The battle with the war machines, though fierce, didn’t last long, as the Embrace of the Radiant Archangel only lasts for thirty seconds in total.
As the fighting ended, the knights immediately rushed in to tally the spoils of war.
Lin Rui also returned to the camp immediately. The people from the Lusen Chamber of Commerce were crucial to Lin Rui’s grandest plan. If they hadn’t entered the cemetery and were suddenly wiped out, Lin Rui wouldn’t know when he’d find another altar.
Thus, Death’s Claw activated Rapid Flight immediately to send Lin Rui back.
However, Lin Rui soon relaxed his mind when he caught sight of the people from the Lusen Chamber of Commerce huddled together at the edge of the battlefield.
Death’s Claw was incredibly agile, even reaching a level of fantasy unimaginable. With Rapid Flight mode on, its speed soared to Mach 2, leaving violent sonic booms during the flight, yet when reaching the target, it softly fanned its wings, gracefully hovering in a small curve before landing directly in front of the people from the Lusen Chamber of Commerce. It only took a second to shift from Mach 2 to standstill, and the wind from its wings sent stones and grass debris flying on the plains.
Lin Rui jumped off the back of Death’s Claw, walked to the director Lu Weite of the Lusen Chamber of Commerce, and asked, "Are you all right?"
Lu Weite’s face looked surprisingly bad, shaking his head, he said, "Our people are fine. The Lusen Chamber of Commerce has some reputation in Dragonbone Plain, after revealing our identity, the other side didn’t trouble us."
Lin Rui was momentarily surprised, then turned to look at the gruesome, bloody battlefield and asked, "Who were those people? Why did they suddenly ambush... me?"
This ambush came all too suddenly and bizarrely.
Without any reason, a group of elite human units suddenly arrived at this wild plain.
Understandably, their commander was a Tier Five Heroic Spirit unit!
Tier Five and Heroic Spirit—either term alone is enough to make people tremble.
A Tier Five unit, Lin Rui’s territory doesn’t even have one, and Tier Four units are the backbone of his family. Not only is this true in the Golden Pansy Domain, but across all provinces of the empire, Tier Five serves as the backbone of territory military strength.
While Tier Five can be slowly worked up through perseverance, Heroic Spirit level is completely extraordinary.
The Golden Pansy Domain has three Heroic Spirit Knights, but that was entirely built by Lin Rui with his life and vast wealth.
Ordinarily, lands don’t dare aspire to units of this level; Rare Level is already out of reach for most.
So a Tier Five Heroic Spirit unit is a precious asset in any force, the very pillar of the army, but such a Heroic Spirit wasn’t with the main forces, instead, laying in ambush for Lin Rui here seems odd.
More peculiar was that they only attacked Lin Rui, while sparing the Lusen Chamber of Commerce nearby.
Thinking this over, Lin Rui had to seriously reassess these companions.
Seeing Lin Rui’s meaningful glance, Lu Weite of the Lusen Chamber of Commerce quickly raised his hands, explaining, "Lord Lin Rui, please don’t misunderstand. These people are elite of the Templar Order, led by one of the twelve Knight Commanders of the Templar Order. The Templar Order is one of the few dominant powers in Dragonbone Plain, definitely beyond the control of our Lusen Chamber of Commerce."
"Templar Order again?" Lin Rui frowned slightly, saying, "Why do I keep running into them everywhere?"
This feels a bit too coincidental.
Lu Weite said, "They’re one of the strongest forces in this land, the wider their area of operation, the greater the chance of encountering them."
That makes sense; they govern and manage this land, their activities naturally lead to their strong presence and control over it being felt.
But Lin Rui remained puzzled, asking, "Why would they suddenly attack me yet let you go?"
"Because you broke the seal of the Templar Order... The column of light from the unsealing was visible for a hundred miles surrounding the plain. After we revealed our identity, the Templar Order merely detained us."
"Well..." Lu Weite glanced at Lin Rui, cautiously saying, "Lord Lin Rui, I’m afraid I won’t be able to accompany you to the altar."
Lin Rui’s gaze sharpened, he stared at Lu Weite for a moment, saying, "I give you one minute to reorganize your words."
Lu Weite instantly broke into a cold sweat, never before had he faced such a profound side of Lin Rui, as if a dark, terrifying abyss was staring at him.
The dreadful pressure stretched his nerves tight, leaving no time for thought, stammering, "Lord Lin Rui, this... You’ve killed so many members of the Templar Order, if we... continue with you... I’m afraid... I’m afraid... You know, our chamber cannot afford to antagonize the Templar Order."
Even though he spoke hesitantly, faltering, Lin Rui still understood.
The Golden Pansy Domain had a conflict with the Templar Order, even wiping out an entire squad of elite members in one go; the Templar Order’s people couldn’t remain indifferent, they would surely retaliate, maybe even flatten the Golden Pansy Domain.
The chamber’s people clearly didn’t believe the Golden Pansy Domain could independently withstand the immense power of the Templar Order, especially since just one Tier Five Heroic Spirit Knight Commander posed considerable high-level combat difficulty for the Golden Pansy Domain, aside from Lin Rui.