The guards who had thrust their faces forward were stunned.
By the time he heard Chen Yu's righteous condemnation, his first thought wasn't to retort, but to simply freeze for half a minute.
???
What kind of stratagem was this?
The burning pain on his face told him this wasn't a dream. Though he instinctively wanted to get angry, he saw Chen Yu winking at him.
Could it be that this was the prince's clever plan to escape?
Although he was a bit unclear about the situation, no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like they were being sold out. If the plan succeeded in the end, would they truly benefit from it?
It didn't seem likely.
Yet, Chen Yu's expression was as if he needed their cooperation.
The guards were a little bewildered.
On second thought, in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken. This young master likely knew that conventional methods wouldn't allow them to escape, so only a more special approach would work.
Should they trust him?
Just now, this young master had spoken with absolute certainty. No matter what, he shouldn't deceive his companions. Therefore, it was clear that he did have a way to escape.
The person beside him was the legitimate daughter of the Alton family.
The Alton family had always been founded on integrity. They shouldn't have done such malicious acts as selling them out for convenience.
Trust!
The guards exchanged glances and made up their minds.
The problem was—
How were they supposed to cooperate and act out this scene? They hadn't been told anything before taking action.
After a moment of thought,
The guards could only proceed with the counter-argument based on their imagined scenario.
"You... you're talking nonsense!" The guards, whose desire to defect Chen Yu had exposed, suddenly showed expressions of panic. Clenching their fists, they raised them high. "If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll beat you."
"What, are you afraid of being spoken about if you dare to conspire!"
Chen Yu stretched out his neck and shouted, while inwardly he was overjoyed.
These guards were truly dedicated!
They were actually cooperating with him with all their might.
Did trust come so suddenly?
Since they were willing to cooperate, it saved a lot of trouble, and his plan could proceed much more smoothly.
"Your Majesty, I formally report!!!"
Chen Yu, exuding righteousness, shouted sideways, and the guards also put on an act of enraged shame.
"You're seeking death!"
The guards, fists clenched, were about to attack when a beam of pale white light suddenly appeared in front of Chen Yu. The moment the guards’ fists landed, they were all repelled and knocked to the ground.
Concurrently, several beast soldiers charged forward and pinned them down.
"I'll kill you, kill you!!!" The guards roared with red eyes, their demeanor truly resembling immense hatred towards Chen Yu.
Chen Yu was inwardly shocked to witness this scene.
Damn it?!
Do they really have to be so committed?
Chen Yu felt a little touched, wondering if it was a bit wrong to deceive them like this.
"Behave yourselves!"
The beast soldiers pinning the guards glared and threatened them. However, the guards continued to struggle, clenching their fists and hurling all sorts of venomous words at Chen Yu.
The gazes of everyone in the mansion converged here, their looks towards Chen Yu even more complex and varied.
Did Chen Yu care?
He didn't care about any of that!
Ultimately, his interactions with these prisoners might be limited to this one encounter, and their opinions wouldn't have any impact on him.
Their fate after being taken away by the Batu Kingdom was still unknown.
Perhaps, they would be enslaved.
Perhaps, they would be given a chance to start anew.
Whether it was the former or the latter, as long as Chen Yu stood high enough, he wouldn't hear their clamor. This world was like that; no one would care about your past. They would only see whether you were shining or down on your luck at present.
"Hurry up and take them all away!"
The holy mage beside Liu Yue frowned slightly. The beast soldiers also led the guards away. As they left, the guards were still looking in Chen Yu's direction, their eyes seemingly saying—
Young Master, we're waiting for you to rescue us!
Facing those expectant eyes, Chen Yu merely gave them a reassuring look.
Go ahead without worry.
Don't even think about me rescuing you!
These guards were from the City Lord's mansion, making them Chen Yu's enemies. Chen Yu couldn't be bothered to care about their character or how they conducted themselves.
Whether they were good or evil!
Sometimes the world was this cruel; being on different sides meant being incompatible like fire and water. It was like the fallen soldiers in a war.
Were they all bad?
Not necessarily!
Chen Yu had no psychological burden from using them. At most, he felt a slight pang of guilt on a moral level, but when considering his own interests, this moral constraint could be completely disregarded.
After the guards were all taken away, the City Lord's mansion quieted down a bit.
The beast soldiers were still methodically collecting the prisoners' money and weapons. Liu Yue, who had witnessed the entire farce, raised an eyebrow and walked over slowly.
"Why did you do that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you expose their plan? From the current situation, you are actually on the same side." Liu Yue's eyes carried a hint of confusion. "If you could escape, it would also be beneficial to you. Why would you shoot yourself in the foot?"
"I don't think so."
Chen Yu shook his head, his expression solemn.
"I am a person who abides by the rules. If you are caught, then do what a prisoner should do. Actually, you might not believe me, but not long ago, I was in your position as well. If my captured prisoners were all thinking of rebelling against me in secret, wouldn't my troubles increase manifold?"
"In other words, you were still thinking from the victor's perspective just now?" Liu Yue whispered.
"You could say that."
Chen Yu was noncommittal about this.
"I never thought that a single failure could change a person's way of thinking. Perhaps I have won too much, and I haven't adjusted my state of mind yet. From the perspective of a loser, I did indeed break the rules just now, but so what?"
"Interesting!"
Looking at Chen Yu's confident expression, Liu Yue suddenly regarded him with great interest for a while.
"You are all together."
Liu Yue gestured with her chin towards Hei Dou. Feeling Liu Yue's gaze, Hei Dou instinctively stood up straighter, as if wanting to leave a good impression on Liu Yue.
"Yes, this is my second brother, Hei Dou." Chen Yu nodded.
"Honestly, I have a good impression of your brother." Liu Yue said with a slight smile. "You don't seem to be from the City Lord's mansion. Your brother Hei Dou was likely heading for the City Lord's mansion's treasury. However, upon seeing us, he readily gave up resisting, which saved us a lot of trouble. Otherwise, if we had to fight, the City Lord's mansion might have detected our movements and made better preparations."
"We weren't from the City Lord's mansion at that time."
"Then you..."
Liu Yue's gaze carried a hint of scrutiny, and Chen Yu smiled slightly.
"We are equipment merchants!"