Releasing the Small Fish to Catch the Big One

When the students' attention was still focused on the drastic changes in the ancient castle, Du Chen quietly pulled Jamis aside, chuckling, "Old Gambler, according to our pre-arranged plan, we should part ways now. You and the Old Charlatan will lead the students to the Misty Forest, while I will go alone to pay respects to my mother at Sigurd's Ancestral Tomb!"

"Yes, my dear little brother, we must temporarily part ways! This old brother truly hates to see you go!" Jamis held Du Chen's hand with genuine reluctance and sincere farewell.

Du Chen was utterly baffled. Why had this old fellow become so sentimental? Had his previous assessment of him been too one-sided? Indeed, time reveals a person's true nature. Just then, he heard the old fellow mutter, "For the foreseeable future, we won't have private yachts, private villas, and not even clever Shiebs to serve our food and drink..."

So that's what you're reluctant to part with! Du Chen curled his lips. Looks like my judgment was still accurate, you damned scoundrel!!!

Jamis continued, "Alright, we'll meet again anyway, little brother. Aren't you going to say goodbye to the students?"

Du Chen frowned, glancing at Annie in the distance, and whispered, "I'm afraid certain people might shamelessly cling to me, insisting on accompanying me to pay respects to my mother! That would be very bad, exceedingly bad!"

"Hmm, you are absolutely correct!" Jamis said sternly. "Don't worry, as a teacher, I have a duty to prevent students' irrational actions... *cough*, canvases are so expensive these days, I can't even afford them anymore!"

"Are you trying to extort me?"

"Hey! How can you use such a dirty word as 'extortion' on an artist? I'm merely asking for your support for my artistic endeavors!" Jamis declared righteously.

"Alright, how much? Just name it!" Du Chen watched Jamis extend a finger.

"A hundred gold coins?" Jamis shook his head.

"A thousand gold coins!?" Du Chen raised his voice, but Jamis shook his head again. "Don't tell me you want ten thousand gold coins!?"

"No, I want ten..."

Du Chen paused, astonished. Ten gold coins would be enough to get rid of you? I overestimated your pursuit of art.

"...silver coins!" Jamis announced, head held high.

Du Chen stood agape for a long moment, then pulled a gold coin from his pocket and placed it in Jamis's hand!

"Get change! I don't have any small change for you!"

Du Chen remained wide-eyed for a moment before saying, "I don't have any change either, so it's all for you!" Jamis vigorously shook his head. "Why would I take a few extra coins from you? This is blatant bribery, and how could a noble artist like myself be tempted by your spare change... However, since you don't have change, I'll just keep the rest for you for now!"

Du Chen suddenly felt that the Old Gambler's words sounded very familiar.

"Alright then, that settles it. By the way, I might stay at my mother's tomb for quite some time. If you don't hear from me after your mission in the Misty Forest, just come find us in Saint John City!"

Watching Du Chen return to the ancient castle, Jamis smiled smugly, rubbing the gold coin in his hand as if it were a precious treasure.

"I'm rich, rich again! So many gambling stakes!"

...

Quietly avoiding Annie, Du Chen privately instructed Peter, the butler of Julie's Ancient Castle, a few words, then discreetly set off with his trusted family members.

After traveling north for a stretch, Du Chen found his two massive carriages in a sparsely populated forest. "Miss Lucy, Miss Lily, I'm here!" He stepped forward, lifting the carriage curtain, and introduced Deboning and the others one by one, making their acquaintance. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to reveal that Deboning was a Yessar Saint.

"Francis, we've caused you trouble!" Lucy said apologetically. She and the other 101 Valkyries completely filled the two giant carriages. Transporting these two carriages a thousand miles to the great plains was indeed a troublesome affair, especially since there were many Undead matriarchs inside!

However, Du Chen had already devised a plan for traveling with these matriarchs. He smiled, "No, not troublesome at all. I have a convenient method, I just don't know if you're willing to try it. It's very practical!"

With that, Du Chen pulled out a Lotus Sacred Artifact. As the matriarchs watched in trepidation, he suppressed the artifact's aura and smiled, "I can control the aura of this sacred artifact, and you can hide inside it. Would you be willing to try?"

This method was actually inspired by Kuban. When Du Chen purified the Fiendkind Marshal, he noticed that Kuban wasn't surprised by the appearance of the sacred aura upon Du Chen's entry into the dungeon—this indicated that the Lotus was still in tattoo form and emitted no sacred aura without inner strength. But when Du Chen infused inner strength into the artifact, Kuban became surprised and then cackled that the sacred aura wasn't strong enough, proving that the aura of the Lotus Sacred Artifact was determined by the strength of the inner strength!

