"Hall Master!"
As Long Yeyue and Chen Xinjie appeared, the powerhouses of the War God Hall all stood up. However, none of them looked at Long Yeyue—their eyes were fixed solely on Chen Xinjie.
They hadn't come to Shrek Academy for Long Yeyue's sake, but for Chen Xinjie.
Now that the lives of their family members were at stake, they only trusted Chen Xinjie.
As for Long Yeyue's words? They were no different from empty air.
They didn't believe the Sun Moon Federation would go through so much trouble just to arrest people.
Thousands may sound like a lot, but in the face of a colossal machine like a nation, what does that number even mean?
"Hall Master, I heard that the seven captains of the Sea God Legion attempted to assassinate Xia Hong and were all captured. When the Federation police entered the Sea God Legion, your personal guard company collectively defected and was completely wiped out! Even your family has been massacred—only a few survived and were captured. Even two of your grandsons were killed," said the Second War God, Guo Yuhang, his voice low, eyes filled with fury.
Though the Federation claimed to have captured thousands, in reality, far more people had been killed in the operation than captured.
Even Chen Xinjie's family had been targeted and killed.
That alone showed how serious the Federation was this time.
If even Chen Xinjie wasn't spared, what mercy would they show the rest of the War Gods' families?
"Those idiots from the Sea Dragon Douluo group?" Chen Xinjie's face darkened. If those Sea Dragon Douluo and the others had just stayed at their posts within the Sea God Legion, using its full might and coordinated soul tool array systems, the Sun Moon Federation would have had a far harder time trying to breach and seize people.
They would've had to bring in the Central Army Corps at minimum.
But two military corps clashing? Even the Federation couldn't bear that consequence.
It was precisely because the seven carrier captains had all left their posts, leaving the Sea God Legion leaderless, that the Federation found their opening.
"Hall Master, give the order. We'll go to Mingdu and rescue our people. The whole world is watching us right now—if we do nothing, everyone will think we're just cowards hiding in Shrek Academy," said Long Tianwu coldly.
"That's right. War God Hall is called the nation's sword. Let the Federation see that those words are not for show," added the Tenth War God, the Rank 92 Titled Douluo Sword God Douluo Su Mengjun through gritted teeth.
Su Mengjun and the First War God Long Tianwu were husband and wife. They shared a martial soul fusion technique—Heavenly Dance Dream Monarch Divine Sword. Together, their combined strength could rival an Ultimate Douluo.
They were among the War God Hall's greatest assets.
With them, and with proper planning, there was still a real chance to rescue their people.
"Not so fast. I promise you all in my name—I will get everyone's families back safely," Chen Xinjie said, eyes slightly red. He truly had only one son, and that son had died in a previous incident.
But if that son had lived, he'd be over a hundred by now—he would've had great-grandchildren already.
Chen Xinjie had four grandsons, all serving in the Sea God Legion. One had already died when the Tang Sect sold them out to the Star Luo Empire during the last expedition and they were bombed by fighter jets.
Now, two more were dead.
To him, this was the third time he'd had to bury his descendants.
Chen Xinjie was filled with hatred for those seven Sea Dragon Douluo. If they hadn't acted on their own, how would things have come to this?
He hadn't even issued the order, and they dared go on a solo mission into Mingdu to assassinate Xia Hong?
If Xia Hong were so easy to kill, Guan Yue wouldn't have been crippled.
Idiots.
The more Chen Xinjie thought about it, the angrier he got. His fists clenched tightly.
"Xinjie!" Seeing him like this, Long Yeyue frowned slightly. Aside from him, there were no other strong figures left at Shrek Academy. She didn't want him taking all the War God Hall powerhouses on a suicide mission to Mingdu.
Shrek Academy's rebuilding still needed their help.
"Yeyue, don't blame yourself too much. What you need now is to focus on your pregnancy. Overthinking will harm the baby. Besides, this has nothing to do with you or with Shrek Academy. It was those Sea Dragon Douluo acting on their own. The Sun Moon Federation is heartless. Xia Hong is ruthless. I'll handle this myself—you don't have to worry about it," Chen Xinjie said, misunderstanding Long Yeyue's concerns as guilt over his losses.
He immediately tried to comfort her.
He hadn't forgotten that Long Yeyue was pregnant.
"I'm telling you, Mingdu is surely a trap right now. If you go, you're walking right into it. I think you should think this through carefully," Long Yeyue bit her lip and tried to explain.
"You're right. We need to plan this carefully," Chen Xinjie nodded and looked at Long Tianwu and the others. "Tianwu, Yeyue is right. We can't just throw ourselves into the net. But we can't sit still either. You and Mengjun take our people and infiltrate Mingdu in small groups. Find out where our families are being held. I'll go see some old friends, see who still owes me a favor. No matter how many people I can rally, I'll return in five days. When I'm back, we'll make a full plan to rescue them. But remember—no one acts without my return. If you do, we'll lose the element of surprise."
"Yes, Hall Master!" Long Tianwu and the other War Gods stood and answered in unison.
Xia Yi's plan was working. There was no way Chen Xinjie and the War God Hall would sit idle while their families were in danger.
They would leave Shrek Academy and head to Mingdu.
Whether they could actually pull off the rescue or not—that was the Federation and Xia Hong's problem.
It had nothing to do with Xia Yi.
All Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu needed to do during this window was retrieve the Eternal Heaven, ensuring it wouldn't explode.
And for Leng Yaozhu, that was a walk in the park.
"The Federation also captured many graduates of Shrek Academy. That's our problem too. I'll go with you," Long Yeyue said to Chen Xinjie. She didn't really want to take the risk, but since she couldn't stop the War God Hall from acting, she had to get involved.
Even if Shrek Academy was rebuilt, it would still need strong figures to anchor it—and qualified teachers.
Right now, Shrek needed the War God Hall.
If she could help them rescue their families, those War Gods would be fully loyal to Shrek in the future.
Since she couldn't stop it, Long Yeyue wasn't about to let the opportunity pass.
"No. It's too dangerous. You stay here and take care of the baby. As for the Shrek graduates—they're on our list too. We'll rescue them along the way," Chen Xinjie immediately refused. This rescue mission was going to be incredibly dangerous.
They would be up against the entire Sun Moon Federation… and Xia Hong.
There was no way he'd let Long Yeyue go.
"What do you mean, no?!" Long Yeyue snapped. "Shrek Academy has a twenty-thousand-year legacy. My connections are no less than yours. Besides, Eternal Heaven is in Shrek's hands. If the rescue fails, I can use it to threaten the Federation. You think they wouldn't be afraid of it blowing up?"
(End of Chapter)