Chapter 216: Chapter 215: Internal Conflict

"Is everything ready?"

"Captain, everything is ready!"

"Then let’s move out!"

There was no needless chatter. At Sun Yuting’s command, the Silver Wolf Captains skillfully began their preparations, ready to set out.

Wu Chen glanced around.

One rode point to clear the path, while two followed the carriage, all on horseback.

Noticing there were no spare horses, Wu Chen naturally headed for the carriage to sit on the driver’s bench.

"Lord Wu, it’s a long journey. You should rest inside the carriage."

Before Wu Chen could sit down, a Silver Wolf Captain moved with incredible speed to occupy the seat, giving him no chance to take it.

"Driving the carriage is a job best left to me!" he said with a smile.

Wu Chen froze for a moment, a little confused.

To be blunt, he had been fully prepared to take a subordinate role on this mission.

Even if he had to endure snide remarks along the way, he would just ignore them and focus on completing the mission.

’So why is this happening...?’

Wu Chen looked toward the spacious carriage. His gaze fell upon Sun Yuting as she climbed aboard, and he suddenly grew tense.

"The carriage... it’s not just going to be Captain Sun and me, is it?"

Sun Yuting, who was just about to lift the curtain and enter the carriage, heard this and turned to look back at Wu Chen, her red lips pursed.

"So what if it is?"

"If it’s just the two of us..."

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Chen let out a deep sigh. "I’m afraid my innocence will be baselessly besmirched!"

Sun Yuting staggered. "You!"

’With those claws of yours, and you have the nerve to talk about innocence!’

"What did I do?"

Wu Chen shrugged, looking helpless. "Would we men really joke about our own innocence?"

"..."

The corner of Sun Yuting’s mouth twitched, her expression darkening with exasperation.

She puffed out her chest and took a deep breath, suppressing the flare of anger ignited by Wu Chen’s words.

She finally just turned away and ducked into the carriage, not bothering to engage with him any further.

The other Silver Wolf Captains couldn’t help but grimace when they heard Wu Chen’s comments.

But considering one was an expert at the Leakless Realm and the other a Golden Eagle Captain at the Blood Coagulation Realm, they couldn’t afford to offend either party.

So, no one dared to take sides. They wisely pretended not to have heard anything, staring impassively ahead and readying themselves for departure.

"Lord Wu, of course, will be riding in the carriage with me."

Just then, a rather short man walked over, and only then did Wu Chen realize he had miscounted.

Wu Chen let out a genuine sigh of relief knowing someone else would be in the carriage with them.

"After you," he said politely, stepping aside.

"..." The Silver Wolf Captain’s expression turned strange as he looked at the exceedingly polite young man.

’Is this really the same guy who took everyone down with a single kick just a few days ago?’

"..."

Inside the carriage, the three of them took their seats.

As the team leader, Sun Yuting naturally took the main seat in the center. Wu Chen and the other Silver Wolf Captain sat on opposite sides, each by a window.

As soon as the three were seated, a sharp "Yah!" came from outside. Hooves clopped against the ground, and the carriage wheels slowly began to turn.

The party headed out of the city.

Once the carriage left the city, the sharp CRACK of a whip echoed through the air. The horses broke into a gallop, and the party’s pace quickened significantly.

Inside the carriage, Wu Chen sat upright in his seat, resting with his eyes closed.

He didn’t lift the small window curtain to check their direction, nor did he take the initiative to ask the Golden Eagle Captain where they were going or what the mission entailed.

’I’ll find out when we get there anyway.’

But as the leader, Sun Yuting could not be so irresponsible.

Wu Chen was certainly powerful, but if he was unaware of the mission details, he could easily walk into a dangerous situation upon arrival.

She looked at the Silver Wolf Captain and said,

"Fang, brief him on this mission."

"Yes!"

The Silver Wolf Captain sitting opposite Wu Chen nodded hastily.

Hearing that the mission was about to be explained, Wu Chen opened his eyes, his expression growing more focused.

’If they’re going to explain, of course I’m going to listen carefully.’

"Lord Wu, this mission is actually quite simple. You could even call it a perk that Captain Sun secured for us."

The Silver Wolf Captain began with this statement. Although Wu Chen didn’t understand at first, it dawned on him that everyone’s attitude seemed very relaxed for this mission.

