"Hmph!"
Seeing Kezela's frustration and inability to speak, Ye Cangtian snorted coldly, the playful look in his eyes vanishing, replaced by a frigid one.
"Kezela, remember this: don't try any tricks on me."
"One, when it comes to scheming, I'm the ancestor, you're no match!"
"Two, I have a bad temper, and I might cripple you at any moment!"
As the icy voice echoed, Kezela's face quickly turned grim.
He was the leader of a faction, how could he tolerate being lectured like a nobody!
However, he dared not say anything at the moment, as the other party was about to leave.
If he were to provoke a falling out now and cause the Rattlesnake mercenary group to suffer heavy losses, it would be far too detrimental.
With this thought, Kezela grudgingly swallowed his pride, forced a stiff smile, and said, "Just kidding, Lord Dawn, there's no need to take it seriously!"
"Hmph, you think you're worthy of joking with me?"
Ye Cangtian sneered dismissively and no longer paid attention, walking out of the room.
Damn it!
Dawn, you remember this. One day, I will trample you under my feet!
The voice reached him, and Kezela's heart raged. He had already given the other party enough face, yet they couldn't even offer a smile. It was truly ungrateful…
…
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, the Caesar mercenary group officially withdrew from Ten Snake Island.
At this moment, Ye Cangtian was lounging in a deck chair, drinking fine wine and enjoying the sea breeze, feeling quite at ease.
With Hinomaru Yuichi's suicide, the Shinobi Division was left without any Jonin. From now on, the Shinobi Division would surely fall to the third tier, perhaps even at the bottom of the third tier.
This meant that for a period, the Shinobi Division would be in decline and unable to stir up any significant trouble, let alone contend with Chinese forces.
After all, they had suffered heavy losses, and their current strength was too weak. If they were to make any waves, they would likely face annihilation.
Thinking of this, a smile crept onto Ye Cangtian's lips. With the help of the Light Hall and the Dark Association, China would have one less enemy, and it was akin to winning without effort.
"Lord Dawn, the helicopter coming to pick you up will arrive in five minutes."
"Miller thanks Lord Dawn for your guidance during this time. If Miller achieves anything in the future, I will not forget your teachings!"
At some point, Miller had arrived beside Ye Cangtian, bowed respectfully, and said.
Ye Cangtian glanced at Miller, waved his hand, and smiled, "We are brothers. There's no need for thanks. If you remember me in the future, just send some delicacies for me to enjoy…"
Brothers?
Upon hearing the word "brothers," Miller's eyes flickered.
The other party actually referred to him as a brother, which truly surprised and deeply moved Miller.
After all, the other party was a high-ranking Earth-level deacon! The difference in their status was like that of clouds and mud, something he dared not even imagine.
Thinking this, he quickly agreed, "My lord, rest assured, this matter is entrusted to me. As I said before, whatever you command, I shall not dare to disobey…"
…
Ring!
On the helicopter returning to China, Ye Cangtian was idle and practicing his mental power combat techniques.
Suddenly, the phone rang, startling him from his cultivation. His gaze swept over the phone screen, displaying Reihard's number, and his expression grew serious.
He was still concerned about the alliance, and now that Reihard was calling, he couldn't help but speculate.
Would it be good news or bad news?
Good news would naturally mean the Light Hall's withdrawal, and the alliance would have weathered this crisis.
Bad news would be that the Light Hall launched a fierce attack on the alliance, which was not impossible.
If the Light Hall couldn't break through, they would surely be furious and determined to destroy the alliance, a possibility that was quite high.
Especially since Hasal had achieved nothing on this trip, had lost a considerable amount of combat power, and had even served as a stepping stone for the Dark Association.
If he returned to the Light Hall like this, he would have no way to explain himself.
However, if the alliance were destroyed, it would be different. At least he would have completed half of his mission.
"Mr. Ye? Good news!"
As soon as the call was connected, Reihard's excited voice came through.
One sentence made Ye Cangtian's mood instantly bright, and all his worries vanished.
The next moment, Ye Cangtian asked, "Has the Light Hall withdrawn their troops?"
"Yes!"
Reihard replied excitedly. He hadn't expected the Tamu mercenary group to suddenly withdraw.