The Lotus Sacred Artifact still held many, many secrets for him to uncover!

Du Chen tried his best to explain without revealing too much, "This sacred artifact of mine can conceal many things. It only emits a sacred aura when it grows or shrinks; at other times, it won't! So you just have to endure it for a moment!"

"To think there's such a miraculous sacred artifact!" Lucy exclaimed in astonishment. After consulting with a few other matriarchs, they all agreed to try it.

Moreover, they politely refrained from asking about the sacred artifact's origin—even though Du Chen had prepared a lie! This was, after all, the proper decorum for nobility; the narrow-minded Du Chen was simply worrying for nothing.

Du Chen expanded a Lotus to its largest form, then withdrew his inner strength, signaling the Valkyries to sit on it. *Heh*, it was just enough space, with a bit left over for daily necessities! "Be careful, there will be a faint sacred aura for a split second. You must endure it!" Du Chen quickly transformed the Lotus back into a tattoo and retracted his inner strength.

Uh, Du Chen felt this position was wrong and quickly moved the tattoo to his arm.

"Powerful and noble Master, your sacred artifact is truly miraculous!" A Shieb scrambled excitedly onto one of the carriages, driving it along the forest path. As for the other carriage? Du Chen simply abandoned it. In this day and age, rich people ride one carriage and discard another, discarding the one they rode upon reaching their destination.

This patch of forest was larger than he'd imagined.

The group traveled from day to night, yet still hadn't left the forest. Deboning, seated in the carriage, said, "Young Master, it seems we'll have to spend the night in the forest!"

"Oh good! Spending the night in the forest, Beibei likes it!" The little one, who had been dozing in Du Chen's arms, immediately opened her eyes wide, clapping her hands and shouting, "Brook, hunt game! Beibei will roast meat for Daddy!"

Du Chen, Deboning, and Harry simultaneously looked up at the carriage ceiling. This adorable little darling wanted everyone's lives again...

Deboning and Harry wanted to immediately suggest that their master summon Alex, but they feared upsetting the young mistress who held the contract. So they just looked down at Du Chen with strange expressions.

"Huh? Beibei's roasted meat, don't you like it?" The little one pouted, looking very disappointed. Just as Du Chen was about to tell a white lie, the little one suddenly looked up, urgent, "Daddy, someone's coming, lots and lots of people!"

Almost simultaneously, "Hmph!" Deboning snatched the reins from Harry's hand, pulled the carriage to a halt, leaped in front of it, and shouted, "Who's there? Show yourselves!"

"Heh! Not bad, you found us so quickly!"

Two teams of people swiftly approached from either side of the carriage. All were cloaked in black, masked, and wielded sacred artifact blades, quickly surrounding the carriage.

Du Chen secretly activated the Lotus Shield in front of him, then, holding his daughter, stepped out of the carriage and declared loudly, "Friends, are you sure you haven't mistaken us for someone else? If it's money you want, name your price, and I won't haggle!"

The leader of the black-clad figures suddenly waved his hand, and the encirclement slowly tightened. "Money holds no interest for us. We're only interested in your life. Don't worry, there's no mistake! And even if there were, what of it? Hmph!"

"You seek death!" Deboning flipped his wrist, and an iron hook appeared in his hand. "Young Master, how many do you want left alive for questioning?"

Before Du Chen could speak, the leader burst into laughter, "Brother, you're quite arrogant! I admit you're a Master. What level? Eight-star, or Nine-Star Battle God? But even if you're a Nine-Star Battle God, you have no right to be so insolent in front of so many Battle Gods!"

"Are you saying you'll bully us by sheer numbers?" Du Chen looked at the black-clad leader with an amused expression.

The black-clad leader inexplicably felt a chill in his heart. He said nothing more, quickening his pace, and the encirclement grew smaller and smaller.

Deboning watched them coldly, mentally calculating: 101 people, with over twenty individuals above Level 6—this was comparable to an army brigade on some continents! Although there were no Eight or Nine-Star Battle Gods among them, and even their leader was only at the peak of Level 7, their sheer numbers were too great. He had to consider his young master's safety. He would wait until they got closer before making a move; otherwise, the larger the fighting range, the harder it would be to protect his young master!

Du Chen rubbed his nose, also sizing up the assassins, and chuckled, "No need for live captives this time! Oh, and Beibei shouldn't see a bloody scene. I'll wait for you in the carriage!"

Du Chen returned to the carriage with his daughter, drawing all the curtains.

"Caw caw!" The leader cackled sinisterly, then suddenly raised his sacred artifact long blade high. "It seems you intend to face all 101 of us alone, hmph! Brothers, attack!"

