"Little Qian, why are there fewer people?" Seeing that only one person had returned with the swift wind, and with Zhang Zide injured, Ye Xin felt worried.
"It's alright, the others went to notify the rest of the Sea Clan, nothing happened. They were injured because they were ambushed by members of the Swift Hidden Clan," Lin Qian explained to Ye Xin, signaling her not to worry too much.
Upon hearing this, Ye Xin breathed a sigh of relief; she had thought the situation had worsened, that the swift winds were reduced to just one person so quickly.
Lin Qian also felt some admiration for the tactics of the Swift Hidden Clan.
In this forest space, there were numerous Illusion Arrays hidden. The people from the Swift Hidden Clan who had ambushed them were hiding within those arrays.
As for why they ambushed Zhang Zide and his group, Lin Qian had some insights.
He guessed that because of his influence, Zhang Zide and his group had taken the lead and approached the fortress ahead of everyone.
If Zhang Zide and his group were the first to arrive, and the other Sea Clan members hadn't arrived yet, wouldn't all the resources be theirs?
Allowing Zhang Zide and his team to get there first, how could other Sea Clan members feel desire to enter the fortress, and how could they activate the Array to transform the Sea Clan members who entered into a mass of flesh and blood essence?
It served the Swift Hidden Clan right to have bad luck, just as they had made their move against Zhang Zide and his team, over a dozen swift winds already felt it.
Together, the Swift Hidden Clan could only die resentfully on the spot.
The injuries on Zhang Zide and his group were also due to a surprise attack by the Swift Hidden Clan, caught off guard and thus harmed.
"Young man, I'll leave this matter to you; I must return to stabilize the Array and try to delay," Yuan Xiang solemnly entrusted Lin Qian at that time.
Lin Qian nodded, reassuring Yuan Xiang, "Senior, don't worry, even for the sake of this Small World, I will handle it properly. Besides, the Swift Hidden Clan and the Invisible Clan have no right to meddle with the Small World I am interested in."
"I admire such a domineering young man like you, I entrust this to you." Saying this, Yuan Xiang nodded contentedly, turned into a streak of light, and flew away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
After Yuan Xiang left, Zhang Zide and his group still looked baffled, not understanding what had happened.
Approaching Lin Qian, Zhang Zide asked puzzledly, "Brother Lin, what exactly happened?"
Lin Qian slowly spoke, explaining the recent events to Zhang Zide and his group in detail, especially the problem with the Sea Clan fortress space.
"This... is unacceptable!" Hearing Lin Qian's description, Zhang Zide was startled and quickly spoke up, "No, relying only on Brother Lin's men might not be enough to convince the other Sea Clans."
The swift winds clearly looked like Human Clan, and persuasive efforts by them might seem like some trickery to other Sea Clans.
After all, they were all Sea Clan, and Zhang Zide couldn't stand by and watch his kind be schemed against by other races.
After consuming a Potion, Zhang Zide, Zhang Qi, and Zhang Wenxuan made it clear to Lin Qian that only if they personally went to notify the others would there be better results.
Seeing that Zhang Zide and his team were insistent, Lin Qian had no good reason to stop them. He could only nod in agreement and have the swift winds lead them to find the other Sea Clans.
The Reconnaissance Beast had thoroughly scouted the entire forest space's structure and formed a tactical map.
Lin Qian and his group knew the layout, but Zhang Zide and his team did not. Going to search like headless flies wouldn't do much good. With the swift winds leading the way, it would be much easier.
After Zhang Zide and his group had left again, Lin Qian and his companions also headed towards the direction of the Human Clan's fortress.
In Lin Qian's eyes, this Small World was already seen as something within his grasp; the Swift Hidden Clan and the Invisible Clan, who also harbored designs on it, were his competitors.
Being able to disrupt his competitors' original plans was certainly a delightful matter, one that Lin Qian would not miss.
Having directed everyone back onto the royal carriage, Lin Qian waved his hand towards the front, and Zhao Long drove the nine flame-hoofed warhorses forward at a gallop.
Ye Xin, struck by a moment of realization, felt a wave of clarity wash over her mind, as if sensing something. When she looked back, although she saw only the Void, she vaguely glimpsed some disappearing figures.
After a long moment, Ye Xin retracted her gaze, dismissing it as her own illusion.
What she didn't realize was that, beside her, Lin Qian was staring at the front, a fierce light flickering in his eyes, "Since you plan to commit such fierce acts, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Thinking of the Swift Hidden Clan and the Invisible Clan, who had schemed against both the Human Clan and the Sea Clan, Lin Qian felt a surge of anger.
Present at the scene, Yuan Xiang learned the true nature of the situation, and Lin Qian could almost confirm that the discovery of this relic's portal probably had ties with the Invisible Clan and the Swift Hidden Clan.
Perhaps, behind all this, were these two clans orchestrating the holding of the South Meeting.
"If you want to play, then let's play properly and see who is stronger."
In the blink of an eye, the royal carriage disappeared into the landscape, rushing off into the distance.
At the same time, a series of green figures spread out from beneath where the royal carriage had departed, vanishing in a blink, tracing green arcs through the dense forest.
The closer they got to the Sea Clan fortress, the sparser the terrain became, until what lay ahead was a sea with surging waves.
Various members of the Sea Clan, according to the information they had received, moved towards the Sea Clan fortress.
As one group of the Sea Clan flew past overhead, five figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere, looking up.
Seeing the Sea Clan flying towards the fortress, they exchanged looks and smiled triumphantly, "These fools probably won't expect that what awaits them isn't treasure, but death, hahaha."
"The young master's plan is flawless; we just need to observe carefully, and then report back to the young master."
"They think what they heard was the rules transmitted by the Array; they likely can't imagine that it was actually us, concealing our tracks and speaking the words."
"That's right…" One of the Swift Hidden Clan members was about to say something but ended up staring wide-eyed, pointing at the back of his fellow clan member, unable to speak.
For he clearly saw, emerging from the shadow behind the opposite clansman, a person from the Human Clan dressed in black soft armor, his face hidden under a black hood.
The black dagger, originally like metallic fluid, had solidified into a sharp weapon by the time the assailant's hand reached out.
With his Soul Power gathered, he was too late to cry out a warning to his clansman as he watched helplessly as the dagger was plunged into his fellow clansman's throat.
That sensation, accompanying the shattering of his own Soul Power, made him empathize acutely, for he too received the same treatment.
As he fell, with his remaining consciousness, he saw another black figure step over him and move towards another clansman who was still oblivious, raising the black blade in hand.