609: Chapter 424 609: Chapter 424 The Marquis also thought so; several women were already here, and they needed to be sent to a safe place first.
Should they truly face those people, they would definitely require more reinforcements to fight them.
Su Chang’an was much appreciated for the help he could provide, but this was a matter for his family, and of course, he had to return to his clan to seek assistance.
The only difficulty was that the reinforcements they could muster did not possess Magic Wands, and he alone had a Magic Artifact.
If they encountered some opponents who separated them, and if they couldn’t win, many could get hurt or killed.
Instead of rescuing anyone, they would find themselves in danger.
Su Chang’an suggested that if they could ascertain the location clearly, they could ask Jiang Tang for help when he became available.
He only said this casually; considering the great powers he had provoked in the sky, it was uncertain whether those powers would cause further disturbance during the battle.
As they continued following the guidance, they arrived at a place full of thatched cottages, one after another.
Were these meant to be dwellings?
They saw people wielding whips, lashing at the laborers.
Those who came out to work were old men and young men, who seemed to have grown numb to feelings, barely acknowledging the pain when beaten.
Then, using his Divine Sense, Su Chang’an scanned the cottages, discovering they held old and young women, imprisoned like animals, forced to labor and weave.
Su Chang’an noted their attire, resembling that of wildlings, focused on their weaving without a trace of joy on their faces—only the bitter struggle of helpless despair.
The language spoken by the women aboard the Flying Artifact was incomprehensible to Su Chang’an.
He could only relay the scenes observed from the sky to the Marquis, who then played the role of a translator.
The Marquis lacked the ability to discern such clear details from a thousand meters in the sky; he could only inquire whether their kinsfolk were imprisoned here.
The women said that not all among them were from this place, so the search continued in many other locations.
The Marquis finally saw the stark reality that his master was living like a slave, an animal, whipped and exploited as a mere tool by others.
The Marquis was filled with rage; he needed to identify the highest leaders amongst the enemy, the place where those nobles lived.
Guided by the women, some of whom were children of the laborers serving the aristocracy, they were still sold off to other countries as pets for exorbitant prices.
It was as if they were reared like animals, only to be sold off when grown.
The Marquis thought it had been hard enough for them to live as strangers in foreign lands, but he had not imagined their kin could fall so low after severing ties.
The Marquis, a young man, couldn’t help but shed tears for his kin, who had lived such lives for centuries.
No wonder there was no vitality in the eyes of his kin; enduring such days, they had lost all hope for survival.
While they were lingering above the Noble District, observing the prosperity below—people clad in opulence, consuming and using only the finest—it was clear.
The Marquis knew these were the very people who exploited their kin and led lives of grandeur, treating their own talent as something to be trampled underfoot.
Suddenly, Su Chang’an noticed a surge of Black Mist in a certain area, sensing danger, and quickly propelled the Flying Artifact forward.
No sooner had they left the area than the spot where the Flying Artifact had been stationary exploded with a black object, filling the sky with rolling black fog and smoke.
Su Chang’an realized that the enemy had discovered them and had launched an attack, although what kind of weapon they used was unclear; it was definitely a powerful explosive device.
As he continued to pilot the Magic Artifact, black objects were launched from the ground and exploded high in the air.
The Marquis inside the Flying Artifact wanted to wield his Magic Wand to assist, but Su Chang’an stopped him.
The enemy had not yet ascertained their origin, only that foreign personnel had arrived, and had not yet attacked with full force.
They couldn’t afford to alert their prey prematurely.
The Marquis was eager to seek revenge, to bring these people to their knees, to destroy the aristocratic city entirely without fear of harming their own, but then he saw the trembling women inside the Flying Artifact.
The Marquis had to suppress his thirst for revenge.
Indeed, he should not act impulsively; not only would he harm these people, but he might also endanger Su Chang’an.
They were only two, carrying so many; they couldn’t afford any losses.
Su Chang’an felt helpless; this was another nation, not his own.
In his homeland, he could call on friends and family for aid.
Here, one can only rely on oneself; the savior one aspires to be must first stay alive, as a single fist cannot defeat a multitude of hands.
Who knows what sort of curses or even more powerful and lethal weapons these so-called demons will bring back with them.
Su Chang’an, while fleeing, communicated the situation to Jiang Tang using a communicator.
Jiang Tang actually wasn’t under much pressure at the bottom of the sea since the mighty creatures had been lured away by the bugs.
It was just that the Artifact Spirit was putting the creatures from the Hell Palace to work, and he had to guard against them escaping or the Artifact Spirit rebelling.
After careful consideration, he also wondered whether he could find any valuable items in the Dragon Palace.
With that thought, he couldn’t risk sending down people with Flying Artifacts to adventure, so he sent out an Avatar, along with Eryao and Green Ox, to hold the fort.
He decided to go see for himself, to see how cruel those people were who treated humans like livestock.
He was angered by what he heard.
Su Chang’an, who usually paid no attention to the affairs of the outside world, was actually angered by such cruelty.
Jiang Tang and his subordinates discussed that they were now going to rescue people.
Although these people were unrelated to them and not from their country, they could not stand idly by when they encountered someone in distress, even though they were Cultivators, not saviors.
But Cultivators all have a kind heart, and this could be an opportunity for advancement during their trials.
If this mission was completed smoothly, everyone would receive a reward.
“We will follow the Saint Master’s orders,” they said.
Luo Yaxuan had once, with a friend, seen those women being sold in cages and how pitiful they were.
They had been transported by that country; fortunately, they encountered someone with the power to rescue them.
Lai Jianlin needn’t be mentioned; he was determined to rescue people even for high rewards two months prior and was aware that the women were innocent.
Jiang Tang led many to the rescue, leaving only Eryao, Green Ox, and an Avatar within a spatial realm behind.
Those on the Flying Artifact were unaware, thinking it best to disregard the Dragon Palace for the time being.
Upon hearing that Jiang Tang was coming to help, Su Chang’an was not in a hurry to leave.
His Flying Artifact circled in the air, and the people below dared not keep lobbing bombs upwards.
Fearing they might not hit the enemy and could potentially destroy their own city and inhabitants, they were also afraid of retribution from above.
Inside a room in the Noble District, a subordinate reported that the ship transporting the women had been burned, the people were killed, and the women had been rescued.
“Have you ascertained who those people were?
They dared to steal food right out of my mouth,” said the ruler.
“My King, it seems one of them had a legendary Magic Staff, and magic was used.
Someone saw it, there were only two young men, one was holding the Magic Staff, the other was quite powerful too, able to propel a Magical Treasure through the sky.”
The man was shocked upon hearing this and immediately ordered heightened vigilance in both the Noble District and the civilian areas, with instructions to shoot down anything flying.
The subordinate left to make arrangements, and the ruler convened a meeting with some nobles.
Their primary defense was not weapons but the Curses used by Wizards, who began to conduct rituals.
This sense of imminent danger, perhaps, was due to the many misdeeds they had committed over the centuries; their guilty consciences led them to believe they were being retaliated against.
It wasn’t just their overthinking; indeed, there were people looking to retaliate against them.
The Marquis, hearing that Jiang Tang had come to help, felt gratitude and worry; knowing that those people had been bullies here for so long, they certainly had their trump cards.
Su Chang’an, however, didn’t concern himself with the Marquis’s worries; he ate and drank as usual, simply ordering the Flying Artifact to fly continuously over the country, instilling fear in some, as if facing a great enemy.
With the nobles stirred up, the country’s Soldiers also joined in the patrol.