"Wait!" Du Chen's voice came from inside the carriage. "Brook, you come back too! There are more of them now, we can bully the fewer ones!"

Deboning paused, but due to the contract, he dared not disobey this strange command. So he quickly returned to the carriage.

Now it was the black-clad leader's turn to be stunned. What were they doing? Were they waiting for death? No, there must be a mechanism inside the carriage! He said, "Brothers, be careful, approach slowly. We have the numbers, no need to fear their Masters!"

"Numbers? How many do you have!?" Lucy, dressed as a maid, leaped from the carriage.

"Hmph, certainly more than you alone!"

No sooner had the leader spoken than Lily also jumped out.

Two, three, four...

The leader was completely dumbfounded. There really was a mechanism in this carriage! Otherwise, how could more than a hundred people emerge from a carriage that could at most hold a few dozen? Their numbers were actually greater than his own!?

It was this moment of hesitation that caused the leader to make a fatal mistake!

Lucy slowly lowered her head, a sharp murderous glint flashing in her beautiful eyes—the chilling killing intent only found in hardened warriors who had survived countless battles on the Asura Battlefield.

"Do you have many people? But our sisters love group battles the most! Red Luan Killing Array!"

Du Chen covered little Beibei's eyes with one hand and peered out of the carriage with the other, lifting a curtain.

Although the matriarchs had become The Undead, and could no longer use their former sacred artifacts due to incompatible attributes, and hadn't personally graced a battlefield for many years, they were still the Red Luan Valkyries of the Godfall Era!

With Lily and Lucy at the core, the Valkyries swiftly formed a beautiful yet murderous circular array around the carriage. The gathering of over a hundred beauties radiated endless allure, yet also overflowing killing intent. "Breach Formation!" As Lily coldly commanded, the circle unfolded like a magnificent mandala, expanding in layers. With each unfolding petal-like layer, several streaks of blood light appeared in the forest!

"Defend Formation!"

"Engage Formation!"

"Kill Formation!"

With each of Lily's cold commands, the black-clad figures fell one by one...

"So powerful!" Deboning's lips twitched involuntarily. Noticing Du Chen's questioning gaze, he whispered, "Truly worthy of being elite commanders from the Godfall Era! Lucy and Lily are merely mid-tier Level 7 Battle Gods, and most of the others are Level 6 Undead Battle Gods! But combined... even I would have no chance against this array; I would surely die."

After a pause, Deboning added reluctantly, "If they hadn't become The Undead, and could still use their former sacred artifacts, unleashing their full power, this array could easily kill me, and even Flaying!"

Du Chen rubbed his nose and smiled!

"Matriarchs, you won't be escaping now!"

"Deboning, I have a task for you!" Du Chen whispered a few words into Deboning's ear, then called Harry over and gave him some instructions.

Following this, Deboning suddenly flashed out of the carriage. The cold gleam of his iron hook appeared, and the black-clad leader fell. "Ladies, I'll take care of clearing the battlefield. Young Master requests your presence in the carriage to speak!"

In a short while, Deboning finished the battle. Du Chen placed his daughter back inside the carriage, then stepped out, his foot treading on scattered corpses. He coldly asked, "Are they all dealt with?"

"Not a single one left alive!"

"Excellent! Hmph, if anyone dares to be so arrogant again in the future, kill them all without exception!" Du Chen said chillingly.

"Get in the carriage! Let's go!"

*Creak, creak*, the carriage slowly moved away through the red mud.

But soon after, a figure crawled out from among the piles of corpses—it was the leader! "No, impossible!" He embraced a corpse, choking, "Brother, I should have listened to you! Why didn't I listen to you..." He gritted his teeth, dragged his injured body, and swiftly disappeared into the forest!

As soon as the leader left, several figures emerged from the dense forest nearby.

Du Chen glanced at Harry, and the Shieb quickly said, "Young Master, Harry has memorized his scent, and will never forget it in this lifetime! As long as he reappears, I will surely recognize him!"

"Very good!" Du Chen nodded at Deboning. "You truly are a Yessar Saint! Your methods are perfectly calibrated. You not only spared his life but made him believe he narrowly escaped by sheer luck! But what I like most is that when you strike, even old acquaintances like Philip and Rogliff wouldn't be able to tell from the wounds that you tampered with it!"

"Young Master overpraises me! I am merely the most skilled in precision injury among the Saints!" Though Deboning spoke modestly, a hint of pride was visible in his eyes—if he couldn't even achieve this, how could he perform the intricate and complex Dark Sacred Punishments!?

