I became a god through frontier slaughter, and I crushed the academy's prodigies!

The Iron Eagle Squadron's twelve heavy fighter jets, arranged in an arrowhead formation, tore through the night sky.

All weapon systems are unlocked and locked, ready to fire on the three transport planes at any time.

Through the scope of the lead pilot Zhao Ting, the outlines of three purplish-black transport planes became increasingly clear.

The alien spirit patterns glowed faintly in the night sky, like three venomous snakes flicking their tongues.

"Iron Eagle One, target locked, requesting permission to fire."

Zhao Ting pressed his thumb on the fire button, his voice solemn.

"Received, Iron Eagle One."

Inside the control tower, Li Ren's voice came through the communication channel.

"Target confirmed as enemy transport ship, clearance granted—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Di-

An electronic alert suddenly sounded simultaneously on the information systems of all fighter jets and the main control console of the ground control tower.

Zhao Ting followed the prompt and glanced down at the cockpit panel.

A holographic projection of a virtual identity token is automatically popping out from the information system.

The Lord's personal guard—Shen Tian.

Next to the identity information was a young and handsome face.

Since the job performance review conference, this name has become widely known and highly regarded.

The Lord of the Mansion personally appointed him as the head of his personal guards.

Honorary President of Longyuan Martial Arts University.

Director of the Heavenly Works Department.

In Tianyun Prefecture, it can be said to be as dazzling as the sun.

Zhao Ting had naturally heard of it as well.

His finger, which was about to press down, retracted, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face.

He was bewildered.

Not only Zhao Ting was stunned, everyone was stunned.

Shen Tian's identity token was simultaneously displayed on the information systems of everyone present.

Inside the control tower.

"etc--"

"Shen Tian?!"

"Is it that Shen Tian?"

"Is it Guard Shen?"

"Wasn't it supposed to be an enemy attack? How come Guard Shen is on the Purple Spirit Clan's plane?"

"Could it be that Guard Shen has betrayed us?"

"Bullshit! I think you've betrayed us. Even if everyone in the world betrays us, Shen Qinwei will never betray us!"

Anyone who has heard of Shen Tian's deeds knows how he got to where he is today and how impeccably educated and upright he is.

Therefore, no one would believe such an absurd reason as "betrayal".

Li Ren's hand hovered above the communication key for a full two seconds.

"Cancel attack command!"

He slammed the communication button.

"Iron Eagle Squadron, all units cancel attack!"

"Don't fire! Repeat, don't fire!"

Zhao Ting's thumb instinctively snapped off the fire button, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

That was close.

One second short.

He was just a second away from firing at the vehicle of the future heir of the Heavenly Fortune Mansion.

The twelve fighter jets pulled up urgently, deviating from their attack route, and regrouped on either side of the three transport planes.

The formation has changed from an "interception formation" to an "escort formation".

The change in attitude was so rapid that it was practically seamless.

Inside the control tower.

Li Ren slumped into a chair.

He had just sent an urgent communication to Lu Changming via the lord's hotline, reporting an enemy attack.

amount……

What is this? Is this a false report of military intelligence?

But I've never encountered a situation like this before!

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Li Ren's temple. Fortunately, it was just a false alarm and not a real enemy attack.

"Cough cough."

"Send another message to the Lord of the Manor, saying that the crisis has been resolved and that the person on the Purple Spirit Clan transport plane is Shen's personal guard."

"They're all on our side."

Throughout his entire career, Li Ren has never made such a blunder.

This wave has really taken off.

The others looked at each other, their faces all bearing the same question.

Why did Shen Tian return in the Purple Spirit Clan's spaceship?

The highest level of Zhentian Tower.

Lu Changming's expression remained calm as he quietly pondered how to deal with the situation ahead.

However, the expressions of the two bigwigs beside him were far from calm.

Guhe spoke first.

"The biggest problem is not the Purple Spirit Clan."

