Hmph!
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian snorted coldly and directly tossed the lighter over.
He said indifferently, "Gardland, you'd best not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
"What? You want me to speak, and you dare act with such an attitude?"
Gardland raised an eyebrow, his voice rising a few decibels, as if he had Ye Cangtian completely in his grasp.
"It seems you don't want to talk properly!"
Ye Cangtian's expression darkened. This prisoner dared to act so presumptuously in front of him; he truly didn't know where the man got his courage.
"What? You want to torture me?"
"Come on, torture me all you want. Let's see if the Golden Armored Knights will utter a single word under torture!"
Hearing Ye Cangtian's words, a trace of disdain appeared in Gardland's eyes.
The people of the Golden Armored Knights had long ago experienced countless life-and-death situations in the ruins. A little torture was nothing to them.
"I admire your courage. I hope you can still maintain this composure after ten seconds."
Ye Cangtian sneered and suddenly opened his Heavenly Eye between his brows.
As a soul force surged into Gardland's forehead, Gardland instantly screamed in agony.
The screams lasted for a full ten seconds, not a second more, not a second less.
When the screams ended, Gardland was drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with terror.
He looked at Ye Cangtian and asked fearfully, "What exactly did you do to me?"
"Nothing much, just soul piercing. If you wish to experience it further, this seat can oblige you," Ye Cangtian said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Gardland's body trembled. He hadn't expected Ye Cangtian to not only be powerful but also to understand the legendary soul attacks.
After a moment, Gardland calmed down slightly and said, "I can answer your questions, but you must let me go!"
"You are not in a position to negotiate terms."
Ye Cangtian glanced at him and continued blandly, "You only have two choices. The first is to cooperate, and I will guarantee you a comfortable stay here. The second is to refuse, and I will also make you 'comfortable'!"
"..."
These words caused Gardland's face to change drastically.
The past ten seconds had felt like experiencing all the tortures of hell, and he absolutely did not want to go through it again.
After a long silence, he gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll cooperate with you. Our purpose in coming was to abduct someone who is very important to you..."
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian understood everything.
The cardinal who had visited his home earlier had mentioned the Pope's evaluation of him.
He was very strong, but his weakness was also very obvious: he cared too much about protecting others.
Thinking back now, Ye Cangtian finally understood the meaning of those words – they intended to lure him back to the Temple of Light and then lay an inescapable trap!
With this thought, Ye Cangtian breathed a slight sigh of relief. If they were luring him, then Nancy should not be in any immediate danger.
However, to be on the safe side, he still took out his phone and dialed Xu Weiwei's number.
His intention was simple: to have Xu Weiwei, in the name of the Dragon Group, send a message to the Temple of Light.
He wanted to inform the Temple of Light that if Nancy remained safe, including her cultivation not being abolished and her not suffering any torture, then everything could be discussed.
China could send an envoy led by him, or they could resolve it privately.
But if the Temple of Light were to harm Nancy severely, then the outcome would be a fight to the death.
Hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Xu Weiwei was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Will they agree? It seems the relationship between the two sides has already broken down!"
In Xu Weiwei's opinion, Ye Cangtian severing the Pope's arm and burning down the Temple of Light had already made the Temple of Light wish to kill Ye Cangtian and eradicate Chinese influence.
Under such circumstances, how could they accept Ye Cangtian's threat and sit down to negotiate?
Hearing Xu Weiwei's words, Ye Cangtian smiled faintly and said, "Just say it like that."
With that, Ye Cangtian hung up the phone.
He knew very well that the Pope wished he were ground into dust, but the Pope was the leader of the Outer Court of Light, and any decision he made had to prioritize the Temple of Light.
After all, the Pope's sole purpose was to lure him to the Temple of Light.
In other words, as long as he went to the Temple of Light, that would be enough. There was no need to be enemies with the Chinese forces to the death, as that would not benefit the Temple of Light either.
...
A thousand miles away, in the grand hall of the Temple of Light.
Dracula slowly walked into the hall, his gaze locking onto the Pope, who was on the main seat and wearing a prosthetic limb, and said, "You were looking for me?"
The Pope smiled faintly and nodded, "Yes, I just received news from China that Elinor successfully kidnapped Nancy, and China immediately requested negotiations for Nancy."
