The question made Hong Lin choke, because she had indeed left a ss upstairs.
She hadn't won the surface battle—or rather, the fighting up there was far from over.
Exactly as Cheng Shi had predicted, all six of the Grand Tribunal's supre figures were in Katouting today—minus the deceased Lo Yat. But with two already down in the dungeon, only three remained above.
When the Iron Law Knights encircled the Howling Iron Prison, Grand Executioner Artair arrived first and was the first to engage Hong Lin. But this highest-ranked warrior among the supre six seed to be nursing an injury. His movents were sluggish, and only by channeling the dense Order power offered up by the Iron Law Knights' collective faith did he manage to fight Big Cat's giant bear form to a standstill.
Soon, though, the other two Supre Inquisitors arrived. Under the Iron Law's blessing, their entrance imdiately reversed the Grand Executioner's disadvantage. The knights pressed forward, driving Big Cat back step by step.
Ants could topple an elephant. Against a human-wave strategy, Big Cat didn't dare get careless—so she rolled her dice.
When the die wobbled to a stop on twenty-four, the Grand Tribunal's most feared garrison force—the Iron Law Knight Order whose na resounded across the entire Land of Hope—began to crumble under the roar of a giant bear.
A max-roll Hero of Today was beyond reason. She charged alone into the formation like a tiger among sheep. Every pounce and leap claid lives, every roar and howl conjured terror. Just as she was hitting her stride... Cheng Shi called.
No—Yu Mu called.
She sensed Yu Mu being controlled, and alarm shot through her. Thinking Cheng Shi was in danger down in the dungeon, she swatted away the Grand Executioner's counterattack, stretched the battered iron door back into shape, and jamd it into the doorway to buy a mont. Then she followed Yu Mu's signal downward.
That was when she walked in on Cheng Shi and Li Jingming's standoff.
Honestly, Hong Lin's relationship with Li Jingming was fine. Then again, everyone's relationship with Li Jingming was fine—except Zhen Yi's.
The mory follower was, as he claid, genuinely good-natured. He chose cooperation over confrontation with other Chosen Ones and peak players. That was precisely why he could trade for all sorts of different mories from so many people.
When peak players thought of cooperation, two nas always ca up: Zhen Xin and Li Jingming.
The catch with Zhen Xin was her insufferable sister. With the Dragon King, the relationship was far cleaner.
So Li Jingming had a solid reputation.
But only solid—because the mont he started using mories to impersonate others, every other player's guard went up.
Big Cat felt the sa way: cooperation was fine; friendship... no thanks.
She cleared her throat, still pondering how to answer his question without making things too awkward—but Cheng Shi had already read the reason for her descent. Heart ward, he imdiately spoke up on her behalf:
"No big deal. Who says we have to explore mories in a place like this?
It's stuffy down here. I've been wanting to leave for a while. Hong Lin—you held off the Grand Tribunal's strongest offensive. Don't tell
you can't snap these Order chains or blast through these dungeon walls."
'Right!'
'Why stay here and accept the risk?'
'No ti to fight? Then run first.'
Hong Lin's brow arched. She grinned and aid a huge thumbs-up at Cheng Shi.
Li Jingming watched the exchange between them, combined it with his earlier phone probes of Hong Lin, and reached a firm conclusion: these two were far closer than he'd imagined.
'Interesting. Is this the kinship of warriors?'
Hong Lin didn't spare Li Jingming another thought. With a low growl, she shifted back into her giant bear form.
But this bear still carried the max-roll blessing of Fate—outrageously strong. One step forward, one straight punch, and the dungeon's reinforced rear wall collapsed. Then she roared, rampaging through the empty cell, demolishing everything in sight.
Hong Lin wasn't stupid—at least not when it ca to combat instinct. She could tell she probably couldn't unlock Order's shackles directly. But that didn't stop her from demolishing the entire dungeon and hauling prisoners and shackles out together.
'Can't crack the safe? Fine—I'll take the whole safe with .'
And so she really did demolish the dungeon.
A dungeon was a dungeon because it was buried deep underground. Had the cell been at surface level, the three of them would already have escaped with the Grand Tribunal's prisoners. But they were below ground, and the mont Hong Lin reduced the cell to rubble, the compacted earth around them began caving in. The entire structural collapse happened in an instant.
None of the three were afraid, though.
Cheng Shi saw the wall of earth rushing toward him, pulled a shovel from his storage, and spun it in both hands—left-right, left-right—fast as rowing a boat. In no ti he'd carved a spacious tunnel through the collapsing soil.
Hong Lin growled again, recalled the tree-servant Yu Mu, yanked the three prisoners—still tightly bound by Order chains—close, then shifted into a Dense Forest Spotted Leopard, tossed all three onto her back, and charged headlong after "Cheng-Shi-brand Excavator."
Li Jingming stood on the last patch of uncollapsed ground, watching the two execute this... brutally unsophisticated jailbreak, and opened his mouth. Nothing ca out for a long ti.
'Hotheads. Both of them.'
As peak players, they clearly had far more efficient and elegant thods of escape. Yet they'd chosen the clumsiest, most physically exhausting option.
So...
'Being a warrior makes you special?'
'Does nobody consider the Mage teammate's feelings?'
Li Jingming sighed. He genuinely didn't want to get himself this filthy. So he activated the contingency he'd planted outside the Howling Iron Prison and teleported directly to the surface.
Cheng Shi was right—they could continue the mory exploration elsewhere. But the Grand Tribunal's search-and-pursuit operation remained an uncertain factor.
So he used this opportunity to do sothing—slow the Supre Inquisitors and the Grand Executioner down a little more.
The instant Li Jingming vanished, Cheng Shi suddenly stopped, his spinning shovel going still. He stood in place and started laughing.
Big Cat skidded to a halt behind him. "Co on—why'd you stop?"
Cheng Shi looked back at the collapsed tunnel behind them: "The Dragon King's gone?"
Big Cat batted the dirt off her massive head with one paw and nodded: "Gone. Now move!"
"Good that he's gone. We're going a different way!"
"?"
"Right now we've got the people, the Dream Peeping Candle—everything's in our hands. Why would we share with him?
Quick, Hong Lin—you take point and dig. Your claws are sharper; you're faster."
"???" Hong Lin froze, then shot Cheng Shi a disdainful look and scoffed: "You seem to have forgotten he has your location."
"Haven't forgotten. That's exactly why we split up."
He tucked a die into Big Cat's paw.
"You take the prisoners and the die and head that way. Dig out the other side of Prologue Holy Mountain, away from Katouting.
I'll go this way. I'll co find you soon.
If we're lucky, we might even get the jump on him before the trial ends."
"..." Hong Lin's expression turned strange. "Cheng Shi, Li Jingming isn't soone you want as a friend—but he's definitely not soone you want as an enemy either."
"I'm not trying to make him an enemy. Besides, we're both Void brethren. There are no enemies here."
"...Then why are you screwing him over?"
"How is this screwing him over?
When you gave
that thumbs-up, the thumb was separated from the other four fingers—symbolizing our need to part ways with him.
I'm only acting on your suggestion, Hong Lin!"
"???" Big Cat was dumbstruck—then her fur bristled. "CHENG SHI!!!"
But the man had already finished talking and was tunneling away at top speed in the opposite direction.
Even faster than before.
Big Cat gnashed her teeth, smashed the wall of dirt in front of her flat with one swipe, and furiously began digging the other way.
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