The desert, a thousand miles away.
After a long journey, Ye Cangtian had arrived at the entrance of the Dark Ruins.
The place was vastly different from his previous visit.
Last time, the Dark Association had stationed many guards outside the entrance.
However, the current situation was eerily strange. While it appeared to be a desert on the surface, the blowing sand revealed countless skeletons everywhere, resembling a hell on earth.
It was clear that a brutal battle had taken place here in the past six months.
With a hint of helplessness, Ye Cangtian entered the Dark Ruins.
...
Upon entering the Dark Ruins, Ye Cangtian couldn't help but freeze.
As soon as he stepped inside the entrance, he saw several figures surrounding him.
However, these individuals were not wearing the uniform attire of the Dark Association, but rather black and red robes.
It was evident that these were the Black-robed and Red-robed Bishops from the Temple of Light!
"What's going on!"
In an instant, a huge question mark appeared in Ye Cangtian's mind.
As of now, the Dark Ruins had only this one entrance, which was also the sole exit. How significant a place was this?
Yet, the Dark Association had lost even this place. This demonstrated the critical state the Dark Association was in!
If this continued, the Temple of Light's support would likely increase, and it was uncertain whether the Dark Association could even hold the ruins.
"Are you from the Dark Association?"
"State your name, who you are, and what your job is!"
As Ye Cangtian was lost in thought, the people from the Temple of Light had already surrounded him. The Red-robed Bishop at the forefront appraised him and menacingly inquired.
"Uh..."
This question caught Ye Cangtian off guard.
He was quite famous within the Temple of Light, yet the other party didn't recognize him, which genuinely surprised him.
Needless to say, these people must have come from the Inner Hall of Light, and they had not done their homework before coming.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian suddenly realized a problem: he hadn't put on his mask yet.
This wasn't entirely his fault. Originally, seeing no guards, he had intended to enter the ruins as Ye Cangtian and investigate first.
After all, the Earth-rank Deacon mask representing Dawn was too conspicuous.
But he hadn't expected to run into a patrol team from the Temple of Light the moment he entered.
The next moment, Ye Cangtian glanced at them and smiled faintly, "Do I look like I'm from the Dark Association?"
"You..."
The Red-robed Bishop scrutinized Ye Cangtian again, his brows furrowing, and said grimly, "Boy, don't play games with me. Cooperate properly, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Heh, you've become a lapdog for the Temple of Light, and you're still this arrogant?" Ye Cangtian smiled, his eyes filled with disdain.
Lapdog?
The Red-robed Bishop's face instantly flushed red. Although he was responsible for patrolling the entrance, he was still a Red-robed Bishop!
Being belittled as a lapdog by the other party was something he could not accept.
"Boy, you're asking for it! Don't blame anyone else!"
With a chilling voice, the Red-robed Bishop signaled his subordinates to capture him.
Upon receiving the order, the surrounding Black-robed Bishops charged forward without hesitation.
In their opinion, several of the Dark Association's Earth-rank Deacons had returned to the Dark Ruins.
Therefore, those outside were merely intelligence personnel, not any top experts.
Furthermore, these intelligence personnel would not dare to contact any powerful reinforcements privately without authorization from headquarters.
Thus, in their eyes, the person before them was likely not a strong individual.
But in the next moment, they would pay the price for their earlier assumptions!
Ye Cangtian showed no mercy to these people from the Temple of Light, his figure weaving through them, swiftly taking their lives.
"You..."
"Who exactly are you!"
Seeing all ten-plus Black-robed Bishops fall, the Red-robed Bishop's eyes widened, and a chill ran through him.
It seemed he had truly encountered a formidable opponent today.
Although these Black-robed Bishops were not very strong, it was not easy to defeat them. Yet, this person had dealt with them all in a single encounter.
Even he himself could not achieve such strength!
"You don't even know who I am, and you dare to act as a lapdog here?"
"Speaking of which, is the Temple of Light too casual? Don't you need some discernment to be a lapdog?"
With contemptuous words, the Red-robed Bishop's face turned completely red. He had never been so insulted!
However, the other party's strength was too formidable, forcing him to endure.
At the same time, his mind was racing. Judging by the other party's tone, he wasn't from the Dark Association.
Looking at his yellow skin and black hair, it could be concluded that he was from a Chinese faction!
Could it be that he had encountered him?
Indeed, the person the Red-robed Bishop was thinking of at this moment was Ye Cangtian from China.
It wasn't that he had Ye Cangtian's portrait in mind.
Rather, Ye Cangtian was also somewhat well-known in the Inner Hall of Light.
It was said that this person always acted arrogantly and was a major threat to the Temple of Light.
Most importantly, Ye Cangtian was the only name he was most familiar with among the Chinese factions.
With this thought, he tentatively asked, "Are you Ye Cangtian from China?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian chuckled playfully, "Heh, congratulations, you guessed right, but there's no prize."
Hiss...
With a single sentence, the Red-robed Bishop gasped.
Even with his arrogance, he knew clearly that he was no match for Ye Cangtian.
For a moment, he gradually became fearful, his legs began to weaken uncontrollably, and finally, he fell to his knees before Ye Cangtian with a thud.
"Oh ho! I haven't done anything to you yet, and you're already kneeling?"
"It seems you're quite sensible!"
"Since that's the case, introduce yourself first!"
Seeing the other party immediately kneel, Ye Cangtian was stunned. He hadn't expected his reputation to be so intimidating.
However, this was convenient, saving him considerable effort.
"Reporting to Lord Ye, this humble servant is Bernie, a squad leader of the Silver Armor Knights of the Temple of Light, following the commander's orders..."
The Red-robed Bishop was very proactive, introducing himself and even revealing his mission here.
His presence here was to intercept all kinds of personnel.
This was to prevent any intelligence personnel from the Dark Association from contacting headquarters and instructing external intelligence personnel to summon powerful reinforcements to disrupt the Temple of Light's operations.
Silver Armor Knights?
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian's eyes darted.
The action team heading to the Chinese ruins was composed of core powerhouses drawn from the Bronze Armor Knights.
Since this person before him was from the Silver Armor Knights, it was likely that core powerhouses were drawn from the Silver Armor Knights.
With this thought, a faint smile appeared on Ye Cangtian's face.
He was already contemplating how to deal with the Temple of Light, and the Temple of Light had provided him with an opportunity to defeat them one by one.
He wondered, if all these core powerhouses were eliminated, the strength of the entire Silver Armor Knights would be greatly diminished.
Thinking this, he glanced at Bernie and said faintly, "Tell me, where is your commander?"
If their commander could be eliminated, then the core elites of the Silver Armor Knights would be scattered here like loose sand.
If that were the case, clearing them out would become much easier.
"Reporting, Lord, our commander is currently on another mission and has not yet arrived at the Dark Ruins. He will be here in some time."
"Currently, at the Dark Ruins, there is an action team led by Deputy Commander Eugene, along with some elites from the Silver Armor Knights."
"As for where Lord Eugene is, this small servant truly doesn't know. It's inconvenient to communicate here, and Deputy Commander Eugene's whereabouts do not need to be disclosed to a minor figure like me..."
Bernie was almost terrified to death and dared not conceal anything, quickly spilling all that he knew.
Eugene?
Ye Cangtian firmly etched this name into his mind.
In his view, among gold, silver, bronze, and iron, silver should be more valuable than bronze.
Therefore, according to this logic, the Silver Armor Knights should hold a higher status and combat power than the Bronze Armor Knights.
As such, Deputy Commander Eugene's true combat strength should not be inferior to Marlon's, meaning he should be a quasi-Heavenly ranked expert.