The air was chillingly cold.
The moment the words fell, Ka Shi felt a bone-chilling cold pressing towards him.
It was something he absolutely could not resist.
He could clearly feel his insignificance before this Great Necromancer.
Insignificant as dust.
So insignificant that it seemed this Great Necromancer could destroy him with a mere glance, reducing him to ashes.
Even so, he still held his head high.
His eyes filled with defiance.
Or rather, it was the persistence of vindicating Rou Si, the Bing Tong.
Bing Tong was not that kind of person.
He was never arrogant, nor condescending.
Everything he did was for the Free Town.
For the Great Lord.
"Do you question my words?" After gazing at Ka Shi for a long time, Ku Ka's voice rasped, an undeniable whisper.
This was even more oppressive than before.
It was as if invisible hands had directly gripped Ka Shi's neck.
With every breath, Ka Shi's face turned crimson.
"We... Bing Tong, are not people like you... say...!" Ka Shi's eyes were bloodshot, his pupils seemingly engorged with blood, yet he stubbornly stared into Ku Ka's eyes, showing no sign of retreat. "You... cannot describe him that way, you are not qualified to speak of us Bing Tong like that!"
Choked by the neck, Ka Shi roared at Ku Ka with a strength he didn't know where it came from.
Beneath his hood, the spectral flames in Ku Ka's eyes flickered slightly. He looked indifferently at the ant-like Ka Shi before him and remained silent for a long time.
"Do you wish to die?"
"If you wish to kill, then kill me." Ka Shi's eyes were filled with determination.
He was prepared to die.
After returning to the fortress, he had been consumed by deep regret.
As a vice-general, he had not shared life and death with Bing Tong.
As a warrior, he was a coward who fled from battle.
He had clung to this life, wanting to do everything he could to fulfill the dying wish of Bing Tong.
These past few days, he had been truly exhausted.
If Ku Ka were to end him here, it would not be without a sense of release for him.
"Ku Ka Bing Tong, I am no match for you."
"You are a noble Great Necromancer, I believe you possess countless methods to torment the deceased."
"I have offended you, and I am willing to accept punishment."
"I offer my life to you, but I implore you to grant me three days. When the time is up, I will personally come before you and hang myself. Or, if you wish to kill me yourself, it makes no difference, I only ask for three days."
Ka Shi's gaze was filled with pleading.
Guarding the fortress and ensuring the safety of the Free Town's north was what Rou Si Bing Tong had entrusted to him.
He could die!
Before dying, he at least wanted to resolve the issues within the fortress, so that the generals of the Golden Army could better command it.
Thus, he would die without regret.
"Can you?"
Seeing that Ku Ka remained silent for a long time, Ka Shi could only plead again.
A faint blue glow pulsed slightly.
"Come with me."
Having considered countless possibilities, Ka Shi had never expected Ku Ka to say such a thing.
He froze for a moment.
Then, he felt the restraint around his neck disappear, and the biting cold air also vanished.
This sudden change left him bewildered.
"Bing Tong, you are..."
"Rou Si told you to bring people to follow me, and I agreed," Ku Ka whispered faintly. "Gather all your trusted subordinates from the Golden Army, and come to my camp in half an hour."
"No!"
Ka Shi shook his head violently.
"If I leave like this, the fortress will fall into Mo Ye's hands, he..."
"He what?"
For a moment, Ka Shi was stunned.
He couldn't pinpoint any fault in Mo Ye. The rivalry between them was merely for dominance, not a sign of disloyalty to the Free Town or a lack of dedication to guarding the fortress.
"Are you fixated on the position of Bing Tong?"
After not hearing Ka Shi's answer for a long time, Ku Ka asked again faintly.
Hearing this, Ka Shi quickly shook his head.
"No!"
"Of course not."
"I have no desire for the position of Bing Tong, it's just that Rou Si Bing Tong at the end..."
Ka Shi moved his lips but did not finish his sentence.
"Since you have no ambition for the position of Bing Tong, then relinquish it directly now."
"I will give you half an hour."
"In half an hour, whether you choose to leave or stay, I will return to my territory. Half an hour should be enough for you to consider."
With that, Ku Ka sat down on the ground.
A dense aura of necromancy surrounded him.
Ka Shi, clenching his fists, hesitated. He remained silent for a long time, looking at Ku Ka sitting on the ground.
"Bing Tong, this fortress..."
"Even if you stay, you may not be able to hold it," Ku Ka murmured, manipulating his necromantic power. "Don't assume the surroundings of the Free Town are truly safe. All this stability comes from the deterrence of the four Bing Tongs. To put it bluntly, your existence doesn't hold much significance. Regardless of how strong you are or how abundant the troops in the fortress are, it's merely adding icing to the cake. The true deterrent is Bing Tong. If he is gone, then this fortress loses its meaning."
"How is that possible?"
Ka Shi was stunned, disbelief in his eyes.
"All threats within five hundred miles north of the fortress have been cleared by us, even potential threats have been dealt with."
"Are you Rou Si's personal attendant?" Ku Ka suddenly turned his head.
Although he didn't know why Ku Ka asked this, Ka Shi still nodded.
"I was once Rou Si Bing Tong's personal attendant."
"So that means Rou Si took you with him when he traveled."
"Yes."
"Wherever he went, you would follow by his side."
"That's correct."
"Hmph, is that truly so?"
The moment Ku Ka finished speaking, Ka Shi's eyes widened. He moved his lips but couldn't speak for a long time.
"You mean..."
In his memory, over the past year, there were indeed several instances where Rou Si Bing Tong traveled alone, for periods ranging from three to fifteen days.
Upon his return, he wouldn't conduct routine inspections as usual.
Instead, he would retreat directly to his tent, seeing no one.
No one knew what had transpired in between.
It was just that once, Ka Shi accidentally heard a violent coughing fit coming from Rou Si Bing Tong's tent.
It was intense.
Such a cough would not occur in a cultivator of the Cai Realm; it could only mean he was severely injured.
Though he knew of this, he had never dared to mention it.
"The mysteries of the underground are far greater than you imagine," Ku Ka whispered with a solemn tone at the same time. "You are all merely insects protected within a paradise."
With a sigh, Ku Ka suddenly added.
"No!"
"Rather, we are all insects."