Qi Manyao shot her a cold glance and said indifferently,
“If you think it’s good, go yourself. Why are you bothering me?”
“Okay, you brat, do you want me to make room for you? Hmph, I knew you little vixen wouldn’t change your ways, you’re still thinking about it…”
As Fang Xiaoyu spoke, Ao Lie, who had been sitting far away, suddenly stood up and walked towards them.
“He’s coming, he’s coming, he must be here to hit on you,”
Fang Xiaoyu transmitted excitedly.
“You’re prettier than me, how can you be sure he’s not here to hit on you?”
“Impossible, he’d be struck by ten thousand thunderbolts.”
However, to Fang Xiaoyu and Qi Manyao’s surprise, Ao Lie didn’t come to them but walked up to Qing Wu and said politely with clasped hands,
“Miss, may I trouble you to switch places with me?”
Qing Wu was stunned by his words. She had initially thought Ao Lie was coming to flirt with her, but he actually wanted to switch seats.
Immediately, the clever Qing Wu understood.
The Fire Phoenix was to her right, and Wan Liuchuan was to her left. Ao Lie definitely wasn’t interested in Wan Liuchuan, so there could only be one reason.
“Certainly.”
Qing Wu lightly nudged the Fire Phoenix with her elbow and then hopped off excitedly.
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Ao Lie and the Fire Phoenix with playful curiosity. Although the Fire Phoenix had lived for thousands of years, she had never experienced anything like this. Being stared at by so many people, she blushed deeply.
It was very difficult for her to find a male Fire Phoenix, but she hadn’t found one. Instead, a dragon had come to strike up a conversation.
“Miss, earlier, during the Bitter Sea battlefield, I saw a giant Fire Phoenix bravely fighting against the demons. It should have been you.”
“Yes… yes, it was me.”
“Hello, my name is Ao Lie. I am from the Dragon Clan of the Abyss in the Ghost Realm, the Sacred White Dragon lineage. May I know your name, Miss?”
“I… I don’t have a name. They all call me Fire Phoenix, so you can call me Fire Phoenix too.”
“Yes, that’s simple and easy to remember. Miss, when did you arrive at the Bitter Sea battlefield? I’m from Base Sixteen. Perhaps we’ll have the chance to fight side-by-side in the future.”
“I’m from the Thunderstorm Squad. Wan Lei is my captain. I… I ascended from the lower realms, I’m not a native of the Immortal Realm…”
The Fire Phoenix felt a bit inferior. Ao Lie hailed from a sacred dragon land, while she came from a small lava pool in the Sacred Fire Realm…
“Alright, stop looking, you’re making them shy. Let’s discuss what we should do next.”
Wan Lei’s words drew everyone’s attention away.
In fact, Wan Lei would have been very happy if the Fire Phoenix and Ao Lie actually got together.
After all, Ao Lie’s background, talent, and strength were all excellent. As for his character, anyone who could be good friends with Qi Manyao shouldn’t be bad. And judging by the Fire Phoenix’s reaction, she didn’t seem to reject him. If she didn’t like him, with her personality, she wouldn’t have responded at all.
He even thought about finding partners for Yuan Jun and Qing Wu, so they could have a good future. After all, they were young ladies, and constantly fighting alongside him wasn’t a long-term solution.
Most importantly, it would prevent them from always thinking about him and making his wives jealous.
“Our most important task now is to confirm whether the central altar truly has an exit,”
Ling Xin suggested, looking up.
“If we confirm it, we’ll fight our way through to find the way out and leave this place.
If we can’t confirm it, I think we should be more cautious. After all, if we fight our way there and there’s no exit, and then have to fight our way back while being pursued by nearly ten thousand demons, the casualties will be significant. We’ve already lost quite a few people, and I don’t want to add to the casualties.”
Wan Qianxin chimed in,
“I think there shouldn’t be an exit there. Otherwise, wouldn’t those demons want to leave? If there was an exit, they would have opened it and left long ago. Why would they stay here and gather?”
Ling Xin shook his head,
“That’s just one possibility. Perhaps they discovered the exit and are waiting there to catch us, and then capture Wan Lei alive.
Don’t forget, the recent military operations planned by the demons have all been aimed at Wan Lei. They are desperate to capture him alive.
Of course, as I said, we should confirm it first before deciding whether to charge in. We are not afraid of death, but we cannot make futile sacrifices.”
Wan Lei shook his head and looked at everyone, his voice firm,
“Regardless of whether it’s confirmed or not, we have to kill all those demons. Firstly, because we are enemies with the demons, and it is our duty as warriors to kill the enemy. Secondly, because we still have a comrade trapped beneath that altar.”
“We truly cannot abandon any comrade. We should save your companion, but I think we should plan carefully. If more people die to save one person, wouldn’t that go against the original intention of saving someone?
I think that comrade would also feel guilty and regretful.”
Ling Xin still held his opposing opinion.
“No one will die. We can also annihilate the enemy. Leave all these demons to me alone.”
Wan Lei’s words made Ling Xin laugh in exasperation.
“Wan Lei, who do you think you are, speaking so boastfully? I admit you’ve charged through enemy lines before, and perhaps so many demons couldn’t hold you back, but you must know that breaking through and annihilating are two different things.
If you had a nuclear bomb, I would have nothing to say. Otherwise, annihilating these enemies would require an army of at least fifty thousand people.”
Facing Ling Xin’s blunt words, Wan Lei did not get angry. Instead, he patted Ling Xin’s shoulder and smiled,
“Actually, I am an army.”
Under Ling Xin’s and everyone else’s bewildered gazes, Wan Lei stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, looking towards the ruined palace in the basin.
Within the ruins, nearly ten thousand demons were active.
“How do you plan to deal with these demons? Don’t blow your trumpet too much, or you won’t be able to keep up the act.”
Ling Xin crossed his arms and sneered incessantly.
“Then just watch.”
Wan Lei took a black demonic pearl from his pocket. Immediately, countless evil spirits appeared from the pearl and surged out.
These evil spirits did not directly attack the demons but, under Wan Lei’s control, divided into two torrents and ran and flew rapidly down the mountain.
Wan Lei intended to surround the area and attack the demons from all sides, leaving them no escape.
Everyone around, except for Qi Manyao and Qian Niao, who had witnessed the demonic pearl absorbing evil spirits, was dumbfounded.
In just this short while, the number of evil spirits released had already reached over a million.
And the number was still increasing continuously.
“No wonder… no wonder you said you brought an army. This is more than a million troops,”
Ling Xin muttered to himself, his eyes wide open. This scene, combined with his earlier words, made him feel as if he had been slapped across the face.