon as she said this, Yang Chang quickly interjected, "Vice City Lord, we absolutely cannot let them go! We've already killed three of their espers and crippled another. If we let them leave now, wouldn't that be letting the opportunity to annihilate them completely slip away?"
Not only were her own people trying to persuade Chang Jianyi to calm down, but others also chimed in. They reasoned that failing the entire plan because of one young man would be a loss far outweighing the gain.
Wang Ao Ye directly stated, "Chang Jianyi, haven't you seen the current situation clearly? Headquarters is coming for us. First it's your Yuzhou, then it's my Meizhou. I can flee overseas, but what about you? Are you truly going to be so soft-hearted and disregard the lives of others for your brother?"
"That's right," Li Xiankang added, "If we let them go today, we might not get such an opportunity again. We should pursue our victory now!"
Originally, these two, bringing their subordinates to help Chang Jianyi resist the Heavenly Dragon Bureau, had ulterior motives. The reward of obtaining evolution bases was one reason, but a deeper reason was their fear of being held accountable if Yuzhou fell. They were all civilian organizations, inherently inferior to official bodies. When facing a crisis, their only recourse was to band together. If they were defeated one by one, the civilian organizations would truly be finished!
And Yuzhou was, in reality, the leader of the civilian organizations. Neither Li Xiankang nor Wang Ao Ye could compete with Yuzhou for this title. After all, its status as a major hub on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River already surpassed most places, especially its position as the gateway to the southwest, a passage through the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, making Yuzhou's importance immense.
Hearing the advice from those around her, Chang Jianyi began to hesitate. She didn't know which side to prioritize. Abandoning her brother was impossible, but if the fight continued, her brother would inevitably be killed by the enraged enemy. Chang Jianyi had never faced such a dilemma and didn't know how to choose.
Chang Haojie, with his throat constricted, struggled to breathe. Despite his current predicament, he didn't want to be a burden. He managed to say, "Sister, don't worry about me. Continue fighting. My safety isn't important!"
Listening to her brother's brave words, Chang Jianyi's heart ached. However, what her companions said made sense. If they didn't continue fighting, their side would be in danger. Moreover, her original objective was to capture hostages to exchange for Xiao Long and Xiao Hu. Now, not only had she failed to capture hostages, but the situation had devolved into a stalemate.
Seeing the opposing group's arrogant conversation, Su Liuying became furious. The hand gripping Chang Haojie's neck gradually tightened. As he tightened his grip, he questioned, "Do you think you've already won? Don't forget, we were fighting indoors earlier, and we were restricted. Now we're outside. What other tricks do you have?"
Chang Haojie kicked his legs in the air, clearly unable to breathe. White foam appeared at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes began to lose focus.
Su Liuying glanced at Chu Liang beside him and said, "Xiao Liang, unleash your true abilities and see how much longer they can be arrogant!"
Upon hearing his vice-captain's words, Chu Liang did not hesitate and immediately issued an order: "Everyone, aim your weapons at the Yuzhou personnel in front of you and prepare to fire!"
Previously, under Chu Liang's command, those affected by the hypnotic waves had dropped their weapons, including the fully armed soldiers on the city walls. Both their rifles and pistols had been discarded. Now, with Chu Liang's order, the soldiers immediately picked up their weapons from the ground. The rifles were aimed directly at Chang Jianyi and the others outside the main hall.
Seeing the shift in the battle situation, Chang Jianyi immediately realized that her side's position had become perilous. She had never expected such a dramatic reversal in such a short time. The five thousand soldiers she had arranged to assist them were now aiming their weapons at her. She had to fight the enemy head-on while also worrying about bullets flying from all directions.
Not only was Chang Jianyi stunned by the sudden change, but the others were also taken aback.
Wang Ao Ye looked at Hu Xue Li beside him and couldn't help but ask, "Can't you also use hypnotic waves? Quickly counter them!"
Hu Xue Li replied with difficulty, "My wave's radiation range isn't this large, and it can only affect enemies in one direction. Its effect is to induce sleep, which is incomparable to the opponent's."
Hu Xue Li knew Chu Liang's terrifying abilities best. The coverage of his waves was simply too vast, and his psychological suggestion was exceptionally powerful. She likely wasn't a match for him and should choose to retreat.
"Hypnotize as many as you can. First, put the soldiers on the city walls behind us to sleep. I don't want to be shot in the back!" Wang Ao Ye urged.
Hu Xue Li quickly complied, hypnotizing all the soldiers on the city walls behind them to sleep. The terrain of Fengshen Palace was simple: thick city walls surrounded the perimeter, with many buildings in the center. However, now that the main hall had collapsed, soldiers from all sides could quickly aim at the central battlefield. Hypnotizing soldiers in one direction was still of no avail.
"Now, Chang Jianyi, I'll give you a choice: crawl at my feet, and I can spare your life! I'll also return your brother and your son to you. But from now on, in Yuzhou, I am the boss!" Su Liuying declared arrogantly.
At this moment, Su Liuying was savoring the thrill of conquering others. Holding absolute power, he could destroy enemies at will, and the enemies could only submit at his feet. Moreover, his opponent was a beautiful woman with excellent looks and figure. Conquering her would be true pleasure!
Hearing this, Chang Jianyi's face flushed crimson. She couldn't believe she was being so humiliated. If she truly knelt before the enemy, she would be utterly shamed.