He asked, puzzled, "But I don't understand, Young Master, why did you let him go instead of capturing him for interrogation?"

Du Chen gently shook his head. "A well-trained assassin cannot possibly reveal secrets. Even if he did speak, how much could we trust? Only by letting him go will he truly speak the truth!"

Secretly sighing that Deboning's reactions were still not as sharp as Flaying's, Du Chen explained in detail: "Currently, Philip is the only overt enemy trying to deal with me, but who knows how many are covertly operating! So, we cannot be certain that this group of assassins was sent by Philip!"

"Earlier, I deliberately emphasized 'leaving no one alive' precisely so he would believe he escaped by sheer good fortune! Then, he'll dare to openly reappear before me! But Harry has already memorized his scent, so when he reappears before us... *Heh heh*, it's just releasing an insignificant small fish to see if we can catch a big one!"

"Young Master, actually... I alone could have dealt with them just now," Deboning added.

"No, I'm not questioning your strength. You don't think I casually brought out those matriarchs, do you!?" Du Chen rubbed his nose three times with his right thumb.

"Firstly, the enemy now knows the matriarchs are allied with me. This way, whether the matriarchs like it or not, they are now tied to my war chariot! Secondly, assuming Philip is the mastermind behind the assassination, do you know why he isn't pressing us hard right now? One reason is that they likely have a very grand scheme, and we are merely a part of it, perhaps not even significant enough to be a central part, so he hasn't deployed sufficient manpower against us. The second reason is that I made him realize, at Mount Tianshan, that there exists a super Battle God in this world, one who can easily neutralize Undead Self-Detonation! Therefore, he believes there's an overwhelmingly powerful individual by my side, and thus, he shouldn't dare to act rashly! At least for now."

Deboning nodded. "I understand the second reason. Assuming the assassin's master is Philip, then the more powerful we appear, the less Philip will dare to act rashly! Young Master, is this what you mentioned a few days ago, subduing the enemy without battle!?"

"I prefer to describe such matters as a master thief not wielding a spear."

Du Chen smiled. "As for the third reason for bringing out the matriarchs, it's more elusive, but hopefully effective! With the matriarchs appearing, is it possible that some Titled Battle Gods from the Godfall Era might still be around? If these human guardians are drawn out by the matriarchs, do you think they would tolerate Philip's actions of turning human Battle Gods into The Undead? Tsk! Of course, this might also attract some devils and heterodox forces! But anyway, this is just a vague hypothesis, so let's gamble on it! I'm betting that it's human Guardian Battle Gods who will be drawn out, and they will then eliminate Philip and his heretical ways! I've always been a good gambler myself!"

...

After Du Chen truly set off, somewhere on the Three Continents.

A burly man stumbled into a dark red Grand Council Hall. "Lord Philip, I have sinned!"

Philip, who was addressed, sat on a throne against the main hall's back wall in his Undead form. The massive right arm, previously destroyed by a self-detonation, had now regrown with granulation tissue, and the faint green eye on his shoulder had slightly opened a slit. "Sinos, why have you returned instead of tracking Experiment Subject No. 6?" Philip's voice buzzed resonantly.

"Lord Philip, I... I lost sight of Experiment Subject No. 6!"

"What!? Then you truly deserve to die!" Philip suddenly flashed before him, gripping his neck with his left hand. "Speak! Explain everything in detail!"

"Yes, my Lord! The Merfolk King, who had been storing Experiment Subject No. 6, was free-ranging in the sea and always peaceful. But... but suddenly, someone began slaughtering Merfolk in large numbers. He was enraged, charged out, and was also killed. By the time I found his body, 'Subject No. 6' was already... already gone!"

Sinos dared not look up into Philip's Undead eyes, urgently explaining, "My brothers and I found out who took Subject No. 6, and we hastily arranged an assassination attempt last night. But... but only I narrowly made it back alive..."

"Who did it!?" Philip roared.

"It was Francis!"

"Francis!?"

*Slap!* Philip struck Sinos, sending blood spraying from his nose and mouth. "Sinos, go die! Why did you provoke someone you shouldn't have provoked!"

With just one blow, Sinos fainted. Philip was about to deliver the killing strike when suddenly, a ball of silver-white light drifted from the Grand Council Hall's back wall and instantly appeared beside Philip.

"Lord Brockman, what has happened?"

"Lord Brockman, you've finally arrived!" Philip bowed slightly, quickly recounted the events, and then added, "What are your thoughts, esteemed sir?"

"Damned Sinos! Although he didn't know that an incomparably powerful Battle God had appeared among Francis's forces on Mount Tianshan, one who easily defeated even you in a single move, Sinos should have known the order not to act rashly against Francis!"

