Ji Ningyue, regaining her senses, saw four cars speeding towards them through the car window. Her face instantly turned pale with fright, her two delicate hands gripping the armrest tightly.
Chu Fan, controlling the steering wheel, showed no panic on his face.
With a roar of the engine and smoking tires, the car shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Seeing that they were about to collide with one of the tanker trucks, Ji Ningyue instinctively closed her eyes. The consequences of a collision between a small car and a tanker truck were all too obvious.
Chu Fan, naturally, was not foolish enough to go head-on. Under his precise control, the minivan's direction changed impossibly, suddenly swerving and narrowly scraping past the bumper of one of the tanker trucks.
Bang…
Bang…
The front ends of the four tanker trucks crashed heavily into each other. If they hadn't moved to avoid it and been squeezed in the middle, the consequences would have been dire.
After stopping the car, Chu Fan opened the door.
"Young Master…" Ji Ningyue's voice trembled. "Be careful, there might be more ambushes!"
Chu Fan nodded. "You stay in the car!"
Then, he walked towards the four tanker trucks, their front ends now unrecognizable, wanting to see if the drivers were still alive. It wasn't out of kindness to save them, but to see if there were any survivors from whom he could extract useful information.
With such a collision, the front ends were already beyond recognition. All four drivers were irrevocably dead. Chu Fan turned and walked back.
*Snap…*
In the distance, a car's headlights suddenly turned on, its engine roaring. Chu Fan stopped, turning to face the vehicle that was clearly preparing to attack again.
*Vroom…*
With a roar, the car sped directly towards Chu Fan. Chu Fan remained as still as a mountain.
When the car was still ten feet away, he moved. His figure, like a ghost, vanished from the spot.
The oncoming car, seeing that it had missed Chu Fan, slammed on its brakes.
"Where is he?" The man inside squinted, scanning his surroundings, clearly unwilling to give up until Chu Fan was hit.
"Are you looking for me?" The voice that suddenly sounded from the back seat was like a death knell, making the man's entire body go cold. His hand instinctively reached for his waist weapon, but before he could even grasp it, a sharp pain shot through his nape, and his vision abruptly went black.
Soon, Chu Fan returned to the minivan, carrying the unconscious man. If it weren't for his desire to obtain more information, the man would have already become a corpse.
Seeing Ji Ningyue's pale face, still not recovered, Chu Fan sat in the driver's seat and drove towards the Shan Hai Pavilion. On the subsequent journey, no further ambushes appeared.
The unconscious man was brought by Chu Fan into the underground palace. Ten minutes later, he emerged.
"Tell the Five Great Battle Emperors to be here in half an hour, or they don't need to come!"
Although unsure why Chu Fan suddenly wanted to summon the Five Great Battle Emperors, Ji Ningyue promptly relayed the message.
At the Battle Emperor Hall of Shan Hai City.
The Five Great Battle Emperors received the news simultaneously and quickly convened.
"What's going on?"
"Why does he want to see us?"
…
The Five Great Battle Emperors showed signs of nervousness. Despite facing millions of troops fearlessly in countless battles, they were flustered by a mere summons from Chu Fan.
Although they were stationed in Shan Hai City according to higher orders, to prevent Chu Fan from acting recklessly, the Five Great Battle Emperors truly did not wish to meet Chu Fan face-to-face.
Time was limited. Despite their reluctance, the Five Great Battle Emperors had no choice but to set off for the Shan Hai Pavilion. If they refused, they couldn't imagine what this devil god would do.
Twenty minutes later, the Five Great Battle Emperors stood in the grand hall of the Shan Hai Pavilion. Chu Fan, having just showered, entered the hall clad in a bathrobe and sat calmly in the main seat, closing his eyes to rest. He remained silent, as if he didn't see the Five Great Battle Emperors, simply sitting quietly.
Only Chu Fan possessed the qualifications to ignore the Five Great Battle Emperors so brazenly, and they dared not show any displeasure. The quiet atmosphere made the hall's ambiance inexplicably tense. The Five Great Battle Emperors exchanged glances, completely unaware of Chu Fan's intentions. Their intuition told them that the person before them was very unhappy at the moment.