Hearing the Pope's brief introduction, Dracula's brow immediately furrowed, and he said indifferently, "Your Holiness, do you think negotiations are necessary in this matter?"
In Dracula's opinion, Ye Cangtian had committed heinous crimes and there was no longer any need for negotiation.
Furthermore, Nancy was a traitor to the Temple of Light, and she should be publicly beheaded as a warning to others.
Then, Nancy's corpse should be made into a specimen and displayed publicly, letting everyone know the consequences of betrayal, and incidentally luring Ye Cangtian – that would be enough.
"You should read the news from China!"
Seeing Dracula's attitude, the Pope paused for a moment before finally handing the presented telegram to Dracula.
Dracula took the telegram, glanced at it a couple of times, and then looked at the Pope, saying, "You won't dare to act because of a single phrase 'fight to the death', will you?"
"Am I that cowardly?"
The Pope's expression turned grim. "Haven't you understood the other party's meaning?"
Hmm?
Seeing this, Dracula cast a puzzled look.
At this, the Pope explained grimly, "The other party's meaning is very simple: if Nancy is unharmed, Ye Cangtian will come to negotiate and resolve the matter, but if something happens to Nancy, they will declare war..."
"If they want war, then let's fight! Does our Temple of Light fear China?" Dracula interrupted the Pope.
"Let me finish!"
The Pope said grimly, "If war breaks out, do you think Ye Cangtian will be on the battlefield, or will he come to the Temple of Light? Don't forget, fundamentally, Nancy is not Chinese!"
This...
This sentence caused Dracula's expression to change.
If war truly broke out, Ye Cangtian would most likely head to the battlefield.
After all, if the two sides went to war, it would mean rivers of blood and countless soldiers falling on the battlefield. Ye Cangtian could not ignore the lives of his soldiers for the sake of Nancy.
If that were the case, Ye Cangtian might not come to the City of Light for who knows how long.
And he, on his side, still had to manage Tianyun Fort and could not leave.
This way, his and the Pope's conspiracy to kill Ye Cangtian and seize the Dark Seal and the Imperial Dragon Seal would have to be put on hold.
With this thought, he looked at the Pope and said, "Then tell me, how should this matter be resolved!"
"It's very simple, just as the Chinese telegram says, we'll resolve it privately!"
The Pope smiled faintly, his smile filled with a sinister glint.
He naturally would not allow China to send another envoy, as it would be inconvenient to act openly.
Therefore, he chose to let Ye Cangtian come privately, and then he could act as he pleased!
And if anyone found out about such a thing, it wouldn't matter; he would simply label Ye Cangtian as an intruder into the City of Light who deserved to die.
Hearing the Pope's suggestion, Dracula was silent for a moment, and finally slowly nodded, saying, "Alright, when Ye Cangtian arrives, you notify me..."
"There's one more thing."
Seeing that Dracula had agreed, the Pope quickly said, "The Temple of Light is still undergoing partial reconstruction. Therefore, this time I would like to choose Tianyun Fort as the ambush location!"
"This..."
Dracula clearly showed displeasure and said, "Your Holiness, you should know the importance of Tianyun Fort, right?"
"Naturally, I know."
The Pope nodded slowly and continued, "But do you think, with you and me joining forces, Ye Cangtian can still cause any trouble?"
Frankly speaking, Tianyun Fort was considered a top-tier entertainment venue globally, gathering the most distinguished figures of society, as well as strong individuals from various factions.
Therefore, the significance of Tianyun Fort's existence was not only for the Temple of Light to accumulate wealth but also as one of the channels for the Temple of Light to obtain information from the outside world.
It was also for this reason that the Inner Court had assigned Dracula to guard Tianyun Fort.
On the other side, listening to the Pope's words, Dracula remained silent for a long time, and finally nodded.
On one hand, the Pope was right. With two Heavenly-level experts joining forces, plus the guards of the Temple of Light, Tianyun Fort should not have any problems.
On the other hand, since the Pope was sharing the two seals with him equally, he should also make some reciprocal gesture.
Seeing this, the Pope's face showed a satisfied smile, and he said, "I wish our cooperation a pleasant success this time!"
...
.oΓg