Brockman said chillingly, "The organization's plan cannot be jeopardized by this single individual, Francis! Wake Sinos up and ask him if he revealed his identity!"

After Sinos adamantly swore he had not revealed his identity, Brockman nodded in satisfaction.

But Sinos added, "The attackers were over a hundred young women dressed as maids, and their Undead aura was incredibly potent! Each of them possessed strength above Level 6 Battle God!"

"Over a hundred Level 6 Battle God maids? Heavens!" Brockman was speechless for a long moment. He waved his hand, dismissing Sinos to wait outside, and then turned to Philip, "Flaying, Deboning, the Battle God who defeated you on Mount Tianshan... and now over a hundred Battle God maids appearing. Why does Francis have so many Masters around him!? What an immense power base! Thankfully, Sinos didn't reveal his identity, or the organization's plan would have been affected!"

Philip said bitterly, "It's a pity that the organization's elites have other important missions, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, you would want to confront Francis again? *Heh heh*, I do not wish to see such a thing! Just imagine, easily breaking Undead Self-Detonation with a single move—what terrifying strength is that!? Even if Roland were to draw that sword from the Icy Jade Pool, could he achieve that? Moreover, he now has over a hundred mysterious Battle God maids by his side, so we absolutely cannot engage him head-on easily—that would exhaust too much of the organization's energy! Of course, monitoring his movements is still very necessary!"

The white light on Brockman's body pulsed. "But currently, Francis isn't obstructing the core of our great endeavor, is he?"

Philip nodded reluctantly.

Brockman smiled, "No need to be disheartened. Once our great endeavor succeeds, will you still care about a Francis? Lord Philip, you have two major experiments: 'Undead Battle Gods' and 'Composite Aberrant Beasts,' while Francis is merely an 'Experiment Subject' from the 'Spirit Seed' component of the 'Undead Battle God' experiment. You don't need to oppose such an insignificant individual, especially when this insignificant individual currently possesses such immense power!"

A pristine white hand extended from the white light and patted Philip's left shoulder. "Esteemed sir, the organization's great endeavor requires your wisdom. Only when your two major experiments succeed will the organization have enough troops and enough aberrant beasts to realize our grand vision!"

Philip said, "But Rogliff's plan to collect materials for the 'Undead Battle God' experiment has completely failed, and 'Subject No. 6' from the 'Composite Aberrant Beasts' also fell into Francis's hands!"

Brockman pondered, "The 'Undead Battle God' project will be difficult to gather so many high-level Battle Gods as raw materials in a short time. Comparatively, 'Composite Aberrant Beasts' is easier! Lord Philip, tell me your detailed plan!"

"Currently, 'No. 1,' 'No. 2,' and 'No. 3' have all been transported to the McAllen Great Plains. 'No. 4' is in Glacier Fortress, and 'No. 5' is in Misty Forest. Originally, after some time, all six aberrant beasts were to be transported to the McAllen Great Plains for final combination, but now 'No. 6' is missing!"

"Alright, I understand. You proceed with the final combination on the McAllen Great Plains as scheduled. Before then, I will find a way to retrieve 'No. 6'!"

"Hmm? Did you not wish to antagonize Francis at this time, esteemed sir? Why then would you still snatch 'No. 6' from him?"

"Heh heh, it's 'retrieve,' not 'snatch'!" Brockman subtly smiled. "Retrieving is much easier than snatching, and it won't provoke hostility!"

Philip looked at Brockman with a hint of astonishment.

Brockman chuckled, "Sinos made a grave mistake. You intend to execute him, correct? However, I wish to intercede for him. After all, he is the only one who has seen Francis's new power. Since he is presumed dead in Francis's eyes, let him, the one most familiar with the situation, assist me!"

"That, of course, is permissible!" Philip suddenly said with a touch of jest, "Esteemed and gentlemanly Mr. Brockman, do you truly intend to use 'retrieval' in this manner?"

Brockman also smiled. "Alright, Mr. Philip, don't tease me! Very well, I admit, for the sake of your experiment, I am willing to abandon my gentlemanly demeanor and steal back Subject No. 6!"

"I am most grateful, Mr. Brockman!" Philip bowed slightly, smiling, "At the same time, I hope the two aberrant beasts in Glacier Fortress and Misty Forest can also safely reach the Great Plains!"

"No problem. Even if they encounter issues, I can still steal them back!" Brockman sneered, "You should believe that among human Battle Gods, no one is more proficient in the art of theft than I and my subordinates..."

At this very moment, "Thief Ancestor" Du Chen was inside the carriage, praising his daughter!