Chapter Forty

Wo Biao was indeed terrified! But as he finished his stammering reply, he snapped back to reality.

With so many people dead, how could he simply let her go? This was hardly his fault; after all, no one could remain calm after seeing that iron monstrosity.

Regaining his composure, Wo Biao said, "That thing is indeed formidable, but this woman killed many of our people. I cannot reconcile with letting her walk away so easily!"

Yang Dianfeng handed his mobile phone to Wo Biao. Wo Biao took it, but instead of holding it to his ear, he simply held it out and spoke directly into it. He knew who was on the other end and why this magical projection had been shown, but so what? The blood of the orc warriors was still warm; to ask him to retreat now was impossible! Unless they killed them all, there was no way they would let this demon-like woman go.

Hearing this, Shen Yi didn't know what to do. Was this going to be a fight to the death? "Tell me," Shen Yi said, "do you really think you can withstand the power of a nuclear bomb? Even if you can run, your kin aren't as strong as you!"

"What do you want? I must take her with me today," Shen Yi insisted, trying to see if there were any conditions.

Wo Biao was conflicted. To let Yang Dianfeng go just like this would be a massive blow to his pride. He stared blankly at the phone, unsure how to reply.

Just as the standoff persisted, an eagle-like bird flew in, wobbling as it landed on Wo Biao’s shoulder, nuzzling his head. Wo Biao reached up, removed a bamboo tube from the bird’s leg, and pulled out a note. It contained only two words from his father: "Food supplies."

Wo Biao frowned. The orcs were in desperate need of food. With the population explosion, they had eaten everything edible. He knew all too well the fate awaiting the orcs if they didn't secure enough grain. This was why they had been so eager to strike the Sacred Dragon Empire and push deep into their territory—they had no choice but to sustain war through war.

Thinking of this, Wo Biao spoke into the phone: "We need food. I can let this woman go, but the debt of blood for my kin must be repaid. How about this? If the Commander can meet my demands, we can talk!"

"How much do you need?"
"A lot!"
"There has to be a number, right?"
"I don't know. Give us as much as you have."

Shen Yi scratched the back of his head. What kind of person was this? How did he even grow up? Was he mentally deficient? Yang Dianfeng, listening from the side, couldn't help but let out a snicker, though he quickly stifled it.

"Tell you what," Shen Yi said. "From now on, any orcs who are hungry can come to my city. You'll be fed until you're full. How about that?"
"Fine. It's a deal."

"By the way, how many orcs are there who can't afford to eat?"
"A lot!"
"How many is 'a lot'? There must be a number!"
"I don't know!"

This time, even Wo Biao felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his own head. Shen Yi was speechless. How did he reach this level of strength? Did he just train his muscles and ignore his brain?

Shen Yi had no choice but to agree for the sake of rescuing Yang Dianfeng. However, Wo Biao didn't actually release Yang Dianfeng afterwards, instead taking him back to the orc territory. After hanging up, Wo Biao clutched the phone, refusing to give it back. He clearly wasn't foolish enough to hand over his captive. He needed time to investigate the truth behind the magical projection. Although it had scared him and the Commander’s technology was bizarre, he couldn't judge it properly because he had never seen it before.

Thus, Yang Dianfeng became a hostage. Shen Yi didn't object; he wasn't worried about them not releasing her. At worst, he would just drop another nuke on the orcs, even if it was expensive.

The mighty orc army, now halved, retreated toward their lands, dragging the "demon girl" with them. Soon after, several transport planes landed to clear the battlefield. With the conclusion of these two battles, Shen Yi had firmly established his footing. Defeating the two-race alliance with almost no losses shocked the entire continent.

Stories of a powerful alchemy that allowed mortals to rival gods spread everywhere. In the following days, news reached every corner of the continent about refugees migrating. Countless poor families packed their belongings and headed toward "The City."

Along with the migration, another rumor kept people awake at night: the Commander might be a descendant of the Ancient Remnants—the human race that dared to wield swords against the gods. Those who knew this avoided him like the plague, especially those with some power, fearing that one day a god might descend and wipe the Commander out, leaving them caught in the crossfire.

But the desperate poor had no such reservations. They only cared about finding a place with food and clothing where strong protectors would risk their lives for them. Of course, Shen Yi had sent out residents to spread the word about the benefits of The City, and these people were truly diligent. They didn't even have to lie; just recounting their experiences in The City was enough to tempt anyone. The retreat of the undead and the orcs served as the best advertisement.

Within days, a line stretching as far as the eye could see had formed outside The City. As time passed, the numbers grew, and Shen Yi, sitting in the command center, was overjoyed. The mission was complete, but looking at the miles-long queue on the monitor, he realized The City couldn't possibly hold so many people.

Outside The City, a little kid was waiting in line, bored and observing the humans around him. His large eyes darted around until he landed on a red-faced man, thinking to himself, *What the hell?*

Managing to tear his gaze away, he spotted an old man watching him, and they exchanged a subtle, knowing smile. The boy continued to look around until he saw someone wrapped tightly from head to toe, and he couldn't stay calm anymore.

They were all familiar faces. The red-faced man was the father of the red dragon who had caused trouble last time; the old man was that lecherous elf who loved fortune-telling. The kid could understand why those two were here, but... *You've got to be kidding me, an undead trying to sneak in too?* The boy glared at the tightly wrapped figure, silently cursing, *Do you undead not have brains?*

Song Yuan, the undead, was also suffering from a headache. As the head of the undead scouts on the continent, there wasn't a city he couldn't infiltrate, but this "City" had no walls! He saw Hu Yu, the little brat, and the others, and they kept glancing at him. He knew exactly what they were thinking, but what could he do? He wanted to climb over a wall at midnight, but there were no walls! What did they expect? At least they looked human, but him? He couldn't exactly walk in with a skull for a head! He was in a real bind. Song Yuan had no choice but to grit his teeth and push forward.

The bored elf old man began telling fortunes to those in line. "Young friend, where are you from?"

A dark-skinned, sturdy, compact youth pushing a cart full of luggage was startled by the question. The elf continued, "Young friend, I see you have extraordinary bone structure. You are a person of great destiny, so I couldn't help but want to tell your fortune. May I?"

"Old man, I'm from Ma Village. My name is Ma Yi! But I have no money, so you should tell someone else's fortune," Ma Yi said, looking embarrassed.

"A good name! I am Qi Mie. In this vast sea of people, you happen to be right in front of me—what does that mean? It means we are fated! I'll do it for free. If I'm right, we'll keep in touch. If I'm wrong..." Qi Mie pulled out two copper coins and added, "These are yours. How about it?"

Ma Yi’s eyes lit up at the sight of the coins. "Go ahead, old man."

Half an hour later.

"That's not right? How can this be? You don't have two eyes?"

Ma Yi reached up, plucked out one of his eyeballs, gave Qi Mie a goofy smile, and said, "Sorry," before snatching the gold coin from the old man's hand.

"Want to keep going?" Ma Yi seemed interested.

Qi Mie looked at the dark-skinned youth—who had half a head of hair, nine fingers, and had suddenly grown half a meter taller—and was completely speechless.

*This guy is a monster,* Qi Mie thought, feeling blood rush to his head. *Is this even human?*