"It's Longjing."

Yan Jinghan gave a cold snort.

"What kind of reaction can those parasites in Longjing have? They'll just jump up and down in frustration."

Guhe shook his head, his cloudy old eyes reflecting the lamplight, carrying a clarity that only comes after experiencing too many storms.

"It's not as simple as just jumping up and down."

"Lin Hai is a seventh-rank weapon blacksmith. The spiritual weapons he forges are found in the highest echelons of power in the Dragon Kingdom."

"To wage war against the Purple Spirit Clan..."

Guhe did not continue.

But all three people in the secret room understood what that meant.

The "peaceful coexistence" plan that the peace faction has been working on for years will vanish overnight.

Those who sit at the highest power center in Longjing will not let this go easily.

They didn't care how many people from the Purple Spirit Clan had died.

What they care about is that their game has been turned upside down.

Yan Jinghan's breathing became heavy.

"We must keep this a secret from Shen Tian."

Guhe nodded.

"We must keep it a secret."

"At least delay it."

"The news that the two sides have started fighting must not be leaked out of Tianyun Prefecture."

"And we must not let anyone know that Shen Tian was behind it."

Yan Jinghan suddenly stood up and paced back and forth a couple of times.

"How can we hide it?"

His voice was very low.

"Before Lin Hai set off, the people in Longjing must have given him some instructions."

"It's impossible that he brought the envoy of the Purple Spirit Clan into the territory of Tianyun Prefecture without reporting it."

"Now that the person is inside and there's no news coming out, what will those people in Longjing think?"

Guhe, leaning on his cane, slowly sat back down in his chair.

"That's why I said to drag it out."

"It's not about hiding it forever, it's about buying time."

"The fastest communication between Longjing and Tianyunfu requires multiple relay stations."

"After Lin Hai entered the occupied area of ​​Jiangcheng, that area was a signal dead zone, so it was normal for communications to be interrupted."

Yan Jinghan sneered.

"Lin Hai is a seventh-rank weapon forger, not a stray dog ​​on the roadside."

"Not to mention the Purple Spirit Clan, they are masters of mental power. Do you dare say they don't have their own means of communication?"

Furukawa did not refute.

Because what Yan Jinghan said was true.

Paper wrapped fire.

No matter how they make up stories, as long as the people of Longjing want to investigate, they can always find clues.

A somber atmosphere permeated the secret room.

Lu Changming turned around and sat down again.

"Shen Tian and the Purple Spirit Clan have started fighting."

"If the news reaches Longjing, the pro-peace faction will assume that Shen Tian has sabotaged the overall situation."

"At best, they'll be dismissed and investigated; at worst..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already very clear.

Furukawa took a deep breath.

"Lin Hai cannot live."

The moment those words were spoken, the temperature in the sealed room seemed to drop even further.

"The people of the Purple Spirit Clan cannot live either."

Guhe's voice was firm.

Although he had been advising Shen Tian not to act impulsively, things had come to this point, and he wasn't one to be inflexible.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

"Not a single one should be left alive."

"Then we'll make up a reason."

"When Lin Hai passed through the occupied area, he encountered a high-level beast tide and unfortunately perished."

"The Purple Spirit Clan vanguard was attacked simultaneously and was completely wiped out."

"Tianyun Prefecture is conducting a full-scale search and rescue operation, but no survivors have been found so far."

Yan Jinghan frowned.

"This excuse won't last long."

"The Purple Spirit Clan, with 10,000 members and three heavy transport ships, were supposedly wiped out by alien beasts?"

Anyone with a modicum of sense would realize something's fishy if they thought about it carefully.

Guhe gave a wry smile.

"I know."

"That's why I said it was a delaying tactic, not a cover-up."

"We'll drag it out as long as we can."

"Wait until Shen Tian becomes stronger, and until Tianyun Mansion has more trump cards."

"Even if Longjing finds out the truth by then, they'll have to think twice."