As the stalemate persisted, the atmosphere grew heavier. Understanding that Chu Fan wouldn't seek them out without reason, the Central Plains Battle Emperor, as the leader of the five, stepped forward and said with a slight bow, "My lord, may we know why you have summoned us?"
Chu Fan opened his eyes. "I thought you were prepared to stand here until dawn!"
The Five Great Battle Emperors' faces turned awkward, and they chuckled. "My lord, if there is anything you need us to do, please command!"
Their superiors had long issued orders: as long as Chu Fan didn't intend to destroy the Dragon God Kingdom, they were to cooperate with whatever he wished to do. Therefore, the Five Great Battle Emperors, who were aloof and admired by outsiders, willingly bowed their heads to Chu Fan, solely to manage him well and prevent him from causing unrest in the Dragon God Kingdom.
"Just before I called you, I was ambushed!"
What? The eyes of the Five Great Battle Emperors widened simultaneously. Who dared to be so audacious, to ambush a devil god? No wonder he seemed so angry.
The Central Plains Battle Emperor composed himself and continued, "My lord, do you know who instigated this?" They were not fools. The Central Plains Battle Emperor knew very well that Chu Fan's sudden summons was related to the ambush, and the perpetrators of the ambush were related to the Dragon God Kingdom.
"This is precisely why I summoned you!" Chu Fan stood up, walked to a corner of the hall, and tossed the corpse of the man who had already breathed his last in front of the Central Plains Battle Emperor.
"If I'm not mistaken, the tattoo on this man's arm is something only members of the Battle Emperor Hall are qualified to wear, isn't it?"
"And not just any member!" Staring at the tattoo on the corpse's arm, which only captain-level members of the Battle Emperor Hall could possess, the Five Great Battle Emperors understood why Chu Fan had summoned them. The ambush involved the Battle Emperor Hall. As the leading figures of the Battle Emperor Hall, the five of them had to provide an explanation.
The Battle Emperor Hall had millions of members, and hundreds of thousands of captains. To appease Chu Fan, the Central Plains Battle Emperor hurriedly said, "My lord, we genuinely were unaware of this matter."
"This person's tattoo is indeed something only members of the Battle Emperor Hall can possess!"
"You must also realize, my lord, that it is impossible for us to do something so foolish."
"However, since this matter involves the Battle Emperor Hall, we implore you to give us some time. We will thoroughly investigate and provide you with an explanation!"
Chu Fan stood up. "By tomorrow morning, before the sun shines upon the open space in front of the Shan Hai Pavilion, I want a satisfactory answer."
The Five Great Battle Emperors, like members of the Battle Emperor Hall facing them, clasped their hands in front of them and bowed respectfully.
Emerging from the Shan Hai Pavilion, the Five Great Battle Emperors simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. Their backs were drenched in cold sweat.
"Investigate!"
"Starting from this, we must find out exactly what is going on!"
"Damn it, this is going to get us killed!" The Five Great Battle Emperors were furious. While they were indeed subservient to Chu Fan, when Chu Fan was not present, the five of them were still the most admired figures in the Dragon God Kingdom.
Early morning. As dawn broke and the sunlight illuminated the roof tiles of the Shan Hai Pavilion, the Five Great Battle Emperors entered the Shan Hai Pavilion punctually. When Chu Fan appeared, the Central Plains Battle Emperor stepped forward eagerly, holding a stack of documents.
"My lord, we have investigated!"
"The person who dared to attack you last night was a retired member of the Battle Emperor Hall."
"After retiring, he joined the Dragon God Kingdom's Shadow Gate and engaged in assassination."
"Someone paid to find the Shadow Gate and hired them to target you!"
After a pause, the Central Plains Battle Emperor continued, "My lord, the bases of the Shadow Gate in the Dragon God Kingdom have also been identified."
"With just one command from you, my lord, the Battle Emperor Hall will eliminate all these strongholds on your behalf."
"Heh…" Chu Fan let out a cold laugh. "Just Shan Hai City?"