After several rounds of reconnaissance, he confirmed that the Tamu mercenary group had no ulterior motives and had genuinely retreated.
Therefore, he had notified Ye Cangtian immediately, knowing that Ye Cangtian must have been waiting for this news.
"Congratulations on weathering the storm once again."
"After this, you can focus on restoring your forces. I believe that after two failures, the Light Hall will not easily attack you again."
Ye Cangtian said with a smile upon hearing this.
"Mm."
Reihard responded and quickly said, "This time, it's all thanks to Mr. Ye's guidance. Otherwise, I might have lost my life…"
Reihard's voice was filled with lingering fear.
The Earth-level expert had left him with considerable psychological trauma.
In the first two days, the Tamu mercenary group launched fierce attacks on the alliance, all of which were repelled.
This likely angered Hasal.
In the following days, the Tamu mercenary group continued their full-fledged assault. However, Hasal led a strong squad and infiltrated the Hell Gate Islands.
He began a desperate search within the islands for the alliance's command center, intending to kill all alliance leaders and plunge the entire alliance into collapse and chaos.
At this time, the strategy provided by Ye Cangtian played a significant role.
Reihard had established fifteen fake command centers on the Hell Gate Islands, twelve of which were destroyed by Hasal.
Finally, Hasal lost confidence. Seeing that the plan was not working, he withdrew from the Hell Gate Islands.
Listening to Reihard's account, a faint smile appeared on Ye Cangtian's face. He was eager to see Hasal's expression at this moment; it must have been hilarious.
Thinking this, he asked, "By the way, what were the alliance's casualties this time?"
Upon hearing this, the excited Reihard fell silent.
Facing two Tamu mercenary groups, the alliance suffered heavy losses. Even with the advantage of terrain and superior numbers, their casualties reached the equivalent of one mercenary group.
Their casualty ratio with Tamu was almost 1:1.5.
Although unsatisfied with the casualties, Reihard knew this was already a very good record.
After all, there was a significant gap in combat strength between them and the Tamu mercenary group.
Ye Cangtian sighed and said slowly, "War always involves casualties, so it's best to avoid it whenever possible in the future."
"Mm."
Reihard responded, and as if recalling something, he quickly said, "By the way, Mr. Ye, there's one more thing to inform you. The alliance has officially been named Thunderbolt."
Reihard stated that he had originally wanted to name it Ye Alliance, as all credit for the alliance's formation belonged to Ye Cangtian.
However, he worried about causing trouble for Ye Cangtian, so he chose a different name.
"The current name is good, a very imposing name."
Ye Cangtian smiled slightly. Seeing that there was nothing else, he hung up the phone.
…
Several hours later, Ye Cangtian returned to China.
After having dinner with Tang Xinwan and seeing her to bed, he quietly went up to the rooftop.
Gu Yue had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing him arrive, she immediately went to greet him.
"Yesterday, Earth-level deacons like Purple Dragon and others returned to China."
"Purple Dragon specifically contacted me, saying he wants to see you when you return. He didn't specify the reason."
Upon hearing Gu Yue's words, Ye Cangtian nodded and then asked, "How has Kyoto been recently?"
"No unusual activity."
Gu Yue replied calmly. Since the various forces had retreated, Kyoto had become completely quiet.
As she spoke, she seemed to recall something, glanced at Ye Cangtian, and said, "However, Gu Wu wants to see you very badly, making a great fuss, as if she wants to dig up your ancestors from their graves…"
Gu Wu?
Mentioning Gu Wu, Ye Cangtian showed a bitter smile.
To be honest, during this period, he had truly put Gu Wu out of his mind.
Considering she had been in a dark prison for a month, it was normal for her to have some grievances.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian changed the subject and asked, "Has there been any news from the Dark Association headquarters?"
"Yes, but it's not about us."
Gu Yue nodded and slowly recounted the information she had obtained from Mandara.
In the dark ruins, the Anti-Dark Alliance's influence was constantly expanding, which had attracted the attention of the Dark Association headquarters, and some Earth-level deacons had been dispatched to encircle and suppress them.
However, the Anti-Dark Alliance was very cunning. Every time they were encircled and suppressed, they either escaped or suffered negligible casualties.
Now, some people suspected that there was an internal mole within the headquarters, and they were being screened one by one.