’This isn’t how a Level A mission is supposed to feel.’

He looked toward Sun Yuting again, his eyes full of questions.

Seeing Wu Chen look her way, Sun Yuting immediately lifted her pale chin, a proud expression on her face.

"Don’t you worry. Stick with me from now on, and I guarantee you’ll be well taken care of!"

As she spoke, Sun Yuting raised her hand, intending to pat her own impressive chest to show her magnanimity—the implication being that she’d brought Wu Chen along just to let him get some free credit.

But the memory of the awkward scene from a few days ago—and the lingering, tingling sensation on her chest—made her awkwardly lower her hand, pretending to just be stretching her wrist.

"Why?"

Wu Chen wasn’t swayed by her words. In fact, the idea of getting free credit made him uneasy.

He turned to the Silver Wolf Captain sitting opposite him, seeking an explanation.

"How can a Level A mission be simple?"

"What are the full details of this mission?"

Seeing Wu Chen firing off questions with a furrowed brow instead of a happy expression, the Silver Wolf Captain couldn’t help but complain internally:

’Why does he look so unhappy about getting free credit?’

Nevertheless, he began his explanation truthfully.

"Lord Wu, our destination is a faction south of the city called Hidden Blade Valley."

"After more than a month of investigation by a Demon Suppression Bureau Captain, it was discovered that Hidden Blade Valley may be colluding with demons."

"Upon receiving this intelligence, a Cloud Pattern Captain personally led a team to Hidden Blade Valley to conduct a search. However, the sect refused to allow the Captain entry, and a fight nearly broke out on the spot."

"With an attitude like that, they must have a guilty conscience. They don’t dare let the Demon Suppression Bureau investigate, which means they’re definitely hiding something shady inside!"

Wu Chen shook his head. "That alone doesn’t seem to prove anything, does it?"

"Of course, that alone isn’t enough to prove anything. They could have simply felt the Demon Suppression Bureau was overstepping its bounds and that a search would be an affront to their sect’s honor, leading them to resist."

The Silver Wolf Captain continued, "And that’s not even mentioning our prior investigation into Hidden Blade Valley for abducting a large number of commoners."

"So, right after that, the Captain mobilized more than three hundred personnel of all ranks from the Demon Suppression Bureau and completely surrounded Hidden Blade Valley."

"After that, an Elder from Hidden Blade Valley risked his life trying to break out."

"At this point, no matter how you look at it, something is clearly wrong!"

"Otherwise, why would an Elder of Hidden Blade Valley risk his life to break out?"

"Wouldn’t it have been better to wait for their Sect Leader to appear, allow the Cloud Pattern Captain to investigate, and clear up the misunderstanding?"

Wu Chen nodded lightly. "From that perspective, Hidden Blade Valley definitely has something to hide."

’After all, the Demon Suppression Bureau wouldn’t go so far as to try and annihilate Hidden Blade Valley completely.’

’If Great Yun couldn’t tolerate the existence of such factions, the four sects of Refining Valley back in Mountain Mist City would have been absorbed by the Demon Suppression Bureau long ago.’

"So, is it possible that Hidden Blade Valley is colluding with the remnants of the Blood Evil demons, or perhaps people from the Blood Palace, to concoct some sort of grand elixir within the valley?"

Wu Chen offered his own analysis. After all, abducting the populace sounded exactly like the Blood Slaughter Sect’s M.O.

The Silver Wolf Captain opposite him nodded in agreement. "That’s the current theory."

"The reason we’re heading over is that the Demon Suppression Guard suffered casualties during the Hidden Blade Valley Elder’s breakout attempt."

"That’s why a message was sent for us to go fill the gaps in their ranks."

Hearing this, Wu Chen grew confused again.

"You just said this mission was easy credit, but now you’re saying there were casualties and we’re needed as reinforcements. That hardly sounds like an optimistic situation."

"It feels like you’re contradicting yourself."

"Lord Wu, about that... Hss..."

The Silver Wolf Captain, who was called Fang, gave an awkward laugh. He seemed to want to explain, but he hesitated for a long time without being able to articulate a reason.

’It looks like he knows the reason, but he’s afraid of something and won’t say it.’

He could only turn to look at Sun Yuting in the main seat.

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