I Have No Choice

A hideous, gaping hole had been smashed into the city wall. The soldiers on the wall were already scared out of their wits. They stood frozen in place, their weapons scattered across the ground, their eyes filled with utter horror and bewilderment.

They looked at Ye Chuan as if they were gazing up at an invincible deity—

Those were the two strongest Tier-7 powerhouses of the Dior Territory!

The rock-element summoner Balin had been effortlessly crushed, and even the dark elf assassin Darkmoon, renowned for her speed and stealth, had been punched right through the city wall. This level of strength had long surpassed their understanding of what made a powerhouse.

Could he be a Tier-8 existence?

But there was only one Tier-8 powerhouse in the entire Hill Empire!

"Is... is this a power a human can possess?"

A soldier whispered in a trembling voice, carrying uncontrollable fear.

"The two Tier-7 lords... couldn't even take a single strike from him..."

Another soldier stared fixedly at the dust-filled gap in the wall and muttered,

"The strongest combatants of the Dior Territory have been defeated... We have absolutely no room to fight back..."

Their originally tense defensive mindset completely collapsed. Only despair remained on the soldiers' faces, and the ferocity they had shown when trying to stop Ye Chuan was completely gone.

With such strength, the Dior Territory was no match for him at all.

Elara stood inside the barrier, looking out curiously.

After witnessing the scene just now, she covered her small mouth, forgetting even to exclaim. The image of what had just happened echoed repeatedly in her mind—

Ye Chuan sending Darkmoon flying with a single punch was even more shocking than when Della instantly killed the rock giant!

In her understanding, her grandfather Kaiaolen was already the top combatant in the Hill Empire. Yet, the speed and power Ye Chuan had just displayed seemed to be even more formidable than her grandfather's!

"Teacher... is actually this strong..."

Elara murmured softly. In her eyes, as she looked at Ye Chuan, there was an added layer of respect alongside her admiration.

She had always thought her teacher's strength was only slightly greater than her cousin's, but she never expected him to be terrifying to this extent.

Balin squatted on the ground with his hands holding his head, wailing about his mortgage while stealthily glancing at Ye Chuan from the corner of his eye. His face was full of the relief and lingering fear of surviving a disaster.

Thank goodness he had surrendered in time just now; otherwise, he probably would have been the one punched through the city wall.

Right at this moment, the hurried sound of footsteps accompanied by chaotic shouting came from the direction of the lord's manor.

"Make way! Lord Count is here!" a servant shouted loudly. The crowd quickly parted, and a middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue robe strode forward rapidly.

His brow was furrowed with anxiety, and at his waist, he wore a gem badge symbolizing his status as a count. He was none other than the lord of the Dior Territory—Count Gray.

As soon as Count Gray pushed through the crowd, he saw the collapsed houses, the huge hole in the city wall, Balin slumped on the ground, and Darkmoon, battered and exhausted, slowly getting up from the dust.

"How is this possible... Did Miral bring an army to attack?"

When his gaze fell upon Ye Chuan, who stood there with a calm expression, his pupils suddenly shrank. His footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and his face was filled with shock and disbelief.

He never imagined that the ones who dared to forcefully intrude into the Dior Territory would be just a man and a little girl—

Even Balin and Darkmoon, two Tier-7 powerhouses, had been beaten into such a state. Just what was the background of this young man before him?

Count Gray forcefully suppressed the raging waves in his heart. Just as he was about to speak and ask, Ye Chuan moved, flashing in front of him like a phantom.

"Yo, hello there. Come with me for a trip, Mr. Count."

Before Count Gray could react, Ye Chuan grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.

Count Gray only felt his vision blur as his body was uncontrollably lifted into the air.

"Taking off."

In the next second, Count Gray was thrown flying by Ye Chuan like a cannonball.

"L-Lord Count!" the servants exclaimed as they rushed forward, but they couldn't even catch up to Ye Chuan's afterimage. They could only watch helplessly as Count Gray was taken away, their faces full of anxiety but completely powerless.

Balin and Darkmoon were also stunned. They had never seen such a bizarre summoner. The lord was easily abducted without even a chance to resist.

Ye Chuan took Count Gray and Elara, who had just caught up, and teleported to a small grove on the outskirts of the Dior Territory.

The vegetation here was lush, so there was no need to worry about being disturbed.

Ye Chuan casually tossed Count Gray onto the ground and spoke in a playful tone:

"Count Gray, tell me, why did you go back on your word? You took the initiative to contact Kaiaolen before, but then turned around and closed the city gates to stop our march to the royal capital. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Count Gray stumbled to his feet and adjusted his disheveled robes, his face full of complex emotions and difficulty.

He lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before slowly raising it again, his eyes filled with exhaustion and pain:

"I... I also had no other choice."

"No other choice?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow.

"Betraying your allies and defecting to the royal capital occupied by monsters—is this your 'no other choice'?"

"Or do you think we are lying?"

"It's not defecting! I never thought about defecting to the monsters!"

Count Gray hurriedly defended himself, his voice somewhat choked with emotion.

"It's... it's my wife, Anna. Some time ago, she suddenly became strange. Her body started to show monstrous characteristics, and her consciousness grew increasingly blurred. It was as if she had been parasitized by something, turning into a half-human, half-monster state."

He raised his hand to press against his forehead, speaking with a face full of agony:

"Just three days ago, the royal capital sent someone to find me. They said that as long as I refused to converge with Kaiaolen and didn't participate in attacking the royal capital, they would provide an antidote to cure my wife and return her to normal."

"I... I had no choice."

"I can't lose Anna..."

"I just can't..."

"They also said that if I didn't obey, my only daughter would turn into a monster too..."

Standing to the side, Elara heard this, and the surprise on her face gradually turned into sympathy.

She hadn't expected there to be such a hidden truth behind Count Gray's betrayal.

Hearing this, Ye Chuan asked in a flat tone:

"Do you really think that since the royal capital has been completely occupied by monsters, those monsters would actually give you an antidote?"

"If our attack on the royal capital fails, the entire Hill Empire will be swallowed by monsters. When that time comes, do you think your wife and daughter will still survive? They are merely using you, treating you as a pawn to hinder our march."

Count Gray's body shuddered, but the shock was quickly replaced by pain.

He slowly crouched down, holding his head with both hands, and said in a hoarse voice:

"I know... Of course I know!"

"But I can't bear to watch her suffer day by day. Even if there's only a sliver of hope, I want to try. As long as she can get better, I am willing to pay any price, even if it means bearing the infamy of betrayal."

Ye Chuan shook his head.

"Take me to see her."

"See her..."

"I might be able to cure her."

"Really?!"