However, at that very moment, a loud "boom" echoed from the distant city walls, like a cannonball being fired. Su Liuying suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down to see his right arm severed at the shoulder, with blood gushing out.
In an instant, another figure appeared in the center of the field. This person was clad in a cloak, wearing a mask, and in his left hand, he held the cyan-faced and purple-lipped Chang Haojie. His right hand gripped a pitch-black long sword. As for Su Liuying's arm, it had already fallen to the ground.
No one had seen how this person appeared. It was as if, in the blink of an eye, this individual was before them. At this moment, Kong Jialie thought of something, and his expression turned grim, "His speed exceeded the speed of sound; no one could track his movements. Could this be..."
Chang Jianyi also stared at the person in the field in shock. This person's figure was so familiar, and his defiant posture in the center of the field was so much like him!
The cloaked figure first threw Chang Haojie over. Cao Fuli quickly caught him. Then, he removed his mask, revealing his true face: it was Shen Feng!
"Senior sister, I'm back!" Shen Feng said with a smile.
Once, Shen Feng believed that after enduring the storms at sea and facing various dangers on land, returning to the side of his beloved after nine near-death experiences would leave him with a heart full of emotions to express. But at this moment, all the thoughts in Shen Feng's mind were inexpressible, ultimately boiling down to one sentence: "I'm back!"
Seeing the person she had longed for appear before her, Chang Jianyi was overcome with emotion. She rushed forward and embraced Shen Feng, tears flowing uncontrollably. "You... you're finally back!"
During the past month, Chang Jianyi had heard no news of Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi. She had truly believed that both had perished in the typhoon at sea. Moreover, the bodies found on the shore had fallen into the Yangtze River and were never recovered. She had to prepare for the worst, believing Shen Feng might already be dead.
But now, the person she had longed for had finally appeared before her. How could she not be excited? Thus, Chang Jianyi immediately rushed forward and embraced Shen Feng.
Chu Chaoyan also doubted her eyes and couldn't help but step forward, asking, "Are you really Shen Feng? You're not an imposter, are you?"
Shen Feng smiled and said, "I've truly returned. I've tried to keep my movements secret during this time just to give you all a surprise!"
"Then do you remember what I told you before you left?" Chu Chaoyan asked directly.
This was a life-or-death question. How could Shen Feng possibly remember words spoken half a year ago?
At this, Shen Feng fell silent, unsure how to answer. He thought to himself, "Damn it, how am I supposed to answer this? Who remembers what was said half a year ago?"
Just then, Su Liuying let out a pained howl. He knelt on the ground, picking up his right arm. He had never expected to be ambushed at this moment. Su Liuying, unable to bear it any longer, shouted at Chu Liang on the side, "Hurry up and act! Hurry up and act! Kill these bastards!"
The moment Chu Liang saw Shen Feng appear, he was stunned. But now, jolted by Su Liuying's screams, he finally remembered that he could hypnotize ordinary people. Weren't the nearby five thousand soldiers his weapons? Even if it was Fengshen, even if it was a powerful esper as rumored, they surely couldn't survive the attack of five thousand soldiers.
"All soldiers, aim at Shen Feng and his group, prepare to fire!" Chu Liang shouted.
In an instant, the surrounding gun barrels were aimed at Shen Feng, ready to engage at any moment. Furthermore, there were over a dozen grenade launchers on the city walls. Once fired, everyone in the field would be subjected to artillery bombardment.
"Xiao Yue, it's time to act!" Shen Feng shouted, directly alerting Yue Hengyi, who was hidden in the shadows.
Yue Hengyi did not reply, but pale yellow mist suddenly drifted from the city walls. Shen Feng immediately unleashed his "Eye of the Hurricane." A whirlwind appeared, stirring up the countless pale yellow mists within Fengshen Palace. Under Shen Feng's control, the mist swept over the entire area above the city walls. Then, the hypnotized soldiers, having inhaled the pollen, immediately collapsed and fell asleep.
Hypnosis, in essence, was the control of one's consciousness. After hypnosis, one could also simply control another's actions. Hu Xue Li's ability was to directly put enemies to sleep, while Chu Liang's ability targeted ordinary people, allowing for simple control of actions, even combat.
However, once countless hypnotic pollen was inhaled by ordinary people, these soldiers immediately fell into a deep sleep, a result of the pollen's potent sedative effect.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had been delayed precisely because they were collecting enough hypnotic pollen. They had originally planned to catch the espers off guard, but upon discovering that the soldiers on the city walls had been controlled, they had no choice but to use the pollen on them.
In the blink of an eye, the soldiers on the city walls had all fallen asleep, and the pale yellow mist continued to converge towards the central area, about to attack the numerous espers.
Shen Feng quickly said to the group in front of him, "You all quickly cover your mouths and noses, lest you be hypnotized."
The group, having seen Shen Feng appear, had no time to exchange pleasantries before they had to cover their mouths and noses, fearing they might accidentally inhale the pollen.
Yue Hengyi stood on the city walls, with four large barrels beside him. These were the pollens he and Shen Feng had collected from the Yuanbai forest. Carrying several hundred kilograms of pollen out of the mountains had been incredibly arduous.
Sitting on the battlements, Yue Hengyi murmured, "Alas, my family is reunited, but I haven't even seen my own family yet!"